Despite the US ethos that you'll be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, law enforcement finding an excuse to search your digital devices only requires a presumption of wrongdoing. The tech to do this already exists, and murky legislation lets it happen, speakers from the Legal Aid Society said at DEF CON last Friday.Technically and legally there's not much really truly blocking the government from getting the information they want if they want it," Allison Young, digital forensics analyst at The Legal Aid Society, told Engadget. It's easy, too. Without picking up any new skills or tools, Young was able to use her existing expertise in the field and access to forensics tools to find sensitive data that could be used to, for example, prosecute someone being targeted for getting an abortion as it becomes increasingly illegal across the country.The problem isn't just the state of local law either, but it's embedded in the Constitution. As Diane Akerman, digital forensics attorney at the Legal Aid Society explained, the Fourth Amendment hasn't been updated to account for modern problems like digital data. The Fourth Amendment intends to protect people from unreasonable searches and seizures" by the US government. This is where we get legal protections like warrants, where law enforcement needs court approval to look for evidence in your home, car or elsewhere.Today, that includes your digital belongings too, from your phone to the cloud and beyond, making way for legal loopholes as tech advancements outpace the law. For example, there's no way to challenge a search warrant prior to it being executed, Akerman said. For physical evidence that makes some sense because we don't want someone flushing evidence down a toilet.That's not how your social media accounts or data in the cloud work though, because those digital records are much harder to scrub. So, law enforcement can get a warrant to search your device, and there's no process to litigate in advance whether the warrant is appropriate. Even if there's reason for the warrant, Akerman and Young showed that officers can use intentionally vague language to search your entire cell phone when they know the evidence may only be in one account.You litigate the issues once they already have the data, which means cat is out of the bag a lot of the time and even if it's suppressed in court, there's still other ways it can be used in court," Akerman said. There's no oversight for the way the government is executing warrants on digital devices."The issue only exacerbates across the third-party apps you use. As of right now, the protections of the Fourth Amendment have not been extended to all cloud data and other digital data, Akerman said. The government can often very easily get information from the cloud because of that, even if it's not entirely relevant to the case. You would be furious if police busted down your door and copied five years of texts for you walking out on a parking ticket five years ago, it's just not proportional," Young said.There are no easy ways for an individual to better protect themselves from these searches. On a case by case basis, there are ways to lock down your device, but that changes with every update or new feature, Young said. Instead, both speakers pushed to put the onus back on the systems and structures that uphold this law, not the individuals affected by it.I live in a world where I have to opt out of modern society to not have other people housing my data in some way," Akerman said. The question really should be like, what responsibility do those people have to us, since they have made us into their profit, rather than forcing me to opt out in order to protect myself?"This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/government-warrant-search-phone-cloud-fourth-amendment-legal-191533735.html?src=rss
It appears that Elon Musk is, once again, punishing websites run by his perceived enemies. The website formerly known as Twitter seems to be interfering with links to The New York Times, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Substack to make them load noticeably slower.Clicking links to those websites from within X causes a significant delay in loading the web pages compared with navigating to the links from another browser or website. The delay, which seems to be about 5 seconds, was noticed by users on the Hacker News forum and later reported byThe Washington Post.It appears to be widespread and only affecting a handful of high-profile websites that Musk has publicly attacked in the past. The user who first reported the issues on Hacker News estimated the inexplicable delay first cropped up on August 4th, noting that it's so consistent it's obviously deliberate." That's the same day Musk called the paper a "racial genocide apologist" in response to its reporting on South Africa.For now, it's unclear if there is a cause for the delay other than Musk's personal grievances with these companies. But the lag only seems to be affecting websites that Musk has previously retaliated against. He previously blocked links to Substack, Mastodon, Threads and other competitors. Musk has also publicly attackedThe Times, revoking the publication's verified status shortly before the rollout of Twitter Blue (now called X Premium). The owner of X is also currently feuding with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over his launch of Twitter competitor, Threads.In a statement, a spokesperson for The New York Times said the publication was aware of reports about the delay and had "made similar observations" of their own. "We have not received any explanation from the platform about this move," the spokesperson said. "While we don't know the rationale behind the application of this time delay, we would be concerned by targeted pressure applied to any news organization for unclear reasons."Substack founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi also criticized the move. "Substack was created in direct response to this kind of behavior by social media companies," they wrote in a statement. "Writers cannot build sustainable businesses if their connection to their audience depends on unreliable platforms that have proven they are willing to make changes that are hostile to the people who use them. While we hope that Twitter will reverse its decision to institute a delay on Substack links, our focus is on building Substack."As usual, X didn't respond to a request for comment. The company has largely stopped replying to press inquiries since Elon Musk fired its communications staff shortly after taking over the company.Update, August 15th, 2023, 1 pm PT: This story has been updated to include responses from The New York Times and Substack.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-is-slowing-down-links-to-websites-elon-musk-has-publicly-feuded-with-185544463.html?src=rss
Content moderation has been one of the thorniest issues on the internet for decades. It's a difficult subject matter for anyone to tackle, considering the subjectivity that goes hand-in-hand with figuring out what content should be permissible on a given platform. ChatGPT maker OpenAI thinks it can help and it has been putting GPT-4's content moderation skills to the test. It's using the large multimodal model "to build a content moderation system that is scalable, consistent and customizable."The company wrote in a blog post that GPT-4 can not only help make content moderation decisions, but aid in developing policies and swiftly iterating on policy changes, "reducing the cycle from months to hours." It claims the model can parse the various regulations and nuances in content policies and instantly adapt to any updates. This, OpenAI claims, results in more consistent labeling of content."We believe this offers a more positive vision of the future of digital platforms, where AI can help moderate online traffic according to platform-specific policy and relieve the mental burden of a large number of human moderators, " OpenAI's Lilian Weng, Vik Goel and Andrea Vallone wrote. "Anyone with OpenAI API access can implement this approach to create their own AI-assisted moderation system." OpenAI claims GPT-4 moderation tools can help companies carry out around six months of work in about a day.It's been well-documented that manually reviewing traumatic content can have a significant impact on human moderators' mental health, particularly when it comes to graphic material. In 2020, Meta agreed to pay more than 11,000 moderators at least $1,000 each in compensation for mental health issues that may have stemmed from reviewing material that was posted on Facebook.Using AI to lift some of the burden from human reviewers could be greatly beneficial. Meta, for one, has been employing AI to help moderators for several years. Yet OpenAI says that, until now, human moderators have received help from "smaller vertical-specific machine learning models. The process is inherently slow and can lead to mental stress on human moderators."AI models are far from perfect. Major companies have long been using AI in their moderation processes and, with or without the aid of the technology, still get big content decisions wrong. It remains to be seen whether OpenAI's system can avoid many of the major moderation traps we've seen other companies fall into over the years.In any case, OpenAI agrees that humans still need to be involved in the process. We've continued to have human review to verify some of the model judgements," Vallone, who works on OpenAI's policy team, told Bloomberg."Judgments by language models are vulnerable to undesired biases that might have been introduced into the model during training. As with any AI application, results and output will need to be carefully monitored, validated and refined by maintaining humans in the loop," OpenAI's blog post reads. "By reducing human involvement in some parts of the moderation process that can be handled by language models, human resources can be more focused on addressing the complex edge cases most needed for policy refinement."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openai-is-using-gpt-4-to-build-an-ai-powered-content-moderation-system-184933519.html?src=rss
Dave Limp, Amazon's Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, has announced his pending retirement from the company. Limp has been with the company for nearly 14 years and, as his title suggests, oversaw Amazon's transition into dedicated hardware devices like Kindle e-readers, Alexa-enabled Echo speakers and the various Fire-branded products, among many others. Amazon makes a lot of stuff.As for the reasoning behind the decision, Limp simply says that it's time," noting that while he's been at Amazon since 2010, he's been doing the same basic job at various entities, like Apple and Palm, for 30 years. He's not exactly retiring in the conventional cocktail on the beach" sense, as Limp suggests in a blog post that he'll likely continue to work, just not in the consumer electronics space. As for Amazon, he'll stay on for the next few months until naming a successor.Of course, Amazon's Devices and Services division experienced some serious layoffs last year and it's been reported that the division operates at a staggering annual loss of around $5 billion, according to TechCrunch.It's easy to blame either of these facts for Limp's departure, but many Amazon departments experienced layoffs throughout the past year, not just hardware, and the rest of the industry followed suit. The hardware division operates at a loss, but there are certainly a lot of Amazon devices in people's homes, with the company recently touting the sale of 500 million Alexa-enabled gadgets. Each of these cute lil Alexas are constantly asking people to buy things, so who knows how deeply these hardware sales funnel down into other revenue streams.However, he's not the first high-level executive to leave the company under CEO Andy Jassy, who took over from Jeff Bezos two years ago. Other departures have included Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark, media and entertainment leader Jeff Blackburn, longtime Amazon Web Services executive Charlie Bell, global customer fulfillment leader Alicia Boler Davis and global corporate affairs chief/former Obama staffer Jay Carney.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-hardware-vp-dave-limp-set-to-retire-after-almost-14-years-182315587.html?src=rss
Warner Bros. Games revealed back in June that Batman: Arkham Trilogy would arrive on Nintendo Switch sometime this fall, and now we have an exact date. The bundle of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight - along with the expansions for all three games - will land on Switch on October 13th.Turn Me Up Games (which helped bring Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 and It Takes Two to the Switch) handled the ports of the well-regarded series. Batman: Arkham Asylum kicked off the trilogy in 2009 with an original story that pits the Caped Crusader against many of his most formidable foes. The Joker orchestrates a plot to take over Arkham Asylum and Batman also has to deal with Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow.
Live streamers or anyone who just wants to look a little better on camera can now grab our recommended light for $10 off. Logitech's Litra Glow is back down to its all-time low price of $50, which is 17 percent off the list price of $60. We've seen it drop to this price a few times before, and when it does, it's a good time to buy. This is the light we recommend in our guide to game-streaming gear, in which Engadget's Jessica Conditt calls good lighting "one of the best things you can do for your live-streaming setup."The Litra Glow is USB-powered and grips on your monitor, right next to your webcam, with an extendable, three-way-adjustable mount so you can dial in the right position. Once set, the full-spectrum LED lights deliver a soft glow that gets rid of harsh shadows and hard edges which make you look better and more natural on camera. You can adjust the light temperature and brightness using the on-board manual controls or through Logitech's free companion app.In the same guide, Jessica also recommends Elegato's Stream Deck, which lets you quickly program effects, lights, audio and app control in one cute, retro/space-age package. The new 15-key MK.2 edition is currently on sale at Amazon for $130, instead of the usual $150. That's not an all-time low, but still a decent deal for anyone who wants to upgrade their streaming setup right now.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/logitechs-litra-glow-streaming-light-drops-back-down-to-50-164650143.html?src=rss
Google Photos just got a major update that adds generative AI to its popular Memories view. This toolset already creates scrapbook montages using your photos and videos, but now these montages will be even more personalized, with collections that make sense according to your life. AI-enhanced algorithms will collect the images into relevant categories, a recent vacation as an example, and create a catchy title to accompany the montage. The app already does this, more or less, but the update should be something of a radical improvement. Of course, this is AI so it won't always get things right. In other words, you can rename collections or edit montages if necessary.All of these scrapbook montages are now collected in a dedicated view, called Memories, so you only interact with them when you want to. Before this, Google Photos users received a push notification every time a new scrapbook was available for perusal. Just click on the Memories tab and get going. The new tab also provides access to previously-released features, like adding music to scrapbook montages and sharing memories via the app.The update even allows these scrapbook entries to be co-created by friends and family. Invite anyone to collaborate and they can contribute their own photos and videos. Everyone involved can delete any photos that don't match the theme or make simple edits, and the system itself will recommend photos based on geotagging and the like. As for more robust sharing options, Google says you'll soon be able to save these collections as popular video formats to send via messaging and social media apps.The new Google Photos update begins rolling out today in the United States, but the company says it'll be a few months before a true global launch. This isn't the first time this year the company has squeezed generative AI into Google Photos. Back in May, Google used the technology to improve its Magic Editor toolset, which leverages AI to remove unwanted artifacts from photos.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-photos-update-improves-memories-view-with-generative-ai-161749404.html?src=rss
In the last few years, basically every platform of consequence has made its own take on TikTok's signature scrolling feed of vertical videos. YouTube Music is the latest. Today, the app will get a vertical video feed called Samples that YouTube describes as a one-tap way to quickly sample and find new music.Samples lives in a new tab at the bottom of the app, alongside the home feed, your library and the explore section. Tapping Samples automatically starts a short vertical video clip of a song that YouTube Music thinks you'll like. Naturally, it's pulling songs based on your taste profile, with an emphasis on artists that you like, and related ones who you might not have heard before.The app already has multiple playlists that are tuned to your listening habits, including a Supermix that pulls songs and artists together across all your listening habits. There's also a Discover playlist that, naturally, focuses on things you're not familiar with but might enjoy based on your history. YouTube Music product manager Gregor Dodson told Engadget that the algorithm for the Samples feed is a little different from both of those - it's trying to site in between the two playlists, highlighting artists that you may be familiar with but pulling clips you haven't watched before.The clips you'll see in Samples are only 30 seconds long, but that's about enough to give you a sense of the song. If it's not what you're looking for, just swipe up and you'll jump to another song, and you can do this as much as you want. Spotify added its own vertical video feed recently, but that's less for discovery and more to offer a way to quickly scroll through previews of songs in its playlists. But with both Spotify and YouTube Music implementing such a new, it seems likely that we'll see more apps do the same soon.I got to try Samples for a few days before it launched, and the thing I found most interesting was to use it as a jumping off point for a longer listening session, something Dodson confirmed was by design. "Short form video [and] the infinite scroll have really interesting applications in music discovery," he said. "It's a simple way to discover new music, but it's not the end of the journey - it's just the start of finding a new artist or song."YouTubeTo that end, the Samples video view is overlaid with a number of controls. From any Sample, you can tap the thumbs-up to save the song to your "liked songs" playlist. You can also save the song to any playlist you've created. Between these two options, it's pretty easy to quickly scan through Samples and save a bunch of songs to check out further. And if you hear something you want to immediately play in full, just tap the big old play button in the corner of the screen.Since this is YouTube we're talking about, there's also a "Shorts" button that pops you into the main YouTube app. It'll show you other Shorts clips created with the audio you picked and let you jump into making your own clip with the song. Finally, the share button does just what you'd think - you get a link that can drop into a host of other apps like Messages, Reddit, Facebook and whatever else you might have installed.In the overflow menu, you can find a lot of other options, like starting a continuous radio station from the song, jumping into the artist's page to find more music, saving the track to your library and so forth. I with the "start radio" button was featured more prominently in the Samples video, because I found that to be a great way to jump into a auto-generated set of tunes with the same vibe as the Sample that initially caught my eye (and ear).My main issue with Samples is one of UI. Specifically, it's not always clear where exactly you'll end up in the app when you switch views. Tapping the Samples tab starts the video scroll, and to exit it you can tap one of the other bottom navigation tabs; tapping the "play" button opens up the familiar YouTube Music player controls. Finally, swiping back down to hide the player interface returns you to Samples. Seems pretty clear. But at one point, I had hit the play button to hear a song and then rotated my phone to landscape to see the video in full screen. When the next song started, I rotated my phone back to landscape, and the app threw me immediately back into the Samples view, with the clip of the song I had already heard still playing.Another time, I started playing a song, and the hit the toggle at the top of the Now Playing screen to switch the video off and just hear the song. I listened to a few more songs from the auto-generated station of similar music, and then swiped down to hide the Now Playing UI and browse around the app. I was again tossed back into the Samples view. That does make some logical sense, as that's where the whole listening experience started. But I'm to used to being able to hide the Now Playing screen and browse around the app while still playing music that it was a bit jarring. That said, I could then hit the "Home" tab at the bottom and resume what I was playing. It works, but the addition of Samples does change a few of the app's expected behaviors.These quibbles aside, Samples seems like a pretty handy addition to the YouTube Music app. In the few days I had to test it, it consistently served up music from artists I liked, and the song selections were indeed things I was usually less familiar with. The video clip aspect of it doesn't really matter to me, but given how many artists are making excellent videos these days, it's fun to remember that these visuals are worth checking out sometimes. (Thanks, YouTube Music, for surfacing the wild video for "I Know the End" by Phoebe Bridgers.) More importantly, it did work well as a jumping-off point for digging into some artists I had forgotten about or finding a tune to set the mood for a playlist or station.YouTube says that the Samples feature is rolling out globally starting today for both Android and iOS users. As with most new features, it might not hit your app immediately, so you might need to be a little patient.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-music-debuts-samples-a-tiktok-style-feed-for-music-discovery-160007555.html?src=rss
Google is testing a new capability for its generative AI in search that will make it a more veritable rival to Microsoft's AI Copilot in Edge. The tech giant has launched an early experiment for its generative AI-powered Search experience (SGE) that breaks out of Search itself. Called "SGE while browsing," the feature can quickly generate the most salient points of long-form content found on the web. The tech giant positions it as a tool you can use to more easily digest complex topics that might require extensive research. However, the tool will not be able to provide key points for paywalled articles, only for some web pages that you can view free of charge.Whenever Google's AI can generate key points for the page you're visiting, you'll see an option that says "Get AI-generated key points" at the bottom of the screen on mobile or in the sidebar on desktop. Each key point links straight to the part of the page it's referencing, so you can jump to it right away. There's also an "Explore on page" section that shows the questions the article answers. At the moment, the feature is only available within the Google app on Android and iOS, but it is coming to Chrome on desktop in the next few days. The tool is automatically switched on if you've already opted in to try out SGE, but you can also switch it on as a standalone experiment in Search Labs. Like any other experiment, it could evolve over time, depending on testers' feedback.GoogleGoogle will also soon roll out a new feature that could help you get better acquainted with new concepts and terms related to STEM, economics, history and other topics. To be more precise, it's improving its AI-generated responses to those topics, so that when you hover over certain words, you'll see previews of definitions and related diagrams or images. It could provide a quick way for you to understand its AI's answers to your questions without having to do a deep-dive for all the concepts you aren't familiar with.Finally, if you're a programmer who's not opposed to using AI tools for coding, Google has also added new capabilities to SGE that could help you better understand and debug the codes it generates. Starting today, elements like keywords, comments and strings will be color-coded and highlighted in segments of codes in overviews, so that you can quickly parse the AI's output and determine if it will work as intended.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-latest-ai-trick-is-summarizing-long-web-pages-160004700.html?src=rss
If you've been looking to pick up Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 5, the foldable phone is now down to $900 at Amazon for a 256GB model. That's a $100 discount for a device that only officially went on sale last week. You'll just need to clip an on-page coupon to see the deal at checkout.Previously, Amazon ran a pre-order deal that bundled the 512GB version of the Z Flip 5 with a $150 Amazon gift card for $1,000. This new offer isn't quite as strong of a value, but it's the first cash discount we've seen for the device. If you shop at Amazon regularly, you can still get the 256GB model with that $150 gift card, but you have to pay $1,000 upfront.In any event, we gave the Galaxy Z Flip 5 a review score of 88 earlier this month, and we currently list it as the "best foldable for selfies" in our guide to the best smartphones. As our Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low notes in her review, the big upgrade this year is a roomier cover display; at 3.4 inches, it's much more useful for replying to texts, checking notifications, using apps, and yes, taking selfies without having to physically unfold the phone. You have to jump through a few hoops to get any app to work in full on the outer display, but once you do, it becomes a bit more versatile.Beyond that, there's a new hinge that lets the whole thing fold flat when closed. The device is still capable as a "normal" phone, with a flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and a vibrant 6.7-inch OLED interior display. Samsung also promises four years of OS updates and five years of security patches, which is more extensive than many Android manufacturers.The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still a foldable, so you'll have to take more care than usual when handling it. Its IPX8 water-resistance rating means it can survive a brief dunking, but it may be more susceptible to damage from dust or sand. Its camera performance isn't as impressive as the best standard phones in its price range, particularly in low-light settings, and its battery life is only so-so by comparison. There's a visible crease on the interior display as well. Nevertheless, this is the best flip-style foldable you can buy, and this deal makes it a little more affordable.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-samsung-galaxy-z-flip-5-is-100-off-right-now-154530207.html?src=rss
Microsoft is attempting to be more transparent about how it enforces the Xbox community standards. The company is moving to an eight-strike suspension policy, which comes into force today. Every enforcement action will include strikes. The number of strikes that the Xbox Safety team applies to an account will depend on the severity of the infraction. Each strike results in a suspension from Xbox's social features.Account suspensions scale depending on the number of strikes. After two strikes, the player will be suspended for a day. When a player hits four strikes, Xbox will suspend their account for a week. Hit the full eight strikes and a player will be locked out of multiplayer, messaging, parties, party chat and other Xbox social features for one year. During a suspension, a player can still sign in, play games that don't need Xbox online services, use some apps and make purchases.Xbox asks players to report any violations of the community standards that they see or hear someone else committing. The safety team assesses reports to figure out if a violation actually happened. If so, they'll determine how many strikes to include in the enforcement action.Strikes will remain on players' accounts for six months. After strikes expire, they won't count toward a player's total. That said, if the safety team deems a violation of the community standards to be especially severe or egregious, it may issue a permanent ban regardless of the number of strikes on an account.Players can view their enforcement history, where they can see how many strikes they have and exactly when a suspension will end. They can appeal against eligible enforcement actions too. Xbox will also share data on strikes and enforcement actions in its bi-annual Transparency Report.Any enforcements applied to an account before today won't have any strikes applied to them. However, players will still have to complete any current suspensions before they regain full access to Xbox services.Microsoft notes that in 2022, it handed out temporary suspensions to less than one percent of all players, and just a third of those had to endure a second suspension. Still, this is the latest in a string of efforts by the company to make the Xbox community safe and welcoming for everyone. Recently, it started rolling out an Xbox feature that allows users to capture and report abusive or inappropriate voice chat.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-adopts-an-eight-strike-suspension-policy-153031666.html?src=rss
WhatsApp is testing the ability to create custom stickers using generative AI. According to WABetaInfo, the feature is available to a small number of testers through the Google Play Beta Program. Meta is said to be preparing to roll out the tool more broadly in the coming weeks.Those who are part of the test should see a Create button when they open the keyboard in the sticker tab. As with similar tools, you can enter a description of the sticker you'd like to use. The AI will spit out a set of stickers for you to choose from and share in your chats. The stickers are said to be easily recognizable and recipients may be informed when they see one that an AI model whipped up. As WABetaInfo notes, you can report any stickers you deem to be harmful or inappropriate to Meta.Our generative AI-powered experiences are under development in varying phases, and we're testing a range of them publicly in a limited capacity," a Meta spokesperson told Engadget. "We have nothing further to share at this time."We've been seeing generative AI creeping into more and more parts of mainstream apps this year, so it's not exactly surprising to see WhatsApp introducing AI-generated stickers. The tool could make WhatsApp chats feel more personalized and avoid people having to rely on overused stickers, GIFs and meme images without necessarily having to rely on their own design chops. Reports have suggested a similar feature is coming to Instagram and Messenger as well.Update, August 15th, 2023, 12:04PM ET: This story has been updated to include a quote from a Meta spokesperson.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-is-testing-ai-generated-stickers-150614153.html?src=rss
A storm often evokes a desire to feel safe inside your home and able to communicate with loved ones or emergency personnel - yet, electric and landline connections are often the first systems to go down. Comcast is attempting to solve this problem with the release of Storm-Ready WiFi, a connection backup device - one they claim is the first of its kind built by an Internet Provider. It's powered by Xfinity's 10G Network, has WiFi 6 compatibility and works as a WiFi extender during better weather.As another reminder of the terrifying impact of climate change, Comcast cites the increase in storms nationwide as to why this extra device is necessary. Yes, you can file Storm-Ready WiFi under how to be more comfortable as the world burns - extremely dark, to say the least.The service is designed to seamlessly transfer your connection over to Storm-Ready WiFi in the case of a power outage. Storm-Ready WiFi's battery lasts about four hours at a time (an average power outage in the US lasts about two hours). Of course, it's not much good if your phone or computer run out of battery, but otherwise, you can work (or better yet, watch all the movies you want) while the sky opens around you. Storm-Ready WiFi is available to buy now for $7 per month for 36 months, both in-store and online.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/comcast-debuts-storm-ready-wifi-device-ahead-of-hurricane-season-130041959.html?src=rss
The internet is a source of many things, such as yummy recipes, tech deals and horrible misinformation. The latter often spreads through social media sites, something they have to combat (or usually choose to ignore). Right now, YouTube is choosing to fight, announcing a new long-term policy plan to grapple with medical misinformation, especially about cancer.YouTube's new guidelines for health content will fall under three categories: prevent, treatment and denial misinformation. Prevent will allegedly review and remove videos that oppose guidelines set out by trusted authorities or contradict vaccine safety and efficacy (the platform banned content with vaccine misinformation in 2021). Treatment should center on taking down any misinformation about - unsurprisingly - treating medical conditions, including unproven remedies. The platform claims that denial will focus on removing any content that makes a false claim, such as that people didn't die due to COVID-19."To determine if a condition, treatment or substance is in scope of our medical misinformation policies, we'll evaluate whether it's associated with a high public health risk, publicly available guidance from health authorities around the world, and whether it's generally prone to misinformation," YouTube's Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health Partnerships Dr. Garth Graham and its VP and Global Head of Trust and Safety Matt Halprin said in the joint release outlining the new policies.Starting now, YouTube says it will be removing videos specifically about cancer which violate any of these policies - an effort it claims will ramp up more in the coming weeks. For example, if a video states that garlic cures cancer, it's coming down. YouTube is also sharing a playlist of science-backed cancer-related videos and teaming up with Mayo Clinic to create even more informational videos about cancer.These policies come less than two months after YouTube announced it would "stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections" because it curtailed political speech. So misinformation is allowed when it threatens democracy, just not across every category on the site - cool. Though, YouTube does say that it will allow some health videos with falsehoods to remain if the context is right, such as public interest. The platform says in some cases, content will be allowed to stay up but will be given an age restriction.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-will-tackle-cancer-misinformation-as-part-of-its-updated-health-policy-120516307.html?src=rss
Apple has a thing for 10th anniversaries: The iPhone X made its debut a decade after the first iPhone arrived. The rumor mill says Apple Watch's 10th edition justifies a similarly dramatic reworking of its original template. Reports suggest 2025's Apple Watch X will ditch the slide-in lugs in favor of magnetic band attachments. Doing so gives Apple more room to make the case bigger, and with it a bigger display and battery, but make the overall package thinner.We might also see a bigger, brighter and more efficient microLED screen replacing the existing OLED display. And the X might also add an optical blood pressure sensor to its suite of health-tracking features. (It's worth saying that optical blood pressure sensing is still a fairly novel technology outside of clinical settings and some niche wearables.)With so many features coming to Watch X, the Watch 9 - which we're expecting to see arrive this fall - might be a skip. Rumors suggest we could see a faster processor and different case colors, but otherwise it's probably worth waiting for whatever's coming next.- Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe best budget gaming laptops for 2023 The best wireless chargers in 2023 Amazon's Kindle Scribe is $60 off right nowTelegram Stories is no longer limited to paid usersSony's WH-CH720N headphones are back on sale for $98Amazon's latest smart speaker sale includes the Echo Studio for $160Netflix tests game streaming on select devices, smart TVs and desktop browsersTesters can play Oxenfree on their TV.NetflixNetflix is testing if its streaming infrastructure can deliver games to smart TVs as well as other devices. It's an extension of its nascent games project that, so far, is only on iOS and Android apps. The beta is running in the UK and Canada on select platforms, where users can play Oxenfree and Molehew's Mining Adventure. Could this be the start of Netflix's emergence as the cloud gaming provider Stadia could, and should, have been?Continue Reading.Xiaomi's third foldable phone adds a zoom camera but keeps the slim frameAnd now it supports hover mode.XiaomiXiaomi has announced the Mix Fold 3, its latest folding flagship that gains wireless charging and a 5x periscope zoom lens over its predecessor. The China-only handset may not be as thin and light as, say, Honor's Magic V2, but Richard Lai seems pleased with the improvements on show. Especially as Xiaomi has taken a leaf out of Samsung's book to make hover mode enough of a feature that you should be able to get the best out of the Fold 3's many cameras.Continue Reading.Assassin's Creed Mirage will arrive one week early on October 5Ubisoft says this is a less bloated title than some of its predecessors.UbisoftAssassin's Creed Mirage will now arrive on October 5, a week earlier than its planned release date. It'll help space out a fall schedule full of blockbuster open world titles, including Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which arrives October 20. It's rare for a game to be early, rather than forever delayed, so let's give Ubisoft some credit for this welcome blast of punctuality.Continue Reading.Ford's advanced BlueCruise driver assist features will only be available as a subscriptionYour car just got swallowed by Recurring Revenue.FordIt may have started out as an optional extra, but now Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving will be on all new supported vehicles. Would-be buyers can activate the tools at purchase or as an optional subscription at some point down the road. It'll cost $75 a month, $800 for a year, or $2,100 if you buy three years' worth in a single bundle, with Ford saying - rather terrifyingly - drivers will spend a lot more time with their hands off the wheel.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-watch-x-will-herald-a-dramatic-redesign-111512369.html?src=rss
No matter how old you get, something happens inside your brain in mid-August that signals it's time to buy new supplies. As a child preparing to go back to school, this might have been notebooks and erasers. As an adult, it can be a little bigger - especially if sales are going on - like a new iPad. Currently, Apple's 64GB ninth-generation iPad is back down from $330 to its all-time low price of $250 in both Space Gray and Silver. Now this deal is a little tricky in that you will initially see a markdown to $269, but when you head to checkout, it will drop further to $250.Apple's ninth-gen iPad isn't the newest model, having first come out in 2021 and followed by a 10th-gen version the following year. We gave the earlier model an 86 in our initial review and, while it wasn't a massive upgrade from its predecessor, found it to be a great option if you're looking for a well-working device with all the basics at a solid price - even on sale, the 10th-gen iPad is $150 more.The 10.2-inch iPad has a retina display, A13 Bionic chip and 12MP Ultra Wide front camera. It's compatible with the first Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. The ninth-gen model still has a lightning connector versus the newer model's USB-C port and has a physical home button.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-102-inch-ipad-drops-back-to-a-record-low-of-250-092845182.html?src=rss
Tesla has quietly launched new Model S and Model X vehicles that are slightly more affordable than their base and Plaid counterparts. The automaker has listed these new offerings as "Standard Range" variants, which are scheduled for delivery in the US sometime in September to October this year. A Model S Standard Range will set buyers back $78,490, while the standard Model X is listed for $88,490. Both prices don't include any savings buyers might get after EV tax credits applicable for their location.Both prices are also $10,000 less than the base Model S and Model X vehicles. The new EVs, however, have shorter ranges than the other versions in their line: In the case of Model S, the new option has a range of 320 miles, while the base variant can last for over 80 miles longer with its 405-mile range. It also takes 3.7 seconds for new EV to accelerate from zero to 60 mph, whereas it takes 3.1 seconds for the base version to achieve the same speed. Meanwhile, the new Model X has a range of 269 miles, which is definitely shorter than the base variant's 348 miles. It takes the new Model X 4.4 seconds to reach 60mph, longer than the 3.8 seconds it takes the base version.TeslaAs Electrek noted when it noticed the presence of Standard Range vehicles on Tesla's website, it's not clear if the automaker is making battery packs especially for these releases or if it's merely software-locking packs for its EVs with longer ranges. If it's the latter, then Tesla might give customers the opportunity to unlock longer ranges in the future if they're willing to pay for it. The new Standard Range EVs are available for the aforementioned prices in Pearl White with an all-black interior, along with standard wheels and steering wheel. Buyers will have to pay extra for other colors, customizations, and, of course, for Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot ($6,000) and Full Self-Driving Capability ($15,000) features.Tesla is giving current customers the option to transfer Full Self-Driving to a newly purchased vehicle for free at the moment. That said, they can only take advantage of this one-time amnesty if they take delivery of a new EV between July 20th and September 30th, 2023. Seeing as the new Standard Range vehicles could be delivered after September, buyers should be aware that they might have to pay for FSD again even if they already have it in their current Tesla EV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-begins-selling-cheaper-model-s-and-model-x-variants-with-shorter-ranges-082045956.html?src=rss
It certainly didn't take long for AI's other shoe to drop, what with the emergent technology already being perverted to commit confidence scams and generate spam content. We can now add censorship to that list as the Globe Gazette reports the school board of Mason City, Iowa has begun leveraging AI technology to cultivate lists of potentially bannable books from the district's libraries ahead of the 2023/24 school year.In May, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed, and Governor Kim Reynolds subsequently signed, Senate File 496 (SF 496), which enacted sweeping changes to the state's education curriculum. Specifically it limits what books can be made available in school libraries and classrooms, requiring titles to be "age appropriate" and without descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act," per Iowa Code 702.17.But ensuring that every book in the district's archives adhere to these new rules is quickly turning into a mammoth undertaking. "Our classroom and school libraries have vast collections, consisting of texts purchased, donated, and found," Bridgette Exman, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Mason City Community School District, said in a statement. "It is simply not feasible to read every book and filter for these new requirements."As such, the Mason City School District is bringing in AI to parse suspect texts for banned ideas and descriptions since there are simply too many titles for human reviewers to cover on their own. Per the district, a "master list" is first cobbled together from "several sources" based on whether there were previous complaints of sexual content. Books from that list are then scanned by "AI software" which tells the state censors whether or not there actually is a depiction of sex in the book.Frankly, we have more important things to do than spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to protect kids from books," Exman told PopSci via email. At the same time, we do have a legal and ethical obligation to comply with the law. Our goal here really is a defensible process."So far, the AI has flagged 19 books for removal. They are as follows:
Ford announced today that it's expanding the availability of its BlueCruise hands-free driving tech. Previously, customers had to decide whether to add the option on available models at purchase - and that decision was final. Now, the service will be installed as standard on all supported vehicles. In addition to enabling it at purchase, owners can add the service later or only activate it for months when needed (like for road trips).You'll still have the option of buying the feature at purchase and folding it into your financing. However, you can now also subscribe to access annually or monthly at any point after that. BlueCruise costs $2,100 at purchase (for three years), while annual subscriptions cost $800 and monthly subscriptions $75. Ford also offers a 90-day free trial if you choose not to set it up at purchase.The automaker expects to install BlueCruise on 500,000 vehicles in North America for the 2024 model year. That's a significant ramp-up since it's currently only installed on less than half of that: 225,000, according to Ford.The service's changes will also apply to Lincolns. The 2024 Navigator and Nautilus lines and select trims" of the Lincoln Corsair will come equipped with BlueCruise. The $800 annual and $75 monthly pricing is the same for Lincoln models.Ford says the tech's upcoming version, BlueCruise 1.3, will enhance performance when driving around curves and narrow lanes. The company says v1.3 lets you keep your hands off the wheel longer. Based on our internal testing, BlueCruise 1.3 stayed engaged in hands-free mode for an average of 5X longer compared to BlueCruise 1.0, the first version of BlueCruise," the automaker said. The 1.2 software, rolled out earlier this year, added hands-free lane changes, in-lane repositioning and predictive speed assist. The company is serious about AI-assisted driving: It created an automated-driving subsidiary earlier this year to push toward a more machine-driven future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fords-advanced-bluecruise-driver-assist-features-will-only-be-available-as-a-subscription-200525088.html?src=rss
Telegram launched its Stories feature to everyone today, following its availability to Premium users starting last month. Like Facebook Messenger's Stories, they appear as expandable bubbles above your conversation. However, Telegram's take is more customizable, providing granular control of who sees uploaded posts and for how long. Now when you meet people on Telegram, you'll see exciting snapshots of their life - not just a few profile photos," the company wrote in a blog post today.Launching alongside the messaging service's 10th birthday, Telegram describes Stories as by far the most-requested feature" in the company's decade-long history. Its privacy controls include visibility options for everyone, all contacts, selected contacts or close friends.TelegramTelegram's Stories also let you hide your posts from contacts you don't want to see, and Premium users can choose between six, 12, 24 and 48 hours of visibility for new posts. In addition, post creators can see a list of the Telegram users who viewed their content. It also supports a BeReal-like dual-camera mode, letting you simultaneously share photos or videos captured by your phone's front and rear sensors. The feature also includes reactions, so viewers can add a heart or choose from hundreds" of other responses to posts.Some of Stories' more advanced controls are reserved for Premium subscribers ($5 per month). Perhaps most significant, paying users' posts display first, giving them more exposure. Subscribers can also view others' stories in stealth mode, hiding all traces of their visit from the author. Additionally, subscribers get the previously mentioned custom expiration options, a permanent view history (see who viewed your posts even after they expire), the ability to save Stories to the gallery, 10 times longer" captions and a higher allotment of daily Stories (up to 100).Telegram Stories is scheduled to roll out to the service's iOS and Android apps today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/telegram-stories-are-no-longer-limited-to-paid-users-180415572.html?src=rss
Netflix is officially bringing its games to more devices. So far, the company's impressive library of games has only been available on iOS and Android. Now, though, Netflix is starting to use its streaming tech to publicly test its titles on TVs and computers."Our goal has always been to have a game for everyone, and we are working hard to meet members where they are with an accessible, smooth and ubiquitous service," Mike Verdu, Netflix's vice-president of games, wrote in a blog post. "Today, we're taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix."The test appears to be very limited for now. Just two games will be available at the outset: Oxenfree (Netflix just released the sequel as its first game from an in-house studio) and gem-mining arcade title Molehew's Mining Adventure.The beta is only open to a small number of Netflix subscribers in the UK and Canada on Amazon Fire TV streaming media players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, NVIDIA Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung smart TVs and Walmart ONN. The company will add support for more devices later.To play Netflix games on a TV, you can use a controller app that the company just released. When you select a game, your TV will display a QR code. Scan this with your phone to use it as your controller.The games will also be available to try on Netflix's website via supported desktop browsers in the next few weeks. You'll be able to use your keyboard and mouse to control them on PCs and Macs.Netflix says the goal of the test is to put its game streaming tech and controller app through their paces. Given the complex nature of rights agreements with various publishers, it's not yet clear whether Netflix will bring all of the games in its library to TVs and web browsers. For instance, you'll need a Netflix subscription to play Kentucky Route Zero,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revengeor Immortality natively on your phone, but those games are all available on other platforms. In any case, there's a big new player coming to the cloud gaming space.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-starts-testing-game-streaming-on-select-devices-smart-tvs-and-desktop-browsers-175241762.html?src=rss
Ubisoft is shaking up a busy calendar of big fall game releases by bringing forward one of several games it has on the docket. Assassin's Creed Mirage will now arrive on October 5th, one week earlier than previously expected.The move gives the game a bit more distance from another major open-world action-adventure game in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (which is set to hit PS5 on October 20th). However, Assassin's Creed Mirage will now be going up against Detective Pikachu Returns, which will debut on Switch on October 6th.
Amazon announced a new generative AI feature today that summarizes product reviews. Available initially to a subset of mobile shoppers in the U.S. across a broad selection of products," the artificial intelligence tool creates a recap paragraph highlighting common themes from customer feedback. The company first confirmed in June it was testing an AI-powered summarization tool, but it now begins its official rollout. CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this month that AI is at the heart of what we do."The idea behind the ML-generated summary is to let shoppers get the gist of their peers' impressions without having to file through a swath of reviews manually. The wrap-up includes a short paragraph describing customer consensus: It's a bit like an AI-powered version of the Critics consensus" and Audience says" blurbs you'd find on Rotten Tomatoes. Customers like the stability, ease of use, and performance of the digital device," one example summary shared by Amazon reads. They mention that it's way faster, the picture / streaming speed is excellent, and it's a simple device to get connected. They also appreciate the performance, saying that it performs as expected and works great with LG 3D smart TV."The summary is followed by clickable tags showcasing relevant themes and common words from customer reviews. (It's similar to an existing keyword feature in the company's reviews.) Clicking on one will bounce you to full reviews addressing the chosen theme.The elephant in the room is Amazon's reputation with fake reviews. Although the retailer says it proactively blocked over 200 million suspected fake reviews" in 2022 alone -and it's known to sue culprits (and get a hand from the FTC in extreme cases) - that hardly means the company detects and blocks all of them. There's also the question of whether AI-powered fake reviews (using ChatGPT or similar tools) are more challenging for Amazon to spot than human-written ones.The company's strategy includes only unleashing the summarization tool on verified purchases while using AI models that allegedly detect sketchy reviews - and calling in human investigators when needed. We continue to invest significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews," Amazon Community Shopping Director Vaughn Schermerhorn said. This includes machine learning models that analyze thousands of data points to detect risk, including relations to other accounts, sign-in activity, review history, and other indications of unusual behavior, as well as expert investigators that use sophisticated fraud-detection tools to analyze and prevent fake reviews from ever appearing in our store. The new AI-generated review highlights use only our trusted review corpus from verified purchases, ensuring that customers can easily understand the community's opinions at a glance."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-begins-rolling-out-ai-generated-review-summaries-164510165.html?src=rss
Along with making the Playdate and some Mac apps, Panic is also a well-regarded games publisher with Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game under its belt. However, it's been a few years since Panic released a game outside of titles made specifically for the Playdate. Panic is ramping up its publishing efforts and we'll soon get a peek at what's in the pipeline when the company hosts its first games showcase. You can watch it on Panic's YouTube channel at 1PM ET on August 29th.The stream will run for around 20 minutes and it will include more details on previously announced games Nour: Play With Your Food and Despelote. In addition, Panic will show off some new games and reveal fresh partnerships. You'll get behind-the-scenes looks at some titles too. We thought it'd be fun to put on a little show and let the world know about the wonderful games we've been working on publishing, from amazing developers all around the world," Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser said.One thing you shouldn't expect from the showcase is any Playdate news. On a positive note, Panic will show off some of the games featured in the showcase at both Gamescom and PAX West.
Many of Amazon's Echo smart speakers are on sale right now, including the biggest of the bunch, the Echo Studio. It's down to $160, which is 20 percent off and just $5 more than it sold for during Prime Day last month. That discount was only for Prime members, but anyone can take advantage of this deal. The Echo Dot and the standard Echo are also on sale, for $35 and $65, respectively. Neither matches its Prime Day low, but these are still 30 to 35 percent discounts.We mention the Echo Studio in our guide to the best smart speakers as an alternative to the Sonos Era 100 for those who already rely on Alexa. It's the largest smart speaker Amazon makes, weighing in at 7.7 pounds, and it uses that heft to deliver better audio quality than any other Echo. We gave it an 88 in our review, and noted the quality, hi-res sound that does justice to HD and lossless music - but also makes regular old Spotify tracks sound pretty good.The second best deal in the sale is on Amazon's flagship Echo, which is $65 instead of its usual $100 after a 35 percent discount. That's about $10 more than it went for during Prime Day, but again, this price is open to anyone, not just people who pay for a Prime membership. We should note that it went for even less during Black Friday last year, and may do so again. But if you need another (or your first) Alexa speaker right now, this is a decent savings.Amazon's most popular speaker, the Echo Dot is currently $35, which we named our favorite smart speaker under $50. The price is $12 more than during July's sale, when it was half price. The diminutive sphere puts out better audio than you'd think for its size and, like every Echo device, gives you access to Alexa's skills, jokes and smart home controls.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-latest-smart-speaker-sale-includes-the-echo-studio-for-160-151937377.html?src=rss
Sony makes some of the best wireless headphones around, but perhaps you don't quite need a high-end set with all the bells and whistles. Maybe a mid-range set with active noise cancellation (ANC) that more than gets the job done is what you're looking for. In that case, it's definitely worth considering Sony's WH-CH720N headphones, which are once again on sale for $98. That's $51 off the regular price and it matches a record low we saw during Prime Day.We gave the WH-CH720N a score of 79 in our review earlier this year. Along with great audio quality, the headphones offer a lightweight and comfortable fit. On the downside, the ANC struggled in some environments (particularly when it comes to blocking out human voices), the cans lack an automatic pausing feature and the over-reliance on plastic makes them look less elegant.The headphones use the same chip as Sony's WH-1000XM5 (our pick for the best wireless headphones overall) to power the ANC and the sound in general. There's support for 360 Reality Audio and multipoint Bluetooth to connect to two devices at the same time. You should be able to use the headphones for up to 35 hours with ANC on before having to recharge them.If your budget can't quite stretch far enough for the WH-CH720N, take a gander at Sony's WH-CH520 headphones, which have dropped by $22 to $38. These headphones are also compatible with 360 Reality Audio and Sony says they'll run for up to 50 hours on a single charge. A three-minute charge will add 1.5 hours of listening time. There's no ANC here, though these headphones are otherwise a solid, budget-friendly pick.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-wh-ch720n-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-98-142823349.html?src=rss
Summer season is also foldable phone season, it seems. Following on the heels of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the impressively slim Honor Magic V2 (along with smaller models from Samsung and Motorola), it's now Xiaomi's turn to unveil its annual refresh. The aptly named Mix Fold 3 offers several expected improvements in terms of folded thickness (5.26mm), unfolded thickness (10.86mm) and weight (255 grams). Honor still has nothing to worry about when it comes to thinness and lightness, but Xiaomi's latest contender has gained a 5x periscopic zoom camera and, at last, a selfie camera, all of which would seem to address some of the last-gen model's more obvious pain points.Another notable addition is 50W wireless charging alongside the original 67W wired option. Depending on which charging method you use, the company says it takes 55 minutes or 40 minutes, respectively, to fully charge the slightly denser 4,800mAh battery. (If you're comparison shopping, Honor forfeited wireless charging on the Magic V2 to meet its aggressive thickness target.) The Mix Fold 3's wireless charging should pair well with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 "Leading Version" processor, with its primary core capable of up to 3.36GHz of clock speed - handy for video editing on the larger screen.XiaomiThanks to its beefed-up camera setup, the Mix Fold 3 packs a total of four Leica-enhanced on the rear: a 50-megapixel f/1.77 main camera (Sony IMX800, 23mm equivalent) with optical stabilization, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (15mm equivalent), a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (75mm equivalent) and the handy new 10-megapixel f/2.92 periscope camera (115mm equivalent).Like before, you can always toggle the external screen to leverage any of these rear-facing cameras for better selfies, but for general video conferencing, you now have the option to toggle between the 20-megapixel front cameras on both the 6.56-inch external screen (2,520 x 1,080, 120Hz) and 8.025-inch flexible screen (2,160 x 1,916, 120Hz).XiaomiThe screen sizes here are practically identical to the last-gen model, except both are now upgraded with Samsung's E6 OLED display technology for improved efficiency and outdoor visibility; you get up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness on the external panel.Meanwhile, with Xiaomi's improved hinge, the company can finally disclose a durability figure of 500,000 folds (certified by TUV Rheinland). As a bonus, the Mix Fold 3 finally supports hover mode from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, meaning you can prop up the rear cameras to attempt more artistic angles or timelapse shots - just make sure you don't accidentally scratch the external screen.Xiaomi is taking pre-orders for the Mix Fold 3, with prices ranging from 8,999 yuan or about $1,240 (12GB LPDDR5X with 256GB UFS 4.0 storage) to 10,999 yuan or around $1,515 (16GB RAM and 1TB storage). You'll be able to choose between a 5-layer composite material body (black only) and a more classic glass finish (black or gold). Like last year, all versions include a familiar-looking kickstand back cover in the box, but now with a bonus protection frame for the upper part of your foldable. However, Engadget understands that Xiaomi will once again be limiting its latest device to the Chinese market, which is probably a relief for the likes of Samsung and potentially Honor in the rest of the world.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-mix-fold-3-announced-available-in-china-only-135738419.html?src=rss
The big music labels, led by Sony and Universal, are filing a lawsuit against the Internet Archive to stop the non-profit's Great 78 Project. It's an effort to digitize and preserve recordings on old 78 RPM records, a format discontinued in 1959. The labels feel the Archive, the closest thing the web has to a public library, is infringing its copyrights after digitizing tracks from big names like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. And the labels are asking for damages of $150,000 per still-copyrighted recording - the better part of $372 million in total.The project's aim is to preserve underrepresented artists and genres" that might otherwise languish in obscurity. For all the songs of yore that still linger in the public's consciousness, there are countless more now consigned to the dustbin of history. For them, the best-case scenario is their publisher properly stores the masters in case there's ever a need to reproduce them. But given how easy it is for a company to junk material for a tax write-off, like in the recent case of Warner Bros., we can no longer rely on companies to treat their own history with the proper respect.It doesn't help that 78s are notoriously fragile, and if work to digitize them isn't handled properly, their material could be lost forever. If we're being honest, most of it is probably now only of interest to historians as a snapshot of what culture was really like. But, as weird as listening to Conrad Veidt's When the Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay is to our modern ears, we all deserve a chance to listen to what was pop music in 1933.- Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe best 60 percent keyboards in 2023The best iPhone accessories for 2023Rockstar recruits the team behind the biggest GTA V roleplay communityBose QuietComfort Ultra headphones and earbuds are reportedly on the way Zoom now says it won't use any customer content for AI training Instagram's musical photo carousels are a lot like TikTok's Photo Mode Jabra is reportedly readying new Elite 8 earbuds with premium ANC Biden administration earmarks $1.2 billion for two large-scale carbon capture projects America's original hacking supergroup creates a free framework to improve app security California deploys AI to detect wildfires before they spread Baldur's Gate III localization studio apologizes for omitting contract workers from credits Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail for witness tamperingPro tip: Don't use a paper of record to harass witnesses. People might notice.Sam Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked after a court accused the disgraced FTX founder of tampering with witnesses. Last month, Bankman-Fried showed a New York Times reporter a selection of personal writings from his former partner, Caroline Ellison. Ellison pleaded guilty to criminal charges in December and has since been cooperating with the FTX investigation. Prosecutors said Fried's sharing of those materials was a fairly blatant attempt to undermine her reputation with prospective jurors.Continue Reading. Chip implants get under your skin, so you can leave your keys at homeAnd, you know, it makes you look like you can do magic.There's a small subset of techie types who love nothing more than to get an RFID implant to make their life easier. A small chip inserted into the skin of their hand can help them access buildings, pay for the subway or share their contact details. If you're curious, you should check out Katie Malone's new story covering the benefits and burdens of getting one.Continue Reading.Scientists genetically engineer bacteria to detect cancer cellsIt's the first step on a long road for easier detection.CATCH is a new experimental technique using genetically modified bacteria to detect cancer cells in otherwise hard-to-reach areas. An international coalition of researchers found positive results while testing for colorectal cancer tumors in mice, but it's early days. There's still much more testing required before we can talk about using this for detection in human subjects, and plenty more work to see if the same technique could be used for treatment.Continue Reading. Apple TV's MLS Season Pass subscriptions have doubled since Messi's arrival in the USShock: People will pay to see the world's biggest footballer.Apple's decision to go all in on Major League Soccer and Lionel Messi has already started to pay off. Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas tweeted that, since the World Cup winner came to the US, Apple has seen MLS Season Pass subscriptions more than double. That his missive was retweeted by Apple CEO Tim Cook suggests the otherwise notoriously secretive company is happy to brag about the virtuous cycle Messi has had on football's impact in the US and Apple's bottom line.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-music-industry-battles-the-internet-archive-111517932.html?src=rss
There is something so great about when a device you really want - but don't want to fork up the money for - goes on sale. If you've been eyeing an Amazon Kindle Scribe, then, for you, that time is now. Currently, the 16GB Kindle Scribe is 18 percent off, with its price dropping from $340 to $280 - the best deal for it we've seen outside of Prime Day.Amazon's Kindle Scribe is the most premium option of the series, providing the benefits of its counterparts while also allowing you to read and write on a 10.2-inch screen with 35 front-light LEDs. It includes a basic pen for note-taking or marking up one of the millions of books available on Kindle. Plus, you can send notes to friends or yourself through email or text.Adults aren't the only ones who can benefit from Amazon's current Kindle sales. The Kindle Kids is 29 percent off right now, dropping from $120 to $85, and comes with one year of Amazon Kids+, a two-year warranty and parental control. It features a 6-inch screen, 300 ppi resolution, four front-light LEDs and Audible via Bluetooth. Plus, it comes with a cover and 16GB of storage.If you're looking for a few more features for the child in your life, the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite Kids is also 29 percent off, in this case dropping from $170 to $120. It has many of the same features as the Kindle Kids but with a 6.8-inch screen, 17 front light LEDs, an adjustable warm light and - potentially most importantly - a waterproof design.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-kindle-scribe-is-60-off-right-now-105552727.html?src=rss
Since its 2015 release, a new model of the Apple Watch has made its way into stores every year - often with minimal upgrades. Well, that might change when the Apple Watch X rolls around as the company is reportedly working on more substantial changes for its tenth-anniversary model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.The Apple Watch X upgrades could include a magnetic band attachment, replacing the slide-in design currently in use and allowing space for a larger battery. It might also have a thinner watch case and a microLED display, providing a better picture than current OLED screens. On the health front, the Apple Watch X will reportedly include a blood pressure sensor alongside the heart rate monitor, sleep tracking and blood oxygen detection already present in current models.This updated Apple Watch won't likely hit the market for another year if it follows the annual release schedule or two if Apple wants to wait a whole decade after its first release. The Apple Watch Series 9 is on its way first (and expected to be unveiled at an event this September), bringing with it a faster processor for the first time since the Series 6 and some new colors. It's expected to stay the same size as the Series 8 across its models and, overall, will be a limited upgrade.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-watch-x-will-reportedly-feature-a-thinner-casing-and-magnetic-bands-092419190.html?src=rss
The modern world of consumer tech wouldn't exist as we know it if not for the near-ubiquitous connectivity that Wi-Fi internet provides. It serves as the wireless link bridging our mobile devices and smart home appliances, enabling our streaming entertainment and connecting us to the global internet.In his new book, Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World's Most Beloved Technology, Greg Ennis, who co-authored the proposal that became the technical basis for WiFi technology before founding the Wi-Fi Alliance and serving as its VP of Technology for a quarter century, guides readers on the fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) genesis of this now everyday technology. In the excerpt below, Ennis recounts the harrowing final days of pitching and presentations before ultimately convincing the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standards committee to adopt their candidate protocol as well as examine the outside influence that Bob Metcalf - inventor of both Ethernet, the standard, and 3Com, the tech company - had on Wi-Fi's eventual emergence.Post Hill PressExcerpted from Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World's Most Beloved Technology (c) 2023 by Greg Ennis. Published by Post Hill Press. Used with permission.With our DFWMAC foundation now chosen, the work for the IEEE committee calmed down into a deliberate process for approving the actual text language for the standard. There were still some big gaps that needed to be filled in-most important being an encryption scheme-but the committee settled into a routine of developing draft versions of the MAC sections of the ultimate standard document. At the January 1994 meeting in San Jose, I was selected to be Technical Editor of the entire (MAC+PHY) standard along with Bob O'Hara, and the two of us would continue to serve as editors through the first publication of the final standard in 1997.The first draft of the MAC sections was basically our DFWMAC specification reformatted into the IEEE template. The development of the text was a well-established process within IEEE standards committees: as Bob and I would complete a draft, the members of the committee would submit comments, and at the subsequent meeting, there would be debates and decisions on improvements to the text. There were changes made to the packet formats, and detailed algorithmic language was developed for the operations of the protocol, but by and large, the conceptual framework of DFWMAC was left intact. In fact, nearly thirty years after DFWMAC was first proposed, its core ideas continue to form the foundation for Wi-Fi.While this text-finalization process was going on, the technology refused to stand still. Advances in both radio communications theory and circuit design meant that higher speeds might be possible beyond the 2-megabit maximum in the draft standard. Many companies within the industry were starting to look at higher speeds even before the original standard was finally formally adopted in 1997. Achieving a speed greater than 10 megabits - comparable to standard Ethernet - had become the wireless LAN industry's Holy Grail. The challenge was to do this while staying within the FCC's requirements - something that would require both science and art.Faster is always better, of course, but what was driving the push for 10 megabits? What wireless applications were really going to require 10-megabit speeds? The dominant applications for wireless LANs in the 1990s were the so-called verticals" - for example, Symbol's installations that involved handheld barcode scanners for inventory management. Such specialized wireless networks were installed by vertically integrated system providers offering a complete service package, including hardware, software, applications, training, and support, hence the vertical" nomenclature. While 10-megabit speeds would be nice for these vertical applications, it probably wasn't necessary, and if the cost were to go up, such speeds wouldn't be justifiable. So instead, it would be the so-called horizontal" market - wireless connectivity for general purpose computers - that drove this need for speed. In particular, the predominantly Ethernet-based office automation market, with PCs connected to shared printers and file servers, was seen as requiring faster speeds than the IEEE standard's 2 megabits.Bob Metcalfe is famous in the computer industry for three things: Ethernet, Metcalfe's Law, and 3Com. He co-invented Ethernet; that's simple enough and would be grounds for his fame all by itself. Metcalfe's Law- which, of course, is not actually a law of physics but nonetheless seems to have real explanatory power- states that the value of a communication technology is proportional to the square of the number of connected devices. This intuitively plausible law" explains the viral snowball effect that can result from the growing popularity of a network technology. But it would be Metcalfe's 3Com that enters into our Wi-Fi story at this moment.Metcalfe invented Ethernet while working at PARC, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. PARC played a key role in developing many of the most important technologies of today, including window-based graphic computer interfaces and laser printing, in addition to Ethernet. But Xerox is famous for Fumbling the Future," also the title of a 1999 book documenting how Xerox invented, then ignored, the first personal computer," since the innovations developed at PARC generally ended up being commercialized not by Xerox but by Apple and others. Not surprisingly, Metcalfe decided he needed a different company to take his Ethernet invention to the market, and in 1979, he formed 3Com with some partners.This was the same year I joined Sytek, which had been founded just a couple of months prior. Like 3Com, Sytek focused on LAN products, although based on broadband cable television technology in contrast to 3Com's Ethernet. But whereas Sytek concentrated on hardware, 3Com decided to also develop their own software supporting new LAN-based office applications for shared PC access to data files and printers. With these software products in combination with their Ethernet technology, 3Com became a dominant player in the booming office automation market during the nineties that followed the introduction of personal computers. Bob Metcalfe was famously skeptical about wireless LANs. In the August 16, 1993, issue of InfoWorld, he wrote up his opinion in a piece entitled Wireless computing will flop - permanently":
Some of the most advanced Roomba robot vacuums are on sale right now. Wellbots has the poop-detecting iRobot Roomba j7+ for an all-time low price of $549. Or, you can opt for our favorite vacuum / mop hybrid, the upgraded Roomba j7+ Combo, for $799. In both cases, you can enter the coupon code ENGROOMBA200 to receive the $200 discount exclusively for Engadget readers.The Roomba j7+ includes a bundled cleaning station and iRobot's poop detection tech. The company says the vacuum's advanced sensors will avoid pet feces - and its Pet Owner Official Promise" (P.O.O.P.) policy assures you it will replace the device for free if it runs over pet waste within its first year. The self-emptying vacuum also includes an intelligent mapping feature that lets you choose which rooms it covers, and you can schedule multiple cleanings per day in advance. The Roomba j7+ is usually $800, so its $549 discounted price (with code ENGROOMBA200) is worth noting if you've been on the lookout for a cleaning machine.Wellbots' coupon also applies to that model's upgraded sibling, one of Engadget's picks for the best robot vacuums. The Roomba j7+ Combo takes the j7+'s base features (including self-emptying tech and poop detection) and adds wet mopping, letting you transition seamlessly between carpet and floor cleaning. (It can do both simultaneously on hard floors.) It also includes a feature that can help keep your rugs dry by lifting the mop out of reach when it detects it's on a carpet. The j7+ Combo typically costs $1,100.Both devices work with the iRobot mobile app. It lets you manage the devices' smart mapping capabilities, remote startup and scheduling. We find the app to be simple, intuitive and a significant selling point for Roomba robot cleaners.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/irobots-poop-detecting-roomba-j7-is-at-an-all-time-low-price-right-now-130007090.html?src=rss
The Internet Archive is facing another lawsuit over one of its conservation projects. Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and a handful of other music labels have filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit organization, accusing it of copyright infringement for digitizing, "willfully upload[ing], distribut[ing] and digitally transmitt[ing]" pre-1972 sound recordings. In particular, the labels are suing Internet Archive for the Great 78 Project, which seeks to preserve music recorded on 78rpm discs.The labels call Internet Archive's efforts "blatant infringement," involving music by artists that include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. They also listed a few examples of "iconic recordings" available through the Great 78 Project, such as White Christmas, Sing, Sing, Sing, and The Christmas Song.The companies said the the songs preserved on the project website are already available through streaming and other music services, so they "face no danger of being lost, forgotten, or destroyed." But the organization explained on the project portal that there's "still research value in the artifacts and usage evidence in the often rare 78rpm discs and recordings."The plaintiffs disagree, writing in their complaint that Internet Archive's activities "far exceed" the limited purposes of preservation and research. "Internet Archive unabashedly seeks to provide free and unlimited access to music for everyone, regardless of copyright," they added. The labels are asking statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each protected sound recording, and that could add up to $372 million for the listed recordings, according to Bloomberg.Internet Archive is also embroiled in a legal battle with a group of US publishers led by Hachette Book Group over the National Emergency Library. The organization lent out digitally scanned copies of books through the program during the height of the pandemic, which the publishers described as "willful mass copyright infringement." A federal judge ruled against Internet Archive for that particular case, though the organization is planning to appeal that decision.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-and-other-music-labels-sue-internet-archive-for-digitizing-old-records-110108988.html?src=rss
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was sent to jail Friday after the judge overseeing his case revoked his bail. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan found probable cause that the disgraced former CEO repeatedly tampered with witnesses. In addition, Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried's attorneys' request to delay his detention pending appeal.Prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried tried to harass a crucial witness last month when he showed a New York Times reporter the personal writings of his former partner Caroline Ellison, a cooperating witness who pleaded guilty in December to criminal charges related to defrauding FTX investors. The prosecution said SBF's actions were an attempt to damage her reputation and influence prospective jurors. Meanwhile, SBF's defense team accused prosecutors of using evidence laden with innuendo, speculation, and scant facts." Judge Kaplan sided with prosecutors, saying Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice."Reutersreports that the 31-year-old former FTX boss was ushered out of the court by US Marshals after removing his shoelaces, jacket and tie and emptying his pockets." The former CEO had been under house arrest in California (at his parents' home in Palo Alto) since he was extradited in December following his arrest in the Bahamas last December. His $250 million bail package tightly controlled his internet usage.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sam-bankman-fried-sent-to-jail-for-witness-tampering-202906192.html?src=rss
A studio that handled Baldur's Gate III translations has apologized after outsourced workers were omitted from the game's credits. "We take full responsibility for this omission of our freelancers' names and apologize for the effects that it had," Altagram Group founder and CEO Marie Amigues said in a statement. "We would like to thank Larian for allowing us to quickly fix that error and update the credits section. The names of the Brazilian Portuguese translators will be included in an upcoming patch to the game."Although the credits did not feature the translators Altagram worked with, they included the names of the company's executives and department leads. Contractors who translated Baldur's Gate III into languages other than Brazilian Portuguese were credited, though different companies handled those localizations.
AI and climate change represent two ways humans may ravage life as we know it on Earth, but the former can also help with the consequences of the latter. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) revealed a new program today that uses AI to detect wildfires. Created in partnership with the University of California San Diego, the Alert California AI program takes feeds from 1,032 360-degree rotating cameras and uses AI to identify abnormalities within the camera feeds." It then notifies emergency services and other authorities to check if a potential blaze warrants a response.The program, launched in July, has already quelled at least one potential wildfire, according toReuters. A camera reportedly recorded a fledgling fire burning at 3 am in the remote Cleveland National Forest east of San Diego. The AI spotted the inferno and alerted a fire captain who called in about 60 firefighters including seven engines, two bulldozers, two water tankers and two hand crews." Cal Fire says the flames were extinguished within 45 minutes.Cal Fire / University of California San DiegoThe Alert California technology website says it uses LiDAR scans taken from airplanes and drones to create equally precise, three-dimensional information about scanned surfaces." It combines this with the physical traits of tree species to learn more about California's forest biomass and carbon content. Cal Fire says the ML model leverages petabytes of data from the cameras to differentiate between smoke and other airborne particles.The system was developed by UCSD engineers using AI from the California-based company DigitalPath. Cal Fire has invested over $20 million in the program over the past four years and promises an additional $3,516,000 in the near future.We're in extreme climate right now. So we give them the data, because this problem is bigger than all of us," Neal Driscoll, geology and geophysics professor at UCSD who serves as the program's principal investigator, told Reuters. We need to use technology to help move the needle, even if it's a little bit." However, Driscoll adds that the current sample size is too small to determine the program's overall effectiveness.You can check out Alert California's camera quilt" on your computer or mobile device. The website displays a grid of the remotely operated live camera views from across the region.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/california-deploys-ai-to-detect-wildfires-before-they-start-spreading-194535845.html?src=rss
Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc), a hacking group known for its activist endeavors, built an open source tool for developers to build secure apps. Veilid, launched at DEF CON on Friday, has options like letting users opt out of data collection and online tracking as a part of the group's mission to fight against the commercialization of the internet.We feel that at some point, the internet became less of a landscape of knowledge and idea sharing, and more of a monetized corporate machine," cDc leader Katelyn medus4" Bowden said. Our idea of what the internet should be looks more like the open landscape it once was, before our data became a commodity."Similar to other privacy products like Tor, cDc said there's no profit motive behind the product, which was created to promote ideals without the compromise of capitalism." The group emphasized the focus on building for good, not profit, by throwing slight shade at a competing conference for industry professionals, Black Hat, held in Las Vegas at the same time as DEF CON. If you wanted to go make a bunch of money, you'd be over at Black Hat right now," Bowden said to the audience of hackers.The design standards behind Veilid are like Tor and IPFS had sex and produced this thing," cDc hacker Christien DilDog" Rioux said at DEF CON. Tor is the privacy-focused web browser best known for its connections to the dark web," or unlisted websites. Run as a non-profit, the developers behind Tor run a system that routes web traffic through various tunnels" to obscure who you are and what you're browsing on the web. IPFS, or the InterPlanetary File System, is an open-source set of protocols behind the internet, mainly used for file sharing or publishing data on a decentralized network.The bigger Veilid gets, the more secure it will be as well, according to Rioux. The strength doesn't come from the number of apps made on the framework, but by how many people use the apps to further the routing of nodes that make up the network. The network gains strength by a single popular app," Rioux said. The big Veilid network is supported by the entire ecosystem not just your app." In the presentation, cDc likened the nodes to mutual aid in the sense that they work to strengthen and support each other to make the entire network more secure.Rious explained that VLD0 will be the cryptography - the protocols that keep information secure - behind Veilid. It's a mix of existing cryptography frameworks, like Ed25519 to support authentication efforts and xChaCha20-Poy1305 as its 192-bit encryption support. But, recognizing that advancing technology will change cryptography needs over time, cDc already has a plan to handle updates. Every new version of our crypto system is supported alongside the old ones" so that there are no gaps in security, Rioux said. cDc also put other measures in place like anti-spoofing, end-to-end encryption even at rest and data protection even if you lose your device.Veiled and cDc aim to build an approachable internet with fewer ads and more privacy, according to Bowden. Veilid Chat, a messaging app similar to Signal, will be the first app built on the framework. You'll be able to sign up without using a phone number, to decrease personal identifiers, Bowden told Engadget in an email.cDc is currently in the process of putting together a community and foundation to support the project. There are a lot of folks who can't see past web3 as far as privacy (we are more like the web2 we should have had), and really can't process the idea that we're doing this without a profit motive," Bowden said.Known as the original hacking supergroup," cDc's most noted accomplishments include inventing hacktivism, helping to develop Tor and pushing top companies to take privacy seriously. Notable members include former US representative from Texas, Beto O'Rourke.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/americas-original-hacking-supergroup-creates-a-free-framework-to-improve-app-security-190043865.html?src=rss
The Department of Energy is giving grants of up to $1.2 billion to two direct air capture (DAC) projects that aim to remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The agency says that's equivalent to the annual emissions of around 445,000 gas-powered cars. The DOE notes that the projects in Texas and Louisiana will "create 4,800 good-paying jobs" as well.DAC employs a chemical process to separate CO2 from the air. Facilities can then store CO2 underground or put it into carbon-containing products like concrete that prevent the gas from getting back into the atmosphere.These are the first commercial-scale DAC projects in the US. They'll each be capable of removing more than 250 times as much CO2 from the atmosphere than the current largest DAC location, according to the DOE. Occidental Petroleum subsidiary 1PointFive and its partners are building the Texas facility. The company's CEO says that, when the project is fully operational, it has the potential to remove up to 30 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.The two projects are the first selections from the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program, which the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded. The aim of the program is to mitigate the impact of climate change by developing a nationwide group of large-scale carbon removal sites that will work in harmony with other efforts to reduce emissions.The DOE says that, when it is sufficiently scaled up, DAC technology can help the US meet its target of neutralizing emissions by 2050. However, as Reuters notes, to reach the level of scale needed for DAC to have a big enough impact globally, it's imperative to reduce the costs involved quickly.To that end, the agency has announced several efforts to lower the costs of DAC to below $100 for each net metric ton of CO2-equivalent by the end of the 2020s. It's funding 14 feasibility studies along with five engineering and design studies for projects that are in earlier stages. There's also a $35 million government procurement program in place for carbon removal credits.To reach the Biden administration's goal of having a net zero emissions economy by 2050, the DOE estimates that between 400 million and 1.8 billion metric tons will have to be removed from the atmosphere and captured from emissions sources every year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/biden-administration-earmarks-12-billion-for-two-large-scale-carbon-capture-projects-184525151.html?src=rss
Jabra is preparing some earbud refreshes with high-tech features, according to reputable third-party source MySmartPrice. The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds look to be a refresh that combines elements from the Elite 7 Active and the well-reviewed Elite 7 Pro. The company also seems to be skipping an entire iteration, as it's also reportedly prepping the Jabra Elite 10 earbuds, just like how Apple skipped over the iPhone 9 in favor of the catchier iPhone X.The Elite 8 Active true-wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds will offer voice assistant support and adaptive hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) which is a pricier and premium alternative to more traditional ANC methods. The earbuds will reportedly have an IP58 rating for both water and dust-resistance, with the charging case offering an IP54 rating.The earbuds boast Jabra's proprietary secure in-ear ShakeGrip technology, which is basically a liquid silicone rubber exterior that stays put when placed in the ear. Reports indicate that these buds will also allow for fast pairing, Spotify tap playback and more.MySmartPriceNot as much is known about the Jabra Elite 10 line, though it looks like the earbuds will offer ANC, fast pairing, Dolby Atmos support, voice assistant support, Spotify tap playback and the same water and dust-resistance ratings as the Elite 8 Active earbuds. They'll also be available in gold and beige, with a possibility for more color options.Some major specs, like battery life, are still being kept under wraps, as these earbuds have yet to be officially announced. It's worth noting that the Jabra Elite 7 earbuds got around 30 hours per charge. There's no pricing or availability information yet for either of these products. We'll keep you updated.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jabra-is-reportedly-readying-new-elite-8-earbuds-with-premium-anc-183426944.html?src=rss
Instagram now lets you add music to photo carousels. Unveiled in partnership with pop star Olivia Rodrigo to promote her single bad idea right?", the feature allows you to pick licensed music to soundtrack your slideshows. In addition, the company announced that you can create Collabs with up to three co-authors and post audience-response prompts to Reels.The carousel soundtracking feature adds a missing piece already found in TikTok's Photo Mode, launched last year. Whether you're sharing a collection of summer memories with friends or moments from your camera roll, you can now add music to your photo carousels," Instagram wrote in a blog post today. Building off our launch of music for feed photos, anyone can add a song to capture the mood and bring their carousel to life."Also announced today, Instagram Collabs adds the ability to invite up to three friends (up from one) to help co-author feed posts, carousels or reels. The platform says each contributor's audience will see the content (perhaps hinting that it could be a handy way for influencers to benefit from each other's followings) and will feature on each account's profile grid. In addition, the company says private profiles can still start posts / reels and invite collaborators as long as they follow the private account.InstagramInstagram also updated how the Add Yours sticker works. When a creator adds the new Add Yours prompt to a Reel and followers contribute content as a response, the creator can now highlight their favorite posted replies for all their followers to see. With the Add Yours sticker, a creator or artist can invite their followers to join in on a fun prompt or challenge they create on Reels, and then hand-pick their favorite submissions to celebrate their fans' creativity." It essentially sounds like a way to use the human social desire to connect with high-status figures (especially celebrities like Rodrigo) to build engagement for creators and the platform as a whole.Finally, Instagram noted that it's bringing its music library to more countries over the coming weeks," although it hasn't yet announced specific nations or dates. However, it did mention that Instagram is partnering with Spotify in Mexico and Brazil to showcase 50 of the most popular songs on Instagram Reels on the music platform's Reels Music Chart.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagrams-musical-photo-carousels-are-a-lot-like-tiktoks-photo-mode-174008037.html?src=rss
This week marks the official availability of Samsung's two new foldable phones and ourreviews are in. While you wouldn't expect a deal this early, Amazon is throwing in a gift card if you order either the foldable or flip phone from it site. Other deals include a decent $50 discount on the disc version of the PlayStation 5 from multiple retailers and $100 off Apple's 5th-gen iPad Air. Google Pixel devices are also on sale, with a $55 discount on the very capable Pixel 7a smartphone and $60 off on both the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Buds Pro. Music makers might want to check out the summer sale at Arturia and live streamers in may like Amazon's discount on Razer's Stream Controller X. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.PlayStation 5Once upon a time (last year) it was tough to find a PlayStation 5 in stock, and now it's on sale at multiple retailers for its lowest price yet. Right now the pricier disc-enabled version is $50 off at Amazon, Walmart, Verizon and Best Buy -you can even get the same deal directly from Sony if you prefer. We think the PS5 is the best premium gaming console you can buy. The graphics are stunning and the performance is seamless, thanks to big improvements in power and visual fidelity over the PS4. Plus PlayStation has a deep bench of exclusive titles to play.The console also comes with an excellent DualSense controller that gives you precise and intense haptic feedback along with triggers that adjust the tension in response to your in-game actions. And speaking of...PlayStation DualSense controllerYour new PS5 comes with one DualSense controller, but if you need another for couch co-op games or if you want a spare just in case, this is a good time to buy as Amazon has multiple shades of the Sony controller on sale for up to 35 percent off. That brings it down from $75 to $40 or $50, depending on the color. Note that the discount doesn't apply to the DualSense Edge controller, which is holding strong at $200. That gamepad includes swappable joysticks, additional paddles and easy button remapping, which we liked overall, but did take some issue with a battery life that could be longer.Apple iPad Air (5th gen)Of all available Apple tablets, the 5th generation iPad Air is the one we think will work best for most people and right now it's down to $500. That's the same price it went for during Amazon's Prime Day last month, but now you can also snag the deal from Best Buy or Target. This sale price applies to the 64GB model with WiFi connectivity. The models with more storage and added cellular capabilities are also on sale, for between 13 and 22 percent off.The iPad Air arrived in 2022, carrying Apple's own M1 system-on-a-chip processor. The screen is bright and sharp, which is great for gaming and watching shows. Pair it with a keyboard and other accessories and it becomes a capable productivity machine, handling writing, drawing, moderate photo editing and work-related apps like Airtable, Slack and Zoom.Google Pixel 7aOur favorite mid-range Android smartphone is Google's Pixel 7a and right now unlocked handsets are down to the lowest price we've tracked, selling for just $444 at multiple outlets, including Amazon, Best Buy and directly from Google. The price applies to all colorways, though if you'd like it in coral, you'll have to get it from Google's storefront as that hue is exclusively available there.We gave the Pixel 7a 90 in our review, calling it a slightly smaller Pixel 7, but cheaper. It's got the same processor, same 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as the base base model Pixel 7 and actually contains a bigger battery and higher-res cameras than its pricier sibling.Other Pixel devices are on sale too, including a 12 percent discount on the new Pixel Tablet, which brings it down to $439 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy or from Google's shop. You can check out our review of the tablet (and its particularly useful charging speaker dock) here.Google Pixel Buds ProOur favorite wireless earbuds for Android users are the Google Pixel Buds Pro, which are currently $140 at Amazon, Walmart, Target or from Google's storefront. That's a 30 percent discount and close to an all-time low. We like the deep, punchy bass and good noise cancelling capabilities. They have intuitive touch controls and a few extra features for Android and Pixel devices including Google Translate Conversation Mode. If you want something even cheaper, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series are down to $60 from $100 - a 40 percent discount.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 + $200 Amazon Gift CardSamsung's new foldables are now available, but Amazon is continuing to offer the $200 gift card bonus it included for pre-orders. Previously the retailer also threw in a free storage upgrade, but that deal looks to be expired. Still, $200 at Amazon is a decent perk - I'm confident most people can find something to buy.Engadget's review of the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 just hit our site yesterday, and in it, Sam Rutherford noted that Samsung seems to be losing momentum after getting a sizable head start in the foldable race. But the new foldable is still faster and sleeker than its predecessor and has a new hinge that makes it thinner overall. It's just not a major upgrade from what we've seen previously. That said, if you're interested in a powerful foldable with bright and useful screens, this $200 gift card should take some sting out of the still-high price tag.Amazon has a similar deal going for the Galaxy Z Flip 5, shipping a $150 gift card when you order the phone. Engadget's Cherlynn Low reviewed that device and deemed it "the best flip foldable," partly thanks to the much larger 3.4-inch external display that's now actually useful.Razer Stream Controller XRazer's Stream Controller X is back down to an all-time low of $125, or 16 percent off its usual $150 price tag. The brand released the programmable streaming deck earlier this year and now it's back down to the low it hit over Amazon's Prime Day in July. The desktop device has 15 programmable shortcut buttons to get you streaming faster and in far more style than operating your apps, lights and effects manually. The button icons are customizable and you even have the option of swapping in different magnetic face plates so you can make your live stream setup your own.Samsung Galaxy S23 UltraFoldables are generating most of Samsung's buzz right now, which is possibly why their latest no-fold smartphone is seeing a sizable discount. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is our current pick for the best Android smartphone you can buy and right now it's cheaper than ever on Amazon, down to $950 after a $250 discount. We gave the S23 Ultra an Engadget review score of 89 and particularly appreciated the brilliant AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, the excellent cameras and substantial battery life that went for 19 hours and 26 minutes in our rundown tests.The Galaxy S23+ is also cheaper than ever, currently $800 instead of $1,000. Both that discount and the sale on the Ultra beat the all-time lows we saw back in July, but unfortunately, the base model Galaxy S23 handsets are sold out at Amazon as of this writing.13-inch MacBook Air (M2, 2022)A few different Apple laptops with M2 chips are seeing discounts right now. That may be due to the fact that machines using a newer M3 chip are imminent. The 13-inch MacBook Air from 2022 is down to $949 at B&H Photo and Best Buy, which matches the lowest price we've tracked. The discount applies to the configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD, which usually goes for $1,099.It's our top pick for the best overall laptop, and earned a review score of 96 when it first came out. The ultraportable weighs just 2.7 pounds and has a thin, balanced design (the wedge shape of earlier Air laptops is gone). The screen is bright and accurate and the battery should last through 16 and a half hours of use, as it did in our video rundown test. Overall, it's a dependable computer for everyday entertainment and typical productivity - if you want something for heavy media editing, you may want to go for the Pro model, below.If you want a little more screen real estate, you can go for the new 15-inch MacBook Air, which is currently $100 off, though earlier this week it saw a $200 discount at Amazon, a sale that will likely come around again, considering the coming M3 machines.14-inch MacBook Pro (M2, 2023)The M2 Pro and M2 Max chips give the MacBook Pro models a lot of processing power, which is ideal for music producers, video makers and other heavy users. The 14-inch model with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage is down to $1,799 at Amazon, which is a $250 discount off the current MSRP and $50 lower than it went for during Amazon's Prime Day sale in July. We gave the MacBook Pro a review score of 92 when it came out in January of 2023. We like the sturdy design, plethora of ports and the clarity and lushness of the Liquid Retina XDR display.Again, Apple is likely to release the M3 chips later this year, but if history is any indicator, they probably won't release the supercharged M3 Pro or Max chips until many months later. Either way, Apple is likely to keep these laptops in their lineup after the new chips arrive.Google Chromecast HDGoogle's HD Chromecast dongle turns a regular TV into a smart one and right now is back down to $20, which matches its lowest price this year (it went for $2 less during last November's Black Friday sales). This is the HD version of the dongle, which is best for people with 1080p screens (the 4K version isn't currently on sale). We reviewed the Chromecast with Google TV when it came out last year and appreciated the easy set up, the useful remote and dead-simple streaming interface. If you've got a standard TV that could use more smarts, or are heading out on vacation and want to watch your shows on the hotel's (HDMI-enabled) TVs, this is a great device to have on hand.Samsung storage saleEngadget's Jeff Dunn named Samsung's Pro Plus microSD the best option for most people in his latest guide and right now multiple capacities are down to their lowest prices so far. The largest 512GB version is $35 instead of $60 while the 128GB size is just $12. These are the newer versions of the Pro Plus cards, which had the nearly the best sequential write performance and had faster random read/write speeds of all the cards we tested.Other Samsung storage devices are on sale too, including the 970 EVO Plus 500GB internal SSD for 23 percent off and the external 1TB T7 Shield portable SSD for 56 percent off.Arturia Summer SaleMusicians looking for some new sounds would do well to check out Arturia's summer sale, which is running through August 15th. Many of their digital instruments, sound bank packs and effects are 50 percent off. Engadget's Terrence O'Brien had good things to say about their Pigments synthesizer, which is now $99 instead of its usual $199. The Dist Coldfire plugin, which Terrence says "might be might be the only distortion plugin you need" is now $49 instead of $99. Many more instruments and effects are on sale, so this is a good time to look around. Just note that the sale doesn't include combo packs or hardware instruments and the sale ends August 15th.HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless gaming headsetThe top wireless pick in our guide to gaming headsets is the HyperX Cloud Alpha, which is now just $154 at Amazon or Best Buy. Engadget's Jeff Dunn particularly liked the impressive battery life, which can go for 300 hours on a charge. The set is also comfortable to wear for hours on end so you can test out that capacity for yourself. The sound is a little bass heavy and the mic isn't as great as others in its field, but the headset is perfectly serviceable. Jeff does point out that HyperX's companion software has been known to introduce latency, so you're better off going with third-party or built-in controls for audio EQ adjustments. It's also not compatible with Xbox and requires the use of its USB dongle.Instant Pot SaleAs part of a larger Amazon sale on Instant Pot appliances, the Instant Pot Duo is on sale for $60 instead of the usual $80. The do-nearly-everything cooker is an Engadget favorite, so it's great to see a few different iterations on sale. The sale also covers the brand's air friers, including the Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook fryer in the 6-quart size, which is $130 instead of its usual $170. That's our current pick for the best overall air fryer you can buy.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-playstation-5-drops-back-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-173119382.html?src=rss
Zoom has reversed course (again) and updated its terms of service after a backlash earlier this week. Following consumer blowback to a recently highlighted update to its terms which appeared to grant the platform the unlimited ability to use customer data to train AI models, it now says it will not use any consumer data to train AI models from Zoom or third parties. The previous wording said it wouldn't do so without customer consent," which raised eyebrows since consent" was (at best) a gray area for people joining a call (and acknowledging a pop-up) in which the meeting organizer enabled the feature and already agreed to the terms.Zoom's changes were listed in a preamble update to its previous blog post. Following feedback received regarding Zoom's recently updated terms of service, particularly related to our new generative artificial intelligence features, Zoom has updated our terms of service and the below blog post to make it clear that Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen-sharing, attachments, or other communications like customer content (such as poll results, whiteboard, and reactions) to train Zoom's or third-party artificial intelligence models," the notice reads.Indeed, the previously troublesome section 10 in Zoom's terms of service, related to AI and consumer data, has also changed. Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models," the updated version reads. The previous variant of that section, even after Zoom made concessions in response to the blowback, appended the phrase without customer consent." But since consent" seemed to be granted by simply joining a meeting (maybe even one required for your job) and acknowledging a popup, some users saw this as a potentially sneaky loophole to harvest AI data in situations where people don't have much choice. The new version removes that ambiguity.We've updated our terms of service (in section 10) to further confirm that Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen-sharing, attachments, or other communications like customer content (such as poll results, whiteboard, and reactions) to train Zoom's or third-party artificial intelligence models," Hashim stated in the revised blog post. In addition, we have updated our in-product notices to reflect this."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/zoom-now-says-it-wont-use-any-customer-content-for-ai-training-170533411.html?src=rss
Software engineer Miana Windall has about 25 implants under her skin, ranging from magnets to RFID tech. While that might make your skin crawl if you're squeamish, for the most part, they're not really noticeable," she told Engadget. At the DEF CON security conference on Thursday, Windall talked about how she became interested in the implants, and her experience programming them for personal use, like scanning into her former office building.RFID tech powers scannable technology like subway cards or tap to pay. The relatively simple tech was first patented in the 1970s, and body modification dates back millennia. Despite this, RFID implants still haven't reached their full potential, and they're still a gimmick for a lot of people, Windall said. But if you want to go clubbing and not bring a bag, you can buy the right style of lock and implant a sensor that you can't lose to scan in and out of your home.Still, they're not magic. Chip implants don't work like Hollywood movies," founder of biohacking and implant service Dangerous Things Amal Graafstra told Engadget. They're not even active or alive or energized when there's no reader that is within a very close proximity"That means the scope of use for RFID implants is pretty limited and it's mostly a foundational tech that you'd have to be able to hack yourself for it to be useful. There are limited out-of-the-box use cases, like the Tesla keycard implant that lets you start your car, but usually a user has to be able to copy certain key configurations onto it themself. When we sell the transponder, we're selling a key but not the lock," Graafstra said. The user has to have some technical savvy to make the lock."It's helpful to know that before going to a body modification artist or piercer to get one put in, or else you might end up with a chip you can't use. Do your research and make sure what you want as possible before you have surgery," Windall said. Although, Windall herself does have some inactive ones that are harmless to keep under the skin.Companies are now looking for ways to use RFID implants as security tools, too. There's an inherent vulnerability associated with RFID tech because it requires access credentials to be open to being stolen. But having those credentials as an implant at least prevents someone from easily stealing your access card or information.The chances of someone coming along and being able to scan your credential without you knowing about it, it's probably not that high," Windall said. You can't have your hand pickpocketed, at least not without a machete."Plus as authentication becomes more important to prevent unauthorized account access, these implants could be used to prove your identity. As companies look to replace two-factor authentication with passkeys, putting those credentials under your skin could be possible. Your passkey can be uploaded to a chip implant that can verify your identity, as opposed to a hardware key that could get lost or a text message verification that can be duped, according to Graafstra.RFID implants don't require FDA approval because they're not medical devices. While they appear generally safe and secure, there are risk factors to consider, according to professor in the College of Media at the University of Colorado Boulder Harsha Gangadharbatla, PhD.Consumers should be fully aware of the hidden" costs (privacy, risks, and advertising messages) associated with such tech and not just the cost of getting such implants," he said in an email to Engadget.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chip-implants-get-under-your-skin-so-you-can-leave-your-keys-at-home-170008199.html?src=rss
Bose is reportedly preparing to launch some new headphones and earbuds, a refresh in the QuietComfort line, as leaked by MySmartPrice.The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds will be a successor to the well-reviewed QuietComfort Earbuds II and the QuietComfort Ultra headphones look to be a more premium-take on the company's QuietComfort 45 headphones.One of the highlights of any Bose product, and particularly the QuietComfort II earbuds, is active noise cancellation. The company's ANC technology is unparalleled and these new products offer it in spades. Both new products offer fully-integrated ANC technology so you can safely ignore the person next to you on your next flight.Beyond ANC, the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds ship with a variety of soft ear tips, with a similar exterior design to its predecessor. They are available in black or white and should include a built-in microphone, touch controls, Bluetooth v5.3 support, IPX4 water-resistance and more. Bose hasn't officially announced these yet, so some specs remain under wraps.MySmartPriceThe Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones will also be available in black or white, with physical buttons to adjust volume and control music similar to other products in the QuietComfort line. There's also a USB-C port for both charging and for making wired connections, and a sleek design reminiscent of the beloved Bose 700 line of headphones.Remember, these are leaks from a reputable third-party, so Bose hasn't announced pricing or availability. A recent report from Dealabs, however, suggests that the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds will cost around $380, and the QuietComfort Ultra headphones will cost $550. As for availability, Bose tends to release new product lines in September, so look for a launch around then.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bose-quietcomfort-ultra-headphones-and-earbuds-are-reportedly-on-the-way-165508108.html?src=rss
Even though it's very nearly a decade old, Grand Theft Auto V is still one of the biggest games on the planet. More than 151,000 people are playing it on Steam alone at the time of writing and it still makes a major contribution to Rockstar Games owner Take-Two's bank balance.Roleplaying has been a major contributor to GTA V's enduring popularity, with tens of thousands of players using mods to create characters that live, work and play with greater freedom in San Andreas and Los Santos. Now, Rockstar is making moves in that space as Cfx.re, the team behind the biggest GTA V (FiveM) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (RedM) mods and communities, has joined the publisher."Over the past few years, we've watched with excitement as Rockstar's creative community have found new ways to expand the possibilities of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly through the creation of dedicated roleplay servers," Rockstar wrote in its announcement. "As a way to further support those efforts, we recently expanded our policy on mods to officially include those made by the roleplay creative community. By partnering with the Cfx.re team, we will help them find new ways to support this incredible community and improve the services they provide to their developers and players."The Cfx.re crew is jazzed about the move as well. "This is a huge step forward in the growth of our community, and an opportunity for us to work with Rockstar Games to advance the FiveM platform and the creative community surrounding it," the team wrote in a forum post. "While our day-to-day operations won't have any noticeable changes, with Rockstar's support, we are going to continue to improve our platform and we are truly excited for what this means for our users, community and creators!"As Polygonnotes, more than 170,000 players were using the FiveM on custom servers on Friday morning, according to the mod's website. The popular NoPixel server runs on FiveM and uses custom scripts to enhance the roleplaying experience.Rockstar and Cfx.re haven't fully detailed their plans for FiveM and RedM. In any case, Rockstar is now in a position to do whatever it wants with the mods. It will absolutely want to keep supporting GTA Onlineand its communities for the foreseeable future, but there is the small matter of a new Grand Theft Auto game on the horizon.When Grand Theft Auto VI debuts - perhaps next year - it could have robust roleplaying features baked in thanks to the help of the Cfx.re team. As such, there's a possibility that Rockstar could take full ownership of the GTA VI roleplaying scene by having it already in the game and restricting mods. This is speculation, in fairness, but the impact of this acquisition on the GTA roleplaying community in the years to come is worth considering.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rockstar-recruits-the-team-behind-the-biggest-gta-v-roleplay-community-163911086.html?src=rss
Lionel Messi has hit the ground running in Major League Soccer, and he's boosting Apple's bottom line in the process. Tickets for Inter Miami games have soared in price since Messi, the greatest soccer player of his generation and arguably the best of all time, joined the team several weeks ago. On top of that, subscriptions to Apple TV's MLS Season Pass have more than doubled since the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star started plying his trade in the US in July.That's according to Jorge Mas, one of Inter Miami's owners. Mas added that "Spanish language viewership on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV has surpassed over 50 percent for Messi matches and continues to rise," underscoring the player's popularity in the Spanish-speaking community. Apple CEO Tim Cook retweeted Mas' comments, indicating that Mas' claims are genuine (Apple's PR team has been drawing attention to the tweet as well).
This week, Cherlynn and Sam are joined by noted foldables lover Michael Fisher (aka Mr Mobile) to talk all about their respective reviews of Samsung's latest products. Why are our hosts more excited for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 than the Z Fold 5? Is Samsung coasting? Then, we discuss the latest happenings in X vs Threads, as well as a bunch of lighthearted news in tech this week.Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!Subscribe!
Gaming keyboards are plentiful and diverse right now. You can buy them in black or white, wired or wireless, and with at least a dozen key switch options. And every year they've gotten bigger and more complex, with media buttons and macro keys and bright rainbow LED backlighting. However, this past year has seen some manufacturers go in the opposite direction, introducing 60 percent keyboards that are cute and compact, taking up less desk space. But are they worth buying?How many keys does a 60 percent keyboard have?Kris Naudus / EngadgetFirst off, it's worth noting that the best gaming keyboards tend to follow one of three different configurations. The most common one is the full-size keyboard, which will usually have somewhere between 100 and 110 keys, depending on whether the manufacturer includes media buttons or macro keys. There's always a function row located along the top of the keyboard, and a number pad on the far right. Most gamers will prefer a full-size model rather than a compact keyboard because it lets them perform many different functions with just one press, and set up macros for activities that aren't already built-in to the keyboard.Tenkeyless decks have been pretty common for a while now; those are keyboards that omit the number pad on the right. That's it. They still have function keys and media controls, but they're narrower since they omit 17 keys. Yeah, it's actually more than 10 keys but seventeenkeyless" doesn't have the same ring to it. Gamers might opt for one of these when they need a little more space on their desk, and they don't need a quick way to enter numbers or do calculations (which is my number one use case for the right-hand pad).Then there are 60 percent keyboards which, as the name indicates, drop 40 percent of the standard keyboard size and only have 61 keys. Not only do they just remove the num pad, but the function keys are gone, along with the arrow keys and those weird system keys like print screen" and home" that are only useful when you happen to need them. On some computers they don't even work.On a 60 percent keyboard you'll access these buttons by using the function key; there's no standard layout between companies so you'll have to learn new hotkeys and shortcuts if you switch between manufacturers like Razer, HyperX or Corsair. They also lack built-in wrist rests that would make them more ergonomic, though the height is at least adjustable.Razer also just introduced a 65 percent keyboard, a less common configuration which keeps the arrow keys and some functions but still tosses the rest to maintain a reduced profile. This is probably a preferred option if you use the arrow keys a lot. I need them because I edit a lot of text, and some games may use them instead of the standard WASD array for controlling your character.What are the benefits of a 60 percent keyboard?Kris Naudus / EngadgetWith so many functions removed, why buy a 60 percent keyboard? The number one reason to use a compact keyboard is space of course. If you're gaming in tight spaces or just have a lot of crap on your desk like I do, not having to shove stuff aside just to make some elbow room is nice. It's especially helpful if you tend to eat near your computer, as a 60 percent keyboard's small size makes it easy to push out of the way to rest a plate or bowl on your desk. It actually keeps the keyboard a lot cleaner, too, since I can easily shake crumbs out of it with one hand.A smaller keyboard size also makes it more portable, obviously, with a 60 percent keyboard taking up less space than a laptop in your bag, though it's still a little thick. They do have lower-profile keys than standard decks at least, though if thickness is your number one concern then carrying around a mechanical keyboard is probably not for you.One big feature that doesn't get talked about a lot is that all of the recent 60 (and 65) percent decks are not wireless keyboards and use detachable USB-C cords. So if you switch between workspaces often, you can easily leave a cord at each desk to quickly plug in your keyboard. As someone who tests a lot of keyboards I've found this handy because I have connection options and can switch out the deck and leave the cord intact. It's often a real pain to have to unplug cords and untangle them from my office setup every time I try a new keyboard, but for the 60 percent models I've been using the same wire for all of them.The best for most gamers: Razer Huntsman MiniThe best of the major 60 percent keyboards out there right now is the Huntsman Mini. It uses Razer's opto-mechanical switches, which I haven't been too fond of in the past, but the company seems to have made some changes that make it a much more pleasant typing experience. This gaming keyboard is quiet and smooth with good response time, though people who prefer a springy key feel should look elsewhere. It's not a wireless keyboard, so if you take it on the go you'll need to make sure you always have a USB-C cable handy. The Huntsman Mini gaming keyboard also comes in white, which means it'll blend into your decor more than most gaming accessories, especially if you choose to customize the LED lighting effects.Pros: Attractive; good typing feel; comes in white.Cons: No wireless connectivity; not everyone will be a fan of opto-mechanical keys.Runner up: HyperX Alloy Origins 60If you need a solid, sturdy brick of a 60 percent keyboard, the HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a mechanical deck on a metal baseboard. The downside is that it's heavier than the other options on the market, so it might not be the best if you're aiming to keep your travel bag as light as possible. But if you're a particularly rough typist this is the one with the build quality that will best hold up against hard keystrokes. It also earns points for being the one 60 percent keyboard that puts the secondary arrow functions at the bottom right of the deck where you'd normally look for those, instead of tucking them away in the middle.Pros: Solidly built; lower price point than other 60 percent options; well-placed arrow keys.Cons: Heavy; no wireless.The best with arrow keys: Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeedRazer's BlackWidow line has long been a favorite of the gamers here at Engadget, and the V3 Mini is no exception. Unlike the other keyboards on this list it's a 65 percent keyboard, which means it still has arrow keys and a column of miscellaneous keys on the right side that can double as macro buttons. There are two switch types available to suit different typing preferences, either clicky and tactile (green) or linear and silent (yellow). It's worth noting that the latter description is the company's term for it, and the V3 Mini's typing is still noticeably audible to those around you.Pros: Two types of key switches available; has both 2.4G and Bluetooth connectivity; includes keys other keyboards don't have.Cons: Expensive; the lip at the bottom is bulky.A cheaper but underwhelming option: Corsair K65 RGB MiniCorsair usually makes pretty great keyboards, but I couldn't necessarily say that of the K65 RGB Mini, its entry into the 60 percent market. The materials and overall durability were substandard for the company, with a plastic casing that felt hollow and keys that made a ringing noise when hit. But it's not a completely terrible accessory, and users already invested in Corsair's iCUE software might want to keep their accessories streamlined under one customization suite instead of having to bounce between different interfaces. If that isn't a concern for you, the HyperX Alloy Origin 60 is the best budget option.Pros: Uses Corsair's iCUE software; key feel is good.Cons: Cheap materials; noisy typing experience; no wireless.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-60-percent-keyboards-160038272.html?src=rss
An international team of scientists has developed a new technology that can help detect (or even treat) cancer in hard-to-reach places, such as the colon. The team has published a paper in Science for the technique dubbed CATCH, or cellular assay for targeted, CRISPR-discriminated horizontal gene transfer. For their lab experiments, the scientists used a species of bacterium called Acinetobacter baylyi. This bacterium has the ability to naturally take up free-floating DNA from its surroundings and then integrate it into its own genome, allowing it to produce new protein for growth.What the scientists did was engineer A. baylyi bacteria so that they'd contain long sequences of DNA mirroring the DNA found in human cancer cells. These sequences serve as some sort of one-half of a zipper that locks on to captured cancer DNA. For their tests, the scientists focus on the mutated KRAS gene that's commonly found in colorectal tumors. If an A. baylyi bacterium finds a mutated DNA and integrates it into its genome, a linked antibiotic resistance gene also gets activated. That's what the team used to confirm the presence of cancer cells: After all, only bacteria with active antibiotic resistance could grow on culture plates filled with antibiotics.While the scientists were successfully able to detect tumor DNA in mice injected with colorectal cancer cells in the lab, the technology is still not ready to be used for actual diagnosis. The team said it's still working on the next steps, including improving the technique's efficiency and evaluating how it performs compared to other diagnostic tests. "The most exciting aspect of cellular healthcare, however, is not in the mere detection of disease. A laboratory can do that," Dan Worthley, one of the study's authors, wrote in The Conversation. In the future, the technology could also be used for targeted biological therapy that can deploy treatment to specific parts of the body based on the presence of certain DNA sequences.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/scientists-genetically-engineer-bacteria-to-detect-cancer-cells-114511365.html?src=rss
We've all been in Samsung's position, promising something before quickly realizing we couldn't, or didn't want to, actually follow through. But the Korean giant might get a record for the speed at which it walked back its initial pledge. It had intended to give Galaxy S23 owners the chance to beta test several One UI 6 features ahead of launch. Users in the US, Germany and South Korea would be able to see what tweaks the company had added to Android 14 and see what worked, and what didn't.Or that was the plan. Not long after the news dropped, Samsung began to walk back its promise. It told Engadget (and the rest of the media) it would delay the launch of the beta test until further notice, but with no justification. The initial announcement disappeared from Samsung's press site, and everyone's left mulling what could have been so problematic as to require this sort of scorched-earth approach.-Dan CooperYou can get these reports delivered daily, direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThis Resident Evil Humble Bundle contains 11 games for $35The best gaming laptops for 2023The best Android phones for 2023Tesla faces fresh safety probe following fatal accidentNine thoughts about the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds blockbuster finaleNo spoilers here, I promise.Michael Gibson / Paramount+Star Trek: Strange New Worldsconcluded its second season yesterday with a blockbuster finale. Hegemony" pits the Enterprise crew against a formidable foe that requires every bit of their collective cunning for them to triumph. I jotted down nine thoughts both about this episode and also about the shape of the second season more generally. Which, it's easy to say, has cemented itself as the best run of a live-action Trek in the streaming era.Continue Reading.Amazon is reportedly cutting most of its in-house clothing brandsA cynic might say this is to fend off antitrust action.Amazon is closing the majority of its in-house clothing and furniture brands, including Lark & Lo, Goodthreads and Stone & Beam. Reports say it's canning 27 out of 30 brands, with Amazon saying the marques haven't resonated with consumers. A cynic might argue this is Amazon getting its house in order ahead of potential antitrust action by the FTC. The US has previously probed Amazon's ability to spot popular products made by third party sellers on its platform and produce a homegrown, er, variation under one of its own brands.Continue Reading.Watch Virgin Galactic's first ever space tourist flight at 11am ETIncluding the company's first paying customer.Virgin GalacticYesterday saw Virgin Galactic's first private passenger flight successfully take three civilians to the edge of space and back. It included its first paying customer, former Olympian Jon Goodwin, who coughed up $250,000 for his ticket all the way back in 2014. He was joined by a mother and daughter team of Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, who won their seats in a fundraising draw. The stream of the event is available and, I'll be honest, it's worth a watch just for the chest-tightening moment when the crew starts floating in zero gravity.Continue Reading.X CEO confirms video calls are coming to the platformBecause, sure, that's its priority right now.Xwitter CEO Linda Yaccrino has announced video chat is coming to the platform as part of its plan to become an everything" app. The CEO said video calls would bolster work to turn X into a global town square, full of people exercising their right to free expression. Given the sort of free expression the company is currently endorsing, you might want to stick to your free video calling platform of choice - it's not as if we're hurting for those right now.Continue Reading.The long-rumored Quake II remaster is out now on PC and consolesTweaks include widescreen support, 120Hz refresh rates and 4K.Bethesda SoftworksThe long-awaited remaster of Quake II wasn't just announced, it's already available to play on most platforms. If you own the original on GOG or Steam, you'll get a free bump to the new edition, with plenty of modern-day quality-of-life upgrades. The remastered edition also includes content cut from some versions and the original expansion packs, as well as a new expansion from MachineGames. Well, that's your weekend sorted.Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-samsung-flip-flops-on-a-one-ui-beta-test-111536441.html?src=rss