Wednesday, October 6, 2021

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Pokémon is coming to Universal Studios Japan next year

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 03:35 AM PDT

Universal Studios Japan has teamed up with the Pokémon Company to develop "groundbreaking" entertainment starting in 2022, the companies announced. The theme park is effectively doubling down on its Nintendo-related attractions in the park, following the opening of Super Nintendo World and the announcement of a new Donkey Kong expansion. 

There aren't a lot of details about the project, but the companies said that they've formed a "long-term strategic alliance and that multiple development projects are underway." Whatever they build, it will involve "outstanding creativity" and "world-class entertainment technology," according to the enthusiastic press release. 

The Pokémon Company is technically separate from Nintendo, though Nintendo does own a big chunk of it. Judging by the press release and a previous leak, it doesn't seem that the Pokémon section or attractions will be inside Super Nintendo World, however. 

Super Nintendo World currently only exists in Universal's Osaka park, but it's under construction at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, and the upcoming Universal's Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort. To that end, it's likely that a Pokémon park would appear in the US, too.

Lest you've forgotten, the Universal Pokémon expansion wouldn't technically be the first Poké-related theme park. Pokémon The Park, aka PokéPark, was a traveling Japanese theme park that ran in 2005 and 2006 in Japan and Taiwan. 

Amazon opens its first 4-star store outside the US

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 03:05 AM PDT

Amazon has opened a 4-star store in Bluewater, a mall located just southeast of central London. And it's not just the first 4-star store outside the US, it's also the company's first shop in the UK that sells non-food and non-perishable items. Similar to Amazon's 4-star stores in New York and other parts of the US, the shop in Bluewater will sell products rated 4 stars and above, are top sellers or are trending on the e-commerce giant's UK website. 

Since the shop can't carry all the highly rated products Amazon sells online, the selection in-store will be curated, though they will include goods across top categories like consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen and home. It will sell products from small businesses across the UK, as well as the company's own devices, including Kindle e-Readers, Fire tablets and Echo speakers. 

The shop will have sections that correspond to specific sections of the website, as well, such as Most Wished For, which will feature products from Wish Lists. "Trending in Bluewater" will showcase items local customers have been buying, while "Most Gifted" will feature the top items ordered as gifts. Amazon says it will switch out products regularly based on customer feedback and to keep up with the latest trends. 

Products in the store will be marked with digital tags containing the item's price, average star rating and the number of customer reviews. In addition, customers don't have to be Prime members to be able to shop there. That said, the store won't feature Amazon's Just Walk Out technology like the company's Fresh grocery store in London. Just Walk Out allows shoppers to grab what they need from the shelves and, well, walk out without having to pay at a manned or a self-checkout counter. They can make their purchase from Amazon's UK website, however, and simply pick up their order from the store the next day.

Uber to face UK tribunal over 'racially discriminatory' facial recognition systems

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 02:35 AM PDT

Drivers in the UK are taking legal action against Uber over its real-time biometric identification checks, TechCrunch has reported. A union representing the drivers claims that some members were wrongly suspended when they were misidentified, and lost their licenses as a result. "[The] facial recognition systems... are inherently faulty and generate particularly poor accuracy results when used with people of color," the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) wrote in a blog post.

Backed by two worker's rights groups, the union is crowdfunding the legal action, taken on behalf of former UberEats courier Pa Edrissa Manjang and former Uber driver Imran Javaid Raja. It said they were "unfairly dismissed after the company's facial recognition system failed to identify them."

"Workers are prompted to provide a real-time selfie and face dismissal if the system fails to match the selfie with a stored reference photo," the ADCU wrote. "In turn, private hire drivers who have been dismissed also faced automatic revocation of their private hire driver and vehicle licenses by Transport for London."

Earlier in 2021, Uber was forced to reclassify UK drivers as workers, offering benefits like pension pay and holiday time. That came about because of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Uber drivers, James Farrer and Yaseen Aslam, who eventually helped form the ADCU in February 2020. 

Transport for London (TfL) pulled Uber's license in 2019 over "a pattern of failures." One particular sore point was that it allowed uninsured and suspended drivers to operate in the city, due to a loophole allowing them to upload their photos to another driver's account. To meet the regulator's requirements, Uber introduced random driver checks via a facial recognition system that uses Microsoft's FACE API technology, according to the ADCU. (Uber won back its license in September of 2020.)

The union noted that Microsoft withdrew sales of its facial recognition software to US police departments, and that the use of similar software has been discontinued or banned by Amazon, IBM, Axon and other companies. It also cited stats showing that facial recognition programs are far less accurate for people of color. 

However, Uber pushed back, saying that it doesn't depend solely on AI. "Our Real-Time ID Check is designed to protect the safety and security of everyone who uses the Uber app by helping ensure the correct driver is behind the wheel," Uber responded in a statement to TechCrunch. "The system includes robust human review to make sure that this algorithm is not making decisions about someone's livelihood in a vacuum, without oversight." It added that no Uber or Uber Eats accounts is suspended solely as a result of AI. 

However, Farrer said that the union has won at least 10 appeals in court against drivers dismissed by TfL that cite Uber's ID checks. "With Imran [Javaid Raja], Uber and TfL have already admitted they got it wrong. But he was out of work for three months. No apology. No compensation,"

HMD's first Nokia tablet features a huge battery and costs $250

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 02:00 AM PDT

Nokia has a rich history of, well, interesting tablets like the iPad knockoff N1, but has only released smartphones since the brand was purchased by HMD Global. Now, HMD/Nokia have launched their first tablet together, the 10.4-inch T20, with the key features being a large battery, cheap price and US availability.

The T20 isn't what you'd call a beautiful tablet, given the plain-Jane design and chunky bezels, though it does have a solid metal body structure and relatively thin (7.8mm) and light (470g) profile. The screen also looks pretty nice on paper, with 2K (2,000 x 1,200) resolution and 400 nits of brightness. 

HMD and Nokia's first tablet has a humongous battery and costs $250
Nokia

The key feature is the battery, though. With an 8,200mAh (non-removable) cell, it will let you surf the web for 15 hours between charges, play video for 10 hours or do Zoom-type calls for seven hours. It also comes with relatively fast charging (15 watts), though the charger in the box outputs just 10 watts.

Other specs are about what you'd expect for a tablet in this price category, including a Tiger T610 8-core CPU, up to 4GB of RAM/64GB of storage (expandable), and an 8-megapixel rear camera/5-megapixel front camera. There's optional LTE as well, though Nokia didn't say how much extra that would cost.

HMD and Nokia's first tablet has a humongous battery and costs $250
Giacomo Mantovani

For what it is, $250 price looks pretty decent. However, the world of Android tablets is an unremarkable one — will Nokia's brand recognition matter? The Nokia T20 arrives to the US and elsewhere around the world tomorrow (October 7th). 

T-Mobile wireless home internet service now costs $10 less

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 01:05 AM PDT

T-Mobile has slashed $10 off the wireless home internet service it launched in April. From $60, it now costs $50 a month, which is the same price it charged customers during the product's pilot program that started back in 2019. The service gives customers access to a gateway router/modem device that converts T-Mobile's 4G LTE and 5G networks into WiFi with typical download speeds of 35 to 115 Mbps. It has no annual contract, no data caps and, as the carrier keeps repeating in its announcement, no hidden fees and charges.

That $50 a month includes taxes and rental for the gateway, which customers have to return if they decide to cancel. They'd have to install it themselves, but the carrier says it will take them as little as 15 minutes. T-Mobile started testing the wireless home internet service in rural and underserved areas a couple of years ago in an invite-only trial for 50,000 homes. It rolled out access to the pilot program to over 130 cities across the US before the service's official launch.

Those interested will have to take note, however, that the price only applies if they pay via AutoPay. Without automatic billing, the price goes up to $55, which is still $10 less than the $65 it used to cost. 

Google Maps adds a dedicated 'lite' navigation mode for cyclists

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 12:01 AM PDT

Google Maps has included cycling directions for years now, but not a dedicated navigation mode for those who like to travel from place to place on two wheels. That's changing in the coming months with the introduction of a feature called lite navigation. Taking the turn-by-turn functionality that Maps is known for, the tool allows you to see important details about your current trip without the need to keep your phone's screen turned on. You also don't need to enter the full turn-by-turn interface to use the feature. At a glance, it will also allow you to see your current ETA and any changes in elevation.

Google announced the introduction of lite navigation as part of a broader effort related to sustainability. So as you might imagine, it's not the only cycling-related announcement the company had. It also shared that information related to bike and scooter sharing is available in 300 cities globally.

Google Maps eco-friendly routing
Google

For those that still depend on their car, eco-friendly car routing, which Google announced at the end of March, is now available in the US. With today's rollout, Maps will display the most fuel-efficient route you can take to a destination, in addition to the fastest one as it has always done. The tool will also display your relative fuel savings should you decide to follow the more efficient route. Google estimates the feature may help prevent as much as 1 million tons of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere. That's about the equivalent of removing 200,000 cars from the road. The company expects to roll out eco-friendly routing to European countries sometime in 2022.

Google turns its AI on traffic lights to reduce pollution

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 12:01 AM PDT

Poorly timed traffic lights don't just waste precious minutes. Like Google's chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt pointed out at a media event yesterday, they're also bad for the environment and public health. The company unveiled a slew of sustainability-centric products and updates today that aim to help users make more informed, environmentally friendly decisions. But it's also been working on a project that could use AI to make traffic lights more efficient and, as a result, decrease pollution in general. 

When your vehicle stops at an intersection, that idling time leads to wasted fuel and "more street-level air pollution," Brandt said. Google's new project would use AI to measure and calculate traffic conditions and timing at a city's intersections, then time them more efficiently. Brandt said one of the company's AI research groups has been able to accurately calculate and gather this data and train a model to optimize inefficient intersections. 

Google has run pilots at four locations in Israel to date, in partnership with the municipalities of Haifa, Beer-Sheva and the Israel National Roads Company. The company says it's observed a "10 to 20 percent reduction in fuel and intersection delay time" so far. Google didn't share any details on the average daily traffic in those intersections, though a video clip from the event showed a fairly busy junction. The company also didn't explain how the AI would work with current systems and the lights around specific intersections.

"It's early days," Brandt said, "but on the back of these promising results, we are now beginning new pilots in Rio de Janeiro and speaking with other cities around the globe." Though we're likely still at least years away from having AI manage our traffic intersections, this is one of the steps towards the vision of completely smart cities that the industry has collectively been working on for years. 

The idea of letting AI decide when to let vehicles stop or go can seem unsettling at best and potentially risky, but the goal of improving traffic light efficiency is a worthwhile one. Hopefully, with rigorous testing and safety measures in place, we may actually be able to reduce a significant amount of wasted fuel and exhaust-based pollution.

Google's Nest Renew program can help you use more clean energy at home

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 12:01 AM PDT

Google's latest effort to help you make more environmentally friendly decisions is all about your power grid. The new Nest Renew program is a suite of features that look at the times of day when the electricity feeding into your home is cleaner and turning your compatible Nest thermostats on or off accordingly. Renew arrives in a by-invitation preview in the coming weeks, and will be available for free in the continental US when it launches publicly. 

At the heart of Nest Renew is the understanding that at any given time, the power grid in your neighborhood contains a mix of clean and traditional energy. In the early afternoon, perhaps, there could be a higher concentration of electricity from solar sources, while a windier day could mean more power from turbines is coming through. Depending on the region, power grids could be getting their electricity from a diverse mix of sources. According to Nest product manager Jeff Gleeson, "a smart dynamic electric grid really needs smart homes." 

Nest Renew will not only automate some of this decision-making for you, but it can also give you insights on the type of power coming into your home. First, a new feature called Energy Shift will let those with a Google account and compatible Nest Thermostat automatically activate heating or cooling during times when your grid is cleaner. 

A sample of the Monthly Impact Report from Google's new Nest Renew Program on a laptop screen.
Google

Because Google can now see how carbon-intense a grid is, it can start cooling, say, earlier in the day when solar energy is more available (and your home is approaching your temperature limit). Gleeson told Engadget that the company doesn't think people will notice a difference with this change, and stresses that "customers are always in control." 

If your thermostat kicks in before you want it to, you can always dial it back down, and you'll know the device is making a Renew-related decision thanks to a green leaf that will appear onscreen. For those whose energy provider charges based on time-of-use, this can also help you save money.

Nest has had the leaf symbol on its product for years as an indicator of more power-efficient temperature control. Now, you can earn leafs by doing things like using Energy Shift, joining monthly challenges to do things like running your laundry on cold. When you accumulate enough leafs to hit milestones, you can vote where Google sends its funds (from a list of its Energy Impact partners starting with non-profits GRID Alternatives and Elevate). 

A Nest Thermostat showing the message
Google

In addition to automatic adjustments via your thermostat, Nest Renew will provide monthly "impact reports" that not only tell you the difference you're making, but also display when the electricity coming into your home is greener. With this data, you can choose to run the laundry, dishwasher or charge your devices earlier or later when your grid is cleaner.

Renew is a free opt-in program and works with the third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E or the most recent Nest Thermostat. Google is also offering a Premium tier for $10 a month in select parts of the US. It will unlock a Clean Energy Match feature that will exchange renewable energy credits (RECs) for what it estimates to be the same amount of fossil fuel-based electricity you use at home each month. This way, even if clean energy isn't available when you need to use it, you can at least assuage your guilt over using non-renewable power. Premium members will also get a unified bill that shows their monthly subscription to the program as well as their usual utility charges. 

Gleeson said Nest has been working on this program for years, and in that time it has teamed up with utilities and energy providers to encourage enrollment in residential programs, among other things. For Nest Renew, it's teamed up with eight Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) providers to help shape the program to meet their respective zero-carbon goals. 

Through the Nest Thermostats, increased visibility and marketing and relevant rewards programs, Google hopes to get more people enrolled in green energy utilities offers and programs. The company also wants to help utilities "bring more renewables online" and accelerate the process either by supporting them in building or buying renewable infrastructure, according to head of energy partnerships Hannah Bascomb.

Google's slew of sustainability-minded announcements today demonstrate a continued commitment towards the "carbon-free future" that CEO Sundar Pichai wrote about a year ago. In what Pichai called "our third decade of climate action," Google plans to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7, help more than 500 cities reduce 1 gigaton of carbon emissions and enable its partners to reduce carbon emissions all by 2030. Nest Renew is a part of a wide-ranging set of updates today across Search, Maps and more to help Google's users make more-informed, environmentally friendly decisions.

Google search results now highlight sustainable travel and shopping

Posted: 06 Oct 2021 12:01 AM PDT

Google is making its search engine more useful for the eco-friendly crowd. The internet giant is updating its search to provide information on more sustainable shopping and travel options. Look for energy-intensive appliances like hot water heaters or dishwashers, for instance, and you'll see suggestions for more sustainable (and frequently more cost-effective) products. A future update will also make it easier to cross-shop electric and hybrid cars, complete with identifying tags and a view of nearby compatible charging stations.

Google Flights, meanwhile, will show the estimated CO2 emissions for "nearly every" flight, right down to the seat level. An economy seat on a new aircraft could be much kinder than a first class berth aboard an older airliner.

Even stocks will see an improvement. Google Finance is launching sustainability scores for stock portfolios, giving you an overall sense of how Earth-conscious your investment companies are. Google will source info from the Climate Disclosure Project.

Search will also improve if you're simply trying to investigate climate change. Google is promising a dedicated results page with in-depth data, including related info from the UN and other authorities. Ideally, the data panels will help you better understand climate change and the fight to minimize it.

You'll have to wait a while to see all of Google's planned changes. The shopping and travel changes will arrive this week, but you'll have to wait until later in October for climate change info panels. The stock portfolio scores are merely "coming soon," and you'll have to wait until early 2022 to see EV and hybrid tags.

This is far from guaranteed to have a tangible effect on the environment. Just because you've seen an environmentally-savvy search link doesn't mean you'll click on it or even consider it. Even if that's the case, it signals a shift in attitude at Google. Tthe tech firm no longer considers reductions in behind-the-scenes resources to be enough — it's educating web users directly.

Canon created a dual fisheye lens for its new VR video system

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:08 PM PDT

Canon has made a surprising product announcement, revealing a dual, RF mount fisheye lens that's part of an all-new system called EOS VR. Its aim is nothing less than to transform virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) production by making workflow simpler than current VR capture systems, while delivering the quality of a full-frame mirrorless camera. 

The key product is the $1,999 RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye manual lens designed specifically to mount on Canon's 8K-capable EOS R5 camera. It's a highly unusual looking product, to say the least, with two bulging fisheye lenses mounted side by side. They're placed approximately 60mm (2.4 inches) apart to match human interpupillary distance and provide comfortable parallax for VR and AR. 

Canon created a dual fisheye lens for a new VR video system
Canon

The lens works only with Canon's EOS R5, chosen for its 8K video capability. When shooting, it projects two circular images onto the camera's 45-megapixel sensor. It supports 190-degree capture, allowing for delivery of stereoscopic 180-degree 3D footage or photos at up to 8,192 x 4,096 (8K) resolution for AR or VR applications. 

The lens has some unusual features, like a ring that focuses both lenses at once and an Allen screw adjustment that lets you tweak the focus of one lens to precisely match the other. Otherwise, you get features typically found in high-end Canon L RF mount glass, like coatings to control flare and ghosting, dust and water-resistant sealing and a solid F2.8 to F16 aperture range. Despite the odd looks, the lens is fairly compact and not much larger than Canon's 35mm F1.8 lens. 

Canon created a dual fisheye lens for its new VR video system
Canon

The lens is just one part of the equation, though. Canon is working on a firmware update for the R5 with new features to support the lens and EOS VR system. That includes MF peaking and manual focus confirm via Canon's Dual Pixel autofocus system, along with a "Magic Window" UI that helps users plan for delivery to different types of headsets.

In addition, Canon made its own EOS VR Utility and EOS VR Plugin apps, each available by subscription for $5 per month (with a free trial period). The VR Utility app flips the stereo images left to right and converts them from circular to an "equirectangular" square image that can be viewed on a VR headset. It also offers quick editing tools like trimming of clips and application of a LUT, while letting you change to preset resolutions and file types (DPX, Pro Res, H264, etc.) prior to export.

There's also the EOS VR plug-in for Adobe Premiere that "will convert the dual fisheye imagery to equirectangular, while allowing the ability to cut, color, and edit with the full control of Premiere Pro," Canon told Engadget. It also lets you export footage to the desired spec for different types of delivery. 

On top of those apps, you'll be able to use the current Camera Connect app and Canon's EOS Utility to control capture. Both will be updated down the road to offer "remote control live view functionality for monitoring purposes while on-the-go," Canon said in a press release.

The system can be used for weddings, journalism, sports, training, events and more, while offering a number of advantages over current VR cameras. To start with, it's designed to deliver better quality than standalone VR cameras with smaller lenses and sensors like the $5,000 Insta360 Pro 2. At the same time, you get all the R5's tools like log shooting, RAW capture, 10-bit video and more. And when you're not using the VR lens, the R5 can be used for regular video production or photo shoots, unlike dedicated VR cameras. 

Canon created a dual fisheye lens for a new VR video system
Canon

At the same, the production process is simpler and cheaper than with dual cameras used in higher-end productions. Those cameras must be rigged, synced, focused and positioned correctly, with the end result being two files in many cases. Canon's EOS VR system, by contrast, delivers similar quality but offers focus and setup like a regular camera, while leaving you with a single file to edit at the end. 

The entire system isn't exactly cheap, considering you need to pay $1,999 for the lens and $3,899 if you don't already have an R5 camera, for a total of $5,898. However, considering how niche and unusual the lens is, it costs less than I expected. There's also the issue of R5 overheating that limits 8K recording times to 20 minutes, with a 10-minute recovery period. You can improve that by capturing 8K to an external Ninja V+ RAW recorder, but that'll add $1,500 to your cost.

Still, it looks very promising for VR production, which has boomed in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic (though still isn't exactly mainstream). It's been especially in-demand for business training and collaboration, a potentially rich vein for video producers. A lot of those folks, especially if they already have a Canon EOS R5, might be willing to jump into VR work if Canon's new system is as easy to use as it promises. The lens and EOS VR system are set to arrive in late December 2021.

Former Sennheiser engineer Axel Grell made a $200 pair of ANC true wireless earbuds

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:00 PM PDT

In 2019, Axel Grell, the designer of Sennheiser's legendary HD580 and HD800 headphones, left the company to found Grell Audio. Two years later, the startup is coming out with a pair of true wireless headphones known as the TWS/1. Set to cost $200 when they go on sale next month, they feature components individually sourced and designed by Grell. Highlights include custom 10mm drivers, support for ANC, glass touch panels and a proprietary feature called Noise Annoyance Reduction (NAR) that the company claims cancels out high-end noises.

Grell Audio TWS/1
Grell Audio

Codec support is also extensive, partly thanks to Qualcomm's QCC5141 chipset. In addition to mainstays like SBC and AAC, the earbuds can connect to your device over LHDC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX adaptive. Outside of a handful of proprietary Sony formats, all that's missing here is Qualcomm's recently announced aptX Lossless codec. You can get up to 6 hours of battery life from the earbuds alone (with ANC on), or a total of 34 hours with the included aluminum charging case.

Grell plans to employ a direct-to-consumer model that will see the company sell the TWS/1 earbuds exclusively through its website and Drop. Pre-orders open today, with general availability to follow in November. The Drop version of the headphones will be known as the tws.01 and feature an all-black finish and come with an additional set of blue wingtips.

Update 10/6/21 4:03AM ET: Article updated with the correct battery life figure.

Mark Zuckerberg denies Facebook puts profit over users' safety

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 08:37 PM PDT

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn't testify at today's whistleblower hearing, but he has posted a lengthy reply to the accusations being lobbed at the company. He said the Frances Haugen's claims don't make sense and that they paint a "false picture" of the social network. "At the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritize profit over safety and well-being. That's just not true," he wrote in his post. The Facebook chief cited the Meaningful Social Interactions (MSI) update to News Feed, which was designed to show fewer viral videos and more content from friends and family. 

He said the company went through with the change knowing that it would make people spend less time on the website, because research suggested it was the right thing thing to do for people's well-being. In Haugen's testimony, she painted MSI in a less flattering light. She said Zuckerberg chose to apply "metrics defined by Facebook" like MSI "over changes that would have significantly decreased misinformation and other inciting content." The whistleblower said the CEO was presented with solutions to make Facebook "less viral, less twitchy," but he decided not to use them because they had a negative impact on the MSI metric. 

In the SEC complaint she filed, Haugen claimed that Facebook allowed "hateful" and "divisive" content, because it is "easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions." Zuckerberg addressed that in his post, as well, calling it "deeply illogical." Facebook makes money from ads, he said, and advertisers apparently tell the company that they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content. 

In addition, Zuckerberg said the research into how Instagram affects young people was mischaracterized. He didn't explicitly mention it, but The Wall Street Journal published an article in mid-September about how it knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls based on internal documents detailing Facebook's own research. The social network eventually published a couple of documents from that research, but Haugen provided Congress with four more. Zuckerberg defended the platform, writing that many teens the company heard from actually "feel that using Instagram helps them when they are struggling with the kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced."

Haugen, who joined Facebook in 2019, worked on democracy and misinformation issues when she was with the company. She brought "tens of thousands" of pages of internal Facebook documents to Whistleblower Aid founder John Tye in addition to filing a whistleblower complaint with the SEC. There were several reports that came out based on those documents, including the existence of a VIP program that enabled high-profile users to skirt Facebook's rules. Haugen also accused Facebook of contributing to election misinformation and the January 6th US Capitol riots.

As for Zuckerberg, part of his post reads:

"If we wanted to ignore research, why would we create an industry-leading research program to understand these important issues in the first place? If we didn't care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space — even ones larger than us? If we wanted to hide our results, why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we're doing? And if social media were as responsible for polarizing society as some people claim, then why are we seeing polarization increase in the US while it stays flat or declines in many countries with just as heavy use of social media around the world?"

Rode's PSA1+ boom arm works with small mics and cameras too

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 04:00 PM PDT

If you have a favorite streamer, chances are you've seen Rode's PSA1 hanging out in the corner of the frame. Or perhaps you are that streamer? Rode's boom arm has become a go-to for YouTubers, Twitch channels and podcasters alike. As handy as the PSA1 is, it isn't so good for lighter cameras and microphones — at least not without some DIY adjustments.

Enter the PSA1+ ($129). Unveiled today, it's a revised version of the ubiquitous mic arm that will handle devices as light as 94g / 3.3oz. That might not sound like much, but the original needed a lot more weight to keep its balance, effectively ruling out any microphone or camera under 700g / 24.7 oz. That excludes most webcams, all GoPros (which can now work as webcams) and a bevy of other more affordable mics. Sure, you can tighten the screws or meddle with counterweights, but that isn't always ideal or guaranteed to work.

Functionally, the PSA1+ feels a lot closer to something like Blue's Compass which holds itself in place even without weight thanks to a combination of hand-tightened friction hinges and its internal spring mechanism. Blue's offering might be better for lighter microphones and cameras but it doesn't adjust its position as accurately or smoothly as the PSA1 (although its cable management is better).

The extended device support on the PSA1+ isn't the only new feature. Rode claims the new arm is completely silent so you won't suffer errant squeaks or spring noises during your stream or recording. The company also states that part of this is thanks to a revised spring design along with the jazzy new neoprene cover (that kinda makes the PSA1+ look like it's headed to the gym). The cover makes for a more appealing design over the original's standard "desk lamp" aesthetic though. That said, there's some pretty strong branding printed on the side that'll likely catch your eye during videos. Sadly it doesn't seem like you can do much about that as the neoprene appears to be physically connected to the cable clips.

Those clips are a good thing though. As mentioned, cable management, which was functional but not pretty on the PSA1 (essentially it was velcro cable ties) now uses neater, sturdier plastic clasps which should be more reassuring. Now at least either your USB or XLR lead will mostly be out of sight.

The PSA1+ goes on sale tomorrow for $129.

Sony is making it harder to buy PS3 and Vita games

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 12:49 PM PDT

Sony may be keeping the PS3 and Vita stores alive, but that doesn't mean it will be easy to shop. Kotakunoticed that Sony is shutting down credit card, debit card and PayPal store payments for its older consoles on October 27th. From then on, you'll have to either load your virtual wallet (through the web or another console) or rely on gift cards — you can't just buy games directly.

The company didn't explain the decision in a notice to customers. We've asked Sony for comment.

Whatever the reasoning, the reduced payment options send a not-so-subtle signal: Sony would really, really like you to stop buying games for older consoles and move on to a PS4 or PS5. That's unsurprising when the PS3 is 15 years old and has the aging store infrastructure to match, but it's not very reassuring if you're hanging on to a PS3 or Vita to play classic games.

Facebook explains how its October 4th outage started

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 12:31 PM PDT

Following Monday's massive service outage that took out all of its services, Facebook has published a blog post detailing what happened yesterday. According to Santosh Janardhan, the company's vice president of infrastructure, the outage started with what should have been routine maintenance. At some point yesterday, a command was issued that was supposed to assess the availability of the backbone network that connects all of Facebook's disparate computing facilities. Instead, the order unintentionally took those connections down. Janardhan says a bug in the company's internal audit system did not properly prevent the command from executing.

That issue caused a secondary problem that ultimately made yesterday's outage into the international incident that it became. When Facebook's DNS servers couldn't connect to the company's primary data centers, they stopped advertising the border gateway protocol (BGP) routing information that every device on the internet needs to connect to a server.

"The end result was that our DNS servers became unreachable even though they were still operational," said Janardhan. "This made it impossible for the rest of the internet to find our servers."

As we learned partway yesterday, what made an already difficult situation worse was that the outage made it impossible for Facebook engineers to connect to the servers they needed to fix. Moreover, the loss of DNS functionality meant they couldn't use many of the internal tools they depend on to investigate and resolve networking issues in normal circumstances. That meant the company had to physically send personnel to its data centers, a task that was complicated by the physical safeguards it had in place at those locations.

"They're hard to get into, and once you're inside, the hardware and routers are designed to be difficult to modify even when you have physical access to them," according to Janardhan. Once it could restore its backbone network, Facebook was cautious not to turn everything back on all at once since the surging power and computing demands may have led to more crashes.

"Every failure like this is an opportunity to learn and get better, and there's plenty for us to learn from this one," said Janardhan. "After every issue, small and large, we do an extensive review process to understand how we can make our systems more resilient. That process is already underway."

A Russian crew is shooting the first feature film on the ISS

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 11:38 AM PDT

Filming is underway on the first feature-length movie to be shot in space after Russian actor Yulia Sherepild and director Klim Shipenko docked at the International Space Station. Their movie, The Challenge, will feature around 35-40 minutes of scenes filmed on the space station, according to The New York Times. The film is about a surgeon (Sherepild) who goes on an emergency ISS mission to save the life of a cosmonaut (Shipenko).

The two cosmonauts who were already on the ISS captured a shot as Peresild (or her character) emerged from the capsule and entered the station. Sherepild and Shipenko will film scenes over the next couple of weeks before returning to Earth on October 17th.

Other projects have been filmed on the ISS, including documentaries, virtual reality projects and a short called Apogee of Fear. Tom Cruise hoped to make the first feature film in space with the help of NASA and SpaceX, but the Russian team beat him to the punch. Russia's Roscosmos agency announced a plan to send an actor to the ISS soon after word emerged about Cruise's movie in May 2020.

Time will tell whether The Challenge is any good. Regardless, the creatives behind the project have carved out their own little slice of history.

With 'Ghost Recon Frontline,' Ubisoft tries to cash in on the battle royale fad (again)

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 11:04 AM PDT

Remember Hyper Scape? No? Well, apparently neither does Ubisoft. The publisher is working on a new battle royale that will take players to the Tom Clancy universe. On Tuesday, the company announced Ghost Recon Frontline. Like many of its contemporaries, the free-to-play title will pit you and two other teammates against more than one hundred other players. 

If the Call of Duty: Warzone comparisons weren't inevitable already, Frontline moves the series away from its traditional third-person perspective to a first-person one. However, where Ubisoft's Bucharest studio hopes to differentiate the game is with a tweak to the battle royale formula. In Frontline's signature Expedition mode, you and your team will need to find three pieces of intel scattered across an island map. The twist is that you later need to extract that information by calling in an airlift. Other teams can ambush you during this crucial moment and steal the data you fought so hard to obtain. The playspace also won't get smaller as a match progresses.     

The franchise's most recent outing, 2019's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, was, to put it mildly, a disastrous release for Ubisoft. Thanks to its unfinished state, the game performed so poorly in its first week of availability that the company delayed all of its biggest 2020 releases. It then went on to spend months patching Breakpoint, but the game never quite recovered from the reputation it earned at launch. Ubisoft said it plans to continue to support Breakpoint while working on Frontline.  

Ubisoft didn't share a release date for Ghost Recon Frontline, but it said it would hold a closed PC test starting on October 14th that people in select countries across Europe can sign up to take part in by visiting the game's website.

The Razer Book laptop gets a price cut to $1,000

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 10:14 AM PDT

Razer is joining many PC makers by unveiling new Windows 11 systems, although the biggest news may have more to do with prices than the computers themselves. To begin with, the Razer Book now has a regular starting price of $1,000 as a company store exclusive. You'll still get the familiar 11th-gen Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, but you no longer have to wait for the 13.4-inch machine to go on sale if $1,200 is too extravagant.

Higher-spec Razer Book models are also better values than their outgoing models, at least at official prices. A jump to $1,500 gives you a touchscreen, a Core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD (previously $1,600), while it now takes 'just' $1,800 to buy a 4K touch variant that now includes 1TB of storage on top of the existing Core i7 and 16GB of RAM.

There's also a slight update for heavy-duty gamers. The Blade 15 Advanced now comes in new configurations that mate a 240Hz QHD screen and a 11th-gen Core i7 with faster GeForce RTX 3070 and 3080 graphics choices. They won't be cheap, of course. The 'base' starts at $2,700 with the RTX 3070, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, while the all-out $3,100 model leaps to the RTX 3080 and 32GB of RAM.

All the new Windows 11 PCs are available to order today. Existing Razer systems (including those still on sale) can upgrade to Windows 11 as well, although you'll want to check the compatibility list before you pick up an older model.

Facebook Gaming creators can now stream together

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 10:00 AM PDT

If you turn to Facebook Gaming to watch other people play your favorite games, you'll now see creators collaborate on joint streams. Facebook is introducing support for co-streaming. The feature allows up to four accounts to stream together concurrently. With today's rollout, co-streaming is available to all content creators, not just those enrolled in Facebook's partner program. You can access the functionality search for and tag other creators through the Live Producer left rail, in addition to the Gaming Tab and Stream Dashboard of the edit stream module.

"With co-streaming, we aim to increase discoverability for creators, encourage collaboration between creators and elevate the overall viewing experience for everyone," the company said in a blog post. The addition of co-streaming support is a case of Facebook playing catch up. Twitch has offered similar functionality through its Squad Stream feature since 2019. It's also worth pointing out the idea itself isn't new. While it's no longer around, OnLive introduced a multi-view feature back in 2012. All the same, it's a significant addition for Facebook Gaming, particularly as it continues to try to compete with Twitch.

James Bond's latest Aston Martin is coming to 'Rocket League'

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 10:00 AM PDT

It wouldn't be a new James Bond movie without a few tie-ins, and No Time to Die is clearly sticking to that rule. Psyonix and Epic Games have revealed that Bond's Aston Martin Valhalla, the first hybrid car in the game, will be available in Rocket League (complete with matching audio, decal and wheels) for 1100 Credits starting October 7th. You'll also find three in-game challenges to unlock a Bond-themed avatar border, banner and player title.

Completists will have the option of buying a Bond 007 Collection between October 7th and October 13th that includes both the Valhalla and the classic DB5 for 2,000 Credits. The DB5 was released in July, but this could represent a better deal for Bond aficionados.

The expansion isn't a surprise when Epic has lots of money to throw at promotional deals. This could boost interest in Rocket League among either diehard Bond fans or newcomers looking for more real-world cars. If nothing else, it should be amusing to watch 007 score a flying, upside-down goal or two.

Google will hold its Pixel 6 event on October 19th

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:38 AM PDT

Google has revealed the date for its big fall hardware event. It will discuss the Pixel 6 lineup in more detail on October 19th at 1PM ET.

The company has already spilled some info on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, including what the phones look like. In August, Google said Tensor, the first system-on-chip it designed, will debut on these devices. The SoC will power the Pixel 6's AI-heavy features, such as speech recognition and on-device live captions and translation.

The phones will have camera upgrades, of course. The Pixel 6's main camera will allow approximately 150 percent more light in than previous models, while the Pro will have 4x optical zoom and an additional telephoto option. The company claims Tensor will improve the photo processing capabilities too.

You can expect up to a day's worth of battery life from a single charge, Google told us, though it's unclear exactly how many hours of use that translates to. The devices are 5G compatible and they'll be able to take advantage of all the new Android 12 features.

Google is keeping some of the Pixel 6 specs under wraps for now, such as how many CPU and GPU cores there are and how much RAM the devices boast. In any case, we only have to wait another couple of weeks to find out.

Amazon is reportedly working on a smart fridge that tracks what's inside

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:26 AM PDT

Amazon is reportedly aiming to bring some of the tech it uses at cashierless Amazon Go stores to your kitchen. According to Insider, the company has been working on a smart fridge that can monitor items and help you order replacements if you're running low on something.

The team behind the Amazon Go systems is said to be heading the charge on the project, which has been in the works for at least two years. The Just Walk Out tech used at Go stores tracks what shoppers put in their carts and automatically charges them when they leave. Members of the Amazon Fresh and Lab126 hardware teams are reportedly involved with the fridge project too.

The fridge would monitor the items inside and keep tabs on your purchasing habits, according to the report. If you run low on something you buy frequently, the fridge would notify you and make it easier to order more from Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh, which could give the company's grocery division a boost. The fridge could offer recipe suggestions too, which may prove useful if you forget about an item that's about to expire.

Amazon wouldn't make the fridges itself, Insider's sources said. It's looking to team up with an appliance manufacturer. There's a possibility that Alexa voice control could be included. That's said to not be a major concern, but given Amazon's propensity for stuffing Alexa into nearly every other type of product, including home robots and its own TVs, it wouldn't be a surprise if the fridge has voice assistant support.

The company has reportedly spent upwards of $50 million per year on the project so far. Even so, there's no guarantee that the fridge will come to market as it's possible Amazon will shelve the plans. If the fridge does come to market, it likely won't come cheap. An Amazon spokesperson told Engadget the company doesn't comment "on rumors or speculation."

The concept isn't entirely new. In 2016, Samsung revealed a fridge that can help you keep track of what's inside without having to open the door. You can even order groceries using the built-in touchscreen. Amazon's fridge would take the idea a little further, though, since it would flag items that you're about to run out of and help you order more through the company's own grocery ecosystem.

Facebook whistleblower hearing: ‘Facebook and big tech are facing a big tobacco moment’

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:15 AM PDT

The Facebook whistleblower who has provided a trove of internal documents to Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission is testifying about research she says proves the social network has repeatedly lied about its platform. The documents were the basis for The Wall Street Journal's reporting on Facebook's controversial rules for celebrities, and the disastrous effect of Instagram on some teens' mental health.

"Facebook and big tech are facing their big tobacco moment," committee chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal said at the start of the hearing. "Facebook knows its products can be addictive and toxic to children. They value their profit more than the pain that they cause to children and their families."

In her opening statement, Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, said that the company has ignored much of its own research and is "buying its profits with our safety." She urged Congress to adopt new regulations to limit the company's power. "The choices being made inside of Facebook are disastrous for our children, our public safety, our privacy and for our democracy," Haugen said. "And that is why we must demand Facebook make changes."

She highlighted Facebook's unwillingness to make data available outside of its own research teams has helped the company mislead the public. "The company intentionally hides vital information from the public, from the US government, and from governments around the world," Haugen said. "The documents I have provided to Congress prove that Facebook has repeatedly misled the public about what its own research reveals about the safety of children, the efficacy of its artificial intelligence systems, and its role in spreading divisive and extreme messages."

She also said that Congress should not be swayed by Facebook's insistence on "false choices," and that simply reforming privacy laws or Section 230 would not go far enough. "We can afford nothing less than full transparency," Haugen said. "Facebook wants you to believe that the problems we're talking about are unsolvable... Facebook can change, but it's clearly not going to do so on its own."

Haugen's appearance comes days after Facebook sent its head of safety, Antigone Davis, to testify in front of the same committee. She and other executives have repeatedly tried to downplay the company's research, with Davis saying that the documents "were not bombshell research." In Tuesday's hearing, some senators called out Mark Zuckerberg, saying that they should be hearing from him instead. "Rather than taking personal responsibility, showing leadership, Mark Zuckerberg is going sailing," Blumenthal said, in an apparent reference to a recent Facebook post from the CEO.

Even though he wasn't in attendance, Zuckerberg's decisions came up throughout the hearing. Haugen said that several documents she uncovered showed that the Facebook founder "chose metrics defined by Facebook like meaningful social interactions over changes that would have significantly decreased misinformation and other inciting content."

She said that last April, Zuckerberg was "directly presented with a list of soft interventions" Facebook could take that would make it "less viral, less twitchy" and that he opted not to make the changes because it had a negative impact on the platform's "meaningful social interactions" metric. She added that even when Facebook does opt to take interventions and slow down its platform, the company's AI has problems detecting content.

"When rioting began in the United States in the summer of last year, they turned off downstream MSI [meaningful social interactions] only when they detected content was health content, which is probably COVID, and civic content," Haugen said. "But Facebook's own algorithms are bad at finding this content."

In a statement following the hearing, Facebook's Director of Policy Communications, Lena Pietsch, tried to downplay Haugen's knowledge of the company, writing that she "worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives — and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question."

"We don't agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about. Despite all this, we agree on one thing: it's time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It's been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it's time for Congress to act."

Instagram brings IGTV videos out of their silo and into your regular feed

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Instagram may have been down for hours, but it's back with an arguably overdue change to how the social network handles videos. The Facebook brand is merging its long-form IGTV format with the regular videos from your feed, leaving just one format for all Instagram footage — you won't have to distinguish between the two. We've asked Instagram if this will lead to longer videos playing directly in your feed, but there will always be a Video tab in profiles to explore more content.

The move might help Instagram-based creators, too. While they'll still have to produce long-form video to qualify for ads (now called Instagram In-Stream video ads), they should have an easier time reaching viewers who would have glossed over IGTV in the past. Instagram is also merging post and video insights into a single metric.

You may have an easier time polishing that video, too. Instagram is bringing a few common editing features to its videos, including trimming, filters, location tags and people tags. Still images have had filters and tags for a while, of course, but this theoretically puts moving pictures more on par. You may have an easier time finding videos linked to a friend or a memorable concert.

The merger could boost uptake for Instagram video. IGTV demand wasn't what Instagram expected, and this update makes the longer video format more accessible, not to mention less confusing. Creators might be more inclined to share videos on Instagram as a result — and that might help the social media giant better compete against TikTok, YouTube and other video-focused heavyweights.

Snapchat's newest in-app tool encourages young people to run for office

Posted: 05 Oct 2021 08:59 AM PDT

Snap is introducing a new tool to help more young Americans get involved in politics. Dubbed "Run for Office," the Mini adds a curated database of more than 75,000 local and state elected positions Snapchat users can browse directly through the app.

Before you see a list of opportunities, the tool will ask you to share some of the issues you're passionate about in your daily life. Those can include things like the environment, the economy, education and more. Additionally, Snapchat users can also use the tool to nominate their friends.

The company built Run for Office with help from New American Leaders and nine other candidate recruitment organizations. Once someone indicates they're interested in pursuing an opportunity, the Mini will connect them with those groups to provide them with candidate training.

"Running for office shouldn't be just for those who are white and wealthy. If we want a democracy that works for and represents all of us, then we need leaders who reflect our increasingly diverse, multicultural communities" said Ghida Dagher, president of New American Leaders. 

By Snap's estimation, it's ideally positioned to help get more young people involved in politics since it reaches approximately 90 percent of 13 to 24-year-olds in the US. This isn't the company's first foray into politics. Ahead of the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential election, the company added voting resources to help drive higher voter turnout in those contests.
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