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- US lawmaker seeks to create a commission to oversee tech companies
- Bill Simmons tapped to head Spotify’s global sports division
- The 'Alan Wake' remaster is coming to Nintendo Switch
- 'Deathloop' update adds much-needed accessibility options and a photo mode
- Hulu will be the streaming home for Lollapalooza through 2023
- Twitter's CEO fires top product exec as company cuts costs
- Rivian recalls 502 R1T trucks due to an airbag sensor issue
- Netflix's live-action 'Resident Evil' trailer shows a zombie apocalypse, obviously
- Android TV's next big update will improve picture-in-picture viewing
- Sony WH-1000XM5 review: In a league of their own
- Android Auto is getting a major UI update
- Mark Zuckerberg shows off what Meta's next headset can do
- Ocasio-Cortez, Warren blast Amazon for 'wholly inadequate' warehouse safety
- UK's Royal Mail aims to open up to 50 drone routes for rural deliveries
- Ayn's Odin is the retro gaming handheld to beat
- The best mobile gaming controllers you can buy
- Scientists reveal first image of the black hole in the center of our galaxy
- Xbox update brings noise suppression to Party Chat
- Facebook Pay will soon become Meta Pay
- Bethesda delays 'Starfield' to 2023
- ‘The Pentaverate’ is a reminder of what Netflix took from us
- Teenage Engineering's OP-1 Field is a big refresh with a big price tag
- The Morning After: Everything important from Google I/O 2022
- Warner Bros. Discovery and BT are forming a massive sports TV business
- Polyend's Play is an elegantly designed sample-based groovebox
| US lawmaker seeks to create a commission to oversee tech companies Posted: 12 May 2022 10:14 PM PDT US Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) wants to establish a federal watchdog that would focus on overseeing digital platforms and tech giants. The lawmaker has introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act (PDF) in Congress in hopes of establishing a five-person federal body appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. They would be experts in relevant fields, including computer science, software development and technology policy. The commission would be in charge of assuring "the fairness and safety of algorithms on digital platforms" as well as promoting competition. It would also have the authority to conduct investigations, impose penalties and to set new rules, such as those that ensure moderation transparency and the protection of consumers. The commission would create requirements for regular public risk assessments on the distribution of harmful content on digital platforms, as well. Under the commission, a "Code Council" comprised of technologists and public interest experts will conjure up standards and policies that could be implemented. In addition, the commission will establish a research office with 20 dedicated employees to conduct internal research and coordinate with outside academics and experts. As mentioned in the legislation's announcement, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are in charge of overseeing digital platforms today. Bennett argues, however, that they lack the expert staff and tech-oriented culture necessary for robust oversight. The Washington Post reports that Bennett's motivation was his personal experience viewing disinformation as part of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as seeing how social media has affected his children. As the publication notes, though, it remains to be seen whether the legislation would be approved by the Senate, where Democrats have a 50-50 majority. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bill Simmons tapped to head Spotify’s global sports division Posted: 12 May 2022 03:57 PM PDT Spotify has promoted The Ringer's Bill Simmons to a new role as head of global sports strategy, reported Deadline. Simmons has worked under the streaming service's umbrella since it bought his sports and culture podcast network The Ringer back in 2020. In his new role, we'll likely see Simmons expand upon the current lineup of NBA, MLB and NFL-focused podcasts and dive into international territory. We've already gotten a hint of that with shows like The Rugby Pod with Andy Goode, Big Jim Hamilton and host Andy Rowe. Spotify's non-US audience is getting larger — the service is currently available in 178 countries. Its number of subscribers actually grew by 2 million in the first quarter of 2022 (despite losing all of its Russian subscribers), which it pinned on "outperformance in Latin America and Europe". Last year, the streaming service expanded to 86 new countries, with the goal of eventually streaming to over 1 billion users. Earlier this year, Spotify announced it was going to become the main partner of FC Barcelona, as well as its official audio streaming partner. Given the fact that no global sports coverage would be complete without soccer, we're likely to see even more from this space. There's no doubt an appetite amongst Spotify's global audience for shows focused on the Premier League, FIFA and the World Cup, as well as other international sports topics. The promotion of Simmons is a part of a broader shake-up in Spotify's exec structure. Parcast founder Max Cutler will become Spotify's head of creator content and partnerships, overseeing originals and heading an entirely new division of "creator-focused" content. Julie McNamara will oversee studio partnerships and Hollywood-produced works. In Spotify's latest earnings call, it announced it reached a record 422 million global monthly active users. But despite its strong growth, the initial concerns that Spotify may have bitten off more than it can chew with its $1 billion investment in podcasts hasn't faded. While podcast listening hours skyrocketed during the pandemic, there's no guarantee that Spotify will be able to hold on to that momentum in the future. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The 'Alan Wake' remaster is coming to Nintendo Switch Posted: 12 May 2022 12:45 PM PDT Fans of Alan Wake aren't getting an update on the sequel this summer — but can look forward to a new TV series and a remastered version of the original game for the Switch. Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake today revealed what's in store for the franchise during the game's 12th-anniversary celebration video. Switch owners can anticipate Alan Wake Remastered to be available on Nintendo's eShop sometime this fall. The remastered original title is already available on the PS5, Xbox and PC. The original 2010 Alan Wake game — which features a thriller novelist who tries to solve the mystery of his wife's disappearance — has become a cult classic in recent years. Remedy and Microsoft Studios then released Alan Wake's American Nightmare in 2012. Since then, the franchise has mostly been dormant, but that's about to change. Lake revealed that AMC bought the rights to the Alan Wake franchise and will be adapting it into a TV series. "We have been collaborating on making a TV show happen. Nothing more to share at the moment, but we will certainly let you know when there is something to announce," said Lake. Alan Wake 2, which many expected to preview this summer, is currently deep in the development stages. Unfortunately, Lake confirmed that the studio won't be releasing any further updates on the game. It did release a number of stills from the upcoming sequel. As we've known for a while, the game is slated to arrive in 2023 for PS5 and other platforms. "Everything [with Alan Wake 2] is going really well, and a great deal of the game is playable," Lake said. "But we've been talking for the past couple of months and have come to a decision that we will not be showing anything big this summer," said Lake. Alan Wake devotees should watch the anniversary video in full, which also includes interesting behind-the-scene details about the remastered original and upcoming sequel. You can watch it below: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Deathloop' update adds much-needed accessibility options and a photo mode Posted: 12 May 2022 12:30 PM PDT Arcane Studios has released the third major update for Deathloop, which adds a slew of accessibility features. There's now an accessibility category in the options menu that includes the previously introduced settings (some of which have been upgraded) in addition to the new ones. Players will be able to adjust various gameplay elements, though some settings will be limited to the single-player mode — i.e., when you play as Colt and Julianna is controlled by AI rather than an invading human. These include slowing down the game speed, adjusting the number of reprises (or lives) you have and making the combat easier or harder. There are more user interface options as well, such as the ability to change the color, size and opacity of some text and graphical elements. In addition, players will, at long last, be able to navigate menus using the directional buttons instead of having to use a cursor. What a concept! If you prefer to use a cursor through, you can now adjust its movement speed.
When Deathloop landed on PS5 and PC last September, it was widely acclaimed, with critics praising its well-constructed gameplay, art style, level design and story. However, accessibility advocates pointed out issues that made the game difficult for disabled players to enjoy, such as the text size, lack of a controller remapping option and low contrast. Hopefully, this update will address most, if not all, of their concerns. "We are truly grateful to the players and the ally community who gave us so much feedback when Deathloop was released," lead UI/UX designer Yoann Bazoge told the PlayStation Blog. "We took the time to read all of the accessibility reviews and watch the videos of players explaining why they couldn't play Deathloop. We then worked on a document listing all of the feedback and drew up a roadmap of what the additions would be for Game Update 3." Meanwhile, Arcane has added another much-requested feature: photo mode. This will only be available in single-player mode and you'll be able to use poses, filters and stickers. Players can switch between Colt and Julianna, and choose a different outfit or weapon to capture the exact shot they want. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hulu will be the streaming home for Lollapalooza through 2023 Posted: 12 May 2022 11:20 AM PDT If you want to catch any live performances from Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo or Austin City Limits Music Festival from the comfort of your own home, Hulu will be the place to do that for the next couple of years. The platform has signed a deal with Live Nation to be the official streaming home for all three festivals through 2023. Lollapalooza was available to YouTube viewers for several years, but it moved to Hulu in 2021. You'll need to be a Hulu subscriber to catch livestreams from the festivals this year and next, though you won't have to be on the Live TV plan. Two feeds will be available for each event Friday through Sunday. There will be one livestream for Thursday programming from Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza (ACL is held over two weekends but doesn't run on Thursdays). Hulu will also offer special footage and behind-the-scenes vignettes. The livestream schedules will be announced in the leadup to each festival. Gryffin, J. Cole, Tool and Stevie Nicks top the bill at Bonnaroo, which runs from June 16th to 19th. Lollapalooza takes place over the last weekend in July and this year's headliners are Metallica, Dua Lipa, J. Cole and Green Day. As for ACL, you'll be able to check out performances from the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lil Nas X, Pink, Kacey Musgraves, Paramore, The Chicks, SZA and Flume across the first two weekends of October. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Twitter's CEO fires top product exec as company cuts costs Posted: 12 May 2022 10:40 AM PDT There's a new shakeup happening at the top of Twitter. CEO Parag Agrawal has fired the company's general manager of consumer products Kayvon Beykpour in order to "take the team in a different direction." Bruce Falck, the company's general manager for revenue, is also leaving, the company confirmed. Beykpour, who had been with the company for seven years, was on the paternity leave at the time. The shakeup comes alongside a companywide pause on hiring as Twitter tries to cut costs. A said the company is "pausing most hiring" and "pulling back on non-labor costs." It will likely fuel more uncertainty at Twitter, which has been reeling since the company accepted Elon Musk's offer to buy the company. Agrawal has reportedly told employees the company's current execs don't know what direction Musk will take the platform. Musk has said he has no confidence in Twitter's current management, and that he has a new CEO in mind for when the deal closes. Despite all that, Agrawal is making big changes of his own. Most notably, by firing Beykpour, a longtime product executive who is well-liked in and outside of Twitter. "The truth is that this isn't how and when I imagined leaving Twitter, and this wasn't my decision," he wrote in a thread about his departure. "Parag asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction."
In a memo, Agrawal cited the company's failure to hit goals for revenue and user growth, The New York Timesreported. Musk has made clear he has even more aggressive goals for the platform. He recently stated that he intends to grow Twitter's user base to nearly a billion users by 2028. Twitter isn't the only major platform looking to cut costs. Meta has also said it intends to pull back on its hiring plans, and has ended some projects in its Reality Labs division. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rivian recalls 502 R1T trucks due to an airbag sensor issue Posted: 12 May 2022 10:30 AM PDT Rivian is recalling some of its R1T electric trucks because of an issue with airbag sensors. The vehicle may not disable an airbag when a child is sitting up front, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing spotted by The Verge. This is Rivian's first recall and it covers 502 R1T vehicles that were built between September 2021 and April 2022. Although the NHTSA recommends that children aged under 13 should be in the back seat, that's not always possible for various reasons. Airbags, which can deploy even in a minor accident, can injure or kill children who are sitting in the front seat. Rivian said the recalled vehicles "fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, 'Occupant Crash Protection.'" The company said no injuries have been associated with the issue. The front passenger seats in the recalled EVs will be replaced for free at Rivian service centers — it currently has 20 of those in the US. The company said it will inform affected customers by phone, email, text and in-vehicle messaging as soon as possible. It will also mail notices to them by July 1st. A Rivian spokesperson sent Engadget the following statement:
Update 5/12 2:29PM ET: Added Rivian's statement. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Netflix's live-action 'Resident Evil' trailer shows a zombie apocalypse, obviously Posted: 12 May 2022 09:29 AM PDT A live-action Resident Evil series is coming to Netflix this summer, and a teaser offers a first look at what's in store. The story takes place across two timelines and locations: a seemingly pristine New Raccoon City in the present day and a ruined version of London in 2036. In 2022, we see Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick) bringing his daughters Jade and Billie to New Raccoon City. Albert works for the Umbrella Corporation, which unleashes the devastating T-virus on humanity. Fast forward 14 years and Jade is one of the last 15 million or so people on Earth. She tries to survive the zombie apocalypse while reckoning with her family's dark secrets. The show will build on existing lore from the Resident Evil games but will have an original narrative. The teaser makes it pretty clear this is primarily a horror series with some action weaved in. There are nods to the games as well, including a quick flash of a zombie dog at the end. This show follows on from the anime Resident Evil:Infinite Darkness, which hit Netflix last year. The first eight-episode season of Resident Evil will arrive on July 14th. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Android TV's next big update will improve picture-in-picture viewing Posted: 12 May 2022 09:02 AM PDT Google isn't just showering affection on Android phones and tablets at I/O 2022. The company has detailed updates for Android 13 on TV, including one for living room multitaskers. On top of already announced plans to support casting from Android to Google TV, Google has revealed that Android TV will expand picture-in-picture viewing to show group call videos, add a docked mode and prevent chats from hiding content in other apps. You could catch up with family on a camera-equipped TV without blocking your web browser. The future Android TV release will also support different keyboard layouts. That could be helpful for game developers who need to map input to non-QWERTY physical keyboards, Google said. You should also expect performance and quality boosts thanks to improved audio routing and HDMI responses. Developers can grab Android 13 TV beta 2 today for either Google's ADT-3 kit or a computer-based emulator. You'll likely have to wait until later in the year for the finished Android TV update to arrive. As with Android 13 on mobile devices, this isn't a major overhaul — it's more of a refinement to help keep up with modern expectations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sony WH-1000XM5 review: In a league of their own Posted: 12 May 2022 09:00 AM PDT The rumors were (mostly) true. Sony did indeed have a follow-up to its stellar WH-1000XM4 ready for a proper debut. Today the company announced the WH-1000XM5 ($400), its latest flagship noise-canceling headphones equipped with all of the things we've come to expect from Sony's 1000X line. This time around the company gave its premium cans a big exterior redesign. In the process, it massively increased comfort while also expanding the incredible performance in terms of noise cancelation and overall sound quality. DesignOne of the biggest changes for the 1000XM5 is the design. Sony slimmed down the headband while keeping the underside soft and cushiony. My only gripe with the new look is that you can see where the housing for the adjustable arms ends and the softer padding begins. You only see it when you take the headphones off, but it's noticeable. Sony also connects the headband to the ear cups in one spot on the M5, rather than the U-shaped bracket that mounted to the M4 in two places. There's still plenty of swivel and rotation for the ear cups, so there's no sacrifice to movement. In fact, I'd argue these changes give this new 1000X a more modern look, than all of the previous models. The lineup has a similar design up through the M4, so Sony was overdue for a big overhaul. Despite only being four grams or 0.14 ounces lighter than the WH-1000XM4, this new version feels like it weighs a lot less when you put them on. The weight distribution is better, plus the synthetic leather ear cups are quite cushiony. I had no problem wearing these for hours at a time and at no point did I feel pressure around my ears or on the top of my head. Billy Steele/Engadget The outside panel of the right ear cup still houses the touch controls. Here you can play/pause with a double tap, skip tracks with a horizontal swipe or swipe vertically to adjust volume. Tap and hold summons your voice assistant and when you get a call, simply double tap to answer. All of those touch controls work well too, reliably accepting taps and swipes without error. On the edge of the left ear cup, there are physical buttons for power and noise cancellation. The former can also put the headphones in pairing mode and give you a battery level update while the latter cycles through a combination of ANC, ambient sound and off. SoftwareAs is the case with most of Sony's earbuds and headphones, the Headphones Connect app is where you tweak settings and enable a host features. When you fire up the software, a battery life percentage is prominently displayed on the right side, with tabs for Status, Sound, System and Services just below. The first, Status, gives you access to the finer details of Adaptive Sound Control or Sony's handy automatic switching of noise canceling settings based on activity or location. Of course, if you choose to have things change based on where you are, you'll have to give the app permission to track your whereabouts. If you do, you can set the M5 to automatically enable ambient sound when you're at the office, for example. Adaptive Sound Control can also be configured to change the EQ and enable/disable Speak-to-Chat for a particular location or activity. Billy Steele/Engadget The Status panel will also allow you to see which devices are currently connected since the M5 allows you to link up to two simultaneously. And lastly there's a media player here, which I've never touched across several reviews. The Sound tab gives you access to Ambient Sound Control, the ability to enable/disable Speak-to-Chat, the equalizer and audio presets. If you recall, Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses the audio and activates ambient sound when it detects that you're speaking. In my experience, it could sometimes be fooled by coughs, but that's not the case anymore. You can also configure the headphones for 360 Reality audio, in addition to switching Bluetooth connection quality and employing DSEE Extreme. That latter uses AI to reproduce the frequency response that's typically lost to compression. System is where you can enable multipoint connectivity, change voice assistants, disable the touch control panel and add functionality to the noise canceling button. You can also opt for that last control to activate Spotify Tap with either a double or triple press. And last but not least, Services is where you connect various apps for easy access. If you want to use Spotify Tap, for example, you'll need to sync it with Headphones Connect here. Sound qualityBilly Steele/Engadget Sound quality has never been an issue with the 1000X line, and it's definitely not on the M5. In fact, it's yet another thing Sony upgraded on these headphones. New 30mm carbon fiber drivers handle the audio, including tracks in LDAC and DSEE Extreme. I thought the M4 was well-tuned for a range of genres, but the bass seems punchier here. Whether it's the electronic collisions of The Glitch Mob, the grungy blues of Jack White or the driving bass in Kendrick Lamar's catalog, the lower range is both pleasant and powerful, expanding the overall soundstage. The difference between the M4 and the M5 is in the finer details. There's more depth, making everything seem more immersive. But there's also more clarity, so the subtleties can shine. I'm talking about things like the texture of someone strumming an acoustic guitar or Jack White's iconic distortion soaring above the other instruments. Everything is still balanced, and the bass only provides the proper amount of oomph. Switch over to something entirely acoustic like bluegrass and the bass remains in check so the picking, and the highs, can cut through unhindered. What's more, activating DSEE Extreme doesn't make a huge difference in the sound quality. On other Sony devices, that algorithm's ability to recover some of the detail lost to compression makes a noticeable impact. On the M5, the results are subtle, and on some songs I had a hard time picking up on any change at all. It's quite impressive. I only have one complaint about sound quality, and it may actually be a Bluetooth issue rather than a true audio problem. When listening to music or watching a video on my MacBook Pro, I would occasionally experience quick dropouts or skips. It didn't happen often and, oddly, I never heard it when playing something on my iPhone. The audio stutters a bit just for a second, like you're watching a video on a bad internet connection, and then it continues. I tested both WH-1000XM5 units sent to me and noticed the issue on both. I've reached out to Sony for more info on the potential cause. Active noise cancellationSony had already developed highly effective noise cancellation for its 1000X line and automated it so the feature could change based on your activity or location (Adaptive Sound Control). Those automatic tweaks are still in play on the M5, but the company has taken its overall noise-blocking setup a step further. First, it doubled both the number of processors and the number of microphones that handle noise canceling duties. In addition to the QN1 that was inside the M4, Sony also employs a separate V1 chip to lend a hand. There are now eight total ANC mics, up from four on the previous model. Plus, there's an automatic noise canceling optimizer that ensures peak performance based on wear and your environment. So, what does all of that mean when you're actually wearing the headphones? Well, Sony says the entire setup is much better at blocking higher frequencies than the WH-1000XM4, which covers things like human voices. Indeed, the M5 is more effective at silencing nearby chatter and TV noise. It's not entirely effective at combating baby screams (I have a 15-month-old at home), but most speech and what I'd consider a normal television volume went unnoticed. That makes the ANC on the 1000XM5 a clear upgrade over the M4. Call qualityDespite working just fine for calls, the WH-1000XM4 isn't equipped with dedicated voice microphones. Sony installed four beamforming mics on the M5, which it says helps this new model deliver the best call quality yet for the 1000X series. Those components work alongside AI-driven noise reduction to make this happen. Companies make lofty claims about voice quality all the time and it rarely pans out, but Sony actually delivers. Both video and audio calls are crisp and clear, as your voice sounds noticeably better than other earbuds and headphones. With most of the competition, you typically sound like you're on speakerphone at best. It's much better than that on the M5, and the headphones do a great job handling background noise too. Constant roaring from a sound machine is easily silenced and things like voices, music or a nearby television are also reduced. Battery lifeBilly Steele/Engadget Unfortunately, one rumor that didn't pan out is the 1000XM5's battery life. Reports indicated that Sony had added another 10 hours on top of its already 30-hour listening time. That's not the case, you'll still only get 30 hours of use with active noise cancellation. Sony did upgrade things when it comes to the quick charge feature. Instead of 10 minutes for five hours of use like on the M4, you get three hours of playback in three minutes. After just over 21 hours of testing, Sony's app read 38 percent battery remaining, so I'm pacing slightly ahead of the promised figure. The battery percentage in the macOS Bluetooth menu confirmed the status at that point too. During my tests, I had active noise cancellation turned on and did a mix of music streaming, video live streams, video calls and turning the headphones off a few times. Even though more is always better, 30 hours is plenty on the M5 and it's enough to get you through a few work days or an international trip that includes long flights. The competitionWhen it comes to alternatives, Bose immediately comes to mind. The company offers the pricey 700 which does an excellent job blocking noise although the overall sound quality isn't as good as what Sony has conjured. The 700 is slightly cheaper at $379, but if you're looking to save even more money, the QuietComfort 45 is a great choice. Bose updated its classic QC headphones last year with improved ANC and longer battery life, among other things. Plus, that model is $329. Neither of these beat Sony when it comes to the complete package that is the 1000XM5, but they're worthy alternatives nonetheless. If you've read this far and think the previous 1000X model seems more compelling, you're in luck. Sony is keeping the WH-1000XM4 around for the time being. It will still be $350, unless you find it on sale, saving you $50 over the cost of the brand new version. Indeed, those headphones have been our top pick since their debut. And even though they're likely to be dethroned in our next buyers' guide update, they're still very good headphones and won't be obsolete anytime soon. Wrap-upBilly Steele/Engadget The WH-1000XM5 is evidence that even the best product in a given category still has room for improvement. Sony has consistently impressed us with its 1000X line, but the upgrades it delivers on the M5 are some of the biggest in the history of the series. It managed to make its sound even better while blocking more noise than it has before. Plus, there's a new look that isn't only an aesthetic improvement but is more comfortable too. The only gripe is the price, which is $50 more than the previous model at $400. But when considering the entirety of what you're getting, the cost is perfectly reasonable. Sony was already on top, but with the WH-1000XM5, the company put even more distance between itself and the rest of the pack. The Sony WH-1000XM5 will be available in black and silver color options for $400. Pre-orders begin today on the company's website, Amazon and Best Buy and the headphones will be widely available on May 20th. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Android Auto is getting a major UI update Posted: 12 May 2022 09:00 AM PDT After all the big hardware and software announcements during the I/O 2022 keynote presentation, today Google is sharing some updates for cars with Android Auto and vehicles with infotainment systems based on Android Automotive. Detailed as part of Google's "What's New with Android for Cars" session, the most important upcoming change is a refreshed UI for Android Auto focused on making it easier to navigate, control media and communicate with others while driving. To accommodate the larger displays in new cars, the company is making split screen view standard across all devices so that you can see directions, music and texts all at the same time. That means you'll be able to quickly pause a song or see a new message without having to navigate through a bunch of menus and settings. Google On top of that, Google is also improving support for adaptive layouts that can more easily adjust to the growing variety of displays in new cars. So regardless of if you have a sweeping extra-wide display on your dash or a tall portrait-orientated screen, the Android Auto UI can still show all your pertinent info. Meanwhile, to improve hands-free controls, the Google Assistant is better contextual suggestions for things like returning missed calls, texting arrival times and more. Google Finally, for owners of cars with systems based on Android Automotive (such as new vehicles from Ford, Volvo and others), Google is expanding your in-car entertainment options with wider support for video streaming apps. Earlier this year at CES, Google announced the ability to stream clips from YouTube, and now the Tubi TV and Epix Now apps will be added soon. Just remember, you can only watch videos while the car is parked, so don't try to stream and drive. And in the future, the company says it also has plans to let passengers stream content from their phones to their vehicle's built-in display, though there isn't a concrete timeline for when that will be available yet. Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here! | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Zuckerberg shows off what Meta's next headset can do Posted: 12 May 2022 08:48 AM PDT Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has provided a first proper look at the company's next mixed-reality headset, codenamed Project Cambria, in action. The "high-end headset" is scheduled for release later this year and it will support a new augmented reality experience called The World Beyond. We see Zuckerberg playing with and petting a virtual creature that's superimposed onto the real world. The clip also shows a user in front of a virtual workstation before looking down at a notepad and writing on it. Reports suggested that Cambria's image quality would allow users to clearly read text, and that seems to be the case. In addition, the demo shows a virtual workout instructor who appears to be in the same space as the headset wearer. The World Beyond was built with Meta's Presence Platform, which is designed to help developers create mixed-reality experiences. Project Cambria will support full-color passthrough. Its onboard cameras can seemingly provide wearers with a higher fidelity view of their surroundings for mixed-reality purposes than existing Quest headsets can offer. The World Beyond will be available on Quest soon through App Lab, though you won't be able to access the full-color passthrough experience just yet. The new headset itself was blurred in the clip. However, it's not that hard to imagine roughly what it will look like, especially given the teaser Meta released last year. Project Cambria (or whatever it will actually be called) will reportedly cost over $799. A recent report noted that Meta employees likened Project Cambria to a "laptop for the face," given that it's said to have similar specs to a Chromebook. It's believed Meta is planning to release a more advanced version of the Cambria headset in 2024 as well as two new Quest models over the next few years. However, it seems Meta is scaling back some of its metaverse ambitions. On Wednesday, it was reported that the company is shutting down some projects at Reality Labs, the hardware and metaverse division that lost $10 billion last year, and putting others on hold. Meta is said to be hiring fewer staff than usual this year to reduce costs amid slowing revenue growth. Meanwhile, the company this week opened its first physical store for Reality Labs products. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ocasio-Cortez, Warren blast Amazon for 'wholly inadequate' warehouse safety Posted: 12 May 2022 08:20 AM PDT Amazon's handling of the deadly Edwardsville, Illinois warehouse collapse in December is drawing criticism from key figures in Congress. Motherboardreports that Senator Elizabeth Warren and representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush have sent a follow-up letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and chairman Jeff Bezos criticizing the company's "disappointing" response to an initial series of questions about the Illinois warehouse's safety. They said OSHA's findings described a "wholly inadequate safety culture" that may have played a role in the deaths of six facility workers. The data pointed to "serious concerns" about safety training at the Edwardsville location, the politicians wrote. While OSHA didn't fine or otherwise punish Amazon, its investigation contradicted the company's statements about preparedness. Staff didn't participate in emergency drills that might have protected them from the tornado, and some didn't even know the location of the designated shelter area. And while Amazon claimed the warehouse had an Emergency Action Plan, OSHA said the company neither customized it for the area nor followed it properly. The investigation and Amazon's response suggested the firm only did the "bare minimum" or less to protect workers, according to the politicians. They added that there was evidence of injuries and exploitation elsewhere, and urged Amazon to honor the House Oversight Committee's request for documents as part of its own inquiry. We've asked Amazon for comment. The tech giant said in its response letter that safety was its "top priority" and defended its practices at the Edwardsville warehouse. Bezos told shareholders roughly a year ago that Amazon needed to improve its treatment of employees, but his focus was on reducing repetitive strain injuries and general safety projects, not disaster preparedness. The retailer acknowledged some of the calls for reform by permanently allowing cellphones on-site. Whatever Amazon's answer to this latest letter, it's likely to face considerably more scrutiny. On top of the House probe, Amazon is dealing with multiple lawsuits accusing the company of negligence that led to deaths and injuries at the Illinois hub. There's still plenty of pressure to change, and Amazon might not succeed in resisting political demands. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UK's Royal Mail aims to open up to 50 drone routes for rural deliveries Posted: 12 May 2022 07:50 AM PDT The UK's Royal Mail wants to set up as many as 50 drone routes over the next three years to make deliveries to remote communities. The plan, which requires approval from the Civil Aviation Authority, would see the service secure up to 200 of the autonomous devices from logistics drone company Windracers. The Royal Mail said the first communities to benefit would be the Isles of Scilly (off the coast of Cornwall in south-west England) and the Scottish islands of Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides. Test flights started last year. In the most recent one, held in April, the service was able to use a UAV to deliver mail to Unst, Britain's most northerly inhabited island, from Tingwall Airport on Shetland's largest island. That's a 50-mile flight each way. The twin-engine drone used in the tests can carry a payload of up to 100 kg of mail and take two return flights each day. The Royal Mail said the device has a wingspan of 10 meters and can withstand difficult weather conditions with the help of its autopilot system. After the drone arrives at its destination, a postal worker will retrieve the mail and parcels and deliver them. The Royal Mail claimed the drones would help it reduce carbon emissions and provide a more reliable delivery service to islands. It eventually hopes to have a fleet of more than 500 drones that will operate across the UK. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ayn's Odin is the retro gaming handheld to beat Posted: 12 May 2022 07:30 AM PDT There are many, many ways to play retro games today. Plenty of those options are handhelds. But you might be surprised at how many of these devices feel jury rigged, cheap or often both. Worse, there's a mishmash of open-source emulators running on a variety of operating systems to deal with, and all of the hardware is different — in short, emulation is a bit of a wild west sometimes. What's more, even the better handhelds usually only emulate up to around the PS1/N64 era. If you're a fan of the GameCube or PS2 libraries, for example, the venn diagram of handhelds powerful enough that are well made and reasonably priced is effectively three separate circles. Maybe not for much longer thanks to the Odin by Ayn. Yep, I hadn't heard of 'em either, but in the retro gaming scene that's not uncommon. The Odin was launched on Indiegogo and instantly drew a lot of attention. The premise is simple, to bring the aforementioned venn diagram together and make a more cohesive retro (and even modern game) handheld. The Odin gets off to a good start by effectively mimicking the Switch Lite form factor. Though the Odin's screen is a shade larger (5.9 inches compared to Nintendo's 5.5) and, at FHD, higher resolution. Anecdotally, most people who've held both find the Odin more comfortable and even prefer the latter's analog sticks and D-pad which is not bad for a company new to the space. James Trew / Engadget I'm personally a fan of how all the controls are laid out. The analogue sticks are far enough away to not interfere with the buttons/D-pad but close enough to allow for quick, comfortable switching between them. I also like that the sticks are a little shallower than on other controllers which means you don't need to push as far to get the movement you need. There are three different models of Odin available: Pro, Base and Lite. The Pro is the one we have been using and is, as the name suggests, the higher specification version. We're not talking bleeding edge internals here, but with a Snapdragon 845 and an Adreno 635 doing the processing and graphics we're looking at something similar to a high-end smartphone from a couple of years ago. Bear in mind that the Switch using an older chipset: It's, as the saying goes, what you do with it that counts, right? The differences between each model include battery size, SoC, storage, RAM and, of course, price. Here's a cheat sheet for those interested:
It's worth noting that if you're only worried about the storage, all Odin's come with a microSD card slot so you can expand the available memory that way if you prefer. As for battery capacity, the 6,000 mAh model I tested was good for around six hours of play on systems like the PS2/GameCube and, given everyone seems to test this game, about half that time with something like Genshin Impact. This puts the Odin in an interesting spot. You can certainly pick up a very good retro handheld/emulator for around $100, but likely it won't be able to play nearly as many games from as many platforms. Alternatively, you could spend over $1,000 on something like the Aya Neo which likely trounces the Odin but then is also four times the cost. Then there's the Steam Deck which is a whole other beast, but a viable alternative if you want to play non-retro games also. It's also a shade pricier than the Odin, starting at $400, but obviously not a direct competitor. All to say, the handheld market is kind of all over the place. The Odin runs on Android. If that induces an internal groan, we get it. Android and gaming have a complicated history. But arguably Android makes the most sense for a device like the Odin. Not least because the hardware is comparable to that in a high end phone, but Android is also well catered for in the retro world, with most of the emulators having mature ports. Oh, and Android does have good games of its own, so you can play those natively too. As much as the Odin is aiming to feel like a complete console rather than a single-board PC in a box running apps, there's a bit of a problem. It's almost impossible to do it any other way without going full remake a-la Analogue. That said, setting up the Odin was about as painless as this process gets. Pick the emulators you want, install them, load up on games and you're more or less good to go. Often the physical controls are either already mapped or just take a minute to do so. James Trew / Engadget Ayn did give the Odin its own launcher which sorta-kinda makes it feel more "consoley" and less like an Android tablet, but honestly the version it ships with is clean enough that you can just stick with that. Thankfully there's almost no extra app cruft on the Odin out of the box and, despite being Android 10, there's support for Project Treble which should help keep it feeling current for longer. If your interest is mostly around the NES/SNES or Sega equivalents, you can simply install RetroArch and kick back. There's nothing unusual here for those most favored or classical consoles so I'll focus on the more advanced systems. For many it's the promise of portable PlayStation 2 and GameCube emulation that will be a lure here. The PS2 is notoriously tricky thanks to the console's custom processor. But the emulation community is industrious if nothing else and there are some pretty good options now. I tested out some of my favorites from my physical collection, but obviously had to start with Rez, just to see how it looked on that display. Sure enough, it looked pretty fab. My left thumb is way less nimble than it was 20 years ago but the Odin barely flinched at serving up the game. I may have heard a few minor, almost imperceptible glitches in the audio, but they were infrequent and possibly something that could be remedied in the emulator settings rather than the hardware. This experience was pretty much the same with any other title I tried. I spent time taking Raiden out for a crawl in the rain in Metal Gear Solid 2. While over in GTA: San Andreas, CJ's hopes of going straight were just as futile (complete with slightly wonky physics) as I remembered. Final Fantasy XII's dramatic opening sequence ran as smooth as it ever did and Reks' brave naivety was almost glitchless bar some light cracking on audio here and there. James Trew / Engadget With the GameCube you might reasonably expect a little more success given that historically it's been easier to emulate. That does broadly seem to pan out. It might take a little fiddling around to get things optimized, but F-Zero GX can run at full speed and there are only a few games that are more performance hungry than that. You can also get some good results for Wii emulation here too but that will depend on a title's use of Wiimotes among other things. Of course, everything at this level is still some sort of crapshoot. Who knows how the game was programmed or how it used the hardware it was built for. There are already several videos on YouTube that dutifully go through a bunch of titles for all the systems to show how they run. There's also a thriving subreddit that has spreadsheets dedicated to listing which games are (or aren't) compatible and how well they perform on the Odin. There are two areas where you don't need to worry about compatibility: Android gaming and streaming services like Stadia and Game Pass. There's not a lot to say here really other than the Odin was born to do it, so long as your internet can keep up. (WiFi performance is comparable to my phone, for what it's worth.) Some brave folks out there have even tried running 3DS and even Switch games all with varying degrees of success. Ultimately what you're buying with the Odin is a bespoke gaming handheld that merely has the capability to run these apps, there's no real promise of performance (or really control thereof). James Trew / Engadget But it does seem to have been particularly well designed. The active cooling seems to be a bit of a secret sauce, making sure you not only get the most out of the processor but for extended periods without any fear of damage. Some might wonder, why not simply get an old handset with similar specification and slap it in something like Razer's Kishi. You definitely could do that, but the Odin's cooling isn't the only perk, its screen is bigger and 16:9 rather than superwide like a phone. Plus… it's about not feeling like you have a phone in a clamp, that's kinda the point. It's not a headline feature, but Ayn did see fit to offer two ways of playing the Odin on a TV/display. There's a micro HDMI port on the top which is probably the simplest way to get your game on a bigger screen. I will say though that I didn't have a great time with it as neither of my TVs have a great gaming mode, so latency was an issue. There is also DisplayPort connectivity via the USB-C connection. If you really want to consolize the Odin, you can do so via a $50 "Super Dock" accessory. With this, you can slide the Odin into the mount much like a Switch and pick up where you left off on the bigger screen. Along with USB, there are also dedicated ports for both GameCube and N64 controllers should you have any of those lying around. It also adds in the option for ethernet and USB-C/SATA for things like SSDs (more modern games take up a lot more space after all). Of course, given it's running Android, you can do anything with the Odin that you can do with a phone or tablet. That means video streaming or music listening and even productivity. Though, logic might suggest that running things in the background or, heaven forbid, allowing notifications is only going to do bad things to your gaming experience. But you could. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The best mobile gaming controllers you can buy Posted: 12 May 2022 07:00 AM PDT Mobile gaming is serious business now. The biggest titles out there are games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact, helped along by legions of kids getting their first smartphone. Lots of game publishers are putting out console-quality experiences on mobile, and it's taken time for gaming accessories to catch up. But they have, and now players have a number of controller options to suit their play style. We've sorted through the leading options to highlight the pros and cons of each, so you can decide which one is the best for getting your game on (the go). For players who prefer PlayStation-style controllers: 8BitDo Pro 2Kris Naudus / Engadget 8BitDo has built itself a reputation for versatile gamepads that can work with multiple systems, from the Nintendo Switch to the Raspberry Pi. And while the Pro 2 is one of our top controllers for the Switch, it's also a pretty great option for Android and iOS as well. The advantage to using these with your phone is also the free 8BitDo software that gives you extensive customization options for the buttons; it even has more options than you'll find on Nintendo's system. Of course, being a Bluetooth gamepad means it's easy enough to jump back and forth, making this a good investment for people who own multiple portable devices (like a Switch). Pros: PlayStation-like design is comfortable; configuration software is robust; controller is available in multiple colors Cons: Not small and would be best carried around in a case Buy 8BitDo Pro 2 at Amazon - $50For players who like Xbox-style controllers: SteelSeries Nimbus+ and Stratus+Kris Naudus / Engadget While the PlayStation's DualShock design has gained its share of devotees over the years, the Xbox gamepad is the stereotypical image of the gamepad in many people's minds (as well as the Discord logo). So it makes sense that there are a lot more mobile gaming options with that shape, and the best ones come from SteelSeries: the Nimbus+ for Apple-made devices and the Stratus+ for Google-based devices (Android and Chromebook). The two controllers are, for the most part, identical. They have shoulder buttons and triggers, the d-pad is the same, and they both include sturdy phone mounts for attaching your device at the top — the type that clamps in place automatically. Unlike a clamp from a more generic company, the one SteelSeries provides with both controllers won't fight you during the process of mounting your phone. Pros: More players are likely to be familiar with Xbox-style controllers; both models include sturdy clamps for clipping your phone to the controller. Cons: You have to buy a different controller based on what OS you're using; the controller with the clamp attached is unwieldy Buy Nimbus+ at Amazon - $70Buy Stratus+ at SteelSeries - $60For players who want to turn their Android phone into a Switch or Steam Deck-like device: Razer KishiKris Naudus / Engadget Let's be honest, the form factor is a big reason that devices like the Switch are so popular. They're comfortable to hold, well-balanced and really put the screen front and center. You don't really get that with a phone clamp or table stand. Luckily, Razer's Kishi is a super affordable option that's easy to slide your phone into — though the setup admittedly wasn't as quick for me as the SteelSeries options. But at least the direct connection it forms with the phone using USB-C is faster than Bluetooth. The Kishi's biggest advantages — besides Razer's high-end build quality — are its passthrough charging, so you never need to detach it to charge your phone, and the size it folds down to when you do take it off your device. It's smaller than the SteelSeries controllers, making it ideal for throwing into a small bag. Pros: Provides a direct connection to a phone instead of relying on Bluetooth; folds up compactly when not in use Cons: Phone with Kishi attached may feel bulky; doesn't work with iPhones Buy Razer Kishi at Amazon - $90For players who want to turn their iPhone into a handheld console: Backbone OneKris Naudus / Engadget The USB-C port on the Kishi restricts it to Android devices, and Razer doesn't make an iOS equivalent. However, the new Backbone One is made for Apple devices, though at a higher cost (due to being newer and from a smaller company). My colleague Mat Smith was a big fan of the One when he tried it, and in my own use it has a few advantages over the Razer device, namely a cleaner design and a more sweat-friendly matte texture. It also features Apple-specific buttons, ones that are much bigger and thus easier to hit than the ones on the Kishi. Pros: Nice matte finish; specifically made for iPhone users Cons: Expensive; only works with iPhones Buy Backbone One at Amazon - $100For players who want the most portable controller possible (or the cutest): 8BitDo Zero 2Kris Naudus / Engadget If you have big hands, the 8BitDo Zero 2 is definitely not for you, and your hands will likely cramp if you spend too long playing with this diminutive Bluetooth controller. But for everyone else, it's definitely worth a look, if only because it's so small there's no reason to keep it on you at all times in case of an emergency. Not that we could tell you what constitutes a gaming emergency, but if one does come up you'll be glad to have this on hand. It truly is keychain-sized, so you can clip it on your backpack or slide it into a Switch carrying case with ease. And we love the bright colors, which are based on the Switch Lite design and should blend in with your spring and summertime apparel. Pros: Cute and tiny; comes with a strap for attaching to a bag Cons: Too small for gamers with big hands Buy 8BitDo Zero 2 at Amazon - $20 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientists reveal first image of the black hole in the center of our galaxy Posted: 12 May 2022 06:26 AM PDT Scientists have imaged a black hole before, but now they've captured a picture of the most important example — the one at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Researchers using the Event Horizon Telescope have revealed the first image of Sagittarius A* (aka Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of our home galaxy. The snapshot confirms both the presence of the black hole and provides more details of how these extreme space objects work. Like the black hole spotted inside M87, Sgr A* is bending all the light around it — hence why it looks so similar. They're far from identical beyond this, however. The Milky Way's hole is over 1,000 times smaller and less massive. That made it a challenge to accurately visualize the gas whipping around the hole, as it orbits in minutes where M87's gas takes days or even weeks. And while the object is huge at 4 million times more massive than the Sun, M87's counterpart is billions of times more massive. The team needed the Event Horizon Telescope's network of radio observatories to produce the imagery over the course of multiple nights. They developed new imaging tools, and used a mix of supercomputing power (to analyze and combine data) and black hole simulations to help compare their findings. The project took five years to complete, including 100 million hours of supercomputer time at the US' National Science Foundation. The image finally helps humanity see the center of the galaxy, which sits roughly 27,000 light-years away. It should also help study black holes in general — astronomers can now compare images of two different black holes to refine their models of how these supermassive examples behave. The improved understanding of gas behavior could shape understandings of how galaxies form and evolve. The light ring data also lined up well with predictions based on the Theory of General Relativity. You can expect more data going forward. The EHT is continuing to expand, and conducted its largest observation effort yet this March. Scientists hope for both more detailed images and videos of Sgr A* and other black holes in the "near future," according to the NSF. All told, black hole visuals could be relatively commonplace before long.
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| Xbox update brings noise suppression to Party Chat Posted: 12 May 2022 06:13 AM PDT Chatting while gaming on your Xbox One Series X/S can be fun, but party chat members' poor quality mics that let in every barking dog and blaring TV? Not so much. Now, Microsoft is doing something about it by introducing noise suppression to party chat in the latest Xbox update. "We've enabled a new feature which will process your microphone input through a noise suppression step to help produce cleaner audio in your Party Chat session," it wrote in the Xbox blog. " The setting is enabled by default but can be toggled from the dropdown options menu." The feature appears to be taking a cue from Discord's Krisp audio filters, along with NVIDIA's underrated Broadcast tech. Krisp has been a mixed bag — while the AI filters out most noises (mechanical keyboards, chip crunching) except for voices, some users have complained about reduced audio quality. The Xbox update also includes various fixes for audio, controllers, HDMI CEC, Guide and more. It's entering the alpha skip-ahead ring today, but should roll out more widely in the near future. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook Pay will soon become Meta Pay Posted: 12 May 2022 05:48 AM PDT Meta started renaming its products after the company switched its name: The Oculus Quest and Facebook Portal devices, for instance, are now known as the Meta Quest and Meta Portal. It's only natural for the company to also plan the future of its payments experience as it continues to expand into the metaverse, and that includes a name change for it. Stephane Kasriel, Meta's head of fintech services, has revealed in a longer post about the metaverse that the company is soon renaming Facebook Pay to Meta Pay. Kasriel said that Meta is "in the very early stages of scoping out what a single wallet experience might look like." While it has no concrete plans yet, Meta is looking into how you can prove who you are and how you can carry that identity into different metaverse experiences. The company is also examining how you can store and bring your digital goods wherever you go in the metaverse and how you can pay friends and businesses easily with your chosen payment method. Kasriel oversees the company's financial division, which includes the Novi crypto wallet. Former Facebook exec David Marcus spent years trying to get Novi off the ground, but the wallet launched without support for the Diem cryptocurrency that he co-founded. In the end, Marcus stepped down in 2021 and Kasriel renamed the division as Meta Financial Technologies when he took over. Facebook's name change signified a new era for the company that's now pinning its future on virtual reality and the metaverse. It hasn't been smooth sailing for the internet giant, though. In 2021, Meta's Reality Labs division that serves as home to its hardware and metaverse initiatives lost $10 billion and will hire fewer employees this year as a result. More recently, Reutersreported that the division will be axing some of its projects and postponing others, because it could no longer afford some of the initiatives it originally planned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bethesda delays 'Starfield' to 2023 Posted: 12 May 2022 05:29 AM PDT Two of Bethesda's highest-profile games won't make their long-promised release dates. The Microsoft-owned company has delayed both the sci-fi RPG Starfield and Arkane's vampire shooter Redfall to the first half of 2023. The developers have "incredible ambitions" and need the extra time to deliver the "best, most polished" titles they can, according to Bethesda. The studio promised deep-dive gameplay explorations for the two projects "soon." Starfield was previously slated to ship November 11th this year, while Redfall was poised to launch in the summer. These certainly aren't the only major games delayed to 2023. Nintendo's Breath of the Wild sequel and EA's PGA Tour are among those pushed back. Bethesda's delays may sting more than usual, though. Starfield is a tentpole game that will show what the company can do under Microsoft's wing, while Redfall is building on the hype of previous Arkane successes like Dishonored, Prey and Deathloop. The waits may be worthwhile, but they will prevent Bethesda from ending 2022 with some blockbuster releases.
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| ‘The Pentaverate’ is a reminder of what Netflix took from us Posted: 12 May 2022 05:06 AM PDT Wanna know what I miss? Mid-budget studio comedies, the sort that filled the gaps in cinema's annual calendar. The sort of lightweight, low-energy fare you and your friends could watch on a Saturday morning in the multiplex. Often they'd feature a Saturday Night Live alumnus on an initial foray into the movie industry proper, but just as equally not. Sometimes the films did well, but more often not, would underperform until it developed a second life on late-night cable, video rentals or even DVD sales. You know, stuff like So I Married An Axe Murderer. There aren't many cinema-released mid-budget comedy movies these days, and for good reason. Comedy is a more subjective artform than, say, action, and doesn't travel as well around the world as, say, action. There's no room these days for an unadulterated comedy movie with a budget in the low-double-digit millions given the economics. Hell, even something as flat and awful as Holmes and Watson cost $42 million, and couldn't recoup that figure at the box office. I'm sure that film, too, will eventually catch on with some future generation of kids and stoners who delight in it as much as I have a soft spot for some of these early '90s comedies I was too young to see in cinemas. Of course, these mid-budget comedies have been priced out of cinemas and straight into our homes, thanks to Netflix. Regardless of the quality, films like The Bubble and Don't Look Up would, in a previous era, would have slotted into a multiplex roster quite easily. But Netflix's desire to milk as much sitting-on-the-couch-time-as-possible from every piece of IP it owns is a big problem. Mostly because of its insistence of taking ideas that would have made brisk multiplex movies and dragged them out into time-wasting miniseries. There's a reason that so many Netflix series have pacing problems as a fun 90-minute story is padded out to four, six, eight or twelve hours. Which is a neat segue into talking about The Pentaverate, Netflix's latest comedy featuring a depending-on-who-you-ask long overdue return by Mike Myers. On the surface, it's a comedy about a secret society which has helped shape the course of human history, except they're (apparently) nice. Myers plays eight characters, given his endless love of prosthetics and desire to be remembered as his generations' Peter Sellers. He's joined by Lydia West, Keegan-Michael Key, Debi Mazar, Ryn Alleyne, Neil Mullarchy, Jenifer Saunders and Ken Jeong. And there's plenty of A-list talent behind the camera too, with Orbital on soundtrack duties and Tim Kirkby directing. Our star is Ken Scarborough, a retirement-age Toronto-based local TV journalist who is destined to be retired. On the quest for a big story to save his career, he visits the Canadian Conspiracy Convention (CanConCon) and discovers The Pentaverate. From there, his journey is to infiltrate the organization and, with the help of his cameraperson Reilly, try to expose it. Except, of course, Scarborough is walking in on a conspiracy hatched by one of the Pentaverate's own for reasons that are fairly obvious as soon as you see who's running the thing. Myers is a child of the '70s, but his British expat parents imbued in him a love of all things British and '60s. Much of The Pentaverate is lifted wholesale from legendary '60s series The Prisoner and fans of that show will get a kick out of spotting what's been stolen. Myers' love for the show even extends to stealing the best joke from the series, albeit the Canadian manages to blow the punchline here. Hell, even the shadowy cabal's helicopters are the same brand as what was used to fly people in and out of the Village. (An aside: Are we living in the age of celebrities producing big-budget fanfiction? After all, this The Prisoner riff comes only a few years after Seth MacFarlane was able to launch his own Star Trek series.) Unfortunately, despite the wealth of talent here, The Pentaverate falls a little flat because it's clearly in the wrong format. There's no proof, far as I can see, that the film was originally a screenplay and then expanded out to a TV-friendly three hours, but it sure feels that way. You can feel the narrative stretching, as characters wait around for their plot thread to start back up. Do we need multiple sequences of people riding a "hyperloop" around pulling g-force faces? No, but you can imagine Reed Hastings behind the camera, tapping his watch and insisting the runtime gets as close to three hours as possible. This stretching also means that every joke in the show's arsenal gets repeated a little too many times. You know that friend who really got into Austin Powers and just kept shouting lines from the film into your face? Well, buckle in for plenty of jokes about how Canadians are nice, dicks are funny, no, Canadians are really nice, and dicks are really, really funny. Oh and sex jokes, the sort that your pre-teen nephew likes to make, you'll get some of those, too. The neater, smarter touches, like the fourth-wall breaking Netflix spokesperson who goes back and edits some sequences to "remove" some of the "profanity" also grow tiresome with repetition. Unfortunately, while the show can be funny, and it's a delight to see Myers returning to his roots somewhat, the show drags. I'm sure it would have been a breezy, 89-minute movie that would have enabled viewers to forgive its faults. It would be an interesting experiment to hand this over to a talented editor and see if they couldn't trim this down to something a lot pacier. Until then, however, it's for Myers and Prisoner diehards only, at least until a whole new generation of kids are old enough to find it in the infinite scroll in twenty years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Teenage Engineering's OP-1 Field is a big refresh with a big price tag Posted: 12 May 2022 04:35 AM PDT Teenage Engineering (TE) has unveiled the successor to its popular OP-1 portable synth sampler, the $2,000 OP-1 Field, which it calls "louder, thinner and 100 times better." That relates to the fact that it has around 100 new features including a new low profile aluminum body, internal FM antenna for both receiving and transmitting and a high-resolution flush display. The OP-1 Field is the second of TE's "Field" products following the launch of the TX-6 mini mixer. The company notes that with the two working together, "you can get an incredibly powerful and ultra portable sound recording and performance system, all battery powered and rechargeable via USB-C." In terms of connectivity it offers USB-C, line in and out sockets, and a 4-pole audio jack for headset or mic support. On top of the features mentioned above, the OP-1 Field has 32-bit audio Bluetooth MIDI, stereo throughout the entire signal chain, 24 hours of battery life, eight swappable tapes, four different tape styles, multiple recording formats and a new synth engine. It features a new speaker system with a passive driver promising "detailed, fat and loud sound," TE says. In a short overview video (above), the company shows how to choose from multiple synth presets and record them to tape, with up to four stereo tracks (and infinite overdubs). You can use sampled or synth drums, adjust audio levels, panning, effects and EQ, then switch the active tape wheel and use multiple tapes to manage your recordings. The final track can be output by USB or using the new FM output module. The OP-1 Field is a huge update to the original, but as mentioned, it isn't cheap. You can now order it for $2,000 (€2,000/£2,000 in Europe/the UK) on Teenage Engineering's website. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Morning After: Everything important from Google I/O 2022 Posted: 12 May 2022 04:15 AM PDT Lots of big announcements from Google's annual developer conference yesterday. It was a mix of intriguing new products coming soon (and some a little later), further AI advances and some more refinements to the myriad services and apps that permeate so many of our lives. I've pulled out some of the highlights below, and desperately tried to corral some of the other notable headlines, but, whoa, Google had a lot to get off its chest, hardware-wise: Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel Buds Pro and even a Pixel Tab. Google To start with, yes, the Pixel Watch is real and arriving this fall. It features a nearly bezel-less watch face flanked by a "tactile crown." It runs Wear OS 3 and includes deep integration with Fitbit software for its health and fitness-tracking features. As Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low put it: "It looks a lot like a bezel-less Samsung Galaxy Watch." — Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missedThe Android 13 Beta 2 is available today Google's smart home standard is finally launching this fall Google is getting serious about building apps for Android tablets (again) The Pixel Tablet is coming in 2023 Google's Pixel 6a vs. the competition 'Mini Motorways' suddenly arrives on Nintendo Switch Samsung's Galaxy S22 lineup is cheaper than ever right now Meta is reportedly axing some Reality Labs projects
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| Warner Bros. Discovery and BT are forming a massive sports TV business Posted: 12 May 2022 03:40 AM PDT Warner Bros. Discovery will soon be operating a massive sports programming platform for the UK and Ireland. The merged WarnerMedia and Discovery company already owns the Eurosport network, and now it's also making BT Sport its wholly owned subsidiary. This joint venture will bring together the sports programming of Eurosport and BT, which include the UEFA leagues, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, UFC, the Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams such as the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, as well as cycling tours such as Tour de France. Sports streaming service DAZN was on the cusp of acquiring BT Sport for $800 million back in February, but BT Group ultimately decided on going on a 50:50 joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery. Initially, Eurosport and BT Sport will retain separate brands, but they will be brought together under a single brand in the future. The BT Group will receive £93 million ($113.3 million) within three years following the transaction completion and up to £540 million ($658 million) of additional payment based on how the business performs during the earn-out period. While the joint sports venture is set to become a massive competition for Sky Sports, it will enter a new agreement with Sky for the distribution of their combined sports programming beyond 2030. BT TV and BT Sport subscribers will also also get access to the discovery+ streaming service, which serves as home to Eurosport's live and on-demand videos in the UK and Ireland. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Polyend's Play is an elegantly designed sample-based groovebox Posted: 12 May 2022 03:00 AM PDT Polyend's Tracker is a fascinating piece of gear. It's not for everyone, but it's hard to argue with the value and power it delivers. This year the company is taking that same basic format, and going in a slightly more familiar direction. The Polyend Play is a sample-based groovebox, but it does away with confounding tracker (lowercase "t") workflow. At its core Play is an eight track sample sequencer, with an additional eight polyphonic tracks specifically for sending MIDI to external gear. That means it can serve as the brains of a full studio or stage setup, while still handling the duties of a drum machine. Like the Tracker, it also has punch-in effects for performance and live remixing, as well as a DJ-style master filter. Even though the sequencer on the Play was built from the ground up specifically for the device, it still retains many of the convenient features like autofill, randomization and chance that helped make Tracker so powerful. Play can hold 128 patterns, with each of the 16 tracks having 16 variations up to 64 steps long. And tracks can have independent lengths, BPMs, playback modes and swing amounts, allowing you to create really complex interplay. Plus it has a song mode for arranging all your patterns into a finished composition. While the layout is completely different, Play uses the same anodized aluminum build and appears to use the same delightfully clicky keys. The large click wheel is gone and the screen is smaller, but the grid of pads has been expanded from 48 to 160 (if my math is correct). It comes loaded with 3,000 samples, though you can easily load your own from a microSD card (a 16GB one is included). There are 35 different playback modes, though Polyend hasn't revealed a full list of what those are yet. And there are built-in effects like reverb, delay and saturation for coloring your songs. And, just like the Tracker, Play is powered over USB-C so you can plug into a portable battery and make music on the go. There are still a lot of details we don't know about the Polyend Play yet, but one of the biggest is the release date. But whenever it does land (and we expect sooner than later) it will set you back $799. |
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