Friday, September 17, 2021

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The Morning After: We review the new GoPro Hero 10

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 04:15 AM PDT

It's been a decade, more or less, since GoPro crested into the mainstream as the name in small, portable, rugged action cameras. Since then, the company has continued to refine its flagship product, all while defending itself from cheaper fly-by-night competitors. Our James Trew has reviewed the new GoPro Hero 10 Black, which can shoot footage in 5.3K and take 23-megapixel stills from inside that notoriously sturdy housing.

We won't spoil the bones of his review, but suffice to say the improvements in hardware and shooting technology are certainly welcome. Sadly, you might see a hit in battery life, but GoPro says customers aren't trying to shoot theatrical movies on a single charge. If there's one thing James really wasn't a fan of, though, it was the price, which is $50 more than the last model, even if you subscribe to GoPro's unlimited cloud backup service.

— Dan Cooper

IKEA's ASUS ROG gaming collection comes to the US and UK this October

But beware the dangers of the gamer tax

IKEA / ASUS
IKEA / ASUS

IKEA and ASUS' Republic of Gamers division teamed up last year to build more gamer-friendly furniture and gear. Now, the product of that union is coming to the US and Europe after making its debut in Asia. The range includes a sculpted wooden hand to hold your headphones (or, at a push, VR headset) gaming chairs, storage and even a powered sit–stand desk. Bear in mind, however, some of the products are just regular IKEA doodads painted black, with $3 added to the price.

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AMC theaters will accept cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin

The company is leaning hard into its 'meme stock' status.

AMC CEO Adam Aron has announced the theatre chain will soon accept more than just Bitcoin at its cash registers. In a tweet, Aron said, by the end of the year, AMC would also accept Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash for ticket purchases and at concession stands. The move is likely to boost the company's relationship with the army of meme-stock traders who provided succor to the beleaguered company in the worst of the pandemic.

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T-Mobile will start offering in-store phone repairs on November 1st

500 stores will offer repairs to Protection subscribers.

T-Mobile has announced it'll start offering in-store repairs at 500 of its locations on November 1st. Customers who pay for the monthly Protection package can get their broken smartphone repaired on the same day. The company says that "highly credentialed" Assurant technicians will do the work using parts approved by the manufacturer. It's a good start, especially since getting your phone repaired can be an unbearable chore. Hopefully initiatives like this, coupled with some decent right-to-repair legislation, will make it less of a headache in future.

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Ford will spend $250 million to boost F-150 Lightning production

The company has 150,000 reservations for the electric truck.

Ford F150 Lightning
Ford

Ford will invest a further $250 million to increase production capacity for its F150 Lightning electric truck. The vehicle, which seems staggeringly popular, currently has around 150,000 reservations waiting to be fulfilled. That cash will go on recruiting more workers both to produce the car and the components needed to make it work, like drivetrains and batteries. Sadly, it won't be until 2022 that Ford will see the benefit of that investment, but it needs to do something to ensure it doesn't lose sales to its EV pickup-truck rivals.

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Lucid's limited edition Air EV rated for a Tesla-beating 520 miles of EPA range

For comparison, Tesla's Model S with a 100kWh battery pack has a 402-mile EPA range.

Lucid Air EV
Lucid

Don't shoot the messenger, EV fans, but Lucid says its Air EV has an EPA range of 520 miles on a charge. That's 100 miles or so more than you could expect out of a fully specced Tesla Model S LRP with the 100kWh battery pack. CEO Peter Rawlinson was bullish, saying its battery management and drivetrain technology is tremendously efficient. Then again, it's easy to make promises: The real proof will be when we can try this car out for ourselves.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

Microsoft Office 2021 will be available on October 5th

Samsung begins manufacturing 14-inch 90Hz OLED displays

Former 'Destiny' composer could owe Bungie almost $100,000

Netflix is making a heist series you can watch in any order

Wikipedia banned seven users after reported 'infiltration' by a Chinese group

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 03:41 AM PDT

Wikipedia suffered an "infiltration" by a Chinese group that "threatened the very foundations" of the site, the BBC reported. As a result, the Wikimedia Foundation has banned seven editors from mainland China and removed administrator privileges from another 12, Wikimedia VP of Community Maggie Dennis wrote in a blog post. 

The foundation said it was fighting a situation called "capture," in which a group gains control of Wikipedia edits to favor a viewpoint. It has been investigating the infiltration for nearly a year, and acted following "credible threats" to volunteer safety that "led us to prioritize rapid response," Dennis wrote. 

Wikimedia was reportedly concerned that elections for powerful administrator roles were being manipulated. The infiltrators were reportedly editing articles to promote the "aims of China," Dennis told the BBC. She added that "I am not in position to point fingers at the Chinese state nor in possession of information that would lead me to do so."

While some time ago we limited the exposure of personal information to users in mainland China, we know that there has been the kind of infiltration... and we know that some users have been physically harmed as a result.

Earlier in July, the Hong Kong Free Press reported on the situation with an article titled "Wikipedia wars: How Hongkongers and mainland Chinese are battling to set the narrative." It cites several disputed Wikipedia articles, both revolving around protests in Hong Kong, saying that mainland editors were "pushing for the use of Chinese state media as reliable news sources."

The group in question, Wikimedians of Mainland China, reportedly has over 300 members. In a separate article, they said the foundation had not listened to the "feelings and opinions of the community." 

However, Dennis said that the personal safety of members in Mainland China was at risk. "While some time ago we limited the exposure of personal information to users in mainland China, we know that there has been the kind of infiltration we describe above in the project," she wrote. "And we know that some users have been physically harmed as a result. With this confirmed, we have no choice but to act swiftly and appropriately in response."

"To the 4,000 active Chinese language Wikimedians distributed across the world... we are committed to supporting you in doing this work into the future, with the tools you need to succeed in a safe, secure, and productive environment." 

Reverb's latest feature lets you track the value of your music gear

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 01:45 AM PDT

Reverb, the Etsy-owned online used musical instrument site, has added a feature called Collections that lets you track the value of your musical gear. It can show you at a glance exactly what you own and how much it's worth for "fun, insurance or tax purposes," the company said. It also makes it faster to list an item you want to sell by simply pulling it from your collection. 

To use Collections, you go to your Reverb profile picture and hit "My Collection," which will show everything you own and prompt you to add another item, either something you've purchased from the site or a new item. Doing so brings up a search menu, which draws from a comprehensive database of musical gear to narrow it down to your exact item. 

Once you add an item, Reverb will show an estimate of its value, and if that's off (due to condition or whatever) you can enter your own estimate. Values are constantly updated with dynamic pricing, so you can follow how it's changed over time. 

It's a particularly useful feature for the many musicians who own a lot of gear and often shuffle their collections. It looks like the company has built up a very comprehensive database of guitars, synths, pedals and other gear, which could be a big help if you're trying to value your collection. 

Telegram has seen a sharp rise in cybercriminal activities, report says

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 12:25 AM PDT

Cybercriminals have been using Telegram for years, because it's encrypted and easy to access. According to a recent investigation conducted by The Financial Times and cyber intelligence group Cyberint, though, there's been "a 100 percent-plus rise in Telegram usage by cybercriminals" recently. And FT says the rise in criminal activity on the app came after users flocked to it following a change in WhatsApp's privacy policy.

If you'll recall, WhatsApp asked its users to accept a revised policy allowing it to share data with its parent company Facebook earlier this year. Users were outraged, and WhatsApp had to clarify that it still won't be able to read their private communications. Even so, people migrated to rivals offering secure similar messaging capabilities — for Telegram, that has apparently led to a rise in criminal activity conducted through the app. 

According to the investigators, there's a ballooning network of hackers sharing and selling data leaks in channels with tens of thousands of subscribers. The number of times "Email:pass" and "Combo" were mentioned in the app over the past year reportedly rose fourfold. Some data dumps circulating on the app contain 300,000 to 600,000 email and password combinations for gaming and email services. Cybercriminals are also selling financial information, such as credit card numbers, passport copies and hacking tools through the app. 

Tal Samra, cyber threat analyst at Cyberint, explained: "Its encrypted messaging service is increasingly popular among threat actors conducting fraudulent activity and selling stolen data ... as it is more convenient to use than the dark web." In addition to being more convenient than the dark web, Telegram is also less likely to be monitored by authorities, Samra said. 

Telegram has removed the channel where the massive datasets with email and password combos are being sold after FT notified the company. In a statement, Telegram also said that it "has a policy for removing personal data shared without consent" and that it has an "ever growing force of professional moderators" removing 10,000 public communities every day for violating its TOS. Earlier this year, those moderators had to monitor hundreds of channels to keep an eye out for calls of violence following the attack on the US Capitol.

Watch Ken Block's Hoonigan team build a real life 'Halo' Warthog vehicle

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 10:46 PM PDT

Ken Block's Hoonigan Industries has built a fully functional Warthog vehicle, and the team is showing us the process it went through in a new series on YouTube. While it's far from the first life—size version ever made of Halo's famous armored vehicle, this one actually works — it even debuted at the world premiere of the movie Free Guy, which stars Ryan Reynolds, a bank teller who discovers he's but an NPC in an open-world game. 

The Hoonigan team created its real life Warthog using a custom rock crawler chassis. As Autoblog notes, it doesn't have a mounted gun, but it undeniably looks like the Warthog with its chunky body, futuristic shape, curved windshield and enormous tires. Even its interior is a replica of its virtual counterpart, and the team also made sure it has a four-wheel steering system. To power the beast, the team took a Ford V8 engine and added two turbos to it, giving it a 1,060 horsepower capacity.

The Warthog appears across games in the Halo franchise as a driveable military vehicle, and the Hoonigan team built a replica of it to promote the upcoming Halo Infinite game that's launching in December. Hoonigan, the brainchild of rally driver Ken Block who was also behind The Gymkhana Files, will upload new episodes showing how the Warthog was built every week until October 14th. You can watch the first one below:

Retrokits RK-008 is a robust MIDI sequencer disguised as a pocket calculator

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 04:23 PM PDT

If you're a fan of Korg's Volca lineup, then there's a decent chance you've heard the name Retrokits before. The company builds a bunch of useful tools for making the most of your electronic music setup, but its specially designed MIDI cable that adds features like velocity control to the Volca FM have proven quite popular. The latest member of its lineup though, is quite a bit more ambitious.

The RK-008 is a full fledged MIDI control center. It's an eight track MIDI sequencer and recorder, which allows it to be the glue that keeps your rig together. It also has a built-in metronome to help you stay in time with your instruments, which is important since all MIDI data is recorded unquantized. (Though you can quantize it after the fact, and then undo if you prefer to go back to your original sloppy playing.) 

Each track can record on multiple channels, so you can actually control multiple devices from a single track, leaving the other seven open for... even more devices? You can even record eight parts across the eight tracks, then consolidate them down to one, freeing up more room for sequencing. And of course you can overdub or overwrite any performances.

Each of the tracks can be manipulated independently too. Allowing you to quantize them, add swing or transpose them. And it's all non-destructive, so you can easily undo your changes. 

There's also a simple step sequencer built-in to the RK-008. It's probably not gonna work for complex chords, but does the job just fine it seems for four on the floor drums. 

There's two MIDI inputs and two MIDI outputs on the back, plus a separate dedicated sync port. Tracks can be assigned to one or both outputs, which is handy if you've got that one drum machine that insists on having each instrument on a separate channel. The two in ports means you can merge MIDI from different sources, but also use different controllers for different instruments.

It's quite a feature list as is, and Retrokits says there's still more to be revealed, which is incredibly impressive for something that looks like pocket calculator from the 1980s — and I mean that as a good thing. The RK-008 looks part MPC, part HP calculator, could probably fit in a pocket and yet seems capable of controlling an entire live music rig. 

There are still some outstanding questions though, most importantly when it will come out and how much it will cost. But hopefully we'll find out sooner than later.

Rivian announces membership plan with complimentary charging and LTE connectivity

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 03:34 PM PDT

With R1T trucks rolling off the assembly line at its factory in Normal, Illinois, Rivian continues to prepare for the official debut of its first EVs later this month. On Thursday, the automaker introduced a membership program that will grant Rivian owners access to complimentary charging at its soon-to-be-built Adventure Network and Waypoints chargers. It also pledged to match every mile Rivian Membership customers drive with energy from renewable resources such as wind and solar, as well as offer unlimited access to 4G LTE connectivity.

Additionally, the service includes Rivian off-Roadside Assistance, additional coverage that will see the company send a recovery vehicle to you if you get stuck out on the trail or need an emergency battery recharge. The company also promised to add additional perks in the future, including new drive modes, community meetups and in-cabin content. Each new Rivian vehicle will come with 12 months of free access to the service. After that, you'll need to pay to continue enjoying the perks of the membership. The company hasn't said how much it plans to charge for the service, so we've reached out to it for more information.

Home computer legend Sir Clive Sinclair dies at 81

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 02:23 PM PDT

The tech industry just lost one of its best-known inventors. The Guardianreports Sir Clive Sinclair died early on September 16th at 81 following a long illness. He's best known for his namesake company's ZX computers, which thrived in the UK during the early 1980s — he succeeded in making home PCs accessible at a time when most models were still major expenses. A ZX Spectrum 16K, for instance, cost £125 where Apple launched the Apple II for $1,298 just a few years earlier.

Sinclair is also widely credited with having invented the first pocket calculator, the Sinclair Executive, in 1972. Texas Instruments' first programmable calculator (the HP-65) didn't arrive until 1974. He was an early pioneer of electric transportation, too, having developed the C5 electric tricycle in 1985.

Like many inventors, his projects didn't always succeed. Sinclair's computer business ran into trouble in 1984 with the ill-fated QL, and he sold the company to Amstrad in 1985. And while the C5 may have been decades ahead of its time, that didn't translate to sales. Sinclairs' vehicle business ran aground less than a year after the C5's debut.

Sinclair's legacy is clear, however. For many gamers and game developers, Sinclair's computers represented a watershed moment. McGill University noted that many famous creators and studios, including Peter Molyneux, David Perry and Rare, cut their teeth on ZX Spectrums. Pocket calculators are still useful even in the smartphone era. And it's safe to say EVs are here to stay, including open-air rides. There's a real chance Sinclar's work has affected the technology in your life, even if you've never touched one of his products.

Reports show no 'practical difference' between Sony's PS5 models

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 01:45 PM PDT

At the end of August, YouTuber Austin Evans posted a video on Sony's updated PlayStation 5 "CFI-1100" console. He was one of the first to obtain the revised model and what he found after tearing down the console was that Sony had equipped it with a smaller and lighter heatsink. In testing the unit, Evans found exhaust temperatures were higher than on the launch variant, leading him to claim it "worse" than its predecessor. That's a statement that led to controversy, and, in some cases, confusion over whether people should buy the updated CFI-1100 model.

Now we have a more definitive answer on what the new heatsink means for the PlayStation 5. Working together, Digital Foundry and Gamers Nexus conducted an independent teardown and analysis of the console. The short answer of what they found is that "in all practical terms, there is no meaningful difference between PS5s old and new." The longer answer is that the new PS5's cooling performance is more complicated than was first reported.

In addition to featuring a new thermal assembly, Sony tweaked the motherboard and baseplate found in the refreshed PS5. The result of those changes is some components run cooler while others get hotter. However, Digital Foundry states, "there is no evidence that this presents anything worth worrying about, assuming you are keeping your PS5 in a well-ventilated area."

Critically, the outlet found that once it installed the latest firmware from Sony, there was also no difference in performance between the new and old models. Both variants will pull as much power as they need to maintain a sufficient boost clock and throttle their fans to limit noise. Even as both consoles get hotter, you won't notice a dip in performance in the way you would with a PC GPU. Either way, should they hit a critical temperature where their components are in danger, both will automatically shut down to prevent damage.

"The core question of whether the new PS5 is better or worse than the launch model can be answered by saying that they're mostly much the same, certainly in terms of the end-user experience," according to Digital Foundry.

The main takeaway from the analysis conducted by the outlets is that you can safely buy the updated model. You don't need to go out of your way to find the launch variant. In fact, it's probably best you avoid doing so since many scalpers have tried to take advantage of the fallout from the initial video Evans posted by selling their launch models for even more money.

Riot is the latest developer to release its own game launcher

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:49 PM PDT

Are you tired of game developers releasing launchers that feel redundant? Too bad, you're getting another one. Riot Games has revealed plans to roll out a launcher for its games, Riot Client. It's not strictly new (games have been quietly using a limited version of the launcher for a while), but you now have access to all of Riot's desktop titles with a single sign-in. You can hop from Valorant to League of Legends with little trouble, for instance.

The client will first be available on September 20th. All gamers should receive the new software on October 4th, assuming Riot is confident in the client's stability. You'll still see dedicated pages for each game, including news and events.

Riot stressed that your existing shortcuts to individual games will still work, and that this won't chew up significantly more drive space. It's not quite the classic case of inserting another layer between you and the games you want to play. At the same time, there's little doubt this helps Riot control the experience. A client like this will make it that much easier for Riot to keep you within its game universe — why jump to Counter-Strike when Valorant is that much easier to reach?

Recreate 'Space Oddity' sounds with a Bowie-edition Stylophone

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:35 PM PDT

David Bowie famously used a Stylophone on "Space Oddity" all the way back in 1969. Over half a century later, Stylophone maker Dubreq has released a Bowie version of the synthesizer.

Dubreq teamed up with The David Bowie Archive on the limited-edition Bowie Stylophone. It's not functionally different from a regular Stylophone, though. There's a Bowie logo and it comes with a booklet that dives into his music and features archive photos.

Still, given Bowie's long association with the instrument (he used it on the 2002 song "Slip Away" as well), it could be a neat memento for fans. You can buy the Bowie Stylophone from Dubreq's website for $40.

GM extends its Bolt EV production shutdown until at least mid-October

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:20 PM PDT

After GM shuttered all but four of its plants on account of the ongoing global chip shortage, the American automaker had to halt production at its Orion assembly plant, where its uncannily flammable Bolt EVs are built, on account of the vehicle battery recall. The Orion shutdown was only supposed to last until September 24th, to give GM time to properly address its battery issues, however, on Thursday, GM extended that shut down until at least the middle of October.

The company has not clarified when exactly Bolt EV production might restart but GM assured the public that sales will not resume until it has fully investigated and rectified the issue. Per Reuters, GM will continue "to work with our supplier to update manufacturing processes" until it is satisfied with the battery's performance and safety. There also still no word on when the six production plants that GM shut down due to the chip shortage will reactivate. These collective shutdowns have adversely impacted production of the Chevrolet Traverse, Equinox, Blazer, the Buick Enclave, and the GMC Terrain.

OpenSea product lead resigns over use of insider NFT info for purchases

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:05 PM PDT

OpenSea isn't wasting much time after its head of product was accused of exploiting insider information to turn a profit on non-fungible tokens. The marketplace has asked for and accepted Nate Chastain's resignation following claims he used secret Ethereum wallets to buy front-page NFT releases before they were available to the public. Chastain's reported actions broke a promise to foster the NFT market "responsibly and diligently," OpenSea said.

The company also tapped an unnamed third party to review its approach to unethical behavior and recommend changes. OpenSea promised to "quickly" implement any recommendations. It had already launched policies barring both the use of confidential info for NFT trading and for buying or selling from promoted creators and collections.

Chastain might not face further repercussions. As the law firm McMillan noted in a recent analysis, there aren't any laws in North America regulating NFT sales. This incident and the response do set expectations for other NFT marketplaces, though, and they might invite more regulation from governments that otherwise left NFTs untouched.

Former 'Destiny' composer could owe Bungie almost $100,000

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:47 AM PDT

Former Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell owes his old employer tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees following a court case related to his 2014 exit from the studio. According to legal documents obtained by Eurogamer, a court found O'Donnell in contempt of a previous ruling on July 12th of this year.

The broad strokes of the case involve the lawsuit the composer won against Bungie in 2015. A court ordered the studio to compensate O'Donnell financially but said he couldn't publish any music from Destiny without Bungie's blessing. Additionally, he had to return all materials related to his work on the first-person shooter back to the developer.

All of that brings us to 2019 when O'Donnel began uploading to YouTube and Bandcamp demos connected to Music of the Spheres, the eight-movement symphony he co-wrote with Paul McCartney that formed the early musical identity of Destiny. In a court motion reviewed by Eurogamer, Bungie alleged O'Donnell's "very possession of such materials proves he did not comply with the order to return 'all material' to Bungie."

Judge Regina Cahan sided with the studio and imposed new sanctions on O'Donnell. Some of the more notable ones include the fact he has to hand over his electronics to a third-party firm that will conduct a forensic examination to ensure any assets related to Destiny or Music of the Spheres have been deleted. He also has to pay Bungie all the money he earned from selling tracks tied to the symphony on Bandcamp, in addition to compensating it for expenses it accrued during the contempt proceeding. That includes lawyer fees.

In all, Bungie is reportedly demanding nearly $100,000 from the composer, an amount his lawyers say is unreasonable. O'Donnell took to Twitter to lament the case several times in early June. "I'm thinking about retiring from the games industry for good," he said in a deleted message dated to the 3rd. In one tweet that's still up, O'Donnell asks fans to buy the soundtrack to Golem, the 2019 PlayStation VR game he worked on with Highwire Games. "The money will help with my huge legal bills," he said. "Thank you."

Netflix is making a heist series you can watch in any order

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:35 AM PDT

Netflix is continuing to experiment with storytelling formats. Filming is underway on a heist thriller series called Jigsaw (which has nothing to do with the Saw movies, as best I can tell). Although it won't be an interactive project like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, it's a non-linear show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, you can watch the first seven episodes in any order leading up to the finale, similar to Paramount+ series Interrogation.

Jigsaw is loosely based on a real story in which $70 billion in Wall Street bearer bonds were at risk due to flood waters caused by Hurricane Sandy. The story spans 25 years, from decades before the heist to a year afterward.

The show has a solid cast, with Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell and Jai Courtney among those involved. Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Esposito will play a veteran thief who can't stay away from a life of crime. Vega, meanwhile, plays an attorney who goes above and beyond to protect those close to her.

Ridley Scott is among the executive producers of the series, which was created by showrunner Erica Garcia. There's no release date for Jigsaw just yet, but it's maybe worth keeping an eye out for so you can put the puzzle pieces together when it arrives.

Facebook has a new policy for fighting 'coordinated social harm'

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:06 AM PDT

Facebook has announced a new policy that allows it to take out networks of accounts engaging in "coordinated social harm." The company said the change could help the platform fight harmful behavior it wouldn't otherwise be able to fully address under its existing rules.

Unlike "coordinated inauthentic behavior," which is Facebook's policy for dealing with harm that comes from networks of fake accounts, coordinated social harm gives the company a framework to address harmful actions from legitimate accounts. During a call with reporters, the company's head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher said the policy is necessary because bad actors are increasingly trying to "blur the lines" between authentic and inauthentic behavior.

"We are seeing groups that pose a risk of significant social harm, that also engage in violations on our platform, but don't necessarily rise to the level for either of those where we'd enforce against for inauthenticity under CIB [coordinated inauthentic behavior] or under our dangerous organizations policy," Gleicher said. "So this protocol is designed to capture these groups that are sort of in between spaces."

Gleicher added that the new protocols could help Facebook address networks of accounts spreading anti-vaccine misinformation or groups trying to organize political violence. In announcing the change, Facebook said it took down a small network of accounts in Germany that were linked to the "Querdenken" movement, which has spread conspiracy theories about the country COVID-19 restrictions and has been "linked to off-platform violence."

Facebook said it could take "a range of actions" in enforcing its new rules around coordinated social harm. That could include banning accounts — as it did with the "Querdenken" movement — or throttling their reach to prevent content from spreading as widely.

The issue of how to handle groups that break Facebook's rules in a coordinated way has been a difficult one for the company, which up until now has primarily focused on taking down networks that rely on fake accounts to manipulate its platform. The issue came up earlier this year following the January 6th insurrection as Facebook investigated the "Stop the Steal" movement. According to an internal report obtained by BuzzFeed News, Facebook employees suggested its existing policies weren't equipped to handle "inherently harmful" coordination by legitimate accounts, which prevented it from realizing "Stop the Steal" was a "cohesive movement" until it was too late.

During a press call, Gleicher said that the "work on this policy started well before January 6th." But he added that the company's work against high-profile groups had informed their decision making. "If you think about our enforcement against QAnon-related actors, if you think about our enforcement against 'Stop the Steal,' if you think about our enforcement against other groups — we learned from all of them."

Microsoft Office 2021 will be available on October 5th

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 10:01 AM PDT

Microsoft will release Office 2021, the next consumer version of its productivity suite, on October 5th. That's the same day the company will launch Windows 11. Much like Office 2019 before it, Office 2021 is a one-time purchase that will be available on both Windows and macOS. It's for people who don't want to subscribe to the company's Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft promised to share more details on Office 2021 soon, but we know from reporting by The Verge's Tom Warren that the release will feature many of the same improvements found in Office LTSC, a variant of the software the company released today for enterprise customers who can't access the Cloud. Among other improvements, it adds accessibility features and dark mode support. We also know from a previous announcement Microsoft plans to support the software for at least five years, and that the software will work with both 32- and 64-bit systems out of the box.

Ford will spend $250 million to boost F-150 Lightning production

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:53 AM PDT

Ford's electric F-150 Lightning is clearly in high demand, and the company is determined to keep up. The automaker has paired news of pre-production work with a promise to invest an extra $250 million and create 450 new jobs to increase production capacity. That should help Ford build 80,000 Lightning trucks per year — little comfort when the company now has 150,000 reservations, but the move should reduce wait times.

Most of the jobs will go to workers assembling the electric F-150 at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, while others will build more batteries at the Rawsonville Components Plant and motors at the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center. The first trucks should be available in spring 2022.

The production numbers won't compete with conventional trucks for a while. As Autoweekobserved, Ford averaged sales of about 900,000 regular F-150 trucks per year before the pandemic and chip shortages came into play. While the Lightning may be more than a niche product, it's not yet at the point where Ford would have to reconsider its conventional truck production.

There's also a certain amount of posturing involved with the news. Ford is clearly eager to please a government promoting made-in-America EVs. However, it's still a recognition of pent-up demand for electric pickups, both from Ford and from the industry as a whole. Not that Ford might have much choice. With Rivian already producing its first trucks, Ford risks losing sales to competitors if it doesn't ramp up manufacturing.

Boss' SY-200 is a powerful guitar synth that fits on a pedalboard

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:44 AM PDT

Boss is certainly no stranger to the world of guitar synths. In fact, Roland and Boss have been at the forefront of guitar synths and MIDI controllers since the '70s. After launching the absolutely epic SY-1000 in 2019, then cramming a bunch of synth sounds into an actual guitar Eurus earlier this year, Boss is going a little more traditional with the SY-200. 

The SY-200 isn't quite as big as the 1000, which is basically a pedalboard in and of itself. But it's definitely larger and more comprehensive than the compact Boss pedals you're probably familiar with, like the SY-1 synth. The 200 has 171 different sounds spread across 12 different categories and can be played without the need for a special pickup. 

Each voice has three parameters that you can customize, which pales in comparison to the full on programable synth inside the SY-1000, but it's definitely a lot more approachable and pedalboard-friendly. You've everything from ripping leads, to warm pads, to delicate bell tones at your disposal. (Though, the Boss demo video above is real heavy on traditional guitar shredding.) Oh, and it's fully polyphonic, which we've come to expect from Boss synth pedals, but it's still worth calling out.

There's two foot switches for giving you some control over live variation while playing, but you can also connect an expression pedal, or control parameters and program changes via MIDI. You've got 128 preset slots for saving and recalling your favorite sounds. And last, but definitely not least, there are send and return jacks for blending in other effects in parallel with your synth sounds. 

The Boss SY-200 will be available for $300 in January alongside Boss' new IR-based amp and cab simulator, the IR-200, which will retail for $400. 

Cadillac Lyriq EV reservations open on September 18th

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:30 AM PDT

Cadillac is preparing to leap into the electric vehicle market with the Lyriq, and now the automaker has revealed when you'll be able to lock in your reservation. You'll get your first chance to lay claim to a 2023 Lyriq this Saturday (September 18th) at 4PM ET. Cadillac will host a two-hour livestream on the YouTube masthead in the lead-up to reservations opening.

The Lyriq starts at $58,795 and has a range of over 300 miles. It has a giant, 33-inch wraparound display and it's built on parent company GM's Ultium battery platform. Cadillac plans to release its first EV in the first half of 2022.

WhatsApp starts testing local business directories

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:18 AM PDT

WhatsApp already allows you to chat with businesses, but you may soon also have the ability to find them through the app as well. This week, the company started testing a directory feature that allows users to scan through local shops and services that have a presence on WhatsApp and contact them. The tool is currently only available in São Paulo, Brazil, but a screenshot shared by Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, shows that you can use the feature to sort businesses by category and how close they are to you.

Matt Idema, vice president of business messaging at Facebook, told Reuters the test involves "thousands" of shops and services. He added the company is likely to make the feature available in India and Indonesia next. "Based on feedback from the people who try it over the next few months, we'll look at expanding this service to other cities and other types of businesses available on WhatsApp," Cathcart said separately on Twitter.

While it's best known as an app you use to chat with your friends and family, WhatsApp has increasingly pushed into the e-commerce space. Since 2018, it has offered a separate app for businesses to use to communicate with their customers. More recently, it's gone out of its way to make it easier for people to shop directly from WhatsApp. At times, that hasn't always worked out for the company, as was the case when it changed its privacy policy earlier in the year. On that note, Cathcart said WhatsApp won't log the location of a user or the businesses they browse when using the directory feature.

T-Mobile will start offering in-store phone repairs on November 1st

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 08:57 AM PDT

In-store repairs are becoming increasingly commonplace, and T-Mobile is finally ready to catch up on that trend. The carrier now plans to offer in-store repairs to Protection subscribers in 500 stores starting November 1st. Pay $7 or more per month and you can get your device fixed the same day thanks to "highly-credentialed" Assurant technicians using approved parts. More stores will provide the option in the future, T-Mobile said.

The provider is also expanding Protection to handle five claims per year instead of the more conventional three. The service already covers accidental damage and theft, Jump upgrades and AppleCare.

This isn't a novel concept for carriers. However, it makes sure T-Mobile is at least competitive with heavyweight networks that already offer some in-shop repairs. And unless right-to-repair measures become commonplace, you'll likely be reliant on outside repair facilities for a while to come — in that light, more choices can't hurt.

Legendary racing series Wipeout returns with a mobile idle game

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 08:24 AM PDT

It's been a few years since the last Wipeout game, so fans may be pleased to hear there's a new title on the way. However, Wipeout Rush is quite different from what long-term fans might expect. It's a card-based mobile game in which you'll manage a team of competitors instead of controlling any anti-gravity ships directly.

"If I want that visceral, immersive, intense racing experience, I'll find it waiting on PlayStation," Matt Casamassina, CEO of developer Rogue Games told IGN. "But at the same time, we're delighted that we could rethink Wipeout for mobile with some fun new play mechanics and gorgeous visuals."

Wipeout Rush features more than 60 ships from across the Wipeout series. The single-player campaign contains 12 championship cups that take place across five environments with unique tracks, as well as a story told through comic book-style visuals. There's also an electronica soundtrack from long-standing Sony composer Alastair Lyndsay, while Rogue says you'll be able to play at up to 60 frames per second.

It might not be the full-on Wipeout experience that veteran players might have been hoping for on, say, PS5, but it could kickstart the revival of a series that's been part of PlayStation's DNA for over a quarter of a century. Wipeout Rush will hit iOS and Android later this year.

Razer gets its opto-mechanical keyboard right on the second try

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 08:00 AM PDT

Well, well, well. We meet again, Razer Huntsman. The company's first opto-mechanical keyboard was an interesting experiment, one I wasn't too fond of thanks to its unpleasant key feel and noise. After three years (and a mini edition) later Razer is back with a new $200 version, and it does seem the designers finally nailed it.

Keys on the Razer Huntsman v2
Kris Naudus / Engadget

First, a refresher: opto-mechanical keys have a small laser beam under each switch. When you press a key, it blocks the light path, sending a signal to the computer of what you just pressed. Because it doesn't need to fully actuate (go up and down) on a physical level, it's supposedly faster than traditional mechanical keyboards. In practice I didn't really notice the difference and even now I can't really distinguish the nanoseconds shaved off with each key press on the Huntsman V2. 

Red and purple key switches
Razer

However, what I can feel and hear is the layer of foam padding under the keys that mutes each stroke, which makes it a much more agreeable auditory experience — the first version had this annoying metallic echo that I could pick up even with my admittedly poor hearing. Granted, if you're wearing a headset and listening to gunshots or music you probably won't notice, but if you work in an office as I do, or share a small space with others, the comfort of those around you matters.

Razer Huntsman v2 with wrist rest
Razer

Now the keystrokes are still crisp but instead of hearing a metallic scratching sound it's more a muffled thud. (You can choose clickier keys at checkout.) And the switches aren't the only improvement Razer made toward comfort. There's a larger, squishier wrist rest available at extra cost for those who like having one, which connects to the Huntsman v2 magnetically so you can easily pull it off when it gets in the way — the spacious rest adds another four inches to the 5.5-inch keyboard's depth.

keyboard in black on a blue background
Kris Naudus / Engadget

However, if you find yourself really crunched for space, Razer is also releasing a $150 tenkeyless version of the Huntsman V2. Same opto-mechanical switches, but no number pad or media buttons on the right side. It's similar in feel to the 60-percent Huntsman Mini I used earlier this year, but the keys on the V2 feel slightly looser and require just a bit less effort to press. For most use cases the difference is negligible, but for people who take their gaming seriously, the effort you save — and the nanoseconds you shave off — matter.

AKG's $99 Ara USB microphone is built for streamers

Posted: 16 Sep 2021 07:51 AM PDT

You'll now have a better choice of microphones if you're eager to start livestreaming or record your first podcast. AKG has quietly released the Ara, a $99 USB condenser mic clearly aimed at streamers and others just upgrading from their earbuds and headsets. You only have two capture patterns (front-only and omnidirectional) versus the $155 Lyra's four, and you're limited to a 96kHz sample rate instead of the pricier model's 192kHz. However, those might not be major issues if you're compressing audio for streams and downloads.

You'll still get some common perks like mounting options and a headphone output for monitoring. The mic works with any computer or mobile device that supports USB audio.

The Ara is available now. Whether or not it's a better buy over its most obvious rival, Blue's Yeti Nano, is a tougher call. You won't have the Yeti Nano's software effects or flashier design (an important consideration as a streamer), but you'll also get a higher sampling rate than Blue's 48kHz offering. It may just be a matter of priorities.
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