Thursday, July 22, 2021

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Apple Watch Series 6 Cellular models are at all-time lows on Amazon

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:03 AM PDT

An Apple Watch with LTE is worth the premium if you want to make and receive calls directly from the wearable. But, unlike its regular counterpart, deals on the cellular model have been few and far between. That all changed this month. The price of the untethered Apple Watch is currently at an all-time low for both sizes. Right now, you can purchase a 40mm cellular version in navy blue for $370 at Amazon, $129 below its normal price and at least $20 lower than the previous best deal. While the recent $429 all-time low price for the 44mm Product Red Edition with 4G LTE is also still active. 

Buy Apple Watch Series 6 (40mm, GPS + cellular) at Amazon - $370

Buy Apple Watch Series 6 (44mm, GPS + cellular) at Amazon - $429

The cellular Apple Watch offers all the features you'd get with the GPS model — a blood oxygen monitor, ECG, sleep tracking and always-on display — along with solo functionality. That means you don't need a phone nearby, or a WiFi connection, to make or take calls, reply to messages, receive notifications, download apps and stream music. 

Overall, Apple has made a bunch of improvements to the Series 6 over its predecessor. The latest Apple Watch features an S6 processor that the company claims is 20 percent faster than the Series 5's chipset. It also has a display that's 2.5 times brighter, without any impact to battery life, which Apple says is actually longer. What's more, the charging speed has also been bolstered.

Alas, the fact that a new Apple Watch is likely just months away may influence your decision. But, if you can't wait, then now's an opportune time to grab the Series 6.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Twitter Spaces may soon offer voice manipulation effects

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 03:15 AM PDT

Twitter scrapped Fleets, but it hasn't given up on audio. A new voice manipulation update is reportedly in the works for Spaces, the Clubhouse-style talk rooms introduced in December. The so-called "Voice Transformer" was first outed by social media researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who tweeted that it would let you change your pitch or add echo to your audio. Soon after, software miner Steve Moser — who recently leapt to fame by unearthing new details about Netflix's gaming feature — revealed several different effects. The list includes Bee, Cartoon, Helium, Incognito, Karaoke, Microphone, Phone, Spatial, Stadium and Stage.

If getting people to tweet was a slog, convincing them to talk is probably even harder. In that sense, the voice-warping feature may push reluctant users, or those self-conscious about their voice, to give Spaces a try. The goofy nature of some of the effects could even help to create a less serious, and hopefully, more inviting environment.

It's also a feature that many people will be familiar with having encountered voice filters on Snapchat. Word of the Twitter Spaces update arrives just as Clubhouse has gone wide and shortly after Spotify's own expansion into voice chat with its Greenroom app. Not to mention, Facebook's launch of a Clubhouse clone. All four platforms will have to keep things fresh if they want to win the audio chat battle.

Facebook finally blocks 'vaccines kill' hashtag

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 02:40 AM PDT

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted fresh scrutiny of social media's response to the anti-vaccine movement. But, even in the face of criticism from the White House, a new report claims Facebook is still failing to delete even the most incendiary misinformation. As recently as last week, posts containing the hashtag #VaccinesKill were still active on the social network, according to CNN. 

It was only until the news publication warned the company of the lapse that it blocked the posts behind a message that read Facebook is "keeping our community safe." To make matters worse, the same hashtag was banned by Facebook-owned Instagram almost two years prior. That action followed Facebook's pledge to crack down on vaccine falsehoods, including bogus claims that they cause autism and other diseases, in the midst of a measles outbreak in New York.

This time round, the threat is even greater. With the world still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and cases of the Delta virus rising in the US, Facebook's latest slip-up will only draw more concern from policymakers. Just days ago, President Biden lambasted the company and other social networks by suggesting their failures were debilitating the vaccination drive. "They're killing people," Biden said.

In its defense, Facebook has previously noted that it's taking down more erroneous anti-vaccine information than ever before. In October, it banned ads encouraging people to avoid getting vaccinated, following that with a wider clamp down on anti-vaccine claims. 

The company told CNN that it did not take action against the #VaccinesKill hashtag in the past as it did not meet its threshold. Facebook explained that it determines whether a hashtag violates its policies by looking at numerous factors, including the type and spread of content it is appearing in. "Now, the #vaccineskill hashtag on Facebook violates our policies against misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines and we've blocked it from search," the spokesperson said.

At the same time, users are finding new ways to bypass the social network's misinformation rules. In May, some people began weaponizing Facebook's custom profile frames to display false vaccine claims, forcing it to take them down.

Activision Blizzard sued by California over alleged sexist 'frat boy' culture

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 02:03 AM PDT

Activision Blizzard is facing a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for fostering what the agency describes as a "frat boy" workplace. As first reported by Bloomberg Law, the DFEH sued the gaming giant after a two-year investigation wherein it came to the conclusion that the company discriminated against female employees. In addition to receiving smaller salaries than their male counterparts, female employees were also allegedly subjected to constant sexual harassment.

The DFEH enumerated several findings from its investigation in its complaint (PDF). Activision Blizzard's workforce is only about 20 percent women, and very few of them reach top roles in the company, the court document reads. Further, those who do reach higher roles earn less salary and total compensation than their male peers. Other female employees in non-executive roles are also paid less, promoted more slowly and terminated more quickly.

DFEH also said that the defendant's "frat boy" culture is a "breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women." Female employees constantly have to fend off unwanted sexual comments, the agency wrote. They have to endure being groped during "cube crawls," in which male employees would drink alcohol as they make their way around various cubicles, as well. The document mentioned one particularly egregious case, in which a female employee took her own life during a business trip with a male supervisor who brought sex toys with him on the trip. According to Bloomberg, that employee was severely harassed prior to her death, with her nude photos passed around during a company holiday party.

Activision Blizzard's HR department received a lot of harassment, discrimination and retaliation complaints, the DFEH said. However, the defendant allegedly failed to take "effective remedial measures in response" to them. Also, people were apparently discouraged from making complaints, since human resource personnel were known to be close to the alleged harassers.

The state agency has filed the lawsuit to force the video game titan to comply with California's workplace protections. It's also seeking unpaid wages and pay adjustments for female employees.

Activision Blizzard, however, denies DEFH's allegations. In a statement, the company said that the agency's lawsuit "includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard's past." It called the DFEH's complaint "inaccurate" and described the lawsuit as the "type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State's best businesses out of California."

The whole statement, courtesy of Kotaku, reads:

"We value diversity and strive to foster a workplace that offers inclusivity for everyone. There is no place in our company or industry, or any industry, for sexual misconduct or harassment of any kind. We take every allegation seriously and investigate all claims. In cases related to misconduct, action was taken to address the issue.

The DFEH includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard's past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived. They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so. Instead, they rushed to file an inaccurate complaint, as we will demonstrate in court. We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family. While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is unfortunately an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State's best businesses out of California.

The picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today. Over the past several years and continuing since the initial investigation started, we've made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams. We've updated our Code of Conduct to emphasize a strict non-retaliation focus, amplified internal programs and channels for employees to report violations, including the "ASK List" with a confidential integrity hotline, and introduced an Employee Relations team dedicated to investigating employee concerns. We have strengthened our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and combined our Employee Networks at a global level, to provide additional support. Employees must also undergo regular anti-harassment training and have done so for many years.

We put tremendous effort in creating fair and rewarding compensation packages and policies that reflect our culture and business, and we strive to pay all employees fairly for equal or substantially similar work. We take a variety of proactive steps to ensure that pay is driven by non-discriminatory factors. For example, we reward and compensate employees based on their performance, and we conduct extensive anti-discrimination trainings including for those who are part of the compensation process.

We are confident in our ability to demonstrate our practices as an equal opportunity employer that fosters a supportive, diverse, and inclusive workplace for our people, and we are committed to continuing this effort in the years to come. It is a shame that the DFEH did not want to engage with us on what they thought they were seeing in their investigation."

Slack is now officially part of Salesforce

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:04 PM PDT

Salesforce has completed its $27.7 billion acquisition — its biggest one to date — of business messaging app Slack. When the companies first announced the purchase back in December 2020, they said Slack founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield will continue to lead the messaging service as a unit within its new parent organization. They also said that Slack will become the new interface of Customer 360, which is a Salesforce tool where you can add and access the company's apps.

In Salesforce's announcement about the acquisition's completion, it confirmed both points and said the purchase will allow them to deliver a "Slack-first Customer 360." It will give clients "a single source of truth for their business, and a single platform for connecting employees, customers, and partners with each other and the apps they use every day."

While Slack has become synonymous with messaging service for businesses following its launch in 2019, it suffered from losses last year after Microsoft positioned its Teams app as a competing product in the middle of the pandemic. Slack even filed an antitrust complaint against the tech giant with the European Commission for bundling Teams with the Office suite. Salesforce announced Slack's acquisition half a year after the EU complaint was filed.

Salesforce President and COO Bret Taylor and Slack CEO and Co-Founder Stewart Butterfield will be hosting an event next month to share more details about the messaging app's integration. It will happen on August 17th at 1PM ET and will be streamed on the Salesforce website.

Twitter starts testing Reddit-like downvote button on iOS

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:32 PM PDT

Some Twitter users on iOS might see a new button that looks like Reddit's downvote button in people's replies. That's part of the social network's latest experimental feature designed to give it more insight on what kind of replies users find relevant in a conversation. According to Twitter Support's announcement, the goal is to be able to gather enough data, so the platform can work on ways to surface more relevant responses. In long threads, for instance, the best replies don't always show up immediately and might be buried underneath tons of other people's tweets.

The random testers who get the feature might see different versions of it. Some may see upvote and downvote buttons, while others might only see a downvote button right next to Twitter's heart/like option. A third version will show testers thumbs up and down buttons instead. The number of downvotes a reply gets will not be visible to the public, and users' downvotes will be visible to them alone. Meanwhile, upvotes will show up as likes. 

At the moment, votes won't change the order of responses similar to how Reddit buries replies that get a ton of downvotes. As Twitter User Researcher Cody Elam explains in a series of tweets, the experiment's purpose isn't to shame users, but to give "people the power to privately voice their opinion on the quality of replies" and to give the company a "more nuanced feedback." He added: "We're hoping to learn more about the quality of replies that people vote on and if voting is a feature that people find valuable."

This isn't the first time Twitter started testing the Reddit-like feature. A few months ago, the social network started experimenting with Facebook-style emoji reactions that also included upvote and downvote buttons. 

Verizon's Fios TV app comes to Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV this week

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 04:12 PM PDT

Verizon (Engadget's parent company) is expanding the availability of its Fios app. In an announcement spotted by 9to5Mac, the carrier said starting tomorrow, July 22nd, Fios customers can download the software to their Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV devices. In the former case, that includes both the 4K and HD models.

You'll still need a Fios TV One somewhere in your home before you can access the app on those devices, but it saves you the trouble of paying for additional hardware from the carrier if you want to use your TV bundle on more than one television.

"Parents can watch live sports events on the Fios box in the living room while kids watch cartoons and teens watch comedies on connected TVs in their bedrooms," said Verizon. "With Fios TV One enabling more flexibility, Fios TV users can more easily place TVs in the kitchen, on the back patio or other areas of the house."

The one limitation is that you can only watch two simultaneous streams per Fios TV box, but a Fios TV One device is now included with all of Verizon's Mix and Match TV plans. Those currently start at $56 per month before taxes and equipment fees.

Verizon’s Smart Display includes LTE in case of Fios outages

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 03:03 PM PDT

As expected, Verizon (Engadget's parent company) is working on an Alexa-powered device. Following an FCC sighting in June, the carrier announced the Verizon Smart Display today at Amazon's Alexa Live event, confirming in the process that the device will respond to both "Alexa" and "Hi, Verizon" wake words. 

In addition to an 8-inch 1,280 by 800 display, 4GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a privacy shutter, the device features 4G LTE connectivity, which Verizon told CNET it will use to provide troubleshooting support to customers during service outages and setup. You'll use the "Hi, Verizon" wake word to access that functionality. That same custom assistant will also field questions about recent bills and the carrier's Fios services. 

Alexa, on the other hand, will handle nearly everything else. The carrier said the device will work with various music and video streaming services. The smart display is one of the first smart home devices to come out of Amazon's Alexa Custom Assistant program. Verizon will beta test the smart display with a select group of Fios customers this fall, with greater availability to follow sometime next year. 

Serato Studio’s long-needed recording feature is finally here

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 02:00 PM PDT

The scope of Serato's creative audio ecosystem continues to grow with the latest update to its Serato Studio digital audio workstation (DAW). Serato Studio 1.6 rolls out to the public today and most notably adds the ability to record audio directly into the app, along with some changes to the audio track tools and the addition of a built-in Virtual Audio Driver. While the update isn't flush with a litany of new features, these few changes make a world of difference for producers, musicians and DJs alike.

To record audio, you can use an external input or even just the internal microphone. This accommodates pros and entry level creators with little to no gear beyond the laptop. When recording, even in loop mode, your contiguous session is kept whole. This lets you try different versions of a guitar lick or vocals in a single take that you can trim down to the best segment later. You can edit the recordings into clips, use different pieces throughout your project or even layer them in different keys for effect.

Serato Studio 1.6 also keeps recordings in your library for use in other projects. You can sample vinyl directly into your project and by analyzing the file, it will instantly match them to your current BPM. There's key detection for the recordings too, which can help keep your vocals on point.

Those using third-party apps or live-streaming will be happy to know that you no longer need plug-ins to make the audio available to other apps. Serato now includes its own Virtual Audio Driver for input and output channels, and even works on Big Sur.

As always, Studio is great for those using Serato DJ and a controller, but now that audio recording has been added, it has the chops to stand on its own as a production tool. It's also very intuitive and opens up plenty of opportunities for creative expression without having to jump through hurdles in the process. New users can get tracks rolling in minutes (seriously) and pros can sketch out tracks or complete full projects quickly.

Serato Studio 1.6 is available to download today and, as always, there's a limited free version for you to test drive. To open up all the capabilities and access tons of sounds and samples, you can choose from a $10 monthly subscription or buy it outright for $199 (including all updates for Version 1).

FTC votes to fight back against right to repair restrictions

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 01:37 PM PDT

The US Federal Trade Commission has voted unanimously to tackle unlawful repair restrictions. In a policy statement published on Wednesday, the agency said it plans to devote additional resources to enforcing existing laws, such as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, that protect small businesses and consumers from companies that would prevent them from fixing on their own products they purchased. In doing so, the FTC will take a five-part approach to the problem that will involve it collecting comments and complaints from the public, as well as working more closely with state law enforcement and policymakers to update existing regulations.     

"These types of restrictions can significantly raise costs for consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste, delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency," recently confirmed FTC Chair Lina Khan said. "The FTC has a range of tools it can use to root out unlawful repair restrictions, and today's policy statement would commit us to move forward on this issue with new vigor." 

The policy statement follows a July 9th executive order in which President Biden directed the FTC to tackle "unfair anti-competitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items" imposed by "powerful manufacturers" in the farming and technology industries. With Wednesday's announcement, the FTC didn't name any specific companies it will target as part of any enforcement action. However, a company like Apple is likely to be top of mind for the agency. The tech giant has consistently lobbied against state-level right to repair legislation, claiming those laws would put consumers at risk.        

Right to repair advocates were quick to praise the announcement. "The FTC sets the tone for the nation's commerce. For too long, manufacturers have been bullying consumers and driving local repair shops out of business," iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said in a blog post the company published following the policy announcement. "This landmark new policy changes that. There's a new sheriff in town."

'Ghost of Tsushima' director's cut trailer shows off the gorgeous Iki Island

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 12:15 PM PDT

Sony and developer Sucker Punch have revealed some more details about what's next for Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, an expanded edition of the 2020 action-adventure game. They also released a gorgeous new trailer for the upcoming version, which hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on August 20th.

You'll be able to explore an entirely new island called Iki. Jin learns that a Mongol tribe led by a shaman named Ankhsar Khatun has taken residence there. Khatun is "not only a conqueror of nations, but a shepherd of souls. And the danger she presents to Jin and his people is unlike any they have faced," Sucker Punch senior writer Patrick Downs wrote on the PlayStation blog.

Iki is a "lawless land of raiders and criminals" which has been out of samurai control for decades. Jin will run into pirates, smugglers and "mad monks" on the island. He'll explore haunted caves and learn new techniques.

The expanded story will also delve deeper into Jin's painful past. "With everything that has happened this past year, it's no accident we also wanted to tell a story of healing," Downs wrote. "And we felt this would pose a unique and compelling challenge for Jin."

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is a $20 upgrade for owners of the original game. It costs an extra $10 to upgrade the PS5 version of either the base game or the director's cut. Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut will also be available as a direct purchase for $60 on PS4 and $70 on PS5.

Zoom adds third-party apps to video calls

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:39 AM PDT

Zoom became indispensable during the pandemic, and now the company wants to ensure it stays that way when things return to some sense of normalcy. To that end, it's adding third-party integrations, allowing you to use apps like Asana and Dropbox Spaces while in a Zoom call. As of today's launch, there are more than 50 plugins you can add to your client, including games like Heads Up. Once you install the latest version of Zoom, a "Discover" tab under the new Apps side panel will allow you to see what's available.

You can expand and collapse the panel as needed during a call to access the functionality of an app. As one example, the Asana plugin allows you to create, edit and assign tasks without leaving Zoom. Another way to see what's available is through the Zoom Marketplace. If you use Zoom for work and you're part of an organization, your admin can limit what you can install.

Zoom sees third-party integrations as a way to become a platform instead of a single-use app. Much like its new Events hub, which the company made widely available today, the idea here is to keep the service growing so it can continue on the trajectory it established during the pandemic. 

Valve announces a $1 million 'CS:GO' art contest

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 10:56 AM PDT

Valve is on the lookout for new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins, and it's hoping to entice creators to submit designs with a $1 million art contest. The company will select 10 original, dream-themed looks. The creators of the winning designs will each receive $100,000 and the skins will be added to the game.

You can send in as many designs as you like and create them either solo or as part of a team. You can also have multiple winning skins.

Artists will still own the rights to their creations — sending in an entry gives Valve a non-exclusive license to use it in CS:GO. You'll have until October 21st to submit your designs to the CS:GO Workshop. You'll need to use a Steam account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been limited in any way) which has made at least $5 of Steam purchases. Valve will contact the winners by November 21st.

This is a neat contest with potentially life-changing prizes. The Steam Workshop has been around for a decade. It allows players to upload mods, maps and items for a variety of games — including weapon skins for CS:GO. 

"Over five million content creators have submitted and published over 20 million new items for a variety of games on Steam, making them available for purchase to millions of gamers around the world," Valve said. "And, as everyone who plays these games knows — including CS players — many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more have been authored by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to help further support this community."

Netflix's 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf' trailer is, shockingly, full of monsters

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 10:21 AM PDT

After sharing a short teaser earlier in the month, Netflix has released a full trailer for Nightmare of the Wolf, its upcoming animated Witcher movie, and shared details on the voice cast. Theo James, known best for his leading role in the Divergent series, voices protagonist Vesemir, years before the Witcher became the mentor of Geralt of Rivia. 

James also voiced the character in season one of The Witcher. "Vesemir grew up as a servant on a nobleman's estate, working long days for too little coin," Netflix writes of the charming monster hunter. "He yearns to break free of his social standing and to explore the Continent to find his destiny."

On his adventure, he'll meet a sorceress named Tetra, who we see throughout the trailer. If Tetra's voice sounds familiar, it's because she's voiced by Dota: Dragon's Blood actor Lara Pulver. Rounding out the main cast are Mary McDonnell as Lady Zerbst, a Kaedweni noblewoman, and Graham McTavish as Deglan, a Witcher from the Skellige Isles. Notably, McTavish will play Redanian spymaster Dijkstra in season two of The Witcher.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf debuts on Netflix on August 28th. It will give fans of the fantasy franchise something to watch before season two of The Witcher starts streaming on December 17th.

Clubhouse's audio chat rooms are now open to everyone

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 10:00 AM PDT

Folks who want to check out Clubhouse no longer need to join a waitlist. Sixteen months after it debuted, the audio discussion app is moving out of beta. It's now open to everyone. To commemorate the big milestone, the company is also unveiling a new logo today, which you can see above.

Clubhouse says users can share links with others and invite them to join. The company claims there are half a million audio chat rooms on the app each day, and that 10 million people have signed up since the Android app arrived in May. Clubhouse added a direct message system last week and it says the community has already sent 90 million messages. Meanwhile, on average, users are spending over an hour a day on Clubhouse.

Clubhouse plans to keep things fresh by rolling out big updates every week or two, a cadence that's similar to how often other social media apps are updated.

While many Clubhouse users certainly seem to be hooked on the app, it's facing stern competition from elsewhere. The likes of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord and Spotify have all moved into audio chat rooms in recent months. Opening up the app to everyone is an important step for Clubhouse as it looks to keep growing. 

Amazon says most Echo speakers will support the Matter smart home platform

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 09:55 AM PDT

Amazon's support for the Matter smart home platform is coming into focus. Previously known as Project Chip (Connected Home over IP), Matter comes from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, a group made up of device manufacturers like Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung. It's meant to standardize voice assistant support across multiple devices, as well as to make it easier to connect smart home gadgets to your home network. During its Alexa Live developer presentation, Amazon said that practically every plug-in Echo speaker will support Matter, save for the first-generation Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Tap, The Verge reports.

It's unclear when the Echo support will actually arrive, but at this point we're expecting Matter devices to launch later this year. Google has already declared strong commitment for the platform — so much so that we've speculated it could help unite the fragmented smart home ecosystem. Google devices supporting the Thread standard, like the Nest Wi-Fi and Nest Hub Max, will also work as Matter connection points (AKA hubs). But as The Verge notes, it's unclear if any Echo devices will work as Matter hubs.

"The Matter mark will serve as a seal of approval, taking the guesswork out of the purchasing process and allowing businesses and consumers alike to choose from a wider array of brands to create secure and connected homes and buildings," the CSA said in May after the Matter rebrand. 

Tumblr bloggers can soon charge for access to their posts

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 09:41 AM PDT

Tumblr is giving its bloggers a way to make money directly from their posts. They'll be able to switch on paid subscriptions and paywall as much of their work as they want.

For now, only a few invited US creators have access to the Post+ feature during the limited beta. All bloggers have to do to restrict a post's visibility to subscribers is to check a box. Post+ memberships cost $4, $6 or $10 per month.

"Something profound is happening on Tumblr right now, with 60 percent of new user sign ups being Gen Z," a Tumblr spokesperson told Engadget. "We wondered how we could build Tumblr now that's perfectly attuned for them and their creativity. Post+ is a first step towards building a Tumblr for Gen Z, and what better way to support them than by getting them paid."

Tumblr plans to roll out Post+ broadly in the fall. It will keep five percent of subscription payments, The Verge notes, with the rest going to bloggers. Creators will receive less if a reader signs up on iOS or Android, due to the 30 percent cut those platforms take from in-app payments.

Post+ appears to be Tumblr's answer to newsletter subscriptions from Substack, Twitter and Facebook. There's at least a chance that the move will entice new users to hop into Tumblr. Lapsed users who built a massive audience for their blogs back in the day might be tempted to return as well.

"Not reserved only for professionals, or those with 10K followers or higher, Tumblr's Post+ will push the boundaries of what's considered money-making content on the internet: Shitposters, memelords, artists, fan fiction writers, all of the above and everyone in between will be able to create content while building their community of supporters, and getting paid with Post+," Tumblr said. "With more than 48 percent of the platform being Gen Z we can't wait to see what they do with Post+."

Tumblr has endured some turbulence in recent years. Many users revolted after the platform banned nudity and sexual content in late 2018. It made the decision soon after the iOS app vanished from the App Store following the discovery of child exploitation on Tumblr.

Monthly page views dipped by almost a third in the months after the porn ban, according to TechCrunch. The number of daily posts has also dropped over the years from around 67.7 million in 2012 to 11.3 million today. Verizon (Engadget's parent company) sold Tumblr to Wordpress operator Automattic in 2019. The subscription model could help Automattic generate more revenue from the service.

Update 7/21 3:07PM ET: Added comments from Tumblr.

Now Instagram can translate Stories text into over 90 languages

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 09:00 AM PDT

With the global popularity of Instagram, there's a good chance you've run into Stories that haven't been in English or any other language you might know. Until today, you had to go outside of the app to understand what those messages were communicating. Not any more. Instagram has introduced a new feature that will translate any foreign text you see in Stories, and that feature is now rolling out to users across the globe.

When the app detects you're viewing a Story in another language, it will display a "See Translation" prompt toward the top left of the interface. All you have to do is tap the banner to see the text in your native tongue. With today's launch, the feature can translate text between more than 90 languages — though it doesn't work with audio at the moment. Inevitably that means they'll be Stories where you might not understand what someone is saying. Still, it's a step toward making Instagram as inclusive as possible. People can also take advantage of Instagram's recently added auto-captioning feature to get around the current translation limitation.

Epic Games buys 3D asset platform Sketchfab

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:30 AM PDT

Epic Games seems determined to give developers everything they need to make games in Unreal Engine without having to look elsewhere for parts. The company has bought Sketchfab, a 3D asset platform.

"By joining forces, Epic and Sketchfab will be able to make 3D, AR and VR content more accessible and grow the creator ecosystem, which are critical to an open and interconnected Metaverse," Epic wrote in a blog post. "Sketchfab will continue to operate as an independently branded service while collaborating closely with the Unreal Engine team."

Sketchfab hosts more than 4 million 3D assets. Users can edit, buy and sell content on the platform. Epic has dropped Sketchfab's store fees to 12 percent (which matches the Epic Games Store cut) so people making 3D assets receive a larger slice of sales revenue. Epic also says it will maintain Sketchfab's integrations with 3D creation and publishing platforms. The assets will still work elsewhere, including in rival game engines such as Unity.

The Sketchfab Plus plan — which allows users to upload more assets with larger file sizes — is now free to everyone. Current Plus subscribers are being bumped up to the Pro plan at no extra cost, and Sketchfab is increasing the monthly upload limit on the Pro tier from 30 to 50.

The Sketchfab deal follows Epic's acquisition of ArtStation, a hub where CGI- and game-focused artists can host their portfolios and sell work. Epic slashed that marketplace's fees from 30 percent to 12 percent as well.

UK man arrested over 2020 Twitter celebrity hacks

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:10 AM PDT

Authorities are still cracking down on participants in the July 2020 Twitter celebrity hacks. Spanish National Police have arrested UK citizen Joseph O'Connor at the US' request over his alleged involvement in compromising over 130 Twitter accounts. Officials didn't detail how O'Connor contributed to the campaign, but O'Connor has also been charged with hijacking TikTok and Snapchat accounts as well as cyberstalking a "juvenile" victim.

O'Connor faces a total of ten charges, including six related to unauthorized computer access, two for cyberstalking and one each for extortion and threats.

The Twitter hacks compromised accounts for a wide range of companies and personalities, including Apple, Uber, Elon Musk and eventual US President Joe Biden. The attackers apparently used social engineering to gain access to internal Twitter tools and promote a Bitcoin scam. It didn't take long for police to arrest the claimed mastermind, teen hacker Graham Ivan Clark, who later pled guilty to 30 charges.

O'Connor's arrest won't topple a criminal organization as a result. However, it's evident that US authorities want to send a message to would-be social media hackers — those perpetrators are risking serious charges, even if they're not primarily responsible for the attacks.

Nintendo's next SNES Switch Online games include 'Claymates' and 'Jelly Boy'

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:00 AM PDT

Where, oh where, are the great SNES games for Nintendo's Switch Online service? That's what I'm wondering after seeing the company's next batch of titles: Claymates, Jelly Boy and Bombuzal, which are scheduled to arrive on July 28th. No offense to Interplay's Clay series (which includes the far more memorable Clayfighter), but these aren't titles I'm exactly hankering to dive into. While Nintendo has done a solid job of bringing some of the biggest first-party titles over to Switch Online's SNES library, we're still waiting for classics like Mario RPG and EarthBound to arrive. 

There's some value in letting younger generations see the sort of titles '90s kids had to suffer through, though. And while Jelly Boy isn't exactly a household name, this is the first time it's going to be available outside of Europe, which at least makes it an interesting curio for retro gamers.

The best student discounts we found for 2021

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 07:45 AM PDT

They say your college years are the best of your life. But they tend to leave out the part where you're scrounging every dollar for textbooks, food and (if you're lucky) the occasional weekend outing with friends. Money is tight when you're a student, and that financial stress can be compounded by the reality of having to stay on top of your studies.

If there's a silver lining, it's student discounts. Many companies offer their products and services for less to those struggling through lectures, writing research papers and studying for finals. We've compiled a list of the best deals you can get on useful services, along with some things you'll enjoy in your down time. Just keep in mind that most of these offers require you to prove your status as a student either by signing up with your .edu email address or providing some form of student identification.

Shopping

Amazon Prime Student

If you're not piggybacking off of your parents' Amazon Prime account, you can have the subscription for less while you're in school. College students can get Prime Student for $6.50 per month or $60 per year, and it includes the same perks as a standard Prime membership including free two-day shipping, free same-day delivery in select areas, and access to the entire Prime Video library. Amazon also currently offers a six-month free trial, so you'll pay even less during your first year.

Buy Prime Student at Amazon - $60 a year

Best Buy

While it doesn't offer a specific student discount, Best Buy has Student Deals that you can sign up to receive. Aside from proving your student status, the only requirement is for you to be a My Best Buy member; that program is free to enroll in. We actually recommend that most people sign up for My Best Buy because some items, especially during site-wide sales, will be even cheaper for members. All student deals will appear in the Member Offers page in your account.

Sign up for Student Deals at Best Buy

Apple

Apple offers some deals to students and educators. This year in particular, Apple is throwing in a free pair of AirPods when you buy select Macs or iPads for college. You'll get AirPods with the regular wired charging case free, or you can upgrade to AirPods with the wireless charging case for $40 more. Alternatively, you can get the AirPods Pro for $90 more. Apple knows how popular AirPods are and it clearly wants to sweeten the deal for students who have been thinking about getting a new computer before heading off to college.

The AirPods promotion also includes Apple education pricing on Macs and iPads. There isn't a flat percentage rate across all products; the discounts are device dependent. For example, right now students can get a new MacBook Air M1 starting at $899, which is $100 less than the normal starting price (Amazon's matching this price, too). The 13-inch MacBook Pro also starts off $100 cheaper and the new iPad Pros start at $749, or $50 cheaper than usual. These are decent savings if you must have a brand new Apple product, but those with tighter budgets should also consider Apple's refurb program.

Shop Apple's back-to-school promos

Samsung

Samsung offers up to 10 percent off most of its products to students and educators. The brand also has some decent offers like a "speed and storage" bundle that includes two Samsung drives for under $300. We'd recommend stretching that 10 percent discount as much as possible by using it on big-ticket items like a Samsung laptop or a Galaxy smartphone if you need one. Otherwise, Samsung has solid accessories like the Galaxy SmartTag and the Galaxy Watch Active 2.

Shop Samsung's back-to-school promos

Microsoft

Microsoft also provides students and educators with up to 10 percent off its gadgets, including the already affordable Surface Go 2 and the Surface Headphones 2. And Microsoft's online store doesn't only sell Surface devices: You can also find Windows PCs from Lenovo, HP, Acer and others there at discounted prices.

Shop Microsoft's back-to-school promos

Streaming

Spotify

Spotify Premium's student plan gives you a lot for only $5 per month. Besides access to millions of songs, it also includes Hulu's ad-supported plan and Showtime's ad-free service. You'd spend roughly $27 a month if you paid for all three separately at their full prices, making this student offer one of the best you can get.

Buy Spotify Premium Student - $5 a month

Pandora

Pandora also offers students its Premium membership for $5 per month. Pandora's offering doesn't include any additional services, but you do get an ad-free experience, personalized music, unlimited skips and unlimited offline play.

Buy Pandora Premium Student- $5 a month

Apple Music

Apple also slashes 50 percent off its Apple Music subscription for students, bringing it down to $5 per month. The offer is available for up to 48 months so you can enjoy the rate for the entirety of your college experience. What's more, the company bundles Apple TV+ in this student offer, so you can watch Apple originals like The Morning Show and See.

Buy Apple Music Student membership - $5 a month

Tidal

Tidal provides student discounts on both of its streaming services: Premium and Hi-Fi. Premium drops to $5 per month, down from $10, while Hi-Fi costs $10 per month, down from $20. This year, the company is offering a three-month free trial of either of its services to any new user through the end of August. Tidal is still often overshadowed by Spotify and Apple Music, but these discounts are a good way to give it a try without spending too much money.

Buy Tidal Student starting at $10 a month

Hulu

College students can sign up for Hulu's ad-supported plan for only $2 per month. That's $4 less than the normal price and a great deal considering all of the content that Hulu has to offer (think The Handmaid's Tale, Grey's Anatomy, Rick & Morty and more). Yes, you have to deal with commercials, but it's a small price to pay to binge-watch shows like Brooklyn Nine Nine, which can provide a much-needed laugh when you're drowning in coursework.

Buy Hulu (ad-supported) - $2 a month

YouTube

If you're already spending a lot of time watching YouTube, you may have a better experience with YouTube Premium. The Student plan knocks nearly 50 percent off the price so you'll pay $7 per month for ad-free video viewing, background play, video downloads and access to YouTube Premium Music. The latter is YouTube's attempt at a Spotify/Apple Music competitor, but it has a long way to go before it can really hold a candle to those services. However, if you listen to most of your music via YouTube already, Premium could be your one-stop-shop for music and video streaming.

Buy YouTube Premium Student - $7 a month

Headspace

Being a student is stressful even in the best of times, but now it's even more difficult to concentrate and find peace. Headspace is just one of many meditation and mindfulness apps available that can help with that, but it stands apart with a great student discount: $10 for the entire year, or $60 less than a normal annual membership. In addition to a large library of meditation lessons and routines to follow, Headspace recently added SleepCasts, a collection of soothing voices reading bedtime stories to help you fall asleep, as well as "mindful" workout routines.

Buy Headspace Student plan - $10 a year

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

You're probably using Adobe products if you're studying anything to do with digital art or design. Adobe CC is the industry standard in this space but the entire suite of programs is quite expensive at $53 per month. Thankfully, Adobe has education pricing for students that drops the entire creative suite to $20 per month for the first year. That includes the big programs like Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC along with Lightroom CC, Premiere Pro CC, Adobe XD and more.

After your first year, the monthly cost increases to $30 per month. While not ideal, it's still more affordable for students than it is for industry professionals. If you're not tied to Adobe programs, you might also consider Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher apps from Serif ($50 each for the Mac or Windows versions), which compete with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Buy Adobe CC - $20 a month

Ableton Live

Regardless of whether you're studying music production, students can get 40 percent off Ableton Live Standard or Suite for as long as they are enrolled full-time. That brings Live 11 Standard down to $269 and Suite down to $449 — great discounts on some of the best music software available right now.

Buy Ableton Live starting at $269

Microsoft 365

Many students have to use Microsoft 365 tools on a regular basis. If your college or university doesn't provide you with an account, you can still get Microsoft 365 for free by taking advantage of the company's student and educator discount. This gives you access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and even Microsoft Teams free of charge, which is a great deal considering an annual subscription costs $100.

Get Microsoft 365

Ulysses

Spending all day and night writing papers is even more frustrating when you don't have all your writing organized in one place. Ulysses is a popular writing app for mac/iOS that can be used for note taking as well as thesis writing, with features like auto-save and auto-backup, word-count writing goals, markup, plain text support and DropBox integration. Normally, Ulysses costs $40 per year but students can get it for only $11 every six months, or $22 per year. There isn't a direct alternative for Windows users, but you do have options including Scrivener (a one-time student price of $41.65), IA Writer (a $20 one-time price) and FocusWriter (free and open-source).

Buy Ulysses - $22 a year

Evernote

Evernote can be an indispensable tool if you like to keep all of your thoughts in one place — everything from class notes to web clippings to to-do lists. Students can get half off one year of Evernote Premium, which brings the price down to $4 per month or $48 for the year. Premium is the way to go if you're investing in Evernote because it syncs your notes across unlimited devices, gives you offline access, lets you annotate PDFs and search saved documents.

Buy Evernote Premium (1 year) - $4 a month

Squarespace Student plan

Whether you're itching to get a jump-start on your portfolio or just want an online space for to show off your work, Squarespace is a good option as it gives students a 50 percent discount on any of its annual plans. The most affordable option will cost $72 for the year, which is half the normal yearly price of $144. Squarespace is one of many website builders out there, but it's particularly popular with creative professionals. Its customizable templates make it easy to build a website and make it look exactly how you want it. Plus, you can upgrade down the line to add things like website analytics, custom JavaScript and CSS and e-commerce.

Buy Squarespace starting at $72 a year

News

It's always been important to keep up with the news, but it's never been more important than it is now. Yes, it's daunting sometimes and we don't expect (or encourage) you to inhale every breaking-news headline as it's published. However, it's crucial to know what's going on in the country and the world as a whole. Here are some reputable news organizations that offer student discounts on their monthly or annual subscription plans.

The Atlantic: Starts at $25 per year for digital-only access.

The New York Times: $4 every four weeks for a base subscription.

The Washington Post: $5 every four weeks for digital-only access.

The Wall Street Journal: Starting at $4 per month for the Student Digital Pack.

A single typo locked Chromebook users out of their laptops

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 07:23 AM PDT

Google is apparently learning a hard lesson about the importance of accurate writing. Android Police reports that Google has pulled a briefly available Chrome OS update that broke logins for Chromebook users, apparently due to a simple typo. The company appears to have added a second "&" to a line of code, preventing the OS from decrypting login info and effectively locking updated users out of their systems.

The issue not only prevented some users from signing in, but started bootloops (where the system keeps restarting). At least one system required a recovery USB stick to return to a working state. While Chrome OS thrives on cloud syncing, some people still lost important files.

Google has pinpointed the problem and should deliver a fixed update today (July 21st). Still, it's not clear how such a conspicuous flaw slipped through the testing process. If nothing else, it's a reminder about the importance of backups — it only takes one buggy update to create chaos, whether you're using a Chromebook or any other device.

The Sad Wolverine meme will be immortalized as an action figure

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 07:10 AM PDT

The Sad Wolverine meme, in which a fully costumed Logan from the '90s X-Men: The Animated Series lays in bed, staring longingly at a photo of his beloved Jean Grey and that interloper Scott Summers, is becoming an action figure from Mondo. It's about time. Few memes can truly capture the same sense of emo thirst. Typically, the framed photo is replaced with an image that makes Wolverine's yearning seem all the more hilarious. Who among us hasn't laid in bed staring at Instagram with the same sense of pining for a gadget/vacation spot/person?

Sad Wolverine action figure
Mondo

Just be prepared to clear out some shelf space, as this Sad Wolverine figure will be 1:6 scale. And while you could take it out of its box and add a variety of other accessories, like an unmasked Logan head or the face of his former best friend Morph, why would you? Mondo will open pre-orders for the figure on July 23rd as a Comic-Con exclusive, and it'll run you $200. Here's hoping that Mondo follows up with another meme figure: Sad Wolverine seeing Scott and Jean kiss. 

Sad Wolverine action figure
Mondo

'Aliens: Fireteam Elite' is an arcade shooter for the online era

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 07:00 AM PDT

There's a moment in the 1986 Aliens film when Bill Paxton's character, William Hudson, turns to his crewmates and says, "Man, it's a shooting gallery down there." After playing though the preview of Aliens: Fireteam Elite, I can say it feels like the developers really took this line to heart. Like, really.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is an online, co-op, third-person survival shooter from Cold Iron Studios, and it's been in development for the past six years. Cold Iron was actually bought and sold four times starting in 2018, bringing its mysterious Alien-based game along for the ride. In the end, Cold Iron has cut a deal with 20th Century Studios to self-publish Aliens: Fireteam Elite, and it's due to hit Steam, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles on August 24th, priced at $40.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite
20th Century Studios

I had the chance to play a preview build of Fireteam Elite that included access to two of the four campaigns, and four of the five character classes: gunner, technician, demolisher and doc (the final class is recon). Each campaign consists of three missions filled with AI-powered Xenomorph hordes, with three difficulty levels unlocked from the start. Every mission requires three players, and empty team slots are filled by bots named Alpha and Beta, which honestly end up functioning more like mobile turrets than actual teammates.

So, after playing hours of the preview with friends and bots alike, here's my conclusion: Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a generic survival shooter with old-school arcade DNA. Fireteam Elite feels like an online, updated version of light-gun games like Area 51 or House of the Dead, complete with repetitive environments and sloppy hit boxes. The game is competent, but not dynamic. To put it simply — man, it's just a shooting gallery down there.

To be fair, that's what survival shooters are all about. Enter a new area, prepare your defenses, kill the swarm, rinse and repeat. The thing is, Fireteam Elite deploys this formula in such a rigid structure that missions quickly become predictable, no matter how many bugs show up. What's more, the generic sci-fi environments blend together after a few playthroughs, and tricks like falling ceiling panels and sudden bursts of steam lose their effectiveness well before the first mission is over.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite

Fireteam Elite fails to build tension. With such a transparent gameplay structure, any feeling of pressure or horror has to come from the xenomorphs themselves, and frankly, they're often not smart enough to make this happen. The swarms rarely feel unmanageable and the specialized xenomorphs, like spitters or jumpers, routinely behave in non-threatening ways. This unpredictability ends up being more adorable than scary. Plus, I have to note that my game crashed three times in about seven hours of play.

That's not to say the AI is trash altogether. Cold Iron says it's already resolved some of the movement issues the xenomorphs were experiencing in the preview build, and it really is impressive to see dozens of inky black aliens bounding down the hallway, each on its own path but out for blood, and the game is built around these moments. The xenos stumble around corners like dogs on a tile floor, and details like this add much-needed personality to the waves.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite
20th Century Studios

The game's most exciting moments come at the end of each mission, during the final swarm. These are long standoffs with waves of xenomorphs, including spitters, prowlers, bursters and giants that hunt down a single crew member at a time. I've found the technician and doc to be particularly useful in these moments — the technician has a turret that recharges after it's been destroyed and shock grenades to keep the xenomorphs at bay, while the doc has an incredibly handy healing circle.

This is where the most strategizing takes place, even if it is mostly just turret talk. There are chests containing consumable weapons, health and on-demand ammo refills at each final battle, meaning your whole team will start off well-equipped and they're free to spray and pray. This is good, considering the reticles on most of the weapons are generous, and crowd control is the name of the game, not accuracy. 

Aliens: Fireteam Elite
20th Century Studios

There are a few bright spots in Aliens: Fireteam Elite. The soundtrack is a James Horner-inspired orchestral situation and it's a constant reminder of the game's cinematic 1980s roots; it does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to setting the mood. Plus, the game's RPG elements — including character, loadout and weapon customization, and challenge cards — add a necessary layer of depth to otherwise straightforward missions.

I wasn't expecting Fireteam Elite to be as narrative-driven as the films or as moody as Alien: Isolation, but I had hoped for something like Left 4 Dead meets Dead Space, and this ain't that. Instead, Aliens: Fireteam Elite feels like a theme park ride in video game form. The monsters aren't really threatening, but the crowds certainly are. And, of course, it's more fun with friends.
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