ChromeOS 124 Lands With Several New Features In Tow
A new ChromeOS version has landed, and it’s bringing a lot of great new features to the lightweight operating system.
TalkAndroid
Apple’s new iPad Air could be in trouble
We’re expecting a lot of new iPads next week, including two new iPad Air models. It’s exciting, but also potentially concerning.
Digital Trends
The best password manager for 2024
When we’re logging into our online accounts, it’s usually with a purpose. We want to get in as quickly as possible to scroll social media or check a bank statement without interruption. It’s easy to become impatient and let login security slip by using the same passwords for everything — think the usual suspects like streets you’ve lived on or your kids’ or pets’ names. But that’s a security nightmare: With just one leak, a malicious actor can access some of your most sensitive accounts. Password managers help mitigate this threat by giving you an easy way to store and develop unique, strong passwords for every account. Yet, these services are not all built the same. We tested out nine of the best password managers available now to help you choose the right one for your needs. 1Password remains our top pick for the best password manager, thanks to its zero-knowledge policy, numerous security features and general ease of use, but there are other solid programs out there to consider as well.
How do password managers work?
Think of password managers like virtual safe deposit boxes. They hold your valuables, in this case usually online credentials, in a section of the vault only accessible to you by security key or a master password. Most of these services have autofill features that make it convenient to log in to any site without needing to remember every password you have, and they keep your credit card information close for impulse purchases.
But given that passwords are one of the top ways to keep your online identity secure, the real value of password managers is staying safe online. “It’s just not possible without a password manager to have unique, long and hard-to-guess passwords,” Florian Schaub, an associate professor of information and of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, said.
Common guidance states that secure passwords should be unique, with the longest number of characters allowed and uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. This is the exact opposite of using one password everywhere, with minor variations depending on a site’s requirements. Think of how many online accounts and sites you have credentials for — it’s an impossible task to remember it all without somewhere to store passwords safely (no, a sticky note on your desk won’t cut it). Password managers are more readily accessible and offer the benefit of filling in those long passwords for you.
Are password managers safe?
It seems counterintuitive to store all your sensitive information in one place. One hack could mean you lose it all to an attacker and struggle for months or even years to rebuild your online presence, not to mention you may have to cancel credit cards and other accounts. But most experts in the field agree that password managers are a generally secure and safe way to keep track of your personal data, and the benefits of strong, complex passwords outweigh the possible risks.
The mechanics of keeping those passwords safe differs slightly from provider to provider. Generally, you have a lengthy, complex “master password” that safeguards the rest of your information. In some cases, you might also get a “security key” to enter when you log in to new devices. This is a random string of letters, numbers and symbols that the company will send you at sign up. Only you know this key, and because it’s stored locally on your device or printed out on paper, it’s harder for hackers to find.
These multiple layers of security make it difficult for an attacker to get into your vault even if your password manager provider experiences a breach. But the company should also follow a few security basics. A “zero-knowledge” policy means that the company keeps none of your data on file, so in the event of an attack, there’s nothing for hackers to find. Regular health reports like pentests and security audits are essential for keeping companies up to par on best practices, and other efforts like bug bounty programs or hosting on an open source website encourage constant vigilance for security flaws. Most password managers now also offer some level of encryption falling under the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES 256-bit is the strongest, because there are the most number of possible combinations, but AES 128-bit or 192-bit are still good.
Who are password managers for?
Given their universal benefit, pretty much everyone could use a password manager. They’re not just for the tech-savvy people or businesses anymore because so much sensitive information ends up online behind passwords, from our bank accounts to our Netflix watch history.
That’s the other perk of password managers: safe password sharing. Families, friends or roommates can use them to safely access joint accounts. Texting a password to someone isn’t secure, and you can help your family break the habit by starting to use one yourself, Lisa Plaggemier, executive director at National Cyber Security Alliance, said. Streaming is the obvious use case, but consider the shared bills, file storage and other sites you share access with the people around you as well.
Are password managers worth it?
You likely already use a password manager, even if you wouldn’t think to call it that. Most phones and web browsers include a log of saved credentials on the device, like the “passwords” keychain in the settings of an iPhone. That means you’ve probably seen the benefits of not having to memorize a large number of passwords or even type them out already.
While that’s a great way in, the downfall of these built-in options are that they tend to be device specific. If you rely on an Apple password manager, for example, that works if you’re totally in the Apple ecosystem — but you become limited once you get an Android tablet, Lujo Bauer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and of computer science, at Carnegie Mellon University, said. If you use different devices for work and personal use and want a secure option for sharing passwords with others, or just don’t want to be tied to one brand forever, a third-party password manager is usually worth it.
How we tested
We tested password managers by downloading the apps for each of the nine contenders on iPhone, Android, Safari, Chrome and Firefox. That helped us better understand what platforms each manager was available on, and see how support differs across operating systems and browsers.
As we got set up with each, we took note of ease of use and how they iterated on the basic features of autofill and password generators. Nearly all password managers have these features, but some place limits on how much you can store while others give more control over creating easy-to-type yet complex passwords. From there, we looked at extra features like data-breach monitoring to understand which managers offered the most for your money.
Finally, we reviewed publicly available information about security specs for each. This includes LastPass, which more experts are shying away from recommending after the recent breach. For the sake of this review, we’ve decided not to recommend LastPass at this time as fallout from the breach still comes to light (The company disclosed a second incident earlier this year where an unauthorized attack accessed the company’s cloud storage, including sensitive data. Since then, hackers have stolen more than $ 4.4 million in cryptocurrency using private keys and other information stored in LastPass vaults.)
These are the password managers we tested:
Other password managers we tested
LastPass
For a while, security experts considered LastPass a solid choice for a password manager. It’s easy to use, has a slew of helpful extra features and its free version gives you a lot. But we decided not to include LastPass in our top picks because of the high profile data breaches it has experienced over the past couple of years.
Keeper
Keeper met a lot of the basic criteria we tested for, like autofill options and cross-platform availability. We liked its family plan options, too, that can keep your whole household secure. But we didn’t think its extra features, like the encrypted messaging app, added much value. Plus, it has a self-destruct feature after five incorrect login attempts which, despite adding extra protection, could be a recipe for disaster for casual users.
Enpass
Enpass works well as an affordable password manager. That includes an inflation-beating “lifetime” access pass instead of a monthly payment for users really committed to the service. Still, it was confusing to set up across devices and because Enpass stores data locally, as opposed to in the cloud, we struggled to get started with it on mobile.
Norton
A familiar name in security, we were excited to test out Norton’s password manager. While it’s free, its features seem underdeveloped. It lacked password sharing, account recovery and complex form-filing tools that come standard in many of the other password managers we tested.
LogMeOnce
LogMeOnce comes with a wide range of premium tiers, from professional to family, that include different levels of storage and features. But when we tested, it lacked some basic cross-platform availability that other password managers had already, like compatibility with Mac and Safari.
FAQs
Why use a password manager?
Using a password manager can enhance your online security. They store all of your complex passwords and autofill them as needed, so that you can have unique, strong passwords across the web without remembering each of them yourself. In many cases, unique passwords are your first defense against attack, and a reliable manager makes it easier to keep track of them all.
Are password managers 100 percent safe?
Password managers are a secure way to store your credentials. Experts in the field generally agree that the benefits of accessibility when storing complex passwords outweigh the possibility of attack, like what happened with LastPass. But with any service, it can vary from provider to provider. You should look out for zero-knowledge policies, regular security audits, pentests, bug bounty programs and encryption when choosing the right secure password manager for you.
What if I forget my master password?
Forgetting a master password won’t necessarily lock you out for good, but the recovery process varies from provider to provider. Some services give you a “security key” at sign up to enter when you log into new devices. It can also be used to securely recover your account because it’s a random string of keys stored locally that only you have access to. Other services, however, have no way to recover your vault. So creating a master password that you won’t forget is important.
How can I make a good master password?
A good master password should be unique, with the longest number of characters allowed and uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Experts often recommended thinking of it like a “passphrase” instead of a “password” to make it easier to remember. For example, you can take a sentence like “My name is Bob Smith” and change it to “Myn@m3isB0b5m!th” to turn it into a secure master password that you won’t forget.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-password-manager-134639599.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Here’s Yet Another Peek At “Spotify HiFi”, Still Yet To Come
Spotify HiFi has been rumored for several years now, and while we still don’t know when it is coming, we’ve seen UI elements that might indicate an impending release.
TalkAndroid
X Is Working On Hiding Tweet Interactions
X is working on a revamped timeline with hidden like and repost buttons and no engagement metrics. The new UI could be rolled out soon.
TalkAndroid
You can finally use passkeys to sign into your Microsoft account
Microsoft is celebrating World Password Day (IT folks deserve holidays, too!) by helping to kill them. The company has finally rolled out consumer passkey support for Microsoft accounts, nearly two years after Apple and Google.
Once you set it up, the passkey lets you sign into your Microsoft account using your face, fingerprint or device PIN. It works not only on Windows but also on Apple and Google’s mobile and desktop platforms.
Passkeys are an easier and more secure way to access your account. They use what’s called a cryptographic key pair to ensure only you can get in. One half of the pair is stored on your local device, only accessible via your secure local login. The other part stays on the app or website. Requiring both of them to sign in acts as a deterrent for things like password leaks and phishing attacks.
In addition to Apple, Google and now Microsoft, companies adopting passkeys include Amazon, 1Password, Dashlane, Docusign, eBay, PayPal and WhatsApp (among others). Google said on Thursday that its passkeys have already been used a billion times.
Microsoft’s passkey support works starting today on the company’s desktop apps and websites, including Microsoft 365 (Office) and its Copilot AI assistant. The Windows maker says passkey support for its mobile apps “will follow in the coming weeks.”
You can get started by signing into your Microsoft account here and following the instructions.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-finally-use-passkeys-to-sign-into-your-microsoft-account-155431241.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Vivo X100 Ultra Might Have An Insane 200MP Telephoto Camera
Vivo isn’t done with the X100 series, and the X100 Ultra will be at the very top. It might come with the capabilities for 200x digital zoom.
TalkAndroid
Take-Two is shutting down the studios behind Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2
This one's a bummer. Mega-publisher Take-Two Interactive is shuttering Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 team Intercept Games, according to paperwork seen by Bloomberg.
Roll7 is based in London, and was founded in 2008 by lifelong friends Tom Hegarty and Simon Bennett. Roll7 is the studio behind OlliOlli, OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome, all fantastic games with wheel-based mechanics. OlliOlli was a Vita hit in 2014 and World landed in early 2022 — they're both great, and the latter in particular is a flow-state-inducing skateboarding platformer with an adorable art style. Rollerdrome was one of our favorite games of 2022; it's a luscious third-person rollerskating-and-gunplay game that looks like a slice of 1970s dystopian sci-fi.
Roll7 has picked up multiple prestigious awards over the years, including recent wins at BAFTA and DICE. As the studio name implies, Roll7 developers know how to make incredibly smooth action games.
Take-Two purchased Roll7 in November 2021 and made it a subsidiary of Private Division, the company's label for small- and mid-size publishing deals. According to Bloomberg, Take-Two plans to close Roll7 and will offer severance packages to staff.
Intercept Games is based in Seattle and is responsible for Kerbal Space Program 2, a popular flight-simulation title that's still technically in early access on Steam. Take-Two founded Intercept in 2020 specifically to manage Kerbal Space Program 2, and the game has been receiving updates since going live in February 2023.
Take-Two has yet to confirm that it's closing Intercept Games — but it hasn't said it isn't, either. The company filed a notice in Washington on Monday outlining plans to lay off 70 people in the state and permanently close their place of business, and some Kerbal developers have confirmed their recent departures. Private Division will continue to update Kerbal Space Program 2, Take-Two said in a statement.
Take-Two is one of the largest video game companies around, reporting $ 5.3 billion in revenue last year. It's the owner of Grand Theft Auto and the parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, Zynga and — very recently — Gearbox Software. Take-Two purchased Borderlands studio Gearbox in March for $ 460 million. Grand Theft Auto VI, arguably the most anticipated game of the decade, is due to add billions to Take-Two's bottom line in 2025.
In April, Take-Two announced plans to lay off 5 percent of its employees, or roughly 600 people, by the end of 2024. It also canceled some in-development projects. When news of the planned firings broke last month, Take-Two didn't identify which studios would take the hit, but now we know it includes Roll7 and Intercept. The company laid off some Private Division workers in 2023 as well.
An estimated 9,400 people have been laid off in the video game industry so far in 2024, and a total of 10,500 workers were let go in 2023. Sony, Microsoft and Riot Games have fired a combined 3,300 employees this year alone, and the fallout from Embracer Group's funding implosion keeps spreading, with numerous shuttered studios and more than 1,400 displaced workers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/take-two-is-shutting-down-the-studios-behind-rollerdrome-and-kerbal-space-program-2-000253545.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Xbox Series X/S storage expansion cards from WD and Seagate are discounted right now
For better or (mostly) worse, the only way to fully increase the storage of an Xbox Series X/S is to use a proprietary expansion card. Three and a half years into the consoles’ lives, there remain only two official solutions: Seagate’s Storage Expansion Card and the WD Black C50. It’s a limiting situation, but if you’re tired of deleting and reinstalling games to create space, versions of each card are at least a little cheaper than usual right now. The 1TB WD Black C50 is on sale for $ 125 at Amazon, while the 2TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card is down to $ 230 at Amazon and Best Buy.
The former is $ 5 more than the lowest price we’ve ever seen, but it’s still $ 25 off the card’s usual street price. We’ll note that Seagate’s 1TB model has technically dropped as low as $ 90 a few times before, but those offers have typically sold out extremely fast; as of this writing, that drive costs $ 140. The discount on the 2TB Seagate card, meanwhile, matches the best price we’ve tracked. That one normally goes for $ 250. Since WD doesn’t sell a 2TB card, it’s also the highest-capacity option you can buy. Both of these discounts equal the prices we saw during Black Friday last year.
To reiterate, these aren’t great prices in the context of the wider storage market. Sony lets you upgrade the PlayStation 5 with a much wider range of traditional M.2 SSDs, almost all of which are available for significantly less per gigabyte. The top pick in our PS5 SSD buying guide, for instance, currently costs $ 90 for 1TB or $ 158 for 2TB. This is despite the fact that consumer SSD prices have generally increased over the past few months.
If you own a recent Xbox, though, you don’t have much choice. You can use a standard external drive to store Series X/S games or run backwards-compatible titles from the Xbox One and older consoles, but the only way to play current-gen games is via internal storage or one of these official cards. That said, the cards themselves are just about as fast as that internal SSD, and setting them up is a breeze: You simply plug the tiny device into the Xbox’s expansion slot, and you’re good to go. The sticker shock is the one major negative, but these discounts should lighten the load somewhat.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-series-xs-storage-expansion-cards-from-wd-and-seagate-are-discounted-right-now-163525697.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Google Pixel 8a: news, rumored price, release date, and more
The Google Pixel 8a is coming soon, and we know a lot about it. From its rumored price and specs to its design and more, here’s what you need to know.
Digital Trends
How to reset Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro
Are your Apple AirPods or AirPods Pros acting up? Most issues can be resolved with a factory reset. Here, we show you how to do it.
Digital Trends
Are you having iPhone alarm problems? A fix is coming soon
If you’ve missed your iPhone alarm, it may not be your fault. Apple has confirmed there’s a known bug where alarms have no noise.
Digital Trends
The Best Motorola Razr 2023 Screen Protectors 2024
The Motorola Razr 2023 is a decent affordable flip phone, but given the fragile nature of foldables, a screen protector becomes a must. Here are the best screen protectors for the phone currently available.
TalkAndroid
The Best Galaxy S23 Ultra Accessories In 2024
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra still fares as one of the best Android smartphones. Here’s a list of the best accessories you can use with it for an enhanced experience.
TalkAndroid
Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro are back down to their lowest price ever
The latest generation of Apple’s eternally popular AirPods Pro are back down to their all-time low price of $ 180 at Amazon. The deal takes $ 10 off the typical sale price of $ 190 and a solid $ 69 off the $ 249 MSRP. The last time we saw this price tag was during Amazon’s spring sale in March. Apple updated the charging case when the iPhone 15 came out last year to give both devices a more universal USB-C port (both can also charge wirelessly). If you have an iPhone, we think these are one of the better bits of audio gear you can stick in your ears.
The second-generation AirPods Pro (with the Lightning case) came out towards the end of 2022 — the case refresh didn’t alter the buds themselves too much, other than adding some improved dust resistance. That makes these a little older at this point, but new AirPods are not one of the things we’re expecting to see announced at Apple’s upcoming “Let Loose” event in May (we’re mostly anticipating iPad news). A more likely time for a new AirPods reveal is during the company’s annual iPhone event in September. But if you don’t want to wait around to see if such a debut materializes, this deal is a decent time to get your first pair. Or replace the pair you left on the train.
We gave the AirPods Pro a score of 88 when they came out. Engadget’s Billy Steele praised the effective active noise cancellation (ANC) and called the ambient sound mode one of the best on the market. Plus they work fairly seamlessly with all your Apple devices, offering quick pairing, fast device switching and hands-free Siri support. The audio itself is richer with more depth and clarity than with previous Pro generations.
All of that lead us to name them the best wireless earbuds for iPhones in our buying guide. Of course, they don’t work with non-Apple devices. Our current top pick from our guide for Android phones are the Google Pixel Buds Pro, which are currently down to $ 140 at Amazon after a 30 percent discount.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-second-generation-airpods-pro-are-back-down-to-their-lowest-price-ever-231655823.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The EU will force Apple to open up iPadOS
Apple’s iPad has been added to the list of tech products that must abide by the EU’s DMA rules, as reported by Bloomberg. The European Commission has officially designated iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the DMA, alongside the Safari web browser, the iOS operating system and the App Store. The organization states that users are basically “locked-in” to Apple’s iPadOS ecosystem and that it disincentivizes people from switching to competitors. The company has six months to comply with various preemptive measures.
This follows a months-long investigation into iPadOS to decide whether or not it qualifies as gatekeeper software. “iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers”, wrote Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy at the European Commission. “Today’s decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved also on this platform.”
What does Apple have to do to ensure iPadOS compliance? According to the DMA, gatekeepers are prohibited from favoring their own services over rivals and from locking users into the ecosystem. The software must also allow third parties to interoperate with internal services, which is why third-party app stores are becoming a thing on iPhones in Europe. The iPad, presumably, will soon follow suit. In other words, the DMA is lobbing some serious stink bombs into Apple’s walled garden.
In a statement published by Forbes, Apple said it “will continue to constructively engage with the European Commission” to ensure its designated services comply with the DMA, including iPadOS. The company isn’t exactly pleased, however, and has accused the legislation of creating “new privacy and data security risks.” To that end, Apple has issued a legal challenge to the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, with hearings set to take place later this year.
In happier tablet news for Apple, the company recently announced an event for May 7 to showcase new iPads. We're likely to see an OLED iPad Pro and new iPad Air, in addition to updated peripherals.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-eu-will-force-apple-to-open-up-ipados-181553238.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
How to Record Phone Calls on Samsung
Learn how to store copies of your call conversations for future use.
TalkAndroid
No, we weren’t expecting this with the revamped iPad Pro
Apple is all set to reveal refreshed iPads on May 7, but news has just dropped about the iPad Pro that will surprise many.
Digital Trends
The Nothing Phone 2a Will Get An Exclusive Colorway In India
The Nothing Phone 2a is already eye-catching when black or white, but Nothing seems set for a third color option.
TalkAndroid
The best Samsung Galaxy Watch in 2024: Which one should you buy?
There are plenty of Samsung Galaxy Watches to choose from in 2024. Which one is the best choice for you? Let’s find out.
Digital Trends
You Can Install Gemini On Literally Any Pixel Phone
Google Gemini will now work on Pixels running at least Android 10, which means… potentially all Pixels.
TalkAndroid
Google asks court to reject the DOJ’s lawsuit that accuses it of monopolizing ad tech
Google filed a motion on Friday in a Virginia federal court asking for the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against it to be thrown away. The DOJ sued Google in January 2023, accusing the company of monopolizing digital advertising technologies through “anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct.” Per Bloomberg, Google is now seeking summary judgment to avoid the case going to trial in September as planned.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time the lawsuit was first announced that Google “has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful conduct to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies.” The lawsuit alleges that Google controls digital advertising tools to such an extent that it “pockets on average more than 30 percent of the advertising dollars that flow through its digital advertising technology products,” according to a press release from the agency last year.
Google now argues that that the DOJ hasn’t shown that the company controls at least 70 percent of the market, which some previous cases have used as the threshold for qualifying as a monopoly, and that the agency “made up markets specifically for this case,” according to Bloomberg, excluding its major competitors like social media platforms. The company also claims the DOJ’s case goes “beyond the boundaries of antitrust law,” Reuters reports.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-asks-court-to-reject-the-dojs-lawsuit-that-accuses-it-of-monopolizing-ad-tech-183830791.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
I played Fire Emblem Engage on easy mode, and it got me back into gaming
I allowed myself to play Fire Emblem Engage on the easiest possible mode, and it finally got me back into gaming. The first time I picked up a Fire Emblem game back in 2010, a friend told me that the only correct way to play is in Classic mode with permanent death. For some reason, I took that to heart, and I played each subsequent game ready to restart my console during every skirmish and story battle so that I didn’t lose any of my friends. Due to unexpected upheavals in my personal life over the past few years, I mostly stopped gaming, even though I kept buying new titles I'd typically play. That included Persona 5: Royal, which I have yet to even touch, and Fire Emblem Engage, which sat sealed in my cabinet for over a year.
I wanted to play Engage since I got my pre-ordered copy, but the mere thought of having to find the best class for all my units and having to grind by fighting one skirmish after another so that they can maximize their stats and not get killed in the battlefield was overwhelming. It felt like a chore and not at all appealing for someone who's trying to get back into gaming. One day, though, I decided to pop the cartridge into my Nintendo Switch and see if I could get anywhere. Upon being asked to choose a difficulty, I squashed the persistent voice in my head that kept saying: "If you're not playing with permadeath, are you even playing Fire Emblem?" As quickly as I could, I chose Normal difficulty, the easiest option available, and Casual mode that merely pulls units from a fight instead of killing them completely after they get defeated in battle.
I had no idea whether I'd end up finishing the game when I started, but I did — and I had tons of fun. The biggest reason why I was able to keep playing was because I didn't feel stressed like I did when I played Fates and Three Houses. I didn't have to plan out every single move on the battlefield, and I didn't have to look up other people's class choices for their units because a character that started as a swordsman might do better as a Wyvern Knight. I didn't have to keep notes like I usually do for strategy games. The only information I searched for online was the same-sex romance options for this installment's protagonist. It truly felt like I was playing to relax, which is something I've never said before in relation to a Fire Emblem game.
In the grand scheme of things, having an internal conflict over a game's difficulty is really quite silly. But it's a reflection of how we tend to be harsher on ourselves than on other people, because I would never judge anybody else on how they want to play their games. Sure, winning battles and matches in more difficult modes will feel more rewarding, but not every gaming experience has to be a challenge. It's okay to play to decompress, to have some joy in your life and in my case, to get started after years of being in gaming limbo. Someday, I might pick up Engage again and play in Maddening difficulty, most likely in Casual mode now that I've broken free from the shackles of permadeath. That is, however, a long way off — for now, I want to get through the titles I missed over the past five years one by one. I've started with the newest one in my collection, Eiyuden Chronicle, which I'm absolutely excited to play as a long-time Suikoden fan. And, yes, I'm still taking it easy on myself by playing it in the least difficult mode possible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/i-played-fire-emblem-engage-on-easy-mode-and-it-got-me-back-into-gaming-120010358.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Apple has reportedly resumed talks with OpenAI to build a chatbot for the iPhone
Apple has resumed conversations with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, to power some AI features coming to iOS 18, according to a new report in Bloomberg. Apple is also building its own large language models to power some iOS 18 features, but its talks with OpenAI are centered around a “chatbot/search component,” according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
Apple is also reportedly in talks with Google to license Gemini, Google’s own AI-powered chatbot, for iOS 18. Bloomberg reports that those talks are still on, and things could still go either way because Apple hasn’t made a final decision on which company’s technology to use. It’s conceivable, Gurman says, that Apple could ultimately end up licensing AI tech from both companies or none of them.
So far, Apple has been notably quiet about its AI efforts even as the rest of Silicon Valley has descended into an AI arms race. But it has dropped enough hints to indicate that it’s cooking up something. When the company announced its earnings in February, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is continuing to work and invest in artificial intelligence and is “excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.” It claimed that the brand new M3 MacBook Air that it launched last month was the “world’s best consumer laptop for AI,” and will reportedly start releasing AI-centric laptops and desktops later this year. And earlier this week, Apple also released a handful of open-source large language models that are designed to run locally on devices rather than in the cloud.
It’s still unclear what Apple’s AI features in iPhones and other devices will look like. Generative AI is still notoriously unreliable and prone to making up answers. Recent AI-powered gadgets like the Humane Ai Pin released to disastrous reviews, while others like the Rabbit R1 have yet to prove themselves valuable.
We’ll find out more at WWDC on June 10.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-has-reportedly-resumed-talks-with-openai-to-build-a-chatbot-for-the-iphone-002302644.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
DJI’s Mini SE 2 drone just got a rare price cut
Get into drones with the DJI Mini 2 SE, which is equipped with a Full HD camera and comes with a remote control. Best Buy is selling it for a discounted $ 280.
Digital Trends
I compared Google and Samsung’s AI photo-editing tools. It’s not even close
Google and Samsung both have their own versions of an object removal tool. But which one works better? We found out.
Digital Trends
Apple is launching new iPads May 7: Here’s what to expect from the ‘Let Loose’ event
Apple has scheduled its next product showcase for May 7, a few weeks before the Worldwide Developers Conference gets under way. While the company is, as usual, being a bit coy about what’s on deck, the signs are all there. It had been rumored for months that Apple would refresh its iPad lineup in May. Sure enough, the image on the announcement for this “Let Loose” event includes an illustration of a hand holding an Apple Pencil.
Various reports over recent months have offered some insight as to what Apple has up its sleeves. So, with that in mind, here’s what to expect from the upcoming iPad event:
M3 iPad Pro
It’s been about 18 months since Apple updated any of its iPads, so its tablet lineup is due for a refresh. It won’t exactly come as a surprise to see Apple slot M3 chips into the latest iPad Pro models, since the most recent versions run on M2 chipsets.
Otherwise, the biggest update is expected to come in the form of OLED displays, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. That should bring richer colors and deeper blacks to the iPad Pro.
Since OLED panels are thinner than LCD panels, that should allow Apple to reduce the thickness of the iPad Pro. According to 9to5 Mac, the 11-inch iPad Pro will be 0.8 mm thinner at 5.1 mm, while the 12.9-inch model will be more noticeably slender, as the thickness is expected to drop by 1.5 mm to 5 mm. A leaker has suggested that the bezels could be up to 15 percent thinner than previous models as well.
Rumors have been swirling for a while that Apple may offer a glass-backed iPad Pro this year to enable MagSafe charging. Meanwhile, there have been hints that Apple will solve one of our biggest iPad bugbears and move the front-facing camera to the landscape edge of the Pro, as it did with the entry-level iPad in late 2022. That means the camera will be more optimally placed for those who use a Magic Keyboard or folks who simply prefer a landscape orientation.
M2 iPad Air
As for the iPad Air, which Apple has left in stasis for over two years, that’s expected to get an upgrade to M2 chips from the M1 that the tablets currently use. There are rumblings that Apple will go with the older chip in the iPad Air to differentiate it from Pro models and ensure that the latter devices clearly remain its highest-end tablets. Reports suggest that the iPad Air’s front-facing camera is also blessedly moving to the landscape edge.
There is one other big change we’re expecting for the iPad Air, and I mean that in the most literal sense. Apple is rumored to be prepping the first 12.9-inch iPad Air. It’s likely to be the least expensive option for a large-screen iPad, even though that would run somewhat against the “Air” part of the name.
Display analyst Ross Young previously suggested that the 12.9-inch iPad Air screen would have a mini-LED display, but that no longer appears to be happening — at least for now. However, Young says that Apple may release an iPad Air with such a display later this year. Meanwhile, the new iPad Air models may have a larger camera bump, perhaps so Apple can add a flash.
New Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil
Gurman reported last year that Apple was working on a revamped Magic Keyboard, but only for the iPad Pro, not the Air lineup. The updated keyboard is said to make the iPad Pro look more like a laptop, with a larger trackpad. It’s said to be made of aluminum to make it sturdier than previous models, though “the exterior shell of the Magic Keyboard will retain the cover material of the current model,” Gurman says.
In addition, Apple is expected to unveil a new Apple Pencil to replace the second-gen model. Dataminers have suggested that an updated peripheral could include a squeeze gesture to carry out certain actions and have Find My support. Some reports have indicated the next Apple Pencil could work with Vision Pro drawing apps too.
What not to expect: A new iPad or iPad mini
Even though the iPad mini in particular is getting very long in the tooth — the most recent model arrived in September 2021 — you probably shouldn’t expect a new model to show up at the Let Loose event. Not are we expecting to see a new base iPad. Reports suggest an 11th-gen iPad and an updated iPad mini may arrive later this year, but maybe don’t hold your breath for them.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-launching-new-ipads-may-7-heres-what-to-expect-from-the-let-loose-event-210041117.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
iQOO Launches The Z9 Series, With Three New Stylish Devices
iQOO has launched the Z9 series of devices which is comprised of the Z9x, Z9, and Z9 Turbo, all of which start at sensible prices.
TalkAndroid
Phones In The US Might Start Showing Lock Screen Ads Soon
Glance, a “smart lock screen” popular on budget phones in Asia, is ready to jump into the US market with a subscription-based model.
TalkAndroid
The OnePlus 12R is still one of 2024’s best smartphone deals
We’re a couple of months removed from the OnePlus 12R’s release. Is it still as good as it was back in February? I revisited the phone to find out.
Digital Trends
Huawei’s Making Plans For A Top 3 OS; HarmonyOS Going Global
In China, Huawei developed and started using HarmonyOS following US sanctions. They’ve done a great job promoting the OS in their home country and now want to bring it to the world.
TalkAndroid
Gemini For Android Will Soon Allow File Uploads Of Any Type
If you’re using Google Gemini on your Android phone, it can currently only accept image uploads, but other file types are on the horizon.
TalkAndroid
Rabbit R1 hands-on: Already more fun and accessible than the Humane AI Pin
At CES this January, startup Rabbit unveiled its first device, just in time for the end of the year of the rabbit according to the lunar calendar. It’s a cute little orange square that was positioned as a “pocket companion that moves AI from words to action.” In other words, it’s basically a dedicated AI machine that acts kind of like a walkie talkie to a virtual assistant.
Sound familiar? You’re probably thinking of the Humane AI Pin, which was announced last year and started shipping this month. I awarded it a score of 50 (out of 100) earlier this month, while outlets like Wired and The Verge gave it similarly low marks of 4 out of 10.
The people at Rabbit have been paying close attention to the aftermath of the Humane AI Pin launch and reviews. It was evident in founder and CEO Jesse Lyu's address at an unboxing event at the TWA hotel in New York last night, where the company showed off the Rabbit R1 and eager early adopters listened rapturously before picking up their pre-orders. Engadget's sample unit is on its way to Devindra Hardawar, who will be tackling this review. But I was in attendance last night to check out units at the event that industry peers were unboxing (thanks to Max Weinbach for the assistance!).
What is the Rabbit R1?
As a refresher, the Rabbit R1 is a bright orange square, co-engineered by Teenage Engineering and Rabbit. It has a 2.88-inch color display built in, an 8-megapixel camera that can face both ways and a scroll wheel reminiscent of the crank on the Playdate. The latter, by the way, is a compact gaming handheld that was also designed by Teenage Engineering, and the Rabbit R1 shares its adorable retro aesthetic. Again, like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1 is supposed to be your portal to an AI-powered assistant and operating system. However, there are a few key differences, which Lyu covered extensively at the launch event last night.
Rabbit R1 vs Humane AI Pin
Let's get this out of the way: The Rabbit R1 already looks a lot more appealing than the Humane AI Pin. First of all, it costs $ 199 — less than a third of the AI Pin's $ 700. Humane also requires a monthly $ 24 subscription fee or its device will be rendered basically useless. Rabbit, as Lyu repeatedly reiterated all night, does not require such a fee. You'll just be responsible for your own cellular service (4G LTE only, no 5G), and can bring your own SIM card or just default to good old Wi-Fi. There, you'll also find the USB-C charging port.
The R1's advantages over the Pin don't end there. By virtue of its integrated screen (instead of a wonky, albeit intriguing projector), the orange square is more versatile and a lot easier to interact with. You can use the wheel to scroll through elements and press the button on the right side to confirm a choice. You could also tap the screen or push down a button to start talking to the software.
Now, I haven’t taken a photo with the device myself, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of images I saw on its screen. Maybe my expectations were pretty low, but when reviewers in a media room were setting up their devices by using the onboard cameras to scan QR codes, I found the images on the screens clear and impressively vibrant. Users won’t just be capturing photos, videos and QR codes with the Rabbit R1, by the way. It also has a Vision feature like the Humane AI Pin that will analyze an image you take and tell you what’s in it. In Lyu’s demo, the R1 told him that it saw a crowd of people at “an event or concert venue.”
We’ll have to wait till Devindra actually takes some pictures with our R1 unit and downloads them from the web-based portal that Rabbit cleverly calls the Rabbit Hole. Its name for camera-based features is Rabbit Eye, which is just kind of delightful. In fact, another thing that distinguishes Rabbit from Humane is the former’s personality. The R1 just oozes character. From the witty feature names to the retro aesthetic to the onscreen animation and the fact that the AI will actually make (cheesy) jokes, Rabbit and Teenage Engineering have developed something that’s got a lot more flavor than Humane’s almost clinical appearance and approach.
Of all the things Lyu took shots at Humane about last night, though, talk of the R1’s thermal performance or the AI Pin’s heat issues was conspicuously absent. To be clear, the R1 is slightly bigger than the Humane device, and it uses an octa-core MediaTek MT6765 processor, compared to the AI Pin’s Snapdragon chip. There’s no indication at the moment that the Rabbit device will run as hot as Humane’s Pin, but I’ve been burned (metaphorically) before and remain cautious.
I am also slightly concerned about the R1’s glossy plastic build. It looks nice and feels lighter than expected, weighing just 115 grams or about a quarter of a pound. The scroll wheel moved smoothly when I pushed it up and down, and there were no physical grooves or notches, unlike the rotating hinge on Samsung’s Galaxy watches. The camera housing lay flush with the rest of the R1’s case, and in general the unit felt refined and finished.
Most of my other impressions of the Rabbit R1 come from Lyu’s onstage demos, where I was surprised by how quickly his device responded to his queries. He was able to type on the R1’s screen and tilted it so that the controls sat below the display instead of to its right. That way, there was enough room for an onscreen keyboard that Lyu said was the same width as the one on the original iPhone.
What’s next for the Rabbit R1?
Rabbit also drew attention for its so-called Large Action Model (LAM), which acts as an interpreter to convert popular apps like Spotify or Doordash into interfaces that work on the R1’s simple-looking operating system. Lyu also showed off some of these at the event last night, but I’d much rather wait for us to test these out for ourselves.
Lyu made many promises to the audience, seeming to acknowledge that the R1 might not be fully featured when it arrives in their hands. Even on the company’s website, there’s a list of features that are planned, in the works or being explored. For one thing, an alarm is coming this summer, along with a calendar, contacts app, GPS support, memory recall and more. Throughout his speech, Lyu repeated the phrase “we’re gonna work on” amid veiled references to Humane (for instance, emphasizing that Rabbit doesn’t require an additional subscription fee). Ultimately, Lyu said “we just keep adding value to this thing,” in reference to a roadmap of upcoming features.
Hopefully, Lyu and his team are able to deliver on the promises they’ve made. I’m already very intrigued by a “teach mode” he teased, which is basically a way to generate macros by recording an action on the R1, and letting it learn what you want to do when you tell it something. Rabbit’s approach certainly seems more tailored to tinkerers and enthusiasts, whereas Humane’s is ambitious and yet closed off. This feels like Google and Apple all over again, except whether the AI device race will ever reach the same scale remains to be seen.
Last night’s event also made it clear what Rabbit wants us to think. It was hosted at the TWA hotel, which itself used to be the head house of the TWA Flight Center. The entire place is an homage to retro vibes, and the entry to Rabbit’s event was lined with display cases containing gadgets like a Pokedex, a Sony Watchman, a Motorola pager, Game Boy Color and more. Every glass box I walked by made me squeal, bringing up a pleasant sense memory that also resurfaced when I played with the R1. It didn't feel good in that it's premium or durable; it felt good because it reminded me of my childhood.
Whether Rabbit is successful with the R1 depends on how you define success. The company has already sold more than 100,000 units this quarter and looks poised to sell at least one more (I’m already whipping out my credit card). I remain skeptical about the usefulness of AI devices, but, in large part due to its price and ability to work with third-party apps at launch, Rabbit has already succeeded in making me feel like Alice entering Wonderland.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-hands-on-already-more-fun-and-accessible-than-the-humane-ai-pin-163622560.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
The Morning After: Senate passes the bill that could ban TikTok
The Senate approved a measure that will require ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, in a vote of 79 to 18. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act next goes to President Biden. The president has already said he’ll sign the bill into law. (Yes, as predicted, I'm writing about this again.)
TikTok has faced the ire of US politicians for a few years now, but this bill has picked up support across both political parties. It sailed through the House of Representatives before being approved (bundled with a package for foreign aid) by the Senate on Tuesday.
The bill states that TikTok would have up to 12 months to divest from its parent company ByteDance, or face a ban in US app stores and web hosting services. The company, naturally, has protested this push, calling the bill unconstitutional and vowing to mount a legal challenge if the bill is signed into law. If it does so, it could bounce around courts for years before any eventual ban, if the company declines to sell. A few years is a long time in social media. Ask Snap, or worse, Vine.
And who would buy TikTok? While many major tech companies might love to grab the social network’s engaged young audience, many politicians would balk at making a Big Tech company even bigger. Steve Mnuchin, who was Treasury secretary in the Trump administration, told CNBC he was putting together an investor group. What could go wrong?
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
X, for some reason, has a TV app now
The best travel gear for graduates
Adobe Photoshop’s latest beta makes AI-generated images from simple text prompts
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
Microsoft’s new lightweight AI model can run on smartphones
It can supposedly respond similarly to models 10 times its size.
Microsoft has unveiled its latest light AI model, called the Phi-3 Mini, for smartphones and other local devices. The aim is to provide a cheaper alternative to cloud-powered large language models (LLMs), allowing smaller organizations to adopt AI, with presumably lower energy burdens and without heady processing costs. According to Microsoft, the new model handily outperforms its previous Phi-2 small model and is on par with larger models like Llama 2. In fact, the company says the Phi-3 Mini responds close to the level of a model 10 times its size. The trick is apparently in the data Microsoft used to train its tiny model.
Tesla teases its ride-hailing app ahead of robotaxi unveiling
The feature would be available in the Tesla app ‘in the future.’
Tesla teased ride-hailing features coming to its app ahead of an August robotaxi unveiling. The company released mock-ups of the upcoming feature, which showed the ability to “summon” a ride from the Tesla app. The company has been promising self-driving taxi services for years. Tesla didn’t offer many details, but it seems to have Uber-like functionality and the ability to remotely set the car’s temperature before arrival.
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses get improved AI smarts that don’t require a subscription
Take that, Humane.
After a few months of testing, Meta is bringing multimodal AI to its smart glasses. Multimodal AI means the system can process multiple types of information, including photos, videos, text and audio. You might have seen feature showcases of AI-connected devices that can view what a device is looking at and offer extra information — that kind of thing. Meta also announced hands-free video call integration with WhatsApp and Messenger and a few more frame designs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-senate-passes-the-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-111556543.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Apple is about to do the unthinkable to its iPads
Since its release in 2010, the iPad has been missing one critical yet extremely basic feature. Now, it looks like that’s finally changing in 2024.
Digital Trends
The world’s leading AI companies pledge to protect the safety of children online
Leading artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta and others have jointly pledged to prevent their AI tools from being used to exploit children and generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The initiative was led by child-safety group Thorn and All Tech Is Human, a non-profit focused on responsible tech.
The pledges from AI companies, Thorn said, “set a groundbreaking precedent for the industry and represent a significant leap in efforts to defend children from sexual abuse as a feature with generative AI unfolds.” The goal of the initiative is to prevent the creation of sexually explicit material involving children and take it off social media platforms and search engines. More than 104 million files of suspected child sexual abuse material were reported in the US in 2023 alone, Thorn says. In the absence of collective action, generative AI is poised to make this problem worse and overwhelm law enforcement agencies that are already struggling to identify genuine victims.
On Tuesday, Thorn and All Tech Is Human released a new paper titled “Safety by Design for Generative AI: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse” that outlines strategies and lays out recommendations for companies that build AI tools, search engines, social media platforms, hosting companies and developers to take steps to prevent generative AI from being used to harm children.
One of the recommendations, for instance, asks companies to choose data sets used to train AI models carefully and avoid ones only only containing instances of CSAM but also adult sexual content altogether because of generative AI’s propensity to combine the two concepts. Thorn is also asking social media platforms and search engines to remove links to websites and apps that let people “nudity” images of children, thus creating new AI-generated child sexual abuse material online. A flood of AI-generated CSAM, according to the paper, will make identifying genuine victims of child sexual abuse more difficult by increasing the “haystack problem” — an reference to the amount of content that law enforcement agencies must current sift through.
“This project was intended to make abundantly clear that you don’t need to throw up your hands,” Thorn’s vice president of data science Rebecca Portnoff told the Wall Street Journal. “We want to be able to change the course of this technology to where the existing harms of this technology get cut off at the knees.”
Some companies, Portnoff said, had already agreed to separate images, video and audio that involved children from data sets containing adult content to prevent their models from combining the two. Others also add watermarks to identify AI-generated content, but the method isn’t foolproof — watermarks and metadata can be easily removed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-worlds-leading-ai-companies-pledge-to-protect-the-safety-of-children-online-213558797.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Something Leaks From Nothing; Breach Reveals Email Addresses
If you’re a member of the Nothing Community, the company’s online forum, your email address might just have been leaked online.
TalkAndroid
Is the Oura Ring waterproof?
The Oura Ring is a powerful wearable device, allowing you to track your sleep patterns, wellness, and more. But is it waterproof? It’s time to find out.
Digital Trends
Honor 200 Lite Details Leak Ahead Of Launch
Honor has revealed the launch date of its upcoming 200 Lite smartphone, along with official images. Take a look at what the phone will look like!
TalkAndroid
5 phones you should buy instead of the iPhone 15
Thinking about buying the iPhone 15? Wait! Here are five other alternatives you should consider instead.
Digital Trends
Tinder is making it easier to share date details with family and friends
Tinder has revealed a feature that both helps users share their excitement about a date with loved ones and acts as a safety tool. The Share My Date feature lets users share details about a planned date with a single link.
The URL can point to details including the location, date and time of the rendezvous along with a photo of your match and a link to their profile. The page can include some notes too. You can edit your date plans so those you share that link with have the most up-to-date info. Dates can be set in the app up to 30 days in advance. For those lucky folks out there who have a bunch of matches they make IRL plans with, you can create an unlimited number of dates and share those with your loved ones.
Tinder says that around 51 percent of users under 30 already share date details with their friends, while 19 percent of users do so with their mom. It's always a good idea to let someone know where and when you're going on a date and details about the person you're meeting up with, just to be safe. Share My Date could simplify the process a bit. Back in 2020, Match.com debuted a date check-in feature that let users send details about their date to emergency contacts if things weren't going well.
Tinder will roll out Share My Date over the coming months. It'll be available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, India, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, Netherlands, Italy, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tinder-is-making-it-easier-to-share-date-details-with-family-and-friends-040105977.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Google Gemini To Support Third-Party Music Streaming Apps
Google Gemini is about to take a little more from Google Assistant, and will soon be able to support requests related to third-party music streaming apps.
TalkAndroid
This Android phone is a surprisingly great buy at $100
One of the rare phone deals that lets you take home a new phone for just $ 100, don’t miss this deal on the Motorola Moto G smartphone.
Digital Trends
Tesla cuts Model Y, X and S prices in the US and says it’s ending the referral program
Another round of price cuts has shaved $ 2,000 off the starting prices of Tesla’s Model Y, Model X and Model S for buyers in the US, Reuters reports. The company’s North America branch posted on X about the change to the Model Y on Friday night, at the same time announcing that Tesla is ditching its referral program benefits in all markets. According to Tesla, the “current referral program benefits will end after April 30.”
Tesla’s Model Y now starts at $ 42,990 for the rear-wheel drive base model, $ 47,990 for the Model Y Long Range or $ 51,490 for the Model Y Performance. The base Model S has dropped to $ 72,990 while the Model S Plaid now starts at $ 87,990. The Model X starts at $ 77,990 (base) or $ 92,990 (Plaid). The changes come during a rocky few weeks for the company, which just issued a recall for Cybertrucks over possible issues with the accelerator pedal, reportedly laid off 10 percent of its employees and reported a decline in deliveries for the first quarter.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-cuts-model-y-x-and-s-prices-in-the-us-and-says-its-ending-the-referral-program-172311662.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Pixel 9 Pro Leaked Images Reveal Tweaked Design
Live images of the alleged Google Pixel 9 Pro prototype have leaked, confirming previously rendered designs that suggest its smaller size.
TalkAndroid
House votes in favor of bill that could ban TikTok, sending it onward to Senate
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could either see TikTok banned in the country or force its sale. A revised version of the bill, which previously passed the House in March but later stalled in Senate, was roped in with a foreign aid package this time around, likely meaning it will now be treated as a higher priority item. The bill originally gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell the app if it’s passed into law or TikTok would be banned from US app stores. Under the revised version, ByteDance would have up to a year to divest.
The bill passed with a vote of 360-58 in the House, according to AP. It’ll now move on to the Senate, which could vote on it in just a matter of days. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said today that the Senate is working to reach an agreement on when the next vote will be for the foreign aid package that the TikTok bill is attached to, but it is expected to happen this coming Tuesday. President Joe Biden has previously said he would support the bill if Congress passes it.
The bill paints TikTok as a national security threat due to its ties to China. There are roughly 170 million US users on the app, at least according to TikTok, and ByteDance isn’t expected to let them go without a fight. In a statement posted on X earlier this week, the TikTok Policy account said such a law would “trample the free speech rights” of these users, “devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $ 24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually.” Critics of the bill have also argued that banning TikTok would do little in the way of actually protecting Americans’ data.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-sending-it-onward-to-senate-185140206.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
What we’re listening to: The Tortured Poets Department and Eternal Sunshine
In this installment of what we're listening to, Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low dives into new releases from Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, and explores what music means to us when songs are consumed more like books and journal entries.
Cherlynn Low, Deputy Editor, Reviews
April 19 should have been declared a global holiday. It was, after all, the release day of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD). How could we be expected to work on this most hyped of Fridays, when there were lyrics to overanalyze and melodies to emo-walk to?
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
I’ll admit: I hate myself a bit for the eagerness with which I hit play on albums like TTPD and Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine (ES). Both musicians had recently left long-term relationships and got together with new beaus, amid rabid press coverage and relentless speculation on Reddit. I usually prefer to hear from the people involved instead of reading tabloid articles based on what “friends close to” said, and for Swift and Grande, songs are usually as close as we’ll get to primary sources.
I saw these albums as opportunities to get their takes on what went down. Granted, it’s always wise to take their words with generous helpings of salt, the same way therapists tend to remember that their patients’ retelling of stories can be skewed or unreliable.
Both Grande and Swift have made their lives the subject of their music for years, and they often have an air of defensiveness. Titles like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Yes, and?” make me think of people who blame others or don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Even songs like Swift’s “Anti-Hero” from her last album and Grande’s “Thank U, Next” seem at first glance to be about taking accountability, but really continue the theme of dodging real responsibility.
I’m not sure if music has always been rooted in scrutinizing the artist’s life, but it certainly seems to have become more popular in recent years. The level of interest and analysis around things as simple as word choice or order has probably never been as high, either. It’s also worth considering that these two much-hyped albums were released within two months of each other. Granted, Swift’s new music has only been out for about 40 hours, and there are 31 whole songs spanning a full 65 minutes and 8 seconds, so I will need to listen to it a few more times for it all to sink in.
Grande’s album, which dropped last month, was scrutinized by fans and critics alike. It was released shortly after her divorce from Dalton Gomez and her budding relationship (reportedly) with fellow Wicked cast member Ethan Slater.
When I first played through ES, I was mostly underwhelmed and annoyed. There was, as expected, no accountability for what her actions did to the mother of a newborn and a lot of romanticizing of her latest man. But even on just my second listening, I knew I had a few favorite tracks. Other Engadget staff members agree with me: ES is a solid album with quite a few bangers.
Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine
I may not endorse Grande’s behavior — and no one asked me to — but damn, I can’t help liking her music. And it’s probably because I’m hooked on the melodies and production, not the lyrical content.
Swift, on the other hand, seems more of an aspiring wordsmith. Much has been said about her lyrical abilities, and I have no desire to retread those waters. I’ll just say that as an occasional aspiring poet myself, I have to admire the laissez faire approach of rhyming “department” with “apartment.”
I’m more intrigued by what seems to me like the priority of a song’s words over its tune and sound. Like Billboard states, TTPD’s title alone “calls even more attention to her lyricism than usual.”
Swift’s music has always felt like journal entries meant for the public, chock-full of inside references, Easter eggs and thinly veiled digs at former lovers. Her earlier works were therefore highly relatable for scores of teenagers around the world. But as her success ballooned, so has she grown out of touch with the average person, and her songs have consequently become more like glimpses into a life that mere mortals can only dream about. While her pieces continue to feel like blogs or Tumblr posts, Swift controls the narrative by carefully orchestrating not just synths, guitars and lyrics, but also pap walks and delicately timed public appearances.
Unlike Grande, who has mostly avoided appearing with Slater at high-profile events and also hasn’t hidden as many Easter eggs in her songs, Swift has not been afraid to show off and show up for her new partner. She’s not publicity-averse; she seems to anticipate and almost courts it.
With the general strategy around TTPD, like announcing it at the Grammy’s and slow teases of lyrics and cover art, it certainly seems like these days, the billionaire with a private jet problem is more focused on her myth and financial value than the art of songwriting.
Swift surprised everyone at 2AM on April 19 by releasing a whole 15 more songs alongside the initial 16 people were expecting for TTPD. This meant that anyone who pre-ordered the original album would miss out on basically an entire second album worth of tracks and need to spend more. The Swift team also made several versions of the physical album available, like collectors’ editions — all blatant cash grabs designed to maximize revenue.
Grande is guilty of this too, making so many different iterations of “Yes, and?” when that single was released in what seemed like an attempt to place the song at the top of streaming charts. ES also has different versions of cover art for fans to spend their hard-earned money on.
Here’s the thing. Do I care deeply about either of these albums? Nope. Did I eagerly listen to them, hoping to glean insight on their seemingly messy and chaotic relationships? Yes. But despite Swift’s marketing and positioning herself as a poet — and TTPD offering more of a look at her fling with Matty Healy from The 1975 — I realized I just didn’t quite like her album musically. In fact, my favorite Swift songs like “Wildest Dreams” and “Delicate” are beautiful symphonies of atmospheric synths and instrumentation.
Maybe I’m just learning that I care more about music than lyrics. Or maybe I think good songs are a combination of the two and should speak for themselves without having to rely on hype, gossip and marketing tactics. To be fair, that’s true of all art, whether it’s film, photography or poetry. And while the irony of my being sucked into playing TTPD and ES due to the promise of learning about their lives isn’t lost on me, I guess I just wish I could listen to music (and read books and watch movies) without having to worry or be so concerned about the creator’s choices and actions. But in 2024 (and beyond), that seems no longer feasible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-were-listening-to-the-tortured-poets-department-and-eternal-sunshine-150035421.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Microsoft’s AI tool can turn photos into realistic videos of people talking and singing
Microsoft Research Asia has unveiled a new experimental AI tool called VASA-1 that can take a still image of a person — or the drawing of one — and an existing audio file to create a lifelike talking face out of them in real time. It has the ability to generate facial expressions and head motions for an existing still image and the appropriate lip movements to match a speech or a song. The researchers uploaded a ton of examples on the project page, and the results look good enough that they could fool people into thinking that they’re real.
While the lip and head motions in the examples could still look a bit robotic and out of sync upon closer inspection, it’s still clear that the technology could be misused to easily and quickly create deepfake videos of real people. The researchers themselves are aware of that potential and have decided not to release “an online demo, API, product, additional implementation details, or any related offerings” until they’re sure that their technology “will be used responsibly and in accordance with proper regulations.” They didn’t, however, say whether they’re planning to implement certain safeguards to prevent bad actors from using them for nefarious purposes, such as to create deepfake porn or misinformation campaigns.
The researchers believe their technology has a ton of benefits despite its potential for misuse. They said it can be used to enhance educational equity, as well as to improve accessibility for those with communication challenges, perhaps by giving them access to an avatar that can communicate for them. It can also provide companionship and therapeutic support for those who need it, they said, insinuating the VASA-1 could be used in programs that offer access to AI characters people can talk to.
According to the paper published with the announcement, VASA-1 was trained on the VoxCeleb2 Dataset, which contains “over 1 million utterances for 6,112 celebrities” that were extracted from YouTube videos. Even though the tool was trained on real faces, it also works on artistic photos like the Mona Lisa, which the researchers amusingly combined with an audio file of Anne Hathaway’s viral rendition of Lil Wayne’s Paparazzi. It’s so delightful, it’s worth a watch, even if you’re doubting what good a technology like this can do.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-ai-tool-can-turn-photos-into-realistic-videos-of-people-talking-and-singing-070052240.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics