Wednesday, January 12, 2022

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'Kirby and the Forgotten Land' hits Nintendo Switch on March 25th

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:03 AM PST

Everyone's favorite pink Nintendo mascot, Kirby, is returning to Switch very soon. Nintendo announced that Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the character's first 3D platformer, will arrive on the console on March 25th. It previously said the game would be out sometime in the spring.

Nintendo also offered another peek at the adorable-looking game with the latest trailer. It shows off some co-op gameplay — a second player can take control of Bandana Waddle Dee — as well as a look at some of Kirby's new copy abilities. After inhaling certain enemies, Kirby can use a blunderbuss or burrow underground. In addition, the trailer includes a glimpse of some minigames, which include serving snacks from a market stall and kicking back with a spot of fishing.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the character's second solo outing on Switch following 2018's Kirby Star Allies. Since then, Kirby has appeared as the protagonist in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate single-player campaign.

Canon forced to ship 'knockoff' ink cartridges due to chip shortage

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 08:17 AM PST

Printer makers have long used chips to thwart third-party ink cartridge sales and drive you toward their own products, but they're now feeling the sting of those restrictions. The Register and USA Today note Canon has had to ship toner cartridges without copy protection chips due to ongoing shortages. That, in turn, has led to some ImageRunner multifunction printers incorrectly flagging official cartridges as knockoffs — Canon has even told printer owners how to bypass the warnings and deal with broken toner level detection.

We've asked Canon for comment. Some users said they've encountered similar issues with HP printers, but that company wouldn't directly confirm or deny the problems in a statement to The Register. Instead, HP said it was using a "globally diverse" supply network to stay "agile and adaptable" in the midst of chip shortages.

The printer trouble illustrates one of the common complaints about digital rights management (DRM) and other copy protection systems: they create trouble the moment their designers can't offer full support. Just ask people who bought music tied to Microsoft's PlaysForSure, for example. It's doubtful Canon, HP or others will drop their DRM chips any time soon, but this incident won't exactly help their case.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2' is delayed until December 8th

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 08:07 AM PST

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans will need to wait several more months than expected to get their hands on the latest game in the series. Developer GSC Game World has pushed back the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl release date from April 28th to December 8th.

"These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game," GSC Game World wrote in a statement. "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC and it requires thorough testing and polishing." Perhaps it needs a little more time to get characters' teeth just right.

The studio noted that, although the decision to delay the survival horror game wasn't an easy one, it believes "development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project." It plans to provide more details about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 in the coming months.

The first-person shooter, which will be the first entry in the series since 2009, will initially be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC — it'll debut on Xbox Game Pass. Reports suggest Microsoft has a three-month exclusivity window for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

GSC Game World recently came under fire over its plan to include NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in the game. Just one day later, the studio said it would "cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2" following a major backlash.

Lime's latest e-bikes are now available in the US

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:23 AM PST

Following some small-scale tests in a number of cities since Lime revealed its latest e-bike in March 2021, the company has started making the Gen4 available to users in the US. The first batch of the new model has arrived in Washington DC.

The biggest update this time around is a swappable battery that's interchangeable with Gen4 scooters, which should both save Lime money and bolster sustainability, in part by reducing the number of trips that Lime's charging vans need to make. The latest model also features a more powerful motor than previous generations, automatic two-speed transmission, a phone holder and a revamped handlebar display that matches the one on Lime's scooters. The company says the modular design should boost the usability of Gen4 e-bikes to five years.

Lime said last year it would invest $50 million into the Gen4 e-bike. It aimed to start transitioning to the latest model last summer. However, other than a few small-scale pilots in the fall, it had to put those plans on hold due to supply chain issues.

The company plans to upgrade e-bikes in the cities it currently serves to the Gen4 and expand to more cities this year. For now, 250 Gen4 e-bikes are available in Washington DC. Lime told TechCrunch it plans to replace its entire fleet of 2,500 e-bikes in the city with the Gen4 by April. The new e-bike should hit more cities around the globe this spring, including Atlanta and Charleston.

Jack Dorsey proposes a legal defense fund for Bitcoin developers

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:25 AM PST

Lawsuits are weighing heavily on the Bitcoin ecosystem, and former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey thinks he can help fend them off. Coindeskreports Dorsey, Chaincode's Alex Morcos and academic Martin White have proposed a nonprofit legal defense fund for Bitcoin developers to protect them against lawsuits and similar "legal pressure." The fund's board (currently Dorsey, Morcos and White) would choose cases to support, with part-time and volunteer lawyers providing the initial defense counsel for free.

The fund will initially take over coordination for the defense against the Tulip Trading lawsuit targeting developers over alleged breaches of fiduciary duty relating to the long-dead Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange. Dorsey didn't say how much money the fund had to start, but noted it wasn't looking for additional money "at this time."

Dorsey has direct incentives to establish a legal defense fund, of course. His company Block is heavily involved in Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, and the flurry of lawsuits could tarnish his business as much as anyone else's. However, Dorsey noted that many Bitcoin developers are independents that have little choice but to give up when facing lawsuits they don't have the resources to fight. The nonprofit might prove vital if it strengthens the Bitcoin community as a whole, whether or not Dorsey directly benefits from its actions.

NVIDIA begins rolling out Android 11 update to all Shield TV models

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

NVIDIA has started rolling out Software Experience Upgrade 9.0 for Shield TV devices, and it will upgrade their operating system to Android 11. The company says Experience 9.0 will bring the new OS to all Shield TVs, including the original 2015 models, and it will also include the September 2021 Android security patch that fixes a vulnerability allowing remote attackers to cause a permanent denial of service.

In addition, the upgrade adds access to a new Google Keyboard with support for voice searches. Users will now be able to look for movies and shows to watch by issuing voice commands through Google Assistant. Those who have aptX compatible Bluetooth headsets will be able to start using it with their streaming box, as well. 

Other updates including the option to automatically disconnect Bluetooth devices on sleep in order to save battery, an Energy saver setting for additional power customization and Stadia button support for Xbox, Playstation and Shield controllers. For GeForce Now members, the update adds support for additional Bluetooth keyboards and mice. Plus, Twitch has been updated to be able to simultaneously support high-quality streaming and gaming for them.

Finally, those living in the US can get six months of Peacock Premium for free when they get a new Shield TV. Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming service that serves as home to NBC shows like The Office. It has a free ad-supported version with a limited catalogue, and a Premium ad-free one with more content that costs $5 a month. 

Nuro's third-gen driverless delivery vehicle includes an external airbag

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

Nuro already has a third driverless delivery vehicle on the way, and this model is focused as much on protecting others as it is hauling goods. The newly introduced version, simply called Nuro, includes a host of 360-degree sensors including cameras, LiDAR, radar and thermals, but also includes a giant external airbag to protect pedestrians. We still wouldn't risk stepping in front of this machine (you'll still hit the ground, after all), but this should reduce the chances of a serious injury.

The new vehicle also carries twice the cargo, and offers both temperature-controlled compartments and modular inserts to help shuttle a wider variety of goods. Nuro didn't say when this latest self-driving vehicle would be ready, but the North American branch of China's BYD will help produce units at a Nuro factory due to go online later in 2022. Kroger (an investor in Nuro) has already committed to using this latest hardware.

Nuro third-gen vehicle carrying Kroger groceries
Nuro

The upgrade might be necessary. Nuro already has deals and tests with major brands like 7-Eleven, CVS, FedEx and Kroger, but it's facing stiffer competition from Walmart, Uber and automakers like Ford. The firm risks losing business if would-be customers either need larger payloads or are worried about liability in the event of a collision.

Keychron's Q2 is a compact take on its popular customizable keyboard

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

Keychron pleasantly surprised mechanical keyboard fans when it announced the Q1. It was the company's first foray into fully customizable keyboards, and we liked it a lot. Today it's the turn of the Q2, which is a smaller (65% or no "function key") version of the Q1. Despite the reduced footprint, it retails for the same price, starting at $149 for the barebone or $169 if you want it fully assembled – cheaper than much of the competition.

When we tested the Q1 we liked it a lot. It offered the same level of configuration as the much-loved GMMK Pro for about $100 less. That said, the selling point of the GMMK Pro (in this author's opinion) is all about those luxurious "Lubed Panda" switches and the firm, responsive typing experience. The "Panda" is GMMK's own "switch" which for those that don't hang out at Drop and/or use a "mech" are the mechanical part of the key – the important bit, really, as that's mostly what will define how the keyboard "feels."

As with the Q1, the Q2 is compatible with VIA configuration software (and thus QMK) which easily allows you to remap keys to almost anything, create macros and more. Also like the Q1 (and the GMMK Pro and increasingly others) there's the option to replace the top-right-most key (Insert) with a clickable rotary for volume and media control.

I'll admit, after using the GMMK Pro for a while now, I find the Gateron Reds that came with the Q2 a little flacid by comparison, but that's the joy of a customizable keyboard, you can use whatever switches you like (or change out more or less any other part). You could even load it with the Pandas if you wish, though that would require a (lot of) extra spend.

The Q2 remains USB only (no wireless) but is still compatible with either Windows or Mac and the corresponding OS-specific keycaps are included in the box. It's also just as rugged and well built as the Q1 with the all-metal casing. You can choose between three colors thereof: Black, gray and navy blue.

Ultimately, the selling point of the Q2 boils down to whether you prefer a compact keyboard or to have access to physical function keys (they're still accessible here with shortcuts obviously).

The Q2 is also joined by some other relatively new additions. Keychron is prolific if nothing else. In particular, there's the lightweight/70% K14 which is both wireless and has hot-swappable switches for a more affordable on-the-go option that retails for a modest $59. The company also recently unveiled its first mouse wired the M1. It's visually quite similar to the Razer Viper ($39) but also bears more than a passing resemblance to the Glorious O (also from the same people behind the GMMK Pro).

Orders for the Keychron Q2 are open as of today.

The Morning After: Connected dumbbells that Amazon's Alexa can adjust

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 05:00 AM PST

WFH didn't just mean working from home. For those with the drive, it also stood for workouts from home. Many companies boomed as they adjusted to many of us shifting our training and exercise from gym to living room / spare room / that corner of the bedroom. Now, the pendulum is swinging back as some gyms tentatively reopen, and we return to the squat rack that didn't quite fit into our tiny studio apartment. But that won't stop fitness companies from introducing new blends of gear with tech tricks, hoping you'll be willing to upgrade your gear.

NordicTrack's Adjustable Dumbbells can connect to any Amazon Alexa-capable third-party device to quickly adjust the weight from 5lbs to 50lbs (in 5lb increments) with just your voice. The voice assistant, sadly, won't cajole you into a few extra reps.

There's a subscription training service to go along with the $429 dumbbells — available now — but it's thankfully not required.

— Mat Smith

'Horizon Forbidden West' may have leaked a month early

Another spoiler minefield.

TMA
Sony

Horizon Forbidden West is one of the most-anticipated games coming to PS5. But just over a month before the action RPG arrives on February 18th, it appears an unfinished version of the game has leaked. It's another problem for Sony. Months before The Last of Us Part II was released, a large portion of the game, including cutscenes with major story spoilers, leaked online.

Continue reading.

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China's lunar probe finds on-site evidence of water on the Moon's surface

NASA had previously remotely confirmed the presence of the substance.

TMA
China Daily CDIC / reuters

China's Chang'e-5 lunar lander has found water on the surface of the Moon, marking the first-ever time scientists have found on-site evidence of the substance on Earth's satellite. Chinese researchers claim the lander detected signs of water molecules or hydroxyl, a close chemical cousin of H2O.

Chinese scientists believe most of the molecules came to the Moon through a process called solar wind implantation. Charged particles from the sun drove hydrogen atoms to the lunar surface where they later bonded with oxygen to form water and hydroxyl. The study builds on findings NASA published in 2018 when it found evidence of water on the sunlit surfaces of the Moon using an airborne infrared telescope.

Continue reading.

LAPD fired two officers who ignored robbers to play 'Pokémon Go'

To catch a Snorlax.

The LAPD has fired two police officers for ignoring a robbery on April 15th, 2017, deciding instead to play Pokémon Go. Rather than respond to a radio call demanding backup for a theft at Macy's in the Crenshaw Mall, the officers reportedly spent the next 20 minutes driving around to catch a Snorlax.

Lozano and Mitchell denied playing Pokémon Go and insisted they were only "having a conversation" about the game, but the in-car camera revealed they discussed the robbery call and chose to ignore it. Another officer also witnessed the cruiser leave the area after the call.

Continue reading.

The Associated Press will turn its photojournalism into NFTs

It will launch on January 31st.

The Associated Press (AP) will start selling its "award-winning contemporary and historic photojournalism" as non-fungible tokens on January 31st. The news agency teamed up with blockchain technology provider Xooa to develop a marketplace for its NFTs, which will debut with an initial collection it will release after opening.

AP's initial collection includes digitally enhanced Pulitzer Prize-winning images across categories such as space, climate and war. Each one will include the image's original metadata that shows its location, the time and date it was taken and the equipment and settings the photographer used for the shot.

Continue reading.

The biggest news stories you might have missed

A Nintendo Switch Online and microSD bundle is half off on Amazon

Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike steps down as CEO

Roku offers easy access to live TV with a new hub

Uber no longer supports ride-hailing via the Apple Watch

'Wordle' clones are taking over the App Store

Rapid COVID tests will soon be fully covered by insurance in the US

GM recognizes California's authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards

'Attack on Titan' gear is coming to 'Call of Duty'

'Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection' heads to Nintendo Switch on February 17th

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE pre-orders at Amazon come with a $100 gift card

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 04:35 AM PST

Samsung's Galaxy S21 FE smartphone is still only available as a pre-order, but it's already available with a discount of sorts. If you pre-order the S21 FE from Amazon, with shipping set to start around January 14th, you'll get a $100 Amazon.com gift card — effectively a 12 percent discount off the $700 price. 

Buy Samsung Galaxy S21 FE at Amazon - $600

In our CES 2022 hands-on, we called the S21 FE ("Fan Edition") "last year's flagship without the frills." That's because it offers the same 5-nanometer processors, 120Hz refresh rate in a slightly bigger screen and a similar triple camera system. However, the S21 FE actually has a larger battery and comes with Android 12.

Because of the larger screen, it is slightly heavier than the original and features a less shiny finish. Unfortunately it doesn't support the stylus available with the S21+ and S21 Ultra, but that shouldn't be an issue for many folks. The telephoto camera also comes with an 8-megapixel sensor, rather than a 64-megapixel sensor like the S21 Ultra. However, the front camera is actually sharper at 32 megapixels rather than just 10 megapixels on the original. 

If you're okay with last year's phone at a discount, this looks like a solid deal with four colors available (graphite, olive, lavender and white). If you'd rather be on the bleeding edge, however, you might want to wait until the Galaxy S22 arrives. It's reportedly set to launch on February 8th, according to the latest rumor, with pre-orders going live the next day and shipping start on February 24th. 

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

Logitech unveils $60 Litra Glow light for streamers

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:58 AM PST

Good lighting that flatters the subject is an essential element of production for streamers and video creators in general. Logitech (under the Logitech for Creators brand) has just launched a new lighting device made for streamers called Litra Glow, and it says the product is capable of providing a "natural, radiant look across all skin tones." 

Litra Glow delivers a glare-free light that's supposed to be gentle on the eyes and is safe for all-day streaming. It also features Logitech's TrueSoft technology, which promises cinematic color accuracy and enables a soft, flattering light that can apparently make streamers look less, well, tired.  

Whether it can truly provide a "radiant" look across all skin tones remains to be seen. Different skin tones require different approaches to lighting on video — using the same lighting for white actors, for instance, had made Black actors look ashy or barely visible during dimly lit scenes in movies and shows for a long time. One of the creators Logitech got to talk about Litra Glow, however, is Black visual artist and photographer Aundre Larrow, who once shared tips on how to photograph darker skin tones in an article he wrote for Adobe. Larrow said of Litra Glow:

"The lighting looked natural. It looks good on my skin and works for people of different skin tones without looking blown out. The warm to cool is super accurate and I found light to be strong and soft enough to use on its own."

Ring lights and streamer lights have become a lot more popular thanks to the rise of game streaming services like Twitch, but also to provide lighting for creators on YouTube and TikTok. Elgato already offers a Ring Light and Key Light for streamers, but they are a lot more expensive than Logitech's new device. 

Logitech designed Litra Glow to be plug-and-play, and streamers can choose between five presets with different brightness and color temperature. If they want to customize it further, they can adjust those settings on their own. They can also connect it to Logitech's G HUB software to create their own presets and assign them to the G Keys on a Logitech G keyboard or mouse. The Litra Glow will come with a monitor mount that has adjustable height, tilt and rotation when it starts shipping sometime this month. It will be available in the United States, Canada, Australia and select European countries on Logitech's website and from Amazon, Adorama and other retailers for $60. 

The US government spent $1.1 billion on carbon capture projects that mostly failed

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:12 AM PST

Coal should be going obsolete because renewable energy is becoming cheaper, but the US government is keeping it afloat with the promise of capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground. Now, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said that federal agencies spent $684 billion on coal plant carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that have mostly failed, Gizmodo has reported. It also spent $438 million on other three CCS industrial projects, two of which were cancelled.

"DOE [Department of Energy] provided nearly $684 million to eight coal projects, resulting in one operational facility," according to the GAO report. "DOE's process for selecting coal projects and negotiating funding agreements increased the risks that DOE would fund projects unlikely to succeed."

DOE's process for selecting coal projects and negotiating funding agreements increased the risks that DOE would fund projects unlikely to succeed.

Not only did the Department of Energy use a "high-risk selection" method to choose projects, it negotiated and funded them too expeditiously, according to the report. Coal negotiations lasted just three months instead of the usual year "based on DOE's desire to begin spending American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds quickly." On top of that, it bypassed the usual cost controls and supported projects "even though they were not meeting required key milestones." 

The DOE recently said that it wants to dramatically reduce the cost of carbon capture technology via a program called Carbon Negative Shot. The aim is to remove CO2 directly from the air and sequester it underground at a cost of less than $100 per ton, deploying it at the gigaton scale. 

However, the easiest and cheapest way to cut gigatons of emissions would be to retire costly coal plants completely, according to a report last year the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). That's because the costs of renewable energy have plunged in the last decade, making them effectively cheaper than coal. And of course, adding CCS tech to coal would increase costs considerably. All that said, coal and fossil fuels are a charged political subject in the US, despite the global risks of climate change. 

In the end, the GAO recommended more congressional oversight for DOE expenditures on CCS. "Absent such a mechanism, DOE is at risk of expending significant funds on CCS demonstration projects that have little likelihood of success."

Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather sued over alleged crypto scam

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:24 AM PST

A class action lawsuit has named Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and basketball star Paul Pierce as defendants for promoting a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. According to Finbold, the platintiffs sued the celebrities and the still-unidentified entities behind the tokens for causing the value of the Ethereum knockoff to soar so "they could sell their portion of the Float for a profit." The lawsuit lists anybody who invested in the token between May 14th and June 27th, 2021 as a defendant.

As Gizmodo explains, the claimants are accusing the defendants of perpetrating a "pump and dump" scheme, in which investors sell off their shares to make a lot of money after orchestrating a rise in its value. The lawsuit states that the coin rose 632 percent in value after Mayweather and Pierce promoted it — the boxing star wore shorts with the EthereumMax URL during his exhibition match with Logan Paul, while Pierce tweeted about it. 

Meanwhile, Kardashian posted about EthereumMax on Instagram Stories, telling followers that she heard about it from her friends and linking to its website. According to Morning Consult, 19 percent of the survey respondents who said they heard about Kardiashian's post invested in EthereumMax as a result. The lawsuit states that the day after Kardashian's post, the token's value plummeted by 98 percent. Further, the coin's creators allegedly sold off their shares before the price drop, as shown by their wallet's activities. 

Celebrities have been promoting cryptocurrency tokens for a while now and even creating their own. This isn't the first time or the last that they'll get caught up in controversies surrounding a token — Mayweather, for instance, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Comission in 2018 for failing to disclose that he was paid $100,000 to promote Centra Tech's 2017 initial coin offering. Two of Centra Tech's founders were arrested for securities fraud and wire fraud, with the SEC accusing them of "touting nonexistent relationships between Centra and well-known financial institutions" in an effort to entice people to invest in the ICO. 
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