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by Stephanie Barnes on (#6G2VM)
It looks like Amazon is hellbent on keeping its spot as the biggest online retailer - even if that means hurting both sellers and customers. In September, the FTC filed a long-expected antitrust lawsuit against Amazon over its alleged use of illegal strategies to stay on top. Details of the suit were previously withheld from the public, but today a mostly unredacted version was released.Amazon's undeniable dominance of the online retail space has helped small businesses to reach more consumers. However, over the years, it seems Amazon has become exploitative in its approach. The company continues to increase third-party seller fees, which are taking a toll on the smaller businesses and even causing bankruptcy for some. Amazon previously said these claims were baseless, but the documents revealed today show otherwise.According to the The Wall Street Journal, the internal documents cited in the original complaint showed that Amazon executives were well aware of the effects of the company's policies. In the documents, Amazon executives acknowledged that these policies, which included requiring Amazon sellers to have the lowest prices online or risk consequences, had a punitive aspect." One executive pointed out that many sellers live in constant fear" of being penalized by Amazon for not following the ever-changing pricing policy.The FTC alleges that the company had been monitoring its sellers and punishing them if they offered lower prices on other platforms, which the agency says is a violation of antitrust laws. The unredacted documents showed that Amazon has increased prices by over $1 billion between 2016 to 2018 with the use of secret algorithms known as Project Nessie." It was also revealed that the "take rate," aka the amount Amazon makes from sellers who use the Fulfillment By Amazon logistics program, increased from 27.6 percent in 2014 to 39.5 percent in 2018. It's unclear if that has changed in more recent years since those numbers remained redacted.And Amazon isn't just ruining its sellers' experience. The complaint also revealed Amazon's increased use of ads in search results. Several ad executives at the company acknowledged that these sponsored ads were often irrelevant to the initial search and caused harm to consumers" and the overall experience on the site.The FTC alleges that these policies were the brainchild of Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and former chief executive, to increase the company's profit margins.Mr. Bezos directly ordered his advertising team to continue to increase the number of advertisements on Amazon by allowing more irrelevant advertisements, because the revenue generated by advertisements eclipsed the revenue lost by degrading consumers' shopping experience," the FTC complaint alleges.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-knows-its-policies-force-sellers-to-live-in-constant-fear-194800056.html?src=rss
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by Kris Holt on (#6G2RN)
NASA will soon start testing what is dubbed as the world's first commercial spaceplane capable of orbital flight, which will eventually be used to resupply the International Space Station. The agency is set to take delivery of Sierra Space's first Dream Chaser, which should provide an alternative to SpaceX spacecraft for trips to the ISS.In the coming weeks, the spaceplane (which is currently at Sierra Space's facility in Colorado) will make its way to a NASA test site in Ohio. The agency will put the vehicle, which has been named Tenacity, through its paces for between one and three months. According to Ars Technica, NASA will conduct vibration, acoustic and temperature tests to ensure Tenacity can survive the rigors of a rocket launch. NASA engineers, along with government and contractor teams, are running tests to make sure it's safe for Tenacity to approach the ISS.All going well, Tenacity is scheduled to make its first trip to space in April on the second flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. The rocket has yet to make its own first test flight, which is currently expected to happen in December. However, given how things tend to go with spaceflight, delays are always a possibility on both fronts.The spaceplane has foldable wings, which allow it to fit inside the payload of the rocket. On its first mission, Tenacity is scheduled to stay at the ISS for 45 days. Afterward, it will return to Earth at the former space shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida rather than dropping into the ocean as many spacecraft tend to do. Sierra says the spacecraft is capable of landing at any compatible commercial runway.Plunging into the ocean is awful," Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice told Ars Technica. "Landing on a runway is really nice." The company claims Dream Chaser can bring cargo back to Earth at fewer than 1.5 Gs, which is important to help protect sensitive payloads. The spaceplane will be capable of taking up to 12,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS and bringing up to around 4,000 pounds of cargo back to terra firma. Sierra plans for its Dream Chaser fleet to eventually be capable of taking humans to low-Earth orbit too.As things stand, SpaceX is the only company that operates fully certified spacecraft for NASA missions. Boeing also won a contract to develop a capsule for NASA back in 2014, but Starliner has yet to transport any astronauts.to the ISS. Sierra Nevada (from which Sierra Space was spun out in 2021) previously competed with those businesses for NASA commercial crew program contracts, but it lost out. However, after the company retooled Dream Chaser to focus on cargo operations for the time being, NASA chose Sierra to join its stable of cargo transportation providers in 2016.Dream Chaser's first trip to the ISS has been a long time coming. It was originally planned for 2019 but the project was beset by delays. COVID-19 compounded those, as it constricted supply chains for key parts that Sierra Space needed before the company brought more of its construction work in house. The company is now aiming to have a second, human-rated version of Dream Chaser ready for the 2026 timeframe.NASA has long been interested in using spaceplanes, dating back to the agency's early days, and it seems closer than ever to being able to use such vehicles. Virgin Galactic (which just carried out its fifth commercial flight on Thursday) uses spaceplanes for tourist and research flights, its vehicle is only capable of suborbital operations. With Dream Chaser, Sierra has loftier goals.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-commercial-spaceplane-capable-of-orbital-flight-is-ready-for-nasa-testing-185542776.html?src=rss
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by Karissa Bell on (#6G2RP)
It looks like Meta may be pumping the brakes on one of its more aggressive, and unpopular, growth-hacking tactics for Threads. The company appears to be working on a new privacy setting so Threads users can opt-out of having their posts cross-posted to Facebook and Instagram feeds.The unreleased feature was spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often uncovers early versions of social media features before they officially launch. Paluzzi shared screenshots of a new suggesting posts on other apps" toggle in Threads' privacy settings.
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G2RQ)
Meta just released an experimental new A/B testing feature for Reels on Facebook, allowing creators to experiment with different captions and thumbnail images to create the perfect clips. The tools are part of the pre-existing Professional Dashboard, which already provides plenty of useful metrics, like view count insights and more.Here's how it works. When creating a Facebook Reel on your mobile device, you can insert up to four different caption and thumbnail combinations. This starts a testing phase for the content. Whichever one gets the most views will automatically be displayed on your page as the winning variant." It seems fairly simple.The company's also working on incorporating generative AI to help create unique caption and thumbnail options, though that feature is still being worked out. The ultimate goal here is to ensure user-generated content gets as many eyeballs as possible. This increases Facebook's traffic and potentially gives creators some money in the process, thanks to Meta's bonus program.To that end, there's a new system in place that awards achievement badges for leaping past certain metrics. A digital badge isn't as good as money, but it's something (I guess.) Meta does say that these badges could help creators achieve increased visibility of their content, via an awarded Rising Creator label.That's not the only tool that rolled out today. There's also a new feature that lets you quickly whip up Reels from pre-existing video posts and livestreams. The Professional Dashboard has new content management tools to help users keep track of all of this stuff. Previously, creators could only access content performance on a post-by-post basis, but now the dashboard gives you a more holistic view of things.It's interesting that this feature dropped on Facebook and not Instagram, as Reels are more integral to the latter than the former. We'll update you if and when the company debuts these tools for Instagram users.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-made-an-ab-testing-tool-to-help-users-optimize-their-reels-on-facebook-171323994.html?src=rss
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by Igor Bonifacic on (#6G2NN)
For the third time in less than two years, I have COVID-19. Whenever an illness has forced me to stay in bed, my comfort food has been gaming. In 2009 I played through all of Assassin's Creed II in a feverish, swine flu-induced haze. When I was sick with COVID for the first time, I jumped into Red Dead Redemption 2 blind, and found a story about sickness and human mortality. Now, during one of the most stacked years in recent gaming history, I find myself under the covers not with Starfield, Spider-Man 2 or any of the other big fall releases. Instead, my bedside companion is a small Apple Arcade exclusive called Japanese Rural Life Adventure.I discovered this gem through an X account that tweets about upcoming indie games. I took one look at Japanese Rural Life Adventure and knew I had to play it. The game features a beautiful pixel art style, and a pastoral setting evocative of anime classics like Only Yesterday and Wolf Children. What I didn't expect to find was a heartwarming experience about the importance of community.In its opening hours, Japanese Rural Life Adventure plays out much like Stardew Valley or, for that matter, any other farming sim made in the past two decades. When the game's protagonist first arrives in the countryside, they find their new home in disrepair, nearly every inch of the surrounding fields overgrown with weeds. But following a predictable start, the game shows its true character.Almost uniquely among other games in the genre, Japanese Rural Life Adventure doesn't include any romantic partners for the player's character to pursue. Nearly everyone you meet is elderly. They complain of aching bones, bad backs and a dim future where there aren't any young people to carry on their community's traditions.I was born and raised in the city, in a big town. I have no memories of playing in rivers, climbing mountains, or anything like that," Takeo Fujita, the founder of Japanese Rural Life Adventure developer GAME START, told me over email. I have no older relatives living in the countryside. In other words, you could say that the gentle and simple countryside' found in Japanese Rural Life Adventure comes from a sense of longing that I felt watching and reading Japanese TV dramas and manga."Longing for a simpler life is something that pervades Japanese Rural Life Adventure -not just its setting, but also its mechanics and the scale of its gameplay. For all the time I've put into the game, I have not become a farming mogul. At most, it's possible to plant and maintain four fields for growing rice and produce, alongside a few fruit trees. In fact, there's only so much work" for your character to do in a single day. And the days, compared to those in Stardew Valley or recent Harvest Moon entries, are long, adding to the sense of a slower pace of life.Japanese Rural Life Adventure consistently pushed me to slow down and appreciate everything it had to offer beyond farming: fishing, bug catching, cooking and photographing wildlife, all of which have their own fun minigames associated with them. Sometimes, I would just let my character rest on the front porch to watch a cherry blossom tree shed its pedals or to bask in the sparkle of fireflies at night.GAME STARTAt first, Japanese Rural Life Adventure limits players to the small area around their farm. More often than not, advancing the plot or opening a new section of the game involves helping others. Before I could buy seeds to grow my first batch of cucumbers and daikon radishes, I first had to build a bench for an old peddler lady to sit and rest. After completing a few of the game's early objectives, including the partial restoration of a local Shinto shrine, the nearby town unlocks.The town is in a sorry state when you first visit. The roads are weed-ridden and potholed. Nearly every building is falling apart. The young people are long gone. It's one step removed from becoming a ghost town.As it turns out, this town is the heart of Japanese Rural Life Adventure. After exploring it for a bit, I meet the village head, who tasks my character with restoring the decaying roads and buildings, including a Buddist temple and schoolhouse, all in hopes of bringing tourists who will help revitalize the local economy.I didn't expect this from Japanese Rural Life Adventure. In Japan, declining birth rates and one of the world's oldest populations threaten to erase rural life as the country knows it. A 2019 Bloomberg article, citing data from the Japan Policy Council, frames the stakes succinctly: If current trends continue, by 2040, 869 municipalities - nearly half of Japan's total - will be at risk of vanishing."Fujita says GAME START didn't set out to create a game about the plight of his country's towns and villages. When developing games, we do not consider difficult themes such as vanishing rural communities or population aging. We believe that games should be something you can enjoy and forget about everyday life," he said. "Growth' and development' are elements that can make a game attractive to prospective players. So we adopted village regeneration' as one of the themes of the game."GAME STARTTo some extent, all games like Japanese Rural Life Adventure share an interest in community. After all, it's safe to say part of the reason why so many people love Stardew Valley is because of Pelican Town and all the weird and wonderful characters that inhabit it. However, inorienting almost all of the player's actions towards the betterment of its unnamed town, Japanese Rural Life Adventure puts community front and center in a way I hadn't seen in the genre before. It's also that focus that makes the game feel fresh and compelling.Take the restoration project I mentioned earlier. The village head compensates the player for completing the tasks he assigns to them, but I found the money I earned was often only enough to cover the costs of the next repair I needed to complete. More rewarding was seeing the results of my efforts. The project culminates in a summer festival that requires a significant investment from the player, both in terms of time and money spent. Before I could even start preparing for the event, I first had to repair and repaint the torii gates of the temple where the town planned to hold the festival. It was also up to me to produce the 21 chochin lanterns needed to light everything. This task consumed a few hours of my time, but the reward was a beautiful night time celebration that felt like a culmination of everything I had done up to that point. The fact I won a young koi fish to release in the pond in front of my house was a bonus.Often, Japanese Rural Life Adventure doesn't feature a lot of mechanical sophistication. Watering plants is as straightforward as a single tap, and most other tasks involve either foraging or buying the right items, but what it has a lot of is heart. That was something I needed.Japanese Rural Life Adventure is currently available on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-arcade-exclusive-japanese-rural-life-adventure-review-170006419.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G2NP)
Amazon just bundled together the fourth-gen Echo and the fifth-gen Echo Dot in a sale that represents significant savings for both devices. You can snag both for $83, which is a discount of nearly $70 if you bought each separately. The bundle's even available in multiple colors, including white, blue and black. You can't mix and match hues, however, for the contrast hounds out there.The bundle includes the fourth-gen Echo, originally released in 2020. In our review, we said that the speaker punches above its weight" and praised the reasonable price. Well, if the price was reasonable at $100, it's certainly reasonable now. The Echo is more or less the gold standard when it comes to basic smart home speakers and gives you access to Alexa, premium sound quality (for a small ball that sits on a counter) and an easy-to-use microphone array.We also noted that this thing sounds even better when paired with another device for the purposes of stereo or multi-room sound. That's where the Echo Dot comes in.The bundle also includes the fifth-gen Echo Dot. This speaker may not be as powerful as its older sibling, but it still offers plenty of nifty features, including surprisingly robust sound, a temperature sensor and built-in Eero capabilities. There's a reason why it made our list of the best smart speakers. You can pair the Dot with the regular Echo for stereo sound in one room or for delivering audio to multiple rooms at once. It'll be like the music is traveling with you, resembling the line at a highly personalized Disney ride.It's worth noting that both of these devices are a generation behind, as there's a newer Echo Dot with a built-in clock and a fifth-gen standard Echo. Still, the bundle's a pretty good deal.Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo's Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog's experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-selling-an-echo-and-echo-dot-bundle-for-83-as-an-early-black-friday-deal-162027983.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G2NQ)
Brave joins the growing list of browsers that come with built-in generative AI assistants. The open source browser developer has started rolling out an update for Brave on desktop, which gives users access to its AI assistant Leo. Brave introduced Leo through its Nightly experimental channel back in August and has been testing it ever since. The assistant is based on the Llama 2 large language model, which Microsoft and Meta had developed together for commercial and research purposes.Like other AI assistants, users can ask Leo to do various tasks, such as creating summaries of web pages and videos, translating and/or rewriting pages and even generating new content. The Llama 2-powered Leo is available for free to all users, but Brave has also introduced a paid version capable of "higher-quality conversations." Leo Premium, as it's called, is powered by Anthropic's Claude Instant and can produce longer and more detailed responses. Users will have to pay $15 a month for it, but they will also get priority queuing during peak periods and early access to new features.In its announcement, Brave Software emphasized that Leo preserves users' privacy. The developer said that conversations with Leo are not persisted on its servers and that the assistant's responses are immediately discarded and "not used for model training." It also explained that it doesn't collect IP addresses and retain personal data that can identify a user. Plus, users don't even have to create an account to use Leo.Back in July, Brave came under fire after it was accused of selling copyrighted information to train artificial intelligence models without consent. "Brave Search has the right to monetize and put terms of service on the output of its search-engine," the company's Chief of Search, Josep M. Pujol, said at the time in response to the allegations. "The 'content of web page' is always an excerpt that depends on the user's query, always with attribution to the URL of the content. This is a standard and expected feature of all search engines."Brave is rolling out Leo on desktop in phases over the next few days. Those using the browser on their Android and iOS devices, however, will have to keep an eye out for its release on mobile in the coming months.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/braves-ai-assistant-comes-to-its-desktop-browser-160010918.html?src=rss
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by Cheyenne MacDonald on (#6G2NR)
Uber and Lyft have agreed to pay a combined $328 million in settlements following a wage theft investigation by the New York attorney general's office. According to New York AG Letitia James, the companies' policies systematically cheated their drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars in pay and benefits." They'll both now have to pay settlement funds to more than 100,000 current and former drivers in New York, and offer both minimum hourly pay rates and paid sick leave.In the two settlements, Uber has to pay $290 million, while Lyft must pay $38 million. The AG's office found both Uber and Lyft shortchanged drivers by deducting sales taxes from drivers' commissions that should have been paid by riders between 2014 and 2017. They also did not offer paid sick leave. As a result of the settlement, drivers outside of New York City will be guaranteed an earnings floor of $26 per hour (NYC drivers already have minimum rates under Taxi & Limousine Commission regulations), and will earn one hour of sick pay for every 30 hours worked. This will be capped at 56 hours per year.NYC drivers will get $17 per hour for sick leave, while drivers outside of the city will get $26 per hour. Both rates will be adjusted annually for inflation. Drivers can put in a claim for their share of the settlement on the New York Attorney General's website. The companies will also be required to update their apps to improve the process for putting in sick leave requests and provide support for pay-related questions, plus earnings statements for drivers which explain their compensation in detail.Uber separately settled with the Department of Labor today as well following two lawsuits over its failure to provide unemployment benefits for drivers. The company will now have to make quarterly payments into the New York State Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to cover its drivers, and pay an as yet undisclosed amount in retroactive payments going back to 2013.The New York Taxi Workers Alliance has sued multiple times seeking unemployment benefits for drivers, as the fight over whether they should be considered employees or independent contractors continues. Today's settlement is a victory for Uber drivers across the state who will no longer be denied timely access to life-saving benefits by Uber in their darkest hour, and New York taxpayers will no longer have to subsidize the billionaires at Uber and Lyft," the NYWTA and Legal Services NYC said in a statement about the settlement. Drivers for the state's largest employer will now be able to access unemployment benefits moving forward without endless obstacles and denials."New York has been cracking down on app-based service providers in recent years amid a push by the Biden administration to see gig workers classified as employees. A California court, however, slapped down one such bill in March, allowing companies to continue classifying their drivers as contractors. But NY has made progress recently in securing more protections. In September, Uber, GrubHub and DoorDash were told they must pay their delivery workers a minimum wage.Update, November 2 2023, 3:10PM ET: This story has been updated to include information on a second settlement Uber reached today with the New York Department of Labor, and a statement from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-and-lyft-must-pay-328-million-to-new-york-drivers-in-massive-wage-theft-settlement-155716817.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G2NS)
The Beatles are back, sort of. The fab four just released a new song, the group's first since 1995. Now and Then" is being advertised as the final Beatles track, which makes sense given that two of the members have passed and the other two are well over 80 years old.The song was built using a demo track from John Lennon dating back to the 1970s and a guitar track from George Harrison from 1995. The surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, finished off the tune with the help of modern machine learning technology.The software, which was first used by director Peter Jackson when making the Get Back documentary for Apple, was able to split Lennon's vocal from the piano without any bleed, giving the remaining Beatles free rein to add whatever they wanted. You can watch a documentary on the making of the song right here.As for the song itself, it's a relatively slow Lennon ballad, with his vocals being a highlight. McCartney lays down one of his effortless bass lines and Starr hits the drums. The guitar solo is in the style of Harrison, but not actually played by him, though he handles some of the rhythm guitar in the background. There's also a full orchestral arrangement because, well, it's the Beatles. This likely won't go down as one of the group's most beloved tracks, but that Lennon vocal is both haunting and beautiful.Now and Then" was supposed to come out back in 1995 as part of The Beatles Anthology, along with Free as a Bird" and Real Love", two other tracks culled from 1970s Lennon demos. Back in the 1990s, however, the technology just wasn't there to separate Lennon's vocal from the piano without some serious degradation to the original take.The Beatles may say this is their last song ever, but we'll report back in 2053 and see if that ends up being true. See you then. In the meantime, check out the track.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/listen-to-the-final-beatles-track-made-with-machine-learning-and-archival-recordings-153253946.html?src=rss
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by Cheyenne MacDonald on (#6G2HT)
NASA has announced a new streaming service called NASA+ that's set to hit most major platforms next week. It'll be completely free, with no subscription requirements, and you won't be forced to sit through ads. NASA+ will be available starting November 8.
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by Sarah Fielding on (#6G2EP)
External studies and internal reports alike have shown time and time again the negative impact social media can have on teens' mental health, leading to a range of safety precautions across platforms. Now, YouTube is expanding its well-being tools for young people, including recommendation limits on videos that could be harmful.YouTube teamed up with its Youth and Families Advisory Committee to identify types of videos that could have a detrimental effect on a teens' mental health if repeatedly viewed. These categories included videos that idealized certain body weights, features and fitness levels or show social aggression. However, these videos are still searchable (and can be recommended at least once). To this end, YouTube has made its crisis resources - the information that appears if someone searches words like "self-harm" or "eating disorders" - into a full-page panel. The idea is that this will force viewers to take more of a break and more clearly state third-party crisis hotlines and suggestions for searches like "grounding exercises."The company is also increasing the frequency of its Bedtime and Take a Break reminders, with the latter automatically set to appear across videos every hour for viewers under 18. The frequency can then be adjusted in settings by the user or a parent. Breaks could be beneficial, given an August 2022 report from Pew Research found that 95 percent of US teens use YouTube, and nearly one-fifth of them are on it "almost constantly." TikTok, meanwhile, was the second most popular platform, with 67 percent of respondents using it - nearly one-third less than YouTube.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtubes-new-teen-protections-limit-recommendations-on-potentially-harmful-videos-133144681.html?src=rss
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by Daniel Cooper on (#6G2ER)
The following article contains spoilers for Lower Decks, Season Four, Episode Ten.Four seasons in, and you more or less know what you'll get from a Star Trek: Lower Decks season finale. A hefty dose of in-jokes and references that conclude the season arc by pulling the Cerritos crew together. There's a focus on teamwork over individual valor, and a belief that Starfleet's mission is the right one. Add in a gag or two about how Star Trek is better when it's slow and cerebral, add in a cliffhanger that threatens the show's status quo, and you're done.Just because Old Friends, New Planets" sticks to this formula, it doesn't mean it isn't good, and you'll laugh plenty of times in the half hour. The show's ability to wheel out a staggeringly left field comic premise like Twaining is one of its biggest strengths. But the episode is full of solid gags that work on a second or third re-watch, including the lampshading about who Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) does or does not look like.Judged on its merits as an episode of Star Trek, and you'll find it similarly-winning with great writing and direction. I can't help but single out Chris Westlake's score, whose work this season has been just as great as the last. It was wonderful, too, to see Shannon Fill and Wil Wheaton recruited for their cameos in Mariner's flashback. Who else but a true devotee would make such an effort, and the show's creative team led by Mike McMahan has an infectious love for Trek's golden era.It's just that there's also a sense of diminishing returns, or that the show needs to find a higher gear to operate in. The limits of a sitcom's premise means you can't do too much to up-end the status quo, but you can feel this desire for evolution. It's the old trap: You can't joke that the USS Cerritos isn't important, and keep putting them in these high-stakes scenarios. Can you go back to fixing a warp manifold if your lead character just toppled a planet-threatening tyrant?And now, an intervention.Sadly, one thing bothered me about Old Friends, New Planets," which requires me to bring up Star Trek: Picard's dreadful third season. I'm not relitigating matters here, but I am asking why two Trek series opted to do The Wrath of Khan homages in the same year. Isn't spotting duplication like this and preventing it at the pre-production stage part of Franchise Overseer Alex Kurtzman's job? Sure, he can't be in every meeting, but surely this is why he's credited as an executive producer on every Trek series currently running, right?It was nice, however, that both series honored the late CGI artist Fabio Passaro.It doesn't help that back-to-back Wrath of Khan homages mere months apart look less like a show of admiration and more like a cry for help. When Star Trek's creative well runs dry, it's to Nicholas Meyer's 1982 classic that they run to for inspiration. As I wrote back in February, the path to Khan is so well-worn I'm not sure there isn't a single element that hasn't been strip-mined to oblivion.And while creatives pillage that film's iconography, the person behind it has often been persona non grata in Trek circles. Meyer's still around, and doing good work, but his Trek pitches haven't had a look-in for a long while. I don't know if it's ageism, or if he's awful in real life, but the fact his work is so popular yet he can't get a look in feels unjust. And we still haven't heard anything more about Ceti Alpha V, the Khan midquel podcast that was announced more than a year ago.I think it's time that we staged an intervention, and said that Star Trek is no longer allowed, even in jest, to pull anything from The Wrath of Khan. In fact, let's make that broader, and say that we need to leave those toys in the box for a decade or more. And instead, let's focus on telling new stories that people will be desperate to honor three or four decades in the future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-trek-lower-decks-season-finale-delivers-exactly-what-it-promises-130051733.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G2ES)
Whether it's for a tour of the International Space Station (ISS) or a battle with Darth Vader, most VR enthusiasts are looking to get off this planet and into the great beyond. HTC, however, is sending VR headsets to the ISS to give lonely astronauts something to do besides staring into the star-riddled abyss.The company partnered up with XRHealth and engineering firm Nord Space to send HTC VIVE Focus 3 headsets to the ISS as part of an ongoing effort to improve the mental health of astronauts in the midst of long assignments on the station. These headsets are pre-loaded with unique software that has been specifically designed to meet the mental health needs of literal space cadets, so they aren't just for playing Walkabout Mini Golf during the off hours (though that's not a bad idea.)The headsets feature new camera tracking tech that was specially developed and adapted to work in microgravity, including eye-tracking sensors to better assess the mental health status of astronauts. These sensors are coupled with software intended to maintain mental health while in orbit." The headsets have also been optimized to stabilize alignment and, as such, reduce the chances of motion sickness. Can you imagine free-floating vomit in space?Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen will be the first ISS crew member to use the VR headset for preventative mental health care during his six-month mission as commander of the space station. HTC notes that astronauts are often isolated for months and years at a time" while stationed in space.This leads to the question of internet connectivity. After all, Mogensen and his fellow astronauts would likely want to connect with family and friends while wearing their brand-new VR headsets. Playing Population: One by yourself is not exactly satisfying.The internet used to be really slow on the ISS, with speeds resembling a dial-up connection to AOL in 1995. However, recent upgrades have boosted Internet speeds to around 600 megabits-per-second (Mbps) on the station. As a comparison, the average download speed in the US is about 135 Mbps. So we'd actually be the bottleneck in this scenario, and not the astronauts. The ISS connection should allow for even the most data-hungry VR applications.These souped-up Vive Focus 3 headsets are heading up to the space station shortly, though there's no arrival date yet. It's worth noting that it took some massive feats of engineering to even get these headsets to work in microgravity, as so many aspects of a VR headset depend on normal Earth gravity.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/htc-is-sending-vr-headsets-to-the-iss-to-help-cheer-up-lonely-astronauts-120019661.html?src=rss
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by Sarah Fielding on (#6G2CH)
Normally, all you get from binge-watching shows on Netflix are dry eyes and a popup asking if you're still watching - has the answer ever been no? But, Netflix is celebrating one year of its ad-supported plan by giving all users on that tier every fourth episode of a consecutive binge ad-free. That's certainly not a bad way to entice you into staying on the streamer for just one more episode (cut to five episodes later without moving).Netflix is also rolling out downloads on its ad-supported tier, claiming to be the first streamer to make the option available for users who have ads included. While the binge-watching perk wont roll out until early 2024, the ability to download shows and movies should be available by the end of the week. However, it's unclear if downloaded shows will enjoy the binge-watching perk once it rolls out.For a company that claimed it would never include an ad-supported tier, Netflix has certainly embraced the format since its November 2022 launch. It introduced its first Title Sponsorship during the most recent season of Love Is Blind. Netflix will continue with partnerships for another reality series, Squid Game: The Challenge, and The Crown's final season. Early 2024 will also see advertisers given the option to include a QR code in any of their US-based content.Netflix's ad-supported plan is by far the cheapest option after the streamer cut its Basic tier in mid-2023. It comes to $6.99 each month, while the Standard plan is $15.49 and the Premium is $22.49. The lowest-priced tier allows for two concurrent streams and has been upgraded to 1080p video quality versus 720p.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflixs-ad-supported-plan-will-soon-allow-downloads-and-reward-binge-watching-115033226.html?src=rss
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by Mat Smith on (#6G2CJ)
YouTube's no longer just experimenting with ad-dodging viewers. The platform has gone all out in its fight against add-ons, extensions and programs that prevent it from serving ads to viewers worldwide, it confirmed to Engadget.The use of ad blockers violates YouTube's Terms of Service," a spokesperson said. YouTube started cracking down on the use of ad blockers earlier this year. By June, it took on a more aggressive approach and warned viewers they wouldn't be able to play more than three videos unless they disable their ad blockers.It may be an overly aggressive push: Some people apparently can't play videos on Microsoft Edge and Firefox browsers even if they don't have ad blockers, according to Android Police, but we could not replicate that behavior.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedScarlett Johannson takes legal action against AI app that cloned her likenessFormula E preseason testing: Five key takeaways from ValenciaSony ANC headphones are up to 53 percent off in Amazon's early Black Friday saleThe best gifts under $50 that make great stocking stuffersThe AI Seinfeld show is bugging out harder than Frank Costanza on FestivusThis AI-powered security camera can describe what it sees in detailBeyond just dog spotted.'Psync LabsPsync Labs' focus is to improve machine vision and pair this with generative AI to help it, and you, understand what it can see. Its debut security camera, the Genie S, will process what it sees and send you a written description of what (it thinks) is going on. The camera, which doesn't have the best picture and sound quality, has 32GB built-in storage for $35, and some exciting stuff happening inside.ViewSay is Psync's transcription tool that uses GPT, a form of generative AI, to get the camera to describe in text what it's seeing. ViewSay, which currently costs 99 cents a month (but will jump to $7 per month in the future) can apparently identify objects, sort events that triggered the recording and even let you search through the clips with text, all through your smartphone. It's early days, but the system shows glimpses of insightful visual analysis .Continue reading.Apple Music's Siri-only $5 voice plan gets silencedIt's no longer listed on the streaming service's website.Apple appears to have killed off its lowest-cost Apple Music subscription. The Apple Music Voice Plan allowed folks to access the streaming service for $5 per month, as long as they were willing to use it only through voice commands to Siri. However, as of Wednesday, the plan is no longer listed on the Apple Music webpage. As it stands, the cheapest standalone Apple Music option is now the student plan, which costs $6 per month and includes Apple TV+ at no extra cost - if you're a student.Continue reading.LinkedIn's latest premium perk is an AI job coachThe platform is ramping up its AI-powered features as it hits 1 billion users.LinkedIn is adding a new AI-powered job coach for its premium subscribers. The feature will tap into LinkedIn data to help job seekers find, research and apply for roles, and it arrives as the company announced its user base has grown to one billion members. For now, the most prominent feature for job seekers will be AI-generated insights alongside each job posting. The tool can summarize lengthy job descriptions and weigh in on whether the role is a good fit for a user, based on their LinkedIn profile. For example, it can highlight specific work experiences users' may want to emphasize in their application.Continue reading.Disney will buy out Comcast and take full control of HuluIt will pay $8.61 billion for the deal.Disney is buying the rest of Hulu from Comcast. It will acquire the 33 percent of Hulu Comcast still controls and expects to pay NBCUniversal around $8.61 billion for the deal, though the final amount will be determined sometime next year. Disney CEO Bob Iger said when he announced the combined streaming app that it's a logical progression" of the company's direct-to-consumer offerings. And hey: Comcast still has Peacock.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-youtube-is-seriously-cracking-down-on-ad-blockers-111532949.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G2CK)
It's been less than two months since Amazon launched the Fire TV soundbar at its annual fall event, but the device is already on sale as part of the website's early Black Friday offerings. You can get the brand new entry to the Fire TV line for $100, which is a full $20 less than its original list price. The device can enhance your TV audio with its dual speakers and give you access to a 3D virtual surround sound experience with its DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio support.It can connect to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, but it doesn't support Alexa voice commands. And if you want to adjust its volume, you'd have to use its remote. That said, if you have a Fire TV streaming device and a Fire TV-powered smart TV, you can use one remote for all of them - simply plug the soundbar's HDMI cable to your TV.Amazon's soundbar is just one of the Fire TV devices currently on sale at the website. You can get its streaming sticks for up to half off their usual prices, including the Fire TV Stick Lite that's on sale for $18 and the standard Fire TV Stick that's listed for $20. If you don't mind spending a bit more for higher-quality streaming, you can get the Fire TV Stick 4K for $30 instead or the even beefier Fire TV Stick Max for $45. Finally, the TV Cube will cost you over 20 percent less than usual and will set you back $110.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-new-fire-tv-soundbar-is-17-percent-off-in-early-black-friday-deal-102022941.html?src=rss
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by Steve Dent on (#6G28C)
Oscar-nominated actor Scarlett Johansson has taken legal action against an AI app developer for using her likeness in an ad without permission, Variety has reported. The 22-second ad promoted an AI image editor called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar, and reportedly used an AI-generated version of Johansson's voice and image.The ad showed a real clip of Johansson in a Black Widow behind-the-scenes clip, saying "What's up guys? It's Scarlett and I want you to come with me...". It then transitions to AI-generated photos and a cloned version of her voice promoting the AI app. Under the ad is fine print that states: "Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person." Multiple Lisa AI apps created by Convert Software remain on the App Store and Google Play, according to Variety, but the ad no longer appears on X.Johansson is "handling the situation in a legal capacity," said her lawyer Kevin Yorn. "We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have," he added.Johansson has one of the best known faces (and voices) in Hollywood and is the spokesperson for high-end companies including Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton. Given that, it's hard to believe that someone would even attempt to rip off her likeness, if the claim is accurate (and it's not exactly a ringing endorsement for the quality of ads on X).The idea of using AI to rip off celebrity likenesses is a relatively new phenomenon, so the legal ramifications are still being worked out. In one notable incident, actor Tom Hanks warned his fans on social media that videos using AI versions of his likeness were being used to fraudulently hawk products.Though it's still a legal grey area, some states have related laws around privacy rights, with California for one allowing civil lawsuits for the unauthorized use in advertising or promotion of someone's "name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/scarlett-johannson-takes-legal-action-against-ai-app-that-cloned-her-likeness-065505106.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G26X)
Disney is buying the rest of Hulu from Comcast, the company has announced. It will acquire the 33 percent of Hulu Comcast still controls and expects to pay NBC Universal approximately $8.61 billion for the deal, though the final amount will be determined after an appraisal that will be wrapping up sometime next year. As The New York Times notes, the companies had agreed back in 2019 that Comcast could force Disney to buy its stake by next year and Disney could require Comcast to sell. The cable TV and media company chose to speed up negotiations with Disney instead of waiting until 2024."The acquisition of Comcast's stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney's streaming objectives," Disney said in its announcement. Earlier this year, the company revealed that it will launch a "one-app experience" that combines Disney+ and Hulu content by the end of 2023. While it didn't outright say at the time that it had plans to buy out Comcast, that was a pretty big clue that a full Hulu takeover was in the cards. Hulu's standalone app won't be going away anytime soon, but its offerings will also be available on Disney+ when the new experience launches.Disney CEO Bob Iger said when he announced the combined streaming app that it's "a logical progression" of the company's direct-to-consumer offerings "that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers, while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content..." As for Comcast, it already has its own streaming service - Peacock - and has been making its shows like The Voice available to its members.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/disney-to-buy-out-comcast-and-take-full-control-of-hulu-054157026.html?src=rss
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by Cheyenne MacDonald on (#6G1ZV)
The UK government has announced a $273 million investment to build its most powerful supercomputer yet, Isambard-AI, which will rank among the top AI supercomputers in the world when it's switched on. It'll pack thousands of NVIDIA superchips, allowing it to run more than 200 quadrillion calculations per second. Isambard-AI is expected to begin operations in summer 2024 and will be hosted by the University of Bristol.The supercomputer is being built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and will use 5,448 of NVIDIA's GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, NVIDIA said in its own announcement. It'll be able to achieve over 21 exaflops of AI performance, or over 21 quintillion floating point operations per second for AI applications, like training large language models. According to the University of Bristol, Isambard-AI will be 10 times faster than the fastest supercomputer in the UK today. It'll be housed at Bristol's National Composites Center in a self-cooled, self-contained data center."The announcement came during the UK's AI Safety Summit, where leaders from multiple countries - including the US - are meeting to discuss the future of AI and its potential risks. Isambard-AI will eventually be used to connect with other supercomputers in the UK as well, to boost performance even further. Once it's up and running, according to Simon McIntosh-Smith of the University of Bristol, Isambard-AI will be one of the most powerful AI systems for open science anywhere."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-uk-is-spending-273-million-to-build-its-fastest-ever-ai-supercomputer-213551806.html?src=rss
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by Kris Holt on (#6G1WF)
Apple appears to have killed off its lowest-cost Apple Music subscription. The Apple Music Voice Plan allowed folks to access the streaming service for $5 per month, as long as they were willing to use it only via Siri voice control. However, as of Wednesday, the plan is no longer listed as an option on the Apple Music webpage, as first spotted by MacMagazine.It's no longer possible to sign up for the Apple Music Voice Plan, 9to5Macnotes. It's unclear if current users will be grandfathered into their current subscription or why Apple seems to have ditched the offering. Engadget has contacted Apple for comment.The voice plan was largely aimed at those who listen to Apple Music via HomePods, AirPods or Apple Watch and may be more likely to use a voice assistant than go through the Music app on their phone, tablet or computer. There were other significant tradeoffs. It wasn't possible for users on this plan to add songs to their library, create playlists, use the service on non-Apple devices or listen to lossless or Dolby Atmos audio. The voice plan, which debuted in 2021, was also only available in a limited number of markets, including the US, UK and Canada.As it stands, the cheapest standalone Apple Music option is now the student plan, which costs $6 per month and includes Apple TV+ at no extra cost. Alternatively, you can opt for the $11 per month individual subscription or split the cost of a $17 family plan with relatives. Otherwise, you can join Apple One, which now starts at $19.95 per month, and gain access to multiple Apple services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-musics-siri-only-5-voice-plan-appears-to-be-toast-195051054.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G1WG)
Subaru just announced forthcoming support for Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS), joining other big-time manufacturers like Hyundai. The company will update the charging ports of its electric vehicles for North American consumers beginning in 2025. This will give consumers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the country.The company also says it will continue to advance NACS adoption for vehicles manufactured and released after 2025, so future EV owners should be in good shape. Subaru will offer an adapter for anyone that owns or leases a vehicle with the Combined Charging System (CCS), further solidifying NACS as the one to beat.This is part of the company's efforts to transform half of its vehicles to EVs by 2030. Subaru has a long way to go in this regard, as it currently sells just one true electric vehicle, the Solterra. This EV starts at $45,000, so it'll have to manufacture some more budget-friendly cars to meet that 50 percent threshold.As previously mentioned, Subaru is just the latest company to jump on the NACS bandwagon. Honda made a similar promise for 2025, as did Toyota and Lexus. As of this writing, there are around 56,000 EV charging stations in America, with many of them integrating the NACS standard in the short-term future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/subaru-evs-will-support-teslas-nacs-chargers-starting-in-2025-185214250.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G1S3)
Twitch's AI-generated Nothing Forever stream caused a massive sensation when it launched back in February. This is the internet, however, so it wasn't long before the stream's Seinfeld-like protagonist started spewing hateful anti-trans rhetoric, leading to a ban on the streaming platform. Now it's back, but experiencing some serious bugs that could end the enterprise entirely.It started on October 27, when viewers began noticing that the characters had stopped talking, instead standing in absolute silence for hours on end, as reported by Kotaku. After that, a strange orange man appeared to silently patrol the apartment. On October 30 things got even weirder, with 404 Media's Jason Koebler sharing a video of two primary characters walking into one another over and over again. This continued for days.
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G1S4)
Arturia just released a free-to-use version of its popular Analog Lab software, called Analog Lab Play. This is a pared-down software suite with 100 presets culled from the original Analog Lab and from VSTs like the well-reviewed Pigments soft synth. There's also a simplified interface for new users called Play View that streamlines visual cues and speeds up the preset selection process, in addition to allowing the purchase of standalone instruments.The available 100 presets with Analog Lab Play is much lower than the 2,000+ found with the original software, but, hey, free is free. Arturia's new software is a good way to familiarize yourself with the company's sound engines, just in time for those likely Black Friday discounts.To that end, the original paid Analog Lab software is also getting a refresh. It's now called Analog Lab Pro. It still allows access to thousands of presets captured from the renowned Arturia V Collection, Pigments and related soft synths. It costs $200 and remains mostly unchanged, but will receive the same UI refresh included with Analog Lab Play. When we reviewed the original Analog Lab, we found it to be the perfect software suite for those who like to tweak presets over creating sounds from scratch.This isn't the first time Arturia has thrust a free version of its software on the world. Analog Lab Intro is a similar product to Play that was offered as a free download with the purchase of select MIDI controllers and occasionally as a standalone software suite. The company also drops free instruments and effects once in a while, like 2021's lo-fi tape plugin based on its Mellotron emulation.Analog Lab Play is available for download right now, so hop to it. The UI refresh for Analog Lab Pro is coming at a later date. In recent months, Arturia has released an effect based on the iconic Leslie rotary speaker and an emulation of the acid house classic Roland TB-303, among other products.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arturia-releases-new-free-version-of-analog-lab-synth-instrument-172045988.html?src=rss
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by Kris Holt on (#6G1NE)
Apple has announced the latest slate of upcoming games for Apple Arcade, one week after it increased the price of the subscription service for the first time in many markets. Among the titles Apple has in the pipeline is a new, exclusive 3D Sonic platformer.In Sonic Dream Team, Doctor Eggman has found a way to turn dreams into reality. Sonic and his pals will have to navigate strange dreamscapes as they try to stop their old foe. Along with Sonic, you'll be able to play as Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Cream and Rouge. Each character has their own unique abilities. You'll be able to check out Sonic Dream Team when it lands on Apple Arcade on December 5.Hitting the service on the same day is Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition. It's a mashup of an Animal Crossing-style life sim and an adventure game with a host of Disney and Pixar characters you can befriend.Disney Dreamlight Valleyhas been in early access on other platforms since August last year. It was supposed to become a free-to-play title with paid expansions upon its official release in December, but developer Gameloft has changed tack, instead deciding to charge $40 for the base game on consoles and PC. However, you won't need to pay extra to play it on Apple Arcade. You'll also get access to the A Rift In Time expansion at no extra cost.In addition to those titles, six other games are coming to Apple Arcade over the next couple of months, such as Football Manager 2024 Touch. In a first for the soccer management sim series, you'll be able to carry over your progress from Football Manager 2023 Touch.Other upcoming games include cooking title Delicious - Miracle of Life+, Puzzle & Dragons Story (an exclusive) and oil rush-based sim Turmoil+. Knotwords+, a version of the word game that caught fire last year in the wake of Wordle's success, will hit Apple Arcade on November 3. Indie classic Downwell+(from Poinpydeveloper Ojiro Fumoto) will land join the service's lineup on November 17.
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by Terrence O'Brien on (#6G1NF)
Roli was an early poster child for the emergence of MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression). The company has had its share of struggles over the last 10 years, but it's still out there trying to spread the gospel of MPE. Its first product after filling for administration in the UK (kind of like bankruptcy) and rebranding as Luminary Roli was a redesigned version of its Seaboard Rise. It's a flagship, pro-level MIDI controller, with a price to match ($1,399). The new Seaboard Block M takes the company's signature squishy, continuous keyboard and puts it in a much more affordable and portable package.The $349.95 Seaboard Block M features the same 5D Touch technology of it's bigger sibling. That means, when paired with the right instrument (and properly configured), you can play incredibly expressive melodies and chords by sliding your fingers around, pressing firmly into the foam like surface or quickly tapping it for sustained plucks.Where as the Seaboard Rise 2 is a 49-key controller, with multiple macro controls and its metal frame screams premium, the Block M has just 24-keys and pared back set of controls. Though, you can connect two Seaboard Blocks together to make one modular 48-key keyboard.Luminary RoliWhile Roli doesn't explicitly say what it's made from other than "premium materials... constructed to withstand the rigors of touring", it seems safe to assume the Block M is primarily plastic. It also appears to lack the "precision frets" of the Rise 2, which made it a lot easier to find your way around the keyboard simply by feel.It has inherited the dedicated MIDI-out jack from the Rise 2, at least. That means you can use it to control a DAW-less setup and skip the computer altogether. This is becoming a lot more common on MIDI controllers at any price point, but it's still a welcome development.Of course, the number of instruments out there - hardware or software - that can take full advantage of the MPE controls here are still somewhat limited. The Block M does come bundled with ROLI Studio, does give you a few options for expressive playing. It's not quite as powerful as Equator 2, the company's flagship soft synth, though.Lastly, Roli says you can expect about 10 hours of battery life with Bluetooth on. Though, you can always connect directly to device with USB-C for zero latency and no worries about battery life. The Seaboard Block M is available to preorder now for $349.95, but it's not expected to ship until March of 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roli-is-making-is-squishy-mpe-midi-keyboards-affordable-and-portable-again-160044126.html?src=rss
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by Billy Steele on (#6G1HQ)
Formula 1 may do its preseason tests right before the new schedule of races begins, but Formula E holds its trials months before the first E-Prix. The official action starts in Mexico City in January, but last week the all-electric series took to the turns of Valencia for its annual preseason test. 2024's Season 10 will be the second for the ultra-efficient Gen3 car, following a debut that delivered lots of wheel-to-wheel racing and a hard-fought driver's championship that was decided in the final two races. While there isn't a new car this year, there's still plenty to know before the lights go out in Mexico.A battery fire cut testing shortTeams lost a considerable amount of track time after a battery fire following the Tuesday morning session. The Race reports that the incident occurred in a pit stall occupied by WAE, the all-electric series' battery supplier. The fire reportedly started from a battery that had been removed from the DS Penske driven by rookie Robert Shwartzman for three separate stints. Shwartzman had to stop on track due to an issue and once the car was back in the pit lane, the battery was removed and taken to WAE for inspection. Motorsport.com reports that the automatic battery safety system was activated causing the driver to stop. According to The Race, witnesses say there was a small audible explosion about 90 minutes after the car came to a halt on the circuit.Formula E canceled the Tuesday afternoon and both Wednesday sessions while it looked into the cause of the fire. One person was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was released without any treatment. The series' governing body, the FIA, deemed conditions safe to resume testing on Thursday afternoon following investigations and findings provided by the technical suppliers," Formula E explained.As The Race notes, there has never been a traction battery fire at an E-Prix in nearly 10 years of events. There were incidents in 2015 and 2017, but those affected the smaller 12-volt battery. This was also unrelated to the new Attack Charge as Shwartzman had yet to demo that infrastructure. Formula E only had eight units for 11 teams and DS Penske didn't have one at the time, The Race reports.The first female driver in a Gen3 carGabriela Jilkova drives the TAG Heuer PorscheSimon GallowayDuring the preseason test in Valencia, teams were required to put rookie drivers in their cars for three of the 18 scheduled hours of running. The lineup included former F2 driver Robert Shwartzman (DS Penske) and current F2 drivers Victor Martins (Nissan) and Zane Maloney (Andretti), among others. The rookie test saw the first female driver in a Gen3 Formula E car as well. LMP3 and GT4 driver Gabriela Jilkova got behind the wheel of the Porsche team's EVs, completing a 46-lap run. Formula E previously held rookie tests ahead of the Berlin E-Prix and during an extra practice session in Rome, both happening earlier this year.The first test of Attack ChargeDuring a 10-hour session last Friday, Formula E held a simulated race, giving teams a 27-lap trial to test setups, run through safety car periods and demo the upcoming Attack Charge pit stops. The series had planned to introduce the stops last season, but supply-chain issues meant the technology would only be ready for the final few races. By then, Formula E felt it would be too late and decided to postpone the debut of Attack Charge to this season.
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by Andrew Tarantola on (#6G1EV)
Nearly two years after its prototype debut and eight months after its public beta, Sony's GT Sophy racing AI for Gran Turismo 7 is back, and going by Gran Turismo Sophy 2.0 now. It will be available to all PlayStation 5 users as part of the GT7 Spec II Update (Patch Update 1.40) being released on Wednesday, November 2 at 2 a.m. ET.We got our first look at the Sophy system back in February 2022. At that point it was already handily beating professional Gran Turismo players. Gran Turismo Sophy is a significant development in AI whose purpose is not simply to be better than human players, but to offer players a stimulating opponent that can accelerate and elevate the players' techniques and creativity to the next level," Sony AI CEO, Hiroaki Kitano, said at the time. In addition to making contributions to the gaming community, we believe this breakthrough presents new opportunities in areas such as autonomous racing, autonomous driving, high-speed robotics and control."The system's public beta this past February saw the AI competing against a small subset of the game's user base in the Gran Turismo Sophy Race Together" event. Players who had already progressed sufficiently through the game were granted access to the special race, where they faced off against four AI-controlled opponents in a limited number of tracks.The difference [between racers] is that, it's essentially the power you have versus the other cars on the track," Sony AI's COO, Michael Spranger, told Engadget in February. You have different levels of performance. In the beginning level, you have a much more powerful vehicle - still within the same class, but you're much faster [than your competition]." That advantage shrank as players advanced through the race rounds and Sophy gained access to increasingly capable vehicles. In September, Sophy learned to drift.We have evolved GT Sophy from a research project tackling the grand challenge of creating an AI agent that could outperform top drivers in a top simulation racing game, to a functional game feature that provides all game players a formidable, human-like opponent that enhances the overall racing experience," Spranger said in a press statement released Wednesday.With Wednesday's announcement, the number of vehicles Sophy can pilot rises from the meager four models available during the beta event, to 340 (yes, three hundred and forty) vehicles across nine unique tracks. Per Sony, that means Sophy can drive 95 percent of the playable in-game models and will select its car for the race based on what the player has available in their garage (that way they're not randomly facing down a 918 in a Nissan Versa or are otherwise disadvantaged). The five percent of models it can't drive are the handful of hyper-spec specialty cars like the karts or Dodge SRT Tomahawk VGT.Players can match against Sophy in Quick Race mode (formerly "Arcade") regardless of their advancement through the game or current skill level. As long as you have a PS5, a network connection and the latest update patch installed, you too can get Toretto'ed by a stack of algorithmic processes. Good luck.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-gt-sophy-racing-ai-gran-turismo-7-ps5-130057992.html?src=rss
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by Daniel Cooper on (#6G1EX)
If you ask Psync Labs, it'll tell you the problem with smart security cameras is that they don't know what they're seeing. Those motion pings you get with other products? Defined by how light shifts in front of its sensor, treating an approaching figure or low-flying bird with equal alarm. So, Psync's focus is to improve machine vision, but to also go one step further and pair this vision with GPT-enabled generative AI to help it, and you, understand what it can see. Its first product, the Genie S, is a security camera that'll send you a written description of what (it thinks) is going on.On paper, the Genie S has a similar feature set to plenty of other affordable home security units I could mention. There's a powered pan-tilt base, five megapixel camera (outputting 2K Video), four LEDs, a microphone and speaker. But there are differences, like the fact it's in the shape of a cube that, when it's not activated, points the lens toward the base. Psync says it's the most compact camera in its class, but probably not by as big a margin as the company hopes. Setup is easy enough - put it on a table, or use the screw mount to place it somewhere more esoteric, plug in the six foot long USB-C cable, and you're on your way.Psync says that a smarter camera will be better-equipped to capture what's going on at home, but that's not its best use case. VP of marketing Echo Wong says that the hardware is able to record those memorable moments that fly by quicker than we can pull out our phones." But I don't think you would want to buy this on the off-chance it catches junior's first word or steps. The more prosaic sales line, the one that probably wouldn't fly as well, is that it's a security camera with the added promise of not bugging you with needless pings because of the promise of AI smarts.Buy one of these, and you'll get the choice of a unit with 32GB built-in storage for $35 or 64GB for $40. I mention this up-front because we're very much in you get what you pay for" territory in terms of the picture and sound quality. It shoots vertically-oriented 2K video but the clips are pretty fuzzy, even if you can zoom in to get some halfway useful detail if required. It doesn't like too much light, so if it's pointed at a window (and/or anything reflective) then chunks of the image will get blown out. Similarly, the sound quality is something of a throwback to an earlier age of crunchy, over-compressed streams. You'll get similarly crunchy audio using the talk feature, which has similarly walkie-talkie" vibes that you won't find on pricier hardware.Psync Labs Of course, that's not what anyone is here for, but to see what this new company - of which little is known -has cooked up with AI. ViewSay is Psync's transcription tool which uses GPT, a form of generative AI, to essentially let the camera describe in text what it's seeing. ViewSay, which currently costs 99 cents a month, promises to identify objects, sort events that triggered the recording in a visual timeline, let you search through the clips with text and, of course, the aforementioned written pings. Pay, your fee, set this up, and your phone will ping when it spots something interesting, and give you the best description of what is going on that it can manage. Users can also set specific categories, like "Person," "Vehicle," "Pet" and will eventually be able to craft tailored alerts, like "a dog jumps on the couch" for alerts.Oh, but there is a catch - because that fairly reasonable 99 cents a month is just a limited-time trial, before leaping up to $7 a month. Which, we can all agree, is more than a little bit too much to spend on a product like this, especially in this economic climate.ViewSay is currently in beta, and while the app splash to get you to sign up promises plenty, the company is keen to keep expectations low. My impression so far is that while Psync has the bones of a workable idea here in theory, the nitty-gritty of practice isn't. I pointed the camera at a neutral corner in my office and play-acted in front of it to see what it would do. My fake phone-call, where I learned that my (fictional) wife had discovered the secret to perpetual motion, went unremarked upon and undocumented. Well, kinda - the camera pinged my phone to say that A man is sitting in a chair in a room, looking at his reflection in a mirror."Actually, I'm being unfair - since the system can also make fairly accurate guesses at other times. Like, while I was setting the hardware up late one evening, I got a ping to tell me that a man is sitting on the floor, holding a cell phone in his hand." A few days later, I pointed the camera at a TV which was turned off, and the Echo Show that was in front of it. I then turned back to use my laptop - which I think was only really visible in the reflection on the TV's screen. Not long after, the app pinged to say it could see a A man is sitting in front of a laptop, looking at the screen, and possibly using it for work or entertainment purposes." Now, this was either a massively-lucky guess, a false positive or a sign of how accurate this will be in future.Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget.When it detects something going on in this manner, the system records a 12-second clip to its local storage. These clips are retained for at least 14 days, and when you've looked at them in the app, you're also able to save them to your phone. I understand you'll also be able to take longer clips when motion is detected but that feature doesn't yet appear to be available. You'll also be able to share a live feed of your camera, using WebRTC, to up to four viewers - through a browser - for up to 30 minutes at a time. You might be wondering about how secure all of this is, and what exactly is happening to your data. Psync told me that its AI model is based on an AWS instance, and the footage is protected using 256-bit AES encryption. The footage recorded will be stored on the device locally, but the initial frame of the video is sent to the cloud for further analysis.As something of an AI skeptic, and someone who isn't thrilled at wiring up every corner of my home with a camera, I'm by default hostile to Psync's plan here. But I can at least see where Psync is looking to add value to the standard security camera proposition. If you're out and about, and you get a ping saying there's a person in your living room, when there shouldn't be, then that's pretty helpful. Especially if you can just tune into the live feed and see for yourself what's going on and if you need to do something about it. As much as the macro story is scary, I can understand the logic someone would apply to buy one or two of these.But it's worth saying too that what I just described isn't yet what Psync is selling, only what it is gesturing toward. The system will require more training, and plenty more data from a broader user base, until it can start offering you more concrete descriptions. Now, I'm sure that in a year or two that will be the case, but until then, you're essentially buying into an ecosystem where you're paying for the privilege of being a beta tester.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/psyncs-genie-s-security-camera-uses-gpt-to-describe-what-it-sees-130043520.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G1EY)
YouTube is no longer preventing just a small subset of its userbase from accessing its videos if they have an ad blocker. The platform has gone all out in its fight against the use of add-ons, extensions and programs that prevent it from serving ads to viewers around the world, it confirmed to Engadget. "The use of ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service," a spokesperson told us. "We've launched a global effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience. Ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube."YouTube started cracking down on the use of ad blockers earlier this year. It initially showed pop-ups to users telling them that it's against the website's TOS, and then it put a timer on those notifications to make sure people read it. By June, it took on a more aggressive approach and warned viewers that they wouldn't be able to play more than three videos unless they disable their ad blockers. That was a "small experiment" meant to urge users to enable ads or to try YouTube Premium, which the website has now expanded to its entire userbase. Some people can't even play videos on Microsoft Edge and Firefox browsers even if they don't have ad blockers, according to Android Police, but we weren't able to replicate that behavior.People are unsurprisingly unhappy about the development and have taken to social networks like Reddit to air their grievances. If they don't want to enable ads, after all, the only way they can watch videos with no interruptions is to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription. Indeed, the notification viewers get heavily promotes the subscription service. "Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide," it says. But with YouTube Premium, viewers can go ad-free, and "creators can still get paid from [their] subscription."The website raised Premium's rates to $14 a month in July from $12 before that. YouTube Premium also gives users access to offline viewing, background playback and higher-quality 1080p streaming, but it could be too expensive for those who just want an ad-free experience. The platform used to offer a more affordable option called Premium Lite in certain European regions, and it only cost 7 ($7.42) a month to remove advertisements from videos. However, it never made Lite available worldwide and ultimately killed that option by the end of October.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-is-taking-its-fight-against-ad-blockers-global-122041223.html?src=rss
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by Karissa Bell on (#6G1EZ)
LinkedIn is adding a new, AI-powered perk for its premium subscribers: a built-in job coach that uses AI and LinkedIn data to help job seekers find, research and apply for roles. The new feature arrives as the company announced its user base has grown to 1 billion members as it looks to ramp up its investment in AI-driven features.The Microsoft-owned company has increasingly been experimenting with AI features for its paying members. Earlier this year, it introduced the ability to use generative AI to write better profile descriptions and messages to hiring managers. But the latest AI perks aim to provide an even more personalized experience.For now, the most prominent feature for job seekers will be AI-generated insights alongside each job posting. The tool can help summarize lengthy job descriptions and weigh in on whether the role is a good fit for a user based on the contents of their LinkedIn profile. For example, it can highlight specific work experiences users' may want to emphasize in their application and provide tips on how to improve their LinkedIn profile to look more attractive to hiring managers.LinkedInBecause LinkedIn is able to draw on its vast trove of career data, the tips it's able to provide are much more personalized than what you'd likely get if you were to ask other generative AI services for tips, says LinkedIn product manager Rohan Rajiv. This is made possible by generative AI, but also the datasets that bring all of this together," Rajiv tells Engadget. It's your profile, your connections, and all of this that essentially can help you move your job search forward."For now, it's still early days for the feature which is launching in beta to a limited set of LinkedIn Premium subscribers. But the company has signaled it intends to make AI a central part of its service going forward. Today marks the beginning of a new journey, one where the power of AI is your ally in every career question and decision," LinkedIn's Chief Product Officer, Tomer Cohen, wrote in a blog post.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/linkedins-latest-premium-perk-is-an-ai-job-coach-120044855.html?src=rss
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by Mat Smith on (#6G1CN)
Following President Joe Biden's sweeping executive order regarding AI development last week, at the UK AI Safety Summit yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced even more machine learning initiatives, as well as the establishment of the United States AI Safety Institute. In cooperation with the Department of Commerce, the Biden administration will establish the United States AI Safety Institute (US AISI) within the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). It will be responsible for creating and publishing guidelines, benchmark tests, best practices and more, for evaluating potentially dangerous AI systems. Tests may even include the red-team exercises President Biden mentioned in his executive order last week.The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) - it's an acronym-heavy morning - will release the administration's first draft policy guidance on government AI use later this week.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe Google Pixel 7a is cheaper than ever at $374 in this early Black Friday dealApple's Scary Fast Mac event: Everything announced about the M3 MacBook Pro and M3 iMacThe best wireless earbudsSamsung credits strong smartphone and mobile display sales for income growthThe best iPhone cases Microsoft's Windows 11 2023 update brings Copilot AI to more usersSurface Laptop Studio 2 reviewThe ultimate all-rounder?EngadgetMicrosoft's Surface Laptop Studio packs a unique blend of performance and adaptability - even among 2-in-1 PCs. Thanks to refreshed specs plus a USB-A port and a microSD card reader, it seems like Microsoft's second-gen mobile workstation has pretty much everything it needs. Unfortunately, with a high starting price and costly upgrades, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is still difficult to recommend to everyone.Continue reading.Chrome for iOS now lets you move the address bar to the bottomPerfect for those iPhone Pro Max owners.Google's new feature for Chrome on iOS doesn't massively change the browser, but it could be helpful if you find tapping the top of your iPhone screen a bit of a stretch. The company has rolled out the ability to move the browser's address bar to the bottom of the screen from the top, a la Safari. Oddly, this isn't yet a feature in Android's Chrome app.Continue reading.Tesla's Autopilot was not to blame for fatal 2019 Model 3 crashThe crash killed the car's 37-year-old driver and severely injured two passengers.Tesla was not at fault for a fatal 2019 crash that allegedly involved its Autopilot system, according to a jury in California. It's the first US trial for a case claiming its software directly caused a death, with the car's driver killed in the crash. The lawsuit alleged Tesla knowingly shipped cars with a defective Autopilot system. The jury ultimately found there was no defect, and Tesla was cleared on Tuesday.Continue reading.Ayaneo's Kun is an even more powerful gaming handheldThis powerful handheld could also be your favorite laptop.EngadgetThe Ayaneo Kun is the highest-spec gaming machine the company has ever made, and after using it for a couple of weeks, Engadget's James Trew says it's both a fantastic gaming handheld and (if you want) a decent portable general-use PC. But it feels, he said, that the Kun is just a placeholder for the Kun 2, or the Kun 1S, Kun Pro or... whatever they call the next upgraded handheld. Notable specs include a huge 75Wh battery and the ability to play games at 1600p resolution - a substantial nudge above the usual 1200p max of other Ayaneo devices. Read on for the full breakdown.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-us-government-announces-ai-safety-institute-111551804.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G1CP)
A bunch of Sony headphones, earbuds and other audio devices are on sale at Amazon, including the Sony WH-CH720N headset, which is currently selling for the lowest price we've seen for it on the website. You can get the noise canceling wireless headphones for $98, down 35 percent from their original list price of $150. They have a lightweight, over-ear design with ample space around your ears so that they'd be comfortable to use. And while you can completely block out outside noise for full immersion, you can also switch on their Adjustable Ambient Sound mode that comes with 20 levels for when you want to be aware of your surroundings.You can pair the WH-CH720N with two Bluetooth devices at the same time, and you can easily switch between them at the touch of a button. Plus, the model supports both Alexa and Google's voice assistants, and Sony says it can last for up to 35 hours on a single charge.The most deeply discounted product among the ones currently on sale, however, are the Sony WH-XB910N wireless headphones. They have the power to enhance low-end frequencies for extra bass with their "dedicated bass duct on the headphone housing" and "increased airtightness between the driver units and eardrums." The headphones use dual noise cancelation technology to keep ambient sounds out, and like the WH-CH720N, you can quickly switch between two connected Bluetooth devices. You can get the Sony WH-XB910N headphones right now for $118, which isn't quite a record-low for the model but is still 53 percent lower than its original price.If you're looking for earbuds instead of headphones, you can also grab a pair of Sony LinkBuds S with noise canceling capabilities for $128 (36 percent off) from the sale. Want earbuds designed to let ambient sounds in? The Sony LinkBuds earbuds with an open-ring design now also cost $128, or 29 percent less than their original list price. Finally, you can find deals on subwoofers and sound bars from Amazon, as well, if those are what you've been eyeing for the upcoming holiday season.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/sony-anc-headphones-are-up-to-53-percent-off-at-amazon-095038076.html?src=rss
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by Andrew Tarantola on (#6G17T)
Just days after President Joe Biden unveiled a sweeping executive order retasking the federal government with regards to AI development, Vice President Kamala Harris announced at the UK AI Safety Summit on Tuesday a half dozen more machine learning initiatives that the administration is undertaking. Among the highlights: the establishment of the United States AI Safety Institute, the first release of draft policy guidance on the federal government's use of AI and a declaration on the responsible military applications for the emerging technology."President Biden and I believe that all leaders, from government, civil society, and the private sector have a moral, ethical, and societal duty to make sure AI is adopted and advanced in a way that protects the public from potential harm and ensures that everyone is able to enjoy its benefits," Harris said in her prepared remarks."Just as AI has the potential to do profound good, it also has the potential to cause profound harm, from AI-enabled cyber-attacks at a scale beyond anything we have seen before to AI-formulated bioweapons that could endanger the lives of millions," she said. The existential threats that generative AI systems present was a central theme of the summit."To define AI safety we must consider and address the full spectrum of AI risk - threats to humanity as a whole, threats to individuals, to our communities and to our institutions, and threats to our most vulnerable populations," she continued. "To make sure AI is safe, we must manage all these dangers."To that end, Harris announced Wednesday that the White House, in cooperation with the Department of Commerce, is establishing the United States AI Safety Institute (US AISI) within the NIST. It will be responsible for actually creating and publishing the all of the guidelines, benchmark tests, best practices and such for testing and evaluating potentially dangerous AI systems.These tests could include the red-team exercises that President Biden had mentioned in his EO. The AISI would also be tasked in providing technical guidance to lawmakers and law enforcement on a wide range of AI-related topics, including identifying generated content, authenticating live-recorded content, mitigating AI-driven discrimination, and ensuring transparency in its use.Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is set to release for public comment the administration's first draft policy guidance on government AI use later this week. Like the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights that it builds upon, the draft policy guidance outlines steps that the national government can take to "advance responsible AI innovation" while maintaining transparency and protecting federal workers from increased surveillance and job displacement. This draft guidance will eventually be used to establish safeguards for the use of AI in a broad swath of public sector applications including transportation, immigration, health and education so it is being made available for public comment at ai.gov/input.Harris also announced during her remarks that the Political Declaration on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy the US issued in February has collected 30 signatories to date, all of whom have agreed to a set of norms for responsible development and deployment of military AI systems. Just 165 nations to go! The administration is also launching a a virtual hackathon in efforts to blunt the harm AI-empowered phone and internet scammers can inflict. Hackathon participants will work to build AI models that can counter robocalls and robotexts, especially those targeting elderly folks with generated voice scams.Content authentication is a growing focus of the Biden-Harris administration. President Biden's EO explained that the Commerce Department will be spearheading efforts to validate content produced by the White House through a collaboration with the C2PA and other industry advocacy groups. They'll work to establish industry norms, such as the voluntary commitments previously extracted from 15 of the largest AI firms in Silicon Valley. In her remarks, Harris extended that call internationally, asking for support from all nations in developing global standards in authenticating government-produced content.These voluntary [company] commitments are an initial step toward a safer AI future, with more to come," she said. "As history has shown in the absence of regulation and strong government oversight, some technology companies choose to prioritize profit over: The wellbeing of their customers; the security of our communities; and the stability of our democracies.""One important way to address these challenges - in addition to the work we have already done - is through legislation - legislation that strengthens AI safety without stifling innovation," Harris continued.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/kamala-harris-announces-ai-safety-institute-to-protect-american-consumers-060011065.html?src=rss
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by Steve Dent on (#6G17V)
Your EV may go a long way between charges, but can it carry dozens of passengers? GreenPower can boast both of those things with its latest electric school bus called "Mega Beast," it announced in a press release spotted by Electrek. A massive 387 kWh battery supplies nearly 300 miles of range and it can carry up to 90 people - around three classrooms full of kids.The long wheelbase Type D model features "the longest range and has the biggest battery pack in the school bus market," GreenPower said. It uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP)battery pack that offers high energy density and a longer life span, but a higher initial cost.Mega Beast is a souped up version of GreenPower's regular 140 mile range, 197.3 kWh Beast ("Beast" stands for "battery electric automotive school transportation"). Along with double the battery size, it offers better hill-climbing power, the company wrote.Why the need for so much range, when buses usually do just two runs per day? This version is designed for longer range routes at rural schools, for example, or school districts that can't necessarily charge a bus at mid-day. It's also aimed at regions with "extreme weather conditions and schools that also use the all-electric bus for extra-curricular activities."Large electric school buses with around 100 miles of range can cost $300,000 to $400,000, up to four times the price of a diesel-powered school bus. However, maintenance costs are lower and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched the Clean School Bus Program providing $5 billion over five years to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models. Other companies building electric buses include Daimler via its Thomas-Built Buses division, along with Blue Bird.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-90-passenger-school-bus-has-nearly-300-miles-of-range-044741117.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G16D)
The antitrust lawsuit Epic Games and Match Group have filed against Google was supposed to go to trial on November 6, but now it looks like the video game developer might go at it alone. Google and Match, the parent company of Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge, have reached an agreement and have agreed to drop all claims against each other. According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, Google has agreed to return the $40 million Match had place in escrow to cover the service fees it would supposedly owe the Alphabet unit while the dispute is ongoing.Match also announced in its earning report that its apps will be using Google's User Choice Billing program starting on March 31, 2024. Under the program, users will have the option to choose between Google's and the developer's billing systems when purchasing an app or paying for a subscription. If they choose to use Google's system, then Match will have to pay Google 15 percent for recurring subscriptions and 30 percent for one-off payments. Google's cut is reduced to 11 percent and 26 percent, respectively, for payments that go through the developer's provided alternative. The dating services provider said that the terms they agreed on will offset the additional costs its apps will incur implementing the User Choice Billing program over three years starting in 2024.Tinder's parent company originally sued Google in 2022, accusing it of violating federal and state antitrust laws. Match said that Google previously assured it that it could use its own payment system. However, when it announced a new policy that would require all Android developers to process payments through the Play Store billing system, Google allegedly threatened to remove its apps from the store if it didn't comply. Match also claimed that the company had been rejecting app updates that maintained the payment system it was using.Later that year, Match had joined up with Epic Games, and the two consolidated their antitrust lawsuit against their common foe. They even expanded their allegations and accused Google of paying major developers hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their apps in the Play Store. Bloomberg says Epic is now scheduled to face Google in court alone on November 2, and the judge is waiting for both parties to decide whether they want a jury to make the decision for their case. Epic had also sued Apple over the same issue, but in Google's case, the court has to acknowledge that Android users can sideload applications to their devices. The video game developer hasn't dropped any hints that it's also hashing out an agreement with the bigger company, but we'll know for sure if the trial still pushes through on November 2.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-and-match-group-settle-antitrust-case-before-it-goes-to-trial-041158809.html?src=rss
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by Cheyenne MacDonald on (#6G0ZY)
A California jury has found that Tesla was not at fault for a fatal 2019 crash that allegedly involved its Autopilot system, in the first US trial yet for a case claiming its software directly caused a death. The lawsuit alleged Tesla knowingly shipped out cars with a defective Autopilot system, leading to a crash that killed a Model 3 owner and severely injured two passengers, Reuters reports.Per the lawsuit, 37-year-old Micah Lee was driving his Tesla Model 3 on a highway outside of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour when it turned sharply off the road and slammed into a palm tree before catching fire. Lee died in the crash. The company was sued for $400 million plus punitive damages by Lee's estate and the two surviving victims, including a boy who was 8 years old at the time and was disemboweled in the accident, according to an earlier report from Reuters.Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Tesla sold Lee defective, experimental" software when he bought a Model 3 in 2019 that was billed to have full self-driving capability. The FSD system was and still is in beta. In his opening statement, their attorney Jonathan Michaels also said that the excessive steering command is a known issue at Tesla."Tesla's defense argued that there was no such defect, and that an analysis cited by the plaintiffs' lawyers identifying a steering issue was actually looking for problems that were theoretically possible. A fix to prevent it from ever happening was engineered as a result of that analysis, according to the company. Tesla blamed human error for the crash, pointing to tests that showed Lee had consumed alcohol before getting in the car, and argued that there's no certainty Autopilot was in use at the time.The jury ultimately found there was no defect, and Tesla was cleared on Tuesday. Tesla has faced lawsuits over its Autopilot system in the past, but this is the first involving a fatality. It's scheduled to go on trial for several others in the coming months, and today's ruling is likely to set the tone for those ahead.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-autopilot-was-not-to-blame-for-fatal-2019-model-3-crash-jury-finds-210643301.html?src=rss
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by Kris Holt on (#6G0ZZ)
Atari has agreed to buy developer Digital Eclipse. The acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming days, will be worth up to $20 million based on the performance of Digital Eclipse over the next decade. Atari says that by bringing Digital Eclipse under its wing, it "will be able to further support its retro-focused growth strategy."Over the last several years, Digital Eclipse has become well-known for its expertise in remastering older titles and releasing them as collections. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion Kingand the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection are among its more notable projects.Digital Eclipse caught the attention of many last year with Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection. That well-regarded compilation pulled together dozens of games from across Atari's 50-year history and placed them in context with the help of marketing and development documents, archival footage and new interviews with former Atari employees. Digital Eclipse built on the "interactive documentary" format with this year's release of The Making of Karateka.It plans to continue with this Gold Master Series preservation project under Atari's umbrella. It will still have the ability to work with third-party developers and publishers, and there are several non-Atari projects in the works that it has yet to announce.Atari seems to be on a mission to become a powerhouse in retro gaming and game preservation. It also bought Nightdive Studios, a developer that specializes in remasters, and AtariAge (a community and news site that focuses on Atari) this year. In addition, Atari has been snapping up many gaming franchises from the 1980s and 1990s.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/atari-is-buying-retro-game-specialist-digital-eclipse-195419696.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G0X4)
Therabody's Theragun Mini 2.0 massage device is on sale as part of Target's Black Friday sale for $170. That's $30 off the MSRP of $200 and matches a previous record-low for the massage gun, so this early Black Friday deal could be your best chance to snag a muscle-soothing percussive therapy gadget on the cheap.To that end, the deal's only accessible today and requires a Target Circle membership. Don't worry. It's free to sign up, and once you do you'll get a coupon code you can clip directly on the product page.This is the second-generation Theragun Mini, with three massage speeds that offer up to 2,400 percussions per minute. It also ships with a trio of attachments designed for different muscle groups and the Mini boasts a rechargeable battery that gets two hours of use per charge. This massage gun actually made our list of the best fitness devices for college students, but you don't need your head in a text book to appreciate vibration-based pain relief.Despite being a smaller and more budget-friendly version of Therabody's other products, we found that the Mini works nearly as well as its larger counterparts when it comes to easing tight muscles. We appreciated its one-handed design, decreased noise level during use and powerful motor.This is a battery-powered wireless massage gun that gets around two hours of use per charge. It also connects to a proprietary app via Bluetooth that helps you create custom routines to treat specific ailments. It's also worth noting that the Mini is also around 30 percent lighter than the company's other massage guns, which helps with that whole one-handed use aspect. Now you'll never have to admit weakness by asking someone else to help with muscle tightness.Target is actually selling a few Therabody products at steep discounts, all of which return to their normal prices once Halloween is over. Beyond the Mini in black or tan, you can snag the company's eye mask massaging device for 15 percent off.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-theragun-mini-20-drops-to-a-record-low-price-in-early-target-black-friday-deal-183342874.html?src=rss
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by Sam Rutherford on (#6G0X5)
Even among 2-in-1 PCs, Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio offers a unique blend of performance and adaptability. But now on the second model, thanks to refreshed specs plus the addition of a USB-A port and a microSD card reader, it feels like Microsoft has given its mobile workstation the finishing touches it needed all along, resulting in what may be the ultimate all-rounder. Unfortunately with a high starting price and costly upgrades for more RAM and a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is hard to recommend for everyone.Design: Funky but functionalFrancis Bacon once said There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion," which is a sentiment that feels applicable to the Surface Laptop Studio 2. It features a minimalist aluminum chassis (instead of the magnesium frame on the previous model) but in a somewhat unconventional configuration. The laptop's lid is divided into two halves, which allows the screen to pivot 180 degrees or tilt down into an easel. Meanwhile, its base features a two-tiered design that allows the laptop to keep its vents away from the sides of the system while also providing a hidden magnetic charging spot for a Surface Slim Pen 2 (which sadly, is not included).The two biggest changes to the Studio 2's design are the addition of the USB-A port and a microSD card slot. When combined with the existing dual USB-C jacks, you get a solid range of connectivity options. It means you can transfer files from a camera directly to the laptop and you'll rarely (if ever) have to worry about carrying around extra dongles for peripherals. That said, Surface Laptop Studio 2's slightly thicker chassis (but only by one or two millimeters) and the change to aluminum does mean an extra third of a pound in weight (4.18 pounds with integrated graphics or 4.37 with a discrete GPU).Display: Vivid from any angleThe Surface Laptop Studio 2's screen hasn't changed much from the previous model, but that's not a bad thing. Its 14.4-inch panel features the same 2,400 x 1,600 resolution, along with a dynamic refresh rate that can switch between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you're looking at. However, brightness is a touch better at around 500 nits, or 650 nits with HDR turned on. And you still get full Windows Inking support with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.Performance: More than enough power, but it'll cost youPhoto by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetFor the new model, Microsoft streamlined the Surface Laptop Studio 2's specs by offering a single processor across every config: an Intel Core i7-13700H. From there you can choose a base model with integrated graphics or upgrade to one with either an RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPU. The annoying thing is that, to get that 4060, you also have to get 64GB of RAM, which is overkill for most people. That's unfortunate because that config costs $3,300. An option with only 32GB of RAM and a lower cost would be appreciated.That said, it's hard to complain about its actual performance. The Surface Laptop Studio 2 kept pace with similarly specced gaming laptops including the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and Razer Blade 18 across both benchmarks and real-world tests. While it's not meant to be a dedicated gaming rig, it also hit 62 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1920 x 1200 with high graphics and ray tracing set to ultra (though that is with NVIDIA's DLSS turned on).Battery Life: Surprisingly decentPhoto by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetEven with a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2's longevity is closer to a standard ultraportable than more short-lived gaming notebooks. On PCMark 10's OpenOffice battery rundown test, it lasted eight hours and 40 minutes. That's three hours more than both the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and the Razer Blade 16, which lasted 5:19 and 5:10, respectively. However, more typical ultraportables like ASUS' Zenbook S 13 fared even better with a time of 10:39.Wrap-upThe two major knocks against the Surface Laptop Studio 2 are its price and limited configurations that top out with NVIDIA RTX 4060 graphics, which makes it feel more like a great all-rounder than an all-out mobile powerhouse. While there's no defending its cost, I'm not as bothered by the latter, because there's a lot of value in a system that offers unmatched adaptability.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetWith its innovative design, brilliant display, above-average battery life and improved connectivity, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 can handle a lot of different assignments with ease. It's a great system for editing photos and videos, and stylus support makes drawing or taking notes a delight. When you factor in the excellent keyboard, Windows Hello IR cameras and one of best touchpads on a Windows laptop today (courtesy of Sensel), you get an incredibly versatile mobile workstation. And if we revisit that classic line from Shakespeare, A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one," which is precisely what we have here with the Surface Laptop Studio 2. I just wish it was a bit cheaper.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/surface-laptop-studio-2-review-the-ultimate-all-rounder-specs-price-180012173.html?src=rss
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by Cheyenne MacDonald on (#6G0SP)
Google's budget Pixel 7a was already a more affordable alternative to the flagship Pixel, but with a 25 percent discount on Amazon right now, it's an absolute steal. The Pixel 7a is down to just $374 from its original price of $500. It's the lowest we've seen it drop yet, beating even the October Prime Day price by $25. The discounted Pixel 7a is unlocked for all carriers, and available in the colors Charcoal, Sea and Snow.While it may not have everything you'd get in a flagship, the Pixel 7a is still a really solid smartphone. It has a smooth 90Hz display and a Tensor G2 chip, plus 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The battery life is great, too. In our review, where it earned a score of 90, we found the Pixel 7a's 4,385mAh battery kept it going for an impressive 17 hours and 41 minutes. The Pixel 7a is also the first in Google's A series to support wireless charging. It's not groundbreaking, capping out at 7.5 watts, but it's still a nice convenience.The Pixel 7a holds up in just about every category, and we ranked it as the best midrange Android smartphone in 2023. It boasts a 64MP camera on the back which does a great job of preserving detail, and shots taken in Night Sight mode even beat Samsung's Galaxy S23 when comparing white balance. The selfie camera is crisp as well, and now capable of shooting video in 4K.Designwise, the 7a looks a lot like the flagship Pixel 7, though it's slightly bulkier and has plastic backing. It's got a 6.1 OLED screen and a water resistance rating of IP67. It'll also get years of updates, with at least three OS upgrades and five years of security updates. There are some things it's missing, being a budget phone - like a dedicated zoom lens - but at only $374, that may not be a dealbreaker.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-google-pixel-7a-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-374-in-this-early-black-friday-deal-173045009.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G0SQ)
Skating video games are always a good time, especially when paired with high-octane action and violence. Rollerdrome is no exception, allowing players to complete death-defying roller-skating tricks and death-inducing headshots all at the same time. The game's been an absolute hit since originally releasing for PS4, PS5 and Steam back in August of last year. Now, it's coming to Xbox as a day one Game Pass title.Rollerdrome releases for Xbox Series X/S via Game Pass on November 28. It's also launching as a standalone Windows PC title, which will be available for purchase on the Microsoft Store for $30. As previously mentioned, it's already playable on PC via Steam, but additional purchase options are never a bad thing.If you're unfamiliar with the game, here's a quick primer. Rollerdrome was developed by Roll7, the same team behind the uber-popular skateboarding sim OlliOlli World. The game has all of the tricks and speedy movement you'd expect from a roller-skating simulation, but with a heavy emphasis on action. We called the game endlessly replayable" and gave it a spot on our list of the best video games of 2022, emphasizing the challenge mode and online leaderboards. We also liked the dystopian vibes, making gameplay resemble the 1970s cult classic dystopian film Rollerball. This was likely intentional on the part of the developers.The graphics on this third-person skater/shooter are also on-point, with bright, comic-book style visuals. There are plenty of environments to skate through, like an abandoned mall and a desert canyon. Each play area is littered with ramps, gaps and breakable windows, all of which can be leveraged for tricks. There's also plenty of baddies to murder with weapons ranging from shotguns to grenade launchers.This is a busy November for Game Pass. In addition to Rollerdrome, the subscription service gets the Yakuza-adjacent Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name on November 9, along with the creature-hunting sim Wild Hearts. The Stardew-alike life sim Spirittea releases on November 13 with another farming sim, Coral Island, coming on November 14.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/skatingmurder-sim-rollerdrome-is-coming-to-xbox-game-pass-171355085.html?src=rss
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by Devindra Hardawar on (#6G0SR)
Today Microsoft has begun rolling out its Windows 11 2023 update (also know as version 23H2), which adds some minor features on top of Copilot and its other AI-powered apps announced in September. Now, you may be asking yourself, "Didn't Microsoft just release a major Windows 11 update?" And you would be correct. But it turns out that release, which launched on September 26th, was basically just an AI preview meant for last year's Windows 11 22H2 update. Consequently, Copilot didn't actually reach most Windows users over the past few weeks (I eventually got it in a test laptop, but my home desktop is still Copilot-less).It's fair to be confused, because Microsoft's handling of Copilot has been baffling from the start. We first heard it was arriving as "Windows Copilot" back in May, where it essentially put the AI features we saw on the Edge Copilot and similar tools right into the heart of Windows. Copilot ended up being the star of Microsoft's most recent Surface event, where the actual hardware took second place to the company's AI ambitions.So if you've been dying to get your hands on Copilot, be sure to start refreshing Windows Update. Additionally, the Windows 11 2023 update transforms the built-in Chat app into Microsoft Teams, which will sit in your task bar by default. You'll also be able to find Windows 11 components under a new "System" label in the Start menu's "All apps" section (something I rarely visit these days). Those System Components will also be under a new page in the Settings app under the System section.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-windows-11-2023-update-rolls-out-bringing-copilot-ai-to-more-users-170049845.html?src=rss
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by James Trew on (#6G0SS)
Thirteen. That's the number of different handheld gaming PCs that Ayaneo shows on its homepage as of this writing. Fourteen if you count the preview for one in the carousel. Each device comes in a choice of colors with different storage and RAM configurations. Ayaneo has a lot of SKUs. Only five months ago I reviewed the Air Plus and it's already been discounted to make way for the next version. The current tippy-top of all these handhelds is the Ayaneo Kun and it is, currently, one of a kind.The Kun is the highest-spec machine the company has ever made, and after using it for a couple of weeks I can say it's both a fantastic gaming handheld and (if you want) a decent portable general-use PC. But despite being the latest and greatest, it didn't take long for one thing to become abundantly clear: The Kun is just a placeholder for the Kun 2, or the Kun 1S, Kun Pro or... whatever they call the beefier, updated version that's waiting for the next generation of processors. We'll get to why in a bit, but for now, it's the most impressive console the company has made.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetWith an 8.4-inch display, the latest AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor, and up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage the Kun kicks digital sand in the face of the anemic-by-comparison Steam Deck. Physically, it's a shade taller and, at two pounds (900g), a (double) handful. But with Valve's portable approaching its second birthday, it's starting to make less sense to measure the current wave of gaming portables against it. That said, just one look at the Kun, with its familiar-looking trackpads and rear buttons, and it's clear how it's been influenced by the market-leading device .Before we talk about how all that hardware performs, or the software experience, we should talk about price. The fully loaded Kun I've been testing costs an eye-watering $1,700. That's enough money for a good desktop gaming PC, including the monitor. It's also enough to buy two top of the line Steam Decks with change (or two high-end ROG Allys). A better comparison is the lowest-spec Kun, as that matches the RAM and storage (16GB / 512 GB) of the high-end Deck ($649), and that model costs a slightly more reasonable $999. You can add another $200 or so to those Kun prices if you purchase outside of the IGG campaign, but Ayaneo tends to leave them going long enough for anyone who wants one to get the better price.While the Kun is new, there's a lot we've seen before. The Ayaneo 2S shares the same 7840U processor and graphics chip. But in terms of performance, you might reasonably expect the Kun to be a shade worse, as that 8.4-inch display allows 1600p gaming which is more intensive than the 1200p max of the Ayaneo 2 or 2S. The reality, however, is that while you can play games at higher resolutions, it's usually not worth it for the hit on performance. That's where the other important hardware difference on the Kun comes in: the huge 75Wh battery.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetWhen playing games at 1080p or 1200p everything still looks fantastic. That display is bright, has excellent dynamic range and just really brings games to life. The pairing of optimized graphics settings and the bigger battery translates to much longer play sessions. Exactly how long will depend on a few variables along with the maximum power drain/TDP that you specify in the Ayaspace software. But as a broad guide, for lighter games and things like retro emulation you should be able to crack five hours. For a lot of AAA games, you can expect over three hours of 1080p play (assuming a TDP of between 15 and 20). If you want to increase the resolution to either 1200 or 1600 and increase the TDP nearer 30 then you might eke out two hours if you're lucky.Those times are pretty good for this current generation of Windows handhelds, but there are other factors to consider. The Kun is a foot wide and a little hefty. Sure, you can take this thing places but you will not be sliding it out of a pocket while waiting at the DMV. The Kun lives to be played, unironically, at home - or someone else's home, or maybe on a flight or long train ride. The size and weight aren't problematic in these controlled, indoor environments, but you'll want to be somewhere relatively comfortable or ergonomic. There's a kickstand, which really helps with certain types of games, but it positions the Kun upright like a laptop screen. I do wish the stand were adjustable to allow for a variety of angles, but it's better than nothing.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetPersonally, I found myself playing with it while on the couch, grabbing an hour or so of game time between work and dinner. For extended sessions, I would dock it and play through the TV. This hybrid use case seems to be where the Kun excels. You don't need to occupy the living room's main screen, but you can still be around friends or family. And then when you really want to get into a game, playing through the TV is where the Kun's higher 54W max power drain / TDP can come in handy.Here is a good time to circle back to something I alluded to right up top. That 54W max TDP is really, really high compared to the Steam Deck's 15W highest power setting. It's also a lot higher than even the Ayaneo 2S' 30W limit. But right now that doesn't translate into much extra game performance. The GPU on this device will be the bottleneck, usually reaching 100 percent long before you reach anything near 54W of power. Sadly, jacking the power up to 54W once the GPU is already running at maximum won't change anything. But what it can help with is two fold.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetFirstly, it allows for more CPU intensive tasks like general computing. Want to run music making software on this thing? You definitely could. Have the urge to edit video footage on the go? The Kun will eat this up. With a keyboard and a mouse, the Kun is, in a comical way, a good all-purpose computer. Heck, it even has a webcam with infrared for Windows Hello (and Zoom calls) which is something many laptops don't even have. The Kun's screen is more Netbook than Macbook in terms of size, but it's big enough. You could always connect it to a monitor anyway. Don't buy it for this reason of course, it's just a testament to how big and powerful this thing is.Secondly, and most importantly for gamers, is that this 54W TDP is a fairly clear indicator that the Kun form factor will go through the same continuous revisions as Ayaneo's other models. The Kun is basically all set for a chipset that can make use of 54W TDP for gaming once AMD and others start making APUs with more powerful GPUs in them. We're a ways out from any likely refresh from AMD, but you never know, as they're not the only name in the game. Not even in the handheld gaming game.The result is, predictably, a device with a lot to offer but also some quite narrow appeal. In fact, there's a good chance that if you were interested in one of these, you already placed an order for one. For those folks, the Kun delivers on its promises. For that small group that didn't know they were looking for a $1,000-plus gaming handheld, the Kun currently has no real competition at this size and specification. For everyone else, it's likely an exercise in excess, but at least it's fun.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ayaneos-kun-gaming-handheld-review-164050984.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G0NP)
Google's new feature for Chrome on iOS doesn't massively change the browser, but it could be helpful if you find having to stretch your fingers to reach the address bar disruptive to your workflow. The company has rolled out the ability to move the browser's address bar to the bottom of the screen from the top - and to put it back to its original location, if you want. MacRumors' contributing writer Steve Moser spotted the feature in the TestFlight version of Chrome for iOS back in August, but now it's making its way to the public version of the browser for the mobile platform.The idea is to make it easier to reach the address bar with your thumbs, like you could on Safari and Opera on mobile, which both allow you to relocate the element on your screen. All you have to do is long press on the URL bar and then choose "Move address bar to bottom" in the options that pop up. You could do the same thing to move it back to the top of the screen, though you could also find the new feature in the Settings menu.We asked Google if the feature is also coming to Android devices, and we'll let you know when we hear back. The company tested a Chrome Home interface that had the URL bar at the bottom way back in 2019, but it didn't make its way out of the experimental phase.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chrome-for-ios-now-lets-you-move-the-address-bar-to-the-bottom-160021166.html?src=rss
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by Lawrence Bonk on (#6G0NQ)
iRobot's Roomba 694 isn't the most feature-rich robot vacuum on the block, but it certainly gets the job done. Now, it can get that job done for cheaper, as the Roomba 694 is on sale for $159 as part of an early Black Friday deal on Amazon. This is a record-low price for the gadget, with the discount slashing $115 off the MSRP. That's more than 40 percent off the usual price of $275.If you've been curious about hiring a robot helper to sweep the floors, but were waiting for a good deal, now might be a great time to jump on board. After all, the Roomba 694 sits at the top of our list of the best budget robot vacuums in the world. This little jobby might be low in price, but it's high in functionality.The cleaning power is on point and the affiliated mobile app is both useful and easy to operate. The 694 boasts a sleek all-black design, giving it an aesthetic similar to its more expensive siblings. It can spot clean or do more intensive jobs throughout the home. The app lets you control the vacuum manually or set cleaning schedules. Amazon now owns Roomba, so you can even use that famous wisecracker Alexa to set up cleaning times.The vacuum includes an edge-sweeping brush for corners and adaptive navigation capabilities, so it won't careen down the stairs like a little kid on Christmas morning. These navigation sensors also allow the vacuum to clean under furniture. You don't get any replacement brushes or filters with this unit, so you'll have to buy those on your own when the time comes.It cleans for 90 minutes before requiring a charge, but it'll automatically head to the dock when the power's running low, which is a staple of most modern robo-vacs. The Roomba 694 features a three-stage cleaning system that excels on both carpets and hard floors, but you won't be able to use this little bot to mop. That's a feature reserved for the pricier models.Speaking of pricier vacuums, Roomba is running a sale on multiple models right now. You can snag the flagship J9+ for $600 instead of $1,000, or the J7+ vacuum/mop hybrid for $700 instead of $1,000. Even the mop-focused Braava Jet M6 is on sale for $300. In other words, it's a mighty good day to be very, very lazy.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-roomba-694-drops-to-a-record-low-price-of-159-154512793.html?src=rss
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by Kris Holt on (#6G0NR)
It's perhaps The Addams Family's favorite time of year, but Apple's pre-Halloween Scary Fast" event was neither mysterious nor spooky. Thanks to M3 chip leaks and rumors, all of the company's announcements were largely expected. And though the showcase inexplicably took place in the evening, it's hard to imagine Tim Cook ever cutting a ghostly figure.Anyway, Apple had a bunch of product refreshes to discuss, namely in the new MacBook Pro and iMac lineups. The event anchored around a trio of new chipsets that, unsurprisingly, Apple is touting as its most powerful yet.M3 chipsetsAppleApple unveiled a trio of M3 chips at Scary Fast: the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max. While they're certainly going to be faster than the previous M2 chipsets, the company not-so-subtly hammered home the notion that they're far more powerful than their M1 equivalents, just in case folks who are using devices with first-generation Apple silicon chips are starting to yearn for an upgrade.Notably, these are the first three-nanometer chips for PCs. On the GPU side, Apple has factored in hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and mesh shading to offer more realistic lighting and better geometry handling.The base M3 has an eight-core CPU (four performance cores and a quartet of efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU, with support for up to 24GB of unified memory. The M3 Pro has six performance and six efficiency cores for a 12-core CPU, along with an 18-core GPU. The mid-range chipset can support up to 36GB of RAM.As for the M3 Max, that's up to 80 percent faster than the M1 Max, according to Apple. The company's current most powerful chipset features a 16-core GPU (with 12 performance and four efficiency cores), a 40-core GPU and support for a whopping 128GB of RAM, in case you're feeling flush or need a lot of memory.The chips should be major upgrades for anyone making the switch from an M1-powered device or an Intel-powered Mac. That means better performance for productivity, creativity and even gaming as high-profile titles such as Death Stranding Director's Cut make their way to Apple's ecosystem.M3 MacBook ProAppleOf course, those fancy chips aren't going to be very useful unless they're plugged into some capable hardware. As such, Apple showed off some upgraded MacBooks of the Pro variety that run on M3 chips.There are new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros for you to get your hands on. The 14-inch variant starts at $1,599 for a model with a base M3 chip. That's the lowest ever price for a new 14-inch MacBook Pro. There wasn't a version with a base M2 chip. Instead, you would have had to shell out $1,999 for an M2 Pro-powered unit if you wanted to go with that form factor. You can now opt for a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro, which will likewise run you $1,999.On a similar note, the 16-inch MBP starts at $2,499 for a model with an M3 Pro. An M2 Pro-powered model started at $2,499 as well.Don't expect major hardware changes elsewhere on the latest models. This is by and large a spec bump. One notable tweak, however, means that the laptops' Liquid Retina XDR displays are now able to display SDR content with 20 percent more brightness, up to 600 nits.Perhaps the best thing about the new MBPs is that Space Black chassis. I'm more tempted than ever to make the switch from Windows to Mac for that colorway alone. The extra power that the M3 chips offer seems like a bonus - though the Space Black option isn't available for the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, unfortunately.However, not everything about the refreshed MacBook Pros is a Halloween treat. The base 14-inch model has a paltry 8GB of RAM, which maybe doesn't quite align with Apple's promise of significantly better performance in the new MBPs.Pre-orders for the new MacBook Pro models are now open. Apple will start shipping them on November 7.M3 iMacAppleThe new 24-inch iMac is pretty much the same as the last 24-inch iMac, save for a new chipset and a few other tweaks. Apple says the M3-powered system is up to twice as fast as the previous version, which ran on the M1 chipset.The company claims that Safari and productivity apps like Microsoft Excel will run up to 30 percent faster than on the M1 iMac. There will be support for up to 12 video streams in 4K resolution, three times as many as on the last iMac. Image processing and video-editing apps will be up to twice as fast too, according to Apple.There are some minor upgrades on the connectivity front too. The M3 iMac supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, which improve on the previous model's Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.The M3 iMac starts at $1,299 for a model with an eight-core GPU and eight-core CPU. Unfortunately, Apple's only offering 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage with that configuration, so you may want to bump those up a bit. Pre-orders for the M3 iMac are open now and the revamped desktop will arrive next week.Everything elseOther than the M3 chips, new MacBook Pros and refreshed iMac, Scary Fast was notable for what Apple didn't talk about. First, you had to read between the lines to realize that the company has ditched the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That means we're waving farewell to the much-loved and much-loathed Touch Bar, at least for the time being.It was widely expected that Apple would update several of its accessories to include USB-C ports as it shifts away from Lightning to a common charger. That wasn't the case at Scary Fast. For the time being, you'll still need a Lightning cable on hand at least for your Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse.Although we couldn't really shake the notion that Apple would reveal an M3-powered iPad or two, the company declined to do so on Monday. As such, you'll need to wait a while longer for tablets with its new chips.Follow all of the news from Apple's "Scary Fast" October event right here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-scary-fast-mac-event-everything-announced-about-m3-macbook-pro-and-m3-imac-153056716.html?src=rss
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by Jeff Dunn on (#6G0J7)
The latest version of Apple's AirPods Pro is back on sale for $190 at Amazon and Target, which is only a dollar more than the lowest price we've tracked. We've seen this new model briefly fall this low a few times since arriving in September, and there's at least some chance it could drop farther by Black Friday, but the discount is still $60 less than Apple's usual price. It also beats the deal we saw over the weekend by $10.As a refresher, this variant of the AirPods Pro comes with a USB-C charging case to match the latest crop of iPhones. It technically has a higher IP54 dust-resistance rating and will support lossless audio with the upcoming Vision Pro headset as well. Other than that, though, it's essentially the same as the Lightning-based model that Apple launched last year.That's not a bad thing: We gave that pair a review score of 88 at launch for its effective active noise cancellation (ANC), pleasantly warm sound, superb transparency mode and easy pairing with other Apple devices. You really need to be a dedicated Apple user to get the most out of it but, if so, perks like Find My tracking and hands-free Siri can also be useful. A software update last month added a few new helpful features as well, including an "Adaptive Audio" mode that blends the ANC and transparency modes based on your surroundings and can automatically lower the volume when you start speaking to somebody else.We wouldn't call the AirPods Pro the best wireless earbuds overall: Their six-ish hours of battery life is just average, there's no way to customize the EQ and the touch controls take some getting used to. If you want a similar pair that's more suitable for the gym, the Beats Fit Pro (which is also on sale) would be a better choice. But the AirPods Pro remain a compelling option for those firmly planted in Apple Land, which is why they're the "best for iOS" pick in our wireless earbuds buying guide.The only small caveat here is a Bloomberg report from last week that detailed Apple's plans to revamp its entire AirPods lineup starting next year. According to the report, this refresh will include a version of the standard AirPods with ANC and a redesigned AirPods Pro that may include new hearing health features. Bloomberg says most of those headphones won't arrive until late 2024, however, while the new AirPods Pro won't release until 2025.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airpods-pro-with-usb-c-are-back-on-sale-for-190-142414109.html?src=rss
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by Mat Smith on (#6G0FC)
During its Scary Fast product event last night, Apple officially debuted its new M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. The company is positioning the M3 chips as major upgrades over its M1 hardware - if you bought an M2 system, you're probably not itching for a replacement just yet.The M3's GPU is the biggest leap forward, delivering new features, like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, enabling more realistic lighting and better geometry handling. If you're into chip architecture and other fun endeavors, the M3 chips are also notable for being the first PC chips built on a three-nanometer process - both the M1 and M2 families are based on a 5nm process. This means more transistors packed into the same space, which helps with power efficiency, as well as providing better overall performance. The M3 series will feature in the revamped MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch (more on those below), as well as the 24-inch iMac.That new chip will make the new iMac up to twice as fast as its predecessor, but there aren't too many upgrades elsewhere in the latest Mac. Apple is sticking with a 4.5K Retina display, for instance. There are some handy changes on the connectivity front, now with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 The new iMac starts at $1,299 and ships on November 7.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedSweeping White House executive order takes aim at AI's toughest challengesSony's WH-1000XM5 ANC headphones drop to $330The best cheap phones for 2023Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's adventurous spirit might just win you overApple kills off the 13-inch MacBook ProBut it has new 14- and 16-inch models, don't worry.AppleApple's updated line of 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros features a range of new M3 chips and a new Space Black chassis. Was that the spooky part of Apple's event?The 14-inch MBP with a base M3 processor will cost $1,599 - the first time the 14-inch laptop has hit that low of a price. The M3 Pro iteration will still cost you $1,999, and prices go up from there for M3 Max options. Meanwhile, a base 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip will have the same $2,499 starting price as its M2 Pro predecessor. Alas, the 13-inch version is no more. Farewell, Touch Bar.Continue reading.Lenovo Smart Paper reviewA solid e-ink tablet spoiled by the cost.EngadgetIn the last few years, we've seen Amazon get into e-ink scribes, while startups like ReMarkable have carved out their own niche with capable hardware for a reasonable price. Lenovo, having dabbled with e-ink on devices like the Yoga Book, has joined the fray with a dedicated device, the Smart Paper. While the product hasn't yet launched in the US, the Smart Paper has launched elsewhere, including the UK. At around $400 (or 500 in the UK), it's expensive. The hardware is impressive (and useful), but it's all tainted by a subscription service that demands even more money.Continue reading.X won't pay creators for tweets that get fact checked with community notesThe slight change' is the latest attempt to address misinformation.X will no longer pay creators for tweets promoting misinformation. Elon Musk said the company is making a slight change" to its monetization program, and tweets fact-checked via community notes will no longer be eligible for payouts.The latest change comes as researchers, fact-checkers and journalists have raised the alarm about the amount of viral misinformation spreading on X amid the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Recent analysis from NewsGuard, a nonprofit that tracks the spread of misinformation, found 74 percent of the most viral posts on X advancing misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war are being pushed by verified' X accounts."Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-reveals-a-new-macbook-pros-m3-chips-and-a-new-imac-111552483.html?src=rss
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by Sarah Fielding on (#6G0CT)
Calling all Beats fans - or anyone considering an earbud upgrade, really - the Apple-owned tech brand has major sales going right now across its lineup. Notably, a 20 percent discount on the Beats Fit Pro brings the noise-canceling earbuds back down to their all-time low price for newer colors, coral pink, volt yellow and tidal blue. The earbuds have dropped to $160 from $200, a deal last seen on October Prime Day.When the Beats Fit Pro launched in 2021, we were impressed with its comfortable fit and inclusion of spatial audio, hands-free Siri and solid noise-canceling abilities. The earbuds work on Apple's H1 Platform, come with dynamic head tracking and can hold up to seven hours of battery without noise canceling, 30 hours with the case.The Beats Studio Buds + are also $40 off, down to $130 from $170. They don't have all of the Fit Pro's features - the Studio Buds + use the company's Proprietary Platform and don't offer dynamic head tracking, ANC that adapts to external noise or bright colors. However, they do have a better battery life, lasting for nine hours when noise canceling is off and 36 hours with the case.If you're more of a headphone person, the last - and best - deal is for you. The Beats Studio Pro headphones are down to $200 from $350 - a 43 percent discount. These headphones offer ANC and transparency modes, lossless audio and a range of on-ear controls. Plus, they have the longest battery life, lasting up to 40 hours and offering a 10-minute Fast Fuel charge for another four hours of listening time.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-beats-fit-pro-earbuds-drop-back-down-to-a-record-low-ahead-of-black-friday-101752253.html?src=rss
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by Mariella Moon on (#6G0B2)
We're still a few weeks away from Black Friday, but if you're looking to get a new electric toothbrush, you can get a deal on one of Oral-B's models as early as today. The Oral-B iO Series 7 electric toothbrush that comes with two brush heads is currently on sale at Amazon for $150, which is a record low for the device that typically sells for $200. Even better, you can get it for $140 if you apply the website's $10 coupon, so don't forget to tick that little box right next to it.We named the Oral-B iO Series 7 as our best overall smart electric toothbrush for the year because its price sits right in the middle of the category's price spectrum. With this discount, it's become an even more appealing option. The device is equipped with an internal gyroscope and accelerometer, giving it the capability to detect its position inside your mouth while you brush. If you switch on guided brushing in the app, you'll see a 3D illustration of your teeth turn blue as you brush - the app can even tell you if you've missed specific areas by the end of the two-minute session.The app tracks unguided brushing sessions, as well, taking note of their time and durations. On the toothbrush itself, you'll see a built-in LED screen that displays a time and the mode you've chosen, so you don't always need to have the app open nearby. Take note that the device comes with five cleaning modes, including one you can use if you have sensitive teeth. And if you tend to press down on your toothbrush, one useful feature is that the ring of light at the base of the brush flashes red if you push too hard and glows green when you exert just the right amount of pressure.As we mentioned in our best electric toothbrush list, the Oral-B iO Series 7 is nearly identical to the higher-tier iO Series 9. The only difference is that the latter comes with extra modes, a full color screen and an even more detailed app-guided brushing. Still, if you want give the Oral-B iO Series 9 a try, it's also currently on sale at Amazon for $250, which could go as low as $230 with its clippable coupon.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/our-favorite-smart-electric-toothbrush-is-cheaper-than-ever-in-an-early-amazon-black-friday-deal-074549994.html?src=rss
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