Friday, May 20, 2022

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Disney+ is working on a ‘Daredevil’ series

Posted: 19 May 2022 06:00 PM PDT

Daredevil fans who were disappointed when Netflix axed the popular show after three seasons now have something to look forward to. Disney+ is moving forward with its own series about the blind lawyer-turned-superhero Matt Murdock, reportedVariety. The streaming service has signed co-writers Matt Corman and Chris Ord to write and executive produce the series. Corman and Ord served as co-showrunners for the NBC military drama The Brave, and the duo also created the spy drama Covert Affairs.

Daredevil is only the latest of a large number of MCU titles that have been revived on Disney+ as shows, starting with last year's WandaVision. The streamer has since released six other Marvel shows, including Hawkeye, Moonknight and Loki, with many more to follow this year. Meanwhile, the raft of Netflix shows based on Marvel characters all left the streaming platform's library for good earlier this year.

The Daredevil Disney+ show is still in the very early stages — Variety notes that Marvel has yet to announce anything formally. Charlie Cox, who played the lead character in the Netflix series, returned to his old role in this year's Spider-Man:No Way Home and Vincent D'Onofrio reprised his Daredevil role of Kingpin in Disney's Hawkeye. Both actors seemed optimistic about a Disney+ revival of the series, but there's no telling if they'll return to the new series.

In an interview with Marvel News Desk, D'Onofrio shed some light on the Netflix show's sudden cancellation, which shocked its many fans. The actor said the show's departure in 2018 likely had to do with Marvel paving the way for Disney's nascent streaming service. "You know, at the same time the group #SaveDaredevil started to rise, we started to learn the reasons why that happened and so we understood what Marvel was doing because Disney+ coming out."

Facebook is still struggling to remove videos of the Buffalo mass shooting

Posted: 19 May 2022 05:31 PM PDT

Facebook is still struggling to contain the video of last weekend's horrific mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Now, not only are clips of the shooting accessible on the platform, reposted clips of the attack are sometimes appearing alongside Facebook ads, The New York Timesreports.

The Times notes that it's not clear how often ads are appearing alongside clips of the shooting, but the paper said that "searches for terms associated with footage of the shooting have been accompanied by ads for a horror film, clothing companies and video streaming services," in their own tests and tests conducted by the Tech Transparency Project.

While this isn't a new problem for Facebook — the platform has made similar missteps in the wake of a 2019 shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand — the company is apparently in some cases actually recommending search terms associated with videos of the shooting, according to The New York Times, which said Facebook suggested some searches as being "popular now."

As with previous mass shootings and violent events, footage originally streamed to Twitch by the gunman in Buffalo has proved difficult for social media platforms to contain. Facebook previously told Engadget that it had designated the event a terrorist attack, and that it was working to automatically detect new copies that are shared to its service.

But videos are still falling through the cracks. And the fact that Facebook is surfacing ads near those videos is likely to raise further questions about whether the company prioritizes profits over safety as a whistleblower has alleged.

In a statement, a company spokesperson told The Times it was trying to "to protect people using our services from seeing this horrific content even as bad actors are dead-set on calling attention to it."

The Voyager 1 space probe appears to be confused about its location

Posted: 19 May 2022 04:40 PM PDT

Voyager 1 — one of two space probes NASA launched in 1977 to study Jupiter, Saturn and their respective moons — is sending confusing data back to Earth, according to the space agency. The spacecraft's control system regularly sends telemetry data back to NASA that indicates its location. But Voyager 1's engineering team has recently been puzzled by readouts from the spacecraft that contain jumbled or inaccurate data. Even more perplexingly, the nearly 45-year-old probe is otherwise in good shape — its signal is still strong and the glitch hasn't triggered its safe mode. Voyager 2 (Voyager 1's sister probe) appears to be perfectly fine.

"A mystery like this is sort of par for the course at this stage of the Voyager mission," said Suzanne Dodd, the project manager for the Voyager program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "The spacecraft are both almost 45 years old, which is far beyond what the mission planners anticipated. We're also in interstellar space – a high-radiation environment that no spacecraft have flown in before. So there are some big challenges for the engineering team."

Communicating with Voyager 1 is easier said than done. Both probes are now farther away from Earth than Pluto — Voyager 1 is an estimated 14.5 billion miles away from our planet. It takes roughly two days to receive a response from the spacecraft after sending a message, according to NASA.

Dodd said that NASA may be able to solve the issue through software changes or potentially one of the spacecraft's redundant hardware systems. If not, the agency will "have to adapt" to the glitch.

Either way, NASA will lose touch with both drones in the next few years when they run out of their energy supply. Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 run on plutonium-238, which decays with time. Scientists estimate that by 2025, neither probe will have enough plutonium-238 to still operate properly. There's a finite supply of plutonium left on Earth, and producing it is time-consuming and challenging. For many years, Russia provided NASA with plutonium-238, until it severed this agreement in 2015. Luckily for NASA, the US Department of Energy re-started domestic plutonium-238 production at Oak Ridge Laboratory, making a number of current and future NASA missions possible —including NASA's Perseverance Rover.

Elon Musk was accused of sexual misconduct by a SpaceX flight attendant: report

Posted: 19 May 2022 04:04 PM PDT

SpaceX paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Elon Musk after a flight attendant on the company's corporate jet accused the CEO of exposing himself to her mid-flight, Insider reports.

According to Insider, the incident happened in 2016 and the company settled with the unnamed flight attendant in 2018, according to a friend of the flight attendant who was told contemporaneously about the incident but is not bound by any non-disclosure agreements with the company. Musk allegedly asked for a "full body massage" and offered to buy the flight attendant a horse if she would "do more." Insider also notes that the flight attendant was encouraged pay out of her own pocket for professional massage training so that she could better serve Musk during flights.

It was during a massage amid a flight to London when Musk allegedly exposed himself and "propositioned" her. "He touched her thigh and told her he would buy her a horse," the friend said in describing the incident. "And he basically tried to bribe her to perform some sort of sexual favor."

The flight attendant reportedly refused Musk's advances, and later felt like she was being "punished" with fewer shifts at SpaceX. She settled with Musk in 2018 "after a session with a mediator that Musk personally attended," Insider says.

According to the report, Musk responded to questions by saying there was "a lot more to this story," but didn't elaborate. "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light," he told the publication.

We've reached out to SpaceX for comment.

Update 5/20/22 1:06am ET: Musk has since taken to Twitter to respond to the allegations, calling them "utterly untrue" and referring to the friend of the unnamed SpaceX flight attendant a "liar." This would not be the first time Musk has made potentially defamatory statements against his perceived enemies on the site. Notably, Musk's tweets do not include any denial that SpaceX paid the former employee $250,000 to settle the alleged misconduct claim, or that she is currently under what Insider described as "restrictive non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses that bar the attendant from ever discussing the severance payment or disclosing any information of any kind about Musk and his businesses."

In a separate tweet, Musk states that the "attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens" — though it's unclear if this is meant to refer to Insider, the whistleblower, or both. 

Watch Boeing launch a critical Starliner test flight to the ISS

Posted: 19 May 2022 02:30 PM PDT

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will once against make an attempt to reach the International Space Station in a critical test flight that will determine whether it's finally ready for manned missions. NASA and the private space company have scheduled the launch for today, May 19th, with an instantaneous launch window at 6:54PM Eastern Time. The Starliner will launch on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, and you can watch the coverage for the event in the video below or through the NASA Live website starting at 6PM ET.

During its first test flight back in December 2019, Starliner made it into orbit but failed to reach the ISS. An automation system incorrectly assessed the timing of the flight and prevented the spacecraft's thrusters from firing when needed. NASA and the company investigated what had happened, and reports came out a few months later that Boeing didn't conduct launch-to-docking simulations on the spacecraft before its failed launch. 

Boeing made its first Orbital Flight Test-2 launch attempt in August 2021, but it had to scrap its plans while the capsule was already on top of a rocket due to an issue with its propulsion system valves. Engineers managed to repair nine valves while the spacecraft was still ready for takeoff, but Boeing ultimately decided to conduct a "deeper-level troubleshooting" at its facility at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA had to give SpaceX more crewed flights in order to cover for Boeing's delays.

Now that its valve issues have been resolved — apparently, the interaction between oxidizer and water formed nitric acid and other corrosive agents that made the valves sticky — Starliner's launch is a go. The capsule must achieve its goal this time if Boeing wants to catch up with SpaceX, which has been ferrying astronauts to the ISS since 2020. If no further issues arise, Starliner will reach the ISS with over 800 pounds of cargo in 24 hours. It will remain docked with the orbiting lab for five to 10 days before making its return journey back to Earth and landing in the western United States.

'Blade Runner' composer and electronic music pioneer Vangelis dies at 79

Posted: 19 May 2022 01:14 PM PDT

The music world just lost one of its more influential figures. Deadlinereports Vangelis, the composer behind the scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, has died in France at the age of 79. He broke ground in music by blending synthesizers with jazz, orchestral work and other styles normally seen at odds with each other. He helped the movie business break away from its dependence on classical or pop soundtracks, and joined artists like Brian Eno and Jean-Michel Jarre in defining both electronic music as a whole as well as sub-genres such as ambient and new-age.

Vangelis is synonymous with sci-fi thanks to his iconic Blade Runner soundtrack, but he was also a proponent of space exploration who produced multiple albums in tribute to major missions. He helped score Carl Sagan's 1980 Cosmos TV series, wrote Mythodea to celebrate NASA's Mars Odyssey mission in 2001 and produced a tribute to the Rosetta comet probe in 2016. His last full album, 2021's Juno to Jupiter, honored its namesake spacecraft right as it was shedding more light on the gas giant. He received NASA's Public Service Medal in 2003.

The musician was born in Greece in 1943 as Evangelos Odessey Papathanassiou. He started his music career in pop and soundtracks in the mid-1960s, but it was his 1970s forays into electronic music that helped develop his signature style. Cosmos, Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner cemented his reputation, while high-profile projects like 1492: Conquest of Paradise and Alexander drew further attention.

Vangelis leaves a strong legacy. On top of his role in Hollywood, you can hear his influence in electronic artists like Robert Rich and Steve Roach. Even modern performers outside of his core genre, such as Armin van Buuren and Run the Jewels' El-P, cite him as a hero. He'll be missed, but you may hear echoes of his sound for decades to come.

Mercedes-AMG unveils concept for its first sports EV

Posted: 19 May 2022 12:55 PM PDT

Mercedes-Benz offered a glimpse today into what its all-electric future will look like. The Germany automaker released a concept for the Vision AMG, a sports EV that will be launched under its high-performance brand AMG. The low-lying, four-door coupe has a long wheelbase, silver paint and teal accents, bearing an intentional resemblance to the Formula 1 cars driven by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. Most strikingly, the side windows and rear glass of the Vision AMG are painted the same silver as the body of the car. Due to the hexagonal pattern of the design, drivers will still be able to see the road.

The Vision will be AMG's first sports EV, joining the subsidiary's other all-electric efforts, the EQE and the EQS. Other than that, there's still very little we know about what the Vision AMG will offer — the automaker didn't reveal any performance details for the car in the press release. It did say the Vision AMG would be equipped with an Axial Flux Motor by YASA, which has partnered with Mercedes to develop electric motors for their EV lineup that are more compact and lightweight than traditional electric motors.

The automaker also didn't reveal any details on pricing, but the goal is for the production version to be out in 2025. Last December, Mercedes-Benz upped its initial EV investment to a staggering $63.6 billion, which it's planning to spend between 2022 and 2026. Just this week, the automaker announced it was partnering with battery materials company Sila Nanotechnologies to create a more energy-dense, silicon-anode battery for EVS. The company estimates that silicon-anode batteries offer 20 to 40 percent more capacity than the traditional lithium-ion found in most of today's electric cars. 

The Vision AMG will be one of the three dedicated EV platforms that Mercedes plans on launching in 2025, in addition to the MB.EA platform for medium and large vehicles and the Van.EA for light commercial vehicles. The automaker has stated its goal is to switch to an all-electric lineup by 2030. Mercedes-AMG also released a promotional video (also with virtually no technical details) for the Vision AMG, which you can watch below.

Senate bill would break up Google’s ad business

Posted: 19 May 2022 12:28 PM PDT

A bill that would break up Google's advertising business if it becomes law has been introduced in the Senate. The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act, which has support on both sides of the aisle, would prevent companies that process more than $20 billion in annual digital ad transactions "from participating in more than one part of the digital advertising ecosystem," as The Wall Street Journal reports.

Google easily falls under that distinction. It generated $54.7 billion in ad revenue last quarter alone. While other companies meet the dollar-figure threshold of the proposed rules, Google has a hand in many aspects of the advertising process. It runs an exchange where ad networks bid on inventory. It also offers tools to help companies buy and sell ads.

A House of Representatives version of the legislation is also expected to be introduced imminently. If the bill becomes law, Google would have to exit some of those businesses. It would have a year to comply with the rules after the law is enacted. Meta may also be impacted by the legislation.

"When you have Google simultaneously serving as a seller and a buyer and running an exchange, that gives them an unfair, undue advantage in the marketplace, one that doesn't necessarily reflect the value they are providing," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told the Journal. "When a company can wear all these hats simultaneously, it can engage in conduct that harms everyone."

Lee is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights. Committee chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) is a cosponsor of the bill, as are Sens.Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Richard Blumenthal (D- Connecticut).

"Advertising tools from Google and many competitors help American websites and apps fund their content, help businesses grow and help protect users from privacy risks and misleading ads," a Google spokesperson told Engadget. "Breaking those tools would hurt publishers and advertisers, lower ad quality and create new privacy risks. And, at a time of heightened inflation, it would handicap small businesses looking for easy and effective ways to grow online. The real issue is low-quality data brokers who threaten Americans' privacy and flood them with spammy ads. In short, this is the wrong bill, at the wrong time, aimed at the wrong target."

Other provisions of the bill include rules for companies that process at least $5 billion of ad transactions per year. They'd be required to provide transparent pricing and act in their customers' best interest. Customers would have the option to sue over breaches of those.

There are other pieces of antitrust legislation in the works that target tech giants. Klobuchar's American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which advanced out of committee in January, would ban companies from giving preference to their own products over those from rivals on their own platforms. For instance, Apple wouldn't be able to position its own apps above competing ones in App Store search results.

How the new PlayStation Plus stacks up against Xbox Game Pass

Posted: 19 May 2022 11:45 AM PDT

More than a month after revealing the revamped version of PlayStation Plus, Sony has shared the initial lineup of games heading to its new service, covering everything from original PlayStation classics and PlayStation Portable titles to modern hits. The new PlayStation Plus has three tiers, each at a discrete price point and offering varying levels of goodies, and it's all set to go live on June 13th in the Americas.

Now that we know which games will be included in each tier — PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Premium — it's easier to directly compare Sony's service with that of its biggest competitor, Xbox Game Pass from Microsoft.

The new PlayStation Plus

Sony's subscription service is segmented into three parts, with different games and features available depending on how much you pay. PS Plus Essential costs $10 a month or $60 a year, and it's basically the Plus we know now, offering two games to download each month, access to online multiplayer features, cloud storage and discounts.

PS Plus Extra costs $15 a month or $100 a year, and provides everything in the Essential tier plus a library of up to 400 downloadable PS4 and PS5 games.

Demon's Souls
Bluepoint Games

The final option, PS Plus Premium, costs $18 a month or $120 a year, and adds up to 340 games from the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS3 and PS4 eras. This is also where streaming comes into play: Sony is folding its existing cloud service, PlayStation Now, into the new Plus ecosystem, but only at its most expensive level. Premium adds the ability to play a selection of PS3 titles from the cloud, and stream or download lower-tier games from original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 eras (cloud play is only available in territories where PS Now is already live). Streaming will work on PS4, PS5 and PC, while native cloud gaming on mobile devices isn't possible on Sony's network.

Now, the games. Sony confirmed just over 100 titles heading to PS Plus Extra and Premium, including Demon's Souls, Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us Remastered, Gravity Rush Remastered, The Last Guardian, Tokyo Jungle, Ico, Tekken 2, Asura's Wrath, Ape Escape and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. That last game is included in the list as part of a deal to offer a few dozen Ubisoft+ Classics games to Extra and Premium subscribers.

Most of the games on Sony's list are from the PS4 and PS5 generations, which is good news for Extra subscribers. However, Sony's initial lineup of old-school games feels thin, even though they're a crucial feature of the Premium tier. There's an emphasis on PS3 games, with 29 available to stream, and relatively few titles from earlier eras. While there are some PS4 remasters of PS2 games on the list, including Rogue Galaxy and the Jak and Daxter series, so far Sony's service has zero original PS2 games.

There's still hope for nostalgia seekers out there — Sony said its list of classic games is an "early look at a selection of games that will be available," so there should be more to come.

Tokyo Jungle
Japan Studio

However, don't look to PS Plus for new, blockbuster Sony games. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan told gamesindustry.biz in March that new, first-party titles won't hit PS Plus on day one, meaning subscribers will have to pay separately for them. This is notable because Microsoft has made a big deal out of offering its in-house titles to Game Pass subscribers at launch.

Ryan said his stance on day-one drops could change, but for now, don't expect titles like Spider-Man 2 or God of War Ragnarök on PS Plus at any tier.

Xbox Game Pass

On the surface, Game Pass has been a successful endeavor for Microsoft, with 25 million monthly subscribers and counting. Game Pass unlocks access to a large library of old and new games, including day-one releases of first-party titles like Halo: Infinite and Starfield (eventually); it functions across Xbox consoles and PCs, and it includes cloud features that make the included games playable on mobile devices.

The Game Pass library has around 300 games, even though Microsoft continues to market the service with a lowball figure of "over 100" titles. The lineup spans the original Xbox to current-gen, and the main tier adds Xbox Live Gold and access to EA Play. Game Pass has heavy hitters like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo: Infinite, the original Doom and its modern follow-ups, Forza Horizon 5, Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Microsoft Flight Simulator, as well as indie games including A Memoir Blue, Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, Death's Door and Spelunky 2.

Microsoft has sole access to some of these games because it owns a significant portion of the video game industry. Xbox Game Studios comprises 23 development teams, including id Software, Bethesda Softworks, Arkane, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Double Fine and Mojang. All of this ensures Game Pass has a bank of exclusives to draw from — in practice, PS Plus won't get games from these studios unless Microsoft allows it. The inverse is also true for Sony's roster of exclusives, but Microsoft simply has more to work with in this regard.

Halo The Master Chief Collection
343 Industries

Game Pass has PC-only and console-only tiers providing access to the library and not much more, and these cost $10 a month each. Neither option includes cloud gaming or Xbox Live Gold, which is necessary to play some titles online and costs $10 a month on its own. Microsoft doesn't do much to market these standalone tiers, instead directing players to Game Pass Ultimate, the main focus of the Xbox subscription scheme.

Game Pass Ultimate costs $15 a month and offers Xbox Live Gold, cloud gaming features, and access to every game in the console and PC lineup. This is the all-inclusive option, operating on Xbox consoles, PCs and mobile devices via the cloud.

PS Plus vs Game Pass

There are a few glaring differences between the new PS Plus and Game Pass. Sony's subscription plan has fewer games (for now), it doesn't include mobile streaming and it won't provide day-one access to new first-party titles, meaning serious PlayStation fans will have to pay for these big drops separately.

In terms of pricing, let's focus on the top tiers: PS Plus Premium runs $18 a month or $120 a year, and Game Pass Ultimate is $15 a month. The cost is comparable, but at its most flexible pricing level, Sony's plan is $3 a month more than Microsoft's. That's an extra payment of $36 a year. Annually, though, PS Plus Premium is $60 less than Game Pass Ultimate. 

Of course, cost isn't the only consideration here. With rival subscription services, Sony and Microsoft are doubling down on exclusives as a main source of momentum, and maintaining a rich and unique library will be key to the success of these plans. Xbox may own more than 20 studios, but Sony can still provide games that Microsoft can't, and titles like Demon's Souls, Gravity Rush Remastered, Tokyo Jungle, Ico and Assassin's Creed Valhalla are a significant draw for longtime PlayStation fans.

That said, the decision to not include first-party games day-one in PS Plus could lose Sony subscribers, as well as some goodwill. The new PS Plus also seems to be missing some meat from its classics catalog, a move that could turn off potential Premium subscribers, but Sony is just getting started and there's plenty of room to grow. That is, if Jim Ryan and his team see the value in adding content to the service.

'EVE Online' now lets anyone play the MMO in a web browser

Posted: 19 May 2022 11:30 AM PDT

EVE Online addicts got their wish last year when developer CCP games announced EVE Anywhere, a browser-based platform for streaming the popular space MMO. Today, that's opening up to all EVE players, and not just premium Omega subscribers. You just need a modern browser, like Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, and a solid 25Mbps internet to start streaming some space battles. EVE Anywhere is rolling out in the US and select European countries, like Germany, Switzerland and the UK, with more territories coming later this year.

CCP says it's relying on Intel technology to stream the game to players over high-capacity servers. While EVE diehards likely aren't giving up their PC rigs anytime soon, EVE Anywhere lets them squeeze in a few sessions when they're away from home (but not ever at work, nobody would do that). The platform could also serve as a gateway for players with slow and aging hardware. After all, even a Chromebook would be able to stream EVE Anywhere.

Twitter says it won't amplify false content during a crisis

Posted: 19 May 2022 10:45 AM PDT

Twitter is taking more steps to slow the spread of misinformation during times of crisis. The company will attempt to amplify credible and authoritative information while trying to avoid elevating falsehoods that can lead to severe harm. Under its new crisis misinformation policy, Twitter interprets crises as circumstances that pose a "widespread threat to life, physical safety, health or basic subsistence" in line with the United Nations' definition of a humanitarian crisis.

For now, the policy will only apply to tweets regarding international armed conflict. It may eventually cover the likes of natural disasters and public health emergencies. 

The company plans to fact-check information with the help of "multiple credible, publicly available sources." Those include humanitarian groups, open-source investigators, journalists and conflict monitoring organizations.

Twitter acknowledges that misinformation can spread quickly and it will take action "as soon as we have evidence that a claim may be misleading." Tweets that violate the rules of this policy won't appear in the Home timeline or the search or explore sections.

"Content moderation is more than just leaving up or taking down content, and we've expanded the range of actions we may take to ensure they're proportionate to the severity of the potential harm," Twitter's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth wrote in a blog post. "We've found that not amplifying or recommending certain content, adding context through labels, and in severe cases, disabling engagement with the Tweets, are effective ways to mitigate harm, while still preserving speech and records of critical global events.

The company will also make it a priority to put notices on highly visible rule-breaking tweets and those from high-profile accounts, such as ones operated by state-run media or governments. Users will need to click through the notice to read the tweet. Likes, retweets and shares will be disabled on these tweets as well.

"This tweet violated the Twitter Rules on sharing false or misleading info that might bring harm to crisis-affected populations," the notice will read. "However, to preserve this content for accountability purposes, Twitter has determined this tweet should remain available." In addition, the notice will include a link to more details about Twitter's approach to crisis misinformation. The company says it will start adding the notice to highly visible misleading tweets related to the war in Ukraine.

The notice may appear on tweets that include falsehoods about on-the-ground conditions during an evolving conflict; misleading or incorrect allegations of war crimes or mass atrocities; or misinformation about the use of weapons or force. Twitter may also apply the label to tweets with "false information regarding international community response, sanctions, defensive actions or humanitarian operations."

There are some exceptions to the rules. They won't apply to personal anecdotes, first-person accounts, efforts to debunk or fact-check a claim or "strong commentary."

However, a lot of the fine details about Elon Musk's pending takeover of Twitter remain up in the air, and this policy could change if and when the deal closes. Musk has said Twitter should only suppress illegal speech (which is also a complex issue, since rules vary by jurisdiction). It remains to be seen exactly how he will handle content moderation.

DOJ says security researchers won't face hacking charges

Posted: 19 May 2022 10:07 AM PDT

The Justice Department doesn't want security researchers facing federal charges when they expose security flaws. The department has revised its policy to indicate that researchers, ethical hackers and other well-intentioned people won't be charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if they're investigating, testing or fixing vulnerabilities in "good faith." You're safe as long as you aren't hurting others and use the knowledge to bolster the security of a product, the DOJ said.

The government made clear that bad actors couldn't use research as a "free pass." They'll still face trouble if they use newly-discovered security holes for extortion or other malicious purposes, regardless of what they claim.

This revised policy is limited to federal prosecutors, and won't spare researchers from state-level charges. It does provide "clarity" that was missing in the earlier 2014 guidelines, though, and might help courts that weren't sure of how to handle ethical hacking cases.

It's also a not-so-subtle message to officials who might abuse the threat of criminal charges to silence critics. In October 2021, for instance, Missouri Governor Mike Parson threatened a reporter with prosecution for pointing out a website flaw that required no hacking whatsoever. The DOJ's new policy might not completely deter threats like Parson's, but it could make their words relatively harmless.

The current-gen version of 'The Witcher 3' is now slated to arrive in late 2022

Posted: 19 May 2022 09:31 AM PDT

The long-awaited PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt once again has a release window. The new edition, which is also coming to PC, is expected to arrive in the last three months of the year, according to CD Projekt Red. It will be a free upgrade for those who own the respective last-gen version on PC, PS4 or Xbox One.

The news comes a month after CD Projekt Red delayed the current-gen version of the game indefinitely. Its in-house team took over development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition from Saber Interactive (which handled the Nintendo Switch port of the base game) around that time. Now, presumably after assessing how much work needs to be done, CDPR is confident it can get the upgraded version out this year.

The studio announced the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S edition in September 2020 and it initially planned to release it the following year. However, CDPR pushed back the launch window to the second quarter of 2022 before the most recent delay.

Developers should always get as much time as possible to polish a game and squish as many bugs as they can anyway, but after the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red doesn't have much room for error. It released the (very good) current-gen edition of Cyberpunk 2077 in February. Here's hoping the upgrade for The Witcher 3 is worth the wait too.

Netflix rolls out a new discovery feature for kids

Posted: 19 May 2022 09:00 AM PDT

Picking out something new to watch from Netflix's slew of kid's titles can be overwhelming, for both parents and children. And sometimes kids are just indecisive. But the streaming service's new "Mystery Box" feature on Netflix Kids — available today — can leave the decisions up to the algorithm. Similar to the "Play Something" option for the adult set, the Mystery Box feature will pick a new title that viewers haven't watched before. Rest assured, the new show or film that Mystery Box selects won't be a complete wildcard pick — the titles will be similar to shows that viewers have already deemed their favorites.

In order to try out the Mystery Box, select a kid's profile on Netflix on any platform of your choice. Then go to the "Favorites Row" on top of the homepage. Finally, hover over the "Mystery Box" option to see a selection of new titles. According to a Netflix spokesperson, the new discovery mechanism will surface one new viewing option per day.

When it comes to children's programming, Netflix has more competition than ever before. Its main rival in the space — Disney+ — is planning on a $32 billion content spend for the 2022 fiscal year. Hulu, HBOMax and Apple TV+ all offer children's programming. Netflix last year acquired some high-profile IP, including the Roald Dahl Story Company. But given its current commitment to trim costs in light of a historic drop in subscribers earlier this year, we're likely to see Netflix be more cautious moving forward. A number of kids titles that were in production recently got the chopping block, including an animated series by Meghan Markle and Ava DuVernay's Wings of Fire.

Update 5/19/22 6:23pm ET: The headline has been changed and additional information on the frequency of "Mystery Box" options has been included to better reflect how the feature operates.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+: Finally, low-latency headphones for music producers

Posted: 19 May 2022 09:00 AM PDT

Wireless is increasingly the norm when it comes to headphones. Even some laptop makers are ditching the headphone jack. (Looking at you, Dell – you monsters.) And, while Bluetooth certainly offers a lot of convenience, there's one group of users who can't really take advantage: music producers. See, the latency introduced by the newest generation of Bluetooth devices can be up to 40ms even under ideal conditions. And for older hardware, that can stretch well beyond 100ms. It's not just the hardware that can pose a problem, either. Android for a long time was known to have serious latency issues over Bluetooth, though the situation has improved dramatically, at least according to Google. This makes it extremely difficult to keep things in time if you're recording and all but unusable for live monitoring.

Then, in December of last year, AIAIAI introduced what it claims are the "world's first wireless headphones for music creators," the $350 TMA-2 Studio Wireless+. The key selling point is a special wireless transmitter that promises a consistent 16ms of latency. It's not zero latency, but it's close enough that wearing wireless headphones around the studio actually sounds reasonable.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Now, before we get to the wireless specifics, let's talk about the TMA-2 Studio headphones more generally. Like the rest of AIAIAI's lineup these are modular headphones that allow you to replace various parts as necessary, due to damage or changing needs. This also means you have to assemble them when they first show up. But, this is a pretty quick and easy process, even if it seems a tad intimidating at first. It took me less than 10 minutes from opening the box to having the headphones connected to my laptop. Basically, if you've ever put together a Lego set, then you can handle a pair of AIAIAIs.

The Studio headphones use the company's "signature bio-diaphragm speaker," and they sound great. They're not the most neutral sounding headphones I've ever used, but they're not terribly out of balance. I've found that the high frequency response is a little better, and the bass less emphatic on my Sony MDR-7506s. The AIAIAI are still perfectly suitable for mixing – just go in knowing that the tone errs towards the darker side. But the sound stage is very open and wide.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The two biggest complaints I have about the sound are relatively minor. As others have noted, there is a bit of noise introduced when using them in the 2.4Ghz low-latency mode with the transmitter. It's a gentle static that you can start to hear with the volume at around 50 percent, but become more apparent over 75 percent. You can mostly mitigate this by changing the volume at the source instead of on the headphones themselves, but it's worth being aware of.

The second issue is that the Studio Wireless+ are oddly quiet when you use them over Bluetooth. With my Jaybirds or Sonys, I usually set the volume on my phone to 75 or 80 percent. But even at 100 percent I still found myself wishing for just a touch more loudness on the AIAIAIs. A casual conversation isn't going to overpower your music, but they might not provide the level of masking you'd want on a plane.

The Studio and Studio Wireless+ also come with cushy Alcantara covered earcups. I've worn them for hours on end with no issues. These are among the most comfortable headphones I've ever used. I had some mild concerns about the headband at first, which is all rubber and doesn't have any obvious cushioning. But those proved unfounded, as there's a gentle give around the inside of the band that delivers more than enough padding for marathon recording sessions. 

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+

There's also more than enough battery life for marathon sessions, too. AIAIAI says the Wireless+ will last over 80 hours in Bluetooth mode. Frankly, I do not have the patience or the time to test this claim. I can tell you that I used them almost every day, in a mix of Bluetooth and low-latency modes for three weeks and still had juice left. I did, however, test the claim of 16-hour battery life specifically using 2.4GHz, and got 15 hours and 58 minutes. That's shockingly close – and I was even able to eke out a bit more life by turning them back on in Bluetooth mode.

What was both stunning and confusing, though, was that despite getting the low battery beep when I powered them back on, both my MacBook and iPhone said there was 40 percent battery life left. I even took a 20-minute walk while listening to music, and the battery gauge didn't budge. I was then able to sit at my laptop for almost a full hour, playing back the occasional video and listening to music before the headphones completely died and wouldn't power back on. But, even right up until the end macOS insisted there was 40 percent left, so something is amiss. I've asked AIAIAI if they have any theories about why this might be and will update this review if and when I hear back.

Oh, and even once you've completely exhausted the battery, you can always connect the headphones to your audio source of choice using a regular old TRS cable.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+

Of course, the real reason to buy the AIAIAI Studio Wireless+ isn't for the epic battery life, it's for the special low-latency mode and let me tell you: It delivers. Now, this isn't zero latency. You can detect it under very specific circumstances, but it's not enough to make a difference. I recorded live using my laptop and a MIDI controller, and practiced my finger drumming on the SP-404 and had no issues.

The only time I noticed the miniscule 16ms of lag was when monitoring live while recording in the same room as my guitar amp. Being able to hear the amp over the feed from the headphones almost made it sound like my guitar was double tracked. But the effect wasn't pronounced enough to give me any trouble.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

I don't think I was prepared for how freeing this was, though. Although yes, taking headphones on and off, or dragging around the long, heavy, coiled cable of my MDR-7506s around is a pain, my "studio" is extremely small. It's the front third of a finished attic, and it does triple duty as my office and our guest bedroom. So, there's not a lot of space to maneuver and it's kinda cluttered.

Still, being able to pick up my guitar, without first taking off my headphones or worrying about keeping the cable out of the way was great. And walking back and forth to swap out a pedal on my board, or a drum machine on my desk without thinking, made experimentation that much easier. So much of any creative endeavor is about getting into a flow state and staying there. Even the tiniest hurdle can disrupt that, and the AIAIAI Studio Wireless+ removes one of those hurdles.

AIAIAI Studio Wireless+

This freedom to move about would probably be even better appreciated by people with larger, more well equipped studios. The range on the 2.4GHz transmitter is pretty solid, too. I was able to walk from my attic all the way to the ground floor before I started to lose connection.

Now, the question is whether that convenience is worth the $350. And I'd say, for me at least, the answer is yes. Even though I tend to build my studio on a budget (after all: I'm not a professional musician, life in New York is expensive and I have two kids), this seems like an indulgence worth making. If you're the type who produces music entirely in the box (on a computer using software instruments only), the appeal might not be as strong. But being able to mill about, untethered, and record, while also avoiding waking up my family in the middle of the night, is a godsend.

Android 13 will have native support for braille displays

Posted: 19 May 2022 08:50 AM PDT

Android already has some accommodations for typing in braille, but Google is taking that one (important) step further with Android 13. As hinted at I/O, Android 13 will begin offering "out-of-the-box" support for braille displays through the platform's Talkback screen reader. You won't have to download the BrailleBack app to use physical input instead of the virtual keyboard.

You'll have access to "many" of Talkback's features, whether it's navigating the interface or shortcuts for common tasks like sending text messages. New shortcuts are aimed specifically at braille displays, such as jumping to the next line in a document or copying text.

Braille display support will first arrive in the next Android 13 beta, due "in a few weeks." The move will help people with blindness use their phones without using voice commands, and could make smartphones far more viable for people with deafblindness that can't rely on audio cues.

Gatik is bringing its self-driving box trucks to Kansas

Posted: 19 May 2022 08:45 AM PDT

Autonomous vehicle startup Gatik says it will start using its self-driving box trucks in Kansas as it expands to more territories. Governor Laura Kelly last week signed a bill that makes it legal for self-driving vehicles to run on public roads under certain circumstances.

Following a similar effort in Arkansas, Gatik says it and its partner Walmart worked with legislators and stakeholders to "develop and propose legislation that prioritizes the safe and structured introduction of autonomous vehicles in the state." Before Gatik's trucks hit Kansas roads, the company says it will provide training to first responders and law enforcement.

Gatik claims that, since it started commercial operations three years ago, it has maintained a clean safety record in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Ontario, Canada. It still has a safety driver at the wheel in some jurisdictions. Last August, Walmart started making fully driverless deliveries with Gatik trucks in Arkansas, albeit on a fixed loop.

What we bought: Our favorite small kitchen essentials

Posted: 19 May 2022 08:45 AM PDT

While we at Engadget are blessed with a passion for cooking, most of us are not blessed with spacious kitchens. But that doesn't stop us – we use every inch of our tiny apartment kitchens as efficiently as possible. In doing so, we've found that some of the most useful cooking tools are the small things – items hiding deep in your drawers or sitting humbly on your countertop that you turn to often and may end up taking for granted. We wanted to highlight some of our favorite small kitchen essentials to remind everyone (including ourselves) that you don't need to add the latest ultra-convenient unitaster to your kitchen to make great food. Ultimately, it's the small stuff that matters, both when it comes to recipe ingredients and the tools you keep in your cupboards.

Thermapen One

The ThermoWorks Thermapen One thermometer taking the temperature of a piece of meat on a grill.
ThermoWorks

If there was ever an essential kitchen gadget, an instant-read thermometer is certainly it. Not only does it help you cook things correctly, but aso safely. No one wants to serve their guests undercooked chicken. If you're in the market, Thermapen's One is the best your money can buy. It's more expensive than your run-of-the-mill probe, but the One gets its name from its speed: it can provide readings in one second.

What's more, the One is accurate to within half a degree and the IP67 waterproof housing means it will hold up to any accidents. The display auto rotates so you're never twisting your neck to read the numbers. It's also equipped with a motion sensor so that display automatically comes on when you pick up the thermometer. The Thermapen One will serve you well in the kitchen, at the grill and for many other things, making it a go-to for a variety of culinary tasks. – Billy Steele, Senior News Editor

Buy Thermapen One at ThermoWorks - $105

Instant Pot

Instant Pot Ultra
Engadget

I was late to hop on the Instant Pot train. I picked up the three-quart Instant Pot Ultra on Prime Day in 2020, and even as I waited for it to arrive, I was slightly skeptical about how much I'd really use it. Fast-forward more than a year and the multi-cooker has become one of the most used gadgets in my laughably small kitchen. If I had enough counter space, it would stay out all the time – next to my other cooking MVP, my Vitamix – but sadly it has to sit in a lower cabinet when not in use. But I pull it out often to make soups and stews, to meal-prep large batches of dried beans and even to whip up rice. I grabbed the three-quart model because I mainly cook for myself and my fiancé, but since we always have leftovers, that leads me to believe that the smallest Instant Pot could make a decent-sized meal for up to four people or a big batch of our favorite side dish. While the Ultra model can be difficult to find right now, the newer Instant Pot Pro Plus has many of the same cooking modes along with a fancier display, plus app connectivity. — Valentina Palladino, Commerce Editor

Buy Instant Pot Pro Plus at Amazon - $200

Microplane

Microplane
Microplane

I bought my Microplane after taking an in-store cooking class at Sur La Table where, admittedly, the hosts had an agenda to sell us stuff on our way out. I treated myself to this $15 hand grater, having just been introduced to it in my cooking demo. Today, I use it for everything from mincing garlic, to zesting citrus to grating parmesan over my pasta. The Microplane takes up less cabinet space than my box grater – and it's never sliced my finger like traditional models either. The only annoying thing about my workflow is that the Microplane is often sitting dirty in the dishwasher when I need it. But at this price, with such a small footprint, it wouldn't kill me to get a spare. – Dana Wollman, Editor In Chief

Buy Microplane Classic at Amazon - $16

Amazon Basics scale

Food scale
Engadget

I love to cook, but I can't say I'm terribly precise when it comes to following recipes. If something calls for a tablespoon of oil or a half cup of stock, I'm more likely to just dump it straight in than measure it out. So if you had told me a few years ago that one of my most-used kitchen gadgets would be a cheap kitchen scale, I probably would have laughed.

Then the pandemic hit and I quickly realized my lackadaisical approach would not cut it when it comes to baking. Baking bread, or just about anything else, requires precisely-measured ingredients, and a kitchen scale is far and away the easiest and most reliable way to measure out your ingredients.

I like this one because it's compact, but can handle up to 11 pounds of weight. And it's easy to quickly switch between pounds, grams and fluid ounces. And even though my pandemic baking hobby was short lived, I've found having a scale handy is actually quite useful. From brewing the perfect cup of pour-over, to weighing out the cat's food, to managing my own portion sizes, this little scale has earned a permanent place on my counter. – Karissa Bell, Senior Reporter

Buy food scale at Amazon - $10

Cosori gooseneck electric kettle

Cosori gooseneck electric kettle
Cosori

There are very few items that have earned a permanent spot on my painfully tiny countertop, and my Cosori electric kettle is one of them. I've written about it before, about how I finally decided to move on from the dark ages of heating up water for tea in the microwave to something more civilized. But the kettle has proven itself useful in many other ways, like prepping stock by using Better Than Bouillon and boiling water, and making the occasional quick cup of ramen. I like that Cosori's model has different built-in temperature settings for different types of drinks, and its gooseneck design makes it easy to use for Chemex-made coffee. I've thought about upgrading to a new kettle recently, but I always ask myself, why? Cosori's is still going strong, just the same as the day I bought it. — V.P.

Buy Cosori electric kettle at Amazon - $70

Cuisinart DLC-2ABC mini food processor

Cuisinart mini food processor
Cuisinart

According to my Amazon records, I purchased this small-batch Cuisinart food processor for about $28 on Amazon Prime Day 2017, correctly surmising that I didn't need anything larger or pricier. For small kitchens and occasional use, the size is right – and so is the price, even if you pay closer to the $40 MSRP. And don't be fooled by the name "mini" either – the three-cup capacity is enough to whip up pesto, hummus and various other dips and sauces. The only time recently I had to work in batches was when I was grinding up Oreos for the cookie layer of an ice-box cake. No big deal, and certainly not a dealbreaker.

When it comes to cleanup, I like that the plastic cup and lid can go in the dishwasher, though I need to wash the blades and wipe down the base by hand. Fortunately, too, it's short enough in stature that it can sit even in a cabinet with just 9.5 inches of clearance. And, because it's so lightweight, pulling it down from above my head never feels like a safety risk. – D.W.

Buy Cuisinart mini food processor at Amazon - $40

Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch chef's knife

A Victorinox Chef Knife on a cutting board next to a sliced squash.
Victorinox

I have put this knife through hell.

According to my Amazon orders archive (a testament to how much I have, in my own small way, enriched an awful company) I purchased this knife in January of 2016. It had good reviews and was, I believe, less than $40 — my assumption being this would be a cheap, workhorse knife that, were it stolen or destroyed by inconsiderate roommates, would be no great spiritual or financial loss. I have chopped and diced with it; I've hacked into gourds, coconuts and lobsters; I've used it to cleave straight through chicken bones; I regularly run it through the dishwasher.

Over six years later, it remains the best knife in my kitchen — and with the help of a chef's steel, the easiest to cut with too. And no, I have never once given it a proper resharpening either. An 8-incher from trendy upstart Misen which retails for almost twice the price failed to take its place. (Personally I think the weight distribution is off.)

There's no fancy damascus patterning to the steel, and the handle is plastic. I absolutely do not know (or care!) if it features a full tang or what the edge geometry is supposed to be. It's an utterly proletarian knife that, in my many years of use, remains both irreplaceable and indestructible. – Bryan Menegus, Senior News Editor

Buy Victorinox Fibrox chef's knife at Amazon - $54

Magnetic Measuring Spoons

Magnetic measuring spoons stuck to a stove.
Prepworks

I've accumulated lots of measuring spoons over the years – plastic, metal, some with a key ring attached – but these are the only ones I bother to use anymore. This set, which includes five spoons ranging in size from a quarter-teaspoon to tablespoon, has a magnetic nesting design, ensuring the spoons take up as little space as possible. (I also never find myself ransacking the drawer to find the one missing spoon that I really need at that moment.) Equally important: Each spoon is two-sided, so if I need to use the tablespoon, say, for both wet and dry ingredients, I can keep the two separate and throw just the one spoon in the dishwasher when I'm done. – D.W.

Buy magnetic measuring spoons at Amazon - $28

A magazine rack

Magazine rack
Engadget

Look, don't ask me exactly which one is hanging off the pegboard I installed in my kitchen — I don't remember and frankly, you're buying bent pieces of wire, so any distinction between different brands is likely trivial. The point is that, while I have the utmost respect for printed media, the best use for a magazine rack is for storing pot lids, a very necessary and otherwise extremely annoying-to-store kitchen object.

What kind you look for depends mostly on what sorts of pot lids you're trying to stash away. Handle-style (is there even nomenclature for this type of thing? I'm talking about these ones) lids work best with a straight rail. For those with knob-type handles, ideally seek out one like this that features a slight concavity in the middle of each rail, as it'll keep the lids from sliding around too much. This is also the best bet if you — like me, and probably most people — have a set of pots and pans cobbled together from a variety of manufacturers and your lid handles are a mix of both varieties.

The only word of caution I'll offer is that, while pot lids might not be as heavy as, say, a cast iron skillet, install your magazine rack securely, either off a pegboard (which I cannot recommend highly enough for its versatility) or make sure it's screwed down into a wall stud. Cleaning up broken glass and buying an entirely new set of lids is no one's idea of a good time. — B.M.

Buy magazine rack at Amazon - $25

Nespresso Barista Recipe Maker

Nespresso Barista Recipe Maker
Nespresso

Those puny stick frothers do not cut it. Beyond the fact you have to heat the milk yourself – yeah, I was out already – it doesn't have the oomph to offer that thick velvety milk needed for your daily flat white. There are several more substantial milk frothers available now, but I swear by Nespresso's Aeroccino series or its Bluetooth-connected Barista Recipe Maker. I have the latter, because, well, I work at Engadget.

The Barista can whip up hot and cold milk, depending on your selection. It uses induction tech to both heat up the dishwasher-safe milk jug and magnetically spin the whisk inside, which is substantial and also thankfully dishwasher-safe. The results are consistent and ideal for at-home caffeination – which is not a word, apparently.

It turned out to be the final piece of my homemade coffee puzzle, ensuring my brews more closely approximate the espresso-based delights I get in West London's cafes. While the touch-sensitive buttons and ability to replicate recipes are nice, I could survive without them.

Nespresso has recently introduced its fourth-generation Aeroccino, which is designed to look like a Moka pot, which is cute. It's also a touch cheaper than my Barista Recipe Maker. – Mat Smith, U.K. Bureau Chief

Buy Barista Recipe Maker at Nespresso - $169

Chemex

Chemex
Engadget

If you love coffee, you probably already know all the reasons why a pour-over setup will produce a better cup. But even occasional coffee drinkers will benefit from ditching a bulky drip machine for a sleek glass Chemex. In small kitchens, you need all the counterspace you can get, and Chemex's three or six-cup carafe takes up a lot less space than the typical drip machine. It's also easier to clean and stash away in a cupboard when not in use (and easier on the eyes if you do leave it out).

Most importantly, it brews a far better cup than any machine. To the uninitiated, pour-over setups can seem intimidating, but a Chemex makes it reasonably foolproof: add grounds to a filter (you can use bonded paper filters or get a reusable one), add hot, but not-quite-boiling, water, wait a few minutes and you'll have a surprisingly smooth cup of coffee. What's great about a Chemex is you can put as little or as much effort in as you want. Like other pour-over setups, there's room for endless experimentation: you can change up the grind size, water temperature and coffee to water ratio to get the "perfect" cup. Or, if you're less fussy, you can do what I do most mornings and eyeball it — as long as you don't pour your water too quickly even a hastily made Chemex cup will have a lot more flavor than whatever is coming out of your drip machine. – K.B.

Buy Chemex at Amazon - $50

1Password knocks 50 percent off Personal and Family plans

Posted: 19 May 2022 08:35 AM PDT

We don't have to tell you how frustrating it can be when you forget your username or password at a critical moment. But investing in a password manager can help you avoid those scenarios all together. 1Password is one of our favorites and the company is running a rare sale right now that knocks 50 percent off Personal and Family plans. The Personal plan is built for one user and is down to $1.50 per month, or about $18 when billed annually. The Family plan that can support up to five users is on sale for $2.50 per month, which comes out to $30 per year.

Subscribe to 1Password starting at $1.50/month

If you're unfamiliar with how password managers work, they securely hold all off your login information and you only have to remember one master password to get into your account. While signed in, 1Password will fill in the appropriate credentials as you visit online stores, social media sites and more. Arguably the easiest way 1Password does this is via its many browser extensions, which recognize the sites you're visiting and automatically plug in the proper usernames and passwords when you're prompted to log in. And you'll be able to do the same thing across all of your devices thanks to 1Password's Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux and Chrome apps.

You're also able to save more than just password credentials to your 1Password vault, including credit card information, documents and more. And when you're signing up for a new site or service, 1Password can help you make stronger passwords from the get go, so you don't end up using a slightly tweaked version of the same old phrase again. 1Password also has a handy feature called Watchtower, which can automatically alert if any of your credentials may have appeared in data breaches, or if you have duplicate passwords saved to your vault. 

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

Epic Game Store sale includes huge discounts for 'Final Fantasy' and 'Far Cry'

Posted: 19 May 2022 07:48 AM PDT

Epic is betting that you're looking for games to keep you entertained this summer. The Epic Games Store is running a "Mega Sale" from today (May 19th) through June 16th that offers significant discounts on a host of PC games, including a few recent blockbusters. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is 29 percent off, while the open-world shooter Far Cry 6 is a whopping 50 percent off. Bethesda's recently launched Ghostwire: Tokyo is on sale for the first time at 34 percent off, while Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and the tough brawler Sifu both see 20 percent drops.

The deals are effectively larger than that. Every Epic Games account is receiving a 25 percent coupon that applies to any full-game purchases worth at least $15 after any other discounts, including the heftier ones mentioned above. You'll get a coupon after each transaction, too. The sale doesn't apply to add-ons, in-game content or non-game software.

The promo will dovetail with four weekly giveaways for "tentpole" games. You won't have to pay a thing to get at least something out of the Mega Sale, then, even if Epic is clearly hoping you'll buy something else while you're downloading your free titles.

Sony details 'God of War: Ragnarok' accessibility features

Posted: 19 May 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Sony has been putting a bigger emphasis on accessibility in its first-party PlayStation games over the last few years with the inclusion of extensive options in the likes of The Last of Us: Part II, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West. When it eventually arrives, God of War: Ragnarok will be no exception. To mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Sony has detailed some of the options.

"Not only have we redesigned our UI to allow for more flexibility and readability, but we have also rebuilt controller remapping from the ground up and added more customization to our combat and interaction systems," Santa Monica Studio lead UX designer Mila Pavlin wrote in a PlayStation Blog post. "We have retained all our accessibility features from 2018's God of War and expanded upon them to include more than 60 ways to adjust gameplay to best suit your style and needs."

Among the settings is a customizable high-contrast mode. Players will be able to add a color layer to characters, targets, enemies and various items to make them stand out from the background. You'll be able to adjust the individual colors for each category and desaturate the background to help make the objects more visible. Pavlin notes that the visibility of traversal paint (perhaps referring to the environmental markers that show players where to go) and special effects can be enhanced in this mode too.

Some of the accessibility options added to the PC version of God of War will be included in the sequel. Those include auto sprint, an always-on reticle (which can reduce motion sickness by providing a persistent focal point) and a way to toggle aiming and blocking.

Subtitles and captions are being upgraded with more size and color display options and a way to blur the background behind the text box. There will be expanded captions for sound effects and directional indicators for critical gameplay information, including for puzzles that have sound cues.

The features also include settings for other UI text elements and icon sizes, in-depth controller remapping (including the ability to set shortcuts for more complex moves on the touchpad) and traversal assistance. A new feature for the God of War series, and one that's been included in games elsewhere, is a way to reorient Kratos toward the next story objective while not in combat with the press of a button.

These are just some of the accessibility settings that will be included in the game. "We can't wait to tell you details about our other categories of accessibility features like combat/aim assists, puzzle/minigame assists, HUD adjustments, camera tuning, auto pick up and much more," Pavlin wrote.

To underline how important the accessibility features are, Sony has revealed them before even announcing the God of War: Raganrok release date. It's expected to arrive on PS4 and PS5 this year. Showing the accessibility options now suggests those are at least close to being finished. Hopefully, that means Sony won't have to delay the game again.

In the meantime, Sony has released an audio description version of the God of War: Raganrok reveal trailer from last year's PlayStation Showcase. If you're interested, you'll need to go to YouTube to watch it due to the age restriction settings.

Breville’s PolyScience Control Freak is a pricey yet precise induction cooktop

Posted: 19 May 2022 07:15 AM PDT

As part of Cooking Week, we set out to test some of the most niche (and, in some cases, ridiculous) kitchen gadgets we could find. We wanted to know if these impressive-looking appliances actually do what they claim and if they're worth the splurge. These are our findings.

There's no denying the appeal of an induction burner or cooktop. They have some key benefits – with the biggest two being speed and efficiency. Whether it's a single burner or a full cooktop, they heat faster than regular stovetops and offer more precise temperature control. They also have the added perks of not giving off as much residual heat, which is nice during the summer, and the surrounding cooking surface doesn't get hot to the touch, which lessens burn risks. You can find a standalone burner for under $100 while a full replacement for your stove can run you a few thousand.

In between we have Breville's PolyScience Control Freak: A $1,500 induction device that reaches exact temps quickly and holds them there. It's a powerful standalone burner from Breville's PolyScience line. This group of devices includes sous vide immersion circulators, vacuum sealers, a smoke gun and a speedy wine decanter. Gadgets and appliances for professional cooks or the pinnacle of the culinary curious at-home chefs. It's not exactly stuff casual cooks would need, or likely even want.

However, the Control Freak's performance is exceptional. The burner has a temperature range of 86-482 degrees Fahrenheit (30-250 Celsius). This gives you the option of everything from low-heat slow cooking to high-temp searing. You can do anything you would ordinarily stand over a stove for – and then some. The advantage of the Control Freak is that it holds an exact temperature for as long as you need it to. There's also a 72-hour timer and Continue, Keep Warm, Repeat and Stop Cooking functionality. Plus, a probe allows you to make sure whatever you're cooking is held at a constant temperature rather than just relying on the burner's settings.

Beyond the usual checks for even heating and speed to boil water, I decided to put the Control Freak through its paces with one of my springtime culinary traditions: strawberry jam. The tl;dr version of the process is you bring smashed fruit to a boil (with or without lemon juice and/or added pectin to help it set). When that happens, you add an absurd amount of sugar and bring it back to a rolling boil, leaving it there for one minute.

Breville Polyscience Control Freak
Breville

Per Breville's guidance, I set the temperature to 219 degrees and the heat intensity to medium, which controls how quickly the unit reaches your desired temp (low, medium and high). With all that sweetness, you don't want to burn a batch by heating it too fast. I also plugged in the probe to monitor liquid temp directly. It probably won't shock you to discover a large pot of smashed fruit takes significantly longer to reach a boil than water, especially when a batch is 10 half-pint jars. On my regular flat-top stove, this typically takes around 20 minutes. The Control Freak had the mixture boiling in less than half that. It was also quicker at bringing the jam back to a boil once I added all the sugar, which can take five minutes or more.

Of course, boiling isn't the only thing the Control Freak can do. Breville offers a web-based "app" (it's a glorified mobile website) to guide beginners through the cooking process based on your desired technique or main ingredient. You can find temperature and heat intensity information, if you should use the probe and recommended cookware. This "app" doesn't connect to the device, so it's a reference rather than a controller. Still, it will help you do anything from sous vide to scrambled eggs. I tested the latter and the results were perfectly moist and soft, cooked low and slow the way God intended. There's so much to explore here, and I didn't come close to scratching the surface, but I was still impressed.

Besides the price, the other potential downside for some people is the size. At 13.7 x 18.5 inches, the Control Freak is a beast. Most of that extra area beyond the cooking surface houses the display and controls. It also weighs almost 25 pounds. So, when you're not using it, it will need significant storage space. Breville does include a nice case with the unit, so you won't have to worry about tucking a pricy stainless steel appliance with a ceramic glass top in a cabinet unprotected.

In the end, I was consistently impressed by the Control Freak's speed and efficiency, as well as its ability to hold precise temps. And while I can certainly see why someone who needs to meet exact cooking parameters would get a lot of use out of it, the price puts it out of reach for many. Unless you've got some serious kitchen ambitions or deep pockets to fund your cooking gadget arsenal, a much more affordable induction burner will suit most people fine. Just know that if you do splurge, the Control Freak has proven it can handle meticulous cooking and consistently deliver stellar results. There's no doubt it's a high-performance machine, but for most cooks, it's like opting for a Bugatti when a Prius will get the job done.

The 'villain' in Reddit's GameStop investor saga is shutting down

Posted: 19 May 2022 06:40 AM PDT

Reddit's war over GameStop stock has claimed a major casualty. Bloomberg and The New York Times report Melvin Capital, the hedge fund considered the nemesis of the meme stock affair, is shutting down. Fund owner Gabe Plotkin told investors that the "appropriate next step" after steep losses was to liquidate assets and return cash to investors, and that it was time to "step away" from managing others' capital. At least half of the cash will transfer by May 31st, with the rest coming by June 30th.

Melvin Capital had been a successful fund, starting 2021 with over $12 billion. However, its public bet against GameStop and other struggling companies made it one of the largest victims of a GameStop-centric investing spree by people coordinating across Reddit and social networks. Plotkin's fund reported a 53 percent loss in January 2021, and it took a $2.75 billion cash infusion to soften the blow and keep losses down to 39 percent for the year.

The GameStop saga wasn't the only factor involved, however. While a recovery appeared possible, Melvin posted a 23 percent loss through April that was partly linked to poor stock positions. The fund was clearly in peril after the Reddit battle — it's just that some miscalculations finished the company once and for all.

Reddit speculators shifted their attention to BlackBerry and other companies in the aftermath of the GameStop drama, and there hasn't been fallout on par with Melvin's in the months since. Still, the shutdown illustrates the power of coordinated internet investors — they can demolish conventional stock managers in the right circumstances.

The Meris LVX is a powerful modular delay pedal with a slick-looking interface

Posted: 19 May 2022 06:25 AM PDT

Meris has been making wild sounding hi-tech guitar pedals for sometime. But its latest entry, the LVX, is perhaps the wildest entry yet. At its core the LVX is a delay pedal, but a fantastically complicated one capable of producing a wide range of sounds from lo-fi tape warbles, to hi-fi polyphonic pitch shifting, to straightforward stereo ping pongs.

Under the hood is an "advanced ARM processor" (though Meris hasn't said what specific processor), and a 24-bit AD/DA with a 32-bit floating point DSP. In short: there is a lot of computing power here to mangle your guitar beyond recognition and deliver extremely high-quality audio while doing so.

What really makes the LVX special is its modular nature. Think of it almost like ZOIA-lite. (Though these are two very different pedals that are only comparable in that they're "modular.") Where Empress wants you to build effects from individual virtual components, Meris gives you complete building blocks that can be combined in various ways to bring out the delay sounds of your dreams.

You start by combining one of five delay structures with one of three delay styles to create a core tone. The "structure" can be just a standard delay, a multi-tap, multi-tap but with a filter, reverse or Poly, which is borrowed from Meris' Polymoon pedal. The types are clean digital, dark BBD (bucket brigade delay), or magnetic which has the lo-fi character of tape. 

Then there are 25 "processing elements" spread across five categories: Dynamics, Preamp, Filter, Pitch, and Modulation. The processing elements can be inserted at various points in the signal chain as well. So if you only want them effect your echoes, or if you want them completely replacing your dry tone, you can. These effects cover everything from standard fare like compression, to bit crushing and auto-generated harmonies. Some of these are new to the LVX, but many are borrowed from other Meris pedals like the Hedra, Enzo and Ottobit Jr. Think of it's like a greatest hits compilation of the company's effects.

To push the sound design further Meris also adds modifiers for controlling the various parameters automatically. There's two LFOs, an envelope follower, a sample and hold function, plus a sixteen step sequencer. Not to mention the expression jack input and robust MIDI support.

And if that wasn't enough, Meris also put a 60-second looper and a tuner in the LVX.

Meris LVX
Meris

That's a lot of features to navigate, so the company put a reasonably sized LCD on the pedal. It's not touch, but it allows you to navigate through all these functions in a unique "bubble" UI. Judging based just on the videos, it looks quite slick and goes way beyond what most other pedal makers offer. Of course, if the weird almost mind-map style navigation isn't to your liking, you can go with a more basic text view.

The last thing that the LVX comes with is perhaps a bit of sticker shock. At $599 this is not for the casual guitarist or someone looking to get their feet wet in the world of experimental delay. Still, that's hardly an absurd price to pay for a pedal of this scope and pedigree. Chase Bliss' Automatone line starts at $749 and the Hologram Electronics Microcosm is $449. Meris slots comfortably in the middle.

The Meris LVX is available to preorder now and will start shipping in the late summer. 

'Fortnite' is now available to all GeForce Now users

Posted: 19 May 2022 06:00 AM PDT

All GeForce Now users can play Fortnite via NVIDIA's cloud gaming service, including those with iOS and Android devices. The company started testing the game on the platform in January. It says more than 500,000 people tried it out across "hundreds of mobile device types." The full launch of Fortnite on GeForce Now means that there's no longer a waitlist and anyone can drop into a match. 

Feedback from beta testers helped NVIDIA optimize the touch controls and menu system. To thank them, it's giving everyone who signed up for the beta a three-day trial for GeForce Now's Priority plan. That offers longer game sessions than those who use the free version, along with improved visuals and access to premium servers. A three-day trial isn't exactly the most generous perk, but it's better than nothing.

For the time being, the only way to access Fortnite on iOS (at least without playing a console or PC remotely) is through cloud streaming. The game is also available for free through Xbox Cloud Gaming. You won't need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription if you go with that option.

Apple and Google pulled Fortnite from their mobile app storefronts in August 2020 amid a dispute with Epic Games. While Android users have still been able to sideload it, iOS players were effectively iced out until the cloud gaming options came into play.
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