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The House of Representatives approved a measure targeting data brokers' ability to sell Americans' personal data to adversary" countries, like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. The Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act passed with a unanimous 414 - 0 vote.The bill, which was introduced alongside a measure that could force a ban or sale of TikTok, would prohibit data brokers from selling Americans' sensitive" data to people or entities in adversary" countries. Much like a recent executive order from President Joe Biden targeting data brokers, the bill specifically covers geolocation, financial, health, and biometric data, as well as other private information like text logs and phone call history.If passed - the bill will need Senate approval before landing on Biden's desk - it would represent a significant check on the relatively unregulated data broker industry. US officials have previously warned that China and other geopolitical rivals of the United States have already acquired vast troves of Americans' information from brokers and privacy advocates have long urged lawmakers to regulate the multibillion-dollar industry.The bill is the second major piece of bipartisan legislation to come out of the House Energy and Commerce this month. The committee previously introduced the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which would require TikTok to divest itself from parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the US. In a statement, Representatives Frank Pallone and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, said that the latest bill builds" on their work to pass the measure targeting TikTok. Today's overwhelming vote sends a clear message that we will not allow our adversaries to undermine American national security and individual privacy by purchasing people's personally identifiable sensitive information from data brokers," they said.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-passes-bill-that-would-bar-data-brokers-from-selling-americans-personal-information-to-adversary-countries-004735748.html?src=rss

Earlier this year, Elon Musk announced that the first human patient had received a Neuralink brain implant as part of the company's first clinical trial. Now, the company has shared a brief public demo of the brain-computer interface (BCI) in action.The company briefly live streamed a demo on X with a 29-year-old man named Nolan Arbaugh, who said he was paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident eight years ago. In the video, Arbaugh explains that after receiving the implant - he said the surgery was super easy" - he had to learn how to differentiate imagined movement versus attempted movement" in order to learn to control a cursor on a screen.A lot of what we started out with was attempting to move," Arbaugh said. I would attempt to move, say, my right hand left, right forward, back. And from there, I think it just became intuitive for me to start imagining the cursor moving."

Several notable names have joined Epic Games in taking a stance against Apple's decision to charge a fee for iOS payments made outside of the App Store. Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group filed an amicus brief in the case, as The Wall Street Journal reports. That lends some heavyweight backing to Epic's cause.Apple was forced to enable third-party payments on iOS due to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and a court ruling in the US. It also has to allow alternative app marketplaces on iOS in the EU. The company takes up to a 30 percent cut of App Store purchases. Perhaps fearing that it was about to lose out on a significant chunk of commission, Apple said it would charge a fee of up to 27 percent when developers process purchases outside of the App Store.Epic this month filed a petition asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to enforce a permanent injunction she issued against Apple in 2021 as part of her ruling in the case between the two companies. The decision compelled Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment systems.Most of Rogers' ruling was in Apple's favor, however, and both companies appealed the decision all the way up to the Supreme Court. However, in January, the highest court in the US declined to hear the appeals. That means Rogers' permanent injunction against Apple stood, but Epic was not happy about the way Apple implemented the third-party payment changes.The four companies supporting Epic's petition claim that the fee Apple is charging on external payments effectively leaves the previous rules in place. "The Apple Plan comports with neither the letter nor the spirit of this Court's mandate," their brief states.As X put it, the 27 percent fee doesn't give developers much incentive to link to external payment methods. Microsoft, which has been working on its own mobile game store, noted that Apple's latest policy limits its ability to offer users subscriptions and discounts. Match Group argued that Apple's decision will affect many developers and users, and that it stymies the court's attempt to offer consumers competition on pricing.Meta, meanwhile, charges more for its ad-free plans and boosted posts on its iOS apps than it does on the web. (The ad-free subscription is also more expensive in the company's Android apps, as Google takes a cut of in-app payments too). Meta states in the amicus brief that it ought to be able to direct users to other payment options for boosted posts.Apple claims to have complied with the court order. According to the Journal, the company (which is reportedly facing a Justice Department antitrust case) says its current external link policies are important to protect user privacy and security. Apple has also been dinged over its compliance with the DMA, with critics suggesting the company might be adhering to the letter of the law, but not its spirit.For what it's worth, Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group filed their petition one day after the EU's antitrust chief warned Apple over new fees it's charging developers (and Meta over its ad-free subscription). Margrethe Vestager told Reutersthat feedback from developers would play an important factor in whether the bloc investages Apple, Meta or any other company subject to the DMA's rules. She noted that she had received "quite a lot" of comments from third parties.Meanwhile, Epic is gearing up to debut its game store on both iOS and Android later this year. The company said at the Game Developer Conference that the store would be cross-platform between mobile, PC and macOS. The company plans to charge developers of mobile games the same 12 percent cut it takes from PC game sales.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-microsoft-x-and-match-group-come-out-swinging-against-apples-third-party-payment-rules-200705867.html?src=rss

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its final pollution emissions standards for the auto industry on Wednesday. The regulations, which include a looser timeframe than those proposed last year, mandate that by 2032, most new passenger car and light truck sales in the US must be electric or hybrid.Earth is on a disastrous trajectory with climate change, and no amount of baseless conspiracy theories or talking points from the oil and gas industry, Donald Trump or anyone else will change that. Only phasing out fossil fuels and emissions will beat back its worst effects. The Biden Administration's EPA is trying to do that - while throwing a bone to stakeholders like unions and automakers to navigate the landmines of today's political realities.The final rules present a timeline to wind down gas-powered vehicle purchases, making most US auto sales fully electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or advanced gasoline by 2032. The transition begins in 2027 but moderates the pace until after 2030. That's a key change from last April's proposed standards, which called for EVs to make up two-thirds of vehicle sales by 2032.The shift was an election-year compromise for Biden, who has to balance the crucial battle against climate change with 2024 auto union endorsements. Labor unions had pushed for the more relaxed pace out of fears that a more aggressive transition, like the EPA proposed last year, would lead to job losses. EVs typically require fewer assembly workers than traditional gas-powered vehicles.Last year, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain withheld support for Biden's reelection due to concerns about the EV transition. But (perhaps after hearing assurances about the revised rules) the UAW endorsed his reelection bid in January.The EPA has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles," the UAW wrote in a statement about the new rules published by the EPA. By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions."Contrary to what online misinformation or your uncle may tell you, the rules - aimed at the auto industry and not consumers - don't make gas-powered cars and trucks illegal. Instead, they require automakers to meet specific emissions standards throughout their product lines. The rules apply to new vehicle sales, not used ones.The EPA says the final rule will lead to $99 billion in benefits and save the average American driver $6,000 in fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicles. Other advantages include avoiding 7.2 billion additional tons of CO2 emissions through 2055 and offering nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society." The reduction in fine particulate matter and ozone will allegedly prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055 while reducing associated health problems like heart attacks, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission," President Biden wrote in a statement supplied by The White House to Engadget. I brought together American automakers. I brought together American autoworkers. Together, we've made historic progress. Hundreds of new expanded factories across the country. Hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we'll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead. Today, we're setting new pollution standards for cars and trucks. U.S. workers will lead the world on autos making clean cars and trucks, each stamped Made in America.'"This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-epa-reveals-final-auto-industry-regulations-to-try-to-keep-the-world-habitable-195612588.html?src=rss

The Amazon Big Spring Sale is in full swing, and one of our favorite affordable pairs of wireless earbuds is even cheaper because of it. The 2023 Echo Buds are down to $35 in this Amazon deal, which is their lowest price yet. These Echo Buds have a lot of improvements over the previous model, and we like them for their detailed and balanced sound profile, built-in Alexa support and five hours of battery life. It's also worth noting that this deal is available to anyone. Unlike Prime Day, this sale event isn't as heavy on Prime-exclusive discounts.The third-generation Echo Buds were redesigned to lose the silicone tips and adopt a more AirPods-like form factor. This leads to a more open design that makes it easier to listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks without blocking out your environment. Despite the buds themselves being longer than previous models, their USB-C charging case remains pleasingly compact.The buds support multipoint connectivity, so you can seamlessly switch them between host devices. Setup takes place in the Alexa app, where you can view the battery life of each earbud and their charging case. You can also control their EQ, SideTone (how much of your voice you hear during calls) and VIP Filter settings in the app. It even has a Find My tool to help you locate them if you ever lose them.None of that would matter if the Echo Buds sounded terrible, but we were impressed with what they offer for their price point. After testing them, Engadget's Billy Steele wrote, Softer and acoustic genres like bluegrass, folk and lighter country sound great, with the warm strums of Zach Bryan's guitars and vocals on American Heartbreak cutting through the mix." He found the Echo Buds' tuning to be generally well-balanced across genres.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-amazon-echo-buds-are-down-to-a-record-low-35-for-the-big-spring-sale-133044872.html?src=rss

Google just announced that it has been using AI to successfully predict riverline floods, up to seven days in advance in some cases. This isn't just tech company hyperbole, as the findings were actually published in the esteemed science journal Nature. Floods are the most common natural disaster throughout the world, so any early warning system is good news.Floods have been notoriously tricky to predict, as most rivers don't have streamflow gauges. Google got around this problem by training machine learning models with all kinds of relevant data, including historical events, river level readings, elevation and terrain readings and more. After that, the company generated localized maps and ran hundreds of thousands" of simulations in each location. This combination of techniques allowed the models to accurately predict upcoming floods.The approach built highly accurate models for very particular locations", but Google hopes to use these techniques to eventually solve the problem at global scale. While the company did successfully predict some floods a full seven days in advance, the average came in at around five days. Still, Google's confident that it has extended the reliability of currently-available global nowcasts from zero to five days." It's also significantly improved forecasting in underrepresented regions, like some parts of Africa and Asia.All told, this technology allowed Google to provide accurate flood forecasting in 80 countries, with a total population of 460 million. The company made these forecasts available in Google Search, Google Maps, and via Android notifications. This information is also available via the company's proprietary Flood Hub web app, which began operations back in 2022.So what's next? Google will continue to explore the potential of machine learning to create better flood forecasting models" and has teamed up with academic researchers to fine tune the AI-driven approach. The company hopes this will eventually result in a global end-to-end flood forecasting platform."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-used-ai-to-accurately-predict-floods-up-to-7-days-in-advance-191353201.html?src=rss

The 2024 Summer Olympics are just 128 days away. They'll be here before you know it, so what better time to learn about all the groovy features that the Games' streaming home, Peacock, has lined up?The platform will host more than 5,000 hours of live coverage across the two weeks, including each of the 329 medal events. That's far more than anyone could possibly watch during the Games, so to help you keep track of several events at once, Peacock is offering several multiview options. On TVs, tablets and desktop browsers (but not phones, sadly), you'll be able to watch four matches at the same time in sports such as track and field, soccer and wrestling in a traditional multiview format.A mode called Peacock Discovery Multiview aims to direct you to the most important events. Here, you'll see on-screen descriptions telling you what's at stake (such as whether there's an elimination risk or if it's a medal event) or if you're watching a first-time Olympian. In both multiview modes, you can move the screens around, choose the audio track you want to listen to and click through to watch an event in full screen. Peacock will offer you up to four multiview options at any given time.Peacock / NBCUniversalAnother key new feature is called Peacock Live Actions. The idea here is to help you follow the events you're most interested in. So, if you're really enjoying a live gymnastics session but the whip-around coverage on the Gold Show broadcast is about to switch over to weightlifting or something, you can hit a button to keep watching the action on the parallel bars. Peacock says the feature will also allow those watching the NBC primetime simulcast to add events to their My Stuff list to watch later.Elsewhere, you'll be able to browse through the coverage by sport and check out an interactive schedule. The Catch Up with Key Plays tool will be available for basketball and golf on top of soccer. And along with up-to-date medal standings, you'll be able to search for your favorite athletes. This will bring you to live events and replays including your favorite competitor, regardless of whether they're competing individually or as part of a team.While the Olympics don't start for another few months, you can subscribe to Peacock now. If you do so and opt for an annual plan, you'll get 12 months of access for the price of 10.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/peacocks-2024-paris-olympics-coverage-includes-enhanced-multiview-options-190047120.html?src=rss

Threads has begun testing swipe gestures to help users improve the algorithm that populates the For You feed. It's reportedly called Algo Tune as, well, it helps people tune their algorithms. It's pretty rare when any social media site, particularly one run by Meta, allows users to adjust the parameters by which the great and powerful algorithm operates, so this feature is definitely worth keeping an eye on.It works a lot like Tinder and other dating apps. If you don't like something on your feed, you swipe left. If you like a post and want to see more like it, you swipe right. That's pretty much it. The algorithm is allegedly tuned over time by these responses, adjusting your feed to provide more of the content you want and less of the stuff you don't want. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls it an easy way to let us know what you want to see more of on your feed."This is just an experiment, for now, so the feature's only rolling out to a select number of Threads users. The company also hasn't released any specific information as to how all of the swiping actually influences the algorithm, but that's par for the course when it comes to these things. The algo must remain protected at all costs.The social media app sure has been busy lately, adding new tools at a rapid clip. Threads finally rolled out trending topics to all users, after experimenting with the feature since February. Meta also recently previewed fediverse integration, which would allow Threads posts on fellow social media app Mastodon. The company's also been testing some features that let users save drafts and take photos directly in the app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-begins-testing-swipe-gestures-to-help-train-the-for-you-algorithm-175004586.html?src=rss

It's been almost three years since we found out that former Naughty Dog and Visceral Games writer and creative director Amy Hennig was working on a Marvel game with her team at Skydance New Media. During Epic Games' State of Unreal showcase at the Game Developers Conference, a new story trailer shed some more light on the game, which is called Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra.As the name suggests, it's set during World War II in Occupied Paris. You'll play as four characters in this story-driven action-adventure: a young Steve Rogers (better known as Captain America), T'Challa's grandfather Azzuri (the Black Panther of his era), US soldier and Howling Commandos member Gabriel Jones and Wakandan spy Nanali.The trailer shows Captain America taking out some foes (presumably Nazis) with his shield as he looks for Black Panther, who we see scampering over rooftops. It ends with the pair clashing on a bridge, but what are the odds that they (along with Gabriel and Nanali) form a shaky alliance to battle a common enemy?Skydance New Media is using Unreal Engine 5.4 to build the game. The trailer has some striking visual,s including highly detailed facial animations and environments, which are seemingly reflective of what the game actually looks like. "All the sequences you just saw in that trailer are pulled right out of our game, running real-time in Unreal Engine 5," Hennig said. 'No smoke and mirrors." We'll have to wait a little longer - until Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra arrives in 2025 - to see if Hennig's claims stand up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-from-amy-hennigs-studio-arrives-in-2025-173514552.html?src=rss

Even though it's not technically another Prime Day, the Amazon Spring Sale includes a number of decent deals on gadgets we've recommended. Case in point: You can pick up the top pick in our best budget wireless earbuds guide, the Anker Soundcore Space A40, for an all-time low of $49. That's a dollar less than the noise-canceling pair's previous record low and $10 below its typical street price over the last couple of months. This deal is sold by Anker directly and applies to the black model; if you'd prefer a different finish, the blue and white versions are also on sale for a dollar more.We like the Space A40 for blending pleasant sound with strong active noise cancellation (ANC) and most of the features you'd find on more expensive earbuds. That ANC isn't quite as powerful as higher-end pairs like Sony's WF-1000XM5, especially when it comes to muting voices and other treble-range sounds, but it still punches well above its price range. It'll automatically adapt to the noise level of your surroundings by default, though you can manually set it to different intensity levels as well.While this isn't the most detailed-sounding set of earbuds you can buy, it's a more pleasant listen than most budget-level options we've tested. It boosts the upper-bass range out of the box, but it doesn't come off as bloated or sloppy. If you don't like the default sound profile, you can pick from one of several EQ presets or customize the EQ curve yourself through Anker's companion app.The actual earpieces are light and comfortable, with an IPX4 water-resistance rating that's enough to survive most workouts. They last around eight hours per charge, with another 40-ish hours available through a compact case that supports wireless charging. They can also connect to two devices at once. There are still some trade-offs: The mics are mediocre for phone calls; the touch-based controls are a little limited; and there's no wear detection, so your music won't pause automatically when you take out an earbud. But at this price, the pros should outweigh the cons.This discount comes as part of a wider sale on Anker headphones that includes the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, the runner up in our guide, on sale for $74.50. That's a $25 discount. The Space A40 is a better value, but that pair offers most of the same benefits for those who prefer a more AirPods-style design. Other in-ear and over-ear models are also discounted.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/our-favorite-budget-wireless-earbuds-from-anker-are-cheaper-than-ever-during-the-amazon-spring-sale-141811743.html?src=rss

Amazon's Big Spring Sale has slashed prices on some of our favorite cordless vacuums from Tineco. The sale's headliner is the Tineco Pure One S15, Engadget's runner-up pick for the best cordless vacuum. Usually $500, the Tineco Pure One S15's sale price is $349, but the Amazon product page includes a $25 off coupon, bringing it down to $324 -so make sure you click that box before checking out.When we tested cordless vacuums, the Tineco Pure One S15 was only slightly less powerful than the $750 Dyson V15 Detect, making its sale price a terrific value. Tineco's stick vac includes some nifty smart tech, including a single-button startup, WiFi and app connectivity (displaying battery level, filter status and a cleaning log) and a sensor that detects dirt levels, automatically adjusting its suction. Its filter even attaches magnetically, which is a nice touch. The S15 also has an LED display with a ring that changes color from red to blue when you've picked up all the dirt in each spot.The vacuum includes several attachments: a mini brush to transform it into a hand vac, a 2-in-1 dusting brush and a crevice tool (handy for couch cushions and other hard-to-reach spots). Its built-in brush is designed to avoid pet hair tangles, trapping them without wrapping.Photo by Valentina Palladino / EngadgetIf you want to keep your budget below $250, Engadget's budget cordless vac pick - the Tineco Pure S11 -is on sale for a record low of $244 (typically $300). It's a bit clunkier than Tineco's higher-end models but still relatively lightweight. It also includes the iLoop smart sensor to detect dirt levels, and it has solid suction power (although noticeably less than the S15).Moving in the opposite direction, if you're willing to pay more for extra quality and convenience, Tineco's high-end Pure One Station FurFree is also available for a record low: $599 (down from $799). It includes the company's strong suction power and debris sensor but adds a self-emptying dock that holds 60 days of dirt while cleaning and charging the stick vac. The Pure One Station FurFree has a 60-minute runtime, more than enough for most people's homes, and it has bonus attachments that turn it into a pet-grooming tool.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tineco-pure-one-s15-cordless-vacuum-is-on-sale-for-324-in-amazons-big-spring-sale-171222091.html?src=rss

If you're looking for a way to turn any screen (including those in hotel rooms) into your own smart TV, you may be interested in this sale on a few Amazon streaming sticks. The discounts come as part of the company's Big Spring Sale, underway now. One stick to call out is the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which is down to $40 after a 33 percent discount. That matches the record low we saw for this latest model of Amazon's most advanced streaming stick, a price it has hit a few times this year.As the name indicates, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max supports 4K video, as well as Wi-Fi 6E, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos audio. It has more internal storage than the Fire Stick 4K and quicker processor. It comes with an Alexa remote, which lets you find stuff to watch just by talking. Speaking of Alexa, a Fire TV stick also allows your screen to act as a smart home hub of sorts, letting you control your smart lights and check in on your connected cameras.The Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite is also included in the sale. We named that one the best budget pick in our guide to streaming devices and right now it's down to $20, a 33 percent discount off the $30 price tag. That's not an all-time low, we saw it dip to $15 for Prime Day in July. But if you don't want to wait to see if Amazon discount it again this summer, this is perfectly respectable deal.The Stick Lite a good way to get access to Amazon's free content, which is extensive, plus the Fire TV OS interface does a fine job of looping in any streaming app you subscribe too (though it does heavily favor Amazon content). The stick even includes a voice remote. One thing the remote can't do is control your TV's on/off switch or adjust the volume. It also doesn't support 4K video, but if you don't have a super high-def screen anyway, that point is moot.If you want even more free stuff to watch, you may want to check out our top pick for free and live content, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. It's on sale for 22 percent off, or $39, a price it sells for fairly often.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k-max-is-33-percent-off-for-the-big-spring-sale-170430703.html?src=rss

Picture the scene: Your date has gone well and you and your partner might sleep together. Like any safe adult, you assume there will be a conversation about STI status and the use of protection. Now imagine how you would feel if they asked to take a photo of your penis and upload it to a website you've never heard of. That's the future of intimacy, as imagined by Calmara, a new service launched by men's health" startup HeHealth.HeHealth Website Its press release suggests users take a picture of their partner's penis so it can be run through a deep learning model for visual signs of sexually-transmitted infections. And while the website suggests users should wear protection, a banner atop the HeHealth sites describes the app as Your intimate bestie for unprotected sex." Mixed messages aside, you may notice some major issues with the pitch: That this only covers infections that present visually, and that it's only designed to work with penises.But even if that use case applies, you might not feel you can trust its conclusions once you've looked at the data. The Calmara website claims its scans are up to 90 percent accurate, saying its AI has been battle-tested by over 40,000 users." That figure doesn't match up to its press release, which says accuracy reaches 94.4 percent (a figure cited in this NSFW preprint paper submitted a week ago), but its FAQ says the accuracy ranges from 65 percent to 96 percent across various conditions." We've reached out to the company and want to learn more about the apparent discrepancy.CalmaraIt's not impossible for models to categorize visual information - I reported on how systems like these look at images of cells to aid drug discovery. But there are plenty of reasons as to why visual information isn't going to be as reliable for an STI test. After all, plenty of conditions don't have visual symptoms and carriers can often be asymptomatic long after infection. The company admits to this in its FAQ, saying that the app is a first line of defense, not a full-on fortress." Not to mention that other factors, like the lighting, the particular health quirks you're scouting for and a rainbow of skin tones might tweak those [accuracy] numbers a bit." Even more alarming, the unpublished paper (which is riddled with typos) admits that a full 40 percent of its training dataset is comprised of "augmented" images, for instance "extracting specific visually recognizable disease patterns from the existing clinical image dataset and layering those patterns on top of images of health (sic) penises."CalmaraThe Calmara website's disclaimer says that its tools are for the purpose of promoting and supporting general wellness and a healthy lifestyle and are not to be used to diagnose, cure, treat, manage or prevent any disease or condition." Of course, if it really was intended as a general wellness tool, it probably wouldn't describe itself as Your intimate bestie for unprotected sex," would it.It doesn't help that this is a system asking users to send pictures of their, or their partner's genitalia. Issues around consent and - as writer Ella Dawson raised on Bluesky - age verification, don't seem to have been considered. The company's promises that the data is locked in a "digital stronghold" lacks specifics about its security approach or how the data it obtains may be shared. But that hasn't stopped the company from suggesting that it could, in future, be integrated directly into dating apps."Fundamentally, there are so many red flags and potential vectors for abuse and giving users a false sense of confidence that nobody should try using it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/friends-dont-let-friends-use-an-ai-sti-test-162354796.html?src=rss

The top smart air purifier in our guide is Levoit's Core 400S Smart Air Purifier, which is currently down to $190 as part of Amazon's Big Spring Sale. Just be sure to click the on-page coupon to take $30 off the list price. The discount is the largest we've seen this year, though the unit did dip to $179 in 2022's Black Friday sale. In our tests, the unit performed better than some of its more expensive competitors and the filters are reasonably priced at $50 (other purifiers require replacements topping $100).Air purifiers can be a good option for days when the pollen count is high or there's yet another wildfire burning in your region - in other words when opening a window to let in fresh air isn't an option. The Core 400S Smart purifier can auto-detect when there's high particulate matter in the air, adjusting the fan speed accordingly. And fortunately, the highest speed isn't disturbingly loud, yet still circulates a good amount of air. The on-board controls are easy and the connected app is fairly easy to set schedules and the like - after you get past the superfluous forums, wellness and shopping tabs in the over-stuffed app.It uses a three-stage system comprised of a pre filter to catch pet hair and larger dust particles, then a activated carbon layer for trapping odors and VOCs. Then there's a HEPA filter to remove pollen, mold and even some bacteria from the air. The machine is also Energy Star and CARB certified. The design isn't the most inspired, but the Core 400S does its job well.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/save-30-on-our-favorite-smart-air-purifier-during-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-153658324.html?src=rss

To say I loved Alienware's previous flagship gaming monitor, the 34-inch ultrawide QD-OLED, would be an understatement. It was one of the best screens I'd ever seen, with incredible contrast, bold colors and a fast refresh rate. So it came as a surprise that Alienware's follow-up models didn't go bigger (as Samsung did with its massive 55-inch Odyssey Ark). Instead, it went smaller with a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED and a 27-inch 1440p model. The goal this year was to appease more-demanding gamers, which meant avoiding the race towards enormous screens (which also has contenders like LG's recent 49-inch Ultragear) and delivering faster refresh rates for smoother gameplay.Alienware's $1,299 32-inch QD-OLED monitor, which I've been testing for a few months, is notable for being one of the first 4K screens of its size to offer a 240Hz refresh rate. The 27-inch model is even speedier - it hits an eye-bleeding 360Hz. To the average consumer, those numbers probably don't mean much. But for gamers, higher refresh rates means the ability to effectively see higher framerates and experience smoother gameplay. It could also lead to competitive advantages: You might spot an opponent in Apex Legends a fraction of a second faster, or have an easier time sniping someone over long distances in Overwatch 2.I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed to see Dell go smaller with its QD-OLED displays this year, but the company's logic makes sense. Most gamers prefer sticking with 1440p and 4K screens, instead of jumping to slightly unwieldy ultrawide aspect ratios (which also aren't always supported in games). It'll also be cheaper for Alienware to produce these monitors in more-common proportions. Competitive players tend to prefer smaller screens so they can have a full view of their gameplay, whereas they may have to turn their heads a bit to take in all the action on an ultrawide screen.Alienware's 32-inch 4K QD-OLED (model number AW3225QF) shares the same sci-fi aesthetic as the company's previous ultrawide. There aren't any sharp corners across its two-tone black and white case, and it looks like a movie prop that you'd find in an '80s space opera. Its dual-leg base is fittingly sturdy for a screen this size (more so than monitors that only rely on a single central leg), but its overall shape and rear LEDs also give off Pixar vibes. I could almost see this monitor hopping around my office when I close the door, just like Buzz Lightyear.While I love Alienware's retro look, it's admittedly not as refined as Apple's Studio Display, which is a glorious work of brushed metal art. Then again, that screen is only 27 inches, costs $1,599 and doesn't support high refresh rates for gaming, so the Alienware is a far better value. Dell also gives you all the ports you'd need: A DisplayPort connection with 240Hz support; HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120Hz console gaming; HDMI eArc/Arc to connect to soundbars and receivers; USB-C 3.2 with power charging; three USB-A 3.2 downstream ports; and a USB-B upstream connection to your PC.The Alienware's QD-OLED panel has all of the benefits of OLED - inky dark blacks and high contrast - along with the power of Quantum Dots, allowing for richer colors and potentially greater brightness. The most striking thing about the 32-inch monitor is that games and movies look like they're practically painted on. It's like a direct digital feed to your eyeballs. An anti-reflective coating keeps distracting ambient light out of sight, while its ability to cover 99 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut makes colors appear rich and vibrant.There's also support for Dolby Vision and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, both of which mean you can expect deep black levels in games and movies, while very bright elements in the same scene are well-balanced. The monitor supports 1,000 nits of peak brightness, which is enough to make your eyes tear up while staring at the sun in Halo Infinite (Pro-tip: don't do this in real life). Most LCD-based 4K TVs are far brighter, but those are better-suited to living rooms where you're sitting far away, rather than a screen that's just a foot or two away from your eyes.As a gaming monitor, the 32-inch Alienware QD-OLED excelled at everything I threw at it. Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk 2077 and Helldivers 2 all looked incredible, with eye-searingly bright highlights and bold-yet-realistic colors. During some sessions, it almost felt like I was truly seeing those games for the first time. I noticed details in my Halo character's armor I completely missed on other displays, and the neon glow of Cyberpunk's Night City almost leaped off the screen. Mostly, though, I just felt completely immersed in whatever I was playing. It was as if the edges of the monitor bled away and their digital worlds were being directly injected into my eyeballs. Or maybe I've just been playing too much Helldivers 2.Photo by Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetI knew from the start that I wouldn't be reaching 240 fps in 4K with most titles (even while running on an RTX 4080 Super and Ryzen 7900X), but the 32-inch Alienware still delivered smooth gameplay in Halo Infinite while I hovered around 130 fps. (You can also thank NVIDIA's G-SYNC tech for that, since it locks in the refresh rate to avoid screen tearing and lag issues.) 4K gaming becomes more palatable when you're upscaling titles using NVIDIA's DLSS or AMD's FSR technology, but even then it's still tough to crack 150 fps or more. I had to play most games in 1440p to go beyond 200 fps. (For fast-paced shooters and racing games, I'd much rather have a higher refresh rate than a minuscule 4K fidelity bump.)While super-fast 4K gaming is a bit unrealistic at the moment, it may become more feasible as GPUs get beefier and upscaling tech becomes even more efficient. The Alienware 32-inch QD-OLED is ready for that future. The real question for gamers today, though, is if it's worth shelling out $1,299 just to be primed for what's to come. It's still a fantastic display, and looks great while watching films and putzing around the web. Text looked crisp and clear, and that crazy high refresh rate makes scrolling through websites silky smooth. As with most monitors though, it's worth waiting a bit to see how it depreciates. The excellent 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide also launched at $1,299 two years ago, but now you can nab it for $900.Photo by Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetLike Alienware's QD-OLED ultrawide before it, the company's 32-inch 4K gaming monitor is a marvel, with excellent brightness, contrast and rich color depth. It's so immersive that at times it feels more like a virtual window than a mere screen. It's also completely overkill for most games. But for the few that can justify the price, it'll be a worthwhile gaming investment for years to come.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alienwares-32-inch-4k-qd-oled-gaming-monitor-is-total-overkill-but-in-a-good-way-153004427.html?src=rss

The Amazon Big Spring Sale is here, and though not exclusive to its products, some of its devices are touting great discounts. Take Amazon's Echo Dot, which is 30 percent off, dropping to $35 from $50. The fifth-generation device is one of our picks for the best smart speakers of 2024, and the more affordable price makes it all the more tempting.The fifth-gen Echo Dot came out in 2022 but is still Amazon's latest edition in the series. It has similar capabilities to other smart speakers but at a fraction of the cost. It's a small but mighty device, with excellent sound and clarity for the price point. It utilizes Alexa for most actions but has physical buttons for adjusting the volume and muting the mic.Amazon's Echo Dot with a clock is also on sale, with a 17 percent discount dropping its price to $50 from $60. If you're looking for a slightly more advanced option, then check out Amazon's fourth-generation Echo. The device is down to $65 from its usual $100. It offers additional features like Dolby audio and a built-in camera shutter.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pick-up-an-echo-dot-for-only-35-during-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-150712728.html?src=rss

Your keys (bags, jackets, purses) may soon become easier to find, thanks to the Big Spring Sale at Amazon. Right now a four pack of Tile Pro Bluetooth trackers are down to $80 instead of the $100 full price for the pack. The deal looks even better when you consider a single Tile Pro goes for $35. That's not quite an all-time low, as we saw the set drop to around $70 for the shopping holidays in 2022 and again last year. Still a decent savings over buying our favorite trackers for Android phones separately and at full price.The Tile Pro lets you swap out the battery, unlike other Tile models where you need to replace the whole unit. It's also louder than other Tile trackers and Apple's AirTag. While Tile trackers will work with Apple and Android phones, we found the connectivity to be much more reliable with an Android device. Like AirTags, the tags rely on the millions of other Tile users to anonymously ping your lost items when they're out in the world. At home, you can make them ring using the app to help you figure out which couch cushion your keys have fallen between. One caveat is that some features, like the alerts that let you know when you've left your items behind, are only available with a monthly subscription.Other Tile trackers are on sale as well, including the smaller Tile Mate and the Mate paired up with a Tile Slim, our pick for the best wallet tracker. If you're interested in our top overall Bluetooth tracker, it's worth noting that the Chipolo One is on sale for $60 for a four-pack. It was the loudest tracker and the quickest at letting you know when you were leaving the house (or restaurant, coffee shop, grandma's house) without your things. Though it's wider finding community is nowhere near as vast as Apple's or even Tile's.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-four-pack-of-tile-pro-bluetooth-trackers-is-on-sale-for-80-in-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-150033881.html?src=rss

Apple's second-generation Apple Pencil is down to one of the best prices we've seen yet in an Amazon Big Spring Sale deal. You can grab one for just $79, which is a 39 percent discount and $50 off its normal $129 price tag. This is the pencil that's used with most of the latest iPads (except for the 9th-gen tablet) and we consider it to be one of the best iPad accessories you can get.The second-generation Apple Pencil is great for artists and note-takers who make heavy use of their iPads. It works with the iPad mini (sixth generation), iPad Air (fourth generation and later), the 12.9-inch iPad Pro from the third generation on, and all 11-inch iPad pro models. When it comes to choosing a stylus for your iPad, you really can't do any better than the Apple Pencil, as it's designed specifically to be used with Apple's tablets. It boasts pressure sensitivity for a more realistic drawing experience and has a hover feature that will preview your pen marks to improve precision.The second-generation Apple Pencil also has a customizable double-tap feature so you can have easier access to the tools you use the most. It charges wirelessly as well, when it's magnetically attached to a compatible iPad. Apple's second-generation Pencil was also designed with a more practical flat edge on either side, so it's less likely to roll off the table when you set it down.This model of the Apple Pencil came out a few years ago, but it's still the best of the current lineup. There have been rumors for months that Apple is planning to release new Apple Pencils, possibly as soon as this spring, but that has yet to be confirmed by the company itself. In the meantime, the second generation Apple Pencil is as cheap as the less feature-rich USB-C Apple Pencil.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-second-generation-apple-pencil-is-on-sale-for-79-during-the-amazon-spring-sale-162232269.html?src=rss

A lot of EVs aren't that fun to drive, built as they are to glide around a highway like a swan on a river. Sure, like the swan's manic paddling, there's a lot of hardware and software sweating in the background to maintain that serenity. But the feeling can be so soporific that you wind up lusting for the day full autonomy comes and puts us out of our misery.Except, of course, if you're driving a new Lotus.You see, when you're driving an electric Lotus, there's a sense of cognitive whiplash you don't often get these days. EVs are quick and have plenty of torque thanks to their electric motors but they rarely have anything close to a personality. But even when you're driving its new two-plus ton SUV, you're capable of zooming around a race track as if you were driving a go-kart. It's this unity of electric smarts and old-school drivability that Lotus hopes will return the perpetually beleaguered manufacturer to its former glory.LotusLotus CarsIf you're not a car person, I wouldn't blame you for not knowing Lotus was a big name in manufacturing and F1 - emphasis on was - responsible for many innovations that shaped how we build, drive and race cars today. We talk about [having] this pioneering and rebellious spirit," says Mike Johnstone, Lotus' new VP of Commercial Operations. For the last 75 years, Lotus has been a left-field car manufacturer, with customers who want something that is not necessarily part of the status quo."Lotus is a company defined by, and proud of, its idiosyncrasies. It's idiosyncratically based in rural Norfolk, a hundred miles or more from the rest of the UK's automotive industry. It's idiosyncratic co-founder Colin Chapman (pictured, above), whose famous mantra was simplify, then add lightness." It's idiosyncratic technical innovations, like monocoque bodies, ground-effect aerodynamics and the early use of carbon fiber. Its cars' idiosyncratic obsession with perfect handling and speed rather than creature comforts.It would be impolite to mention the idiosyncratic financial relationship between Chapman and John DeLorean that would lead to the latter's undoing.It was this idiosyncratic reputation that made it a draw for pop culture figures who wanted to stand out from the crowd. Patrick McGoohan chose a Lotus Seven to be The Prisoner's car in 1996 because it showed a touch of the rebel." The Avengers' Mrs. Peel drove a Lotus Elan, while James Bond drove a Lotus Esprit underwater in The Spy Who Loved Me and a Turbo Esprit in For Your Eyes Only. And Richard Gere drove a Lotus Esprit in Pretty Woman because Porsche and Ferrari, who were asked first, objected to the film's subject matter. I doubt Lotus has ever uttered the phrase brand safety" with a sincere face.Since Chapman's death in the early 80s, Lotus has become a byword for stagnation, passed from one corporate parent to another. Its model line suffered: It sold the Elise from 1996 until 2021, while the Exige was in production from 2000 to 2021. Its newest car pre-Geely was the Evora, and its 12-year lifespan made it the youngest and freshest ride in the range. All three were discontinued in 2021 when the Emira made its debut as the company's last gas-powered car.Lotus remained alive because of its small but passionate fanbase, which happened to include a number of automotive executives. But while demand for its own cars waned, the rest of the industry continued to rely on its expertise in making cars drive well. Lotus' fingerprints are visible in so many high-profile cars, from the DeLorean DMC12, Aston Martin DB9 and even Sinclair's C5. More importantly, the first Tesla roadster was developed on Lotus' platform, with the first run of cars built at its Hethel, England base.In 2017, Geely - the Chinese EV giant that owns Volvo and Polestar- bought a 51 percent stake in the company. It's spent the last few years and a considerable amount of cash to push the company into the 21st century. The existing gas-powered product line was cleared out, the HQ revamped and a new electric-only facility built in China. I was able to visit the company's Hethel plant to see the fruits of this investment, and also to try all of the new vehicles. The headline-grabbing model, of course, is the Evija, the company's $3 million all-electric hypercar.The EvijaLotus CarsEmeya, Eletre, Emira, Evija, Evora, Exige, Elise, Elan, Esprit: It's tradition, or something, that all Lotuses have incomprehensible faux-Latin names beginning with an E. The Evija will, hopefully, lodge itself in your memory as the company's hypercar, of which only 130 will be built. One of the first is owned by former Formula One world champion Jenson Button with a Brawn GP paint job in honor of his 2009 win.Lotus opted to put a lot of hardware in the middle of the car behind the two seats to retain that mid-engined weight distribution. The body is a single piece of carbon fiber, and it's obvious to all that this is a race car first, with Lamborghini-esque styling. To save weight, there's little sound dampening, so you can hear the roar of the gear, and the road, as you slice through the air. Put your foot down and you'll hear the power unit spin up to push juice to those four wheel-mounted 500W motors.What comes out the other side is eye-bleeding acceleration and enough g-force that you feel your lunch shift from one side of your stomach to the other. Yes, other EVs can go quickly, and some accelerate ludicrously fast, but the Evija is playing in different water. For car people, Lotus has always been synonymous with fast-twitch driving dynamics and slightly lackluster reliability. But the Evija feels mature, solid, stable and able to harness all of the pure grunt that only an electric motor can provide.I'd go further and say that the Evija is terrifying, especially when Karl Eaton, one of the minds behind the vehicle, took me around the track in one. He waited until the car reached 201 miles per hour to start explaining all of the smart choices embodied in its design. I didn't recall much of what he said at the time since I was trying to keep all the fluids in my body.The Eletre and EmeyaLotus CarsOf course, the Evija is the standard bearer for Lotus as a luxury EV maker that stands out from the crowd. It's not likely you'll have a few million lying around, but its existence will make you aware of the relatively more reasonably-priced options in its lineup. The Eletre is the first real Lotus EV, priced around $100,000 and again, something of a departure from the norm. Whereas Lotus prides itself on making zippy, mid-engined sports cars, this is a two-and-change ton SUV that just happens to be as capable on a race track as its E-named predecessors.On my first few laps around the track, I drove the Eletre like a high-sided SUV, which is to say, gently. After all, I didn't want to flip this thing over when I'd need to save three years worth of paychecks just for a chance to look at the sales brochure. My co-pilot kept urging me to go harder, and eventually I did, realizing that Lotus has done something amazing. It's a car that you can fling around a track and feel like you're Lewis Hamilton, and then drive it home without missing a beat.Lotus CarsThe Eletre is already on sale, but we won't need to wait a decade to see what follow-up Lotus has planned. Next on the docket is the Emeya, a luxury hyper-grand tourer based on the same platform as the Eletre. You can see the shared design language and the emphasis on active aerodynamics in the body to help the cars zoom around the corners. There are gaps and vents all around the body to help push air past the cabin and keep all four wheels planted on the road.As for the interiors, Lotus is a company that has traditionally avoided fripperies like comfort and ease of use. These, after all, aren't conducive to Chapman's mantra of simplifying and adding lightness. But the Eletre and Emeya have gloriously un-Chapmanesque cabins full of luxurious materials and physical dials and switches more reminiscent of a high-end camera. When you look at the price and see that the luxurious excesses of this cost the same as a Tesla Model X, you feel as though the incumbents need to get a lot better quickly.The Spirit of LotusLotus CarsYou could argue that Lotus is just a badge under which Geely can slap components it's using elsewhere. But Mike Johnstone said the parent company has no interest in diluting what makes Lotus Lotus. More than 99 percent of all of our development is done ourselves," said Johnstone, where we benefit [from being owned by Geely] is access to a supply chain."Much has been made about what Lotus' role in the automotive firmament should be in the new world of electric vehicles. Colin Chapman's famous principles were to simplify and add lightness so aren't bulky EVs, shorn of their gas-powered engines, an insult to his memory? Thankfully, I only needed to cross the road that runs alongside Lotus' Hethel HQ to ask an expert: Chapman's son, Clive (pictured, left). Clive is the head of Classic Team Lotus, a heritage brand that keeps the company's former gas-powered F1 cars working. Despite the shared name and proximity, there's no financial relationship between Lotus and the Classic Team.Clive showed me around the facility, which maintains those classic F1 cars and races them at heritage events, like the Historic Grand Prix at Monaco. If you're a one-percenter with an old Lotus, you can also send it here to be restored by specialists. On the upper floor, there's a collection of classic Lotuses of every stripe. It's a rare and beautiful sight to see. I asked Clive how his father would feel about the shift to electric. Dad was never sentimental," said the younger Chapman, and directed me to a pristine Lotus 56 in the collection. He explained that his father was never wedded to one technology or philosophy, despite what some Lotus fans may claim. The Lotus 56, after all, was equipped with a gas turbine engine more commonly seen in aircraft than vehicles, but Colin Chapman was very interested in the speed advantage it could have offered.It seems that what mattered to Colin Chapman then is the same as what matters to Lotus now: Pushing automotive design forward, no matter how unusual the method. Before I tried any of Lotus' EVs on its test track, I tried the (gas-powered) Emira and used that as my benchmark. My expectation was that the subsequent cars would all pale somehow in comparison to the last true" Lotus to be made at Hethel. And yet, the new cars, despite their batteries and electric motors, are just as lithe and energetic as ever. This, I suspect, is why Lotus has a good chance of making a mark in the new world, because it remains enough of that uncompromising spirit to stand out from the crowd and make sure that, for those who need it, you can still feel connected to your car.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lotus-secret-weapon-is-evs-with-personality-140013839.html?src=rss

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is finally here, bringing tremendous deals on Samsung Galaxy devices, from watches to earbuds. We're especially excited about the 30 percent discount on Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag 2, one of our picks for 2024's best Bluetooth trackers. The sale brings it down to $21 from $30 - just one dollar more than its all-time low. However, the four-pack is also on sale for $70, down from $100, which drops each Galaxy SmartTag 2 device to $17.50.Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag 2 debuted in October as a significant upgrade to its predecessor. The entire shape has also changed: where the previous model resembled a high tech coat check ticket, the SmartTag 2 looks more like a standard keyring USB drive. Its overall durability also improved with the addition of IP67 dust and water resistance to allow for outdoor tracking.Internally, the Galaxy SmartTag 2 also has a range of improvements, like combining Bluetooth and ultra-wideband (UWB) into a single model. It also offers 500 days of battery or 700 days in Power Saving Mode - a 50 percent improvement from the original. The only downside is that it only works with Samsung devices, but this is a good choice if you have one.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-big-spring-sale-discounts-samsung-galaxy-smarttag-2-to-only-21-each-131600168.html?src=rss

Nineteen years after Jawed Karim uploaded the very first YouTube video, the awkward, 19-second clip in front of San Diego Zoo's elephant enclosure is memorable today only because of what it represents: the start of a multibillion-dollar juggernaut that defines so much of what it means to be an online creator.Today, YouTube is the most dominant social media platform by a sizable margin, especially among teenagers. Its influence is so vast it feels almost impossible to define. The service has birthed thousands of memes and internet personalities. Its recommendation algorithm has been credited with supercharging bizarre trends and viral misinformation.But one of the most powerful ways YouTube has wielded its influence is through its Partner Program. The revenue sharing arrangement has generated billions of dollars for its most popular users and helped define the multibillion-dollar industry we now call the creator economy. Today, there are dozens of platforms and business models for making money via content creation, but it's difficult to imagine any of them existing without YouTube's Partner Program.While YouTube is hardly the only platform that has made becoming an online creator feel like a viable career path, it has played an outsized role in creating and fueling the industry. When Google first introduced the Partner Program in 2007, there weren't many ways to make a living from online content. The blogging industry was well established, but online media dynamics were already shifting away from independently run operations in favor of established platforms and brands.YouTube, on the other hand, was a rising upstart in online media. Google had acquired the video service in 2006, before it had ads or even a mobile app. And when it announced it would make some of its most popular creators partners in its business, it promised some of Google's ad money could flow directly to the people making content.It would take several more years for the Partner Program to grow into the money-printing machine it is now. But the Partner Program arrived, in 2007, when there was a growing demand for online video. Between 2006 and 2009, the audience for online video doubled, according to Pew Research, and YouTube was the biggest beneficiary. By the fall of 2009, YouTube was seeing more than one billion views a day.That same year, YouTube made another important change to its monetization policies. It decided to spread the wealth so any single viral video could be eligible for revenue sharing, even if the creator wasn't a partner, affirming that YouTube was the place to make money from viral content. In 2012, the Partner Program officially opened to everyone, and by 2014 there were one million creators making money from YouTube, according to The New York Times.The flood of creators looking for a payout (and the sometimes scammy tactics that drove them) eventually led YouTube to again tighten its requirement for partner status in 2017. But YouTube had already cemented itself as the platform for amateur creators to turn their videos into a steady income. Today, there are more than three million channels with partner status, and the company has paid creators more than $70 billion in the last three years alone.Of course, creators starting out now have many options available besides YouTube. Nearly every social media app offers some kind of monetization opportunity, though few have generated anything close to the eye-popping eight-figure sums made by YouTube's top talent.Other companies' creator funds, in which all creators draw payouts from the same pool of money fronted by the platform, have been underwhelming. YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as Mr. Beast, regularly tops the lists of YouTube's highest earners. In 2022, he shared that he was making less than $10,000 a year from TikTok's creator fund. And other apps' monetization features, like tipping, subscriptions and virtual gifts, are difficult to scale.Unsurprisingly, the number of YouTube-made multimillionaires has drastically changed teens' ideas for career paths. In 2005, the year YouTube came online, teens said their top career aspirations were to become teachers or doctors, according to a poll conducted by Gallup. By 2021, YouGov found becoming a YouTuber or streamer was the top aspiration for Gen Z. In 2023, Morning Consult reported that 57% of Gen Z would like to pursue a career as an online creator if given the opportunity."Polls like this often prompt a lot of eye rolls and snarky headlines. But it's never been easier or more lucrative to be an online creator. At least one university offers a major in content creation and social media. Whether we like the idea of influencing as a career path, the industry of independent streamers, vloggers, newsletter writers, podcast producers, VTubers and others is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-created-the-creator-economy-130028016.html?src=rss

Better weather is on the horizon and that means more time outside using your phone to capture all the beautiful blooms - but you don't to run out of battery mid-snapshot. Thankfully, Amazon's Big Spring Sale has proven to be a boon for Anker deals. A range of the company's products are currently on sale, including the Anker Prime Power Bank, down to $125 from $180. The 31 percent price cut makes one of our best power banks for 2024 much more accessible.Anker's Prime Power Bank is a great choice if you're sick of guessing how much juice your power bank has left. This premium portable charger digitally displays its battery percentage. The device can charge your iPhone to 75 percent in 47 minutes and to 100 percent in an hour and 48 minutes. An iPad clocks in at 54 percent after 47 minutes and 100 percent after two hours and 11 minutes. The charger has a sleek look for a high price point but the screen seems easily scratched.Notably, the Prime Power Bank's sale doesn't include the charging base (that will cost you $235 for both), but it's not necessary. You can fully recharge the power bank in 37 minutes with a USB-C cord at 140W - faster than the base's 100W charging capabilities.Other notable power banks included in Amazon's sale are Anker's 622 Magnetic Battery and 737 Power Bank. The 622 touts the largest discount of the group with a 43 percent cut bringing it's price to $40 from $70. It snaps right onto the back of an iPhone and provides up to 17 hours of battery life. The device, which is available in blue, also comes with a PopSockets attachment.The Anker 737 Power Bank is a bit more expensive, with a 38 percent discount dropping its price to $80 from $130. However, it offers three charging ports (two USB and one USB-C) and works with laptops, iPhones and Androids. USB connections have 18W of power while the USB-C provides 60W.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anker-power-banks-and-wireless-chargers-are-up-to-43-percent-off-for-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-132737510.html?src=rss

Getty has flagged another photo captured by the Princess of Wales as digitally altered that was released back in 2022, featuring Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "Getty Images is undertaking a review of handout images and in accordance with its editorial policy is placing an editor's note on images where the source has suggested they could be digitally enhanced," a spokesperson told CNN. This comes on the heels of a recent controversy, where a photo of Kate Middleton was revealed to be doctored.The publication found 19 alterations in the photo that most people likely wouldn't notice unless they zoom in very closely and examine every pattern. It found a few misalignments in the subjects' clothing, random floating artifacts, cloned hair strands and heads that looked like they were pasted in from another photo due to the difference in lighting. Kate, or whoever edited the picture, might have simply been looking to create the best version of it possible, but agencies like Getty only allow minimal editing for the photos in their library to avoid spreading misinformation.

Is it really possible to keep anything hidden on the internet anymore? It seems very unlikely, with the latest example coming from Glassdoor, which published people's real names without their consent, ArsTechnica reports. That's right, the site specifically designed to allow anonymous, often unfiltered posts about users' employers is now tattling.Glassdoor's long-standing policy was that users could sign up with their name or anonymously. However, things changed when the company bought FishBowl in 2021 and later integrated it. Now, Glassdoor users get signed up for a FishBowl account and, as a result, must be verified (a Fishbowl requirement). This shift gives Glassdoor access to users' information to either display without consent - as is being done - or potentially get revealed if there was a leak or subpoena.ArsTechnica spoke with two individuals whose data was populated on their Glassdoor profiles, including Monica, who noticed the change after actually asking for the company to remove some of her public-facing information. In an initial blog post, she claimed to have repeatedly not consented and that one Glassdoor employee told her that all profiles are now required to include a name.Monica reported that a Glassdoor manager then added, "I stand behind the decision that your name has to be placed on your profile and it cannot be reverted back to just your initials or nullified/anonymized from the platform. I am sorry that we disagree on this issue. We treat all users equally when it comes to what is eligible to be placed on the profile and what is not, but we know that there are times our users, such as yourself, may not always agree with us." However, a Glassdoor spokesperson told Ars Technica that users could remain fully anonymous - contradicting the manager and leaving the truth unclear.Then there was Josh, who claimed that Glassdoor not only added private information without permission but that some of it was inaccurate. Glassdoor listed him as living in London when he's based in California and spelled his employer's name wrong. Both Monica and Josh removed their accounts and sent Glassdoor requests to delete their data.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/glassdoor-reportedly-attaches-real-names-to-anonymous-accounts-120058183.html?src=rss

Dyson is finally bringing its latest robot vacuum to the US and Canada, after launching in other regions. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav is now available to order in the US for a heady $1,199 from both Dyson's online store and retailers like Amazon. I tested Dyson's first attempt almost a decade ago, but the new model is more powerful, smarter and apparently capable of cleaning for longer. It also looks like what would happen if a GameCube married a fighter from Robot Wars.DysonOn paper, the technology could set the 360 Vis Nav apart from rivals with raw suction power - but we'll have to review it to test that.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedASUS Zenbook Duo review: The first dual-screen laptop worth buyingThe best deals in Amazon's Big Spring Sale (no Prime sub needed)Overwatch 2 players won't have to pay or grind to unlock new heroesHow to clean your AirPodsCowboy reveals its new all-road e-bike with suspensionYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker reviewTurning your kitchen into a BBQ joint.EngadgetThe hit product at CES 2024 was GE's attempt at bringing effortless food smoking to your kitchen. The Profile Smart Indoor Smoker isn't exactly petite, but it is capable. Thanks to a unique filtration system, the unit captures smoke while cooking and only expels warm air (from the front). We put it to the test and were impressed by the decent smoky flavor and easy cleanup. Check out the full review below.Continue reading.Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder to head up its new consumer AI divisionMustafa Suleyman will lead Microsoft's Copilot efforts.DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman is joining Microsoft to push the consumer-facing Copilot assistant into the future. Suleyman's official title will be executive vice president and CEO of a new division called Microsoft AI, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella. Despite its explosive start over AI search rival Google, Bing's market share hardly moved the needle against its search rival, Bloomberg reported in January. Suleyman co-founded DeepMind in 2010, four years before Google bought the British-American AI startup for between $400 million and $650 million.Continue reading.England convicts its first cyberflasherHe was sentenced to 66 weeks in jail.A man has been jailed for 66 weeks in England after pleading guilty to cyberflashing. Nicholas Hawkes is the first person to be convicted of the crime in the country under the Online Safety Act. It outlawed cyberflashing (sending unsolicited photos of genitalia) in England and Wales on January 31. Hawkes admitted to sending a photo of his genitals to a woman and a 15-year-old girl in early February. Some US states have moved to tackle cyberflashing too, including California, Virginia and Texas.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-dysons-next-gen-robot-vacuum-hits-the-us-114527583.html?src=rss

In good news for our wallets and the environment at large, many electronic devices like phones and tablets last longer now than they once did. If you're considering buying refurbished, the gadget you get will likely have a good amount of life left in it. There are no laws governing the terms, but refurbished or renewed devices tend to be a level above just plain used." At minimum, refurbished tech should have undergone cleaning and diagnostics, and some sellers also replace components like batteries and screens. Once ready for sale, these devices should operate as if they were new, with only minor scuffs indicating their history.

Intel is getting a huge boost from the US government under the CHIPS and Science Act. The company could get up to $8.5 billion in direct funding from the government, according to the preliminary agreement it has reached with the Department of Commerce. That money will go towards the chipmaker's efforts to expand its manufacturing facilities in the United States, particularly plants designed to make leading-edge semiconductor chips meant for use in AI and other advanced applications.The government's investment is expected to support Intel projects across four states, including the construction of two new leading-edge logic fabrication facilities and the modernization of another one in Chandler, Arizona, as well as the construction of two more fabs in New Albany, Ohio. It will also help Intel modernize two existing fabs in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and expand its facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon. The government's $8.5 billion funding will augment the company's $100 billion investment in US manufacturing over the next five years. And in case the company needs more money, it can borrow up to $11 billion from the US under the agreement.The Biden administration signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law back in 2022 in hopes of fostering domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing and of lessening American companies' reliance in Chinese suppliers. This is the administration's fourth CHIPS investment, and it's largest yet. If you combine Intel's own money with the government's funding, this is one of the biggest investments announced in US semiconductor manufacturing overall. In February, the government also announced that it was granting GlobalFoundries with $1.5 billion in funding under the CHIPS Act to help the AMD spinoff build new fab facilities.Intel's projects in those aforementioned regions are expected to create 20,000 construction and 10,000 manufacturing jobs. To help ensure that the local population can benefit from those projects, the government will also earmark $50 million in dedicated funding to train and develop the local workforce. The parties have agreed to these terms under a preliminary agreement only, though, and the Department of Commerce might change them, depending on the results of a comprehensive due diligence process on the proposed projects and any future renegotiations.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intel-will-get-85-billion-in-chips-act-funding-to-support-its-us-manufacturing-efforts-090046810.html?src=rss

GOG, the gaming storefront owned by CD Projekt, is getting into cloud gaming by teaming up with Amazon Luna. Since the Luna cloud service streams games from Amazon's cloud servers, you'll be able to access select titles you've purchased from the store across any compatible device you own, including PCs, Macs, Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as smart TVs and Fire tablets. You simply need to install the Luna app on your device and make sure you're connected to the internet. You'll also be able to use any Luna-compatible devices and controllers, such as Xbox One's and PS4's, to play your games.In its announcement, GOG says you'll be able to play any of the games you own on its platform, provided that they're also on Luna. The CD Projekt subsidiary has confirmed those titles include the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, but you can check if your other games are accessible if you already have Amazon's cloud streaming service. A Luna spokesperson told us that while GOG's entire library will not be available on the Amazon service at launch, the selection will expand in the coming months.Take note that if you find a game you want to play within the Luna client, you don't have to go to GOG to buy it first. If the title is available on both services, any game you purchase from Luna will also appear in your GOG library. Your downloads will remain DRM-free even if you buy from Luna, and you'll be able to enjoy GOG Galaxy features, such as cloud saves and achievements.The collaboration isn't quite live yet, and the companies have yet to announce when it'll be available other than it's coming "soon." Access to it will be limited to regions where Luna is available, however, namely in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.Update, March 20, 2024, 3:45AM ET: This article was updated to clarify that the entire GOG library will not be available on Luna by the time their partnership launches.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gog-gets-into-cloud-gaming-with-amazon-luna-partnership-084558767.html?src=rss

Meta is continuing its slow march toward compatibility with the fediverse. The company has been experimenting with making posts from a handful of accounts available on Mastodon since the end of last year. Now, it's offered a brief preview of how the integration works and what it might look like once more people have the ability to share from Threads directly to the fediverse.Instagram engineer Peter Cottle gave a short presentation on Threads in the Fediverse" at FediForum, a virtual event for decentralized social media enthusiasts. In the demo, Cottle explains how Threads users will be able to opt-in to fediverse sharing and offered some insight into how Meta is thinking about its role in the fediverse.In a short video demo, first spotted by The Verge, Cottle shows off a new account setting called fediverse sharing." As the name suggests, the menu will enable users to make their posts viewable from Mastodon and other platforms that use ActivityPub. Notably, it appears to also come with lengthy disclaimers explaining exactly what that will mean for their content.I think it's actually kind of tricky for Threads because we have like 130 million people using it monthly, but a lot of people haven't heard of the fediverse," Cottle said. But we want to give them the ability to enter that kind of experience. So we have to both explain the fediverse and explain all the disclaimers and then make sure they feel good about the outcome."Visually, the fediverse will be represented on Threads by an icon that looks a bit like a planet (the symbol has previously been spotted in code in the app). Cottle explained that users who have enabled fediverse sharing will have the symbol viewable on their profiles and that they'll see an indication in the app's composer if a post will be visible in the fediverse. Cottle also confirmed that only public-facing accounts will have the ability to share to the fediverse. He also noted that users will have a 5-minute window before posts go live in order to make any changes or edits as Threads can't guarantee a deleted Threads post is also deleted from the fediverse.The demo comes as Meta has started to add a few more accounts to its fediverse sharing experiment. Right now, Mastodon users can follow Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and a handful of other Threads users, but the company hasn't provided an update on when the functionality will be more widely available. Cottle's demo also didn't delve into how sharing from Mastoodn and other ActivityPub-enabled services intoThreads might work. (Right now, if a Mastodon user replies to a Threads post, the reply is only visible on Mastodon, not on Threads.)But Cottle's demo is another sign that Meta is taking the growing momentum for decentralized social media seriously. I know there's a ton of skepticism about threads entering the fediverse, it's completely understandable," Cottle said. But I do want to make a plea that I think everyone on the team has really good intentions. We really want to be a really good member of the community and give people the ability to experience what the fediverse is and the power of a protocol."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-previews-fediverse-sharing-for-threads-001632698.html?src=rss

Like many premium electric rides, Cowboy's e-bikes make short commutes easier, especially those involving hills or a lot of stop-start traffic. Its latest bike is an attempt to address another challenge: comfort. The Cowboy Cross is the company's first all-road" model, with thicker, bigger tires, seat suspension, inverted fork suspension and a substantially bigger battery for more extended trips-or simply fewer trips to the charger.It's a substantially different offering from Cowboy, which previously aimed its products at European cities with established cycling communities and infrastructure. With the Cross, the addition of a rear rack fused to the frame and an expanded range of 120km (in ideal conditions) both mean it's designed for more involved trips beyond a simple jaunt around your neighborhood.With that larger battery and suspension, the Cross ST weighs 26.5kg - over 58 pounds - more than the company's Cruiser and C4 models, while the standard Cross is even heavier at 27.9kg. It's a substantial e-bike. Once again, you can choose between step-over and step-through frames, and the Cross will launch in three colors: dark green, dark brown and black. All of them have an almost-satin finish, and the company has changed up the paint it uses to make it more resistant to scratches and grazes.Image by Mat Smith / EngadgetCompared to its predecessor, the Cross is far better equipped for curbs and random road bumps, resulting in a much smoother ride that I immediately felt during a brief test ride in central London. The e-bike launched up curbs, instead of the bounce and shudder I usually get on other e-bikes. It's a single-gear bike, again, with a carbon belt drive system and the suspension is split between inverted fork suspension on the front wheel and seat suspension, both with 40mm of travel.It's easy to forget, due to the assistance you get pedaling, but e-bikes can be heavy - almost always heavier than their manual counterparts. So suspension makes a lot of sense when you're riding something that weighs in at well above 20 kilograms. The ride, otherwise, was very similar to the Cowboy C4 I'd ridden before. Adaptive power is also on-board, ensuring the bike controls are simple and comparable to a standard bike. You just squeeze the brakes, and the bike will handle acceleration and thrust.Cowboy couldn't help tinkering with its companion app, and these bikes will launch with new social aspects for your rides, adding league tables between groups of riders and incentives to pump those pedals using your legs. (Excuse me, Cowboy, but I ride e-bikes in order to do that less). Fortunately, the onboard phone holder doubles as a wireless charger too.While I love the Cross, I'm unsure about the in-app mini-games. Madly pedaling to reach your app goals in a place like London, where you might miss a junction, cyclist or runaway baby stroller if you blink, simply doesn't seem wise. Cowboy says it's still working on ways to gamify your trips in a way that's fun and not, well, so dangerous.Image by Mat Smith / EngadgetAdding suspension and a bigger battery cell, however, also contribute to the price. The Cross will be available at an early-bird price of 3,099 (just shy of $4,000) for a limited time, and will eventually go up to 3,499 (almost $4,500). In mainland Europe, it'll cost at 3,500 Euros at launch and will increase to 4,000 Euros. You can order one now and the bikes will start shipping near the end of May or in early June 2024.There are no US prices though, because the Cross won't be headed to the US for now. The company says it's continuing to focus on the European market, as it - getting all TechCrunch on you here - chases profitability. For some business context, rival premium e-bike maker VanMoof declared bankruptcy in 2023. However, the company still plans to roll out its rides to the US. But only when it's ready.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cowboys-new-all-road-e-bike-adds-suspension-and-a-much-bigger-battery-235512290.html?src=rss

Like most other corners of the tech world, Google sees AI powering the next innovations in health technology. The company's annual The Check Up event expanded on its plans to add a personal health chatbot to the Fitbit app, expand Google Lens for better skin condition searches and use a version of its Gemini chatbot in the medical field.One of the more intriguing of Google's announcements on Tuesday was more detail about an experimental AI feature for Fitbit users, briefly teased last year. Fitbit Labs will let owners draw correlations and connect the dots" from health data tracked using their wearable devices. A chatbot in the mobile app will let you ask questions in natural language and create personalized charts to learn about your health.The company hasn't yet gone into great depth about the Fitbit chatbot, but an example it published Tuesday shows a user asking about potential connections between activity and sleep. The Fitbit assistant answered that the user's days with higher activity scores correlated with better sleep (while cautioning not to assume that's the only reason).The Fitbit generative AI tool will arrive later this year. Google says it will (at least initially) only be available to Fitbit Premium subscribers with Android devices enrolled in the Fitbit Labs program.Google / FitbitThe company sees Google Lens as filling some healthcare gaps where text-based searches fall short. It says a feature (introduced last year) that uses Lens to identify visually similar matches from the web" for skin conditions is now available in over 150 countries. It can work even when you don't know where to begin when describing a dermatological disorder.In a similar light, Google has added new images and diagrams to its web results from reputable online sources to help you understand conditions like neck pain. Up next: The company sees the visual results powering its searches for more health conditions, including migraines, kidney stones and pneumonia. The visual search engine updates are expected to roll out over the next few months.The company also mentioned that Fitbit and Google Research are partnering with health and wellness experts and other medical professionals to create a new AI model for health and wellness. The long-term goal is for the Gemini-powered large language model (LLM) to power its future AI features across Google's various health offerings.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-health-chatbot-will-arrive-later-this-year-210609008.html?src=rss

Microsoft now has a lone leader overseeing consumer AI for the first time. DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman is joining the company from rival Inflection AI. Suleyman will try to push the consumer-facing Copilot assistant into the future, preparing for what may be a long battle with Google for artificial intelligence supremacy among Silicon Valley's Big Five companies.Suleyman's official title will be executive vice president and CEO of a new division called Microsoft AI, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella. Joining him will be fellow Inflection AI cofounder Karen Simonyan, who takes the title of chief scientist.Messy" could be one way to describe Microsoft's Copilot rollout. Despite its quick jump out of the starting blocks to take the lead over Google, Bloomberg reported in January that Bing's market share hardly moved the needle against its search rival. In addition, a Microsoft engineer raised flags earlier this year about the safety of OpenAI's DALL-E 3 and Copilot, even taking his case to the FTC. Further complicating matters, Google's AI efforts may be in for an enormous boost as it's reportedly in talks with Apple to power the iPhone maker's generative AI tools.

Meta is finally providing a bit of visibility into what kinds of conversations are happening on its Twitter competitor, Threads. The service is rolling out its trending now" feature to all US users, Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.The feature, which the company began testing in February, uses AI to surface a handful of topics based on what people are engaging with right now." Trends will appear in Threads' search page and will also appear in between posts in users' For You feeds.For now, the feature is still fairly limited. Threads only shows five trending topics at any one time, which is likely an attempt to keep the list relatively curated and avoid some of the issues that have plagued the feature on Twitter and now X. Meta has said it employs human content specialists" to review topics and ensure that trends comply with the company's safety rules.Still, the official arrival of trends brings a much-requested feature to the app. Up until now, users had very few ways to get insight into what others are talking about outside of what they can see in their own feeds. Trends also gives users a way to keep up with some news and current events on the platform, despite Meta's reluctance to encourage" news content on Threads.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-finally-rolling-out-trending-topics-on-threads-184311138.html?src=rss

Blizzard is finally making it easier to unlock new heroes in Overwatch 2. This is big news, as players regularly complain about how difficult it is to obtain new characters in the live-service shooter. Currently, people get new heroes by paying for and grinding through a battle pass, buying them outright or waiting until they become available as a reward for winning a certain number of games. That changes with the forthcoming season 10, as the company will make new and old heroes available for free to all players.This not only pertains to Venture, a new hero created for season 10, but all of the game's previously released heroes, like Mauga, Illari, Sojourn and Lifeweaver, among many others. New players will still have to complete the intro, but once the heroes from the original Overwatch roster have been unlocked, all Overwatch 2 heroes will also become available."This will even extend to future heroes. The entire roster of Overwatch 2 characters will be playable in all game modes when season 10 officially begins this April.This is just one change coming to how the game handles its battle pass, as suggested by director Aaron Keller in a video. Blizzard is also going to start selling mythic skins that were previously available only through a paid battle pass, though pricing and availability is still up in the air.In addition, Overwatch Coins, the game's dominant currency, will soon be easier to earn. Right now, people accrue coins by accessing a premium battle pass, completing weekly challenges or buying them outright. In season 10, they'll become available in the free tracks of the game's battle pass system. Fans will be able to earn up to 600 coins per season for free, up from 540.Finally, there's a new in-game competition called Clash, which was first announced at last year's Blizzcon. This team-based PvP mode features five points lined up in a row, and the first team that captures all five points or reaches a maximum score wins. It looks like the full Clash mode won't launch alongside season 10, but will come later this year and will include two dedicated maps.Blizzard also previewed season 11 today, which is due later this year and will include a new Push map set in Peru, as well as a reworked version of the Rome-based Colosseo map.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-players-wont-have-to-pay-or-grind-through-a-battle-pass-to-unlock-new-heroes-183729811.html?src=rss

A man has been jailed for 66 weeks in England after pleading guilty to cyberflashing. Nicholas Hawkes is the first person to be convicted of the crime in the country under the Online Safety Act. Cyberflashing (sending unsolicited photos of genitalia) was outlawed in England and Wales under the law on January 31.Cyberflashing is a serious crime which leaves a lasting impact on victims, but all too often it can be dismissed as thoughtless banter' or a harmless joke," prosecutor Hannah von Dadelzsen said in a statement. Just as those who commit indecent exposure in the physical world can expect to face the consequences, so too should offenders who commit their crimes online; hiding behind a screen does not hide you from the law."Registered sex offender Hawkes, of Basildon, Essex, admitted to sending a photo of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl and a woman in early February. The woman took screenshots of the image and reported it to police. Cyberflashing victims receive lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act after reporting such crimes.Hawkes pleaded guilty on February 12 to two counts of sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation. He was held in custody until his sentencing on Tuesday. Hawkes was jailed for one year for the cyberflashing counts, and 14 weeks for breaching a previous order. He was convicted last year of exposure and sexual activity with a child under 16 and was sentenced to a community order.Some other jurisdictions have similar laws against cyberflashing. Scotland banned it in 2010 and Northern Ireland followed suit last year. Singapore made it a crime in 2019, while the practice is illegal in some circumstances in Australia. Some states have moved to tackle cyberflashing too, including California, Virginia and Texas.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/first-cyberflasher-convicted-in-england-is-sentenced-to-66-weeks-in-jail-182615668.html?src=rss

It sounds too good to be true. The ability to smoke meats, seafood and more inside your kitchen without risking your security deposit doesn't seem like something that should be possible. GE Appliances begs to differ. The company debuted the final version of its GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker just before CES, quickly nabbing the attention of this wood-fired-grill reviewer. Thanks to a unique filtration system, the unit captures smoke while cooking and only expels warm air (out of the front). After getting a small taste (literally one bite) in Vegas of what the smoker could do, I've spent the last few weeks cooking a variety of proteins to see if the $999 device is as compelling as it seems.DesignThe GE Profile indoor smoker has the stature of a small mini fridge. It's not far off from the quick-cooking ovens behind the counter at Starbucks either. Its glossy front is two-thirds door, complete with viewing window, while the remaining space is dedicated to the control panel and pellet waste bin. Up top is a small sliding door at the front left for adding food-grade wood pellets. The sides and back look plain and boring, like a countertop oven or microwave, but that's just fine. The contraption is short enough to fit under cabinets, but you'll want to leave space on the sides and back for radiant heat.At the bottom of the front, there's a vent where the GE Profile indoor smoker expels warm air while it's cooking. The company also provides a small drip tray that slides under the front edge to help keep your counter clean. Over to the right, a display sits up top to show you status, probe temperature, smoker temperature, cook time and smoke level. You turn a knob to navigate settings and menus and then press to confirm your choices. Back and Start buttons flank that dial on the left and right sides respectively. There's progress and status lights that encircle the knob too, adding a visual cue during preheating, cooking and more.Under the knob is a smattering of buttons to get to certain functions quickly. These include settings, cancel, the interior light, activating the Clear Smoke feature and toggling between probe temperature and cooking time on the display. There's also a power switch in this group and they're all touch-based rather than clicky physical buttons.Inside, supports snap onto the sides to hold the three moveable racks in place. A drip pan slides into the bottom to catch grease and other debris. To keep tabs on food temps, a probe snaps into a jack at the top right of the cooking chamber and can be stored on the outside of the smoker via a magnetic holder when not in use. Lastly, the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker's prime piece of tech, the Active Smoke Filtration system, is on the back interior wall.Setup and usePhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetAnother benefit of the GE Profile indoor smoker is that it's ready to go out of the box. There's no seasoning or burn-off required to get rid of oils or other manufacturing leftovers. Simply snap the rack supports in place, slide in the racks, put the drip pan in the bottom and that's it for the cooking chamber. Once you add pellets in the slot up top and fill the water tank to the indicated level, the smoker is almost ready to start cooking.One more step you'll need to do the first time you cook, or anytime you empty the pellet chute, is to prime the auger. This ensures that the device will start producing smoke quickly and efficiently, giving your food as much time as possible to bathe in it. Afterwards, you can choose a preset or opt to go full manual mode (called Customize) and you're off and running.GE Profile has dialed-in selections for brisket, pork ribs, pork butt, wings, chicken and salmon. These offer the necessary time and temperature settings for proper cooking, including a recommended smoke level. Additionally, you can determine the duration of the cook based on time or internal food temperature. Once either of those are achieved, the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker can automatically go into Keep Warm mode until you're ready to eat.Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetA word on larger cuts: you'll need to portion them out in order to make them fit. For things like ribs and brisket, you can easily slice them in half and make use of the rack system. I did chuckle when reading the recipe book as GE Profile says you can fit a 18-pound brisket in this smoker. That single cut of beef would take up most of the cooking area on some pellet grills, so you definitely have to cut it to fit here. And even then, the pieces will be quite large.Pork butts fit with ease, as do whole chickens. If you prefer to spatchcock your birds to cook them, that won't work here. However, you could easily do two chicken halves. I was also able to accommodate nearly four pounds of wings (flats and drums) across the three racks. Basically, any meat you'd smoke on an outdoor grill can be done on this unit, but some of them will take a bit of extra planning, and maybe a few cuts, to get them to fit.How does the GE Indoor Smoker work?After you've selected your preset or manually entered your cooking parameters and pressed start, the GE Profile indoor smoker will ask you to confirm that you've added both pellets to the chute and water to the waste bin. From there, the device will preheat to the appropriate temperature before it begins producing any smoke. This will allow you to put your food inside without having to clear the smoke immediately. The last step is to push the start dial once more to begin the smoking process.Before you open the door while things are cooking, you'll need to activate the Clear Smoke function to avoid setting off any alarms in your kitchen. This takes 10 minutes, so you'll have to plan ahead a bit - unless you don't mind smoking up the room. I mention this because you will have to flip and rotate nearly everything you prepare in this thing to make sure it cooks evenly. I learned this lesson the hard way with a pork butt that burned on top but was undercooked near the bone. A simple flip and front-to-back rotation for everything about half-way through the process remedied the issue for everything I cooked after that, but it is an extra step that outdoor grills don't require. You can leave a pork butt on a pellet grill unbothered until it's done, but those have fans pushing heat around the cooking chamber. GE Profile says it didn't opt for a convection fan in this unit because of how it would've affected the flow of smoke.Can you taste the smoke?One of the biggest questions I had about the GE Profile indoor smoker is if you'd actually be able to taste the smoke. The unit burns just enough wood pellets to fill the cooking chamber with smoke, which is enough to give proteins a kiss of flavor. It's certainly not as intense as what you get on an outdoor grill, but it's definitely there.Since the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker does an excellent job of regulating temperature, the texture of all of those meats, and even seafood, is consistently moist and tender. Smoke flavor was most prominent in wings, chicken and salmon, but I could taste it in larger cuts of meat, too. GE Profile allows you to adjust the smoke level from 0 to 5, so you can crank it all the way up to maximize the flavor if that's your culinary preference. I almost always set it to level 5.Let's talk about smoke ringsOne thing you won't see on meat cooked low-and-slow in the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker is a smoke ring. This is the pink area along the outside of sliced meats that most people think indicates how well smoke has penetrated the food. That's actually a misconception. A smoke ring is caused by a chemical reaction with nitric oxide gas produced by burning wood or charcoal. It isn't by any means an indication of the level of smoke flavor, or even good barbecue.Outdoor pellet grills, offset smokers and even a Weber kettle with charcoal will create a noticeable smoke ring on things like ribs, pork butts and briskets. The GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker will not. That's because the appliance isn't burning wood pellets as the heat source - it's only using them to flavor the food. That takes very little fuel, and it also requires barely any heat to smolder them.You can actually fake a smoke ring if you really want one for the gram, but overdoing it can ruin your food, so tread carefully. For that, you'll need a small amount of something that contains sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, like Morton's Tender Quick. It's the stuff that's used to cure pastrami, where the pink color is essential.Cleanup and maintenancePhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetUnlike most outdoor grills, all of the racks and rack supports inside the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker are dishwasher safe - simply by virtue of being small enough to fit. Since you'll have to wipe down the interior of the cooking chamber with a solution of either mild soap and water or vinegar and water, not having to hand-wash what's sure to be the dirtiest part of the machine is a plus. The drip pan is made out of a similar material to roasting pans you'd use in an oven, so you can probably stick it in the dishwasher too. I have been doing this with no issues so far, but you can always wrap it in foil before you start smoking for easy cleaning.You'll also need to empty the water tank that collects and extinguishes the spent pellets after each use, though the smoker may ask you to do so midway through longer sessions. You'll need to strain out the remaining wood particles from the water before discarding the cooled solids in the trash. Since the water container doesn't touch any food, a quick wipe and rinse is all that's needed here.GE Profile says you'll occasionally need to clean the pellet ramp to ensure proper smoke production. The company includes a small brush that's used to keep unwanted debris out of the cooking chamber. Simply lift the smoke inlet cover on the right side of the cooking area and use the brush to remove anything that's accumulated there. The company also recommends that you wipe the interior light after each use. I assume that's so you'll be able to see well during the cooking process, but GE Profile doesn't elaborate on why you need to do it.GE Profile SmartHQ appThe Smart Indoor Smoker works with GE Profile's SmartHQ app to allow you to monitor the small appliance over Wi-Fi. With this software, you can monitor smoker and food temperatures from anywhere, as well as activate the 10-minute Clear Smoke process from the sofa. The app also lets you turn the internal light on and off, but that's really about it. You can't actually adjust the smoker temperature without walking over to it.The smoker comes with a recipe book, but it would've been great if those (and many more) were available inside the app. Those instructions, paired with the ability to send the appropriate cooking info to the device, would give new users a lot of ways to get started beyond the simple protein-specific presets. I would also love it if there was a way to trigger the Keep Warm function or shut down the smoker remotely. You know, for the times when I get too excited about putting pulled pork in my mouth and forget to turn the machine off before sitting down at the table.Is it better than an outdoor grill?Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetWhile it's tempting to compare the results from the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker to those of a pellet, charcoal or wood-burning grill, it would be like discussing apples and oranges. Since all of the other options have an open flame and use significantly more fuel as the primary heat source, the smoke flavor is much more intense. They also require a lot more planning. First, you'd need dedicated outdoor space where those grills and smokers will be safe to use. You'll also need to consider the added cleaning and maintenance needed to keep them running well.All of these outdoor grills have a wider temperature range, so they can be used for more than just smoking. You could use a pellet grill, for example, to do everything from brisket to searing steaks. Ditto for charcoal or wood-burning units. And if you factor in Wi-Fi-enabled features, outdoor grills typically allow you to adjust temperature in addition to just monitoring it. Some of them even offer advanced tools like the Super Smoke mode from Traeger or the ability to send recipes to the grill as part of step-by-step guidance.All this considered, the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker is still a good option for people who can't have an outdoor smoker due to rental agreements or a lack of space. You'll certainly need to plan ahead on how to store the appliance when you're not using it. But, the fact that you can put it in your kitchen opens up the ability to cook barbecue, smoked wings, tasty seafood and more that you otherwise wouldn't be able to. It's not entirely a set it and forget it" type of device, and there are some hoops to jump through in terms of rotating things during the cook. However, you won't have to spend hours babying the meats the cooking starts.Wrap-upThe GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker works just like the company describes. The only real nuisance is having to flip and rotate foods to make sure they're cooked properly. I really wish the company was more up-front about this somewhere other than the troubleshooting table and recipe book. It's a key action that shouldn't be left to trial and error. Even with that caveat, the device produces noticeably smoky flavor in a range of foods, albeit in a more-subdued way than what an outdoor grill.Presets make it easy to get started and the manual mode will provide an open playground once you gain some experience. This won't replace your pellet or charcoal grill, but that's not really the point. It lets people who can't own one of those make some tasty barbecue inside their kitchens. You just have to find a place to store it, or give up previously allocated countertop space, between smoke sessions.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ge-profile-smart-indoor-smoker-review-turning-your-kitchen-into-a-bbq-joint-163057181.html?src=rss

NVIDIA has been working on adding generative AI to non-playable characters (NPCs) for a while now. The company is hoping a newly-announced partnership with Ubisoft will accelerate development of this technology and, ultimately, bring these AI-driven NPCs to modern games.Ubisoft helped build new "NEO NPCs" by using NVIDIA's Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) technology, with an assist from dynamic NPC experts Inworld AI. The end result? Characters that don't repeat the same phrase over and over, while ignoring the surrounding violent mayhem.These NEO NPCs are said to interact in real time with players, the environment and other in-game characters. NVIDIA says this opens up new possibilities for emergent storytelling." To that end, Ubisoft's narrative team built complete backgrounds, knowledge bases and conversational styles for two NPCs as a proof of concept.Ubisoft/NVIDIAThese are fully-fleshed out characters with environmental and contextual awareness" along with conversational memory. NVIDIA says each character excels with collaboration and strategic decision-making." The company also incorporated its Audio2Face technology to allow for appropriate facial animations and lip syncing. NVIDIA suggests that these characters push the boundaries of game design and immersion."The company didn't explicitly announce that this technology would be coming to Ubisoft titles in the nearish future, but it's a safe bet it's on the roadmap. Perhaps soon you'll be able to see what the sweet old man outside of the inn thinks about you absolutely obliterating the whole town. Won't that be fun?This isn't the only big AI-adjacent announcement from NVIDIA this week. The company just unveiled its next-generation of GPUs, an evolution of the chips that are used to train large language models. The company promises that its Blackwell chips are seven to 30 times faster than the H100 series and use 25 times less power.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-partners-with-ubisoft-to-further-develop-its-ai-driven-npcs-160432137.html?src=rss

Dyson's one of the biggest players in the cordless vacuum and air purifier space (and, more recently, hair styling as well), but it's kept a relatively low profile in the robot vacuum market. Today, the company's bringing its latest robot vacuum to the US and Canada. After being available in other regions, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav is now available to order in the US for a whopping $1,199 from Dyson direct and other retailers like Amazon.While we haven't had the chance to test the 360 Vis Nav yet, we were able to get more details from Dyson about how the new robot vacuum works. A few things stand out as departures from traditional robot vacuums, the first being the 360-degree vision system that uses a camera on the top-center of the robot to map out your home as it cleans. Home mapping isn't new in this space, but Dyson claims that the images captured by this vision system will help the machine better understand the layout of your home, including where obstacles like furniture live, make note of corners and edges and help it recognize where it's cleaned and where it still needs to go to finish a job. The camera is surrounded by eight LEDs that balance exposure and better help the robovac navigate in low-light situations as well.Second, whereas most robot vacuums use small sweepers to collect dust bunnies hiding in room corners and along furniture edges, Dyson's machine has a side-edge actuator that opens automatically when cleaning spaces like these. It then uses suction to collect debris, which Dyson claims provides an even more thorough cleanup. I'm eager to see how this works in practice because cleaning the corners of rooms is one of the hardest things for a robot vacuum to do right, even for those that have the advantage of a D-shaped design like the 360 Vis Nav.Finally, Dyson's robot vacuum uses a Piezo sensor similar to those found in the company's stick vacs to detect dirt and, subsequently, help the machine do a couple of things: kick up its suction power to the max 65 air watts when necessary, and create a heatmap in the My Dyson app of the dirtiest parts of your home. This sounds like a more useful application for a piezo sensor than that of Dyson's cordless vacuums; I found in my testing that seeing how many dirt particles you're sucking up with a manual vacuum might be fun to watch change on a digital display as you clean, but it's not very actionable once you're done vacuuming. But in this application, particularly with the heatmap, that information can show you areas of your home you may want to clean more often and you can program the 360 Vis Nav to only clean those spots from within the app.The Dyson 360 Vis Nav has a similar design to some of the higher-end robot vacuums on the market right now, with two squared-off edges that help it get into room corners more easily. Under the hood, it has a Hyperdymium motor and a removable filter, plus a triple-action brush bar that spans the entire width of the machine, something you don't often see in competing robot vacuums. Naturally, the cleaning surfaces borrow a lot from those on the company's stick vacs: there are carbon fiber bristles and stiff nylon bristles for deep-cleaning carpets and a fluffy" softer nylon surface that's better on hard floors. The whole machine is HEPA-compliant, which means air that's been sucked up cannot escape through other parts of the machine, making it better at trapping microscopic particles like allergens and dust mites.Dyson may have waited a bit to enter the US robot vacuum market, but it appears it wanted to find the right ways of integrating technology from its cordless vacuums into this space before doing so. On paper, that technology could set the 360 Vis Nav apart from other robot vacuums when it comes to raw suction power. When we're able to get testing time with the device, I'll be interested to try out its four cleaning modes (Auto, Boost, Quick and Quiet), see if the advertised 65-minute runtime (in Auto Mode) actually holds up and judge how robust and easy to use the My Dyson app is.But what already sets the 360 Vis Nav apart from the competition is its sky-high, $1,199 price tag. That's a price we've only seen on robot vacuums that come with self-emptying bases, and the 360 Vis Nav doesn't have one of those (its dock only recharges). But this won't be a surprise if you're familiar with other Dyson products, which are often priced at a premium.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dyson-enters-the-us-robot-vacuum-market-with-the-360-vis-nav-153013678.html?src=rss

The Google Pixel Tablet is one of the better options for those dead set on an Android slate, as it doubles as a sort of smart display when hooked up to an included charging speaker dock. If you've been interested, now looks like a decent time to take the plunge: The 11-inch tablet is back down to $399 at multiple retailers, including Amazon, Target and the Google Store.Google ran this deal a few times toward the end of last year, but it matches the lowest price we've seen and comes in $100 below the 128GB model's usual going rate. If you need more storage, the 256GB version is $150 off and available for $449, another all-time low. The offer comes as part of a wider spate of sales on Google devices and just ahead of Amazon's "Big Spring Sale" sales event. Google says these deals will run through April 3.My colleague Cherlynn Low gave the Pixel Tablet a score of 85 in her review last June, and we note the device in our tablet buying guide. The aforementioned dock is really what helps it stand out: Plop the tablet onto that and it becomes something akin to a detachable Nest Hub Max. It doesn't have all the same functionality, but you can use it to control smart home devices, showcase photos, stream music with the improved speakers, cast video from your phone and so on. It all makes this the rare tablet that can be useful even when when you aren't holding it.Without the dock, the Pixel Tablet isn't quite as remarkable: Its LCD display is limited to a basic 60Hz refresh rate, its Tensor G2 chip is now a generation old and Google doesn't support it with a custom-made keyboard or stylus. The screen's rectangular 16:10 aspect ratio may take a bit to get used to as well. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S9, the top Android pick in our guide, costs a few hundred extra but has more premium hardware and better tools for getting work done. And all Android tablets still lag behind Apple's iPadOS when it comes to optimizing apps for large displays.That said, even if it's not superlative, the Pixel Tablet is still perfectly solid for web browsing, streaming video and playing games. Unlike the iPad, it also supports multiple user profiles, so it's a good choice if you want share one tablet with everyone in your family. Google says it'll supply OS updates through June 2026 and security updates through June 2028. There's at least some chance that a follow-up device is in the works, but for now, this is a decent deal if you want a big-screen Android device.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-tablet-is-up-to-150-off-ahead-of-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-152009518.html?src=rss

Yes, securing your home is worth spending money on, but if you can do it at a discount, that's the way to go. Right now, there are a bunch Amazon Blink devices discounted as part of the site's Big Spring Sale. The new Blink Outdoor 4's deal is especially of note, with the device's three camera system down to $150 from $260. The 42 percent discount brings the fourth-generation camera to the lowest price we've seen this year (the three pack's all-time low was $135 on Black Friday). If one camera is all you need, then take advantage of the sale on a single Blink Outdoor 4. It's currently down to $65 from $100 - a 35 percent discount.The Blink Outdoor 4 debuted last August as a significant upgrade to its predecessor. One of the biggest differences is the field of vision, which has increased from 110 to 143 degrees. It also boasts better low-light sensitivity and image quality. Blink claims the devices last two years before needing their AA batteries replaced.Another new feature of the Blink Outdoor 4 is its person detection. Basically, instead of just alerting you to the fact that there's some kind of motion, the camera can determine whether the movement is from a human. However, this feature is exclusive to anyone with Blink's subscription plan. If you're interested in it, there's a 30-day free trial, and then you can pay $3 per month or $30 annually to continue it. The plan also offers the ability to save and share videos through the cloud.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/get-up-to-42-percent-off-blink-security-cameras-during-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-151007181.html?src=rss

Based on the synopsis for Star Wars: The Acolyte, you can expect more than just the typical action scenes and sci-fi world building from the show. It seems to have a mystery-thriller slant to it that you could find appealing even if you're not a Star Wars fan but love that particular genre - and now Disney+ has released its official trailer to give you an idea of what you can expect. Star Wars: The Acolyte's story is set at the end of the High Republic era, around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.It revolves around a former padawan played by Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything and The Hate U Give) who reunites with her old Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game) to investigate a series of crimes. They, of course, unearth more and more clues as they look into the crime spree, which Disney says will lead them "down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems..." As a big fan of mystery and detective stories, it sounds promising, and I'd love it if Disney can nail the execution to give us a satisfying (and unpredictable) ending, as well.Star Wars: The Acolyte will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting on June 4.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-disneys-official-trailer-for-star-wars-the-acolyte-150246523.html?src=rss

It's almost time for another Microsoft livestream event, the first since September of last year. The festivities start at 12PM ET on Thursday, March 21. The best way to watch everything unfold is via the official Microsoft stream; it doesn't look like they'll have a stream on YouTube this time. This is the first Microsoft live event without former chief product officer and longtime keynote presenter Panos Panay, who departed for Amazon last year.What to expect from MicrosoftThe event is being advertised as a new era of work", so there's going to be a major focus on the commercial space. There are plenty of rumors that Microsoft will take the opportunity to unveil a spate of new Surface devices. Windows Central claims that an OLED Surface Pro 10 and a Surface Laptop 6 will headline the event.The Verge suggests that both devices will only feature minor spec bumps compared to the previous generation. There's also conflicting reports as to whether or not these Surface devices will get a more comprehensive redesign later in the spring to suit non-business consumers. We won't know until Thursday.MicrosoftThere's one safe bet. Microsoft will continue its commitment to AI. Rumors swirl that the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 will be powered by Intel Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite silicon CPUs with next-generation neural processing units (NPUs) that have been designed specifically for advanced AI tasks. To that end, there are reports that these devices will be called AI PCs" and will include a dedicated button to bring up the company's Copilot digital assistant. The Intel variants are expected to launch in April, while the Arm-based Snapdragon ones will reportedly show up this June.AI, AI and more AIThe rumor mill has been grinding overtime for this event. Reports also suggest that Microsoft will unveil a suite of new AI features that could be coming to Windows computers, including real-time captioning and translating, upscaling and frame-rate smoothing for games and upgraded Windows Studio Effects.There's also likely to be something called AI Explorer announced at the event. This is rumored to be a built-in timeline feature that is searchable via natural language. It'll reportedly live on your device and log everything you do and see. So, you could ask AI Explorer to find that thing I looked at earlier about dinosaurs" and it would search through every moment in your PC's history to find the relevant content. This could be a privacy nightmare, but it could also finally make digital assistants actually useful. We fully expect Microsoft to offer security assurances when it comes to AI Explorer.These AI features won't be exclusive to the Surface Pro Pro and Surface Laptop 6, as reports indicate they will be part of the company's annual feature update for Windows 11, which is expected this fall. Engadget will offer full coverage of the event and will spotlight all of the interesting tidbits.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-the-microsoft-surface-windows-ai-and-copilot-event-150049410.html?src=rss

Robot vacuums are one of the great modern conveniences. They can check one time-sapping chore off your daily to-do list and if you can find a self-emptying model for a decent price, that's one fewer thing for you to worry about. As it happens, the Shark AV2501AE AI Robot Vacuum is a self-emptying option and it's 46 percent off for the Amazon Big Spring Sale. That means it's currently $350, which is $300 off the regular price and not too far away from its record low.This is a variant of one of our top robot vacuum recommendations and Shark devices are by and large nearly as good as the ones Roomba makes.A self-emptying robot vacuum is generally preferable to one without that feature, as you won't need to keep buying garbage bags for it. This one's base holds up to 60 days of muck, so you may only need to empty it every couple of months. It has a HEPA filtration system that Shark claims can capture and trap up to 99.97 percent of dust and allergens.The AV2501AE will run for up to 120 minutes on a single charge. If that's not enough to cover your home, it will return to its base, recharge and then continue from where it left off. The vacuum uses a matrix grid approach and it makes multiple passes over debris and dirt to pick up as much of it as possible. The device uses LiDAR vision to map your home and steer clear of objects in its path. You'll be able to set up a cleaning schedule or start an ad hoc clean through the app or by Alexa or Google Assistant voice command.The price of this model has dropped as part of a broader sale on vacuums and robot vacuums. Meanwhile, the Amazon Big Spring Sale runs until March 25.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-shark-self-emptying-robot-vacuum-is-300-off-for-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-143923650.html?src=rss

Almost every major PC maker has dabbled with the idea of a dual-screen laptop at some point. Way back in 2011, Acer released the Iconia 6120 sporting not one but two 14-inch displays. Then at CES 2017, Razer showed off Project Valerie which bumped the panel count to three before demoing something a bit less extravagant a year later in Project Linda. Fast forward to 2020, when Dell dazzled us with the Concept Duet. Even Apple gave the category a go on the old MacBook Pros with Touch Bars, only to reverse course and ditch them completely a couple of years ago.Meanwhile, Lenovo has an entire family of devices dating back to the original Yoga Book and culminating most recently in the Yoga Book 9i, with the latter coming extremely close to turning the promise of dual-screen laptops into an actual appealing choice. But now after several generations of its own devices, ASUS has put everything together with the Zenbook Duo. It's a super sleek machine with two screens that's barely larger than a similarly sized clamshell. There's also a detachable keyboard and a built-in kickstand for maximum adaptability. And starting at $1,500, the Zenbook Duo doesn't command a massive premium for something with a ton of extra utility. So while it's been quite a journey to get here, ASUS has finally made a dual-screen laptop that proves once and for all that two screens really are better than one.DesignOne of the most impressive things about the Zenbook Duo is that it doesn't look like some kind of Frankendeivce. It's just a regular-looking 14-inch laptop. Even after you open it, things still look normal with a physical keyboard and touchpad, not to mention a healthy selection of ports around the outside (two Thunderbolt 4, one USB 3.2 Type-A and a full-size HDMI 2.1 jack). A small part of me wishes ASUS had found room for some kind of SD card reader, but I understand if there just wasn't space.It's only after you remove the keyboard that things get interesting because as soon as you do, the Duo's second display springs to life. From here, you have a ton of options. Tapping three fingers on the lower panel summons a floating touchpad. Alternatively, eight fingers makes a virtual keyboard appear, which you can follow with a swipe up to reveal a traditional keyboard/trackpad combo. But the cool thing is that because these are all virtual stand-ins, it's easy to swap in a new layout (like for other languages), move the touchpad off to the side or call up a numpad if you need to do some data entry. There's just so much more flexibility when half of a laptop's interior isn't taken up by a rigid set of physical keys.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetBut things keep getting better, because on the bottom of the Duo is a flap that folds out into a kickstand. This allows you to prop the system up and use both screens as proper displays, sort of like a portable dual-monitor setup but all in a single self-contained system. And because the detachable keyboard connects wirelessly over Bluetooth, you can place it in front (or wherever you want) just like a desktop. The one small drawback to this design is that if you rotate the Duo's displays into portrait orientation side by side, the design of the kickstand means there's no way to adjust how far it tilts. This heavily favors the stacked setup with one display above, which is fine because I think that arrangement is more useful in most situations.Another pleasant surprise is that for a device with two screens, the Zenbook Duo isn't much bigger or heavier than a typical clamshell. It weighs 3.6 pounds and measures 0.78 inches thick versus the 2.82 pounds and 0.59 inches for a standard Zenbook 14 OLED. And when compared to something like a Dell XPS 14 (3.7 pounds and 0.71 inches thick), both systems are practically the same size.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetMy one gripe is that ASUS' dark gray paint job color doesn't help the Duo stand out. It's almost like someone who wears subdued colors to avoid drawing attention. But this design is fantastic and I wish ASUS would give this laptop (and the engineers who designed it) the flowers it deserves.Displays and softwareThe centerpiece of the Duo is its pair of 14-inch displays, which are an absolute delight. Not only do the matching OLED panels offer strong brightness (around 500 nits), they also pump out rich and accurate colors (100 percent of DCI-P3). But the real magic is when you use both panels together.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetMoving apps from one display to another is as simple as dragging and dropping or using the handy menus that appear at the top of the display. In addition, there's a floating button in the bottom left for ASUS' ScreenXpert software, which provides shortcuts for adjusting brightness (separately or as a pair), disabling specific panels or pulling up handy widgets for things like a control panel, a handwriting recognition tool, news and weather and more. If the goal was to get as much value out of the Duo's two displays, I think ASUS' software does a pretty good job.The downside to all this is that despite ASUS' best efforts, Windows 11 and many apps still aren't fully optimized for systems like this. For example, when I played a round of Teamfight Tactics and wanted to pull up some game stats on the lower display, I ran into an issue where the virtual touchpad stopped working. It was only after I set the game to borderless window mode, closed the game and relaunched everything that it started working again. Granted, situations like this were rare, but it's important to remember that when you're using a cutting-edge device, there may be some bugs or awkward interactions.PerformancePhoto by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThe Zenbook Duo comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD. While you can upgrade it with double the memory and a faster Ultra 9 chip, I found the base configuration to be plenty fast. On tests like Geekbench 6 and PCMark 10, the Zenbook Duo turned in results that were identical to those from similarly equipped clamshells, including ASUS' own Zenbook 14 OLED. This is great because it means there's not a ton of overhead due to the addition of a second screen and even when setup in desktop mode, dragging apps from one display to another felt snappy and responsive. The obvious drawback is that unlike some 14-inch systems such as the XPS 14, there's no room for a discrete GPU, which makes the Zenbook Duo better suited to general productivity than more demanding tasks like video editing.Battery lifeYou might think a system with two screens would be a battery hog, but the Zenbook Duo fared better than expected. With just one screen on, it lasted 13 hours and 12 minutes on our video rundown test, which is pretty much equivalent to (actually a touch longer than) the Zenbook 14 OLED (12:43). And with both screens going, the Duo's time only dropped to 10:17, which is still more than enough to survive an entire workday.Wrap-upPhoto by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetOK, so the Zenbook Duo delivers on the promises of dual-screen laptops. But one question I get a lot is who are devices like this actually for? The most obvious application is for people who carry a portable monitor around while traveling. But more generally, this thing is aimed at anyone who appreciates multiple monitors and wants a system that can recreate that experience in a more travel-friendly way, which is something the Zenbook Duo does with aplomb. The best part though is that it doesn't make major sacrifices to do so, because thanks to its detachable keyboard, it can function just like any other clamshell when space is tight (like on an airplane).When you have room to spread out, it transforms into a portable workstation with plenty of screen space for a project up top and bonus real estate for Slack, email, video calls or anything else you might need down below. It's got ample ports so you don't need to carry a dongle around and thanks to its gorgeous OLED screens, your work (or play) always looks great. The Zenbook Duo can do everything a traditional laptop can and more. Yes, the software experience could be a bit more polished, though that's not entirely on ASUS. We still need a new version of Windows to provide better OS support for dual-screen machines. But considering all the struggles and multiple generations it took to get here, the Zenbook Duo is a marvelous torchbearer for a new class of portable PCs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/asus-zenbook-duo-review-specs-price-the-first-dual-screen-laptop-worth-buying-130016756.html?src=rss

Amazon's Big Spring Sale officially starts tomorrow, but many tech deals are already live. Take the Google Pixel Buds Pro - our choice for 2024's best wireless earbuds for Android - down to $139 from $200. The 30 percent discount doesn't bring the earbuds to their all-time low, but this is the cheapest we've seen the Google Pixel Buds Pro so far this year.The Google Pixel Buds Pro scored an 87 in our review thanks to the addition of solid active noise cancellation (ANC), a punchy base, and reliable touch controls. This generation is the first to include ANC, which can be reason enough to consider an upgrade. The earbuds are a good choice for working out, too, as they offer IPX4 water resistance.The Pixel Buds Pro also offer wireless charging and a quick-charge feature that juices the earbuds up to one hour of ANC listening in five minutes. Speaking of charging, Google's earbuds can hold 11 hours of charge and 31 in total with the case's boost.However, there are a few aspects Google still needs to work on, such as spatial audio, which needs more support to function well. There's also the call quality, which is far from the clearest of all the earbuds on the market. But, at $61 off, these issues become less of a dealbreaker.Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon's Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog's car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-buds-pro-drop-to-139-for-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-124850130.html?src=rss

Steam is introducing a new way for your clan to play games together. The platform has announced Steam Families, a collection of game-sharing (and monitoring) features for parents and children currently available in beta. It takes the place of Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View, rolling in some of their existing features alongside updates.Each member of a Steam Family will have a section called "family library" in their games list where they can access shareable games. Ownership remains with the purchaser, but each new title bought will appear in the list. You can play another member's games even when they're online (as long as they're playing another game). Plus, you can save your own progress and achievements.You can invite up to five other family members to your Steam Family account, with each member assigned the role of parent or child. Only adults can manage the account or implement parental controls, such as setting playtime limits (and reviewing requests for more), seeing playtime reports and choosing which games a child can play. Plus, they can control access to the Steam Store and chats.Steam Families also streamlines the process of children getting parental approval to buy games (thus, ideally for Steam, making them more frequent). Children can now request an adult on the plan to pay for their shopping cart, which a parent can manage via email or phone by pressing approve or decline.Steam Family is currently in beta and requires each member to join to participate. You can find the option to join under Interface and then choose Steam Family Beta in the Client Beta Participation dropdown menu.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-families-puts-game-sharing-and-parental-controls-in-one-place-123016424.html?src=rss

Replacing a smartphone every two years is partially why billions of phones go into landfills each year. If stacked flat atop one another, that many handsets would reach farther than the ISS. But we've become accustomed to that 24-month time frame because wireless carriers often push an upgrade on biennial contracts, and many smaller phone makers only offer software support for two years. But now, with longer software commitments from major manufacturers, along with growing right-to-repair legislation, many newer phones can stay in our pockets for closer to seven trips around the sun. Here's how you can extend the lifespan of your smartphone and avoid shelling out hundreds before it's absolutely necessary.How to make your smartphone last longerEngadgetUse a caseIt's a flashy move to carry a naked phone around, but the chances of a handset making it through a tumble go up dramatically when you employ extra protection. We recommend a number of them in our guide to iPhone cases and in our eco-friendly phone cases guide. In my family, we've been happy with Mous cases. Though we've never subjected our phones to the brutality seen in the company's ads, I can say that these cases have seen my partner's aging Samsung Galaxy and my elderly iPhone through some pretty gnarly spills, sparing them from scratches or worse.Take care of the built-in battery (or use a power bank)Since a phone's battery is often the first thing to show signs of age, it's worth it to follow recommendations for extending its lifespan. Lithium-ion batteries don't perform well in heat and you should avoid charging them if it's hotter than 95 degrees - doing so can degrade the battery quickly and even cause them to malfunction. They'll tolerate cold weather better, but can get sluggish when things get too chilly.If you're storing a phone for a while, it's best to do so with the battery at half charge, rather than full or empty. In fact, Li-ion cells last longer when they spend less time being either completely discharged or full - that's why battery optimization features in iPhones and Pixel phones delay overnight charging to 100 percent until about an hour before you typically grab your mobile. And while it's sometimes necessary to charge a battery quickly, a slower charging method when speed isn't critical will put less stress on the ionic components and help extend the cell's life.But over time, any battery will eventually wear down. The cell powering my iPhone 11 can make it through a typical day, but if I'm traveling, relying heavily on navigation or using the phone as a hotspot, it'll need a top-off before bedtime. That's easy if I'm home, but out in the world, a battery pack is an essential. I have a slew of them on hand after testing for our best power banks guide and the two I grab most often are the Otterbox Fast Charge, because it looks cool and has a good capacity, and the Nimble Champ Pro, because it's crazy fast.If you really want to give your phone a new lease on life, a new internal battery could be the ticket. For Pixel phones, you can go through Google's official channel for either a walk-in or mail-in repair, or you can pick the DIY route with iFixit's Pixel repair kits and instructions. For iPhones, you can start with Apple's official page, go through Best Buy or other third-parties, or try iFixit's methods. Samsung also has an in-house option, or you can try Best Buy or iFixit. Depending where you go and the model of your phone, the price for a new battery and installation will likely run you between $45 and $150 - still far less than ditching your handset for something brand new.Clean up your phone's storageMost advice on how to declutter your phone and make it run faster centers on one thing: freeing up space. Your phone's OS will likely have suggestions for clearing up storage space, like automatically offloading unused apps or deleting year-old messages. You can also do things manually by deleting any apps you don't use. Next, consider the photos and videos you're storing locally and either opt to pay for cloud storage or transfer the files to a computer or an external backup device. You can also consider getting rid of any music and movies you may have downloaded for offline use, and deleting old messages and large attachments. A good rule is to keep your storage at around 80 percent capacity. Once you've deleted and transferred what you can, restart your phone to give it a chance to clear up its temporary memory.Why you can (and should) extend the life of your smartphonePhoto by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThe e-waste stream grows each year and doesn't do great things for human or planetary health. Smartphone companies are offering better and more consistent trade-in deals, but even some electronic recycling has its faults. Simply hanging onto a device instead of opting for a new one is the most efficient way of cutting back on a phone's environmental impact - plus it'll save you money.While every giant phone maker would like you to believe that upgrading annually is critical, it's worth noting that new generations of phones often bear strong resemblance to the prior year's model. We called both the latest iPhone and Google Pixel the most significant updates in years, but prior to that, upgrading didn't make much sense. The latest Samsung Galaxy phone has a slew of new AI tricks, but physically, it's not much different than the one that came before it.With only minor hardware upgrades, the more exciting new features come via over-the-air software updates. When Google released the Pixel 8 last October, the company promised security and software updates for a full seven years. Samsung came out with the Galaxy S24 in January of this year and committed the same support for its handsets. Apple hasn't made the same pledge, but when the launch of iOS 17 last year cut support for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, both models had enjoyed around six years of updates from launch.What Apple did announce is that the batteries in all four models of the iPhone 15 last twice as long as the company originally claimed. Originally, battery capacity was listed at 80 percent of the original full charge after 500 cycles. Now, that same capacity rate applies to 1,000 cycles. The improvement, Apple says, comes courtesy of advanced battery tech and better power management from the operating system. It's true battery technology has improved in capacity over the years, but longevity hasn't gone up across the board, as a study by PhoneArena makes clear.More advancements in battery life spans may be on the horizon particularly as the EV industry grows, which also relies on lithium-ion cells. For now, declining battery health is usually the most noticeable issue affecting older phones. This year, the European Parliament voted for rules surrounding battery-powered devices and included a mandate to allow consumers to easily remove and replace" batteries. That won't go into effect until 2027, and there will be plenty of interpretation as to what easily" means. But EU mandates are what made Apple finally ditch Lightning ports on iPhones in favor of USB-C, so this could eventually be a step towards (once again) having smartphones with swappable batteries.Even in the US, legislation will soon compel companies to make repair a better option. Right-to-repair bills were passed last year in New York, Minnesota and other states. California has the strongest rule, and it even garnered Apple's support. Once the law goes into effect in July, it will require companies to provide repair tools and documentation, and to sell components for seven years after the last new model is made for any device costing more than $100. Of course, the law didn't say anything about prohibiting parts pairing," in which a device only works properly when repaired with official parts by a manufacturer-authorized repair center.Currently, a number of phones have decent repairability scores, according to the online repair community iFixit (the FairPhone 5 gets the highest marks). After California's law goes into effect, more models may become user-repairable, considering few manufacturers are likely to ignore the state's nearly 40 million customers. In the meantime, authorized repair is an option, as is self-repair for the more industrious.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-make-your-smartphone-last-longer-120014817.html?src=rss

NVIDIA's H100 chips are used by nearly every AI company in the world to train large language models hooked into services like ChatGPT. It's been great for business. Now, the company is ready to make those chips look terrible, announcing a next-generation platform called Blackwell.Named for David Harold Blackwell, a mathematician who specialized in game theory and statistics, NVIDIA claims Blackwell is the world's most powerful chip, reaching speeds of 20 petaflops compared to just 4 petaflops the H100 provided. Yeah, throw it in the trash. You need new chips.And if you didn't know how powerful NVIDIA is, its press release for this new platform includes quotes from the CEOs of OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla - yes, all CEOs you probably know the names of.- Mat SmithThe biggest stories you might have missedYouTube lays out new rules for realistic AI-generated videosApple can't get out of facing a class-action lawsuit over AirTags stalking claimsThe 5 best cordless vacuum cleaners for 2024Sony may have paused PS VR2 productionYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!Hackers gave pro players cheats during Apex Legends competitionThe tournament is postponed until further notice.RespawnYeah, this is bad. Respawn, the EA-owned studio behind Apex Legends, has postponed the North American Finals tournament after hackers broke into matches and equipped players with cheats. Footage of the hacks on Twitch show players being able to see their opponent's location through walls, while notable player (and one of the best) ImperialHal was gifted an aimbot to hit enemies more easily. Respawn says it would share more information soon, but as of time of writing, the studio hasn't elaborated.Continue reading.Logitech's $999 4K livestreaming camera is triple the price of its 1080p modelThe Mevo Core has improved built-in mics and works with any MFT lens.Logitech is expanding its Mevo lineup of livestreaming cameras. The company's new Mevo Core shoots in 4K, a big upgrade from the 1080p Mevo Start camera kit I tested a few years back. However, the trade-off is pricing as the new model will set you back three times as much for a three-camera setup. $999. So yes, this is probably for the pro streamers.To emphasize that, the Core ships as a body only, but Logitech will sell lens bundle kits through Amazon and B&H Photo Video. You will need to buy an additional lens just to make it work. And it's only compatible with micro four-third lenses - so there's a high chance you'll have to buy one.Continue reading.Apple wants to bring Google's Gemini AI to iPhonesIt's like Google search on Safari all over again. Plus 15 years.Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to integrate its Gemini AI in iPhones, according to Bloomberg. Gemini could be the cloud-based generative AI engine for Siri and other iPhone apps, while Apple's models could be woven into the upcoming iOS 18 for on-device AI tasks.There are regulatory concerns to consider-the Department of Justice has already sued Google over its search dominance, including the way it pays Apple and other companies to use its search engine. But given how Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership turned the Bing search engine into something people were actually talking about, the team-up might be worth the risk.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-nvidia-says-its-blackwell-gpus-are-the-worlds-most-powerful-chips-111500942.html?src=rss