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AI development and concerns about its safety continue to grow at a rapid pace with little regulation in place. The latest industry-based solution to this comes courtesy of IBM and Meta, which have announced the creation of the AI Alliance. Its mission centers on "fostering an open community and enabling developers and researchers to accelerate responsible innovation in AI while ensuring scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity and economic competitiveness." Part of this work will involve efforts to expand the number of open-source AI models - ones with public source code - which runs counter to the private models of companies like OpenAI and Google.Open-sourcing is a key pillar of the AI Alliance. "We believe it's better when AI is developed openly - more people can access the benefits, build innovative products and work on safety," Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta, said in a statement. "The AI Alliance brings together researchers, developers and companies to share tools and knowledge that can help us all make progress whether models are shared openly or not. We're looking forward to working with partners to advance the state-of-the-art in AI and help everyone build responsibly."In its announcement, the AI Alliance stated that it will "start or enhance" any projects with specific goals, such as developing benchmarks to ensure the responsible creation of AI systems. This step should involve building a catalog of vetted tools and advocating for developers to utilize them.Among other initiatives, it also plans to focus on safety and transparency, including creating educational resources that inform the public and policymakers about the many facets of AI or launching initiatives and events that highlight ways to develop AI safely.IBM and Meta are joined by over 50 organizations and educational bodies worldwide, such as Intel, NASA, Cleveland Clinic and Yale University. Notably, OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, is not one of the founding members.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-and-ibm-form-open-source-alliance-to-counter-big-ai-players-104847131.html?src=rss

Can a super tiny electric car still work in the US? We'll soon find out! Fiat will soon start selling the 500e hatchback EV stateside in 2024 for $32,500 ($34,095 including the destination fee), the company announced. It hasn't been available in the US since 2019, but the latest model is a big update with more range, a nicer interior, better tech and more.The 500e is tiny by EV standards, particularly in the weight department. It puts just 3,000 pounds onto the pavement, making it what Stellantis calls "the lightest passenger BEV in the segment." It's a refreshing change from larger electric SUVs and pickups that can weigh double that, though potential buyers may find its tiny size a detriment, safety-wise.FiatA big reason for that lack of heft is the relatively small 42 kWh battery pack that allows for a maximum 149 mile range. Considering the relatively slow maximum DC charging rate of 85 kW (giving you 80 percent range in 35 minutes), that means it's likely to be used mainly as a city runabout. On the plus side, the price of the Fiat 500e includes a Level 2 home charger from Fiat's Free2Move subsidiary (Fiat is part of Stellantis group which also owns Jeep, Chrysler, Citroen, etc.).With 117 horsepower and 162 pound feet of torque on tap, it goes from 0 to 60 MPH in 8.5 seconds - leisurely, but fine for a city runner. Users will no doubt focus more on preserving charge, so it offers three increasingly aggressive modes: Normal, Range and Sherpa.FiatThe interior is nicer than the plasticky one from the 500e sold back in 2019. So far, Fiat has only shown some concept interiors with crossover designs from Armani, Bulgari and Kartell, though it's not clear if those will actually be sold in the US. In any case, it does come with a 10.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, along with a wireless smartphone charging pad, 7-inch digital gauge display and more. One fun touch is that the low-speed exterior audio alert (required on all EVs), is custom classical music created by Italian composers.My first thought when I saw the $34,095 price tag was "hey that's the same price as the Volvo EX30!" which has 275 miles of range and a lot more room. It's also a lot more than Tesla's Model 3, which is $28,490 after US federal tax credits (it's not clear if the 500e will qualify for those credits, but it doesn't seem likely).However, Fiat is no doubt hoping to attract young or urban buyers with the adorable design and high-tech features. And instead of mass-marketing the car, it's using a strategy of "dropping" special versions at regular intervals and making them available for a limited time, according to Car and Driver. It's set to hit dealerships starting early next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tiny-fiat-500e-is-coming-to-the-us-in-early-2024-094754049.html?src=rss

With the Biden administration's continued attempt to limit Chinese battery components in US electric vehicles, Tesla has now announced that two of its models won't qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit as of January 1, 2024. As pointed out by our sister site TechCrunch, Tesla's website currently has a top banner claiming that tax credit "reductions likely for certain vehicles in 2024," urging customers to "take delivery by 12/31" in order to qualify for the full claim. A link in the banner toggles a message that specifies which two models are likely to be affected:

Rockstar has released the trailer of Grand Theft Auto VI, the next game in the blockbuster video game franchise a day earlier than expected. You can watch it here:It's been a decade since Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto V. While fans have been more than able to keep themselves busy with GTA Online and a few re-releases, they've been waiting patiently (or impatiently) for more single-player action. The wait's now much shorter as Rockstar has revealed the first official look at the game's debut trailer.As indicated by a recent teaser image and various rumors, GTA VI will be set in Leonida, Rockstar's take on Florida, and largely centered on Vice City, the series' stand in for Miami. Given that the trailer features a ton of Instagram-style live streaming, GTA VI seems to be a contemporary game, rather than one set in the '80s like 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.It also appears that the game will have a playable female character for the first time in the modern incarnation of the franchise, just as the rumors predicted. Other highlights of the trailer include Florida's swampy Everglades National Park, an airboat, some wildlife and, of course, a strip club.A major leak last year saw 90 videos of a GTA VI test build emerge online. The clips indicated that the game would mark a return to Vice City and that there'd be two playable characters.GTA VI will be released in 2025, 12 years after its predecessor, which is the second-best selling video game of all time after Microsoft's Minecraft.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rockstar-just-released-a-trailer-for-grand-theft-auto-vi-233306692.html?src=rss

Audio device leader Rode just acquired rival company Mackie, creating something of a pro audio and streaming powerhouse. Rode used to exclusively deal with pro-level audio devices, like condenser microphones, but has since turned its eye to the growing streaming market. To that end, products like Rode's PSA1+ boom arm have become fixtures with popular live streamers.Mackie has taken a similar route. The company made a name for itself during the home recording boom of the 1990s and early 2000s by offering affordable, yet highly functional, mixers, PA systems and related devices. Nowadays, the company has leaned into the streamer/creator space with consumer-grade streaming mixers and monitor controllers, though it still manufactures pro audio gear.It's no secret that the streaming space is more lucrative than pro audio. It's just simple math, as there are more content creators than serious audio engineers. The acquisition puts this new Rode/Mackie behemoth in a great place to compete with companies like Corsair's Elgato. The Elgato Stream Deck controller has been a massive success, quickly becoming a ubiquitous fixture for podcasters and live streamers alike.Rode has already made its own inroads in the space, thanks to products like the Rodecaster Pro series of mixing consoles and the Streamer X audio interface. Mackie has similar products, like the M-Caster line of podcast-adjacent mixers. The combined force of both companies could put a major dent in Elgato's armor and offer more competition to burgeoning rivals like Razer.As for pro audio, Rode/Mackie aren't giving up that space anytime soon. If anything, the merger makes them a bigger threat to companies like Shure and Tascam. Rode's parent company, Freedman Group, says that the merged entity will service up-and-coming content creators to professionals working in live production and everyone in-between."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio-giant-rode-acquires-rival-mackie-to-expand-its-focus-on-creators-220023691.html?src=rss

Sony's excellent WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale for their lowest price to date at Target and Amazon. Typically $400, you can grab the over-ear cans for an all-time low of $250. Given their supreme comfort, terrific audio and powerful active noise cancellation (ANC), this is a chance to delight the ears of a loved one (or yourself) this holiday season.The fifth generation of Sony's (awkwardly named) line of premium wireless headphones has an improved design, slimmer headband and a more modern look than the previous models. They feel better, too, as the redesign's weight distribution makes them feel substantially lighter and more comfortable than their predecessor despite being only slightly lighter.The M5 also has upgraded ANC from previous models, doing an even better job of tuning out your surroundings - especially handy for flights, public transportation or other busy environments. Sound quality is also improved, with the headphones' new 30mm carbon drivers providing punchier bass and more clarity to allow subtle details to shine. The headphones offer an estimated 30-hour battery life, conceivably enough to cover flights from New York to London and back again.The M5's $250 price isn't only an all-time low - it's about $80 below the headphones' previous low. The deal is scheduled to expire on Thursday, December 7, so you may want to act quickly if this deal tickles your fancy.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-down-to-an-all-time-low-of-250-214856209.html?src=rss

Meta will soon remove a feature that lets you chat with Facebook friends on Instagram. Starting mid-December, the company will disconnect the cross-platform integration, which it added in 2020. It didn't provide a reason for doing so, but, as 9to5Google speculates, avoiding regulatory consequences in the EU sounds like a logical motive.Announced in 2019, the optional cross-platform integration went live a year later, blurring the lines between two of the company's most popular services. Just like today you could talk to a Gmail account if you have a Yahoo account, these accounts will be able to talk to each other through the shared protocol that is Messenger," Messenger VP Loredena Crisan said at the time.Meta says once mid-December 2023" rolls around, you'll no longer be able to start new chats or calls with Facebook friends from Instagram. If you have any existing conversations with Facebook accounts on Instagram, they'll become read-only. In addition, Facebook accounts will no longer be able to see your activity status or view read receipts. Finally, any existing chats with Facebook accounts won't move to your inbox on either platform.The EU designed its landmark Digital Markets Act, passed in 2022, as a deterrent against platform holders from gaining monopoly power (or something close to it). If a company passes a revenue threshold and the European Commission deems the platform overly dominant, it can dole out a maximum penalty of 10 percent of its total global turnover from the previous year. Given the enforcement stick" this provides the governing body, perhaps Meta saw the writing on the wall and deemed the Instagram / Facebook cross-messaging feature not worth the risk.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-disconnecting-messenger-and-instagram-chat-later-this-month-205956880.html?src=rss

Last week, a team of researchers published a paper showing that it was able to get ChatGPT to inadvertently reveal bits of data including people's phone numbers, email addresses and dates of birth that it had been trained on by asking it to repeat words forever". Doing this now is a violation of ChatGPT's terms of service, according to a report in 404 Media and Engadget's own testing.This content may violate our content policy or terms of use", ChatGPT responded to Engadget's prompt to repeat the word hello" forever. If you believe this to be in error, please submit your feedback - your input will aid our research in this area."There's no language in OpenAI's content policy, however, that prohibits users from asking the service to repeat words forever, something that 404 Media notes. Under Terms of Use", OpenAI states that users may not use any automated or programmatic method to extract data or output from the Services" - but simply prompting the ChatGPT to repeat word forever is not automation or programmatic. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from Engadget.The chatbot's behavior has pulled back the curtain on the training data that modern AI services are powered by. Critics have accused companies like OpenAI of using enormous amounts of data available on the internet to build proprietary products like ChatGPT without consent from people who own this data and without compensating them.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chatgpt-says-that-asking-it-to-repeat-words-forever-is-a-violation-of-its-terms-202622018.html?src=rss

Verizon confirmed Monday it's offering a previously rumored bundle of Netflix and Max streaming subscriptions. The pairing of the rival services is the first of its kind, giving the wireless carrier's myPlan subscribers a 41 percent discount over buying the two ad-supported plans individually. The offer will be available starting on December 7.The bundle will include the ad-supported Netflix and Max plans for $10 monthly. Those tiers typically cost $6.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively, so customers who grab the deal could save $80 annually compared to what they'd pay directly from the service's websites. For Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, it's a chance to boost their subscribers and get more people hooked on exclusive series. Meanwhile, Verizon gets another incentive to lure customers from rival carriers.Only Verizon's myPlan customers are eligible for the $10 streaming bundle. The carrier offers myPlan in three tiers, starting at $75 monthly (single user) for Unlimited Welcome. The Unlimited Plus level pushes the one-line price to $90 monthly, while Unlimited Ultimate costs $100 monthly. All three tiers offer lower per-line prices the more users you have on your plan. You can check out Verizon's myPlan website for the full breakdown.Verizon has several other $10 streaming deals as myPlan add-ons. These include a Disney Bundle, which combines Disney+, Hulu with ads and ESPN+. It also offers an Apple One bundle, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and iCloud+. Variety notes that wireless carriers like Verizon typically pay a per-subscriber wholesale rate to the service providers, treating the costs as customer-acquisition overhead.In addition to myPlan enrollment, the offer requires you to be 18 or older to enroll. After choosing the add-on, you'll need to complete your account setup separately for each service.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/verizon-subscribers-can-get-netflix-and-max-for-10-a-month-200120804.html?src=rss

Back in August, TikTok teamed up with Ticketmaster to allow artists to sell tickets to live events directly through the social media app. The service, however, was exclusive to the US, until now. TikTok just announced the partnership with Ticketmaster now extends to more than 20 countries throughout North America and Europe, in addition to Australia and the UK.The tool only applies to artists officially certified by the platform, though TikTok says that amounts to more than 75,000 entertainers and event providers. The functionality is simple. The artist embeds a link to a relevant Ticketmaster event on a video. Users click a link on the bottom left of the screen and purchase a ticket, but we encourage would-be buyers to keep an eye on those hidden fees.Music is the primary motivator here, but you can snag tickets for comedy shows and sporting events, among other types of entertainment. TikTok boasts that the program has already supported successful ticketing campaigns for artists like Shania Twain, Burna Boy, The Kooks and many more, going on to say that there has been more than 2.5 billion views of videos that utilize the in-app ticketing feature since launch.The tool's available now for those living in newly-eligible countries, like Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and around 17 more. TikTok hasn't announced future availability for additional locations, but a spokesperson has stated that the company is very excited to see how the partnership with Ticketmaster will develop over time."Snapchat made a similar move last year, partnering with Ticketmaster to match users with nearby live concerts. However, TikTok's method is more streamlined and should allow for quicker access to tickets.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktoks-ticketmaster-integration-expands-to-users-outside-the-us-182324778.html?src=rss

Toyota said Monday it plans to expand its European lineup of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to six models by 2026. The automaker revealed two new concepts for its upcoming EV fleet, including a close-to-production" Urban SUV and a Sport Crossover scheduled for a 2025 European launch. Toyota, which Reuters notes is the world's largest automaker by sales, currently sells only one fully electric model, the bZ4X. It aims for 100 percent carbon neutrality by 2035.The company's two newly revealed concepts will join the bZ4X and a Compact SUV it showcased last year. Toyota's new Urban SUV concept is slated for a European launch in 2024. Its authentic SUV design" draws inspiration from the company's Yaris Cross, a top seller in its class. The Urban SUV concept will come in front-wheel and all-wheel-drive options and two battery tiers - a budget one and another with a longer range.Meanwhile, Toyota had less to say about its Sport Crossover concept. We know it has a sloping fastback profile, which the company will use to position it as a sleeker alternative to traditional SUVs. The automaker expects that concept to enter production in 2025.Toyota's Sport Crossover (left) and Urban SUV concepts.ToyotaToyota plans to launch next-generation batteries in 2026 and beyond. The first will focus on performance, offering a conventional structure with double the range and a 20 percent cheaper price tag than the bZ4X.A second battery will be a good quality, low-cost" one designed to spur EV adoption. It will have a new shape" with a bipolar structure, primarily using cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP). With this cell, Toyota aims for a 20 percent higher range and 40 percent lower cost than the bZ4X.A third battery will be strictly high-performance, using high nickel cathode and bipolar technologies. Even lower costs and a further extended driving range are expected" was all Toyota said about that battery's range and pricing goals.Finally, Toyota teased progress with its first solid-state batteries, which may still be three or four years away. We have made a technological breakthrough that overcomes the long-standing challenge of solid state battery durability," said Andrea Carlucci, vice president of Toyota Europe, in a press release. A method for mass production is currently being developed and we are striving for commercialisation in 2027-2028 with production capacity of several tens of thousands of vehicles." With its solid-state cells, the automaker's goal is a charging time of 10 to 80 percent in only 10 minutes.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/toyota-unveils-two-ev-crossover-concepts-arriving-by-2025-181138687.html?src=rss

Strava, the popular app for tracking activities like hikes and runs, is now taking another step toward becoming a bona fide social media network. Users could already follow each other and like each other's activities in a display of encouragement, but only now can they finally send each other messages in either direct one-on-one chats or in groups.Strava users can engage with the platform to send exact routes or activities to others, making it possible to do things like coordinate community runs on the app. Previously, athletes on Strava had to go off-platform to discuss meetup events on the app on other platforms like WhatsApp or Facebook.The chat settings feature can be managed so that a user can send or receive messages to and from mutuals or accounts already being followed. You can also elect to have no one be able to message you unless you initiate a chat. For group chats, creators can add or remove participants and grant members access to invite others or leave a conversation if they'd like. To further deepen the interactions, Strava is also including features like reacting to messages with gifs or likes.

Apple's AirTag is still the best bet for iPhone owners who want a Bluetooth tracker to keep tabs on their stuff, and right now a four-pack of the diminutive devices is on sale for $80 at Amazon with an on-page coupon. While that isn't the absolute lowest price we've seen, it's still about $10 less than the bundle's average street price in recent months and $19 less than buying from Apple directly. It also matches the price we saw at most retailers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales last month.We recommend the AirTag in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers because it taps into Apple's enormous Find My network to locate items accurately. You can place one in a wallet, suitcase, backpack or any other sensitive item; if that item is misplaced, nearby Apple devices with Bluetooth enabled will alert the Find My network when an AirTag is nearby, then Find My will report that location to you. Because there are hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Macs and other Apple devices out in the wild, the chances of pinpointing a lost item are usually high.Beyond that, the AirTag supports the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless protocol, which makes it easier to locate items from close distance. When you're in the vicinity of a lost item, this enables a Precision Finding feature, which displays an arrow and distance estimate on your iPhone to guide you an attached AirTag. The tracker itself is IP67-rated, so it can survive a dip in water, and its CR2032 battery is easily replaceable. By default, the battery should last about a year before it needs a change.It's important to note that AirTags are not explicitly designed for retrieving stolen items. They could work for that, but if your AirTag is found to be moving with somebody else, they'll receive an alert telling them as much. This kind of feature is meant to ward off bad actors who may use AirTags for stalking purposes, which various reports have found to be an unfortunate side effect of the tracker's effectiveness. (Though Apple and Google have gradually rolled out updates to further combat this behavior.) On a far less serious note, the AirTag also lacks a keyring hole or built-in adhesive, so you'll need to pick up an extra accessory to actually attach it to an item. All that said, if you use it for its intended purpose, a set of AirTags can provide a little extra peace of mind for those who often misplace their things, and this deal makes them a little more approachable.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-four-pack-of-apples-airtags-is-back-on-sale-for-80-162029687.html?src=rss

WhatsApp is currently rolling out a new update for iOS users that allows people to share photos and videos over the messaging platform in their original quality, with no compression. The platform has been notorious for low-quality media transfers, even after an August update that brought a bit of high-def goodness to its compression algorithm, so this is a welcome change.What's the secret sauce here? As previously indicated, these media files aren't compressed at all. Instead, the update treats media as standard data files. When you send one of these files, they aren't transformed into previews for the chat window, but the recipient can click to view. You'll still be able to send media the old-fashioned way, if losing the chat window preview thumbnails is a bridge too far.With that said, this change isn't automatic. You have to consciously decide to send an uncompressed image or video and click the +" icon to transfer a document. The rest is self-explanatory. WhatsApp says this is a tiered rollout, so it could be a couple of weeks before it reaches your update box. As for Android, the company's working on it, according to MacRumors, but there's no release information.This has been a big year for Meta's WhatsApp, as the messaging platform has been trying out all kinds of features. There was a dedicated Mac app back in August, with video calling capabilities for up to eight people, and a Windows client earlier in the year. It's even testing AI-generated stickers and self-destructing voice notes, so you can treat your request for a pint of ice cream like a Mission Impossible adventure.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-now-lets-you-share-photos-and-videos-in-their-original-quality-160750588.html?src=rss

Microsoft's Seeing AI app is available on Android devices for the first time starting today. You can download it from the Google Play Store. The aim of the free app is to help blind and low-vision folks understand more of the world around them with the assistance of their smartphone's cameras and AI-powered narration. Microsoft says the Android app uses the company's latest advances in generative AI and it has the same features as the iOS version. Given that there are more than 3 billion Android users around the world, the app could help improve the quality of life of many people.Seeing AI's latest features were built with the help of feedback from users. Microsoft says the app now offers more detailed descriptions of images. By default, Seeing AI will provide a brief summary of what a photo depicts. When a user taps the "more info" icon, the app will generate a far more in-depth description of the image. Move your finger over the screen and the app can tell you about the locations of various objects. Photos can be imported from other apps too.Another feature Microsoft recently rolled out following feedback from users is the ability to ask questions about a document. After scanning a document, you can ask Seeing AI questions about things such as menu items or the price of an item on a bill. You can also ask it to summarize an article you have scanned. The app provides the user with audio guidance on how to scan a printed page.Seeing AI offers users many other ways to find out about the world around them by pointing their camera at or taking a photo of something. For instance, the app will read out a short piece of text as soon as the camera picks it up. Seeing AI can scan barcodes and provide product information such as the name and details from packaging when available, which could be particularly useful when it comes to dealing with medication.In addition, the app can help identify people (and their facial expressions), currency, colors and brightness. It's also able to read handwritten text in some languages.Seeing AI is landing on Android on the International Day of People with Disabilities. The app is now available in 18 languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmal, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Microsoft plans to expand that number to 36 languages in 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-seeing-ai-app-for-low-vision-and-blind-users-comes-to-android-160052026.html?src=rss

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and AI startup Hugging Face collaborated to see the carbon footprint of all those whimsical AI images we've generated over the last few years. They discovered that creating an image using artificial intelligence uses the same energy as charging a smartphone. Generating text, whether a conversation with a chatbot or cleaning up an essay, predictably requires much less energy. The researchers examined 13 tasks, ranging from summarization to text classification, and measured the carbon dioxide produced per every 1,000 grams.The researchers urge machine learning scientists and practitioners to practice transparency regarding the nature and impacts of their models, to enable better understanding of their environmental impacts." Take ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot. It has upward of 10 million users per day and 100 million monthly active users. That's a lot of energy.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedKiss' final show ended with a performance by digital avatars made to immortalize the bandInside the arms race' between YouTube and ad blockersSci-fi RTS sequel Homeworld 3 will arrive on March 8 2024Tesla's Cybertruck is a dystopian fantasyThe iPhone's computational photography made this confusing imageYou can replicate it quite easily. But I'm not sure why you would.InstagramOne woman, writer-comedian Tessa Coates, stood in front of a mirror, but with three different arm positions. How? Well, it's likely she was moving at the instant the photo was taken, so the algorithm stitched the photo together from multiple images - exactly what the iPhone and other phones do to capture more information and synthesize better images. It appears the algo considered each figure a separate woman, capturing her at different points at different places in the image. But it's no blue-or-gold-dress conundrum, is it?Continue reading.The perennial Game Awards question: What does indie mean?Even if millions are spent.One title nominated for Best Independent at The Game Awards this year, Dave the Diver, was produced by Nexon, one of the largest video game studios in South Korea. Fans quickly pointed out the error and reignited the debate over what indie" means. Engadget's Jessica Conditt lays out her thoughts on the matter.Continue reading.A big Analogue Pocket restock is comingBut cart adapters are delayed again.AnalogueThe Analogue Pocket multi-system portable handheld console is an indie hit and has been sold out for weeks. Analogue just announced a major restock, with consoles available to buy on December 4 at 11AM ET. So... now. The company promises these orders will arrive in time for the holidays. However, this only applies to the original black and white designs - not those limited edition colorways.Continue reading. Google is reportedly pushing the launch of its Gemini AI to 2024Its GPT-4 rival was announced at I/O 2023.Google has canceled its Gemini launch events scheduled for next week and now plans to launch its GPT-4 competitor in January, according to The Information. The company teased Gemini at I/O 2023, touting it as a foundational model with impressive multimodal capabilities"The new AI is intended to handle various applications, combining data types, like images and text, for more advanced tasks. However, sources told The Information that Gemini was struggling with non-English queries, prompting CEO Sundar Pichai to delay its release.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-cost-of-generating-ai-images-121549213.html?src=rss

Google's Pixel Watch 2 just came out in October but we're already seeing the first substantial discount. You can pick up the WiFi model at Amazon for just $300, for a discount of 14 percent ($50) over the list price. And if you don't want to be encumbered by your smartphone, the LTE model is also on sale for $350, a 13 percent discount off the regular price.The Pixel Watch 2 has a longer-lasting battery, with a full 24 hours between charges even with the always-on display enabled, while the original model struggled to go a full day. Google has also doubled down on the Fitbit integration, with a new multi-path heart rate sensor that uses both photodiodes and LEDs to get better estimates of your pulse. Fitbit stress management features use various sensors to potentially identify tense moments in your day and suggests actions such as mood logging or guided breathing and walking sessions.New safety features include Safety Check which can alert friends, family or even emergency services if needed and Emergency Sharing lets your circle of people see your real-time whereabouts. Fall detection and Emergency SOS were already released earlier this year for the Pixel Watch but will come standard on the Pixel Watch 2. The housing is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum and the AMOLED screen is covered in 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Many fitness features like workouts and Daily Readiness Score live behind Fitbit's paywall, but the watch comes with six months of the subscription for free.The main downside is the crown that sticks out a bit too far and may pinch your wrist during certain activities. All told, though, it's a solid update over the original thanks to the extra features, lighter weight and improved design. $300 is a great price for an all-new smartwatch and would be a great compliment to a Pixel or other Android smartphone.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-pixel-watch-2-falls-to-a-new-low-of-300-102522276.html?src=rss

In a pre-holiday shocker, Spotify is laying off 17 percent of its workforce across the company, CEO Daniel Ek announced in a press release on Monday. The cuts are being made due to what Ek called "the challenges ahead" and he elected to make them immediately instead of doing smaller reductions over time. Affected employees will be notified later today, he added."I realize that for many, a reduction of this size will feel surprisingly large given the recent positive earnings report and our performance," Ek wrote. "We debated making smaller reductions throughout 2024 and 2025. Yet, considering the gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs, I decided that a substantial action to right-size our costs was the best option to accomplish our objectives. While I am convinced this is the right action for our company, I also understand it will be incredibly painful for our team."Ek went on to note that the company expanded considerably in 2020 and 2021 due to the lower cost of capital. "These investments generally worked, contributing to Spotify's increased output and the platform's robust growth this past year," he said. And despite reductions made last year - the company laid off 6 percent of its workforce early in 2023 and another 2 percent in May - "our cost structure for where we need to be is still too big," Ek said.Follow those rounds of layoffs, Spotify had around 9,000 employees, so the latest cuts will see around 1,500 employees losing their jobs (4,300 of those jobs were in the US as of 2022). To soften the blow, Ek said Spotify will pay an average of five months severance, cover healthcare during that time and provide immigration/career support.Ek said that for the company's next phase, "being lean is not just an option but a necessity." Last month, Spotify announced a revamped royalty model, which is supposed to give "working artists" a bigger cut, while reducing fraudulent streams.Spotify has seen consistent growth since it launch and now counts 574 million monthly active users, up 26 percent over the same period last year. The company has always struggled to make a profit, though with its last quarter being a rare exception. Ek promised more information about what the changes will mean "in the days and weeks ahead" - but all that will be cold comfort to employees suddenly finding themselves unemployed just before the holidays.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-laying-off-17-percent-of-employees-across-the-company-081521784.html?src=rss

Back in August, Meta unveiled its multimodal AI translation model, SeamlessM4T, which supports nearly 100 languages for text and 36 for speech. With an updated "v2" architecture, the tech giant is now expanding on this tool to make conversational translations more spontaneous and expressive - the latter a missing key to an authentic conversation across languages.The first of the two new features is "SeamlessExpressive" which, as you can tell by the name, ports your expressions over to your translated speech. These include your pitch, volume, emotional tone (excitement, sadness or whispers), speech rate and pauses. Considering how translated speeches had always sounded robotic until now, this breakthrough is potentially a game-changer - both in our daily lives and also in content production. Supported languages include English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Chinese, though the demo page is missing Italian and Chinese at the time of writing this article.The second feature is "SeamlessStreaming," which starts translating a speech while the speaker is still talking, thus allowing others to hear a translation faster. There's still a short latency of just under two seconds, but at least you won't have to wait until someone finishes a sentence. According to Meta, the challenge here is that different languages have different sentence structures, so it had to develop an algorithm dedicated to studying partial audio input, in order to decide whether there's enough context to start generating a translated output, or whether to keep listening.Meta's latest development on this "Seamless Communication" suite seems to be an impressive one - more so than the mobile interpreter tools offered by the likes of Google and Samsung. There's no word on when the public will be able to utilize these new features, but I can already imagine Meta baking them into its smart glasses some day, making them even more practical than ever.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-latest-ai-suite-makes-speech-translation-more-seamless-and-expressive-060043686.html?src=rss

Kiss' final live performance at Madison Square Garden in New York last night also turned out to be the first for the band's successors - four digital avatars that will play on in the real members' retirement from physical shows. Kiss concluded the last show of its The End of the Road" tour by introducing the new virtual band, which then performed God Gave Rock And Roll To You."The avatars weren't just straight replicas of the current band members - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer - but interpretations of them as fantasy-based superheroes," said Pophouse Entertainment, which partnered with George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic for their creation. And, it says that's just one of the many and varied ways in which Kiss will live on as digital performers through their avatars in the future." Industrial Light & Magic also created the digital avatars of ABBA (or ABBAtars) for the ongoing ABBA Voyage show in London.No specific plans for the virtual band have been announced just yet, but it wouldn't be surprising to see similar Kiss experiences pop up in the near future. Gene Simmons, who founded Kiss alongside Paul Stanley, said the move will keep the band forever young and forever iconic," while Stanley called it a way to see Kiss immortalized" and take the group to a completely different level beyond being just a music band."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/kiss-final-show-ended-with-a-performance-by-digital-avatars-made-to-immortalize-the-band-210024877.html?src=rss

Google has canceled its Gemini launch events scheduled for next week and now plans to launch its GPT-4 competitor in January, according to The Information. The company teased Gemini at I/O 2023, touting it then as a foundational model with impressive multimodal capabilities" early in its training.Google initially planned to debut it before the end of the year in an unusually timed launch between the holidays - which it didn't publicly announce - but sources told The Information that Gemini was struggling with non-English queries, prompting CEO Sundar Pichai to delay its release. Gemini is intended to be able to handle a broad range of applications, combining different types of data like images and text for more advanced tasks. In May, Google said, Once fine-tuned and rigorously tested for safety, Gemini will be available at various sizes and capabilities."Gemini is expected to bring improvements to Google's existing AI and AI-enhanced products too, like Bard, Google Assistant and Search. But, given the significance of this release and the dominance rival OpenAI already has in the space, it seems Google isn't going to risk rushing Gemini out the door.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-reportedly-pushing-the-launch-of-its-gemini-ai-to-2024-173444507.html?src=rss

Amazon announced on Friday that it's signed a contract with SpaceX to deliver batches of its Project Kuiper satellites to low Earth orbit in 2025. SpaceX is undoubtedly Amazon's biggest competitor as it breaks into the satellite internet space, and already has a constellation of over 4,000 Starlink satellites in operation. It's also a rival of Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos that has its own rockets in development. But when it comes to launches, SpaceX's pace and the reliability of its Falcon 9 rocket is unmatched.The contract with SpaceX is for three Falcon 9 launches, Amazon said in a blog post. They're expected to lift off in mid-2025. Amazon is planning to start customer pilots of its Project Kuiper satellite internet service by the end of next year, and will soon start deploying the fleet that will support it. It launched its first two prototype satellites in October. The company already has deals for upcoming launches on United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan rocket, Arianespace's Ariane 6 and Blue Origin's New Glenn - all of which have been hit by development delays and may or may not make their first flights between this year and next.Amazon said in its announcement that the additional launches with SpaceX offer even more capacity to support our deployment schedule." The company has said its Project Kuiper constellation will consist of 3,236 satellites, at least half of which must be in operation by summer 2026 to comply with its FCC license.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-swallowing-its-pride-to-ensure-its-internet-satellites-get-to-orbit-on-time-222906412.html?src=rss

An SEC filing has revealed more details on a data breach affecting 23andMe users that was disclosed earlier this fall. The company says its investigation found hackers were able to access the accounts of roughly 0.1 percent of its userbase, or about 14,000 of its 14 million total customers, TechCrunch notes. On top of that, the attackers were able to exploit 23andMe's opt-in DNA Relatives (DNAR) feature, which matches users with their genetic relatives, to access information about millions of other users. A 23andMe spokesperson told Engadget that hackers accessed the DNAR profiles of roughly 5.5 million customers this way, plus Family Tree profile information from 1.4 million DNA Relative participants.DNAR Profiles contain sensitive details including self-reported information like display names and locations, as well as shared DNA percentages for DNA Relatives matches, family names, predicted relationships and ancestry reports. Family Tree profiles contain display names and relationship labels, plus other information that a user may choose to add, including birth year and location. When the breach was first revealed in October, the company said its investigation found that no genetic testing results have been leaked."According to the new filing, the data generally included ancestry information, and, for a subset of those accounts, health-related information based upon the user's genetics." All of this was obtained through a credential-stuffing attack, in which hackers used login information from other, previously compromised websites to access those users' accounts on other sites. In doing this, the filing says, the threat actor also accessed a significant number of files containing profile information about other users' ancestry that such users chose to share when opting in to 23andMe's DNA Relatives feature and posted certain information online."Following the discovery of the breach, 23andMe instructed affected users to change their passwords and later rolled out two-factor authentication for all of its customers. In another update on Friday, 23andMe said it had completed the investigation and is notifying everyone who was affected. The company also wrote in the filing that it believes that the threat actor activity is contained," and is working to have the publicly-posted information taken down.Update, December 2 2023, 7:03PM ET: This story has been updated to include information provided by a 23andMe spokesperson on the scope of the breach and the number of DNA Relative participants affected.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/23andme-hackers-accessed-ancestry-information-from-thousands-of-customers-and-their-dna-relatives-205758731.html?src=rss

Amazon has released the first official teaser trailer for Fallout, its upcoming live-action series based on the best-selling video games. The clip gives us a look at Amazon's take on the post-apocalyptic wasteland, and Yellowjackets actor Ella Purnell emerging from Vault 33 to meet it for the first time. The series will be set in Los Angeles 200 years after a nuclear war brought Earth to ruins.The trailer arrives a few days after Amazon released stills from the show, now showing a deeper look at the characters and the horrors they'll encounter in the wastes. And it so far seems a promising indication of how the series will approach its well-loved source material.Starring alongside Purnell, Fallout also features Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as a breakout ghoul, Aaron Moten (Emancipation) as a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) as a vault overseer. There's also a dog named CX404, which we see in the video and in marketing materials toting around a severed hand. Fallout comes out on Prime Video on April 12 next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-just-dropped-the-first-teaser-trailer-for-its-fallout-series-182055521.html?src=rss

OpenAI is pushing the launch of its GPT Store to early 2024, according to an email seen by The Verge. The company introduced its GPT Builder tool in early November at its first developer conference, giving subscribers an easy way to create their own custom AI bots. At the time, OpenAI also said it would soon release the GPT Store for users to list their GPTs and potentially make money from them. It was initially slated for a November launch. But, with the surprise ouster of OpenAI's since-reinstated CEO Sam Altman, the month didn't quite pan out as planned.In terms of what's next, we are now planning to launch the GPT Store early next year," OpenAI said in its email to GPT Builder users on Friday. While we had expected to release it this month, a few things have been keeping us unexpectedly busy!" The email also notes that the company has been making improvements to GPTs based on users' feedback, and says some updates to ChatGPT are on the way.OpenAI has been in the process of reorganizing its leadership following the turmoil of the past few weeks. The company confirmed on Wednesday that Altman was back as CEO, with Mira Murati now in place as CTO and Greg Brockman as President. It also announced the formation of a new initial board, which includes representation from Microsoft - its biggest investor - as a non-voting observer.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openais-gpt-store-wont-be-released-until-2024-162113991.html?src=rss

Sorry to interrupt your Saturday, but did you somehow miss that Google made a geothermal energy plant in the middle of Nevada? You know, that place with all the water for turbines? Or the incredibly dumb way security researchers were able to pull private information from ChatGPT? This week's YouTube-coated version of TMA covers that and getting far too enthusiastic (or entirely non-plussed) about all these other things from this week in tech.This week:

Walmart has seen enough from X. The retailer, America's single biggest employer and largest company by revenue, told Reuters on Friday it's no longer advertising on the platform formerly known as Twitter. The departure follows owner Elon Musk amplifying antisemitic posts and flinging expletives at fleeing advertisers. We aren't advertising on X as we've found other platforms to better reach our customers," a Walmart spokesperson told Reuters.Walmart's exit adds to a growing list of companies that have pulled ads from the platform. Apple, Disney, IBM, Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery are among the businesses no longer buying ads on X. A group of advertisers told The New York Times on Thursday their temporary pauses will likely become permanent. There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform," Lou Paskalis, CEO of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory, told the paper.X's former advertisers had no shortage of reasons to jump ship. Musk's latest series of self-inflicted wounds began when the billionaire appeared to endorse and amplify a post falsely claiming Jewish communities were stoking hatred against white people. Musk replied to the user who spewed the racist Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, saying their comments reflected the actual truth."Michael M. Santiago via Getty ImagesWatchdog group Media Matters then published a report showing ads from well-known brands placed next to antisemitic content. X responded by suing the organization, accusing it of knowingly and maliciously [manufacturing] side-by-side images depicting advertisers' posts on X Corp.'s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white national fringe content."Musk's attempt to smooth things over only made things worse. After apologizing for amplifying the antisemitic content at The New York Times' DealBook event, he told advertisers backing off of the platform to Go fuck yourself." His company now potentially stands to lose $75 million.Walmart employs around 1.6 million people in the US. The retailer made $611 billion in revenue in the 2023 fiscal year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/walmart-says-its-no-longer-advertising-on-x-215940504.html?src=rss

The Game Awards got it wrong this year. One of the titles nominated for Best Independent Game, Dave the Diver, was produced by Nexon, one of the largest video game studios in South Korea. No matter how hard you squint, it is not indie. Dave the Diver is an excellent pixel-art game about deep-sea fishing and restaurant management, but it was commissioned and bankrolled by Nexon subsidiary Mintrocket, with billions of dollars and decades of experience at its back.When The Game Awards nominees were announced on November 13, fans were quick to point out the error, and the recurring debate over what indie" means was reignited. Taehwan Kim, Nexon's overseer of Mintrocket, weighed in on November 14, saying Dave the Diver may look like an indie, but it's not necessarily the case." The official tweet listing the nominees for Best Independent Game now carries a reader-generated context tag reading, Dave the Diver is not an indie game. Mintrocket, the game's developer, is a subsidiary of Korea's biggest game company Nexon. They are not independent in any sense of the word."NexonA discussion around the definition of indie" bubbled up throughout November, but it raised more questions than it answered. One common conclusion was that the media outlets who voted Dave the Diver into the independent category were fooled by its pixel art, a style that's associated with indie games. During a live Q&A on Twitch on November 26, The Game Awards organizer Geoff Keighley argued that independent" was a broad term with an unknowable definition, before essentially saying Dave the Diver's inclusion in the indie category was the jury's fault.Specifically, Keighley said the following: It's independent in spirit and [it's] a small game with a, I don't know what the budget is, but it's probably a relatively small-budget game. But it is from a larger entity, whereas there are other games on that list that are from much smaller studios. Even like Dredge I think is published by Team17, so is that independent or not because you have a publisher? It's a really complicated thing to figure out and come up with strict rules around it, so kinda we let people use their best judgment. And you can agree or disagree with the choices, but the fact that Dave the Diver was on that list meant that, out of all the independent games the jury looked at, or what they thought were independent games, that was one of the top five they looked at this year."The jury comprises 120 media outlets (Engadget has traditionally been one of these, but we did not participate in voting this year and look what happened), so Keighley is chalking the mistake up to mass hysteria and moving on. Meanwhile, there's still little consensus on what constitutes an indie game, at The Game Awards or elsewhere.NexonI've reported on video games for 13 years and indies are a central theme of my coverage. I ran The Joystiq Indie Pitch back in the day, and I've made a concerted effort to write about smaller games from creators working outside of the mainstream machine, because these are the experiences that speak to me personally. The indie scene is the source of the industry's magic. This isn't just a debate about language - indie" is a distinction that identifies which games and teams need outside support to survive and expand on their innovations. Understanding the label can help players make decisions about where to spend their money, the lifeblood of any game-development studio.All that to say, the debate over the definition of indie" is not new, but it is constantly changing, and it's something I've spent a lot of time contemplating. So, I'm here to offer guidance on the question of what makes an indie game or studio indie. It is a weirdly complicated topic and my approach is one of many, but the loose framework I use could help resolve some common, recurring arguments.Basically - it's all about the system, man.I'm joking, but also I'm not. Generally, when I'm trying to decide whether something is actually indie, I rotate through three questions:

Google's new generative AI experiment lets you create music inspired by" over 100 instruments worldwide. Instrument Playground starts by asking for a simple prompt containing a musical instrument's name, optionally preceded by an adjective like upbeat," strange" or gloomy." It will then spit out a 20-second audio clip as a starting point to compose (often extremely offbeat or abstract) music that may or may not include the sound of the specific instrument you entered.Simon Doury, an Artist in Residence at Google Arts & Culture Lab, designed the experiment. It taps into Google's MusicLM, a text-to-AI tool it made available to the public in May.Instrument Playground invites you to choose one of over 100 instruments from around the world you'd like to play," suggesting some lesser-known to Americans like the veena from India, dizi from China or mbria from Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, prefixing your instrument prompt with an adjective lets you suggest styles like moody," happy" or romantic."The experiment works less literally than you might expect. For example, angry tuba" doesn't generate the aggressive brass solo you'd expect. Instead, it sounds more like a synthesized pipe organ with tuba aspirations. Similarly, strange didgeridoo" came out like an ominous section of a Hans Zimmer score. The results seem like abstract compositions with layers of sound that (sort of) capture the feeling - more than the specific sound - of the prompt.It also rejects some adjectives for inexplicable reasons. When I enter quirky" or psychedelic," an error pop-up tells me it doesn't allow prompts referencing specific artists.Once the experiment generates a clip you like for a starting point, you can choose from Ambient," Beat" and Pitch" to control different aspects of the composition, turning it into something more uniquely yours. If you want to add more instruments (or whatever sounds it makes in response to instrument-based prompts), an advanced mode opens a sequencer to layer and loop up to four tracks for your oddball musical masterpiece. Finally, you can download a .wav file of your track once you're happy with it.Google included the following holiday-themed example to inspire you to get started. If that looks like something you want to play with, you can visit Instrument Playground and log in with your Google account to begin composing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-new-ai-experiment-composes-abstract-musical-clips-inspired-by-instruments-203732054.html?src=rss

A woman was photographed standing in front of two mirrors with an iPhone camera, but the actual photo shows three completely different arm positions. The arms are in different locations in mirror number one, mirror number two and in actual real life. Is it Photoshop? Is it a glitch in the Matrix? Did the woman take a 25-year trip inside of Twin Peak's black lodge? No, it's just a computational photography error, but it still makes for one heck of an image.

Meta is failing to stop vast networks of people using its platform to promote child abuse content, a new report in The Wall Street Journal says, citing numerous disturbing examples of child exploitation it uncovered on Facebook and Instagram. The report, which comes as Meta faces renewed pressure over its handling of children's safety, has prompted fresh scrutiny from European Union regulators.In the report, The Wall Street Journal detailed tests it conducted with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection showing how Meta's recommendations can suggest Facebook Groups, Instagram hashtags and other accounts that are used to promote and share child exploitation material. According to their tests, Meta was slow to respond to reports about such content, and its own algorithms often made it easier for people to connect with abuse content and others interested in it.For example, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection told the paper a network of Instagram accounts with as many as 10 million followers each has continued to livestream videos of child sex abuse months after it was reported to the company." In another disturbing example, Meta initially declined to take action on a user report about a public-facing Facebook Group called Incest." The group was eventually taken down, along with other similar communities.In a lengthy update on its website, Meta said that predators are determined criminals who test app, website and platform defenses," and that it had improved many of its internal systems to restrict potentially suspicious adults." The company said it had expanded the existing list of child safety related terms, phrases and emojis for our systems to find" and had employed machine learning to uncover new search terms that could be potentially exploited by child predators.The company said it's using technology to identify potentially suspicious adults" in order to prevent them from connecting with each other, including in Facebook Groups, and from seeing each other's content in recommendations. Meta also told The Wall Street Journal it has begun disabling individual accounts that score above a certain threshold of suspicious behavior."The social network is facing a growing backlash over its handling of child safety. The Wall Street Journal also recently reported that Instagram Reels recommendations are serving content aimed at people who might have a prurient interest in children." Dozens of states recently sued Meta for allegedly harming the mental health of its youngest users, and failing to keep children younger than 13 off its apps. Mark Zuckerberg will no doubt face intense questions about these allegations next month when he appears at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on child safety online. His counterparts from TikTok, Snap, X and Discord are also slated to testify.Meanwhile, Meta is also facing new pressure from regulators abroad. European Union officials are using a new law to probe the company's handling of child abuse material, following The Journal's report. The company has been given a December 22 deadline to turn over data to the bloc.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-apps-are-still-promoting-child-predation-content-report-finds-195357362.html?src=rss

The acclaimed Analogue Pocket multi-system portable handheld console is a bona fide hit. It's so popular, in fact, that it's been sold out for weeks. Have no fear, would-be purchasers. Analogue just announced a major restock. The consoles will be available to buy on December 4 at 11AM ET. The company promises that these orders will arrive in time for the holidays.This restock only applies to the original black and white designs, and not those nifty limited edition colors, most of which remain sold out. If you miss the window on December 4, the company is doing another restock on December 8 at 11AM ET, but those won't ship until February.Analogue also announced a new operating system for the console, set to arrive in the next few days. Analogue Pocket OS v.1.2 fixes a bunch of bugs, adds support for new controllers, updates the music-making app Nanoloop and allows for new openFGPA developer tools. That's just the first update. Analogue Pocket OS v2.0 arrives before the end of the month and gives third-party developers access to the original display modes, like the iconic Game Boy aesthetic, among other features. These updates follow last year's OS v1.1.It's not just the Pocket getting some love. The Analogue Duo is finally shipping on December 11, three years after the original announcement and over six months after pre-orders went live. The Duo is an all-in-one system that promises to play every TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine title, even Bonk's Adventure, a game that gave me no end of stress in childhood for obvious name-related reasons. The Duo plays both cartridges and compact discs. It'll even run games that originally required the Arcade RAM add-on included as part of the Japan-only SuperGrafx console. Again, Analogue promises deliveries by the holidays.The company's also selling a limited-edition white dock for the Pocket, which also goes on sale December 4. However, this freshly-hued dock is more expensive than the original black model, at $130 instead of $100.It's not all good news for fans of retro gaming. Analogue announced a delay for the Pocket Adapter Set until February. This set adds new consoles to the lineup, so the system will be able to play TurboGrafx-16 cartridges, Neo Geo Pocket Color cartridges and Atari Lynx carts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-big-analogue-pocket-restock-is-coming-but-cart-adapters-are-delayed-again-191423716.html?src=rss

Telegram has released a major update for its iOS and Android apps that includes an array of new and upgraded features. Since last year, Telegram Premium users have been able to get transcriptions of voice and video messages and now the platform is opening up that feature to everyone, albeit on a more limited basis. Free users will be able to convert two messages per week into text. Just hit the A icon on a voice message and you'll get a text version of the memo. Telegram notes that it's rolling out this feature gradually, so you may not have access to it right away.Elsewhere, Telegram is looking to improve channel discovery. Whenever you join a channel, you'll see a selection of similar public channels. Telegram is basing these recommendations on similarities in subscriber bases. You'll be able to view these recommendations at any time by going to a channel's profile.TelegramYou can now include a video comment or reaction with a story. You'll have the ability to resize this video message and move it around the screen. You can add a video message, a feature that takes a page out of the TikTok playbook, by holding down the camera icon in the story editor to capture a selfie clip. You can adjust the volume by holding a finger on the video track at the bottom of the screen.Reposting someone else's story is now a cinch too. Just tap the share button on a story, then you'll have the option to repost it. Only stories that have their visibility set to public can be reposted. You can add a video comment to reposted stories too.Elsewhere, Premium users can set up their profiles with unique color combos, everyone can apply custom wallpapers to each individual chat (Premium users can set the same wallpaper for both participants) and channel admins can customize the emoji that appear as reactions. In addition, any Telegram app can now detect a coding language in messages and highlight the syntax with proper formatting.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/telegram-now-offers-all-users-limited-transcriptions-of-voice-messages-185114448.html?src=rss

Researchers at the AI startup Hugging Face collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University and discovered that generating an image using artificial intelligence, whether it's to create stock images or realistic ID photos, has a carbon footprint equivalent to charging a smartphone. However, researchers discern that generating text, whether it be to create a conversation with a chatbot or clean up an essay, requires much less energy than generating photos. The researchers quantify that AI-generated text takes up as much energy as charging a smartphone to only 16 percent of a full charge.The study didn't just look into image and text generation by machine learning programs. The researchers examined a total of 13 tasks, ranging from summarization to text classification, and measured the amount of carbon dioxide produced per every 1000 grams. For the sake of keeping the study fair and the datasets diverse, the researchers said they ran the experiments on 88 different models using 30 datasets. For each task, the researchers ran 1,000 prompts while gathering the carbon code" to measure both the energy consumed and the carbon emitted during an exchange.Hugging Face/Carnegie Mellon The findings highlight that the most energy-intensive tasks are those that ask an AI model to generate new content, whether it be text generation, summarization, image captioning, or image generation. Image generation ranked highest in the amount of emissions it produced and text classification was classified as the least energy-intensive task.The researchers urge machine learning scientists and practitioners to practice transparency regarding the nature and impacts of their models, to enable better understanding of their environmental impacts." While the energy consumption associated with charging a smartphone per AI image generated may not seem dire, the volume of emissions can easily stack up when considering how popular and public AI models have become. Take ChatGPT for instance - the authors of the study point out that at its peak, OpenAI's chatbot had upward of 10 million users per day and 100 million monthly active users today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/researchers-quantify-the-carbon-footprint-of-generating-ai-images-173538174.html?src=rss

Cyber Monday may have come and gone, but quite a few of the deals are still live. We're also seeing new discounts and bundles pop up that weren't previously listed. If you didn't get everything you need during the frenzy of Black Friday sales, you can still save on Amazon Echos, Dyson vacs, Google Nests and Sony headphones. Amazon has the most deals remaining at the moment, but other retailers, including Sonos, Wellbots, Target and Walmart, still have some worthy sale prices too. There's no telling how long these leftover savings will last, so you may not want to wait much longer to shop. Here are the best Cyber Monday tech deals you can still get today.Amazon Echo DotThe Echo Dot is Amazon's most popular smart speaker and for Cyber Monday, it's down to $23. That matches the all-time low it hit for the last two Prime Days. The Dot is one of our favorite smart speakers because it has surprising volume and audio quality for its size. It's also a dead simple way to get Aexa's help around the house. It can set timers, tell you the weather and remind you about things on your to-do list. It's also a great to control your other smart home devices like smart plugs.Sony WH-1000XM5The Sony WH-1000XM5 is down to $328 at Amazon and B&H. That's a $72 drop from the MSRP and matches the low price it went for on Black Friday. This is the top pick in our guide to the best wireless headphones, and it earned a review score of 95 from us last May. We like the powerful noise cancelation and the comfortable fit. You can get up to 30 hours of listening on a charge and the app lets you customize the EQ levels. It also has useful features like Speak-to-Chat that automatically pauses your music when you start speaking and location-based settings that can, for example, enable ambient mode when you're in the office.Echo Pop with a smart bulbAmazon is bundling its smallest speaker, the Echo Pop, with a Sengled smart bulp. The set is down to $18, which is a 70 percent discount and matches the all-time low the bundle sold for on Black Friday. The colorful half-sphere is is a great candidate for a voice-operated smart home controller, and you can use it to operate the bulb just by speaking. Alexa can also tell you the weather and news, set reminders and even play some music, though the sound quality won't be as high as it would with a larger speaker. The bulb is an honorable mention in our guide to smart bulbs thanks to its easy, if slightly unpolished app, and the fact that it outputs millions of colors on any schedule you'd like.Apple Watch Series 9The new Apple Watch Series 9, which Apple lists at $399, is seeing a $70 discount that brings it to $329 after you clip the on-page coupon at Amazon. That's the same low price it hit for Black Friday, and an early discount for a wearable that debuted alongside the iPhone 15 only as far back as September. The big change this time around is a new SiP (system in package) chip that allows for a Double Tap feature that lets you tap your thumb and forefinger together to answer calls and more. It also allows for the onboard processing of Siri requests, making simple demands (like starting a timer or a workout) happen faster.Google Pixel Buds ProThe Google Pixel Buds Pro earbuds are just $120 from Wellbots when you use the code ENGBUDS80 that's a savings of $80, which puts the buds just $3 more than their all-time low. We called these earbuds the company's best effort to date in our official review, praising the deep and punchy bass, the useful touch controls, wireless charging options and more. And they're currently our top pick for Android users in our guide to the best wireless earbuds.Sonos RoamThe portable and waterproof Sonos Roam is 25 percent off and down to $134, which is the same as it went for during Black Friday. It's our top pick for a portable smart speaker. You can stick it anywhere inside or out and it'll deliver tunes and help from Alexa or the Google Assistant to control other devices, answer questions or kick off playlists. It works on Wi-Fi or via Bluetooth to play from your phone when you're away from home. And while the sound isn't as big as larger speakers, it still packs a surprising amount of bass and emits distinct highs.A few other Sonos speakers and bundles are still on sale too. That includes the Roam bundled with the Ray for $45 off. The Ray is one of the recommendations in our soundbar guide thanks to its easy setup, compact size and great sound quality.Blink doorbell and Outdoor camera bundlePrime members who would like some extra eyes on their property may want to check out Amazon's bundle of two Blink Outdoor 4 smart security cameras with a Blink video doorbell. It's down to $100 for the set, which is an impressive $215 off the full price of the three items bought separately. We saw a similar deal back in September, but it was for an earlier generation of the Outdoor cameras. The new fourth-generation model has improved image quality, better low-light sensitivity and an expanded field of vision. They run on two AA batteries so you can mount them just about anywhere and can run up to two years on a set. Both the cameras and doorbells let you hear and speak with whoever is outside. And the included Sync Module 2 lets you store clips locally.Samsung Pro Plus microSD cardIf you need a new microSD card for your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or GoPro, a trio of Samsung microSD cards we recommend are also down their lowest prices to date. The 128GB version of the Samsung Pro Plus is down to $11 at Amazon, B&H and others, while the 256GB and 512GB models are down to $18 and $32, respectively. The Pro Plus is the top overall pick in our microSD card buying guide, as it consistently ranked among the fastest cards we tested despite its relatively affordable price tag.Amazon Echo Show 5The Echo Show 5 is Amazon's smallest smart display and was completely refreshed back in May of this year. The processor and audio quality were improved, but the device is largely the same, acting as a screen-enabled bedside alarm clock or a handy kitchen display for recipe videos and the like. It's currently down to $40 which is $50 off and a discount it has hit twice in the past couple months.TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug MiniThe smart plug we recommend for most homes is TP-Link's Kasa Smart Plug mini. A four-pack is on sale for $35 which is about $3 more than it sold for during Amazon's October Prime day sale, but still a decent $15 savings. Plugs like these are a simple way to add some smart capabilities to any home, letting you turn on lights with just your voice, set automated schedules and create routines triggered by other activities. These would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone you know who's curious about smart home connectivity but hasn't yet taken the plunge.Logitech Litra Glow streaming lightLogitech's Litra Glow is our recommendation for a game streaming light and right now it's cheaper than it's ever been, thanks to an extra $10 coupon atop the 17 percent discount. The USB-powered light clips onto your monitor, near your webcam, to cast a soft glow without harsh shadows and helps you look better and more professional when you're on camera. It's highly adjustable too, giving you option for the brightness, warmth of the light, as well as the tilt and angle.TP-Link Deco EX75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh routerTP-Link's Deco EX75 mesh router system with two beacons is down to $220, which is $80 off, but about $20 more than it went for on Cyber Monday. But if you missed the big sale, it's still a decent savings on our top pick for a Wi-Fi 6 mesh router system. The two-pack should cover up to 5,500 square feet with stable connectivity. When we tested the three-pack, we were impressed by how well the system balances power with user friendliness. Its network is reliable and fast, and its companion app is easy to use and clearly shows you things like all of the devices connected to your network, current speeds and more.Google Nest HubGoogle's Nest Hub dropped to $50 for Cyber Monday, but has now gone back up to $60, which is still a 40 percent discount, at Target and Walmart. That's $20 higher than its all-time low. The Nest Hub is the top overall pick in our smart display buying guide, and we gave it a review score of 89 back in 2021. It has a 7-inch screen, so it's a bit bigger than the Echo Show 5 but should still be compact enough to fit neatly in a bedroom or small office. While it lacks a built-in camera, that may be a selling point for those who especially sensitive to their privacy (though no smart display is truly privacy-conscious).Bose Soundlink FlexBose's SoundLink Flex dropped down to $119 for Black Friday and the deal is still live at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and from Bose. The $119 price matches the low we saw for Amazon's Prime sale in October, though it's gone as low at $110 elsewhere. We recommend this portable speaker in our guide for the sub-$200 category. It delivers a good amount of bass for its size and is IP67 rated to handle the elements and even a splash when you're by the pool or at the beach next summer.Vitamix Explorian blenderThe Vitamix E310 is on sale for $289 at Amazon, Target and directly from Vitamix, and while that's not an all-time low, it's still a $60 discount on a particularly powerful blender. It's our favorite blender from our guide to kitchen tech because it goes beyond smoothie duty to create salsas, sauces, dips and even soups (which the blender can heat to steaming in the container due to shear friction). Anyone coming from a standard blender will be impressed with the way it renders even the hardest, chunkiest ingredients silky smooth.Solo Stove Cyber Monday dealsSolo Stove's Cyber Monday deals knocked up to $245 off fire pit bundles, up to $100 off fire pits by themselves and even more. And most of those deals are still live. One standout is the Ranger Backyard Bundle 2, which is $145 off and down to $320. It includes the company's most compact fire pit along with its accompanying shield, stand, lid and shelter. Everything you'd need for an easy setup right out of the box is included in this bundle, and the 2.0-version of the Ranger includes a removable base plate and ash pan, both of which make the fire pit much easier to clean.Audible Cyber Monday saleA Cyber Monday deal on Amazon's audiobook subscription service brings a Premium Plus membership down to just $6 per month for the first four months - that's more than half off the typical $15-per-month cost of access. Audible's Premium Plus subscription comes with one credit every month to purchase a new or best-selling title. It's a great digital gift to get friends or family if you're not going to see them in person this holiday season.ProtonVPN Cyber Monday dealOur favorite VPN service, ProtonVPN, is having a rare sale for Cyber Monday that brings a monthly subscription down to only $4 for a total of 30 months. That means you'll pay $120 for two and a half years of access, which is a pretty good deal. ProtonVPN passed our tests with high marks, but what made it stand out among other VPN security services was its independently audited no-logs policy, and the fact that the company has proven they don't comply with law enforcement requests to reveal data. If you want to jump in head-first with Proton services, the company has discounted Proton Unlimited, which includes access to VPN, Mail, Calendar, Drive and Pass, to just under $9 per month for the first year.Bose QuietComfort UltraThe latest flagship noise-cancelling headphones from Bose, the QuietComfort Ultra is seeing a $50 discount at Amazon, Walmart and Bose direct, among others. These headphones debuted last month and retail for $429 at full price. One of our concerns in our review was that higher MSRP, so this deal takes some of the sting out of the purchase. We found this pair to offer exceptional ANC, a comfortable fit and sound quality that has more bass plus "increased clarity and enhanced warmth" compared to previous generations of the QC cans.Dyson Cyber Monday dealsDyson deals include a $250 discount on the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, bringing the cordless vacuum down to $500. It's hard to tell if this is a record-low price, but considering the standard V15 Detect is going for between $650 and $750 across the internet, we consider this to be a good deal. In addition to its strong cleaning power, the V15 Detect has a laser-powered optic cleaner head that illuminates the floor before you as you're cleaning so you can see dust and grime more clearly. It also has a piezo sensor, which sizes and counts dust particles as you clean and shows you that information on its LCD display.iRobot Roomba 694The Roomba 694 went on sale for $159 on Cyber Monday and the deal is still live today. It's our current favorite budget robot vacuum thanks to its strong suction power, easy to use mobile app and handy spot-clean function. It doesn't come with a clean base, but it has Wi-Fi connectivity and voice control with Alexa.Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 robot vacuumThis Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum is on sale for $298, or half off its regular price. Shark makes some of our favorite robovacs, and this one has strong suction power, a self-cleaning brush roll and support for home mapping and voice control with Alexa and the Google Assistant. Shark's machines also stand out because their self-emptying bases, like the one included here, are bagless, so you don't have to constantly buy proprietary garbage bags to use with them.PS5 + Marvel's Spider-Man 2 bundleIf you or someone you love hasn't gotten their hands on a PS5 yet, this bundle pairs the $500 console with the new (and critically acclaimed) Spider-Man 2 game for no extra cost. The PS5 remains one of the best gaming consoles you can get right now, and we found the open-world game to be even better than its predecessor in our review. In it, you can swap between playing as Peter Parker and Miles Morales, and it includes expanded combat mechanics.Logitech G535The Logitech G535 is another honorable mention in our gaming headsets guide, one that should specifically appeal to those who want a wireless option for less than $100. If that's you, good news: It's available for just under $80 at Amazon, B&H and Best Buy, which is about $25 off its usual street price. The G535's noticeably light frame, relatively balanced sound and Bluetooth support all impress for the price; just note that it doesn't work with Xbox, and that its mic sounds a bit thinner than the wired headsets highlighted above. Its battery life clocks in at 30 to 35 hours per charge, which is decent but not great.Meta Quest 2 VR headsetThe Meta Quest 2 VR headset is $50 off and down to $249 at several retailers. Despite the launch of the impressive Quest 3, we still consider the Quest 2 to be one of the best VR headsets available right now - precisely because of its more affordable price. It's still the best way to jump into VR without spending a ton of money, and the Quest 2 has the perks of being completely cordless and comfortable to wear for long sessions. The hardware includes fast-switching LCDs with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, and it comes with Meta's sold motion controllers.Roku Streaming Stick 4KOur top recommendation in our streaming devices guide is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which is 40 percent off and down to $30 at Target and directly from Roku. That's about $5 more than it was last Cyber Monday, but still a decent savings on a dongle that will turn any screen into a smart TV, complete with Roku's intuitive interface and its simple universal search function. The Roku Express 4K is on sale for $25. It has a shorter Wi-Fi range, lacks support for Dolby Vision and has a different format (a small set-top box instead of a stick that hides behind your TV) but is otherwise pretty similar for $5 less.Fire TV Stick 4K MaxThe latest generation of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max was just announced in September during Amazon's Devices and Services event and it's now down to its lowest price yet, which is $40 and a 33 percent discount off the $60 list price. In addition to handling 4K video, it also supports Wi-Fi 6E and has a faster processor and bigger storage capacity compared to the previous generation. It'll also support Amazon's latest Fire TV feature, the Ambient Experience which displays art and shows widgets for weather, calendars, reminders and more when the TV is in standby.Apple MacBook Air M1The older 13-inch MacBook Air that was released in 2020 and uses Apple's M1 chip is on sale, with an entry-level config available for $750 if you click the on-page $99 coupon. We've seen this deal a handful of times over the last few months, but it matches the lowest price we've seen. It's really worth stepping up to the M2 Air if you can: It'll get you a more modern design, a faster chip, a sharper webcam and improved speakers. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD in this config is only suitable for casual use, and this model will almost certainly be discontinued when we get the inevitable M3 refresh. But if you're on a stricter budget and really want a MacBook, the M1 Air is still well-built, long-lasting and fast enough for the essentials. We currently highlight it in our guide to the best budget laptops.Samsung T9 SSDThe latest Samsung T9 portable SSD is on sale for $110 right now for a 1TB drive, which is the best price it's been since it came out last month. You can snag this deal from Amazon or Samsung directly. The T9 is the newest iteration of Samsung's popular portable drive that we've long been fans of, and it supports read and write speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s. It also has dynamic thermal guard to prevent overheating, plus it comes with a USB-C to C and USB-C to A cords so you can use it with a variety of devices.Apple AirTagA four-pack of Apple AirTags is $79 right now at Amazon, thanks to a 19 percent discount. They go for $29 each at full price, so the deal will save you $9 a pop. AirTags are our top picks for Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users as they tap into Apple's disturbingly vast FindMy network, using other Apple mobiles to find your lost stuff.Tile MateThe Tile Mate Bluetooth tracker is one of our recommended affordable gifts and now it's more affordable at just $16.50 instead of $25 at Amazon. It will keep tabs on your keys or anything else it's attached to, allowing you to ping and track items with your phone. It's supported by the Tile 360 Life app, which is far smaller than Apple's Find My network, but in our tests, it still managed to find our lost" item in around ten minutes of being marked as lost.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/all-the-best-cyber-monday-deals-that-are-still-live-on-amazon-right-now-164349983.html?src=rss

The just-released Apple MacBook Pro M3 is already on sale. You can snag the 14-inch model for $1,600 via Amazon. That's a savings of $200, or 11 percent for the math fanatics out there. Not bad for a laptop that launched just three weeks ago.Here are the pertinent specs. This model includes an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU and a 14.2-inch XDR display. You also get 8GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. These are average, if not spectacular, metrics, aside from that bountiful terabyte of storage. You can snag it in silver or Apple's proprietary Space Gray.If the power and screen are a bit lacking, Amazon has another MacBook Pro M3 on sale. This one has a 16.2-inch screen, a 12-core CPU and an 18-core GPU. That's a good amount of power. You also get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, with availability in black and gray. This model has been discounted to $2,300 from $2,500, another savings of $200.These are Apple's latest and greatest laptops. We admired the company's newest MacBook in our official review, calling out the fast and efficient M3 chipset and the gorgeous display. The screen won't beat a dedicated OLED, but it gets really close thanks to MiniLED backlights. We also liked the excellent keyboard and trackpad, and the overall form factor. These are, after all, MacBook Pros, the crown in Apple's laptop lineup.Remember, it's near-impossible to make internal changes to these laptops once purchased, so check and double check on your likely RAM and storage requirements. The base model ships with just 8GB of RAM, which could slow you down in the long run.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-macbook-pro-m3-is-on-sale-for-200-off-162051385.html?src=rss

Perplexing name aside, the Sony WH-1000XM5 is our favorite pair of wireless headphones for most people, and now the noise-canceling cans are back on sale for $328. This deal has popped up multiple times in the past year, most recently during the many Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales held over the course of November, but it still takes $72 off Sony's list price. While there've been a few steeper discounts since the headphones arrived in May 2022, we don't see them with much regularity. This offer is available at Amazon, Adorama and B&H; Sony also has it for $2 more.Engadget Senior News Editor and audio expert Billy Steele gave the WH-1000XM5 a score of 95 in his review last year. This pair's active noise cancellation (ANC) is still among the better options we've tested, and its lightweight, well-constructed design should be comfortable for most to wear over extended periods. Battery life sits at a decent 30 or so hours per charge, the built-in mics are perfectly solid for phone calls and the whole thing can connect to two devices at once. The default sound profile emphasizes the bass, so it'll work best with hip-hop and pop music, though you can rein that in to something more neutral if you're willing to use the EQ tools in Sony's app. That app is home to a few other useful bonus features as well, including "Speak to Chat," which automatically pauses whatever you're playing when you start speaking.The XM5 isn't without flaws: The design can't fold up (unlike the older Sony XM4s), and you can't manually adjust the strength of the ANC to the extent that you can on other pairs. Bose's QuietComfort Ultra delivers more powerful ANC on the whole, while Apple's AirPods Max can still offer more conveniences to iPhone owners. You can get better sound for the money, too. Taken as a complete package, however, the XM5 remains our top pick.If you want a pair of noise-canceling earphones, meanwhile, the Sony WF-1000XM5 has dropped back to $248. Again, that's a deal we've seen for much of the last month, but it matches the price we saw on Black Friday. The WF model tops our guide to the best wireless earbuds, as it provides most of the features noted above in an in-ear design that isolates a good chunk of outside noise even when the ANC isn't turned on.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-328-160516896.html?src=rss

The long-awaited sci-fi strategy sequel Homeworld 3 at last has a release date. It's now slated to arrive on March 8. That's another slight delay, given the February release window that developer Blackbird Interactive and publisher Gearbox were aiming for, but at least there's now a concrete date. Those who pick up the Fleet Command edition, meanwhile, will get access 72 hours earlier.In a short behind-the-scenes video, Blackbird CEO and co-founder Rob Cunningham said this was "really our original dream of Homeworld 2. The problem was, in the late '90s, early 2000s, the vision for Homeworld 3 was utterly impossible to make." Homeworld 2 debuted in 2003. Cunningham noted that Blackbird had to wait 20 years to achieve the kind of scale and scope it wanted.The team has revealed a few more details about what's in store. Players will have a choice between the classic Homeworld control scheme or a more modern setup that should be familiar to fans of other real-time strategy games or MOBAs - you'll just need to click on an element in the environment to get there. There's also a focus on cover-based tactics. You can use a larger ship to protect yourself or even flank enemies.

YouTube recently took dramatic action against anyone visiting its site with an ad blocker running - after a few pieces of content, it'll simply stop serving you videos. If you want to get past the wall, that ad blocker will (probably) need to be turned off; and if you want an ad-free experience, better cough up a couple bucks for a Premium subscription.Although this is an aggressive move that seemingly left ad blocking companies scrambling to respond, it didn't come out the blue - YouTube had been testing something similar for months. And even before this most recent clampdown, the Google-owned video service has been engaged in an ongoing conflict - a game of cat-and-mouse, an arms race, pick your metaphor - with ad-blocking software: YouTube rolls out new ways to serve ads to viewers with ad blockers, then ad blockers develop new strategies to circumvent those ad-serving measures.As noted in a blog post by the ad- and tracker-blocking company Ghostery, YouTube employs a wide variety of techniques to circumvent ad blockers, such as embedding an ad in the video itself (so the ad blocker can't distinguish between the two), or serving ads from the same domain as the video, fooling filters that have been set up to block ads served from third-party domains.It's not that YouTube is alone in these efforts; many digital publishers make similar attempts to stymie ad blockers. To some extent, YouTube's moves just get more attention because the service is so popular. As AdGuard CTO Andrey Meshkov put it in an email, Even when they run a test on a share of users... the number of affected people is very high."At the same time, according to Ghostery's director of product and engineering Krzysztof Modras, it's also true that as one of the world's largest publishers, YouTube constantly invests in circumventing ad blocking." And that those investments have been effective. Many of the most common ad blocking strategies, including DNS filtering (filtering for third-party domains), network filtering (which Modras described as more selective" and better at blocking first-party requests) and cosmetic filtering (which can blocks ads without leaving ad-shaped holes in the website content) no longer work on the site.Now, Modras said, YouTube seems to be adapting [its] methods more frequently than ever before. To counteract its changes to ad delivery and ad blocker detection, block lists have to be updated at minimum on a daily basis, and sometimes even more often. While all players in the space are innovating, some ad blockers are simply unable to keep up with these changes."Keeping pace with YouTube will likely become even more challenging next year, when Google's Chrome browser adopts the Manifest V3 standard, which significantly limits what extensions are allowed to do. Modras said that under Manifest V3, whenever an ad blocker wants to update its blocklist - again, something they may need to do multiple times a day - it will have to release a full update and undergo a review which can take anywhere between [a] few hours to even a few weeks."Through Manifest V3, Google will close the door for innovation in the ad blocking landscape and introduce another layer of gatekeeping that will slow down how ad blockers can react to new ads and online tracking methods," he said.For many users, the battle between YouTube and ad blockers has largely been invisible, or at least ignorable, until now. The new wall dramatically changes this dynamic, forcing users to adapt their behavior if they want to access YouTube videos at all. Still, the ad blocking companies suggest it's more of a policy change than a technical breakthrough - a sign of a new willingness on YouTube's part to risk alienating its users.It's not that YouTube's move is something new, many publishers went [down] this road already," Meshkov said. The difference is [the] scale of YouTube." That scale affects both the number of users impacted, as well as the number of resources required to maintain these defenses on the publisher's side. Going this road is very, very expensive, it requires constant maintenance," he added, "you basically need a team dedicated to this. There's just a handful of companies that can afford it."As ever, ad blockers are figuring out how to adapt, even if it's requiring more effort from their users, too. For example, Modras noted that throughout much of October, Ghostery experienced three to five times the typical number of both uninstalls and installs per day, as well as a 30 percent increase in downloads on Microsoft Edge, where our ad blocker was still working on YouTube for a period of time." All of this activity suggests that users are quickly cycling through different products and strategies to get around YouTube's anti-ad block efforts, then discarding them when they stop working.Meanwhile, uBlock Origin still seems to work on YouTube. But a detailed Reddit post outlining how to avoid tripping the platform's ad-block detection measures notes that because YouTube changes their detection scripts regularly," users may still encounter the site's pop-up warnings and anti-adblock wall in brief periods of time" between script changes (on the platform's end) or filter updates (on uBlock's side.) uBlock Origin may also stop working on Chrome next year thanks to the aforementioned Manifest V3. And if you're hoping to use it on a non-Chrome browser, Google has allegedly begun deprecating YouTube's load times on alternate browsers, seemingly as part of the anti-ad block effort. While 404 Media and Android Authority, which both reported on this issue, were not able to replicate these artificially slowed load times, users were seemingly able to avoid them through the use of a user-agent switcher," which disguises one browser (say, Firefox) as another (in this case, Chrome).Why do some ad blockers still work? The answer seems to boil down to a new approach: Scriptlet injection, which uses scripts to alter website behavior in a more fine-grained way. For example, Meshkov said an ad blocker could write a scriptlet to remove a cookie with a given name, or to stop the execution of JavaScript on a web page when it tries to access a page property with a given name.On YouTube, Modras said, scriptlets can alter the data being loaded before it's used by the page script. For example, a scriptlet might look for specific data identifiers and remove them, making this approach subtle enough" to block ads that have been mixed in with website functionality, without affecting the functionality.Scriptlet injection also plays a role in an increasingly crucial part of the ad blocker's job: escaping detection. AdGuard's Meshkov said this is something that teams like his are already working on, since they try escape detection as a general rule - both by avoiding activity that would alert a website to their presence, and by using scriptlets to prevent common fingerprinting functions that websites use to detect ad blockers.Scriptlet injection seems to be the most promising approach right now - in fact, Modras described it as currently the only reliable way of ad blocking on YouTube."Meshkov said that assessment is accurate if you limit yourself to browser extensions (which is how most popular ad blockers are distributed). But he pointed to network-level ad blockers and alternative YouTube clients, such as NewPipe, as other approaches that can work. A recent AdGuard blog post outlined additional other steps that users can try, such as checking for filter updates, making sure multiple ad blockers aren't installed and using a desktop ad-blocking app, which should be harder to detect than an extension. (AdGuard itself offers both network-level blocking and desktop apps.)At least one popular ad blocker, AdBlock Plus, won't be trying to get around YouTube's wall at all. Vergard Johnsen, chief product officer at AdBlock Plus developer eyeo, said he respects YouTube's decision to start a conversation" with users about how content gets monetized.Referencing the now independently run Acceptable Ads program (which eyeo created and participates in), Johnsen said, the vast majority of our users have really embraced the fact that there will be ads [...] we've made it clear we don't believe in circumvention."Similarly, a YouTube spokesperson reiterated that the platform's ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally" and that the use of ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service."As the battle between YouTube and ad blockers continues, Modras suggested that his side has at least one major advantage: They're open source and can draw on knowledge from the broader community.Scriptlet injection is already getting more powerful, and it's becoming harder for anti-ad blockers to detect," he said. In some ways, the current situation has spurred an arms race. YouTube has inadvertently improved ad blockers, as the new knowledge and techniques gained from innovating within the YouTube platform are also applicable to other ad and tracking systems."But even if most users grow frustrated with the new countermeasures and decide to whitelist YouTube in their ad block product of choice, Modras suggested that ad blockers can still affect the platform's bottom line: If users disable ad blocking on only YouTube and maintain their protection on other websites as they browse, the platform will quickly learn that they are still unable to effectively target ads to these users," since it won't have data about user activity on those other sites.Regardless of what YouTube does next, Meshkov suggested that other publishers are unlikely to build a similar wall, because few if any services enjoy the same chokehold on an entire media ecosystem - not only owning the most popular video sharing service, but also the most popular web browser on which to view it. "YouTube is in a unique position as it is de facto a monopoly," he said. "That's not true for most of the other publishers."Even against those odds, ad block diehards aren't dissuaded in their mission. As Meshkov put it bluntly: YouTube's policy is just a good motivation to do it better."Correction, December 1 2023, 10:09am ET: A quote in the penultimate paragraph was incorrectly attributed to Krzysztof Modras rather than Andrey Meshkov. This has been amended.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/inside-the-arms-race-between-youtube-and-ad-blockers-140031824.html?src=rss

If you've been meaning to pick up an Xbox Series X but weren't able to grab one on Black Friday, good news: Walmart has a bundle that pairs the powerful console with a digital copy of the action-RPG Diablo IV on sale for $349. That's the largest discount we've tracked and a full $151 off the Series X's normal going rate. The game, meanwhile, normally goes for $70. This price also tops the best deals we've seen for the device over the past week; on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the bundle mostly sat at $440.

NASA and IBM are building an AI model for weather and climate applications, combining their knowledge and skills in earth science and AI. They say the foundation model (more on that in a bit) should offer significant advantages over existing technology." Current AI models, such as GraphCast and FourCastNet, are already generating weather forecasts more quickly than traditional meteorological models. As IBM notes, those are AI emulators rather than foundation models. AI emulators can make weather predictions based on sets of training data, but they don't have applications beyond that.The model may predict meteorological phenomena better, inferring high-res information based on low-res data and identifying conditions conducive to everything from airplane turbulence to wildfires."- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedSteam's streaming software now lets you wirelessly play PC VR games on Quest headsetsBipartisan Senate bill would kill the TSA's Big Brother airport facial recognitionThe best Android phonesTesla's long-awaited Cybertruck will start at $60,990 before rebatesYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Evernote officially limits free users to 50 notes and one measly notebookWe recognize these changes may lead you to reconsider your relationship with Evernote.'EvernoteEvernote's new, tightly leashed plan will restrict new and current accounts to 50 notes and one notebook. Existing free customers who exceed those limits can still use their notes, but they'll need to upgrade to a paid plan to create new ones. Evernote's premium plans include a $15 monthly Personal plan with 10GB of monthly uploads. That's a pricey subscription for what is dedicated note cloud storage. When Evernote's parent company, Bending Spoons, moved its operations from the US and Chile to Europe, it said the app had been unprofitable for years." That push into socks didn't work.Continue reading.The US government halts Meta briefings on foreign influence campaignsOfficials have paused" tips to Meta.Meta says the government paused" in July briefings related to foreign election interference, eliminating a key source of information for the company. During a call with reporters, Meta's head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, declined to speculate on the government's motivations, but the timing lines up with a court order earlier this year that restricted the Biden Administration's contact with social media firms.The disclosure comes as the company ramps up its efforts to prepare for multiple elections in 2024, and the inevitable attempts to manipulate political conversations on Facebook. The company said in its latest report on CIB that China is now the third-most common source of coordinated inauthentic behavior on its platform, behind Russia and Iran.Continue reading.Google Messages now lets you choose your own chat bubble colorsBut this has nothing to do with messaging iPhones and all that drama.Google is rolling out a string of updates for the Messages app, including customizable text bubbles and background colors. So, if you really want, you can have blue bubbles in your Android messaging app. You can even have a different color for each chat, which could help prevent you from telling the wrong thing to the wrong person. But none of this means nothing to iPhone users and has nothing to do with the prolonged toing and froing on text message compatibility.Continue reading.How OpenAI's ChatGPT has changed the world in just a yearThe generative AI chatbot has helped kickstart a multibillion-dollar industry.SOPA Images via Getty ImagesChatGPT exploded in popularity, from niche online curio to 100 million monthly active users - the fastest user base growth in the history of the internet. In less than a year, it has earned the backing of Silicon Valley's biggest firms, as well as being shoehorned into myriad applications from academia and the arts to marketing, medicine, gaming and government. ChatGPT is just about everywhere. Engadget's Andrew Tarantola looks at the blazing first year of OpenAI's chatbot.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-nasa-and-ibm-team-up-for-powerful-ai-weather-model-121532358.html?src=rss

If you recently moved into a new place or are just looking to update your home's security, now's a good time to do so. Though Black Friday has come and gone, Blink's video doorbell and two fourth-generation outdoor smart security cameras bundle is currently on sale for $100 (the devices add up to $315 if bought separately). There's a small catch, though: the deal is only available to Prime members.While Prime members had access to a similar deal back in September, this time around, the two Blink outdoor cameras included are the fourth-generation model. The cameras offer better image quality and low-light sensitivity. They also have an expanded field of vision, 143 degrees compared to their predecessor's 110 degrees. The cameras should function for two years before the battery needs replacing. The bundle includes six double AA lithium batteries, along with one Sync Module 2, one USB cable, three mounting kits and a power adapter.Blink's outdoor camera and video doorbell both allow you to hear and speak with whoever is outside. You can also use the doorbell wirelessly by setting up in-app chimes or with a Blink Mini indoor camera. Otherwise, you can choose to hook it up to your existing system. You can store any clips from these devices in the cloud with a 30-day trial of the Blink Subscription Plan included. After that, Blink Plus will cost you $100 annually.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/prime-members-can-buy-a-blink-video-doorbell-and-two-outdoor-cameras-for-100-103504782.html?src=rss

We've seen Huawei's surprising strides with its recent smartphones - especially the in-house 7nm 5G processor within, but apparently the company has been working on something far more significant to bypass the US import ban. According to a new Bloomberg investigation, a Shenzhen city government investment fund created in 2019 has been helping Huawei build "a self-sufficient chip network."Such a network would give the tech giant access to enterprises - most notably, the three subsidiaries under a firm called SiCarrier - that are key to developing lithography machines. Lithography, especially the high-end extreme ultraviolet flavor, would usually have to be imported into China, but it's currently restricted by US, Netherlands and Japan sanctions. Huawei apparently went as far as transferring "about a dozen patents to SiCarrier," as well as letting SiCarrier's elite engineers work directly on its sites, which suggests the two firms have a close symbiotic relationship.Bloomberg's source claims that Huawei has hired several former employees of Dutch lithography specialist, ASML, to work on this breakthrough. The result so far is allegedly the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S processor fabricated locally by SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), which is said to be about five years behind the leading competition (say, Apple Silicon's 3nm process) - as opposed to an eight-year gap intended by the Biden administration's export ban.Huawei's Mate 60, Mate 60 Pro, Mate 60 Pro+ and Mate X5 foldable all feature this HiSilicon chip, as well as other Chinese components like display panels (BOE), camera modules (OFILM) and batteries (Sunwoda). Huawei having its own network of local enterprises would eventually allow it to rely less on imported components, and potentially even become the halo of the Chinese chip industry - especially in the age of electric vehicles and AI, where more chips are needed than ever (as much as NVIDIA would like to deal with China). That said, Huawei apparently denied that it had been receiving government help to achieve this goal.Given Huawei's seeming progress, and the fact that China has been pumping billions into its chip industry, the US government will just have to try harder.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/huawei-is-allegedly-building-a-self-sufficient-chip-network-using-state-investment-fund-051823202.html?src=rss

Montana's unprecedented state-wide ban of Chinese short-video app, TikTok, was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2024, but as reported by Reuters, US District Judge Donald Molloy issued a preliminary injunction just one month ahead to block said ban. This means that for now, ByteDance and app stores are allowed to continue serving TikTok to users within the Montana state, without being fined $10,000 daily from the start date of the ban.The judge was quoted saying the ban "oversteps state power and infringes on the constitutional rights of users" - echoing the legal challenge filed by five TikTok creators on the day after the bill was signed back in May, as well as another lawsuit filed by the platform's owner, ByteDance, later on in the same month. It was also questionable as to whether Google and Apple could have effectively enforced such a state-wide ban on their app stores.The relevant bill was originally drafted based on claims that this Chinese app would share US users' personal data with the Chinese government, to which ByteDance had long denied since the presidency of Donald Trump. "TikTok US user data is stored in the US, with strict controls on employee access," the company claimed back in August 2020 - and again via a new "transparency" push earlier this year, with reference to "Project Texas" for safeguarding US user data with help from Oracle.To date, no other US state had passed a bill to bar TikTok. The outcome of Montana's case may hold the key to this Chinese app's fate across the rest of the country.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-ban-in-montana-blocked-by-us-judge-over-free-speech-rights-011846138.html?src=rss

It's been four years since Tesla first announced the Cybertruck, a hideously ugly electric pickup truck that didn't seem to actually improve on EVs or pickups in any meaningful way. Instead, the 6,600-pound mass of stainless super steel" seems to be more the culmination of one man's bizarre fantasy, and that man just so happened to own an entire company he could leverage to birth that fantasy, with all its sharp angles and unnecessary lighting bars, into reality.Today, Tesla finally delivered the first, long-delayed production Cybertrucks to 10 buyers in a livestream on CEO Elon Musk's decimated X platform, the first of an unknown number of wealthy consumers who have bought into his grim vision of the future. It's a car that promises - for only those who can afford them - a blank check for vehicular manslaughter and unnecessary survivability from semi-automatic firearms. Its tagline ("more utility than a truck, faster than a sports car") speaks almost poetically to two distinct but orthogonal archetypes of threatened masculinity: the tacti-cool milspec dork, and the showboating rich guy.A bulletproof" body has been a key feature since the Cybertruck's introduction in 2019; today Musk admitted it was there for no good reason. Why did you make it bulletproof?" Musk said. Why not?" he said with a broad grin, before metaphorically waving his genitals at the cheering crowd, while also promising metaphorically larger genitals to anyone who buys the Cybertruck. How tough is your truck?" Musk smirked.This admission came alongside video footage of a Cybertruck being sprayed with rounds from a .45 caliber tommy gun, a Glock 9mm and a MP5-SD submachine gun, which also uses 9mm rounds. We'd ask Tesla what cartridges they were firing and if they were being shot from within the effective range of any of these weapons, but the company dissolved its PR team in 2019.It was a stupid but expected bit of showboating from Musk during his rambling presentation. Right before the gunfire demo, Musk touted the truck's overall toughness, noting that its low center of gravity made it extremely difficult to flip in an accident. A video also showed the Cybertruck barely moving after a much smaller vehicle moving at 38 mph collided with it. To that, Musk commented that if you're ever in an argument with another car, you will win," glibly encouraging Cybertruck owners to engage in such "arguments."In a country where both traffic fatalities and gun violence have surged in recent years, it's a little galling to see Musk promoting his vehicle as some sort of tool for rich people to survive the apocalypse, or even just the inconveniences of a world where their lessers occupy space at all. (All-wheel drive Cybertrucks start at about $80,000; a $60,000 RWD model is supposedly arriving in 2025.) Sometimes you get these late civilization vibes, the apocalypse could come along at any moment, and here at Tesla we have the finest apocalypse technology," Musk mused.Beyond that is the simple fact that SUVs and trucks have gotten dramatically bigger and heavier in the past decade or so. EVs naturally weigh more because of their batteries, but auto manufacturers have been making the fronts of cars larger and taller in recent years, too. That's a combo that makes these vehicles more dangerous for pedestrians and other drivers alike.Whatever their nose shape, pickups, SUVs and vans with a hood height greater than 40 inches are about 45 percent more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with a hood height of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile," research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states. It also noted that pedestrian crash deaths have risen 80 percent since a low in 2009. Anyone who walks or bikes around a city has probably felt that danger before, and it's even more startling when the wall of a truck stops short when you're crossing the street. Finally, it's well known that the speed of a car dramatically impacts the survivability of a pedestrian, which isn't great when an extremely heavy car also can do 0-60 in less than three seconds.Now that the Cybertruck is nearly ready for public consumption, it looks like Musk has basically built a vehicle that, for a steep price, enables the worst impulses of US drivers and gives them the freedom" to do whatever they want. It doesn't matter if the Cybertruck's lightbar headlights blind the drivers of smaller vehicles; they should get the hell out of the left lane. And if someone else on the road pisses off a Cybertruck driver, who cares? Other drivers should just accept that they're about to lose a very expensive and potentially life-threatening argument" with the Cybertruck's front fender.This all should have been obvious right from the start. From day one, the Cybertruck has alluded to a cyberpunk future, a genre with cool haircuts and hacking and slightly problematic orientalism, yes - but also one where wealth inequality is even worse than it currently is, and the rules don't apply to those with money. The implicit promise of the Cybertruck has always been a vehicle that waives societal standards for people who can afford it, and today's spectacle made that explicit. To that end, maybe this marketing is as much genius as it is nonsense.If Al Capone showed up with a Tommy gun and emptied the entire magazine into the car door, you'd still be alive," Musk crowed at one point, either promising to revive the dead or oblivious to the terrifying number of human beings who use guns to commit acts of violence. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a world where being swiss cheesed by lethal armaments is something I need to consider when I'm buying a car. Maybe the rich survivalists playing out Blade Runner meets Mad Max in their Cybertrucks haven't considered that when everything burns down, the power grid will go down too.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-cybertruck-is-a-dystopian-masturbatory-fantasy-225648188.html?src=rss

Apple pushed updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS software today to patch two zero-day security vulnerabilities. The company suggested the bugs had been actively deployed in the wild. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.7.1," the company wrote about both flaws in its security reports. Software updates plugging the holes are now available for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.Researcher Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) is credited with discovering and reporting both exploits. As Bleeping Computer notes, the team at Google TAG often finds and exposes zero-day bugs against high-risk individuals, like politicians, journalists and dissidents. Apple didn't reveal specifics about the nature of any attacks using the flaws.The two security flaws affected WebKit, Apple's open-source browser framework powering Safari. In Apple's description of the first bug, it said, Processing web content may disclose sensitive information." In the second, it wrote, Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution."The security patches cover the iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2nd generation and later, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 6th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later."The odds your devices were affected by either of these are extremely minimal, so there's no need to panic - but, to be safe, it would be wise to update your Apple gear now. You can update your iPhone or iPad immediately by heading to Settings > General > Software Update and tapping the prompt to initiate it. On Mac, go to System Settings > General > Software Update and do the same. Apple's fixes arrived today in iOS 17.1.2, iPadOS 17.1.2 and macOS Sonoma 14.1.2.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-patches-two-security-vulnerabilities-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac-215854473.html?src=rss

After years of production delays, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to a dimly-lit stage on Thursday to hand-deliver the first batch of Cybertruck EVs to their new owners during a delivery event held at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. The company has also, finally, announced pricing for the luxury electric truck. Prospective buyers can expect to pay anywhere from $60,990 to $100,000 MSRP (and potentially $11,000 less after rebates and tax credits). The company has launched an online configurator tool for those interested in placing an order of their own.

TikTok has introduced the Artist Account, which offers up-and-coming musicians new ways to curate their profiles in ways that boost discoverability. The new suite of tools are not just meant for rising stars: established pop icons can also add an artist tag to their profiles, giving their music its own tab next to their videos, likes and reposted content.To be eligible for an artist tag, TikTok says you will need at least four sounds or songs uploaded to the app. Artists can also pin one of their tunes so it appears first in the music tab. If a musician drops new content, the app will tag songs as new' for up to 14 days before and up to 30 days after it goes live. Any new tracks will automatically be added to a profile's music tab.TikTok says over 70,000 artists are already using the new tools. The app has proven to be a breeding ground for content to go viral for new artists and established music makers alike thanks to the lightning speed of dance and lifestyle video trends. TikTok's impact on the music industry has been so massive that even streamers like Spotify have looked into experimenting with video-first music discovery feeds.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktoks-new-profile-tools-are-just-for-musicians-201723244.html?src=rss