engadget-rss

I’m a huge Taskmaster fan. The UK TV show pits five comedians (or funny-adjacent celebrities) against ridiculous tasks that are then arbitrarily scored by the titular taskmaster.
Given that the tasks involve lateral thinking and physical movement, on paper, the TV show was ripe for a VR spin-off. Think Job Simulator with added jeopardy, in-jokes and British whimsy. Unfortunately, Taskmaster VR doesn’t deliver on the fun and charm of the show. Two points.
After being teased (and available to wishlist) earlier this year, the game launched last week across Steam, Meta Quest 2 and 3, and Pro. I played the game briefly on Quest 2, the lowest-powered option, before shifting to the sharper screens of Quest 3.

You’ll want to play it on a headset like the Quest 3 or better. The basic Quest 2 makes the whole thing very grainy. But that’s not the biggest issue. The problem is it’s not a great VR game. Collision detection is rough, and while it’s not the first VR title guilty of this, the fine motor control demanded of the game’s tasks makes things a pain.
For example, the first game involves you trying to make a sandwich, matching Alex’s arcane sandwich request, plating it up, and putting it on the plinth, ready for judgment. However, you have to do all of that with a pair of spatulas. Opening a fridge with a spatula in real life is challenging enough; in a virtual world, it sometimes felt more like luck than dexterity whether I got that slice of bacon into my sandwich.
In another game, I was to launch an egg as far as I could but land it in a frying pan. I struggled to keep a frying pan in the same place while constructing a poorly-considered ramp of pipes, boxes and wheelie bins. The in-game physics are so simplistic that most object surfaces behave the same. And my pan slid to the floor. Again and again and again. You can crouch in Taskmaster VR – when you drop the pan again – but the physics engine conveys a degree of momentum when you press the button to stand upright again, adding a ‘bounce’ to anything in your hand.
Many of the games are multi-stage and expansive, which I appreciated. Circling back to the sandwich task, some ingredients need to be cooked – and you’ll have to turn on the stove burners to do so. Once you’ve made your sandwich, Greg, the Taskmaster will scrutinize the result. One slice of bread? He’ll go on a tirade about open-face sandwiches. Wrong plate? Your score will be dinged again. Something inedible? He’ll notice.
There are also easter egg references to the show everywhere, from the tutorial onwards. Look out of windows; even the bushes and garden are filled with items and references only a Taskmaster fan would get. Do Americans think all Brits (I’m a Brit) are this whimsical? I hope so.
In another game, you’ll have to rush around the entire Taskmaster estate (a tiny home and garden) searching for dog food, but only after you’ve escaped the garage. The tasks are considered, but I wish there were more. The TV show is famous for comedians’ unusual lateral thinking and solutions that the task makers didn’t plan for. I haven’t seen those possibilities – at least not yet.
Why not mix up the codes for the safe featured in a watermelon smashing task? This would be especially useful if you’re playing with other Taskmaster fans who want to try the tasks themselves. A little bit of random number generation would work wonders. Having said that, there’s a Taskmaster VR Creative mode, where you’ll be able to craft your own levels and tasks, which could add longevity if it finds an audience.
The banter between Taskmaster and his assistant is tonally accurate, benefitting from using the voices of Greg Davies and (Little) Alex Horne, but their in-game models don’t convey the weird, awkward charm of the duo. Maybe I’m just a superfan, and my expectations were too high, but there’s something about the sound quality (with lines recorded in a booth) that pulls you out of the illusion of being on a version of the TV show.
I’m unsure if I’ll ever replay the entire game again. Fortunately, once unlocked, you can choose to play each task standalone, which is the perfect way for me to share the game with visiting friends.
If the team behind Taskmaster VR can offer some new tasks through DLC (how about replicating a task from the next TV series?), this might be more of a draw. Their time starts now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/taskmaster-vr-doesnt-quite-deliver-on-the-promise-of-the-tv-show-130005486.html?src=rss

I’m a huge Taskmaster fan. The UK TV show pits five comedians (or funny-adjacent celebrities) against ridiculous tasks that are then arbitrarily scored by the titular taskmaster.

Given that the tasks involve lateral thinking and physical movement, on paper, the TV show was ripe for a VR spin-off. Think Job Simulator with added jeopardy, in-jokes and British whimsy. Unfortunately, Taskmaster VR doesn’t deliver on the fun and charm of the show. Two points.

After being teased (and available to wishlist) earlier this year, the game launched last week across Steam, Meta Quest 2 and 3, and Pro. I played the game briefly on Quest 2, the lowest-powered option, before shifting to the sharper screens of Quest 3.

You’ll want to play it on a headset like the Quest 3 or better. The basic Quest 2 makes the whole thing very grainy. But that’s not the biggest issue. The problem is it’s not a great VR game. Collision detection is rough, and while it’s not the first VR title guilty of this, the fine motor control demanded of the game’s tasks makes things a pain.

For example, the first game involves you trying to make a sandwich, matching Alex’s arcane sandwich request, plating it up, and putting it on the plinth, ready for judgment. However, you have to do all of that with a pair of spatulas. Opening a fridge with a spatula in real life is challenging enough; in a virtual world, it sometimes felt more like luck than dexterity whether I got that slice of bacon into my sandwich.

In another game, I was to launch an egg as far as I could but land it in a frying pan. I struggled to keep a frying pan in the same place while constructing a poorly-considered ramp of pipes, boxes and wheelie bins. The in-game physics are so simplistic that most object surfaces behave the same. And my pan slid to the floor. Again and again and again. You can crouch in Taskmaster VR – when you drop the pan again – but the physics engine conveys a degree of momentum when you press the button to stand upright again, adding a ‘bounce’ to anything in your hand.

Many of the games are multi-stage and expansive, which I appreciated. Circling back to the sandwich task, some ingredients need to be cooked – and you’ll have to turn on the stove burners to do so. Once you’ve made your sandwich, Greg, the Taskmaster will scrutinize the result. One slice of bread? He’ll go on a tirade about open-face sandwiches. Wrong plate? Your score will be dinged again. Something inedible? He’ll notice.

There are also easter egg references to the show everywhere, from the tutorial onwards. Look out of windows; even the bushes and garden are filled with items and references only a Taskmaster fan would get. Do Americans think all Brits (I’m a Brit) are this whimsical? I hope so.

In another game, you’ll have to rush around the entire Taskmaster estate (a tiny home and garden) searching for dog food, but only after you’ve escaped the garage. The tasks are considered, but I wish there were more. The TV show is famous for comedians’ unusual lateral thinking and solutions that the task makers didn’t plan for. I haven’t seen those possibilities – at least not yet.

Why not mix up the codes for the safe featured in a watermelon smashing task? This would be especially useful if you’re playing with other Taskmaster fans who want to try the tasks themselves. A little bit of random number generation would work wonders. Having said that, there’s a Taskmaster VR Creative mode, where you’ll be able to craft your own levels and tasks, which could add longevity if it finds an audience.

The banter between Taskmaster and his assistant is tonally accurate, benefitting from using the voices of Greg Davies and (Little) Alex Horne, but their in-game models don’t convey the weird, awkward charm of the duo. Maybe I’m just a superfan, and my expectations were too high, but there’s something about the sound quality (with lines recorded in a booth) that pulls you out of the illusion of being on a version of the TV show.

I’m unsure if I’ll ever replay the entire game again. Fortunately, once unlocked, you can choose to play each task standalone, which is the perfect way for me to share the game with visiting friends.

If the team behind Taskmaster VR can offer some new tasks through DLC (how about replicating a task from the next TV series?), this might be more of a draw. Their time starts now.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/taskmaster-vr-doesnt-quite-deliver-on-the-promise-of-the-tv-show-130005486.html?src=rss

Read More 

Under a cloud of studio closures and layoffs, there’s a sliver of sunshine in the gaming business. After being closed by Microsoft in May, Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks has been acquired by PUBG: Battlegrounds developer Krafton.
“Krafton intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects,” Krafton wrote in a press release spotted by Polygon.
Following its $7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax in 2021, Microsoft shut down three of its studios, Arkane Austin, Tokyo-based Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Studios. Tango was behind several notable titles, including The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo and the rhythm-based brawler Hi-Fi Rush. The latter debuted in 2023 as an exclusive on Xbox Series X and PC, and recently came to PS5 in March this year. 
Krafton said the acquisition will not affect current Tango games including The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush.
Tango Gameworks was founded in 2010 by Resident Evil 4 game director Shinji Mikami and initially made its name with horror titles like The Evil Within. Hi-Fi Rush was a significant departure and became a critical hit with a 10 out of 10 Steam score thanks to the fluid, engaging gameplay and unique graphical style.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pubg-battlegrounds-publisher-acquires-hi-fi-rush-studio-after-microsoft-shut-it-down-120005467.html?src=rss

Under a cloud of studio closures and layoffs, there’s a sliver of sunshine in the gaming business. After being closed by Microsoft in May, Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks has been acquired by PUBG: Battlegrounds developer Krafton.

“Krafton intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects,” Krafton wrote in a press release spotted by Polygon.

Following its $7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax in 2021, Microsoft shut down three of its studios, Arkane Austin, Tokyo-based Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Studios. Tango was behind several notable titles, including The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo and the rhythm-based brawler Hi-Fi Rush. The latter debuted in 2023 as an exclusive on Xbox Series X and PC, and recently came to PS5 in March this year. 

Krafton said the acquisition will not affect current Tango games including The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush.

Tango Gameworks was founded in 2010 by Resident Evil 4 game director Shinji Mikami and initially made its name with horror titles like The Evil Within. Hi-Fi Rush was a significant departure and became a critical hit with a 10 out of 10 Steam score thanks to the fluid, engaging gameplay and unique graphical style.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pubg-battlegrounds-publisher-acquires-hi-fi-rush-studio-after-microsoft-shut-it-down-120005467.html?src=rss

Read More 

Eli Roth’s Borderlands movie adaptation sounds like a recipe for a solid sci-fi romp: Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett as the wise-cracking gunslinger Lilith; Jack Black as the quippy Claptrap; and even Jamie Lee Curtis.
Lionsgate

 But according to Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar, it squanders the story potential and all that on-screen talent. He breaks it down in full, right here. 
Maybe I’ll go see the new Deadpool.
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
Intel is bringing GPUs to cars
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died
X now lets you sort replies so blue checks don’t bury other users’ comments
​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
 
New light-absorbing material can turn everyday objects into solar panels
Put it on roofs, put it on cars, put it on baseball caps.

Scientists from the University of Oxford have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects with sunlight access in place of bulky silicon-based solar panels. It’s made by stacking layers of light-absorbing perovskite just over a micron thick. The new material is also 150 times thinner than a traditional silicon wafer and can produce energy with 5 percent more efficiency. This technology, however, is still in the research stage, and the university doesn’t mention the long-term stability of the newly designed perovskite panels, which has always been limited compared to traditional photovoltaic technology.
Continue reading.

ASUS ROG Ally X review
It’s got more RAM, storage and battery life than the original model.
Engadget
Thanks to some design tweaks and major hardware upgrades, ASUS has turned the ROG Ally X into the flagship Windows gaming handheld it was meant to be. Dare we say it, this might be the best handheld gaming PC.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-the-borderlands-movie-proves-bad-videogame-adaptations-can-still-happen-111340460.html?src=rss

Eli Roth’s Borderlands movie adaptation sounds like a recipe for a solid sci-fi romp: Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett as the wise-cracking gunslinger Lilith; Jack Black as the quippy Claptrap; and even Jamie Lee Curtis.

 But according to Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar, it squanders the story potential and all that on-screen talent. He breaks it down in full, right here. 

Maybe I’ll go see the new Deadpool.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Intel is bringing GPUs to cars

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died

X now lets you sort replies so blue checks don’t bury other users’ comments

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

New light-absorbing material can turn everyday objects into solar panels

Put it on roofs, put it on cars, put it on baseball caps.

Scientists from the University of Oxford have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects with sunlight access in place of bulky silicon-based solar panels. It’s made by stacking layers of light-absorbing perovskite just over a micron thick. The new material is also 150 times thinner than a traditional silicon wafer and can produce energy with 5 percent more efficiency. This technology, however, is still in the research stage, and the university doesn’t mention the long-term stability of the newly designed perovskite panels, which has always been limited compared to traditional photovoltaic technology.

Continue reading.

ASUS ROG Ally X review

It’s got more RAM, storage and battery life than the original model.

Thanks to some design tweaks and major hardware upgrades, ASUS has turned the ROG Ally X into the flagship Windows gaming handheld it was meant to be. Dare we say it, this might be the best handheld gaming PC.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-the-borderlands-movie-proves-bad-videogame-adaptations-can-still-happen-111340460.html?src=rss

Read More 

I was not expecting to cry while playing Summit, a $6 mountain climbing platformer for Playdate that’s impossible not to compare to Celeste. Scream in frustration? Yes. Storm away from the game only to come crawling back minutes later? Definitely. Get all up in my feels, though? Not so much. Yet an hour and 34 minutes — and 432 deaths — later, here we are. This is now the second Playdate game that’s made me cry.
In Summit, you’re a cloaked climber trying to reach the top of a mountain under the guidance of an unseen narrator who refers to you as “little brother.” You have ice axes to help you scale the vertical surfaces, and other equipment will show up later to assist you in trickier situations. Completing the 70-ish levels requires absolute precision, and it is at times very, very frustrating. There are rows of sharp spikes sticking out everywhere, and some falling from higher perches. The icy ground in spots is slick enough to send you flying. Strong winds will make it seem as though it’s impossible to push forward.
But it’s not impossible, of course, and in some cases you can even use the environmental conditions to your advantage. When you do finally make it through a particularly tough level, it’s all the more gratifying. There’s more to Summit than well-timed jumps — it uses the d-pad, buttons and the crank, and will have you coordinating different actions to cross huge gaps and avoid obstacles. At one point, you even get to ride a crow.
Pixelated Opus
The music throughout is beautiful and has a reflective mood to it, which sets you up perfectly for when the game takes an unexpected emotional turn at the end. As you approach the summit, the backstory that’s been hinted at in bits and pieces finally reveals itself, and it’s a tear-jerker. I got misty-eyed, and not because I was so relieved to have finally made it to the top. (I’m not the only one, either, as I found while searching Reddit to see how other people fared.)
Summit will test your determination as you die over and over again trying to progress, but it’s never a slog. If you liked the extreme platforming and sentimental tone of Celeste, this is definitely one to check out.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/summit-is-an-incredible-precision-platformer-for-playdate-thatll-hit-you-right-in-the-feels-230018502.html?src=rss

I was not expecting to cry while playing Summit, a $6 mountain climbing platformer for Playdate that’s impossible not to compare to Celeste. Scream in frustration? Yes. Storm away from the game only to come crawling back minutes later? Definitely. Get all up in my feels, though? Not so much. Yet an hour and 34 minutes — and 432 deaths — later, here we are. This is now the second Playdate game that’s made me cry.

In Summit, you’re a cloaked climber trying to reach the top of a mountain under the guidance of an unseen narrator who refers to you as “little brother.” You have ice axes to help you scale the vertical surfaces, and other equipment will show up later to assist you in trickier situations. Completing the 70-ish levels requires absolute precision, and it is at times very, very frustrating. There are rows of sharp spikes sticking out everywhere, and some falling from higher perches. The icy ground in spots is slick enough to send you flying. Strong winds will make it seem as though it’s impossible to push forward.

But it’s not impossible, of course, and in some cases you can even use the environmental conditions to your advantage. When you do finally make it through a particularly tough level, it’s all the more gratifying. There’s more to Summit than well-timed jumps — it uses the d-pad, buttons and the crank, and will have you coordinating different actions to cross huge gaps and avoid obstacles. At one point, you even get to ride a crow.

The music throughout is beautiful and has a reflective mood to it, which sets you up perfectly for when the game takes an unexpected emotional turn at the end. As you approach the summit, the backstory that’s been hinted at in bits and pieces finally reveals itself, and it’s a tear-jerker. I got misty-eyed, and not because I was so relieved to have finally made it to the top. (I’m not the only one, either, as I found while searching Reddit to see how other people fared.)

Summit will test your determination as you die over and over again trying to progress, but it’s never a slog. If you liked the extreme platforming and sentimental tone of Celeste, this is definitely one to check out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/summit-is-an-incredible-precision-platformer-for-playdate-thatll-hit-you-right-in-the-feels-230018502.html?src=rss

Read More 

AMD has begun releasing updates to patch some — but not all — chips affected by the recently discovered “Sinkclose” security flaw. The vulnerability spotted by researchers at IOActive was revealed in a report from Wired last week, and is said to affect most AMD processors going back to 2006. While AMD’s security team has been working to get some of these systems patched, Tom’s Hardware reports that the Ryzen 1000, 2000 and 3000 series along with the Threadripper 1000 and 2000 won’t get any such updates.
The company told Tom’s Hardware that these are among “older products that are outside our software support window.” Newer models and all of AMD’s embedded processors have reportedly already received or will be receiving the patch. The Sinkclose flaw is considered to be more of a risk for governments or other large entities than for the average user, and even then, taking advantage of it would require deep access to a particular system. But the researchers who found it warned that it could be disastrous if exploited, letting hackers run code in the chips’ normally protected System Management Mode.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/outdated-amd-chips-reportedly-wont-get-a-patch-for-the-sinkclose-security-flaw-200549740.html?src=rss

AMD has begun releasing updates to patch some — but not all — chips affected by the recently discovered “Sinkclose” security flaw. The vulnerability spotted by researchers at IOActive was revealed in a report from Wired last week, and is said to affect most AMD processors going back to 2006. While AMD’s security team has been working to get some of these systems patched, Tom’s Hardware reports that the Ryzen 1000, 2000 and 3000 series along with the Threadripper 1000 and 2000 won’t get any such updates.

The company told Tom’s Hardware that these are among “older products that are outside our software support window.” Newer models and all of AMD’s embedded processors have reportedly already received or will be receiving the patch. The Sinkclose flaw is considered to be more of a risk for governments or other large entities than for the average user, and even then, taking advantage of it would require deep access to a particular system. But the researchers who found it warned that it could be disastrous if exploited, letting hackers run code in the chips’ normally protected System Management Mode.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/outdated-amd-chips-reportedly-wont-get-a-patch-for-the-sinkclose-security-flaw-200549740.html?src=rss

Read More 

X has introduced new options for sorting replies that should make it easier to see the comments you’re actually interested in. The social media platform announced that replies can now be sorted by most relevant, most recent and most liked. While the average X user may not be getting hundreds of replies to their posts, the reply section on posts from accounts with thousands or millions of followers can be chaotic. And since replies from blue check users are ranked higher, what shows up at the top may not be what’s newest or most pertinent.
rolling out now: sort replies on any post by most relevant, recent, or liked pic.twitter.com/bBjaRliUxZ— X (@X) August 9, 2024

Being able to sort replies by most recent or most liked could help to cut through some of the noise. X hasn’t said how it will determine which replies are most relevant, but it appears that option just shows replies ranked the way already used to seeing them. The change started rolling out this weekend.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-now-lets-you-sort-replies-so-blue-checks-dont-bury-other-users-comments-173429525.html?src=rss

X has introduced new options for sorting replies that should make it easier to see the comments you’re actually interested in. The social media platform announced that replies can now be sorted by most relevant, most recent and most liked. While the average X user may not be getting hundreds of replies to their posts, the reply section on posts from accounts with thousands or millions of followers can be chaotic. And since replies from blue check users are ranked higher, what shows up at the top may not be what’s newest or most pertinent.

Being able to sort replies by most recent or most liked could help to cut through some of the noise. X hasn’t said how it will determine which replies are most relevant, but it appears that option just shows replies ranked the way already used to seeing them. The change started rolling out this weekend.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-now-lets-you-sort-replies-so-blue-checks-dont-bury-other-users-comments-173429525.html?src=rss

Read More 

The Perseid meteor shower is one we can count on every summer for a great show, weather permitting, and this year’s event reaches its peak tonight. Late Sunday night into the pre-dawn hours of Monday will be the best time to see the Perseids, according to NASA. You’ll want to find a viewing spot with clear, dark skies, but you won’t need any special equipment to get the most out of the experience — the meteors should be plentiful, and visible to the naked eye.
The Perseids come around annually in late July and last several weeks. These meteors (or shooting stars) occur as debris from comet Swift-Tuttle interacts with Earth’s atmosphere, creating colorful streaks of light as the pieces burn up. At its peak, the phenomenon can bring as many as 100 meteors per hour. And, the Perseids have been known to give off an extra spectacular light show. “Perseids are also known for their fireballs,” according to NASA. “Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.”
So find a good spot — ideally after the moon sets — look up, and wait. You may be able to see some natural fireworks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/catch-the-perseid-meteor-shower-at-its-peak-late-tonight-into-tomorrow-153441606.html?src=rss

The Perseid meteor shower is one we can count on every summer for a great show, weather permitting, and this year’s event reaches its peak tonight. Late Sunday night into the pre-dawn hours of Monday will be the best time to see the Perseids, according to NASA. You’ll want to find a viewing spot with clear, dark skies, but you won’t need any special equipment to get the most out of the experience — the meteors should be plentiful, and visible to the naked eye.

The Perseids come around annually in late July and last several weeks. These meteors (or shooting stars) occur as debris from comet Swift-Tuttle interacts with Earth’s atmosphere, creating colorful streaks of light as the pieces burn up. At its peak, the phenomenon can bring as many as 100 meteors per hour. And, the Perseids have been known to give off an extra spectacular light show. “Perseids are also known for their fireballs,” according to NASA. “Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.”

So find a good spot — ideally after the moon sets — look up, and wait. You may be able to see some natural fireworks.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/catch-the-perseid-meteor-shower-at-its-peak-late-tonight-into-tomorrow-153441606.html?src=rss

Read More 

You can get a four-pack of Apple AirTags right now for even less than it went for during Amazon Prime Day. The multipack is currently 26 percent off on Amazon, dropping the price down to just $73. That’s the cheapest we’ve seen it go in recent memory. A pack of four usually costs $99. The individual AirTag is discounted too, if you only need one. Normally $30, a single AirTag right now costs just $24. Apple’s Find My app lets you track as many as 32 items, so you can use AirTags for peace of mind on all your important belongings.

The Bluetooth item trackers are small and can easily be put in a wallet, purse or jacket pocket, but if you want to attach an AirTag to your keys or otherwise secure it to an item, you’ll need to grab a case. There are loads of good AirTag accessories to choose from, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one to fit your needs (and personal style). AirTags use a replaceable battery — the widely available CR2032 lithium 3V coin battery — that should last roughly a year, so you don’t have to worry about charging or having it die on you after a short time.
AirTags use Bluetooth and the massive network of Apple devices out in the wild to place your item’s location on the Find My map. Recent iPhones that have the ultra wideband chip can also use Precision Finding with the Find Nearby feature, to track items you’ve misplaced, like keys that you know are in your home. The app will guide you right to the lost item using arrows and distance indicators, and you can ping the AirTag to play a sound.
The AirTag has an IP67 rating, so it’s splash, water and dust resistant. It’s the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users or anyone who mainly uses devices that are in the Apple ecosystem.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-drops-to-73-on-amazon-142445904.html?src=rss

You can get a four-pack of Apple AirTags right now for even less than it went for during Amazon Prime Day. The multipack is currently 26 percent off on Amazon, dropping the price down to just $73. That’s the cheapest we’ve seen it go in recent memory. A pack of four usually costs $99. The individual AirTag is discounted too, if you only need one. Normally $30, a single AirTag right now costs just $24. Apple’s Find My app lets you track as many as 32 items, so you can use AirTags for peace of mind on all your important belongings.

The Bluetooth item trackers are small and can easily be put in a wallet, purse or jacket pocket, but if you want to attach an AirTag to your keys or otherwise secure it to an item, you’ll need to grab a case. There are loads of good AirTag accessories to choose from, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one to fit your needs (and personal style). AirTags use a replaceable battery — the widely available CR2032 lithium 3V coin battery — that should last roughly a year, so you don’t have to worry about charging or having it die on you after a short time.

AirTags use Bluetooth and the massive network of Apple devices out in the wild to place your item’s location on the Find My map. Recent iPhones that have the ultra wideband chip can also use Precision Finding with the Find Nearby feature, to track items you’ve misplaced, like keys that you know are in your home. The app will guide you right to the lost item using arrows and distance indicators, and you can ping the AirTag to play a sound.

The AirTag has an IP67 rating, so it’s splash, water and dust resistant. It’s the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users or anyone who mainly uses devices that are in the Apple ecosystem.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-apple-airtags-drops-to-73-on-amazon-142445904.html?src=rss

Read More 

Turkey has restored access to Instagram after the social media site agreed to meet the country’s demands around censorship and crime-related content, Bloomberg reports. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced the agreement in a post on X. Instagram was blocked for a little over a week; users in the country abruptly lost access on August 2, but no official explanation for the decision was provided at the time.
However, the block came after Turkey’s head of communications, Fahrettin Altun, accused the platform of censoring posts that expressed condolences for Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader who was recently killed. In the post on Saturday, Uraloglu cited concerns over content relating to catalog crimes — which include murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking and torture, according to Reuters — and censorship imposed on Instagram users. NetBlocks, which first reported that Instagram had been blocked in Turkey earlier this month, confirmed on Saturday that access had begun to return.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/turkey-unblocks-instagram-after-talks-to-address-its-concerns-about-crime-and-censorship-212231212.html?src=rss

Turkey has restored access to Instagram after the social media site agreed to meet the country’s demands around censorship and crime-related content, Bloomberg reports. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced the agreement in a post on X. Instagram was blocked for a little over a week; users in the country abruptly lost access on August 2, but no official explanation for the decision was provided at the time.

However, the block came after Turkey’s head of communications, Fahrettin Altun, accused the platform of censoring posts that expressed condolences for Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader who was recently killed. In the post on Saturday, Uraloglu cited concerns over content relating to catalog crimes — which include murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking and torture, according to Reuters — and censorship imposed on Instagram users. NetBlocks, which first reported that Instagram had been blocked in Turkey earlier this month, confirmed on Saturday that access had begun to return.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/turkey-unblocks-instagram-after-talks-to-address-its-concerns-about-crime-and-censorship-212231212.html?src=rss

Read More 

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention.
Hum by Helen Phillips

Robots have become a regular fixture of the workforce, and humans are losing their jobs to AI. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet. It’s getting harder and harder for the average person to make ends meet. Facial recognition technology is being used for surveillance. Sound familiar? In her new novel, Hum, author Helen Phillips paints a picture of what our near-future could look like.
Its main character, May, has lost her job after technology made her role obsolete, and, desperate for money to support her family, she agrees to participate in an experiment that alters her face to make her undetectable to facial recognition. With the extra cushion from the payment, she takes her husband and children on a short, technology-free vacation to the Botanical Garden — but things go dangerously awry. Hum is a captivating, unsettling work of dystopian fiction that makes it impossible not to draw parallels with our current reality.
Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence by Sara Imari Walker

There’s so much we don’t know about the origins of life on Earth, and how it could appear on other worlds. Arizona State University theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker tackles the enduring question, “What is life?” and so much more in her book, Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence. It explores assembly theory, which, as Walker explained recently as a guest on the Event Horizon podcast, states that “life is the only mechanism the universe has for generating complexity. So complex objects don’t happen spontaneously, they only happen through evolution and selection.”
It’s an endlessly fascinating topic that’s spurred a lot of debate over the years, and Walker’s book presents its case in a way that is compelling and readable even for us non-scientists. It’ll definitely give your brain a bit of exercise, though… and maybe spark some (friendly) arguments. Kirkus called it, “Ingenious, but not for the faint of heart.
Cruel Universe #1

EC Comics’ comeback continues with the release of another new series, Cruel Universe. The recently resurrected publisher dropped the first issue of the science fiction series this week, featuring stories by Corinna Bechko, Chris Condon, Matt Kindt and Ben H. Winters, with art by Jonathan Case, Kano, Artyom Topilin and Caitlin Yarsky. Cruel Universe #1 takes us to an interstellar battle arena, face-to-face with a black hole, on a quest for eternal life and more.
It’s a great followup to last month’s Epitaphs of the Abyss, the new horror anthology from EC. If you liked the old Weird Science comics and EC’s other science fiction series, this is definitely one to check out.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-near-future-dystopian-fiction-and-a-new-approach-to-explaining-lifes-origin-194355528.html?src=rss

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention.

Hum by Helen Phillips

Robots have become a regular fixture of the workforce, and humans are losing their jobs to AI. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet. It’s getting harder and harder for the average person to make ends meet. Facial recognition technology is being used for surveillance. Sound familiar? In her new novel, Hum, author Helen Phillips paints a picture of what our near-future could look like.

Its main character, May, has lost her job after technology made her role obsolete, and, desperate for money to support her family, she agrees to participate in an experiment that alters her face to make her undetectable to facial recognition. With the extra cushion from the payment, she takes her husband and children on a short, technology-free vacation to the Botanical Garden — but things go dangerously awry. Hum is a captivating, unsettling work of dystopian fiction that makes it impossible not to draw parallels with our current reality.

Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence by Sara Imari Walker

There’s so much we don’t know about the origins of life on Earth, and how it could appear on other worlds. Arizona State University theoretical physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker tackles the enduring question, “What is life?” and so much more in her book, Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence. It explores assembly theory, which, as Walker explained recently as a guest on the Event Horizon podcast, states that “life is the only mechanism the universe has for generating complexity. So complex objects don’t happen spontaneously, they only happen through evolution and selection.”

It’s an endlessly fascinating topic that’s spurred a lot of debate over the years, and Walker’s book presents its case in a way that is compelling and readable even for us non-scientists. It’ll definitely give your brain a bit of exercise, though… and maybe spark some (friendly) arguments. Kirkus called it, “Ingenious, but not for the faint of heart.

Cruel Universe #1

EC Comics’ comeback continues with the release of another new series, Cruel Universe. The recently resurrected publisher dropped the first issue of the science fiction series this week, featuring stories by Corinna Bechko, Chris Condon, Matt Kindt and Ben H. Winters, with art by Jonathan Case, Kano, Artyom Topilin and Caitlin Yarsky. Cruel Universe #1 takes us to an interstellar battle arena, face-to-face with a black hole, on a quest for eternal life and more.

It’s a great followup to last month’s Epitaphs of the Abyss, the new horror anthology from EC. If you liked the old Weird Science comics and EC’s other science fiction series, this is definitely one to check out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-near-future-dystopian-fiction-and-a-new-approach-to-explaining-lifes-origin-194355528.html?src=rss

Read More