Engadget

Engadget

Archivists have preserved a long-lost McDonald's Nintendo DS training game

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 02:35 PM PST

Digital sleuths have obtained one of the most elusive video games to date. According to Kotaku, game conservationists Forest of Illusion have obtainedeSmart 2.0, a very rare Nintendo DS training game distributed to Japanese McDonald's employees in 2010. As enthusiast and game hunter Coddy Trentuit explained, the cartridge popped up in multiple frustrating online auctions and required an alliance of generous contributors (including Forest of Illusion) before it reached people willing to share the title with the community.

You won't want to fire up eSmart 2.0 for the riveting gameplay. As you'd expect, this really is a training exercise with game elements. You learn to complete orders for counter and drive-thru customers, with videos illustrating the finer points of making Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets. It's better than a dry training video, but you'll want to fire up a game like Overcooked if you want a genuinely fun restaurant experience.

We wouldn't count on the training game being easily available for long given that it wasn't meant for the general public. That it's in the hands of any archivists is still notable. As with unofficial releases for SimRefinery, PS2 game prototypes and similar projects, this is ultimately an attempt preserving little-known chapters of gaming history that could easily disappear forever.

Doctors and scientists call on Spotify to create misinformation policy

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:59 PM PST

Doctors, health experts and scientists battle COVID-19 misinformation on daily basis. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have adopted policies in an effort to curtail rampant false claims, but some don't have rules in place. A group of 270 doctors, nurses, scientists and educators have sent an open letter to Spotify following a recent episode of TheJoe Rogan Experience, calling for the streaming service to adopt a clear policy and to fulfill its "responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation." 

On the December 31st episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan interviewed Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist who says he's one of the creators of mRNA technology. It's unclear whether that's true. During the chat, Malone made baseless claims about COVID-19, including the idea that "mass formation psychosis" led people to believe the vaccines were effective and the notion that President Biden had withheld data that supported ivermectin as a valid treatment. The episode quickly went viral among both critics and fans as Rogan averages over 10 million listeners per episode. YouTube removed a video of the interview and Malone was recently banned from Twitter for violations of the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policy.

"By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals," the letter explains. "[The episode] is not the only transgression to occur on the Spotify platform, but a relevant example of the platform's failure to mitigate the damage it is causing."

In April, The Verge reported that Spotify was okay with a Rogan episode on which he encouraged 21-year-olds to not get vaccinated. A company source indicated the message wasn't "outwardly anti-vaccine" and he didn't "make a call to action," The Verge's Ashley Carman wrote at the time. Spotify has taken down more explicit examples of vaccine misinformation, including a song from musician Ian Brown and a podcast from Pete Evans. The company has said in the past that it "prohibits content on the platform which promotes dangerous false, deceptive, or misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health." And that when something violates those guidelines, it is removed.

However, as this open letter points out, Spotify doesn't have an official misinformation policy like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others. The group is asking for the platform to do just that, rather than to directly take action against Rogan or remove the episode in question. They want the company to create rules that would hold podcast creators accountable for the content of their shows.

Spotify paid a reported $100 million to lock down The Joe Rogan Experience as an exclusive podcast in 2020. The show was the most popular on the platform in 2021, both in the US and globally. When Rogan faced criticism over his choice of guests, including another example of pandemic misinformation in an episode with Alex Jones, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the platform didn't have editorial responsibility over podcasts.

"We have a lot of really well-paid rappers on Spotify too, that make tens of millions of dollars, if not more, each year from Spotify." Ek told Axios. "And we don't dictate what they're putting in their songs, either." 

Spotify didn't respond to Engadget's request for comment on both the open letter and the company's misinformation policies.

You'll need Apple Music to listen to J. Cole's albums in spatial audio

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:29 PM PST

Artists and technology companies are more determined than ever to use 360-degree audio as a hook to draw you in. J. Cole has made Apple Music the exclusive home for spatial audio mixes (in this case, Dolby Atmos) of his full catalog. You might need to switch services if you want to listen to 2014 Forest Hills Drive or The Off-Season with a more immersive soundstage.

The move doesn't necessarily require new hardware. Dolby Atmos playback is automatic with recent AirPods and Beats earphones, but you can manually enable the format for Android or compatible third-party audio gear.

The deal comes just days after David Bowie's estate made later albums available on a trio of services in Sony's 360 Reality Audio format, and shows how spatial audio has become a significant battleground. Streaming providers clearly hope you'll subscribe to hear your favorite stars in a new way, but Apple, Sony and others also benefit by spurring sales of earbuds and other hardware. Don't be surprised if you see more (and possibly larger) exclusives surface in the near future.

Wyze introduces a pay-what-you-want security camera plan

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:15 PM PST

Wyze has some of the best budget security cameras around. We recently highlighted the Wyze Cam V3 as our favorite overall home security camera, thanks to its low price and handy selection of features. Although a subscription isn't totally necessary for the company's cameras, it does offer extra utility. With that in mind, Wyze is opening up a new subscription tier to everyone.

The Cam Plus Lite plan includes AI-powered Person Detection (instead of motion detection) and 12-second event recordings. Here's the twist: it's a pay-what-you-want plan, so you'll have access to those features without having to pay a monthly or annual fee.

The existing Cam Plus plan costs $2 per month or $15 per year. It supports back-to-back event recordings (instead of one every five minutes). Other features include full-length video recording for as long as motion is detected, and package, vehicle and pet detection.

Until now, Wyze cameras have captured 12-second clips as often as every five minutes when they detect an event, and those recordings are stored for up to 14 days. Wyze is moving that feature to its subscriptions, though, you'll need to opt in to the Cam Plus or Cam Plus Lite plan to keep using cloud recordings.

Wyze says it's pairing cloud recordings with the AI-powered Person Detection feature in the Cam Plus Lite plan to make them more useful and cut down on unnecessary notifications that might be triggered by a clip of, say, an insect flying in front of the camera. The company believes this approach will improve the overall experience, though it said it will incur significant cloud costs as a result. As such, while it won't make users pay for those features, it's hoping they'll contribute what they can to help cover the costs for everyone.

If you don't opt in to Cam Plus Lite, your cameras will store thumbnails of what they detect, rather than video. You'll still be able to sign up for Cam Plus Lite at any time.

Wyze is making some changes to the local storage options too. It will support microSDXC cards with more than 32GB of storage. That feature's available on Wyze Cam v3 now, and it's coming to the company's other cameras as part of their next firmware update. By the middle of February, Wyze will roll out 30-second rewind and skp forward buttons to help users zip through footage stored on a microSD card faster.

FCC proposes stricter requirements for reporting data breaches

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 12:43 PM PST

The Federal Communications Commission is the next US regulator hoping to hold companies more accountable for data breaches. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has shared a rulemaking proposal that would introduce stricter requirements for data breach reporting. Most notably, the new rules would require notifications for customers affected by "inadvertent" breaches — companies that leave data exposed would have to be just as communicative as victims of cyberattacks.

The requirements would also scrap a mandatory one-week waiting period for notifying customers. Carriers, meanwhile, would have to disclose reportable breaches to the FCC in addition to the FBI and Secret Service.

Rosenworcel argued the tougher rules were necessary to account for the "evolving nature" of breaches and the risks they posed to victims. People ought to be protected against larger and more frequent incidents, the FCC chair said — that is, regulations need to catch up with reality.

The FCC didn't say when the proposal might come up for a vote, although the FCC's next open meeting is slated for January 27th. There's no guarantee the Commission will greenlight the new requirements. It won't be surprising if the rulemaking moves forward, however. While companies are now more likely to disclose breaches, there have been multiple high-profile incidents where those firms took too long to alert customers or didn't notify them at all. The new measures could cut that wait time, giving people a better chance of securing their data and preventing fraud.

Apple releases iOS 15.2.1 to patch a serious HomeKit DDoS vulnerability

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 12:11 PM PST

Apple has released iOS 15.2.1, its latest software update for recent iPhone and iPad devices. The patch addresses a vulnerability found within the company's HomeKit protocol for connecting disparate smart home devices. The bug allowed malicious individuals to force an iPhone or iPad to repeatedly crash and freeze by changing the name of a HomeKit-compatible device to include more than 500,000 characters. Since iOS backs up HomeKit device names to iCloud, it was possible for iOS users to get stuck in an endless loop of crashes.

Security researcher Trevor Spiniolas discovered the vulnerability and publicly disclosed it on January 1st. According to Spiniolas, he informed Apple of the bug back in August. The company had reportedly planned to address the vulnerability before the end of 2022 but later delayed a fix to early 2022. "I believe this bug is being handled inappropriately as it poses a serious risk to users and many months have passed without a comprehensive fix," Spiniolas said at the time.

Spiniolas found that the vulnerability is present within Apple's mobile operating system as far back as iOS 14.7, but said he believes it exists in all versions of iOS 14. In other words, if you've been holding off on installing iOS 15, now is the time to update your Apple devices.

Twitch streamers can now give their followers free emotes

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:45 AM PST

Starting today, most Twitch partners and affiliates will be able to dole out emotes to community members just for following them. They can set up to five emotes that followers can use for free by uploading new ones, moving them over from subscriber-only tiers or picking from a selection of default emotes created by Twitch. The livestreaming platform started testing follower emotes last June, and now they're more broadly available.

There's one caveat: to offer follower emotes, a streamer will need to be eligible for instant emote uploads. That feature allows streamers to add emotes that their communities can access immediately without manual review by Twitch staff. Creators' accounts need to be in good standing to be eligible (they can't have been suspended within the previous 60 days, for instance).

If they lose instant upload eligibility, streamers can still rearrange and delete existing follower emotes — they won't be able to add new ones or reassign emotes from other tiers.

Until now, channel-specific emotes have mostly only been available to subscribers, though some streamers allow viewers to use Channel Points to unlock some emotes. Follower emotes should give streamers another way to make viewers feel as though they're part of a community, even if they're unable to subscribe.

Twitch also said affiliates should gain access to subscriber-only animated emotes this month. Partners can already use animated emotes.

Magic Leap grants healthcare startups access to its new AR headset ahead of mid-2022 release

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:27 AM PST

Ahead of a planned enterprise release later this year, Magic Leap has provided a group of healthcare companies with early access to its second-generation augmented reality headset. One of the companies, SentiAR, offers software that allows doctors to see a 3D model of a patient's heart while they're operating them. Another company, Brainlab, wants to make its Mixed Reality Viewer software available on Magic Leap 2.

That Magic Leap is making its latest wearable available to digital healthcare startups first isn't surprising; CEO Peggy Johnson said as much would happen last April. "Augmented reality may transform healthcare more than any other industry, at least in the near term," she said at the time, noting also that the company would focus on enterprise customers at launch.

Magic Leap has famously struggled since its emergence as one of Silicon Valley's most hyped startups. In 2019, it came out that the company had reportedly only sold 6,000 units of its $2,300 Magic Leap One Creator Edition headset through the first six months that the device was available. It subsequently spent months laying off employees before a $350 million investment gave it a new shot of life.

Netflix and Apple lead SAG Award nominations with 'Squid Game' and 'Ted Lasso'

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:10 AM PST

It's another good year for streaming at the SAG Awards nominations, but who and what got picked is decidedly different this year. Netflix was still the frontrunner with one or more nominations in nearly every category, including multiple picks for The Power of the Dog (three) and Squid Game (four) as well as individual nods for productions like Don't Look Up, Passing and Halston. However, Apple also fared particularly well this year — Ted Lasso received five nominations, while The Morning Show racked up four. Coda and the not-quite-released The Tragedy of Macbeth also burnished Apple's image.

Other services also had their due. Amazon had success with titles like Being the Ricardos and The Tender Bar, while Disney's empire made its presence felt with nominations for The Handmaid's Tale and Disney+ series like Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Netflix also broke a cultural boundary — Squid Gameis the first non-English series to receive a SAG nomination, not to mention the first Korean series. This isn't completely surprising given Netflix's eagerness to produce worldwide blockbusters, but it's notable given how difficult it has been for foreign releases to crack these awards.

Theater- and TV-first material still has a significant presence in SAG's nominations. Nonetheless, it's evident the partial return to normalcy in entertainment only had a limited effect — streamed shows are still thriving in the current awards landscape.

Snapchat adds bitmoji reactions and threaded replies to chats

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 10:29 AM PST

Snapchat is ringing in the new year with a bunch of new features. In the coming days, Android and iOS users will be able to reply to individual messages in chats. So, if a group chat is getting a little out of hand, but you want to keep one aspect of the conversation going, Chat Replies will allow you to start a thread by holding your finger on a message and selecting the Reply option.

You'll soon be able to use Bitmoji reactions in chats. There are seven options to choose from, including thumbs up, thumbs down, a heart, a flame and tears of joy. Again, hold down on a message to add a reaction. Telegram recently added iMessage-style reactions too.

On top of that, Snapchat users can poll friends in snaps and stories. They can respond to your question with an emoji, and you'll be able to see how everyone voted. You'll find the option in the sticker folder.

Snapchat says it's improving the audio and video calling interface too. It should be easier to add lenses and see who has joined a group call before you hop in.

Biden administration announces new measures to upgrade power grid

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 10:10 AM PST

With its landmark climate legislation in jeopardy, the Biden administration has announced a series of new executive actions to accelerate the US's transition to a clean power grid. On Wednesday, the White House said it would allocate billions toward projects that lead to the construction of more wind, solar and geothermal energy across the country.

Specifically, the administration announced it's moving forward with the lease of six commercial areas off the coasts of New York and New Jersey for use in wind farm projects. On offer is more than 488,000 acres of ocean seafloor for the winning bidders to build an estimated 5.6 and 7 gigawatts of clean power generation. As part of the bidding process, the White House says it will incentivize participants to support labor jobs and to source turbine components from American manufacturers. The New York Bight development is one of the primary pillars of the Biden administration's plan to build out 30 gigawatts of offshore wind production by 2030.

Another significant facet of today's announcement is the "Building a Better Grid" initiative. Pulling from the $65 billion Congress set aside for power grid upgrades when it passed President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the initiative earmarks $2.5 billion toward funding the installation of new transmission lines. It's putting another $3 billion toward an expansion of the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, which supports projects that increase the capacity and flexibility of existing electrical infrastructure.

The administration notes it will also allocate $10 billion in grants to states, tribes and utility companies to help those groups strengthen their local transmission lines. Taken together, the investments will help modernize the country's power grid, making it easier to transport renewable energy from remote generation sites to where it's needed most. It will also harden the power grid against the kind of extreme weather events that have become more commonplace as the effects of climate change have worsened.

Today's announcement sees the White House putting forward meaningful climate policy, but if the Biden administration is to have a chance of meeting the president's ambitious goal of decarbonizing the country's power grid by 2035, it will need to bypass the legislative gridlock that has left the Build Better Back Framework in limbo. Much of that will depend on whether the White House can convince Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to support the approximately $1.75 trillion climate and social spending bill.

2021 was a very good year for the PC market

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:54 AM PST

If you thought the PC market's pandemic-era renaissance would continue throughout 2021... you guessed correctly. Canalys estimates PC shipments jumped 15 percent year-over-year to 341 million despite supply shortages. Simply put, many of the customers in 2021 were adding new PCs rather than replacing existing ones. Remote students and seniors were purchasing first computers, for example, while multiple systems were "more common" in some areas.

PC market share in 2021
Canalys

Some PC brands had a better time than others, though. Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple and Acer held on to their respective top-five positions in shipments, but Apple and Acer were the shining stars after growing deliveries over 20 percent compared to 2020. Frontrunners Lenovo and HP had the slowest growth of the leaders in 2021, and saw their shipments fall in the very last quarter where other rivals grew. Their size didn't help them capitalize on expanded demand for computers, to put it another way.

It also seems likely that 2022 will be similarly bright. Principal Analyst Rushabh Doshi predicted the new year would be one of "digital acceleration" as people shift toward high-end PCs and accessories that help with remote work. It's too soon to say how accurate that prediction might be, but it coincides with a PC revival we saw at CES — competition appears to be as fierce as ever.

'Kirby and the Forgotten Land' hits Nintendo Switch on March 25th

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:03 AM PST

Everyone's favorite pink Nintendo mascot, Kirby, is returning to Switch very soon. Nintendo announced that Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the character's first 3D platformer, will arrive on the console on March 25th. It previously said the game would be out sometime in the spring.

Nintendo also offered another peek at the adorable-looking game with the latest trailer. It shows off some co-op gameplay — a second player can take control of Bandana Waddle Dee — as well as a look at some of Kirby's new copy abilities. After inhaling certain enemies, Kirby can use a blunderbuss or burrow underground. In addition, the trailer includes a glimpse of some minigames, which include serving snacks from a market stall and kicking back with a spot of fishing.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the character's second solo outing on Switch following 2018's Kirby Star Allies. Since then, Kirby has appeared as the protagonist in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate single-player campaign.

Canon forced to ship 'knockoff' ink cartridges due to chip shortage (updated)

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 08:17 AM PST

Printer makers have long used chips to thwart third-party ink cartridge sales and drive you toward their own products, but they're now feeling the sting of those restrictions. The Register and USA Today note Canon has had to ship toner cartridges without copy protection chips due to ongoing shortages. That, in turn, has led to some ImageRunner multifunction printers incorrectly flagging official cartridges as knockoffs — Canon has even told printer owners how to bypass the warnings and deal with broken toner level detection.

We've asked Canon for comment. Some users said they've encountered similar issues with HP printers, but that company wouldn't directly confirm or deny the problems in a statement to The Register. Instead, HP said it was using a "globally diverse" supply network to stay "agile and adaptable" in the midst of chip shortages.

The printer trouble illustrates one of the common complaints about digital rights management (DRM) and other copy protection systems: they create trouble the moment their designers can't offer full support. Just ask people who bought music tied to Microsoft's PlaysForSure, for example. It's doubtful Canon, HP or others will drop their DRM chips any time soon, but this incident won't exactly help their case.

Update 1/12 1:05PM ET: Canon told Engadget its focus was to "limit possible disruption" to customers, and that included shipping toner cartridges without the anti-knockoff chips. The company stressed there was no shortage of the cartridges themselves — American customers still had a "continuous supply." You can read the full statement below.

While the global shortage of semiconductor components continues to affect many industries, it's our priority to limit possible disruption to our customers. As with all manufacturers, we continually monitor our supply chain to anticipate and prepare for any potential disruption and we are taking steps to deal with the situation, such as adjusting product designs. One example of this is in toner cartridges for some of our MFP devices (imageRUNNER/imageRUNNER ADVANCE) as we are currently facing a shortage of the chip that is fitted inside the toner cartridge to monitor its remaining toner levels. There is no shortage of toner cartridge itself – a shortage of the chip that lies inside the toner cartridge. As such, we're now shipping toner cartridges for some of our MFP devices without this chip to ensure we're still providing a continuous supply of consumables to our Canon U.S.A. customers. We have also issued guidance on how to install and manage these new toner cartridges.

'S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2' is delayed until December 8th

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 08:07 AM PST

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans will need to wait several more months than expected to get their hands on the latest game in the series. Developer GSC Game World has pushed back the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl release date from April 28th to December 8th.

"These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game," GSC Game World wrote in a statement. "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC and it requires thorough testing and polishing." Perhaps it needs a little more time to get characters' teeth just right.

The studio noted that, although the decision to delay the survival horror game wasn't an easy one, it believes "development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project." It plans to provide more details about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 in the coming months.

The first-person shooter, which will be the first entry in the series since 2009, will initially be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC — it'll debut on Xbox Game Pass. Reports suggest Microsoft has a three-month exclusivity window for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

GSC Game World recently came under fire over its plan to include NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in the game. Just one day later, the studio said it would "cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2" following a major backlash.

Lime's latest e-bikes are now available in the US

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:23 AM PST

Following some small-scale tests in a number of cities since Lime revealed its latest e-bike in March 2021, the company has started making the Gen4 available to users in the US. The first batch of the new model has arrived in Washington DC.

The biggest update this time around is a swappable battery that's interchangeable with Gen4 scooters, which should both save Lime money and bolster sustainability, in part by reducing the number of trips that Lime's charging vans need to make. The latest model also features a more powerful motor than previous generations, automatic two-speed transmission, a phone holder and a revamped handlebar display that matches the one on Lime's scooters. The company says the modular design should boost the usability of Gen4 e-bikes to five years.

Lime said last year it would invest $50 million into the Gen4 e-bike. It aimed to start transitioning to the latest model last summer. However, other than a few small-scale pilots in the fall, it had to put those plans on hold due to supply chain issues.

The company plans to upgrade e-bikes in the cities it currently serves to the Gen4 and expand to more cities this year. For now, 250 Gen4 e-bikes are available in Washington DC. Lime told TechCrunch it plans to replace its entire fleet of 2,500 e-bikes in the city with the Gen4 by April. The new e-bike should hit more cities around the globe this spring, including Atlanta and Charleston.

Jack Dorsey proposes a legal defense fund for Bitcoin developers

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:25 AM PST

Lawsuits are weighing heavily on the Bitcoin ecosystem, and former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey thinks he can help fend them off. Coindeskreports Dorsey, Chaincode's Alex Morcos and academic Martin White have proposed a nonprofit legal defense fund for Bitcoin developers to protect them against lawsuits and similar "legal pressure." The fund's board (currently Dorsey, Morcos and White) would choose cases to support, with part-time and volunteer lawyers providing the initial defense counsel for free.

The fund will initially take over coordination for the defense against the Tulip Trading lawsuit targeting developers over alleged breaches of fiduciary duty relating to the long-dead Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange. Dorsey didn't say how much money the fund had to start, but noted it wasn't looking for additional money "at this time."

Dorsey has direct incentives to establish a legal defense fund, of course. His company Block is heavily involved in Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, and the flurry of lawsuits could tarnish his business as much as anyone else's. However, Dorsey noted that many Bitcoin developers are independents that have little choice but to give up when facing lawsuits they don't have the resources to fight. The nonprofit might prove vital if it strengthens the Bitcoin community as a whole, whether or not Dorsey directly benefits from its actions.

NVIDIA begins rolling out Android 11 update to all Shield TV models

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

NVIDIA has started rolling out Software Experience Upgrade 9.0 for Shield TV devices, and it will upgrade their operating system to Android 11. The company says Experience 9.0 will bring the new OS to all Shield TVs, including the original 2015 models, and it will also include the September 2021 Android security patch that fixes a vulnerability allowing remote attackers to cause a permanent denial of service.

In addition, the upgrade adds access to a new Google Keyboard with support for voice searches. Users will now be able to look for movies and shows to watch by issuing voice commands through Google Assistant. Those who have aptX compatible Bluetooth headsets will be able to start using it with their streaming box, as well. 

Other updates including the option to automatically disconnect Bluetooth devices on sleep in order to save battery, an Energy saver setting for additional power customization and Stadia button support for Xbox, Playstation and Shield controllers. For GeForce Now members, the update adds support for additional Bluetooth keyboards and mice. Plus, Twitch has been updated to be able to simultaneously support high-quality streaming and gaming for them.

Finally, those living in the US can get six months of Peacock Premium for free when they get a new Shield TV. Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming service that serves as home to NBC shows like The Office. It has a free ad-supported version with a limited catalogue, and a Premium ad-free one with more content that costs $5 a month. 

Nuro's third-gen driverless delivery vehicle includes an external airbag

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

Nuro already has a third driverless delivery vehicle on the way, and this model is focused as much on protecting others as it is hauling goods. The newly introduced version, simply called Nuro, includes a host of 360-degree sensors including cameras, LiDAR, radar and thermals, but also includes a giant external airbag to protect pedestrians. We still wouldn't risk stepping in front of this machine (you'll still hit the ground, after all), but this should reduce the chances of a serious injury.

The new vehicle also carries twice the cargo, and offers both temperature-controlled compartments and modular inserts to help shuttle a wider variety of goods. Nuro didn't say when this latest self-driving vehicle would be ready, but the North American branch of China's BYD will help produce units at a Nuro factory due to go online later in 2022. Kroger (an investor in Nuro) has already committed to using this latest hardware.

Nuro third-gen vehicle carrying Kroger groceries
Nuro

The upgrade might be necessary. Nuro already has deals and tests with major brands like 7-Eleven, CVS, FedEx and Kroger, but it's facing stiffer competition from Walmart, Uber and automakers like Ford. The firm risks losing business if would-be customers either need larger payloads or are worried about liability in the event of a collision.

Keychron's Q2 is a compact take on its popular customizable keyboard

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST

Keychron pleasantly surprised mechanical keyboard fans when it announced the Q1. It was the company's first foray into fully customizable keyboards, and we liked it a lot. Today it's the turn of the Q2, which is a smaller (65% or no "function key") version of the Q1. Despite the reduced footprint, it retails for the same price, starting at $149 for the barebone or $169 if you want it fully assembled – cheaper than much of the competition.

When we tested the Q1 we liked it a lot. It offered the same level of configuration as the much-loved GMMK Pro for about $100 less. That said, the selling point of the GMMK Pro (in this author's opinion) is all about those luxurious "Lubed Panda" switches and the firm, responsive typing experience. The "Panda" is GMMK's own "switch" which for those that don't hang out at Drop and/or use a "mech" are the mechanical part of the key – the important bit, really, as that's mostly what will define how the keyboard "feels."

As with the Q1, the Q2 is compatible with VIA configuration software (and thus QMK) which easily allows you to remap keys to almost anything, create macros and more. Also like the Q1 (and the GMMK Pro and increasingly others) there's the option to replace the top-right-most key (Insert) with a clickable rotary for volume and media control.

I'll admit, after using the GMMK Pro for a while now, I find the Gateron Reds that came with the Q2 a little flacid by comparison, but that's the joy of a customizable keyboard, you can use whatever switches you like (or change out more or less any other part). You could even load it with the Pandas if you wish, though that would require a (lot of) extra spend.

The Q2 remains USB only (no wireless) but is still compatible with either Windows or Mac and the corresponding OS-specific keycaps are included in the box. It's also just as rugged and well built as the Q1 with the all-metal casing. You can choose between three colors thereof: Black, gray and navy blue.

Ultimately, the selling point of the Q2 boils down to whether you prefer a compact keyboard or to have access to physical function keys (they're still accessible here with shortcuts obviously).

The Q2 is also joined by some other relatively new additions. Keychron is prolific if nothing else. In particular, there's the lightweight/70% K14 which is both wireless and has hot-swappable switches for a more affordable on-the-go option that retails for a modest $59. The company also recently unveiled its first mouse wired the M1. It's visually quite similar to the Razer Viper ($39) but also bears more than a passing resemblance to the Glorious O (also from the same people behind the GMMK Pro).

Orders for the Keychron Q2 are open as of today.

The Morning After: Connected dumbbells that Amazon's Alexa can adjust

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 05:00 AM PST

WFH didn't just mean working from home. For those with the drive, it also stood for workouts from home. Many companies boomed as they adjusted to many of us shifting our training and exercise from gym to living room / spare room / that corner of the bedroom. Now, the pendulum is swinging back as some gyms tentatively reopen, and we return to the squat rack that didn't quite fit into our tiny studio apartment. But that won't stop fitness companies from introducing new blends of gear with tech tricks, hoping you'll be willing to upgrade your gear.

NordicTrack's Adjustable Dumbbells can connect to any Amazon Alexa-capable third-party device to quickly adjust the weight from 5lbs to 50lbs (in 5lb increments) with just your voice. The voice assistant, sadly, won't cajole you into a few extra reps.

There's a subscription training service to go along with the $429 dumbbells — available now — but it's thankfully not required.

— Mat Smith

'Horizon Forbidden West' may have leaked a month early

Another spoiler minefield.

TMA
Sony

Horizon Forbidden West is one of the most-anticipated games coming to PS5. But just over a month before the action RPG arrives on February 18th, it appears an unfinished version of the game has leaked. It's another problem for Sony. Months before The Last of Us Part II was released, a large portion of the game, including cutscenes with major story spoilers, leaked online.

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China's lunar probe finds on-site evidence of water on the Moon's surface

NASA had previously remotely confirmed the presence of the substance.

TMA
China Daily CDIC / reuters

China's Chang'e-5 lunar lander has found water on the surface of the Moon, marking the first-ever time scientists have found on-site evidence of the substance on Earth's satellite. Chinese researchers claim the lander detected signs of water molecules or hydroxyl, a close chemical cousin of H2O.

Chinese scientists believe most of the molecules came to the Moon through a process called solar wind implantation. Charged particles from the sun drove hydrogen atoms to the lunar surface where they later bonded with oxygen to form water and hydroxyl. The study builds on findings NASA published in 2018 when it found evidence of water on the sunlit surfaces of the Moon using an airborne infrared telescope.

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LAPD fired two officers who ignored robbers to play 'Pokémon Go'

To catch a Snorlax.

The LAPD has fired two police officers for ignoring a robbery on April 15th, 2017, deciding instead to play Pokémon Go. Rather than respond to a radio call demanding backup for a theft at Macy's in the Crenshaw Mall, the officers reportedly spent the next 20 minutes driving around to catch a Snorlax.

Lozano and Mitchell denied playing Pokémon Go and insisted they were only "having a conversation" about the game, but the in-car camera revealed they discussed the robbery call and chose to ignore it. Another officer also witnessed the cruiser leave the area after the call.

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The Associated Press will turn its photojournalism into NFTs

It will launch on January 31st.

The Associated Press (AP) will start selling its "award-winning contemporary and historic photojournalism" as non-fungible tokens on January 31st. The news agency teamed up with blockchain technology provider Xooa to develop a marketplace for its NFTs, which will debut with an initial collection it will release after opening.

AP's initial collection includes digitally enhanced Pulitzer Prize-winning images across categories such as space, climate and war. Each one will include the image's original metadata that shows its location, the time and date it was taken and the equipment and settings the photographer used for the shot.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

A Nintendo Switch Online and microSD bundle is half off on Amazon

Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike steps down as CEO

Roku offers easy access to live TV with a new hub

Uber no longer supports ride-hailing via the Apple Watch

'Wordle' clones are taking over the App Store

Rapid COVID tests will soon be fully covered by insurance in the US

GM recognizes California's authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards

'Attack on Titan' gear is coming to 'Call of Duty'

'Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection' heads to Nintendo Switch on February 17th

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE pre-orders at Amazon come with a $100 gift card

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 04:35 AM PST

Samsung's Galaxy S21 FE smartphone is still only available as a pre-order, but it's already available with a discount of sorts. If you pre-order the S21 FE from Amazon, with shipping set to start around January 14th, you'll get a $100 Amazon.com gift card — effectively a 12 percent discount off the $700 price. 

Buy Samsung Galaxy S21 FE at Amazon - $600

In our CES 2022 hands-on, we called the S21 FE ("Fan Edition") "last year's flagship without the frills." That's because it offers the same 5-nanometer processors, 120Hz refresh rate in a slightly bigger screen and a similar triple camera system. However, the S21 FE actually has a larger battery and comes with Android 12.

Because of the larger screen, it is slightly heavier than the original and features a less shiny finish. Unfortunately it doesn't support the stylus available with the S21+ and S21 Ultra, but that shouldn't be an issue for many folks. The telephoto camera also comes with an 8-megapixel sensor, rather than a 64-megapixel sensor like the S21 Ultra. However, the front camera is actually sharper at 32 megapixels rather than just 10 megapixels on the original. 

If you're okay with last year's phone at a discount, this looks like a solid deal with four colors available (graphite, olive, lavender and white). If you'd rather be on the bleeding edge, however, you might want to wait until the Galaxy S22 arrives. It's reportedly set to launch on February 8th, according to the latest rumor, with pre-orders going live the next day and shipping start on February 24th. 

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

Logitech unveils $60 Litra Glow light for streamers

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:58 AM PST

Good lighting that flatters the subject is an essential element of production for streamers and video creators in general. Logitech (under the Logitech for Creators brand) has just launched a new lighting device made for streamers called Litra Glow, and it says the product is capable of providing a "natural, radiant look across all skin tones." 

Litra Glow delivers a glare-free light that's supposed to be gentle on the eyes and is safe for all-day streaming. It also features Logitech's TrueSoft technology, which promises cinematic color accuracy and enables a soft, flattering light that can apparently make streamers look less, well, tired.  

Whether it can truly provide a "radiant" look across all skin tones remains to be seen. Different skin tones require different approaches to lighting on video — using the same lighting for white actors, for instance, had made Black actors look ashy or barely visible during dimly lit scenes in movies and shows for a long time. One of the creators Logitech got to talk about Litra Glow, however, is Black visual artist and photographer Aundre Larrow, who once shared tips on how to photograph darker skin tones in an article he wrote for Adobe. Larrow said of Litra Glow:

"The lighting looked natural. It looks good on my skin and works for people of different skin tones without looking blown out. The warm to cool is super accurate and I found light to be strong and soft enough to use on its own."

Ring lights and streamer lights have become a lot more popular thanks to the rise of game streaming services like Twitch, but also to provide lighting for creators on YouTube and TikTok. Elgato already offers a Ring Light and Key Light for streamers, but they are a lot more expensive than Logitech's new device. 

Logitech designed Litra Glow to be plug-and-play, and streamers can choose between five presets with different brightness and color temperature. If they want to customize it further, they can adjust those settings on their own. They can also connect it to Logitech's G HUB software to create their own presets and assign them to the G Keys on a Logitech G keyboard or mouse. The Litra Glow will come with a monitor mount that has adjustable height, tilt and rotation when it starts shipping sometime this month. It will be available in the United States, Canada, Australia and select European countries on Logitech's website and from Amazon, Adorama and other retailers for $60. 

The US government spent $1.1 billion on carbon capture projects that mostly failed

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 03:12 AM PST

Coal should be going obsolete because renewable energy is becoming cheaper, but the US government is keeping it afloat with the promise of capturing carbon emissions and storing them underground. Now, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said that federal agencies spent $684 billion on coal plant carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that have mostly failed, Gizmodo has reported. It also spent $438 million on other three CCS industrial projects, two of which were cancelled.

"DOE [Department of Energy] provided nearly $684 million to eight coal projects, resulting in one operational facility," according to the GAO report. "DOE's process for selecting coal projects and negotiating funding agreements increased the risks that DOE would fund projects unlikely to succeed."

DOE's process for selecting coal projects and negotiating funding agreements increased the risks that DOE would fund projects unlikely to succeed.

Not only did the Department of Energy use a "high-risk selection" method to choose projects, it negotiated and funded them too expeditiously, according to the report. Coal negotiations lasted just three months instead of the usual year "based on DOE's desire to begin spending American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds quickly." On top of that, it bypassed the usual cost controls and supported projects "even though they were not meeting required key milestones." 

The DOE recently said that it wants to dramatically reduce the cost of carbon capture technology via a program called Carbon Negative Shot. The aim is to remove CO2 directly from the air and sequester it underground at a cost of less than $100 per ton, deploying it at the gigaton scale. 

However, the easiest and cheapest way to cut gigatons of emissions would be to retire costly coal plants completely, according to a report last year the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). That's because the costs of renewable energy have plunged in the last decade, making them effectively cheaper than coal. And of course, adding CCS tech to coal would increase costs considerably. All that said, coal and fossil fuels are a charged political subject in the US, despite the global risks of climate change. 

In the end, the GAO recommended more congressional oversight for DOE expenditures on CCS. "Absent such a mechanism, DOE is at risk of expending significant funds on CCS demonstration projects that have little likelihood of success."

Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather sued over alleged crypto scam

Posted: 12 Jan 2022 01:24 AM PST

A class action lawsuit has named Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and basketball star Paul Pierce as defendants for promoting a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. According to Finbold, the platintiffs sued the celebrities and the still-unidentified entities behind the tokens for causing the value of the Ethereum knockoff to soar so "they could sell their portion of the Float for a profit." The lawsuit lists anybody who invested in the token between May 14th and June 27th, 2021 as a defendant.

As Gizmodo explains, the claimants are accusing the defendants of perpetrating a "pump and dump" scheme, in which investors sell off their shares to make a lot of money after orchestrating a rise in its value. The lawsuit states that the coin rose 632 percent in value after Mayweather and Pierce promoted it — the boxing star wore shorts with the EthereumMax URL during his exhibition match with Logan Paul, while Pierce tweeted about it. 

Meanwhile, Kardashian posted about EthereumMax on Instagram Stories, telling followers that she heard about it from her friends and linking to its website. According to Morning Consult, 19 percent of the survey respondents who said they heard about Kardiashian's post invested in EthereumMax as a result. The lawsuit states that the day after Kardashian's post, the token's value plummeted by 98 percent. Further, the coin's creators allegedly sold off their shares before the price drop, as shown by their wallet's activities. 

Celebrities have been promoting cryptocurrency tokens for a while now and even creating their own. This isn't the first time or the last that they'll get caught up in controversies surrounding a token — Mayweather, for instance, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Comission in 2018 for failing to disclose that he was paid $100,000 to promote Centra Tech's 2017 initial coin offering. Two of Centra Tech's founders were arrested for securities fraud and wire fraud, with the SEC accusing them of "touting nonexistent relationships between Centra and well-known financial institutions" in an effort to entice people to invest in the ICO. 
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