Wednesday, June 29, 2022

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PS Plus games for July include 'Crash 4' and 'Man of Medan'

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 09:40 AM PDT

Sony has revealed the three games that all PlayStation Plus subscribers can snap up in July. They are Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, Man of Medan and Arcadegeddon — a notable leaker once again got all three games spot on.

Crash Bandicoot 4 arrived in 2020 and was the first new mainline Crash game in 12 years. It was pegged as a direct sequel to the original PlayStation 1 trilogy — meaning that it ignored all the PS2 games. Both the PlayStation 4 and PS5 versions will be available, with the latter supporting features like the DualSense controller's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

Man of Medan is the first title in Supermassive's Dark Pictures Anthology series. It's an interactive horror game in which your choices determine whether characters live or die. However, we felt it didn't hold up as strongly as the studio's previous game, Until Dawn. Man of Medan is hitting PS Plus just after the arrival of Supermassive's latest game, The Quarry.

Arcadegeddon, meanwhile, is a multiplayer shooter from Illfonic that has both co-operative and player vs. player modes. You'll search for loot and unlock abilities as you take on the evil Fun Fun Co. megacorp, which is using an arcade for real-world weapons testing.

This is the first time Sony has refreshed the games on the lowest tier of the new-look PS Plus since it revamped the service. The company said it will continue to offer Essential tier users a couple of games a month that they'll have access to as long as they remain subscribers. Sony will also update the Extra and Premium lineups in the middle of each month.

Crash 4, Man of Medan and Arcadegeddon will be available to claim on July 5th. Until then, you can still add the current batch of PS Plus Essential titles — God of War (2018), Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl — to your library.

'Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope' aims to be a more modern tactical adventure

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 09:20 AM PDT

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was a pleasant surprise. A charming game that married Nintendo's Mushroom Kingdom with the chaos of Ubisoft's Rabbid mascots and crammed it into a game that was, well, pretty much a cartoon interpretation of the tactical strategy series XCOM.

It was an unlikely early hit on the Switch. Ubisoft was able to offer a different kind of game than Nintendo was offering in its first-party titles. Apparently, that was the seed that led Ubisoft Milan Creative Director Davide Soliani to Mario + Rabbids. Talking to Engadget, he said, "[We] should create something that makes sense from Ubisoft's point of view, something not happening in Nintendo's catalog."

Ubisoft fulfilled that brief with Kingdom Battle. Soliani added: "We can match the aesthetics [of Super Mario], using and misusing the elements…. The contrast is the drive." That's the context for this sequel, too. 

In Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Mario et al. (and their Rabbid equivalents) face a shared threat, called Cursa. The blended worlds of Mario and Rabbids are being contorted by darkness, but this time it's a little more galactic. Expect to see varied worlds, à la Mario Galaxy, with the Lumas of that game being transformed into Sparks, elemental sprites that work like summonable magic attacks in the many, many battles.

That may sound new to anyone that played Kingdom Battle, but there are far bigger changes afoot. We're yet to play the game, but judging from the new teaser and Davide Soliani's explanation, it's going to feel different – less of an XCOM tribute and something between tactical strategy conventions and the manic dashing and leaping of typical Mario games.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Ubisoft

Your party of three heroes can now move around in real-time, no more grids. You'll be able to see how far a character can move within their environment thanks to a white outline, but you'll be able to figure out cover and optimal attacks on the fly. Each hero will get their turn before the baddies get to, well, return the favor. Soliani says this should help the game to feel more "natural".

Crucial elements will include where you move your hero (as long as you don't shoot), utilizing items to extend movement and even using some enemies against other enemies – like hurling a Bob-omb towards some unsuspecting enemies on the other side of an area. Like Kingdom Battle, the synergy with other heroes will be crucial in tackling the biggest enemies.

Alongside companion elemental Sparks, which will grow in abilities as your characters do, each hero will have their own unique weapon this time, running the gamut from melee weapons like swords through to dual pistols and even bows. (You can't have a game in the 2020s without including a bow.)

You'll be joined by some new characters, including a Rabbid with a sword called Edge. (Dumb, I love it.) and age-old rival Bowser, who's apparently a heavy-hitter equipped with what appears to be a bazooka.

More freedom in battles is mirrored in the game too. The worlds you'll explore should feel more open-ended than the areas of its predecessor. Explore planets, take on fetch quests (this is a Ubisoft game after all), solve the major darkness problems of this specific planet – or just do the bare minimum and move on to the next part of the game.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Ubisoft

This should all help Sparks of Hope feel a little more contemporary – aided by a pretty incredible array of musical talent. Kingdom Battle composer Grant Kirkhope, who also contributed to Rare's epic run of Nintendo 64 games, returns, joined by Gareth Croker (Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Halo Infinite) and Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XV). Those are some gaming music heavyweights which should help ensure all these different worlds sound as different as they'll look.

Judging from the teaser and Soliani's comments, Ubisoft is evolving Mario + Rabbids at a swift clip, modernizing the battle system and adding further strategic wrinkles and customization to fights. Sparks of Hope could feel like a different sort of tactical battle game, and if they nail the synergy like the first game, it could be just as entertaining.

'Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration' brings together more than 90 games this fall

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 09:13 AM PDT

With Atari turning 50 this year, the brand's current owner plans to celebrate with a collection that brings together five decades of games. Announced today, the aptly named Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration will include more than 90 titles spanning the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, ST, Jaguar and Lynx. What's more, Atari hired Digital Eclipse, a studio that's best known for its work on The Disney Afternoon Collection and the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, to oversee the project.

"When it comes to emulation or bringing classics back or doing really any sort of remastering or reimagining, I don't know if there's anybody who does it better than Digital Eclipse, so they were always our first choice," Atari CEO Wade Rosen told Game Informer.

Atari has yet to share a complete list of the games that will appear on the compilation, but in addition to many classics, the collection will include six new retro-inspired games. One of those is a sequel to 1981's Haunted House for the Atari 2600. Haunted Houses will feature modern 3D voxel-based graphics and new levels for players to explore. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration will cost $40 when it arrives later this year on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC and Atari VCS.

Blizzard buys 'Spellbreak' studio Proletariat to speed up 'WoW' development

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 08:31 AM PDT

It's a busy spell for Blizzard, with Diablo Immortal, Overwatch 2 and mobile game Warcraft Arclight Rumble all arriving this year. The studio has another major release lined up in the form of World of Warcraft expansion Dragonflight, which is expected to arrive by the end of 2022. To help get WoW expansions out on time and ensure they meet the bar in terms of quality, Blizzard bought Spellbreak studio Proletariat to bolster its ranks of developers, as GamesBeat reports.

The news comes one day after Proletariat announced it will shut down Spellbreak early next year. The free-to-play game is an intriguing take on the battle royale genre, with players using magical powers instead of guns. The game never took off, though. It had an average player count of 166 on Steam over the last month. Apex Legends, on the other hand, has more than a thousand times as many players at any given time on Steam alone.

More than 100 developers from Proletariat will now be focused on World of Warcraft, though the studio has been working with Blizzard since last month. The Boston-based studio also plans to expand its team.

WoW general manager John Hight has spoken of the difficulties his team has had in hiring to deliver content updates to players more quickly (the publicturmoil at the studio over the last year might have played a role in that). Bringing Proletariat on board should help.

"A big part of caring for our teams is making sure we have the resources to produce experiences our communities will love while giving our teams space to explore even more creative opportunities within their projects,' Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra said. "Proletariat is a perfect fit for supporting Blizzard's mission in bringing high-quality content to our players more often."

Activision Blizzard is itself in the process of being bought by Microsoft for $68.7 billion. Given the ongoing labor and workplace culture issues at the company, there's a bit of irony in Blizzard snapping up a studio called Proletariat.

A bundle with the Echo Show 5 and a Ring Doorbell is only $85 for Prime members

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 07:16 AM PDT

Amazon has pulled another solid deal out of its hat ahead of Prime Day. Prime members can now snag a bundle of the Echo Show 5 and Ring Video Doorbell for $85. You'd essentially be getting the smart doorbell for free, as Echo Show 5 typically costs the same price. The Ring Doorbell normally costs $100 by itself. The standard price of the bundle is $150, which is already $35 less than the products cost separately.

Buy Echo Show 5 and Ring Doorbell bundle at Amazon - $85

The current version of the Alexa-enabled Echo Show 5 arrived a year ago. We gave it a score of 85 in our review, finding the decent sound quality and bedside-table size to be plus points. The tap-to-snooze option is useful too. However, the interface perhaps isn't as intuitive as it could be and, while it has a better webcam than the first version of the device, it's still only 2MP.

Meanwhile, the second-gen version of Ring Video Doorbell arrived in 2020. It offers up to 1080p HD video, an improvement over the original model's 720p resolution. You can view a video feed from the device on Echo Show 5 as well as on a phone, tablet or PC. The doorbell can run on battery power alone. It can also be hardwired or connected to a Ring solar charger.

Amazon says the device offers better night vision than the first-gen doorbell as well as adjustable motion zones. There's a privacy zone option that allows you to block out certain parts of the field of view from recordings as well. Given that the second-gen Ring Video Doorbell is two years old, this deal could be an instance of Amazon trying to offload existing stock ahead of a possible next-gen model.

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The post-Roe data privacy nightmare is way bigger than period tracking apps

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Since the Supreme Court's draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade leaked, influencers, activists and privacy advocates have urged users to delete period-tracking apps from their devices and remove their information from associated services. With abortion now outlawed in several states, data from such apps could be used in criminal investigations against abortion seekers, and a missed period — or even simply an unlogged one — could be used as evidence of a crime.

These services, like many "wellness" apps, are not bound by HIPPA, and many have long histories of shady practices resulting in fines and regulatory scrutiny. Mistrust in them is well-founded. However, calls to delete period tracking or fertility apps are obscuring what privacy experts say is a much larger issue.

"Period tracking apps are the canary in the coal mine in terms of our data privacy," says Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director for Fight for the Future, an advocacy group focused on digital rights. While submitting data to a cycle tracking app could lead to being "outed by your phone," they said, there are numerous other ways actionable data could make its way to law enforcement. "That outing [...] could just as easily happen because of some game you installed that is tracking your location to a Planned Parenthood clinic."

India McKinney, director of federal affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, offered similar words of warning about commonplace and seemingly innocuous online activities. "Search history, browser history, content of communication, social media, financial transactions [..] all of this stuff is not necessarily related to period trackers but could be of interest to law enforcement."

This isn't an abstract problem either: Before the constitutional right to an abortion was overturned, there were already cases where pregnant women had their search histories and text messages used against them after their pregnancies ended.

In one widely cited case, a woman in Mississippi who had a stillbirth at home was charged with murder because she had searched for abortion pills online. (The charges were eventually dropped.) In another case, an Indiana woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for feticide after prosecutors cited her text messages as evidence her miscarriage had been a self-induced abortion. "Prosecutors argued that she'd taken abortion-inducing drugs purchased online, which is illegal in the United States, but police could not find evidence, beyond text messages discussing it, that the drugs were purchased," according toThe Cut. Her conviction was ultimately overturned but only after she spent three years in prison.

There are other, more insidious ways people seeking abortions can be tracked online. A recent investigation from Reveal and The Markup found that Facebook's advertising tools — which siphon data from vast swaths of the web, including some hospitals — were used by anti-abortion groups to keep tabs on people seeking abortion services, despite Meta's rules against collecting such data. Data collected by the groups was also shared with separate anti-abortion marketing firms, which could allow them to target ads to "abortion-minded women," according to the report. Experts who spoke to Reveal noted that the same data could easily be turned over to law enforcement.

Merely visiting a physical location could be enough to put someone at risk. Data brokers already track and sell location data related to abortion clinic visits. Last month, Motherboardreported that one data broker, SafeGraph, was selling a week's worth of location data for Planned Parenthood and other clinic locations that included "where groups of people visiting the locations came from, how long they stayed there, and where they then went afterwards," for as little as $160. The source of those datasets showing visits to reproductive health clinics? "Ordinary apps installed on peoples' phones."

After the report, SafeGraph said it would stop selling datasets related to locations of family planning centers. But that doesn't mean the apps on your phone stopped tracking where you're going. And SafeGraph is just one of many companies in the shadowy and mostly unregulated multibillion-dollar data broker industry.

"Most people don't know the apps on their phone are doing this," says Holland. "And in fact, a lot of developers who build these apps — because they use these very easy-to-use preset tools that have that blackbox surveillance hidden within them — don't even know that their own apps are endangering abortion patients."

Concern about this sort of broad location-tracking led lawmakers to urge Google to change its data collection practices for the protection of people seeking reproductive healthcare. They cited the now-common practice of geofence warrants, which are "orders demanding data about everyone who was near a particular location at a given time." Last month they cautioned that if Roe were to be overturned "it is inevitable that right-wing prosecutors will obtain legal warrants to hunt down, prosecute and jail women for obtaining critical reproductive health care." Despite the urgency around data collection practices for tech companies — and what new legal obligations they might now have to turn that data over to law enforcement — the industry's largest companies have thus far remained silent.

So while concerns about period tracking apps are valid, they are only a small piece of a much larger problem. And deleting the services from your phone won't be enough, on its own, to ensure your personal data can't be used against you. But though users may be badly outmatched by a vast and largely unregulated industry, they aren't entirely helpless.

Holland and McKinney pointed to the importance of protecting your private messages and browsing history, via encrypted messaging apps and privacy-protecting browsers. When it comes to menstrual tracking apps, Holland recommends looking for apps that only store data locally, not in the cloud. And if you're visiting a place where you don't want your phone to track you, the safest option is to simply leave your phone at home, says McKinney. "Your phone is tracking you so leave it at home if you don't want it to know where you go."

Ultimately, though, both Holland and McKinney agree the onus of privacy should not fall on the individual. Lawmakers need to enact privacy legislation that curtails around what kind of data apps can collect. "Right now, there's not a whole lot of restrictions on what companies can do with people's data," says McKinney. "We really do need legislation to fix a lot of the stuff on the back end, and not make it so that [I] have to do research to figure out what are the best privacy practices that I need to undertake before I deal with a particularly stressful situation in my life."

Snapchat+ is a new $4 monthly subscription service for 'passionate' users

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 05:56 AM PDT

Snap is launching an optional subscription service offering "exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features," it announced. The $4 a month service is aimed at "passionate" snapchat users and launching this week in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The exclusive features are modest to start with, including the ability to change the app icon, see who re-watched a story and pin a friend to the top of your chat history as a "BFF," Snapchat SVP Jacob Andreou told The Verge. Some of those features like BFF will only be available to subscribers, but others may filter over to the main Snapchat app.

Snap relies mainly on its advertising model for revenue, so the new service is a break from that. It also makes money selling hardware like its Spectacles smart glasses and new Pixy drone, but that revenue is relatively small change compare to its ad business. The company recently announced a hiring freeze during its last earnings report and saw its stock price plunge dramatically over the last two months. 

Solo Stove's fire pits are up to 45 percent off for July 4th

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 05:40 AM PDT

If you missed Solo Stove's Memorial Day sale, you have another chance to pick up one of the fire pits for less ahead of the July 4th holiday. Solo Stove has knocked up to 45 percent off fire pits again, so you can grab the Ranger for $200, the Bonfire for $220 and the Yukon for $400. These are some of the best prices we've seen on Solo Stove's devices, and if you want to get all of the things you'll need to use the fire pit in your backyard, a number of bundles have also been discounted, too.

Shop Solo Stove July 4th saleBuy Ranger at Solo Stove - $200Buy Bonfire at Solo Stove - $220Buy Yukon at Solo Stove - $400

We've recommended Solo Stove fire pits a few times in the past as they are solid alternatives to standard fire pits. All of the models actively channel smoke away from you while you're using it thanks to their double-walled design that pulls hot air through vent holes and back into the fire. This keeps flames hot while reducing smoke and creating fine ashes.

Two out of the three Solo Stove models are also fairly portable, so you can bring them with you on a camping trip or to a party without much hassle. The 38-pound Yukon, however, is probably best left in a semi-permanent spot in your backyard. And while you don't need any accessories to use these fire pits, there are some that might make the experience even better. For example, the essential bundle includes the fire pit of your choice plus a stand and lid. The backyard bundle includes all of those things, too, plus a shield that keeps pops and embers from escaping and a weather-resistant cover.

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Hyundai shows off its Ioniq 6 electric vehicle for the first time

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 05:30 AM PDT

Hyundai has revealed the design for Ioniq 6, its upcoming electric vehicle that was inspired by the Prophecy concept EV it showed off in 2020. It retains the Prophecy's futuristic elements without looking like it was a prop made for a sci-fi movie, with its aerodynamic profile and clean lines. Hyundai says the vehicle will have an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.21 — most modern cars have an average drag coefficient of 0.25 or 0.3 — thanks to its low nose and active air flaps, among other elements. Its elliptical wing-inspired spoiler and slight boat-tail structure help make it more aerodynamic, as well. 

Inside, the Ioniq 6 has a cocoon-shaped interior that's trimmed in sustainable materials, such as eco-process leather or recycled PET fabric for its seats. The company's modular platform for electric vehicles enabled its designers to stretch the car's dimensions and give it a completely flat floor for more legroom and space. For its entertainment and navigation system, it has a modular touchscreen dashboard with a 12-inch touchscreen display and a 12-inch digital cluster. 

Hyundai
Hyundai

The automaker has yet to announce the EV's specs, but to give you an idea, the Ioniq 5 has a 72.6-kWh battery that can deliver up to 300 miles of range. It also boasts 320 horsepower, 446 pound-feet of torque and the capability to go from 0 to 60 MPH in under 5 seconds. Hyundai will reveal the Ioniq 6's full specifications and features during its world premiere in July.

Most of Amazon's Eero 6 routers are on sale ahead of Prime Day

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 05:15 AM PDT

We're fast approaching Prime Day, one of the biggest online shopping events of the year, but Amazon isn't waiting to slash the prices of some of its own products. The company has discounted several Eero 6 routers exclusively for Prime members. The standard Eero 6, for instance, is down from $89 to $71 for Prime members. That matches the lowest price we've seen to date.

Buy Eero 6 at Amazon (Prime exclusive) - $71

As with the other models, the Eero 6 is a mesh router. The price is for a single node. The router supports WiFi 6 with speeds of up to 900Mbps and the ability to connect more than 75 devices. Amazon says the device will cover up to 1,500 square feet. The company's TrueMesh tech prioritizes traffic to certain devices — a TV streaming a movie in 4K will require much more bandwidth than a smart thermostat, for instance. With the Zigbee smart home hub, which is built in, Eero 6 will connect Zigbee-compatible devices to Alexa.

Several other Eero models have dropped to new all-time low prices. Among them is the Eero 6+, which is $90, down from $139. This model supports speeds up to a gigabit and has two 1Gbps Ethernet ports. You may also get faster connectivity thanks to support for 160 MHz client devices.

Buy Eero 6+ at Amazon (Prime exclusive) - $90

The Eero Pro 6 also costs less than it ever has to this point. Amazon has lowered the price from $229 to $148. The device can cover 2,000 square feet and it supports speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Buy Eero Pro 6 at Amazon (Prime exclusive) - $148

In addition, the Eero Pro 6E is on sale. It's down to $179, which is $120 off the regular price. As the name suggests, this router supports the WiFi 6E protocol and more than 100 connected devices. It provides speeds of up to 1.3Gbps over WiFi and 1Gbps via Ethernet. Each node covers up to 2,000 square feet. Along with Zigbee products, you can use the Eero Pro 6E as a home hub for Thread devices (Pro 6 has Thread support too.)

Buy Eero Pro 6E (Prime exclusive) at Amazon - $179

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Firefox can now automatically remove tracking from URLs

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 04:52 AM PDT

Mozilla's latest Firefox browser release has a new feature that prevents sites like Facebook from tracking you across websites, Bleeping Computer has reported. Called Query Parameter Stripping, it automatically removes strings of characters added to the end of an URL that allow Facebook, Hubspot, Olytics and other companies to track your clicks and serve targeted ads.

You've likely noticed these queries when you click on a link that comes from Facebook, for example. Rather than showing "https://www.engadget.com/example.html," it might show something like "https://www.engadget.com/example.html?fbclid=aa7-V4yb6Yfit_9_Pd" (not a real example). 

That jumble of characters after the question mark is a query parameter that can tell a company you've clicked on a link, helping them profile you for ad targeting. If you enable the stripping feature in the latest version of Firefox, it'll remove those characters before loading the URL, so Facebook will be none the wiser. It works via a blocklist and covers Olytics, Drip, Vero, HubSpot, Marketo and Facebook. 

To enable the feature, you simply select "Strict" for "Enhanced Tracking Protection" in the Privacy & Security settings. That doesn't work in Private Mode, but you can turn it on there too by typing "about:config" in the address bar, searching for strip and setting the 'privacy.query_stripping.enabled.pbmode' option to true, as Bleeping Computer points out. 

The Morning After: Google tries keeping political campaign emails out of Gmail spam

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 04:16 AM PDT

Google's Gmail has generally rigorous spam filters, but they can sometimes be too rigorous. Google is working on a way to ensure emails from US political campaigns reach users' inboxes instead of automatically getting tagged as spam.

The company has asked the Federal Election Commission for approval on a plan to make emails from "authorized candidate committees, political party committees and leadership political action committees registered with the FEC" exempt from spam detection. That said, missives will still have to abide by Gmail's rules on phishing, malware and illegal content. Google spokesperson José Castañeda told Axios: "We want Gmail to provide a great experience for all of our users, including minimizing unwanted email, but we do not filter emails based on political affiliation."

One reason Gmail puts many campaign emails in the spam folder is other users often mark the missives as spam.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

HTC's latest phone is a baffling one centered around the metaverse

No, not sure what that means either.

TMA
HTC

The HTC Desire 22 Pro supports HTC's Viverse ecosystem so users can visit communities using their browsers, even without VR devices. It's also compatible with the company's $499 Vive Flow VR headset and can pair with the device if users want to explore experiences, watch movies and TV or just access their apps in virtual reality.

The spec sheet is otherwise middling, and most of the metaverse / VR appeal comes from other HTC hardware.

Continue reading.

Airbnb is banning party houses permanently

Party's over.

Airbnb is permanently banning all parties and events at all host properties, globally. It follows a temporary 2020 ban it instituted to comply with COVID-related social distancing restrictions. "Over time, the party ban became much more than a public health measure," Airbnb said in a blog post. "It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our Hosts and their neighbors."

Continue reading.

Facebook and Instagram are blocking posts about mailing abortion pills

Even if they're outside the US.

If you post on Facebook or Instagram about being able to mail abortion pills, don't be surprised if you get a warning — or even get your account restricted. A tipster told Motherboard they were notified a minute after posting "I will mail abortion pills to any one of you" that their status update had been removed. When they tried to post it again later, they were banned. We replicated the restriction measure.

Continue reading.

NASA takes a step towards putting humans back on the Moon

Its CAPSTONE launch will help NASA's space station safely orbit the Moon.

TMA
NASA

Rocket Lab has successfully launched NASA's 55-pound CAPSTONE CubeSat that will eventually orbit the Moon — if all goes to plan. It's a small but important step in NASA's Artemis mission to send humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. Rocket Lab used an Electron rocket with a special addition called the Lunar Photon upper stage, with enough power to send it into deep space. It's one of the smallest rockets to attempt to launch a payload to lunar orbit.

Continue reading.

Both of Valve's classic Portal games arrive on Switch today

The $20 Portal Companion Collection includes the complete Portal experience.

Yesterday's Nintendo Direct presentation, among a fewother things, revealed that the Portal Companion Collection is now out on Switch, priced at $19.99. The collection includes both the original Portal from 2007 as well as the more expansive, story-driven Portal 2. While the original Portal was strictly a single-player experience, Portal 2 has a split-screen co-op experience; you can also play this mode with a friend online as well.

Continue reading.

Bowers & Wilkins debuts a redesigned version of its Px7 headphones

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 04:00 AM PDT

Bowers & Wilkins first introduced the Px7 noise-canceling headphones in 2019, effectively replacing the PX in its personal audio line. Now the British company that's perhaps best know for its high-end home speakers has returned with a new version of the over-ear model. With the Px7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins has completely overhauled the Px7, from the design to the sound and the active noise cancellation (ANC). What's more, the company offers all of the upgrades with the same $399 price tag. 

The Px7 S2 features an "all-new construction" that Bowers & Wilkins says will keeps things comfy during longer listening sessions. More specifically, the company has opted for a slimmer shape and better cushioning in the earpads while trimming the overall weight. This new model is also available in three new color options: grey, blue and black. Physical controls are still available on the headphones, with buttons for power, volume, track controls and calls on the right side. A customizable button on the left earcup gives you quick access to noise canceling settings or a voice assistant. 

Inside, the company says it has built a new acoustic platform that powers 40mm drivers. Bowers & Wilkins further explains that the speakers were specifically built with "ultra-fast response" that's capable of hitting "every nuance" of the music you're listening to. The drivers are also angled to kepp "consistent distance" from your ear for a more natural soundstage. The company has developed its own digital signal processing (DSP) that can handle 24-bit streaming from your go-to music services with support for aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBC codecs. 

In terms of ANC, the Px7 uses four microphones: two that measure the driver output and two that monitor ambient sound. The company says it has revised the noise-canceling algorithm as well for better performance. When it comes to calls, Bowers & Wilkins has changed both the microphone position and tweaked the digital signal processing to compete with noisy venues. ANC settings and transparency mode can also be activated in the company's Music App for the first time on its headphones, along with the ability to adjust the EQ as you see fit. Soon, the software will also allow you to stream music via an in-app player with an upcoming update. 

Bowers & Wilkins says the Px7 S2 will last up to 30 hours on a charge, though it doesn't specify if that's with ANC on or off. The company did explain that it upgraded the quick-charge feature from the previous model, giving you seven hours of listening time in 15 minutes. That's two more hours than before, in the same amount of time. 

Lastly, Bowers & Wilkins has teased its upcoming flagship headphone model, the Px8. Details are scarce for now, but the company says you can expect "reference-level" sound and "luxurious materials" for $549 later this year. If you can't wait for a new set of cans, the Px7 S2 is available starting today from the company's website and select retailers.  

Meta admits to ‘incorrect’ moderation of posts about abortion pills

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 03:45 AM PDT

Facebook has been inconsistently enforcing its rule against buying or selling tobacco, marijuana, as well as medical and non-medical drugs in relation to abortion pills. Motherboard recently reported that the website has been flagging posts saying "abortion can be mailed" and has even been temporarily restricting some accounts. Engadget was able to independently verify the information. As social media companies start dealing with content related to the outcome of the Roe v. Wade ruling last week, Meta has admitted to the 'incorrect enforcement' of posts that may trigger rules relating to the buying and selling of pharmaceuticals on its platforms.

Gizmodo reports that Meta communications director Andy Stone has admitted that the website has "discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement" when it comes to its rule against the buying and selling pharmaceuticals. He also said that the company is correcting those instances. 

In a tweet responding to Motherboard's story, Stone said content attempting to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals aren't allowed. However, content discussing the "affordability and accessibility of prescription medication" is. Posting "abortion pills can be mailed" shouldn't be flagged if that's the case, though it may run afoul of other rules related to promoting crime.

Gizmodo ran a test by posting "abortion pills can be mailed" on different accounts and found that Facebook was only flagging the status update if it was posted on a burner account, or an account that's not regularly used. We were able to verify that, as well. The post we made on a barely used account was flagged, but the update we posted on our main account wasn't. 

We also tried posting about other pharmaceuticals and medicine on our accounts. Our post that said "I'm selling ivermectin, PM me" was flagged, but the one that said "ivermectin can be mailed" wasn't. That's consistent with the website's rule. Our post saying "I'm selling cigarettes," however, wasn't flagged. We also tried posting "You can get abortion pills mailed from Aid Access," which shouldn't have been flagged if "affordability and accessibility of prescription medication" is allowed on the platform. We got restricted barely a minute after posting that on our burner account.

As you can see, enforcement of the rule has been inconsistent, and it's not quite clear why the exact same content doesn't get flagged on a frequently used account when it gets a warning on a barely used one. By flagging content about the mailing of abortion pills, Facebook could be preventing that information from getting to people who need it. Especially since it flags even the status updates of users outside the US. 

The main Facebook website isn't the only Meta property that's been removing information about abortion pills. According to the Associated Press, Instagram has also been deleting posts about the mailing of abortion pills, though our search for #abortionpills yielded over 1,000 results. 

Nikon's mirrorless Z30 is an affordable, lightweight vlogging camera

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 02:37 AM PDT

Nikon has unveiled the 20.9-megapixel APS-C Z30, its smallest and lightest Z-series camera yet. Designed for vloggers and creators, it offers a flip-out display, 4K 30p video and a long 125-minute video record time when plugged in — but lacks an electronic viewfinder. 

The Z30 is Nikon's third APS-C (DX) mirrorless camera so far, after the Z50 and Z fc models. It uses the same giant Z-mount as the company's full-frame models, which effectively dominates the relatively small body. It has a simple but effective control setup with a mode dial on top, front and rear dials to set exposure, a photo/video selector switch, and buttons for ISO, exposure compensation, AF-lock and shooting mode. A new feature over the other DX models is a tally light on front so vloggers can see when they're recording.

Nikon's lightweight Z30 mirrorless APS-C camera targets content creators
Nikon

The hand grip is deep for such a small camera, but due to the large mount, there's not a ton of room between the lens for your fingers. As mentioned, it has a fully-articulating 3.0-inch screen that activates self-portrait mode when flipped out, letting you set key controls like exposure compensation with the camera at at arm's length. Other key features include built-in stereo mics, a microphone input and a single UHS-I SD memory card slot. Unfortunately, it lacks a headphone jack which is a negative for video creators. 

The Z30 competes with Sony's ZV-E10 vlogging camera and has one advantage over its rival. It can shoot 4K at up to 30fps using the full width of the sensor, where Sony's model has a 1.23x crop at 30fps. That's fairly important for vlogging, as a crop makes it harder to get yourself into the shot. It can also shoot 1080p at up to 120 fps for slow-mo, but unlike the ZV-E10, doesn't support log capture — only a "flat" profile. Like its Sony rival, the Z30 has no built-in IBS — only electronic stabilization.

Nikon promises reliably fast and sharp hybrid phase-detect autofocus with face, eye and animal AI detection. It's likely similar to the AF on the Z50 and Z fc models, which are decent but lag behind Sony's APS-C cameras in terms of AF speed and accuracy. It offers a picture control auto function depending on the scene, along with 20 creative profiles. However, there's no one-click "product showcase" or bokeh options like Sony offers on the ZV-E10. 

It has a relatively small battery (the same on the other two DX models) giving it a 330 shot CIPA rating. Unlike the Z50 and Z fc which were limited to 30 minutes, the Z30 can record up to 125 minutes of 1080p video and about 35 minutes of 4K. To get those figures, though, you'll have to plug the camera's USB-C port to power. 

Nikon Z30 APS-C mirrorless camera
Nikon

Nikon promises good photography performance as well, but it's already behind the 8-ball in that area without an electronic viewfinder. Still, you get shooting speeds up to 11 fps (mechanical shutter, JPEG/RAW), hybrid phase-detect AF and even the ability to shoot a photo while recording video. 

The Z30 arrives in mid-July at $710 for the body only, $850 with a kit Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, or $1,200 with the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 lens. Another option coming in November is the 14-140mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for $1,150. Nikon will also offer a Creators Accessory Kit for $150 with a SmallRig tripod grip, Nikon ML-L7 Bluetooth remote and a Rode VideoMicro microphone.

Along with the camera, Nikon also unveiled a new full-frame Z-mount lens, the Z400mm f/4.5 VR S. Nikon says it's the lightest lens in its class at 2.55 pounds, offers dust- and drip-resistant performance and a focus-breathing compensation function for video recording. It arrives in July 2022 for $3,250. 

FCC Commissioner urges Google and Apple to ban TikTok

Posted: 28 Jun 2022 11:45 PM PDT

"TikTok is not just another video app. That's the sheep's clothing." That's what Brendan Carr wrote in his tweet along with a copy of the letter he sent Apple and Google, asking the companies to remove TikTok from their app stores. The agency's senior Republican commissioner references a recent BuzzFeed News report that examined leaked audio from 80 internal TikTok meetings. Based on those leaked audio recordings, China-based employees of TikTok parent company ByteDance had repeatedly accessed private information on users in the US. 

One member of TikTok's Trust and Safety department reportedly said during a meeting in September 2021 that "everything is seen in China." A director said in another meeting that a Beijing-based engineer referred to as "Master Admin" has "access to everything." Just hours before BuzzFeed News published its report, TikTok announced that it migrated 100 percent of US user traffic to a new Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. It's part of the company's efforts to address concerns by US authorities about how it handles information from users in the country. 

In his letter, though, Carr listed other reports showing "concerning evidence and determinations regarding TikTok's data practices" that include previous instances wherein researchers discovered that the app can circumvent Android and iOS safeguards to access users' sensitive data. He also cited TikTok's 2021 decision to pay $92 million to settle dozens of lawsuit, mostly from minors, accusing it of collecting their personal data without consent and selling it to advertisers.

Carr wrote:

"It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due its extensive data harvesting being combined with Beijing's apparently unchecked access to that sensitive data."

He's giving Apple and Google until July 8th to explain why they aren't removing the app from their stores if they refuse to do so. That said, Carr was the letter's lone signee — it doesn't look like the other FCC Commissioners are involved. We've reached out to all parties to ask for their official statement on the issue. 

Amazon to limit purchases of Plan B and other emergency contraceptive pills

Posted: 28 Jun 2022 04:47 PM PDT

Amazon is limiting sales of Plan B and other emergency contraceptives to three units per customer in the wake of increased demand, the company confirmed to several media outlets. Last week's US Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade prompted a spike in sales of Plan B and other generic brands of levonorgestrel morning-after pills. 

Customers who order emergency contraception on Amazon still face a bit of a wait. Amazon's main listing for Plan B (a popular name brand of levonorgestrel made by a company called Foundation Consumer Healthcare) displays an estimated delivery range of July 19 through August 6. MyChoice, a generic brand of levonorgestrel that is cheaper than Plan B displays a delivery date of July 28. Engadget has reached out to Amazon for an estimate on when it will remove its cap on sales, and will update if we hear back. 

Rite-Aid is also capping both online and in-person sales of emergency contraception to three per customer. Walmart has a more generous limit of 10 units of Plan B per customer, and Target limits online sales of Plan B to six orders per customer. Following a temporary cap on sales, both Walgreens and CVS have removed purchase limits on Plan B as of Tuesday evening.

"We continue to have ample supply of emergency contraceptives to meet customer needs," Matt Blanchette, CVS's senior manager of retail communications toldCNN.

Those who don't want to turn to Amazon or a major drugstore chain have other online options for Plan. Both Instacart and GoPuff also offer Plan B for same-day delivery. A number of telehealth startups such as Wisp, Nurx and Stix sell generic emergency contraceptive pills (though sales are restricted to certain states). Sales of emergency contraceptive products on Wisp spiked by 40 percent following a leak of the court's decision back in May, Wisp confirmed to Engadget. Furthermore, sales were 25 times the daily average for May on Friday, the day of the court's ruling.

"We have been able to meet the current surge in demand. We are not putting any restrictions on emergency contraceptive pills," noted Wisp CEO Ahmad Bani in a statement to Engadget.
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