Thursday, March 24, 2022

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HBO Max's new shuffle play feature is limited to 45 shows

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 11:34 PM PDT

Almost a year after Netflix introduced its shuffle play button, HBO Max has also launched its own. Unlike Netflix's version that randomly plays shows and movies from the service's whole catalog based on your viewing history, though, HBO Max's has a pretty limited scope. When you tap on the shuffle button, the service will pull random episodes from one of the 45 shows included in the feature. Also, it's only available on the service's desktop interface at the moment. 

It's unclear if HBO Max plans to expand the number of shows included in the list it can randomly play. The WarnerMedia-owned service also didn't say whether the feature will eventually be available on its apps, though it's hard to believe that it'll stay a desktop exclusive. When Netflix first introduced its "play something" button, the company initially made it available on TV devices only. Six months later, though, Netflix released it for Android devices and told us testing for iOS devices would begin in the following months. 

Here are the 45 shows included in HBO Max's list, per Deadline:

  • A World of Calm

  • Adventure Time

  • Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

  • Apple & Onion

  • Chappelle Show

  • Courage the Cowardly Dog

  • Craig of the Creek

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm

  • Ed, Ed and Eddy

  • ER

  • Flight of the Conchords

  • Fresh Prince

  • Friends

  • Full House

  • Great Pottery Throwdown

  • Hot Ones

  • How It Really Happened

  • Impractical Jokers

  • Key and Peele

  • Looney Tunes

  • Martin

  • Mike & Molly

  • Regular Show

  • Reno 911!

  • Rick & Morty

  • Robot Chicken

  • Scooby-Do, Where Are You!

  • Selena + Chef

  • Sesame Street

  • South Park

  • Teen Titans Go!

  • The Amazing World of Gumball

  • The Big Bang Theory

  • The Boondocks

  • The Mentalist

  • The Middle

  • The Nanny

  • The Office

  • The Shot: Uninterrupted

  • Tom and Jerry

  • Total Dramarama

  • Two and a Half Men

  • We Bare Bears

  • Whose Line is it Anyway

  • Young Sheldon

Cybersecurity researchers trace Lapsus$ attacks to a teenager from England

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 10:07 PM PDT

A hacking group calling itself Lapsus$ recently made waves by releasing sources codes it claimed to have stolen from Microsoft and Okta. Now, cybersecurity researchers investigating the attacks have traced them to a 16-year-old living with his mother near Oxford, England, according to Bloomberg. While the researchers have identified seven accounts associated with the hacking group — including one traced to another teenager in Brazil — they believe the teenager from England is the mastermind and is behind some of the major Lapsus$ hacks. However, they weren't able to connect the teen to all the attacks the group carried out.

The researchers looked at forensic evidence from the hacks, as well as public information to determine that the teen was indeed involved. Apparently, rival hackers posted the teenager's details online, including his address and information about his parents. Bloomberg didn't release the teen's personal information and only mentioned that he goes by the aliases "White" and "breachbase." White is reportedly so skilled at hacking and so fast at what he does that researchers previously thought the attacks were automated. 

Some cybersecurity researchers believe that the group is motivated by not just money, but also notoriety, seeing as the actor doesn't cover its tracks. As Microsoft detailed in its investigation of the Lapsus$ attacks, the group even announces its hacks on social media and publicly posts calls for employees willing to sell their company logins. The bad actor also joins targets' communications channels, such as their Zoom calls, to taunt the people responding to their attacks.

Microsoft said the group started by targeting organizations in United Kingdom and South America, but that it has since expanded to target entities around the world, including government agencies, telecoms, and companies in the health sector. Both Microsoft and Okta admitted that they suffered a security breach, but both claim limited impact from the attacks.

Russia blocks Google News

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 03:58 PM PDT

Google News is the latest major service to be blocked in Russia. The country's telecom regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked Google News, according to Reuters, which cited a report from state media outlet Interfax.

The regulator said it was blocking the news service because it "provided access to numerous publications and materials containing inauthentic and publicly important information about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine," according to Interfax.

Russia has already blocked Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in recent weeks.

We've reached out to Google for comment.

Google will test alternatives to its Play Store billing system, starting with Spotify

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 02:22 PM PDT

As part of a program that could have far-reaching consequences for the tech industry, Google is launching a pilot to test third-party billing systems in Android and across its wider ecosystem. The company announced on Wednesday it plans to conduct the pilot with a handful of participating developers, starting most notably with Spotify.

Beginning later this year, Spotify users who have downloaded the company's app through the Play Store will have the option to pay for a Premium subscription through either one of Google or Spotify's billing systems. "For the first time, these two options will live side by side in the app," the company said. "This will give everyone the freedom to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option of their choice directly in the Spotify app."

Spotify said it would begin collaborating with Google on that functionality within the coming months, with the work involving product and engineering teams across both companies. "This pilot will help us to increase our understanding of whether and how user choice billing works for users in different countries and for developers of different sizes and categories," said Sameer Samat, Google's vice president of product management.

For Spotify, today's announcement is nothing short of a breakthrough victory. The company has spent years campaigning against app store monopolies, its efforts culminating in 2020 when it formed, alongside Epic Games, The Coalition for App Fairness to pressure Apple and Google to change their policies. 

For Google, meanwhile, the pilot is very much a defensive move on the company's part. Like Apple, the company has spent significant time and resources lobbying against legislation like the Open App Markets Act, which was recently advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Should the bill become law as it stands, it would prevent app marketplace owners with more than 50 million users in the US from locking third-party developers into their payment systems.

Twitter DM search now works the way you'd expect

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:51 PM PDT

Twitter is expanding DM searches to help you find the exact conversation you're looking for. The social media app now lets you use the search bar in the DM inbox to find specific messages. Type in a keyword or name, pick the "Messages" tab and you'll see any relevant messages, including older ones.

The company didn't mention which platforms supported the feature (we've asked for comment). As of this writing, we could only search for people or groups on the web.

Twitter introduced DM searches in 2019, when they became available to iOS app users. The feature didn't come to Android until 2021, but Twitter delivered an upgraded version that allowed searches of your full history rather than just recent threads. The firm teased the ability to search message content later that year, but it clearly took longer to deliver the upgrade than anticipated. Still, this might be appreciated if you're trying to unearth a must-have restaurant or revisit a favorite discussion.

Apple's digital car keys now work with some Hyundai vehicles

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:30 PM PDT

Since launching in 2020, Apple's digital car key feature has only been available on a handful of BMW models. In January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed the feature would expand to include select vehicles from Hyundai brands like Genesis "by the summer." It now looks like those plans may be ahead of schedule. In a change spotted by MacRumors, Apple has updated its CarPlay website to indicate that the 2022 Genesis GV60, 2022 G90 and 2022 Kia Niro now support the feature.

It's unclear if CarKey functionality is already widely available on those models or if Hyundai is only now in the process of rolling it out. A spokesperson for Kia told the outlet it would "have more information about Digital Key availability in the coming weeks." 

While car manufacturers have offered remote lock controls through smartphones for a while, CarKey is different in that it treats your iPhone and Apple Watch like a physical key. To use the feature, you simply bring your phone or wearable up to your car's door handle to unlock it. Some vehicles also allow you to start them by placing your device near the ignition button. With more recent iPhones that come with Apple's U1 chip, you don't even need to remove your phone from your pocket to access your car.

Fans made a native 'Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' PC port

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 01:10 PM PDT

You won't have to use the Switch Virtual Console (or a good emulator) to make the most of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on modern hardware. VGCreports fans at Harbour Masters have developed a native PC port (available on Discord) that supports many up-to-the-minute features, including HD (and ultra-wide) graphics, modding, keyboard input and even Switch-style gyroscope aiming. You could make good use of a Steam Deck in your latest round of gaming nostalgia, to put it another way.

And yes, Harbour Masters claims it can avoid Nintendo's legal team. The Ocarina of Time PC port revolves around Ship of Harkinian, a tool that turns a user-supplied (and hopefully legal) Nintendo 64 ROM for the game into a usable program. As the software doesn't include any of Nintendo's content, the developer supposedly can't pursue Harbour Masters over copyright violations.

The conversion should improve, too. The creators are working on 60 frames per second graphics, twin stick controls, text-to-speech upgraded models and higher-resolution texture packs. Mac and Linux support is also said to be in the pipeline, as is a PC adaptation of Majora's Mask.

Whether or not this port is legally safe, it reflects fans' determination to preserve Ocarina of Time and other Nintendo classics without relying on official emulation or re-releases. Enthusiasts ported Super Mario 64 in 2019, for instance. While this work isn't as vital as it once was with the existence of solutions like the Virtual Console, it does provide gamers more control over where and how they play the titles from their childhood.

Earth's orbital economy of tomorrow could be worth trillions

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 12:26 PM PDT

As the scope and focus of human spaceflight has evolved, so too have NASA's methods and operations. Regions that were once accessible only by the world's most powerful nations are today increasingly within reach of Earth's civilian population, the richest uppermost crusts, at least. The business community is also eyeing near Earth space as the next potentially multi-trillion dollar economy and is already working with the space agency to develop the technology and infrastructure necessary to continue NASA's work in the decades following the ISS' decommissioning. At SXSW 2022 last week, a panel of experts on the burgeoning private spaceflight industry discussed the nuts and bolts of NASA's commercial services program and what business in LEO will likely entail.

As part of the panel, The Commercial Space Age Is Here, Tim Crain, CTO of Intuitive Machines, Douglas Terrier, associate director of vision and technology of NASA's Johnson Space Center, and Matt Ondler, CTO and director of engineering at Axiom Space, sat down with Houston Spaceport director, Arturo Machuca. Houston has been a spacefaring hub since NASA's founding and remains a hotbed for orbital and spacelift technology startups today.

"We're going from a model of where we've had primarily government funded interests in space to one that's going to be focused a lot on the commercial sector," Terrier said, pointing out that Axiom, Intuitive Machines, and "SpaceX down in Boca Chica" were quickly being joined by myriad startups offering a variety of support and development services.

"[Space is] the most important frontier for the United States to continue to have world leadership in and our goal is to ensure that we continue to do that in a new model that involves harnessing the innovation and the expertise from both inside and outside of NASA in the community represented here," he continued.

Axiom is no stranger to working with both sides of the government contractor dynamic. It is scheduled to launch the first fully private crew mission to the ISS in April and plans to build, launch and affix a privately funded habitat module to the station by 2028. "This commercial space, very similar to the beginning of the internet," Older explained. "There were a few key technologies that really allowed the internet to explode and so there's a few things in aerospace that will really allow commercial space to take off."

"We think that the low Earth orbit economy is a trillion dollar economy, whether it's bioprinting, organs, whether it's making special fiber optic cable," he continued. "I am completely convinced that 15 to 20 years from now we're going to be surrounded by objects that we can't imagine how we [had] lived without that were manufactured in space."

"For the last 20 years humans have lived on the International Space Station continuously," Terrier agreed. "My grandchildren are living in a world where humans live on the moon, where they'll get a nightly news broadcast from the moon? I mean, the opportunities from a societal- and civilization-changing standpoint is beyond comparison.. is actually beyond comprehension."

The space-based economy is already valued at around $400 billion, Terrier added, with government investment accounting for around a quarter of the necessary upkeep funding and the rest coming from the private sector. He noted that NASA plays two primary roles as President Kennedy dictated in his 1962 "Why Go to the Moon" speech at Rice University: the scientific exploration of space for one, but also "to create the conditions for commercial success for United States in space," Terrier said.

"It's synergistic in a sense that the more companies operating in space, the more of an industrial base we can call on — driving the price down, amortizing the access to space — so that NASA doesn't have to bear that cost," he said. "It creates a role where there are things like exploring out among the planets, for which there isn't a business case — clearly the government needs to take the lead there. And then there are things where we're now commercializing low Earth orbit and that is success for everybody."

This won't be the first time that the US government hands off control of technology it previously had monopoly power over, Crain added. He points to NACA as "NASA for aviation in the 20s" and guided the government's commercialization of aircraft technology.

"The only reason we can build a commercial space station is because of 25 years of flying the international space station and all the things that we've learned from NASA," Ondler said. "NASA has learned about keeping humans alive [in space] for long periods of time. We're really leveraging so much history and so much of the government's investment to build our commercial station."

Ondler pointed out that construction of the 7-foot x 3-foot Earth Observatory window being installed in Axiom's station module, "by far the largest space window ever attempted," would not have been possible without the knowledge and coaching of a former NASA space shuttle engineer. "her expertise, just her helping an engineer in one little area," Ondler said, "allowed him to design a really good window on his first try."

"We definitely stand on the shoulder of the great work that the space community has done until now, in terms of technology," Crain agreed. The Apollo era, he notes, was dominated by producing one-off spacecraft parts meticulously designed for often singular use cases but that system is no longer sufficient. "The more we can make our supply chain, not custom parts, but things that have already been used already in a terrestrial market, the better off we are," he said.

"Our mindset has to shift from 'well, let's go all in, I'm building this first lander' to doing it the first time already looking at the second lander," Crain continued. "What are the differences between the two, how do we regularize that production in a way so that our design, the core of that vehicle, is basically the same from flight to flight?"

Once the Artemis missions begin in earnest, that supply chain will begin to stretch and expand. It will extend first to LEO, but should attempts to colonize the moon prove successful, it will grow to support life and business there, much like how towns continually grew along the trade and expansion routes of the American West. "You don't load up your wagons in Virginia and go straight to San Francisco," Terrier said. "You stop in Saint Louis and reprovision, and people build up an economy around that."

"The cool thing is that it's not just aerospace engineering anymore," Crain added. He noted that, for example, retinal implants can be more accurately and efficiently printed in microgravity than they can planetside, but the commercial process for actually doing so has yet to be devised. "There's a completely different industry that we're gonna need. Folks to figure out, how do we build that [retinal implant printing] machine? How do we bring it and the raw materials up and down [from LEO]? We need marketing people and all those sort of folks. It's not just aerospace engineering and I think that's really what we mean when we talk about the trillion dollar economy."

'EA Sports PGA Tour' is delayed by a year

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Golf fans will have to wait another full year to play EA's next PGA Tour game, with the publisher announcing a delay this week. When it first revealed it was returning to golf games last March, EA said its plan was to release EA Sports PGA Tour sometime in the spring of 2022. The company has now set a spring 2023 launch window. EA did not share a reason for the delay, nor did it say what platforms the "next-gen" revival would be available on when it finally does launch.

What it did do is reiterate that the title will feature all four major tournaments – the Masters, the US Open, the Britsh Open and the PGA Championship – and run on its proprietary Frostbite engine from Dice. Speaking of Dice, the delay is significantly longer than the one EA gave the Swedish studio to work on Battlefield 2042 ahead of its rocky launch. Months after release, BF2042 is still missing key features, including in-game voice chat support, and Dice only recently added a proper scoreboard to the game.        

Toyota and Aurora test robotaxis in Texas

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 11:17 AM PDT

Toyota and Aurora are bringing their robotaxi partnership to Texas roads. TechCrunchreports the two companies are launching an autonomous ride-hailing test in the Dallas-Fort Worth area using modified Sienna hybrid minivans. The project will focus on highways and other high-speed roads, and is already dealing with challenges like high-speed merges, construction and vehicles stopped on shoulders.

The test is small, and the vans aren't truly driverless. Each vehicle will have both a behind-the-wheel supervisor as well as a monitor in a passenger seat. The Siennas will drive autonomously up to 70MPH, however, and Aurora said it would both grow the fleet and expand testing into more urbanized areas over the months ahead.

Aurora chose Texas both due to an abundance of major trucking routes (to help with its cargo-carrying plans) and the power to develop and test high-priority trips for its Aurora Connect robotaxi platform, such as rides to the airport. The company's trucks are already ferrying goods for Uber Freight in Texas.

There's plenty of pressure for Toyota and Aurora to succeed with the test. Aurora bought Uber's self-driving unit in December 2020 to help speed-up its ride-hailing plans, and it ultimately hopes to plug Connect into Uber and other hailing services. The sooner experiments like this bear fruit, the sooner Toyota, Aurora and Uber can compete with rivals like Cruise and Waymo, both of which are already offering limited rides to the public.

A quick drive in Nissan’s Ariya EV

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 11:07 AM PDT

For years, the Nissan Leaf was the best-selling EV in the world — then the Model 3 appeared on the scene. Still, Nissan has lots of EV experience and it's transferring all that knowledge into the 2023 Nissan Ariya SUV. With a starting price of around $40,000, the electric vehicle is expected to land in US showrooms this fall.

Ahead of that, we had a chance to drive the latest Nissan EV on a track in Spain. The automaker set up various portions of the track to recreate different driving conditions. The result isn't as good as a real-world drive, but we did get a good feeling of how the vehicle drives and got a chance to check out its very nice interior. Watch the video above for the full story.

Spotify will reportedly integrate live audio into its main app

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 10:13 AM PDT

In addition to music and podcasts, Spotify may soon offer live audio within its primary streaming app. According to Bloomberg, the company plans to integrate Greenroom into its mainline app. In the process, Spotify will reportedly also rename the platform to Spotify Live. All of this could happen before the second half of the year, according to Bloomberg. 

The outlet was tipped off on the impending move by iOS developer Steve Moser, who found evidence of it in the beta version of Spotify's iPhone app. As for the ultimate fate of Greenroom, in a separate tweet, Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman said the app would live on as a kind of backend for creators to record and upload their content to Spotify.   

We've reached out to Spotify for comment.

Speaking to Spotify's potential motivations behind the plan, Bloomberg suggests Greenroom has "struggled to take off." By integrating live audio into its very popular streaming app, the company would be elevating the format to a place where it would be more accessible – even if some users would complain about the app becoming even more crowded. 

In a way, it's strange the company may only now be considering integrating the two together. When Spotify first announced its plans for Greenroom, CEO Daniel Ek said he saw live audio as something that every platform would eventually feature. "Just like Stories with video where every major platform has them as one way for its audience to communicate with each other, I see live audio similarly," he said at the time. "I expect all the platforms to have it."

Arizona is the first state to allow driver’s licenses in Apple Wallet

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:10 AM PDT

It took several months, but Apple Wallet can finally hold your state driver's license. Arizona residents can add their driver's license or state ID to Wallet on their iPhone or Apple Watch. You're currently limited to presenting the digital cards at certain TSA checkpoints in Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, but this may save you the trouble of reaching for conventional IDs when your phone or smartwatch is at the ready.

Apple is also promising wider availability beyond the eight states already announced. Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio and Puerto Rico have also committed to supporting ID cards in Wallet.

The process remains as involved as Apple mentioned last year. In Wallet on your iPhone, you can add a driver's license or state ID by scanning the card, taking a selfie and making head movements to prove the identification is yours. When it's time to present your info to the TSA, you'll provide consent through Face ID or Touch ID. The TSA will also take your photo to verify cards. You'll need at least an iPhone 8 running iOS 15.4, while you'll want an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer using watchOS 8.4 if you want the feature on your wrist 

Apple maintains that cards in Wallet can be more secure than their real-world counterparts. You only share necessary info, and you don't need to show your device to an official. All driver's license and state ID data is sent over an encrypted connection, and the requirement for biometric authentication should prevent others from viewing your sensitive details.

Android has had the framework for digital driver's licenses as of version 11, but it typically relies on third-party apps. Google hopes to standardize these IDs through an Android Ready SE Alliance it formed last year, although that will likely take time as vendors come aboard. For now, Apple appears to have the edge when it comes to digitally stored credentials.

An NFL football game is coming to Meta Quest and PlayStation VR

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 09:04 AM PDT

The NFL is making its first-ever VR game. And rather than work with longtime partner Electronic Arts on the project, the league is partnering with StatusPro, a startup that uses real-time player data to "create authentic extended reality experiences." The NFL promised to share more details on the game, including release date information, in the future. What we know for now is that the game will come to Meta Quest and PlayStation VR and will allow fans to experience playing as a professional football player through a first-person 3D perspective.

It will be interesting to see how StatusPro designs around some of the motion sickness issues that come with playing a VR game in first-person. Games like Half-Life: Alyx offer multiple locomotion options so that players can find one that doesn't leave them feeling nauseous. Two of the game's options fall back on allowing individuals to teleport their avatar between on-screen locations. For most people, those are ideal for preventing motion sickness, but they also wouldn't make for a very fast-paced (and therefore immersive) football game.

Apple Studio Display review: For Mac-loving eyes only

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Much like the Mac Studio, Apple's new Studio Display is something its devoted fans have been begging for for years. LG's Ultrafine 5K display was, well, just fine, but it wasn't Apple-quality hardware. And while the company's Pro XDR 6K display has practically every feature you'd want, it also costs an eye-watering $6,000. It sure would be nice if Apple just sold the 5K screen from the 27-inch iMac on its own!

Enter the Studio Display. It's a bit brighter than the 5K iMac, but otherwise it's pretty much the same 27-inch screen we've seen for years. To make up for the lack of modern features — like the faster ProMotion refresh rate and Mini-LED backlighting we saw on the latest MacBook Pros — Apple stuffed in an A13 Bionic chip to drive its webcam and speaker features. It's not exactly a smart display as we'd define one, but it's certainly smarter than most screens. Unfortunately, the Studio Display's high $1,599 starting price makes it out of reach for everyone but the Apple faithful.

What's truly maddening, though, is that Apple is seemingly oblivious to the display market in 2022. If you want a height adjustable stand, for example, you'll have to shell out an additional $400 at the time of purchase. (This is the same company that priced the ProDisplay XDR's stand at $1,000, don't forget.) That feature is practically standard today, save for some truly budget offerings. Making height adjustment cost extra on such an expensive monitor is simply inexcusable. There's also a VESA mount option, but you can only opt for that when you're buying the screen. Heaven forbid your needs change after the fact.

And if you want Apple's nano-texture glass option, which helps to reduce reflections in bright environments, be prepared to spend an additional $300. Putting that screen technology along with a height adjustable stand brings the total cost of the Studio Display to $2,299. Sigh. That's just hard to stomach when I also have Alienware's QD-OLED 34-inch ultrawide monitor on my desk — it's pretty much the ultimate gaming screen, with a 175Hz refresh rate, 1,000 nits of peak brightness and actual HDR compatibility. And when compared to the Studio Display, the Alienware QD-OLED is practically a bargain at $1,299.

Apple Studio Display
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

I get it, the Studio Display isn't made for me. And really, it's not meant for anyone who'd consider a non-Apple product. It's a monitor built expressly for the company's devotees—the sort of user who demands a 5K screen that can accurately render MacOS, and who scoffs at the cheap plastic frames that plague the competition. I've talked to several Mac fanatics who are still running the company's defunct Thunderbolt monitor, and avoided upgrading to the issue-plagued LG UltraFine 5K, who immediately preordered the Studio Display. For them, there just isn't another option.

Despite my frustrations with so many aspects of the Studio Display, it's still a very nice looking 5K LED screen. Its wide P3 gamut support allows colors to pop off the screen, which is particularly noticeable when working with high-resolution photos. The Studio Display isn't technically an HDR screen, but it can still take advantage of the wider color range from HDR streams. Its 600 nits of brightness was also more than enough for my dimly lit office — that's a good thing if you're planning to use one right by a sunny window. And even though it's an aging LED, at least it's using an IPS panel, so colors still looked great from extreme viewing angles.

Apple Studio Display
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Naturally, the Studio Display also looks and feels like a premium Apple device, with a smooth aluminum case and an attractive design that's striking from every angle. Around the back, there's a single Thunderbolt 3 USB-C connection that can charge a MacBook Pro and deliver audio/data at the same time, along with three USB-C ports for accessories. So sure, Mac-heads may be overpaying a ton, but at least they're getting a very usable monitor that'll last for years.

Sometimes, though, using the Studio Display sometimes felt like I was trapped in a David Lynch-esque nightmare, where the beautiful veneer was covering subtle horrors. Black levels never looked better than a dim gray, for example, because the screen relies on a single LED backlight. A modern LCD screen in the same price range typically has dozens to hundreds of backlight zones. (The Mini-LED backlights on the new MacBook Pros have thousands of local dimming zones!) OLED displays, meanwhile, don't even have to deal with backlight since their pixels can turn on and off individually, delivering far better contrast than the Studio Display.

I also couldn't help but notice that scrolling through text and webpages just never looked as smooth as it does on my iPhone 13 Pro and other Apple ProMotion screens. Once you live with high refresh rates day-to-day, it's hard to go back to any screen running at a mere 60Hz.

Apple Studio Display
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Studio Display's six-speaker sound system is one of the most impressive things I've ever heard from a monitor, especially with the faux-surround sound from Dolby Atmos tracks, but it's also paired with a surprisingly grimy 12-megapixel webcam. Its output consistently looked like it was covered in a layer of Vaseline, no matter if I was using it in a well-lit or dim environment. (And yes, I made sure the lens area wasn't dirty somehow.) Apple says it's working on a fix for the Studio Display's webcam quality, but I'm just shocked they didn't notice any issues until now.

Having Center Stage built into the Display was useful, especially if I was moving around a lot during a video call, but I can't fully judge its quality until Apple fixes the camera issues. I'm more intrigued by the potential behind the Studio Display's A13 chip, though. Twitter user "Khaos Tian" noticed that the monitor actually has 64GB of onboard storage, same as the base model of the A13-equipped iPhone 11.

Apple Studio Display
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

It could just be that it was easier for Apple to throw in the same storage, instead of bundling the A13 with a smaller disk. But a part of me can't help but wonder what Apple could do with that hardware. Imagine transforming the Studio Display into a true smart screen, with the ability to take FaceTime calls and stream media over AirPlay without being physically connected to a Mac. Apple is far too risk averse to throw in major new features down the line, but I'm interested to see if hardware tinkerers can work some sort of magic on the Studio Display.

I don't blame Mac fans for being excited about the Studio Display. When you've been stuck in a figurative desert for years, you'd be grateful for any kind of salvation. I just wish Apple was as devoted to its loyal followers as they are to the brand. Mac users are used to paying a premium, but they still deserve a screen with modern technology and a stand that can reach eye-level without a pile of books underneath.

Rocksteady delays 'Suicide Squad' game to 2023

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:18 AM PDT

You'll have to wait a while longer to slay Superman. Rocksteady Studios has delayedSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League from sometime in 2022 to spring 2023. Company co-founder Sefton Hill didn't explain the decision, but promised the extra time would be used to "make the best game" possible.

The title has Harley Quinn, King Shark and other Suicide Squad villians fight mind-controlled superheroes like Superman and The Flash as they cause chaos. Rocksteady hasn't shown gameplay, but Kill the Justice League will be available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

This isn't the only DC Comics game in the pipeline. WB Games Montreal's open-world RPG Gotham Knights is still due in October 2022. All the same, this could prove frustrating for fans of Rocksteady's work. The developer hasn't released a new game since 2016's Batman: Arkham VR, and the last conventional release was 2015's Arkham Knight. Players have been waiting several years to see what the company will do next, and the months-long delay won't exactly quell any impatience.

Instagram’s chronological feed is back

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 08:00 AM PDT

A chronological feed is once again available on Instagram. More than five years after the company first switched to an algorithmically-ranked feed, the app is bringing back the ability for users to see feed posts ordered by recency. The app is rolling out the change now to all users globally, after first confirming that new versions of the feed were in the works last December.

Importantly, the new chronological option is not on by default, and there's no way for users to ditch the algorithm entirely. Instead, people can now move between three different versions of their feeds: the algorithmic "home" feed, which remains the default; a "following" feed, which orders accounts you follow in reverse chronological order; and "favorites," which is a feed of up to 50 favorited accounts. You can move between the three feeds by tapping on the new dropdown menu in the top left corner of the app. 

Even though the chronological feed isn't on by default, the fact that it's coming back at all is a major reversal for Instagram, which has for years defended its decision to switch to an algorithmic feed despite years of complaints and conspiracy theories about "shadowbans."

As recently as last June, Instagram published a lengthy blog post detailing how its ranking algorithm works. In the blog post, Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, wrote that at the time Instagram moved away from a chronological feed in 2016, "people were missing 70% of all their posts in Feed, including almost half of posts from their close connections."

But "the algorithm" has become a sticky subject for Instagram, which is facing scrutiny for the impact it has on teens' mental health. In particular, the way that the app ranks and suggests content to young people has gotten outsized attention from lawmakers, some of whom have proposed legislation to regulate algorithms.

Instagram has also gotten more aggressive in inserting "suggested posts" and Reels into users' feeds in recent months, as Facebook's popularity starts to dip. By rolling out new versions of its feed now, Instagram can both head off complaints about its new recommendations-filled approach, and claim that it's offering users a "choice" about whether or not they use its ranking algorithm.

Washington DC Attorney General sues Grubhub over hidden fees

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:50 AM PDT

Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine has filed a lawsuit against Grubhub over alleged hidden fees and other "deceptive trade practices." His office has accused Grubhub of violating the jurisdiction's Consumer Protection Procedures Act in eight separate ways.

"We're suing Grubhub for misleading District residents and taking advantage of local restaurants to boost its own profits," Racine wrote on Twitter. "Grubhub charges hidden fees and uses bait-and-switch tactics, all while pretending to help local businesses during the pandemic. This needs to stop."

Racine's office also claims the app charged users higher prices than they'd pay in restaurants and that it misrepresented an offer of "unlimited free delivery" with a Grubhub+ subscription, since customers still need to pay a service fee.

The suit alleges that Grubhub offered deliveries from more than 1,000 eateries in the area without restaurants' permission. It accused the company of listing phone numbers for restaurants that were actually routed to Grubhub workers and creating websites for restaurants without their consent or clearly disclosing that it operated the sites. Grubhub has ended those practices, as TechCrunch notes.

"In one of Grubhub's most shameless moves, at the beginning of the pandemic, it ran a discount called 'Supper for Support,' ginning up business by claiming to help struggling restaurants, and then stuck restaurants with the bill," Racine said. "This program cut into struggling restaurants' profit margins while padding Grubhub's bottom line."

The promotion allowed restaurants to offer a $10 discount on orders over $30, but they had to cover the cost. Grubhub later offered them a $250 credit, as the suit notes.

"We are disappointed [the AG's office has] moved forward with this lawsuit because our practices have always complied with DC law, and in any event, many of the practices at issue have been discontinued," Grubhub said in a statement. "We will aggressively defend our business in court and look forward to continuing to serve DC restaurants and diners."

Grubhub says it has worked with Racine and his office over the last year to address concerns. In the wake of the lawsuit, the service is adding disclaimers about service fees for Grubhub+ subscribers and the fact prices may be lower at restaurants than in its app. Grubhub will also make it clearer that users can place orders for free through its app and website as long as they pick up food themselves. These changes will apply to everyone, not only users in DC.

The DC lawsuit is the latest in a number of legal battles over delivery apps' business practices. Chicago has also sued Grubhub (and DoorDash) over alleged deceptive delivery fees and charging higher prices for menu items than restaurants themselves do. In September, those two services and Uber Eats filed suit against New York City for placing limits on the fees they can charge restaurants.

Android finally lets you delete your recent Google search history

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:45 AM PDT

You no longer have to prune your Google app search history by hand if you're an Android user. Google confirmed to The Verge that it's rolling out the option to delete the last 15 minutes of search history in its namesake Android app. Tap your profile icon and you should see a "delete last 15 min" if the feature is available.

The option should reach everyone within the "next few weeks," according to Google representative Ned Adriance. Esper's Mishaal Rahman and Twitter user Pan Du first noticed the history control last week.

This has been a long time in coming, to put it mildly. Google first announced the 15-minute feature at I/O 2021, and delivered it first to iOS users in July of that year. Android users were supposed to receive the update later that year. It's not certain what prompted the delay. Still, you'll likely appreciate the addition if you need to quickly hide a gift shopping expedition or (ahem) risqué searches.

Nothing's first phone will launch this summer

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 07:30 AM PDT

Nothing will release its first handset, the Phone 1, this summer, the company confirmed on Wednesday ahead of its "The Truth" livestream. In the usual marketing style of its CEO, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, Nothing shared a handful of details about the upcoming device while promising to reveal more over the coming months.

It announced the phone will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and run Nothing OS, a modified version of Android that "captures the best features" of Google's mobile operating system while distilling it "to just the essentials." The company promised Nothing OS would offer a fast and smooth experience, with a user interface that features "bespoke" fonts, colors, design elements and sounds. Nothing will offer a preview of its software vision in April through a launcher those with select Android phones will have the chance to download.

In short, it seemingly looks like Nothing hopes to continue where OnePlus left off before Pei departed the company and it merged with Oppo. By that point, many longtime OnePlus fans felt the company had effectively stopped catering to them with its decision to expand into the budget phone market by offering what they saw as rebranded Oppo devices. While most assumed Nothing would eventually announce a phone given Pei's history, those assumptions became a lot more real at the start of March when a report came out that Nothing had shown off a smartphone in private meetings at Mobile World Congress. Just days later, leaker Evan Blass shared a photo of one such meeting Pei took with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon where you can see Pei holding what looks like an unannounced phone.

Pei positioned the Phone 1 as part of a broader ecosystem that will be open to other brands. He said his hope was to create an ecosystem that would feature Apple-like cohesion between different products and services while at the same time allowing people to use whatever devices they want. "This is the start of an open and diverse product ecosystem that gives people real choice," he said. "We're building the most compelling alternative to Apple." But exactly how Nothing plans to achieve that vision Pei was specific about.  

Snap buys a brain-computer interface startup to power future AR glasses

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 06:48 AM PDT

You might one day control Snap Spectacles glasses with your mind. Snap has bought NextMind, a French startup developing brain-computer interface technology (BCI) to help steer wearables and other devices by focusing on virtual buttons. There's no mystery about the intentions — NextMind will aid Snap's augmented reality development, including work on Spectacles.

Snap didn't disclose the value of the deal or outline its exact plans. NextMind will remain in its hometown of Paris while helping the Snap Lab team, although The Vergelearned the newly-acquired company will discontinue its BCI headband for developers.

The purchase isn't surprising given Snap's history. It bought WaveOptics, the company behind Spectacles' AR displays, in 2021. The social media giant also reportedly bought another display firm, the liquid crystal on silicon company Compound Photonics, in January. Snap is clearly interested in advancing its AR glasses beyond the simple designs of today, which rely on physical buttons to do little more than capture photos and video.

There's also plenty of competition in the space. Meta bought neural monitoring startup CTRL-labs in late 2019, while Valve is exploring the category through a partnership with OpenBCI. There's even some indirect competition with the brain implants of Elon Musk's Neuralink. Snap may need NextMind if it's going to develop advanced, hands-free AR hardware in time to fend off rivals.

PlayStation Network issues are affecting PS4, PS5 and other Sony consoles

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 06:28 AM PDT

The PlayStation Network is currently having some issues that are impacting PS3, PS4, PS5, PS Vita and web services. Sony said on a status page that it's working to resolve the issues, but players might "have difficulty launching games, apps or network features" in the meantime. 

The problems are also affecting PlayStation Now (which might inconvenience those who want to stream games at the minute) and all aspects of the PlayStation Store. They started at around 8:30 AM Eastern time.

The issues come in the wake of updates Sony started rolling out for PS4 and PS5 earlier on Wednesday. Some players have noted on Reddit and elsewhere that their console isn't able to verify a PlayStation Plus subscription or connect to online services.

The updates will (at least once the issues are resolved) allow PS4 and PS5 players to create or join Open and Closed parties. Sony has tweaked the UI of trophy cards on PS5 and added more accessibility options, including mono audio for headphones. Those with US- and UK-registered accounts can also test voice commands on PlayStation 5.

Google Home app updates bring simpler controls and improved privacy

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 06:05 AM PDT

The Google Home app should soon be more convenient — and familiar, if you're an Android user. Google is rolling out updates to Home for Android and iOS that should provide more powerful controls even as they remove some of the clutter. Most notably, you'll see simpler, Android 11-inspired smart home controls in the main view over the weeks ahead. You can tap devices to turn them on, use sliders to quickly dim lights or raise a speaker's volume and long-press if you need more control.

Privacy will also improve. As of this week, you'll find a settings section that lets you manage privacy controls, Assistant data and home activity within the Google Home app. You won't have to hop between software to set tighter restrictions.

Another update arriving by the end of March will help you parse what's happening in your household. The home feed will automatically sort events and group anything that happened within a short space of time. You won't have to slog through multiple status updates if the neighbor's dog repeatedly set off your Nest Cam, for example. All told, you might have more reasons to delve into the Home app rather than relying on voice controls and notifications.

Eero's newest mesh routers include a WiFi 6E model

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Eero is relatively late to WiFi 6E, but it's showing up in style — and making WiFi 6 more practical in the process. The Amazon brand has launched two new mesh routers led by the Eero Pro 6E (pictured below). The hardware takes advantage of the 6GHz band to offer up to a 1.3Gbps wireless connection for as many as 100 devices. Each unit has both 2.5Gbps and 1Gbps Ethernet jacks, and should cover up to 2,000 square feet each. Don't worry if you don't have the super-fast internet service to do it justice, though, as we've had some hands-on time with a more affordable option.

The equally new Eero 6+ (above) is 'just' a dual-band WiFi 6 model with two 1Gbps Ethernet ports, 1,500 square feet of coverage per router and a 75-device cap, but it now has access to a 160MHz radio channel that promises faster wireless data. Eero pitches this as the best choice for anyone with reasonably fast internet up to a gigabit.

We've briefly tried the 6+, and it works like much you'd expect if you're familiar with Eero. It has no trouble wringing the most out of a 500Mbps cable internet plan despite the modem and devices living on different floors of a modestly-sized house. The Amazon tie-ins both simplify setup (including reconnecting if you change the network name or password) and controlling the router with Alexa. You can ask the voice assistant to halt internet access for specific users, for instance. Just be aware that this doesn't have the tri-band wireless some rivals use to lighten the load on a busy network, so you may want to pass if you have multiple heavy users who can't afford slowdowns.

Eero Pro 6E WiFi mesh router
Eero Pro 6E
Eero

The pricing is in line with the performance. You can buy the Eero Pro 6E now in a $499 two-pack or $699 three-pack. A single unit is available to pre-order for $299. The Eero 6+ is decidedly easier to justify for most people, based on our experience. It's selling now at a $239 for a two-pack and $299 for a three-pack, with pre-orders open for a $139 one-device kit. And if you don't mind using 2020-era hardware, the earlier Eero 6 has dropped to $89 for one router, $139 for two and $199 for three.

Google is removing the Movies & TV section from the Play Store

Posted: 23 Mar 2022 05:30 AM PDT

Google gave its TV app an overhaul last year, redesigning its interface and turning it into a hub for your streaming needs. In the near future, it will also serve as Google's official home for movies and TV shows you can rent or purchase. While you can already do those now within the TV app, you can also still find movies and TV shows to buy from within the Google Play Store. In May 2022, though, Google will remove the Movies & TV tab from the Play Store menu at the bottom of its interface and will only continue selling apps, games and books.

If you haven't taken a look at the new Google TV app yet, you'll see a Shop tab where you can find all the titles the tech giant offers. Everything you pay for will be found in the Library tab, and all purchased content will be there indefinitely — you can either stream it or download it. Take note that you can still use Play credit and Play gift cards for transactions within the app and all your purchases are still eligible for family sharing and Google Play Points. Plus, you can still view and request refunds for your TV app purchases on Google Play. The only difference is that, if there's a title you want to watch, you'll soon have to fire up the dedicated Google TV app instead of Play Store to find it. 
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