Monday, July 25, 2022

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ season three trailer teases return of ‘The Next Generation’ cast

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 03:11 PM PDT

Paramount has shared a new trailer for the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Picard. And while we already knew Picard's final adventure would reunite Patrick Stewart with most of the principal cast of The Next Generation, it's still good to see some characters we haven't seen in a while. The minute-long clip Paramount released during San Diego Comic-Con features voiceovers from nearly all of Picard's season three cast, including LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden and Michael Dorn. It's not much more than what Paramount had to offer back in April, but at least this time we get to see the former crew of the USS Enterprise in their new uniforms.

That's not the only Star Trek news to come out of Comic-Con. Paramount also announced that season two of Strange New Worlds will feature a crossover episode with Lower Decks. Jonathan Frakes will direct the episode, which will feature a combination of live-action and animated footage. Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid will also reprise their roles as the voices of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler. Season two of Strange New Worlds doesn't have a release date yet, but Star Trek fans can look forward to watching a new season of Lower Decks starting on August 25th. On that note, Paramount also shared a new trailer for the animated show, which you'll want to watch through to the end if you're a Deep Space Nine fan. 

Uber avoids federal prosecution over data breach that exposed data of 57 million users

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 01:51 PM PDT

Uber has officially accepted responsibility for hiding a 2016 data breach that exposed the data of 57 million passengers and drivers. On Friday, the company entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), reports Reuters. As part of the deal, Uber admitted it failed to inform the agency of the cyberattack. It also agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of former chief security officer Joe Sullivan who was fired by the company shortly after the incident came to light.

Uber did not immediately respond to Engadget's request for comment. The company first revealed the details of the data breach in 2017. Instead of sharing what it knew about the incident with the government and users, the company paid hackers $100,000 to the delete the information and stay quiet. "None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's then recently appointed CEO, at the time of the disclosure. "While I can't erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every Uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes." In 2018, Uber paid $148 million to settle allegations by US state attorneys general the company was too slow to disclose the incident.

The first ‘I Am Groot’ trailer is predictably cute

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 12:41 PM PDT

Ahead of the show's August 10th debut, Marvel has shared the first trailer for "I Am Groot." Shown off at San Diego Comic-Con, the clip features the loveable Groot up to his usual hijinks. We see the tiny humanoid tree dancing and trying on new outfits. At one point Groot even gets into a fight with an army of even smaller aliens only to resolve the conflict with a fart.

Adventure Time animator Kirsten Lepore wrote and directed I Am Groot, with Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn serving as executive producer and Vin Diesel reprising his role as the voice of Groot. The show takes place before the events of the recently released Thor: Love and Thunder. All five episodes of the series will be available to watch through Disney+ on August 10th. According to ComicBook.com, I Am Groot will get an additional five episodes at a later date.

GameStop is letting someone sell an NFT that references a 9/11 photo

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Less than two weeks into its soft launch, GameStop's NFT marketplace is already courting controversy. Among the NFTs listed on the platform is an artwork called "Falling Man" that was spotted by Web3 is Going Great. There's no mistaking it, the NFT references one of the most iconic photos of the early 21st century. "The Falling Man" is part of a series of images captured by Associated Press photojournalist Richard Drew on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Of the 2,753 people who died inside the World Trade Center and surrounding area that day, it's estimated that at least 100 individuals fell to their death while the towers were still standing.

"This one probably fell from the MIR station," says the NFT's description, referencing Russia's decommissioned space station. The artwork's creator is selling two different versions of "Falling Man," with the cheapest listed at 0.65 Ethereum or about $990. As Web3 is Going Great points out, GameStop operates a curated NFT marketplace. Artists must apply and pass a vetting process before they can list their tokens for sale. The company takes a 2.25 percent cut of sales. GameStop did not immediately respond to Engadget's comment request.

Artistic theft is a major issue in the NFT space. On platforms like OpenSea where people can mint tokens for free, fake and plagiarized content abounds. While you could make the argument that "Falling Man" doesn't fall into those categories and that artists should be free to reference past works and tragedies, it's also true that this NFT trivializes the falling man's fate, reducing his final moments into something to be sold for a profit.

Nintendo’s Switch Lite is on sale for $160 today only

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 08:28 AM PDT

For today only, Woot has discounted the Nintendo Switch Lite. With a 20 percent reduction, the $200 handheld is currently $160. That's one of the best deals we've seen on the entry-level Switch. Note that the promotion is only available while supplies last. As of the writing of this story, the blue model is out of stock, leaving only the turquoise, yellow and coral ones available to purchase.

Buy Nintendo Switch Lite at Woot - $160

The Switch Lite is ideal for those who plan to use the console exclusively for handheld gaming since it doesn't feature a TV output. Engadget awarded the system a score of 90 in 2019. It's lighter and more comfortable to hold than the standard and OLED models thanks to a design that's more compact and does away with detachable Joy-Cons. A proper d-pad also makes the Switch Lite better for playing 2D games. The display isn't as vivid as the one on the OLED model, but it's about as bright as the LCD screen on the standard variant. Even with the Switch Lite's shortcomings, it's a great system and one of the most affordable ways you can access Nintendo's compelling library of first-party games.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Recommended Reading: How Sony's AI outran the best sim racers

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 07:00 AM PDT

Sony's racing AI destroyed its human competitors by being nice (and fast)

Will Douglas Heaven, MIT Technology Review

Gran Turismo Sophy is a computer program built by Sony AI that debuted in 2020. It was trained to drive in Gran Turismo and the company put it up against some of the best human sim racers in private events. In the process, Sony learned a lot about how AI could work alongside people — both on the road and off. 

'A uniquely dangerous tool': How Google's data can help states track abortions

Alfred Ng, Politico

Several states that are moving to ban abortion also use a tool that could be leveraged to monitor women's locations from their phones. There is growing alarm that the information could be used by police or prosecutors to go after both patients and physicians.

Exclusive: Fake accounts fueled the 'Snyder Cut' online army

Tatiana Siegel, Rolling Stone

It turns out the fan-led campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut had some help in convincing WarnerMedia to finally reveal the extended director's cut of Justice League.

T-Mobile will pay $350 million to settle lawsuits over massive data breach

Posted: 23 Jul 2022 06:20 AM PDT

If you were a T-Mobile customer in August 2021, you may get a few dollars from the carrier in the near future. It has agreed to settle a consolidated class action lawsuit filed against the company over a data breach that exposed the personal information of 76.6 million "current, former and prospective customers." Back when T-Mobile's CEO, Mike Sievert, admitted and apologized for the breach, the carrier said the individual who hacked its network used "specialized" tools and knowledge of its infrastructure in order to gain access to its testing environment. That individual then stole customer data from the network and sold them on hacker forums.

The type of information that the bad actor sold varies per person, but it could include the name, birth date and social security number for each individual. T-Mobile got in touch with people affected by the data leak shortly after it came to light and offered them two free years of access to McAfee's ID Theft Protection Service. Now, they're also getting monetary compensation, though it will likely be a few dollars at most. While the $350 million settlement may sound substantial, a huge chunk of that amount will go towards paying off legal fees. The rest will be divided among tens of millions of affected customers. According to the SEC filing spotted by GeekWire, the company will also spend $150 million on data security technologies throughout this year and the next.

The settlement still has to be approved by the court. But if it does, it will "resolve substantially all of the claims brought by the company's current, former and prospective customers who were impacted by the 2021 cyberattack." You can read the full proposed settlement here.
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