Archive for February 2018

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Accessories (14)

• Sandisk's super-fast 400GB microSD is ready for 4K HDR video

  It's great that Sony's new Xperia XZ2 smartphone can record 4K HDR video footage, but the bandwidth and storage requirements are bound to be, er, extreme. That's where SanDisk's new 400GB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC card comes in, delivering 160 MB/s read and 90 MB/s write speeds while maintaining compatibility with most devices. It also conforms to the A2 specification (4000 IOPS read and 2000 IPS write), meaning it'll let you launch apps more quickly.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Mu One is an incredibly compact USB-C laptop charger

  While laptops these days are getting thinner than ever, their chargers still aren't very briefcase-friendly. We've already seen a good attempt from MIT spinoff FINsix, but now we have something even more impressive from the other side of the pond. Made in Mind, a company best known for co-founder Min-Kyu Choi's foldable UK plug design, has just unveiled a super compact 45W USB-C international charger dubbed Mu One. This sweet little device supports USB Power Delivery with a maximum voltage of 20V, yet it maintains the same 14mm thickness as its 12W predecessor, thus making it the world's thinnest 45W USB charger. What's more, it's noticeably smaller and lighter than Apple's 29W USB-C MacBook adapter.

  By Richard Lai Read More

• This case turns your iPhone into a modular device

  The modular phone trend hasn't taken off as fast as companies like Motorola would have hoped, what with devices like the Moto Z and Moto Z Force not exactly being a hit. But, that doesn't mean there aren't others trying to mimic that style, even if they aren't doing it with their own phone. Here's where Bay Area-based startup Vibes Modular comes in, as it has built a smartphone case that turns your non-modular iPhone or Android device into one that is. So far, the company has a made a Bluetooth speaker and an external charger that attaches to its cases (compatible with 30 different phones), and in the future it plans to roll out a small projector and a drone.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Moleskine’s latest smart pen saves your writing to download later

  Moleskine has valiantly tried to bridge the divide between analog writing and digital files for years. The company released its Smart Writing Set in 2016 as a $200 holistic solution of pen, proprietary smart paper and app that instantly sent whatever you wrote or drew over to your paired device -- which worked as long as your smartphone or tablet was nearby. But its newest writing implement, the $180 Pen+ Ellipse, liberates you from the latter need, saving all your scratchings in an offline mode until it connects to your device again.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 streams music to multiple Bluetooth devices

  Qualcomm's newest flagship platform, the Snapdragon 845, already promises a lot of things to be excited about in terms of its graphics, camera support and AI processing, and now the company has announced a Broadcast Audio function, which will let users stream music to numerous Bluetooth devices simultaneously. So a group could listen to the same music via Bluetooth headphones, for example, or you could play a podcast throughout your house via multiple speakers. And with automatic retransmission and packet-loss concealment, the feature promises near-perfect synchronization.

  By Rachel England Read More

• The wood-protecting HomePod accessories are already here

  Apple launched its not-so-smart speaker HomePod last week, and it's already suffered a social kerfuffle when users discovered that the device leaves a ring-shaped mark on wooden furniture. Well, find a problem and the peripheral market will rush with a solution: Coasters and stands are popping up to save wooden desks and tables.

  By David Lumb Read More

• RED teaming with Foxconn on smaller, cheaper 8K cameras

  Foxconn plans to build smaller, cheaper 8K cameras in collaboration with cinema company RED, Nikkei reports. "We will make cameras that will shoot professional-quality films in 8K resolution but at only a third of current prices and a third of current camera sizes," CEO Terry Gou told reporters. RED currently has several 8K models, including the 3.35 pound, $30,000 Epic-W 8K (above). That means Foxconn could conceivably produce an 8K camera that costs around $10,000 and weights just over a pound -- less than many DSLRs.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• HP's new 4K display lineup has USB-C connectivity

  HP made its focus on its business audience clear with its latest range of laptops, and now the brand has rolled out a new lineup of 4K displays, and a multiple display dock, to further reinforce its commitment to professional users. The collection includes the new EliteDisplay S270n, plus three Z-series displays in sizes from 27 to 43 inches.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Buzz Aldrin wants you to buy this $150 solar backpack

  Buzz Aldrin: revered engineer, astronaut of our time and now, the face of high fashion backpacks. Bag brand Sprayground has released a new collection, "Mission to Mars", and the campaign sees Aldrin playing the role of a flight coach, modelling the collection's pieces as he hangs around Mars surrounded by attractive astronauts going about their space business. At the center of the collection is a limited edition solar backpack which comes with a power pack, so it's as useful as it is futuristic looking, which you'd expect for its $150 price tag. Aldrin has been increasingly vocal in recent years about his plans to get astronauts to Mars, so at least we know they'll look good when they get there.

  By Rachel England Read More

• This DIY cardboard piano syncs with your favorite MIDI music apps

  From an interactive booklet that helps you build six different electronic toys to Nintendo's own Labo cardboard gadgets, DIY cardboard gizmos and musical instruments are all the rage. Now a company headed up by a former Konami and Sony game developer has taken to Kickstarter for its own folding paper piano, called the Kami-Oto.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• This $30 iPad stylus senses pressure via headphone jack

  Stylus manufacturers have been working hard to replicate the sensation of writing and sketching on tablets over the years, hence the handful of styli that support pressure sensing and palm rejection these days. Unfortunately, these pens don't come cheap, with the Apple Pencil asking for $99 but is still only compatible with the iPad Pro series. Even the other good styli with greater iPad compatibility start at around $50. However, Hong Kong-based GreenBulb has launched a cunning $30 solution dubbed SonarPen on Kickstarter, yet it supports both pressure sensing and palm rejection by making use of the headphone jack. No charging nor wireless connectivity required here, just plug it in and sketch away.

  By Richard Lai Read More

• Alexa can now control your HP printer

  HP has been working on bringing voice control to its printers, introducing Cortana and Google Assistant skills last year that let users tell their virtual assistants to print a variety of different documents for them. Now, as of this week, Alexa-enabled devices can also connect to HP home printers.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Owl is a smarter spin on a dashboard camera

  Owl hopes to do for the dashboard-camera market what the iPod did for portable audio players. That might seem like a tall order for a fledgling startup, but the ambition makes sense for a company led by Andy Hodge, who served as the iPod product lead at Apple for a decade. After a stint at Dropcam, he realized that there's another area where a smart security camera could be useful: inside your car. Given the ever-present threat of accidents, break-ins and mysterious parking lot dings, a cloud-connected dashcam seems like something every driver would want.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Engadget giveaway: Win an HD Pan & Tilt camera courtesy of VTech!

  Once you leave the house, there's no looking back, at least not unless you've outfitted your crib with a remote monitoring system. VTech offers a an easy-to-use solution with its HD Pan & Tilt camera, which provides live streaming video and two-way talk via the MyVTech Cams app. This Wi-Fi device offers in-app gesture controls to pan and zoom, giving you a clear view of your at-home surroundings, even in the dark. Along with the peace of mind that video provides, you can also have a two-way chat with any person or pet in the room (comprehension is up to you). You can also get motion alerts while you're away, for in-home security. This week, VTech has provided us with one of its VC931 HD Pan & Tilt cameras for one lucky reader. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning some extra peace of mind with this VTech monitoring camera. Winner: Congratulations to Chris Z. of Milton, WA!

  By Jon Turi Read More

AI (12)

• AiFi replicates Amazon Go's checkout-free shopping in any store

  Bricks-and-mortar shopping could be about to change forever. Amazon pioneered the automated convenience store with its newly-opened Go supermarket, and now computer vision company AiFi is introducing the first scalable, checkout-free system for stores outside of Amazon's sphere of influence. The technology has the potential to turn enormous retail spaces and small mom-and-pop operations alike into shopping environments of the future, allowing customers to "grab and go" without the hassle of physically checking out.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Canon's AI flash moves by itself to make portraits more flattering

  Camera flashes aren't normally the sexiest products, but Canon has made its Speedlite 470EX-AI a lot more interesting by using artificial intelligence. As photographers know, you're better off bouncing a flash off a wall or ceiling to best flatter subjects, rather than pointing it directly at them. Figuring all that out can be a pain, however, which is where Canon's "AI Bounce" tech comes in. By calculating the distance between the camera, ceiling and subject, it lets beginning photographers "utilize the ideal lighting and natural brightness of the room," Canon explains.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Lighthouse's AI-powered security camera is now shipping

  Lighthouse's intelligent 3D security camera was supposed to ship in September, but now it's finally available for purchase. The camera is priced at $299. At checkout, you can choose either a $10/month AI service plan (with a 90-day free trial) or a lifetime plan of $200, with no further payments required.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• AI is making more realistic CG animal fur

  Creating realistic animal fur has always been a vexing problem for 3D animators because of the complex way the fibers interact with light. Now, thanks to our ubiquitous friend artificial intelligence, University of California researchers have found a way to do it better. "Our model generates much more accurate simulations and is 10 times faster than the state of the art," said lead author Ravi Ramamoorthi. The result could be that very soon, you'll see more believable (and no doubt cuter) furry critters in movies, TV and video games.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Sony may launch an AI-powered taxi hailing system

  Sony definitely isn't the first name you think of when you're looking for a ride, but that might change soon in its native Japan. Nikkei has learned that the tech heavyweight is leading an alliance of taxi companies (Checker Cab, Daiwa Motor Transportation, Green Cab, Hinomaru Kotsu and Kokusai Motorcars) in the creation of an AI-powered hailing platform. The algorithmic system would dispatch taxis more effectively by studying a host of conditions like traffic, weather and events. It might send a horde of drivers near the end of a concert, for instance.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google AI can scan your eyes to predict heart disease

  Alphabet's health science company Verily has announced a wide range of projects, from developing smartwatches made for medical studies to mass-producing infected mosquitoes to curb their population. Scientists from the division now have a new endeavor: Assessing heart disease risk by staring into patients' eyes.

  By David Lumb Read More

• MIT has a new chip to make AI faster and more efficient on smartphones

  Just one day after MIT revealed that some of its researchers had created a super low-power chip to handle encryption, the institute is back with a neural network chip that reduces power consumption by 95 percent. This feature makes them ideal for battery-powered gadgets like mobile phones and tablets to take advantage of more complex neural networking systems.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• UK government has its own AI for detecting extremist videos

  Stemming the tide of extremist online content has been a major focus for tech giants in recent times, but despite their efforts, the UK parliament has condemned companies such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for "consciously failing" to take robust enough action. To mitigate the problem, the Home Office has developed its own AI program that can detect Islamic State (IS) propaganda online with a 99.99 percent success rate.

  By Rachel England Read More

• AI facial analysis demonstrates both racial and gender bias

  Researchers from MIT and Stanford University found that that three different facial analysis programs demonstrate both gender and skin color biases. The full article will be presented at the Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency later this month.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Police in China are scanning travelers with facial recognition glasses

  Police in China are now sporting glasses equipped with facial recognition devices and they're using them to scan train riders and plane passengers for individuals who may be trying to avoid law enforcement or are using fake IDs. So far, police have caught seven people connected to major criminal cases and 26 who were using false IDs while traveling, according to People's Daily.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Data from wearables helped teach an AI to spot signs of diabetes

  In a new study conducted with the UCSF Department of Medicine, a neural network developed by a startup called Cardiogram was able to detect diabetes with nearly 85 percent accuracy, just by looking at people's heart beats over time. And the kicker? As always, the study didn't require any fancy medical hardware — just Apple Watches, Fitbits, Android Wear devices, and other wearables with heart rate sensors.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Pornhub says it will ban 'deepfake' AI-edited videos

  Is the thought of AI-generated fake porn (aka "deepfakes") disturbing to you? You're not the only one. Pornhub has informed Motherboard that it will ban videos that use machine learning to superimpose faces on porn actors. The company forbids "any nonconsensual content," and this certainly qualifies -- more often than not, the face's owner didn't give permission. Pornhub put it on the same level as revenge porn.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

Amazon (26)

• Amazon acquires Ring's smart doorbell business

  If it wasn't already evident that Amazon wants a stronger foothold in the smart home space, it is now. Amazon has acquired Ring, the device maker best known for its smart doorbells. The terms of the deal aren't clear, but it's expected that Amazon will keep the core Ring business intact while finding ways to integrate its work into the Amazon ecosystem. Ring already supports Alexa voice control, so we'd expect more than just obvious tie-ins.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• ‘Transparent’ creator Jill Soloway heads new Amazon book imprint

  Jill Soloway, creator of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning show Transparent, is heading another Amazon project. The company announced today that Soloway will be the editor-at-large of a new Amazon Publishing imprint, Topple Books, which will feature a diverse slate of writers working in narrative nonfiction and fiction. "We live in a complicated, messy world where every day we have to proactively re-center our own experiences by challenging privilege. With Topple Books we're looking for those undeniably compelling essential voices so often not heard," Soloway said in a statement. "I can't think of a more perfect collaborator than Amazon Publishing to make our dream of a revolutionary publishing imprint come true."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Amazon made an escape room powered by Alexa

  During a glitzy Amazon showcase along Barcelona's seafront, the company held two escape room experiences to drill home how very, very excited it is about its action series, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, coming to Prime Video later this year. Now, escape rooms are really popular. So is Amazon's Alexa assistant and all those Echo gadgets it likes to call home. The two things make the perfect storm for 2018. So we tried to solve the (not much of a) mystery.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Amazon’s AR shopping tool is now available on Android

  Last year, Amazon debuted AR View, its augmented reality shopping tool that lets you see how certain items will look in your home before you buy them. At launch, it was only available on iOS, but as of today, 9to5Google reports, it's available on Android devices as well. To use it, open the Amazon app and tap the camera icon in the top right corner of the screen. Select AR View and then you can try out all sorts of products like electronics, furniture and toys.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Amazon secures movie rights for Alafair Burke’s thriller ‘The Wife’

  Amazon Studios is ramping up its efforts in the streaming space lately in a push to focus on bigger movies and television shows. The company hired NBC's Jennifer Salke as its new head executive to take the place of the disgraced Roy Price, and has picked up some high-profile content, like Ian M. Banks' well-regarded Culture novels for a television series. Now Amazon won the rights to Alafair Burke's novel The Wife, which is heavily influenced by the current #MeToo zeitgeist.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Amazon inks deal with Televisa for Spanish-language shows

  Amazon may be producing more and more of its own shows, but it's also playing catch-up trying to follow industry trends in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. To shore up its dearth of Spanish-language content, the company just signed a deal with Televisa to license several of its upcoming scripted series.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Amazon may open up to six more automated stores this year

  Amazon may have opened its automated convenience store a year late, but it looks like it's been a pretty big success. Recode learned that the company plans on opening six more of its Amazon Go stores in 2018. It's not clear where these stores will be located, though Recode reports that more locations are likely in Seattle, and Amazon is in talks with the developer of The Grove in Los Angeles.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Amazon's answer to 'Altered Carbon' is Iain M. Banks' space opera

  It appears that Amazon is looking for its answer to Netflix's crossover sci-fi thriller Altered Carbon. Today, the online retail giant announced that it has acquired the global television rights to Iain M. Banks' space opera series called The Culture. Amazon Studios will adapt the first novel, Consider Phlebas, for television.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Amazon will reward Prime members for shopping at Whole Foods

  Amazon has announced that its Rewards Visa will now offer users the same level of reward when they shop at Whole Foods as they receive at Amazon itself. Eligible Prime members will now receive a flat five percent bonus on all purchases at Whole Foods, just as they do online. By comparison, shopping beyond Amazon's universe will net you two percent back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores, and a single percent elsewhere.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Amazon backs Marie Curie biopic starring Rosamund Pike

  Amazon's latest Prime Video production won't just rely on star power to reel you in -- it should also appeal to science fans. The internet giant is teaming with France's Studiocanal on Radioactive, a biopic covering the work and romance of pioneering radioactivity scientist Marie Curie (and by extension, Pierre Curie). Produced by Persepolis' Marjane Satrapi, it's the adaptation of Lauren Redniss' graphic novel Radioactive and will star Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike. The star of the show may be the science itself, however.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Essential’s Amazon-exclusive phone comes with Alexa onboard

  Oh, you thought Essential was out of new color options to show off? Not quite. The company announced today that a new, so-called Halo Gray model is now available to purchase exclusively from Amazon. Unlike the other, limited-edition versions of the PH-1, this new model goes for $449 rather than $599 and it ships with Amazon's Alexa app pre-installed.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Amazon is refunding Prime phone buyers who paid to remove ads

  Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones have great prices, but there was a big catch. You had to allow ads on your home screen and if you changed your mind later, it could cost up to $50 to opt out. Buyers got a bonus last week when Amazon decided to eliminate the ads, saying they could interfere with facial recognition and cause other issues. That's great, but it what about folks who paid the fee to get rid of them? Amazon has agreed to refund it in the form of a gift card, essentially closing the chapter on its Prime Exclusive phone ad experiment.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Watch your Canary camera feeds on Echo Spot, Echo Show and Fire TV

  Canary introduced a livestream-ready browser interface for its home cameras last August, but now you can command them with your voice, too. The platform now has its own Amazon Alexa skill, permitting users to give directions and watch live streams through the Alexa app on certain devices.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Vizio SmartCast TVs now play nice with Alexa

  Today, Vizio announced that owners of select TV models can now control displays with their voices, thanks to a new Amazon Alexa skill. All 2016 and 2017 SmartCast P-, M- and E-Series 4K models are compatible with this new feature. The 2018 Full HD and HD models will also be able to take advantage of the Alexa skill in coming weeks.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Amazon is reportedly designing AI chips to improve Alexa

  Amazon has begun designing its own AI chips, according to an exclusive report from The Information. The hardware is designed for anything powered by Alexa, including the Echo, and would allow the virtual assistant to respond more quickly by adding speech recognition directly to the device.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• NBC's Jennifer Salke is the new Amazon Studios chief

  Amazon Studios has a head executive once again. Back in October, the film and TV production division's previous chief Roy Price had resigned days after he was publicly accused of sexual harassment. Today, NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke was named as his replacement, and is expected to remain at the network until she transitions into her new position heading Amazon Studios.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Alexa can build Amazon Music playlists for you

  Amazon announced today that Amazon Music listeners will now be able to ask Alexa to make a playlist through their Alexa-enabled devices. Commands like "Alexa, add this to my playlist" and "Alexa, create a new playlist" can be used and users can ask the assistant to add songs to a specific playlist or to create a new playlist from the current song being listened to.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• The Morning After: Amazon plugs Whole Foods into Prime Now

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Morning there! Snapchat sorts itself out, Overwatch gets a new map made especially for Capture The Flag games and police in China are using wearables with face recognition to root out people trying to avoid the law.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Amazon now delivers Whole Foods products to your home in two hours

  Over the past few months, Amazon slowly but surely helped people get used to the idea that it now owns Whole Foods by hawking its wares in the chain's stores. Now it's fully embracing the supermarket chain as part of its identity by making its goods available for purchase via Amazon's Prime Now service. Unfortunately, the offering is only available in select Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach neighborhoods for now, but the company plans to expand its reach to more cities throughout the year.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Gordon Ramsay will insult your sandwiches with Alexa's help

  If your life won't be complete until you've gotten roasted by Gordon Ramsay like that dude in that Super Bowl ad, then Alexa can help make your dream come true. Ground Control, the same interactive audio company behind "Biden's Briefing" that uses the former VP's voice to read news, has released a new Alexa skill that brings the famous chef to your kitchen. Just say "Alexa, ask Gordon Ramsay what he thinks about my [insert food here]," and the skill will "critique" your work.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Amazon’s Echo Look taps into Vogue and GQ for style help

  Magazines are constantly looking at ways to bridge the gap between their paper-based and digital audiences, especially with an ecommerce slant, which has demonstrated its potential in a number of innovative areas, including augmented reality. Now, Condé Nast fashion bibles Vogue and GQ are experimenting with content on the exclusive Amazon Echo Look, which is basically Alexa with a camera (and is only available to purchase by invitation at this stage). From February 19, readers can take a selfie with the Look, send it to the app and get a host of celebrity and fashion content in return, some of which they can buy through the app, with Condé Nast getting a cut of the sale.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Arnold Schwarzenegger will star in Amazon western series

  Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to appear in yet another Terminator film next year, but soon he'll branch out into a new genre for the veteran action hero: Westerns. Amazon is developing a new series called Outrider, with the former California Governor set to play a ruthless Federal Marshall helping a deputy hunt down a legendary outlaw.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Amazon pulls lock screen ads from discounted Prime phones

  Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones are decent bargains over their regular counterparts, but there has always been a catch: your lock screen becomes a billboard. It doesn't really feel like your phone with those ads and offers. You won't have to put up with that marketing for much longer, however. Amazon will sell its Prime-only phones without lock screen ads as of February 7th, and it's pushing an update this week that will strip the promos from existing phones. Amazon's app shortcuts will still be front and center once you've unlocked your phone, but you can always remove those if you don't care for Kindle books or Prime Video. Those who paid to remove ads can get refunds.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Alexa will stay calm during Amazon's Super Bowl ad

  Given that Amazon's latest Super Bowl ad mentions Alexa no less than 10 times, that begs a question: will you have to unplug your Echo speaker to avoid Burger King levels of chaos as it responds to every single utterance? Thankfully, the answer is "no." Amazon has confirmed that it'll use acoustic fingerprinting techniques to prevent Alexa-equipped devices from going into a tizzy during the 90-second commercial. Your gadgets will know they're listening to the ad, not someone in your living room, and will ignore the requests.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 2017 was Amazon's best year for new Prime subscriptions so far

  Amazon's fourth quarterly earnings results has just come in and, as expected, it was a pretty great holiday season for the online retail giant. According to the release, the company made $60.5 billion in the last few months, which is close to a 36 percent increase when compared to this time last year. It all adds up to a Q4 net income of $1.9 billion, its biggest recorded profit ever, partially thanks to a $789 million tax boost.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Jeff Bezos’ master plan is to have no plan

  The richest man in the world has been using his wealth in unexpected ways. Jeff Bezos announced this week that Amazon would create an independent company with JPMorgan and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. The new venture seeks to keep employee health-care costs under control and will initially focus on technology that would "provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost."

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

Apple (32)

• Apple will open its own medical clinics for employees

  Apple is launching its own medical clinics called "AC Wellness," in a move that will allow it to take employee healthcare into its own hands. Following similar news about Amazon's venture with Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, Apple plans to offer what it calls the "world's best health care experience" to workers. It quietly published a website for the venture with a careers page seeking a primary care doctors, nurses, an exercise coach, "care navigator," and on-site lab test personnel.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Apple may launch over-ear headphones without Beats branding

  AirPods may be far from the pinnacle of audio quality, but they're definitely popular -- so much so that Apple may be expanding the variety of audio gear it releases under its own brand. KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a generally good track record forecasting Apple gear) claims that Apple is making over-ear headphones under its own name, rather than Beats. Most details aren't clear, but Apple would reportedly focus on higher-end audio -- hopefully, that means balanced sound rather than Beats' signature tendency to drown you in bass.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple will store China's iCloud keys on local servers

  Apple has already bent over backwards in a bid to keep doing business in China, but it'll have to bend a little further. As of the end of February, the company will host mainland Chinese users' iCloud keys on servers located within the country -- and they'll be jointly run by a state-backed company, Guizhou Cloud Big Data Industry. The company has no choice if it wants to keep offering iCloud to Chinese users, as the law now requires that any cloud services have domestic ownership and store their data within China's borders.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Sony Music chairman leaves to form Apple partnership

  Apple's music exec connections may extend beyond the likes of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. Variety sources have claimed that Sony Music chairman Doug Morris is leaving the publisher at the end of March to help run a new label, 12 Tone, that will have a "partnership" with Apple. What this involves isn't clear, but former Def Jam chief Steve Bartels would join the team.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple Pay Cash nears its first international expansion

  Apple Pay Cash may not be limited to Americans for much longer. Users in Brazil, Ireland and Spain have all reported seeing the peer-to-peer payment service show up in iOS' Messages app, suggesting that launches in their countries (and potentially more) are just around the bend. Apple hasn't officially announced anything yet, but it's hard to imagine the company asking people to configure the feature and letting it sit unused for more than a short while.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Recommended Reading: Tim Cook on Apple's iPhone X, HomePod and more

  Why Apple is the world's most innovative company Robert Safian, Fast Company Apple may be one of the biggest companies in the world, but it still doesn't open up often about how it operates. A few times a year though, we catch a glimpse. Fast Company caught up with CEO Tim Cook back in January to chat Apple's recent run of new gear in an interview that published this week.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Apple's AirPower wireless charging mat could launch in March

  Apple may be close to launching another one of the numerous products it teased last year. Sources talking to both MacOtakara and the Apple Post have claimed that the company's AirPower wireless charging mat should ship sometime in late March, about half a year after its September premiere. This would reportedly include the wireless charging case for AirPods, too. You might have to buy the case directly from Apple if you're upgrading an existing pair of earbuds, but multiple stores would sell a version of the AirPods with the wireless charging case included.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple devices at a California repair center keep calling 911

  Apple devices at a refurbishment facility in Elk Grove, California have been calling 911 multiple times a day for the past few months, CBS Sacramento reports. Since last October, the Elk Grove Police station has received around 20 accidental emergency calls per day, adding up to some 1,600 calls in the last four months. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Communication Center has also received 47 accidental calls from the facility since the beginning of this year.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple is reportedly developing water-resistant AirPods

  Apple plans to release upgraded AirPods regularly, according to Bloomberg, much like how it launches new iPhones like clockwork. The publication says the team that also created HomePod is already developing at least a couple of new versions, including one with an upgraded wireless chip and another that's water resistant. Apple reportedly plans to release the AirPods with an in-house designed chip for managing Bluetooth connections within the year, though it's unclear if its the same W2 chip inside Watch Series 3 devices or something new altogether.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Apple may secure its own battery materials to avoid shortages

  Cobalt is an essential component in lithium ion batteries, making it a crucial material in the production of smart devices and electric vehicles. But, as battery-hungry cars go mainstream, there's a risk that the world's supply will be eaten up by cars, which poses a problem for all of the other things we use. It's why Apple has reportedly entered into direct talks with cobalt miners in the hope of securing a supply of the material itself. Bloomberg reports that the company, which has previously left the effort to its battery manufacturers, has now taken a more active role.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Apple updates all of its operating systems to fix app-crashing bug

  It took a few days, but Apple already has a fix out for a bug that caused crashes on each of its platforms. The company pushed new versions of iOS, macOS and watchOS to fix the issue, which was caused when someone pasted in or received a single Indian-language character in select communications apps -- most notably in iMessages, Safari and the app store.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Apple employees keep walking into their new HQ’s glass walls

  Apple opened its new campus last year -- a stunning, glass wall-filled space meant to encourage collaboration and cooperation. But Bloomberg reports today that this achievement in design appears to have sacrificed some functionality -- a growing theme in Apple products -- because, apparently, Apple employees keep walking into the glass. Sources told Bloomberg that some individuals started sticking Post-It notes to the glass doors and walls in order to make them more noticeable, but they were ultimately taken down because they distracted from the space's design.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple will fix the latest major iMessage bug soon (updated)

  Every so often, a Mac or iOS bug works its way into the wild that'll crash your phone or computer with a single character send via iMessage. The latest iteration of such a bug arrived last night, affecting iOS, Macs and even the Apple Watch, but fortunately Apple is already working on a fix. As reported by The Verge and confirmed by Apple, a fix for iOS is on the way. It'll arrive sooner than the upcoming iOS 11.3 update. All we know so far is that the bug fix update will be available "soon," whereas iOS 11.3 wasn't expected to arrive until the spring. Unfortunately, there's no word about a corresponding fix for the Mac or Apple Watch yet.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Apple’s HomePod may leave marks on wood furniture

  We found Apple's long-awaited HomePod belts out good sound for casual listeners so long as they'd already bought in to the iOS ecosystem (it needs an iPhone or iPad to work. Woof). But on top of sinking deeper into Apple's mobile OS walled garden, new adopters have something else to worry about: HomePod is damaging wooden furniture it sits on.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Apple snags drama series based on Kevin Durant’s childhood

  Apple's slate of original shows keeps growing and growing and the latest project now in development is a drama based on the early life of Kevin Durant. Swagger will focus on youth basketball players, their families and their coaches and will draw on Durant's experiences playing basketball with the Amateur Athletic Union in the Washington DC area. Durant, who currently plays with the Golden State Warriors, is no stranger to the entertainment world. He has an incredibly popular YouTube channel and last month YouTube signed a deal with Durant's Thirty Five Media production company that will bring more sports-centered video content to the platform.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple’s Animojis may come to iPad and FaceTime this fall

  Apple's biggest software updates are always scheduled for a single fall release and today Bloomberg reports on some new features that we can look forward to later this year. First up, third-party apps will be able to work across iPhones, iPads and Mac computers -- a feature we've heard talk of before and will involve both iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Additionally, the iPhone X's Animojis will be getting an upgrade, with new characters and a better menu reportedly on the way as well as the ability to use them in FaceTime. And they won't be relegated to the iPhone X for much longer. Bloomberg says Apple is working on a new iPad that will have the Face ID camera, allowing iPad users to play with Animojis as well.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• HomePod repairs cost nearly as much as a new speaker

  If you're getting a HomePod, be sure to place it somewhere safe... depending on what you break, it might be expensive to get a fix. Apple has updated its support pages to reveal that an out-of-warranty HomePod repair will cost $279 (£269). Throw in the shipping fee ($20 US, or £13) for a mail-in repair and you're not far off from the price of a brand new smart speaker. This is one of those times where the AppleCare extended warranty ($78 if you include the incident fee, or £68) may be the better value, at least if you're in a household where an accident is a real possibility.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Florida man says his Apple AirPod exploded

  A man in Florida claims that one of his Apple AirPods began smoking and later exploded. Florida's WFLA TV reports that the man, Jason Colon, was working out at a gym when he noticed smoke coming from the AirPod in his right ear. He immediately took both AirPods out and placed them on a piece of gym equipment while he sought help, but when he returned, the AirPod in question was charred and broken apart. "I didn't see it happen, but I mean, it was already fried. You can see flame damage," he told WFLA.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple adds live news to its TV app

  As promised, Apple has added live news to its TV app for iOS and tvOS, the platform powering its hockey puck-shaped streaming box. As 9to5Mac notes, the feature currently supports a range of US-centric news organisations including CBS News, CNN, Fox News, Cheddar, CNBC and Bloomberg. Just swipe across to 'Watch Now' and you'll find the News carousel partway down the page. To watch a channel, however, you'll need to download the network-specific app first; Apple's TV app uses single sign-on to manage your various subscriptions and cable-linked access.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Apple signs ‘Big Sick’ writers for a series about immigrant stories

  Apple has added yet another scripted series to its lineup: Little America, a half-hour anthology series based on true stories about immigrants in the US featured in Epic Magazine. The company has tapped Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, writers of the Oscar-nominated indie hit The Big Sick, as well as SMILF executive producer Lee Eisenberg and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang to make the series for Apple.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Apple's 'Amazing Stories' revival loses showrunner Bryan Fuller

  Apple has yet to launch any of the original shows funded by its $1 billion war chest, but it's already losing part of its production team. Hollywood Reporter has learned that showrunner Bryan Fuller (of Star Trek and American Gods fame) has left Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories revival for the tech giant. The departure was "amicable," according to sources, and stemmed from creative differences. Reportedly, Fuller wanted to make a Black Mirror-style show that wasn't what Apple intended.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple may offer rebates on full-price battery replacements

  In early January, Senator John Thune's office sent Apple a letter regarding the company's practice of slowing down iPhones when batteries start showing their age. The letter asked if Apple had thought about replacing batteries for free (instead of the company's plan to offer reduced-price $29 replacements). The senator also asked if Apple had notified customers of the slowdown "feature," and if older iPhones had seen similar strategies. Apple has responded to Thune with its own letter, thanking him for his inquiry.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Apple's Shazam acquisition faces scrutiny from European Commission

  While Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks got good news from the European Commission today, Apple and Shazam weren't so lucky. In December, Apple confirmed that it purchased Shazam for an undisclosed amount believed to be in the range of $400 million. But today the European Commission said that upon request by a number of European nations, it would be assessing the deal. The proposed acquisition wasn't large enough to require evaluation by the EC directly, but Austrian laws required the companies to seek regulatory clearance there. A European Union provision allows EU countries to ask the EC to look at proposed mergers, and Austria did just that. Iceland, Italy, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden then signed onto that request.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple's latest patent teases a Pencil that can draw in mid-air

  Apple's next Pencil could eschew the iPad Pro entirely. The Cupertino company has filed a patent for a stylus that can be used on any flat surface, and maybe even in the air, as spotted by Dutch site TechTastic. The patent title being "Content Creation Using Electronic Input Device on Non-electronic Surfaces" gives us a few ideas of how Apple might pitch this. Which is great considering how light on details the rest of the patent, filed last July and made public in January, is.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Apple briefly pulled Telegram over child pornography distribution

  When Apple temporarily pulled Telegram from the App Store over "inappropriate content," it left many wondering just what that content was. We now know: 9to5Mac has learned that the company removed the app after discovering that people had been distributing child pornography through the app. Apple both contacted Telegram's team and authorities (including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) to both address the specific violation and to ensure that there were "more controls" in place to prevent a repeat.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Chinese man pleads guilty to selling counterfeit Apple gear in US

  Fake Apple devices have been making the rounds for years, but it's rare that they have much sway in the US -- although it looks like one team of bootleggers had a surprising amount of success. Jianhua Li, a Chinese man living in the US on a student visa, has pleaded guilty to charges he trafficked in more than 40,000 counterfeit electronic devices from China between 2009 and 2014, including iPads and iPhones. All told, he received a whopping $1.1 million in payments -- no mean feat for several years of contraband. He wasn't alone in the plot, either, and the scheme was relatively elaborate.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple's iOS 11.3 may use iCloud as a single sign-on for websites

  You might not to log in to your favorite websites one at a time in the near future. The 9to5Mac team has found code in the iOS 11.3 beta hinting at a single sign-on option for the web based on your iCloud account. It's not certain just how it would work, but you would be giving sites permission to access "personal iCloud data" (possibly your name and email address) in return for the convenience. It wouldn't be a password manager, then -- you'd be handing your Apple ID to the sites in question and avoiding much of the login process.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Apple to repair iPhone 7s with 'no service' bug for free

  Today Apple announced it's launching a repair program for a "small percentage" of iPhone 7 owners who are affected by a "no service" issue. Late last year MacRumors said Apple was investigating the problem and appeared ready to replace affected devices, which would display "No service" in their status bar even when cell signal was clearly available. The cause of the problem is apparently a failed component on the logic board, and Apple says affected units (with model #s A1660, A1679, and A1780) extend through its entire production run from September 2016 until now.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Apple's HomePod speaker needs an iOS device to work

  If you were hoping to use the HomePod as a regular Bluetooth speaker, forget about that. Apple has revealed more about the wireless capability and audio sources for its Siri-powered device, and while it has the necessary hardware for Bluetooth streaming, currently it only supports third-party services through Apple's proprietary AirPlay protocol. As was expected, that pretty much eliminates Android and other devices as sources, even if you're running Apple Music, making the HomePod a product strictly for Apple device owners.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Apple sold the most smartphones over the holidays

  Smartphone sales were so slow during the holiday season of 2017, that Apple overtook Samsung to capture the first place in the market, according to IDC and Strategy Analytics. This, despite the fact that iPhone sales dropped during the holidays -- down 1.3 percent from the same period the year before -- and that the iPhone X hasn't been doing as well as Cupertino hoped for. Smartphone manufacturers apparently only shipped 403.5 million units during the holidays last year compared to 430.7 million units in 2016. Samsung, which usually sits at the top of the list, shipped 74.1 million phones in the last few months of 2017, down 4.4 percent from the year before.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Apple's iPhone sales dropped during the holidays

  This past holiday quarter was a particularly notable one for Apple: It released the iPhone X, probably the most hyped and anticipated device the company has launched in many years. And with some grumblings in the financial and media world that the iPhone X isn't selling as well as expected, Apple did indeed slip a little bit. The company just announced that it sold 77.3 million iPhones in its fiscal year Q1, down a scant 1.3 percent compared to the 78.3 million sold one year ago. It's the first time iPhone sales have declined during a holiday quarter since the phone launched, as best we can tell. That speaks both to how saturated the iPhone market is getting, how relatively incremental annual iPhone updates are getting, the massive iPhone X revision aside. Despite that, Apple says the iPhone X has been the top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in early November. It's also worth noting that iPhone revenues increased 13 percent year-over-year despite sales slipping -- that speaks to the higher sales price of the iPhone X. If Apple can keep on bringing in more money, it'll likely not get too worried about the small sales dip.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Apple removes Telegram from App Store due to inappropriate content (updated)

  Telegram and an experimental app called Telegram X that the company announced for Android yesterday have been removed from Apple's App Store, 9to5Mac reports. A Reddit user posted about the absence yesterday. While one Redditor said Telegram support had told them that the removal was unintended and both apps should be back in the store sometime soon, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov tweeted that the removals were intentional. He said, "We were alerted by Apple that inappropriate content was made available to our users and both apps were taken off the App Store." He added that the apps would be available again once protections were put into place.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

Apps (34)

• Paste Music and Daytrotter made a free app for live music lovers

  You have a few options when it comes to streaming music and whether you're subscribed to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or something else, there's a lot of music right at your fingertips. But live recordings offer their own sort of listening pleasure, and while you may find some on those streaming services, Paste Music thinks you should have access to a ton of them all in one spot. Together with its sister site Daytrotter, Paste Music has just launched an app that brings together hundreds of thousands of live recordings for you to enjoy including concerts, comedy performances and interviews. And similar to what NPR did with its One app, Paste Music and Daytrotter's lets you take their sites' offerings with you on the go and personalize your listening experience.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• 'My Tamagotchi Forever' app arrives on March 15th

  You ready to give a cute virtual pal some food, bath and TLC? If you miss your Neopets and Tamagotchi days, then keep an eye out for My Tamagotchi Forever, which will be available for Android and iOS devices on March 15th, 2018. Bandai Namco is bringing its beloved virtual pets to smartphones for their 20th birthday, and this time, they're no longer pixelated blobs asking for attention. In this new version, the pets looks more like the villagers in Animal Crossing and is even set in a town with other inhabitants they can make friends with.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Parrot app automatically edits your drone videos

  Drone videos can be spectacular, but editing them? Not so much -- don't be surprised if you spend hours cutting 10 minutes of footage into something worth watching. Parrot thinks there's a better way. It's adding a Flight Director feature to its FreeFlight Pro mobile app (for Android and iOS) that automatically edits your drone footage. Algorithms study the drone's behavior and produce videos up to 3 minutes in length based on a handful of criteria, including the style (chronological, cinematic or trailer), pre-made themes and other existing footage. The biggest dilemma may be choosing your soundtrack.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Airfox's mobile wallet aims to replace banks in emerging countries

  Mobile wallet applications aren't anything novel, but most of the existing ones (like Venmo or Square Cash) all have something in common: they require people to have a bank account or a debit/credit card to use them. That's where Airfox differentiates itself. The app is geared toward "unbanked" users in emerging markets who may not have a credit history, due to lack of resources or because they're generally not fans of banks. Part of how Airfox plans to succeed is by adopting services that are already offered in certain countries. Like in Brazil, for example, which is the first place the app's launching. There, users can put money in the app through a "Boleto," a popular paper-based payment method that can be loaded by depositing cash in ATMs.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Plex adds DVR scheduling to its Apple TV app

  Halfway through 2017, Plex started offering live TV and DVR features for users willing to cough up $5 a month. They still needed a tuner of their own, to avoid any Aereo-like shenanigans, but it was still great for cord-cutters. Now, Plex is adding more features to the Apple TV app for its DVR system, enabling users to schedule recordings and view closed captions.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Netflix is testing a navigation bar on Android

  Netflix is looking to replace its slide-out menu with something much more visible and easier to access, based on the new user interface it's releasing to beta testers. As Android Police has noted, the streaming platform has started testing a navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, completely getting rid of the hamburger menu you'd have to tap to get to the slide-out panel. The new design will make it easier to access your offline downloads and to see what's coming soon. Netflix also moved the Search function from the upper right portion of the screen to the bottom bar, where it gets a bigger icon.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• iTunes Store drops support for Windows Vista on May 25th

  Ah, 2007: the days when Windows Vista was all the rage (or inducing rage), the Apple TV was brand new and music download stores were the hottest way to get the latest albums. Apple certainly remembers that year... and would like you to move on. The company has posted a support page warning that the iTunes Store will no longer work on Windows XP, Windows Vista and first-generation Apple TVs as of May 25th. iTunes itself will function, but new purchases and re-downloads are off limits. "Security changes" necessitate dropping these older platforms, Apple said.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Chrome's pull-to-refresh starts making its way to Chromebooks

  Chrome on Chromebooks and Windows-2-in-1 devices is on its way to becoming more like its sibling on mobile. As lucasban has posted on Reddit, the pull-to-refresh gesture is now available on the browser's developer channel for those platforms. While the feature might not make that much of a difference as it does on mobile -- Chrome for those devices has a pretty accessible refresh button -- the iOS/Android version's touch control will still make a great addition for the touchscreen laptop-tablet hybrids.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 'Alto's Odyssey' took three years to make, and that's all right

  It's been three years since Snowman, a tiny independent studio based in Toronto, launched Alto's Adventure on iOS devices. Back then, the Alto crew was three people -- Ryan Cash, Harry Nesbitt and Jordan Rosenberg -- and Alto's Adventure was their first real game. They didn't know what to expect when they published it in the App Store for $2.99 in Feb. 2015, but the team hoped for the best. That launch changed everything. Alto's Adventure was a huge success. Players devoured the serene, soothing experience set on the slopes of a snowy mountain range -- it was an endless-runner snowboarding and llama-herding game, and its only mechanic involved tapping the screen to jump. Though gameplay was simple, the atmosphere and art told a larger story about comfort, risk and the warmth of home. Apple users ate it up, and the next year, Android players got a taste as well.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• LastPass rolls out Android Oreo autofill to the public

  No need to sign up for LastPass beta anymore if Android Oreo has already made it to your device. The password manager has started rolling out autofill to the stable app for Google's latest mobile platform, according to the company's director of engineering, Anatoly Ivasyuk. If you've already been testing for LastPass, though, take note that you won't be able to uninstall the beta version of the app yet.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Anchor turns itself into a one-stop podcast creation app

  Anchor started off as a social network for audio -- the app let users make quick, impromptu broadcasts to their followers straight from their phone. But the company started seeing more and more people using it to make full-on podcasts, so it added features to push Anchor recordings to Apple Podcasts and Google Play last summer. That turned the app into a one-stop shop for amateur podcasting. The success of that feature has led Anchor to fully re-do its app and mission. Its goal now is to remove all the pain points and costs of making a podcast, from start to finish.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Signal Messenger receives $50 million from WhatsApp co-founder

  WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton left Facebook in 2017 to start a non-profit. Turns out that non-profit involves another messaging app: Signal. In a blog post, Signal chief Moxie Marlinspike has announced the launch of Signal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was made possible by the $50,000,000 in funding Acton provided. Signal's secure messaging app is a popular choice among privacy-focused users, including staff members of the US Senate. Even though it's a fairly recognizable name, it's been having financial troubles that make it hard to hire more people to develop new features.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 'Alto's Odyssey' arrives on the App Store a day early

  The buzz around Alto's Adventure sequel Alto's Odyssey has been brewing for over a year and now it's finally arrived -- a day early. Originally slated for release on February 22, keen-eyed fans have spotted it in the iTunes store today, meaning players have the opportunity to lose a whole extra day to the addictive infinite runner. As with the game's predecessor, though, Android users will have to wait before they can contend with the fresh challenges presented by Alto's desert landscape. In an email to Android Authority, Ryan Cash from Snowman, the team behind the series, said, "We aren't committing to a release date at the moment, but we're hoping to get an Android version out in the months ahead."

  By Rachel England Read More

• Swype is reportedly bidding the consumer keyboard biz farewell (update)

  It may be time to find a new go-to keyboard if you're still using Swype after all these years. Swype parent company Nuance told XDA Developers that the development of Swype with Dragon Dictation for Android has been discontinued. No more future updates, no more new features -- the keyboard is apparently dead. Further, the publication also found a post on Nuance's ZenDesk from early February, announcing that the company is also killing Swype for iOS and that it'll no longer be available on the App Store for download.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google's Indian mobile money app can pay bills in a few taps

  Manually paying your bills online usually involves jumping between multiple apps or websites, but Google might have an easier way. Its Tez mobile money app for India now includes a bill payment feature that lets you handle all those recurring costs in one place. You can add from a list of 80-plus companies (including utilities and telecoms) and pay directly from your bank account with a few taps. You get notifications when bills pop up, so you shouldn't forget about a bill until it's too late.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Wikipedia ends no-cost mobile access for developing countries

  The Wikimedia Foundation launched Wikipedia Zero in 2012 with the hopes of democratizing information through a simple concept: cellular carriers in developing countries would offer access to its crowdsourced knowledge without charging data fees. However, it appears to have run its course. The organization has discontinued Zero with plans to phase it out through 2018. Wikimedia has stopped forming new carrier partnerships, and will let its existing alliances end over time. There has been a "significant drop off" in involvement since 2016, Wikimedia said, and that participation is necessary to keep Zero alive.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google app beta adds built-in screenshot-editing tools

  Google app is extremely close to rolling out a built-in screenshot-editing tool -- so close that you can now try it out as a beta tester on Android. If you join the app's beta program and download version 7.21, you'll find an option that says "Edit and share screenshots" under settings and then under Accounts & Privacy. Toggle that on, and you'll see a panel pop up from the bottom of the page whenever you take screenshots anywhere you are within the Google app.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Twitter pulls the plug on its official Mac app

  We had high hopes about Twitter for Mac after the company acquired Tweetie and put its name on the desktop app, but now Twitter is shutting it off. This evening its Support account revealed that its app has been pulled from the Mac store, and in 30 days "will no longer be supported." Twitter said that it's "focusing our efforts on a great Twitter experience that's consistent across platforms" so users will have to use the website, Tweetdeck or third-party apps. It's not really surprising either -- back in 2015 we predicted that a 2018 update might bring already-behind the curve features like timeline syncing, but it was not to be. Most hardcore users are probably opting for other apps that have survived over the years like Tweetbot or Twitterific, so this news is more of a sad closing note to the app's development than a major loss.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Microsoft’s latest app moves photos from phones to PCs over WiFi

  Microsoft Garage makes all kinds of mobile apps for iOS and Android. Some, like the Hub keyboard for iPhone, are experiments; others, like the News Pro app, are a bit more long-term. The team's most recent foray into mobile apps is Photos Companion, an app that easily moves photos from your phone to your Windows 10 PC over WiFi.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Viveport VR subscriptions will cost $2 more starting March 22nd

  HTC launched a monthly subscription for VR apps last spring, allowing users to choose up to five titles per month for $6.99/£6.99. As of March 22nd though, the price of that Viveport plan is going up. The company announced today that beginning next month, a Viveport subscription will cost $8.99/£8.99. However, there are a few caveats. First, existing customers will stay with the original $6.99 price through "at least" the end of the year.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Google's Phone app is getting chat heads like Facebook Messenger

  An update rolling out to Google phones, including Pixel and Android One devices, will give the Phone app a new but familiar feature. Android Police has discovered in an APK teardown that the app is getting circular floating chat heads, which are pretty much identical to Facebook Messenger's. They'll appear when you leave the call screen -- you can drag them anywhere on your display, and they'll stay visible on top of other apps. You'll also see a menu when you tap on the icon, with options to go back to call, to mute, to put it on speakerphone or to end it. Unfortunately, it's unclear if it'll eventually make its way to all Android devices.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Mac and iOS bug crashes apps with a single character

  Apple only recently fixed a bug called "chaiOS" that would cause iMessage on iOS devices and Macs to crash with a simple link, and now it's got another, more widespread issue on its hands. As explained by Mobile World and replicated by The Verge, a lone Indian-language character is capable of crashing a number of messaging apps on iOS. The problem also extends to the Apple Watch and even Macs, all of which struggle to process the character specific to the Telugu language spoken in India.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• 'Silent Streets' sequel beefs up the AR sleuthing on iOS

  Silent Streets was an odd mix of walking simulator and AR-based Victorian detective story, but clearly the mix of genres was a hit. Funbakers, the studio behind the game, has already cooked up a sequel, Silent Streets: The Mocking Bird, that'll see players return to the murky world of Snowport. There, they'll be tasked with solving a series of grisly murders in, and around, the world of backroom boxing.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Facebook’s controversial Messenger Kids app arrives on Android

  Facebook's Messenger app for kids launched in December, though only for iOS, and last month, Facebook made it available for Amazon Fire tablets. Now, TechCrunch reports, and Facebook confirmed to us, that Messenger Kids will be available for Android devices starting today. The app gives parents the control over who their kids talk to, allowing them to add or delete contacts, and sends them notifications if their children report or block anyone they've been chatting with. For kids, the app provides them with a way to text or video chat with their friends and family while offering all of the visual fun of GIFs, frames, emojis and masks. And maybe the best part, kids don't need a Facebook account to use it, only their parents do. However, the app has drawn skepticism from those concerned about exposing kids to social media and overuse of digital technology.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• 'Alto's Odyssey' reaches your phone on February 22nd

  Built by Snowman's Alto's Odyssey has been public knowledge for more than a year (and was subject to a last-minute delay in late summer), but it's finally here... almost. The Alto's Adventure sequel is now slated to launch on iOS and Apple TV devices February 22nd with a not-too-unreasonable $5 price tag. As before, Odyssey takes the endless boarding concept to a desert landscape that throws fresh challenges into the mix. You'll have to contend with natural hazards (including lemurs) and take advantage of hot air balloons, shifting grind rails and wall rides in order to keep moving.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• VLC update adds Chromecast and HDR support

  If you're any kind of media nerd you know about VLC, the software video player that can handle just about any format or codec you throw at it. It's also on a ton of platforms, like macOS, Windows, Linux and even Xbox One. Now the ubiquitous app has a brand new version that supports hardware decoding for 4K and 8K playback, more 360-degree video and 3D audio, HDR and HDR tone-mapping, streaming to Chromecast and more.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• WhatsApp starts digital payment tests in India

  WhatsApp has finally started testing the digital payments feature it's been working on since early 2017. The Facebook-owned chat app is currently giving a limited number of users in India the chance to give its built-in payments feature a spin. Based on the screenshots shared by UI designer Nagender Rao Savanth‏, testers will have to verify their phone number via SMS to be able to use the government-backed Unified Payments Interface within the app. They can then choose among the pretty large list of banks available, including the State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, which are some of the biggest in the country.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• This year's new emoji include redheads, legs and a salt shaker

  There are 157 new emoji coming this year. What made the cut? Ginger-haired people, female superheroes, dark-skinned folks with curly hair, pirate flags and... soap. There are also skin-tone options and genders for superheroes and supervillains, a test tube, salt (finally), a leg, balding people and a male and female option for white hair. Unicode says that the set is finalized and that they should start appearing on your phones and other devices as soon as August. Sure, that's still six months away, but it gives you time make a request for the next emoji set before March's deadline. For a quick visual overview of what's coming, check the video below.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Google adds AR objects to its GIF-making Android app

  Google is the latest company to borrow Snapchat's augmented reality features, although this time it's not grafting them on to a social app. The company has released a new version of Motion Stills for Android that brings AR objects to your animated GIFs and videos. You can add chickens, dinosaurs and other objects to any horizontal surface in your shot, whether it's your hand, a plant or a table. And importantly, you don't have to be finicky when capturing your footage to make the result seem 'natural' -- it's using instant motion tracking tech that avoids the jarring visual anomalies you sometimes get in AR.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Nike will reward your workouts with shoes and Apple Music playlists

  Nike is gamifying fitness even further with its new reward system for the Nike Plus app. These range from unlocking curated playlists on Apple Music, guided meditation exercises on Headspace, Class Pass credits or maybe even a custom t-shirt for your efforts.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Resistbot is ready to contact your senator when you tweet

  Launched early last year as a form of resistance against the Trump administration, Resistbot allows anyone to send faxes to their congressional representatives. Now the service is headed to Twitter, which makes a lot of sense given the service's rise in stature with our head tweeter-in-chief.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Chrome OS update comes with Spectre fix and new screenshot shortcut

  Chrome OS version 64 has made its way to stable channel, which means it's hitting your device very, very soon if it hasn't yet. It'll add a handful of new features and improvements, including a screenshot shortcut if you have a Chromebook with a 360-degree hinge like the Acer Spin. You only have to press the power and the volume down buttons at the same time, like what you'd do on an Android phone. It also adds a flag to make Split View easier to activate and gives Android apps the ability to run in the background. In addition, the update improves your lockscreen's performance, presumably making it faster, and finally enables the use of VPN for apps downloaded from Google Play.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Spotify teams with Discord to soundtrack your gaming chats

  Spotify and gaming chat app Discord are joining forces so your entire channel can bump to the same music during a raid. Starting today, you can link your Spotify Premium account to your Discord account and keep the beats rocking for your entire community. "All users are now able to instantly highlight and share their favorite tunes with their friends across Discord," Spotify writes.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Slack is the latest app to ditch the Apple Watch

  Like Twitter, Amazon, and Google Maps before it, Slack is ditching its Apple Watch app. The team chat and collaboration platform for businesses quietly announced the news via an update to its iOS app. But, that doesn't mean Slack will disappear entirely from your wrist.

  By Saqib Shah Read More

Big Tech (26)

• PayPal settles with FTC over Venmo disclosure and transfer policies

  The FTC filed a complaint against PayPal over its Venmo peer-to-peer payment service back in 2016. The trade commission alleged that Venmo did not adequately disclose that customer transfers to external bank accounts were subject to review and could be frozen or removed. The FTC's filing also said that Venmo misled consumers around privacy as well as how protected their accounts were and violated the Privacy and Safeguard Rules of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. PayPal has just settled with the FTC around these allegations. No monetary penalties have been levied for the infractions.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Tesla Powerwall systems help some Hawaii schools beat the heat

  Tesla shipped Powerwall batteries to Puerto Rico last fall -- and to Australia last December -- and now it's helping Hawaii. Again. Specifically, it supplied equipment to the island state to help schools combat Hawaii's tropical temperature and relative humidity. Roadshow reports that Tesla shipped some 300 batteries and solar panels to the island as a way of keeping schools cool using renewable energy. This was after state government challenged the local department of education to cool an additional 1,000 classrooms without bumping electricity usage.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Qualcomm open to Broadcom merger for the right price

  Qualcomm has long rebuffed a merger with rival chipmaker Broadcom, but now it looks like the two companies may be closer to a deal. Today, Qualcomm's Chairman of the Board Paul E. Jacobs sent a letter to Broadcom's CEO, Hock Tan. In it, Jacobs outlined that the bulk of Qualcomm's issues have been addressed, but the companies are still too far apart on pricing. Broadcom's current offer is $79 per share (it was previously $82 per share), but Qualcomm's board believes that severely undervalues the company.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Dropbox's IPO filing reveals 500M users but a $1 billion deficit

  In a move reminiscent of Snap's IPO journey, Bloomberg sources claimed last month that Dropbox had quietly filed to become a public company. Suspicious hires last year had tipped their hand, and we waited to see what would happen for a company valued over $10 billion a few years ago. Today, Dropbox's IPO filing surfaced, and while we still don't know what day its stock will hit the market, their documentation pulls back a bit of the veil on the company's situation as it gears up to go public.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Airbnb rolls out luxury rentals and new benefits for users

  Airbnb is once again shaking up how its customers find and book accommodations. At a press conference in San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium on Thursday, the company unveiled a slew of new reservation and website features including new property types, new rental tiers, and "Airbnb Collections" for large groups. The company also announced its commitment to reinvest within its user communities through its revamped Superhost and Superguest programs which will launch later this year.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Spotify’s hardware ambitions seem like a risky distraction

  Look, it's no secret that Spotify is out to make its own hardware. As of last April, Spotify was already looking for people to help craft "a category-defining product akin to Pebble Watch, Amazon Echo and Snap Spectacles." (In hindsight, Spotify's HR team probably should've left that last thing off the list.) More recently, a new set of job listings for hardware-production managers and operations manager suggest Spotify is finally gearing up to build... well, whatever these things are. Consider us skeptical. After all, this is a company with zero hardware and supply-chain experience — the odds of striking it big with gadgets don't seem great.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Judge rejects AT&T request for White House records on Time Warner merger

  After the Department of Justice filed suit last November to block AT&T's intended $85 billion merger with Time Warner, the telecom giant wanted to find out how much the White House was involved. The company had good reason to wonder how much direction the DOJ may or may not have taken from the Trump Administration given how much the President had publicly opposed the merger during his 2016 campaign. But today, a federal judge denied AT&T's request for any communications records between the DOJ and the White House.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Tesla's latest smart power grid experiment begins in Canada

  Tesla's experiments with smart power grids are headed further North. Canada's Nova Scotia Power recently finished setting up a pilot project that will use a combination of Tesla's Powerwall 2 home batteries and utility-grade Powerpack batteries to create a more reliable wind power system. The Elmsdale-based Intelligent Feeder Project fills gaps in the electrical grid by topping up the Powerpacks whenever a nearby wind turbine system generates excess power, and delivering that stored energy to local homes (including those with Powerwall 2 batteries) when there's an outage or the turbine system falls short.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Uber is reportedly preparing to sell its Southeast Asia business

  Late last year Uber sold off its business in China to a competitor, and now it looks like the Southeast Asia region could follow a similar path. CNBC reports that it's preparing to make a deal with Grab, a company that claimed to have 95 percent of ride-hailing business in the region last year. Grab was in the middle of raising a $2.5 billion round of investments from sources including (recent Uber investor) Softbank when it made that claim, and the rumored deal would give Uber a "sizable" stake in its competitor. If this happens, it could, like the company's settlement with Waymo over trade secrets, help Uber pave the way for an IPO soon.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Coinbase promises refunds after repeatedly charging crypto fees

  A number of Coinbase customers found themselves hit with duplicate charges for a single card-based purchase over the past few days. Some even reported losing tens of thousands after being charged 17, even 50, times. In a blog post updating customers about the situation, the cryptocurrency exchange has promised to "ensure that each affected customer will be refunded in full for any erroneous charge." The company said that after conducting an internal investigation, it has determined that the problem was a result of Visa reversing and then recharging transactions. As you know, it usually takes a while for both debit and credit card refunds to show up.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Peter Thiel might be getting out of Silicon Valley

  The Wall Street Journal reports today that Peter Thiel -- billionaire, investor and Gawker-killer -- might be cutting many of his ties with Silicon Valley. The paper spoke to sources it says are familiar with Thiel and his plans and they said that the shift is largely due to the Bay Area's left-leaning politics and what Thiel sees as its intolerance for conservative views. Supposedly, he's considering leaving Facebook's board and plans to move to Los Angeles. Thiel Capital and Thiel Foundation, companies that manage his investments, may also be relocated to LA.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Verizon gives a year of free Netflix to new FiOS customers

  Telecoms have been handing out free video services like candy in a bid to win you over, and Verizon is finally following suit. The network is offering a year of free Netflix if you sign up online for a FiOS "triple play" (internet, TV and phone) at $80 per month. This includes both new and existing accounts, and Verizon will cover Netflix costs up to $10.99 per month.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Sony's STEM-focused coding toy is ready for classrooms

  The first product from Sony's Global Education division, a candy-colored robot-building toy called Koov, is now ready for all of us to order. The toy, which is Sony's attempt to topple Lego Mindstorms' dominance in the STEM toy market, comprises of blocks that you can put together with motors and sensors. Once you've constructed something, you can then head over to the iOS, Windows or OS X app to program its behavior.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Samsung's Bixby leader leaves for Google

  Samsung's ambitions in services just took a bit of a blow. ZDNet has learned that Samsung's software research CTO Injong Rhee has left the company to become an "Enterpreneur in Residence" at Google. The 7-year veteran was important to the development of Samsung Pay and the company's Knox security platform. He also led the initial deployment of Samsung's in-house AI assistant, Bixby. Whatever you think of those products, he made them stand out -- no mean feat in a company better-known for its cutting-edge displays and processors than its software.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Intel put on an Olympic light show with 1,218 drones

  The Winter Olympics' opening ceremony took place today in Pyeongchang and it featured a light show from a record-breaking 1,218 drones, Wired reports. The display was created with Intel's Shooting Star drones, the same ones used in Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show last year and Intel's CES keynote in January, and featured drone murmurations that depicted images like a snowboarder and the interlocking Olympic rings.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's revised takeover bid

  Broadcom will have to try again in its bid to take over Qualcomm. The Snapdragon chip-maker has rejected a revised proposal to buy all of its outstanding shares, stating that it "materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the Board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction." As a refresher, Broadcom had originally offered to pay $130 billion to acquire all of Qualcomm back in November. That sum was rejected, so Broadcom followed up this month with a revised proposal that valued Qualcomm's shares at $82 each.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Snap is backing away from reckless experiments and that’s okay

  When Snap first started selling its video-recording glasses, the hype was real. The company had only focused on software before that and was dipping its toe into hardware with a relatively simple product. Add to that the device's limited availability via sporadic pop-up stores, and Spectacles fever spread rapidly. But hype alone cannot sustain a business. A year and a half later, with 150,000 Spectacles sold and hundreds of thousands reportedly languishing in warehouses, the furor has officially died out, apparently along with Snap's hardware ambitions.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Walmart's latest acquisition shows it's serious about VR

  Walmart isn't just interested in bringing tech into its stores -- it might change how you shop at home as well. The company has acquired a virtual reality startup, Spatialand, to form the cornerstone of its VR initiatives both in stores and out. The team had already been working with Walmart's Store No. 8 tech incubator and will be folded into that group as part of a new VR company, with incubator head Katie Finnegan serving as the VR firm's interim chief. But just what will this company be working on, exactly?

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Twitter's AR boss departs after 18 months

  Twitter's head of AR/VR, Alessandro Sabatelli, has announced he's leaving the company after just 18 months with the site. His departure comes during a period of AR activity for Twitter's competitors -- Apple, Google and Facebook have all been busy showing off their AR/VR development platforms -- while things have been relatively quiet for Twitter, whose most significant work in the area was its work on Live 360 video in Periscope in December 2016. With no word yet on Sabatelli's replacement, or if he will be replaced at all, it seems likely that Twitter is now revisiting its plans for, and position within, the AR space. After three and a half years I'm moving on from Twitter (actual elapsed time 18 months). It's been an incredible ride and I've had the great pleasure to work alongside some amazing people! Together we managed to ship product while having fun. Thanks everyone #???? pic.twitter.com/i0v9P9clrK — Alessandro Sabatelli (@s4l4x) February 6, 2018

  By Rachel England Read More

• Lawmakers call on US to extend conditions of Comcast-NBC merger

  When Comcast acquired NBCUniversal back in 2011, the deal came with strings attached: among others, it had to abide by 2010-era net neutrality rules, provide affordable internet to low-income families and avoid discriminating against rivals. Well, all those conditions have lifted... and that's not making some officials happy. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Senator Richard Blumenthal have written an op-ed calling on the government to either extend those conditions or institute new rules relevant to the modern era. The communications giant has discovered ways of using its resources to "harm consumers and competition," the lawmakers argued, and some of those have violated the FCC's terms for the merger.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Broadcom hopes to woo Qualcomm with a higher takeover bid (updated)

  Broadcom clearly isn't taking Qualcomm's "no" for an answer. Reuters sources have claimed that the wireless chip giant is about to raise its takeover bid for Qualcomm from $70 per share to between $80 and $82 per share -- a huge increase for a deal that would have already set records. It would also include a "higher-than-usual" breakup fee in case regulators put the kibosh on the merger. While details are reportedly in flux, Broadcom would announce the sweeter offer on February 5th.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Tesla will create 'virtual power plant' with 50,000 Australian homes

  Tesla isn't done bolstering Australia's power grid just because its giant battery farm is up and running. South Australia premier Jay Weatherill has unveiled a partnership that will provide 5kW solar panels and Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries to "at least" 50,000 homes in a bid to create the largest-ever "virtual power plant," where homes contribute their surplus energy to the grid. The move will theoretically stabilize the Australian state's electricity infrastructure, reducing the blackouts and surging prices that have plagued the region in recent times.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Tesla will sell solar panels and Powerwalls at Home Depot

  Just how much is the average consumer interested in solar power? Tesla is about to find out, as it is bringing photovoltaic panels and Powerwall batteries to US retail giant Home Depot, Bloomberg reports. Elon Musk's company will install Tesla-branded selling spaces at 800 locations, with its own employees on hand to explain the benefits. Later on, sources say it may also bring the much-anticipated solar roof, which generates electricity but looks and costs like a regular (high-end) roof.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Sony CEO completes quest to make the company successful again

  If the news that Sony CEO Kaz Hirai will be stepping down in a few months came as a bit of a surprise this morning, then the latest peek at the company's books is a return to something more predictable. In the third quarter of Sony's fiscal year -- covering October through December 2017 -- its Playstation division continued to pull in the most money. Sales of home entertainment and audio gear, as well as camera components, were particularly strong over those three months; and unlike last quarter, smartphone income was in the positive, too.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Sony CEO Kaz Hirai will step aside on April 1st

  We're only a few hours away from Sony's latest quarterly earnings report, but Sony has announced that CEO Kaz Hirai will be replaced as of April 1st. While CFO Kenichiro Yoshida is named as his replacement, Hirai will become Chairman, just as Howard Stringer did when Hirai replaced him in 2012. Hirai will retire as CEO with Sony in a much better state than when he took over, after turning its businesses around under his One Sony strategy. Over the last few years, Sony has cut costs repeatedly, selling its Vaio PC operation, revamping the way it makes and sells TVs and refocusing its mobile business. One incident that marred Hirai's tenure as chief was the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures -- its leader Michael Lynton left about a year ago and the studio is leading in the box office so far for 2018 with Jumanji. When it reports earnings it will likely show huge profits based on the PS4 and the smartphone camera components it sells. Yoshida has proven himself as a key player in the turnaround since becoming CFO in 2013, prioritizing the PlayStation business that has been a visible sign of the company's resurgence. This change comes just after Hirai's successor at PlayStation, Andrew House, also departed the company late last year. Under Yoshida's leadership, Sony will announce a new plan for the future and new management structure on April 1st. In a statement, Hirai said "As the company approaches a crucial juncture, when we will embark on a new mid-range plan, I consider this to be the ideal time to pass the baton of leadership to new management, for the future of Sony and also for myself to embark on a new chapter in my life." According to Yoshida, "My first priority will be to finalize our next mid-range corporate plan starting in April, together with our immediate business plan for the fiscal year 2018, and then move ahead swiftly with implementation."

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Elon Musk sells all 20,000 $500 Boring Company flamethrowers

  Just a few days after opening pre-orders for $500 Boring Company-branded flamethrowers, Elon Musk has announced that all 20,000 have been sold. That's $10 million in sales for a product that will ship in spring (hopefully) on a website that admits it's overpriced and said: "You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere." At least, according to Musk, each order will come with a complimentary fire extinguisher, and, of course, will help fund his tunnel-digging exploits. If you missed out and absolutely must have a flamethrower ASAP, there are others available. USA Today points out the XM42-M from Ion Productions Team that's a bit more expensive at $899, but promises a range of over 30 feet. If it absolutely must be Musk, however, don't despair -- he tweeted that a "snowthrower" would be fun.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

Buying Guides (7)

• Ask Engadget: Is a 4K monitor the best choice for my desk?

  The support shared between readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. We truly value the time and detail you all spend in responding to questions from your fellow tech-obsessed commenters, which is why we've decided to bring back the much-missed "Ask Engadget" column. This week's question comes from a reader who is interested in a 4K monitor purchase but unsure of where to start. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com!

  By Amber Bouman Read More

• The best smart speakers for music fans

  If you're a music fan, the first wave of smart speakers was probably a disappointment. While Alexa and Google Assistant have definitively proven they have a place in the home, the first Echo and Google Home devices were unimpressive when it came to actually playing music. They did the job in a pinch, and being able to command Spotify with your voice is a killer feature, but many longed for better-quality audio. Fortunately, that call has been answered. In the past six months, Sonos, Google and Apple have all released music-first speakers with voice assistants built in. There's no doubt that the Google Home Max, Alexa-powered Sonos One and Apple HomePod all sound far better than just about any other voice-powered speakers out there. If you value audio quality above all else (and have about $400 to spend), what's the right smart speaker for you? Let's break it down.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Which true wireless earbuds are worth buying?

  With so many flagship phones leaving behind the headphone jack over the past two years, the need for a good pair of Bluetooth earbuds has only intensified. While the first crop of true wireless products had their share of comfort and connection problems, the selection improved dramatically in 2017, with companies like Bose and Bang & Olufsen coming out with sets that gave Apple's AirPods a real run for the money. If you've been holding off on buying a pair because of cost, poor audio or because they just look ridiculous, it might finally be time to make the leap. We consulted reviews from top critics and came up with a list of six solid options that should have something for everyone, whether you're on a budget or prize sound quality above all else.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• The best desktop photo-editing apps

  Last month we covered the best mobile photo-editing apps, but if you're serious about photography you'll need more than the tools a phone or tablet can provide. Professionals rely on software from Adobe and others because of the power these programs afford them. Combined with shooting in the uncompressed RAW format, dedicated image editing suites allow you to adjust white balance, exposure, sharpness and color at a granular level. That might be a little intimidating for folks used to point-and-shoot cameras or a smartphone, but for professionals and hobbyists, this means they can reproduce the image they saw in their minds when they hit the shutters on their DSLR or mirrorless cameras. Beyond editing tools, some of these software suites also offer ways to organize and share your photos without leaving the app.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• The Morning After: Buying a camera in 2018

  Hey, good morning! It's Friday, and we're figuring out which cameras are worth buying this year, why Snap ditched its Spectacles and discovering that some iPhone source code has leaked into the wild.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• How to buy a camera in 2018

  Smartphones have replaced dedicated cameras for most folks, but weirdly, that's a good thing for photography lovers. With fewer boring point-and-shoots, manufacturers are focusing on building incredible cameras like Sony's RX100 Mark V compact, the Fujifilm X-T2 mirrorless and Nikon's high-end, full-frame D850 DSLR. For $500 and up, recent models deliver faster shooting than ever, 4K video, wireless mobile sharing and more.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• The best robot vacuums

  By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, where you can find reviews for the real world.

  By Engadget Staff Read More

Computing (8)

• Bitcoin miners turn Quebec's cheap energy into cold cash

  Bitcoin mining is a weird industry. Vast banks of dedicated computers solve complex equations to generate hashes worth a fraction of a coin, consuming huge amounts of power in the process. For such operations to be economically feasible nowadays, miners need the cheapest electricity possible.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Mattel and Tynker will use Barbie to teach kids to code

  A couple of years back, Mattel and Tynker partnered up to produce programming lessons based on Hot Wheels and Monster High. Now the two companies are expanding their partnership to launch seven new Barbie-themed coding lessons this coming summer. The curriculum, aimed at teaching girls about computer programming, will also expose them to them potential careers like becoming a veterinarian, astronaut or robotics engineer. The larger goal is to introduce coding to 10 million kids by 2020.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Intel currently facing 32 class-action lawsuits for Spectre and Meltdown

  Yesterday, Intel expanded its bug bounty program to catch more issues like the extensive Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws, but that was too little, too late for some chip owners. We knew three class-action lawsuits were filed in early January days after the vulnerabilities were publicized, but according to an SEC filing, the total has grown to 30 multi-party suits by customers and two securities suits. Most argue that Intel violated securities laws when it assured its products were safe to use, which the Meltdown and Spectre flaws revealed to be untrue.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Intel is making gaming easier for people without graphics cards

  Intel is making life a little easier for PC gamers on a budget. A new driver update for its 6th-gen Core processors and above will configure a game to your rig's specs automatically. As PC World reports, this includes the "Kaby Lake G" processors on addition to Skylake. Finally, no more fiddling in the menus on your machine running integrated graphics to get a game to run above 20FPS. At least that's the idea. It's a lot like how NVIDIA's GeForce Experience works for discrete graphics cards. The first games to benefit from this include Battlefield 1, Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto V, League of Legends and Overwatch. Sure, you'll probably lose out on shadow detail and texture filtering, but at least you'll be able to play, period.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Windows 10 is adding an Ultimate Performance mode for pros

  When you're creating 3D models or otherwise running intensive tasks, you want to wring every ounce of performance out of your PC as possible. It's a good thing, then, that Microsoft has released a Windows 10 preview build in the Fast ring that includes a new Ultimate Performance mode if you're running Pro for Workstations. As the name implies, this is a step up for people for whom even the High Performance mode isn't enough -- it throws power management out the window to eliminate "micro-latencies" and boost raw speed. You can set it yourself, but PC makers will have the option of shipping systems with the feature turned on.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• ARM's latest processors are designed for mobile AI

  ARM isn't content to offer processor designs that are kinda-sorta ready for AI. The company has unveiled Project Trillium, a combination of hardware and software ingredients designed explicitly to speed up AI-related technologies like machine learning and neural networks. The highlights, as usual, are the chips: ARM ML promises to be far more efficient for machine learning than a regular CPU or graphics chip, with two to four times the real-world throughput. ARM OD, meanwhile, is all about object detection. It can spot "virtually unlimited" subjects in real time at 1080p and 60 frames per second, and focuses on people in particular -- on top of recognizing faces, it can detect facing, poses and gestures.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Intel's all-in-one Xeon chip will speed up car connectivity

  Intel's Xeon chips normally reside in distant server rooms or brawny workstations. But that's not ideal for the modern internet, where connected cars, VPNs, streaming video and other tech frequently needs computing power somewhere in between. That's where its newly launched Xeon D-2100 processor might come into play. The system-on-a-chip is designed to bring the performance of a Xeon to the "edge" of a network, where that extra speed might be more effective. It includes up to 18 cores and the requisite hooks for four 10Gbps Ethernet ports, but uses 'just' 60W to 110W of power. In other words: you could tuck some of these into a local office without the demands that normally come with server chips.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Open Source turns 20: Here’s how it all started

  In the dead of winter 20 years ago, Netscape — inspired in part by a treatise on Linux and free software development — released the source code for its Netscape Communicator web browser. The move was unprecedented. This was a publicly traded company that had just reported some disappointing financials announcing to the world that it would make the core of its product available to thinkers, tinkerers and the insatiably curious. Over the days that followed, a cadre of software developers and advocates agonized over a crucial question: What should this kind of stuff be called? After some prolonged discussions and a few phone calls with Netscape, they had their answer.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

Cybersecurity (42)

• Woz was scammed out of Bitcoins now worth over $70,000

  Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has demonstrated the issue of bitcoin fraud by falling victim to an old school internet scam. Speaking at The Economic Times of India's global business summit this week, he said that someone bought seven bitcoins from him using a credit card, but canceled the card after the bitcoin was transferred, so the payment failed to process. And of course the card was stolen, so there was no way to retrieve his lost assets. He bought when the cryptocurrency was priced at $700, but the loss would be worth the equivalent of $71,400 today.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Encrypted SIKURPhone protects data and cryptocurrency

  The security-focused Granite Phone captured the interest of even non-corporate customers when it came out in 2015. Now the folks at Sikur are back with a next-generation SIKURPhone, promising the first fully encrypted, hack-proof smartphone that can safely store cryptocurrencies. Only 20,000 units will be available for presale beginning February 27th at a promotional price of $799. The company expects to deliver them in August of this year.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Russia hacked the Olympics and tried to pin it on North Korea

  Now that the 2018 Winter Olympics are over, we're now learning who was responsible for hacking the games' systems... and the culprit won't surprise you at all. US intelligence officials speaking anonymously to the Washington Post claimed that spies at Russia's GRU agency had compromised up to 300 Olympics-related PCs as of early February, hacked South Korean routers in January and launched new malware on February 9th, the day the Olympics began. They even tried to make it look like North Korea was responsible by using North Korean internet addresses and "other tactics," according to the American sources.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• MIT's Veil service will make private browsing more private

  After reports and studies revealed that browsers' private modes aren't that secure, MIT graduate student Frank Wang decided to take things into his own hands. He and his team from MIT CSAIL and Harvard have created a tool called Veil, which you could use on a public computer -- or on a private one on top of using incognito mode and Tor if you have big secrets to keep or if you've just become paranoid after years of hearing about hacks and cyberattacks.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 1Password now lets you see if your password has been leaked

  If you have a 1Password membership, you can now check to see if your passwords have been compromised by data breaches and leaked on the internet. It's just a proof of concept feature for now, but 1Password says that in future releases, it will be added to Watchtower within 1Password apps. The feature is an integration of Troy Hunt's Pwned Passwords service that includes over 500 million leaked passwords.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• China's Xinjiang surveillance is the dystopian future nobody wants

  In July 2009, deadly riots broke out in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, China. Nearly 200 people died, the majority ethnic Han Chinese, and thousands of Chinese troops were brought in to quell the riots. An information battle soon followed, as mobile phone and internet service was cut off in the entire province. For the next 10 months, web access would be almost nonexistent in Xinjiang, a vast region larger than Texas with a population of more than 20 million. It was one of the most widespread, longest internet shutdowns ever. That event, which followed similar unrest in neighboring Chinese-ruled Tibet in 2008, was the sign of a new phase in the Chinese state's quest to control its restive outer regions. The 2009 shutdown was the first large-scale sign of a shift in tactics: the use of technology to control information. "Xinjiang has gotten little attention, but this is where we're really seeing the coming together of multiple streams of technology [for surveillance] that just hasn't happened in other contexts before," said Steven Feldstein, fellow in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Nine years later, Xinjiang has seen the widespread implementation of sophisticated high-tech surveillance and monitoring technology, what BuzzFeed called "a 21st century police state." But what happens in Xinjiang does not stay in Xinjiang. The technologies piloted there are already spreading across all of China, and there are even early signs that Chinese companies are beginning to sell some of this technology to other authoritarian-minded countries. If this trend continues, the future of technology, particularly for those in the Global South, could more resemble what's happening in Xinjiang than developments in Silicon Valley.

  By Nithin Coca Read More

• SEC guidelines push for clearer data breach disclosures

  American companies haven't always been forthright about disclosing data breaches in a responsible way, and regulators want to encourage better behavior. The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued "interpretive guidance" that it hopes will both promote clearer disclosures and fewer ethical conflicts. The guidance asks companies to share more information about cyberattacks and other risks, and warns executives against trading securities before they've publicly shared the details of a breach -- they shouldn't dump shares knowing a hack will tank the company's stock price.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Tinder security flaw granted account access with just a phone number

  Security researchers at Appsecure found a way to access anyone's Tinder account via their phone number. The exploit took advantage of a software flaw in both the dating app's login process as well as the Facebook API that it's based on. The issues have been fixed since, but represent a pretty big security lapse.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• BitTorrent client exploits could let rogue websites control your PC

  BitTorrent's peer-to-peer app and its lightweight uTorrent counterpart are susceptible to particularly nasty hijacking flaws. Google researcher Tavis Ormandy recently detailed a host of DNS rebinding exploits in Windows versions of the software that lets attackers resolve web domains to the user's computer, essentially giving the intruders the keys to the kingdom. They could execute remote code, download malware to Windows' startup folder (making it launch on the next reboot), grab downloaded files and look at your download history. The flaws touch on all unpatched versions, including uTorrent Web.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• US AG creates a new 'Cybersecurity Task Force'

  Days after the Mueller investigation revealed indictments against 13 Russian nationals for election tampering, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new Cybersecurity Task Force. Its marching orders are a bit vague -- "canvass the many ways that the Department is combatting the global cyber threat" -- but the AG's first ask is for it to investigate efforts to interfere with US elections and infrastructure.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Android P will prevent apps from quietly hijacking your camera

  The threat of someone hijacking your phone's camera to spy on you unawares is sometimes overstated, but it's definitely a possibility. Enough so, in fact, that Google is determined to do something about it. Recently discovered code submissions show that Android P should prevent idle apps from using both the camera and microphone. If an inactive program tries to use the camera, Android should shut it off and give you an error message. With the microphone, it's somewhat different: it'll allow recording but report empty data until the app is active. Malware wouldn't get away with recording in the background, but legitimate apps like a voice chat client (which stays active) shouldn't have an issue.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Intruders 'borrowed' Tesla's public cloud for cryptocurrency mining (updated)

  Tesla isn't immune to the plague of cryptocurrency mining hijacks, it seems. Security researchers at RedLock have reported that intruders gained access to Tesla's Kubernetes console (where it deploys and manages containerized apps) without needing a password, exposing the EV brand's login credentials for Amazon Web Services. From there, the attackers both abused Tesla's cloud resources for cryptojacking and accessed private data held in Amazon's S3 service. The culprits were creative, too.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google found another bug in Microsoft’s Edge browser

  Google tasks its Project Zero time with finding security issues and loopholes within other companies' products, and they're pretty effective at what they do. Now, Google has made public a medium-level security issue within Microsoft's Edge browser. The vulnerability was first discovered back in November.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Air Force security hackathon leads to record payout

  The US Air Force's second security hackathon has paid dividends... both for the military and the people finding holes in its defenses. HackerOne has revealed the results of the Hack the Air Force 2.0 challenge from the end of 2017, and it led to volunteers discovering 106 vulnerabilities across roughly 300 of the USAF's public websites. Those discoveries proved costly, however. The Air Force paid out a total of $103,883, including $12,500 for one bug -- the most money any federal bounty program has paid to date.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Cyber attacks reportedly cost the US as much as $109 billion in 2016

  Cyber attacks are increasingly becoming a fact of life. North Korea attacked aerospace and telecom networks last year. Olympics officials confirmed a recent attack that took place during the opening ceremonies. While Russia denied its involvement in the devastating NotPetya attacks, the US has finally joined other countries in blaming Russia for them. Now, a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers says that malicious cyber activity like this cost the US economy between $57 and $109 billion in 2016.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• How security became more important than convenience

  Since the dawn of infosec, the belief that we users are a group of dullard cattle who blindly trade our own security for convenience at every turn has been trumpeted by the stewards of IT and the infosec-arrogant, while bolstered by old research. Not anymore, says a new in-depth study from IBM on consumers' relationships with biometrics, authentication and the future of identity. If they have a choice, consumers now prefer taking extra security steps over using "123456" as a password.

  By Violet Blue Read More

• White House also blames Russia for NotPetya attacks

  The White House has officially joined the UK government in blaming Russia for last year's NotPetya attacks. Shortly after the UK publicly accused Kremlin of unleashing the wiper worm on various organizations around the globe, particularly in Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued the administration's formal statement. She called the NotPetya attacks reckless and indiscriminate and warned that they will be met with "international consequences."

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• FedEx left sensitive customer data exposed on unsecured server

  It seems like there's no end to the data breach stories. Uber covered their problem up, then had to answer to Congress. Equifax's initial response to its massive data exposure added its own security issue. Federal employees were even found stealing data from Homeland Security. Now FedEx customer records — including passports, drivers licenses and other security IDs — have been exposed, according to security researchers at Kromtech.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Russia denies UK claim it was behind NotPetya cyberattack

  The UK government says that Russia is to blame for the destructive NotPetya cyberattack that scrambled major infrastructure around the world in June 2017, costing firms millions. Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad said that while the attack masqueraded as a criminal enterprise, its purpose was "principally to disrupt" Russia's primary target, Ukraine, and that Russian military was "almost certainly" behind the attack.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Researchers discover new ways to abuse Meltdown and Spectre flaws

  Intel has already started looking for other Spectre-like flaws, but it won't be able to move on from the Spectre/Meltdown CPU vulnerabilities anytime soon. A team of security researchers from NVIDIA and Princeton University have discovered new ways to exploit Meltdown and Spectre outside of those idenfitied in the past. The researchers developed a tool to explore how else cyber criminals could take advantage of the CPU flaws and found new techniques that could be used to extract sensitive info like passwords from devices.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Intel expands bug bounty to catch more Spectre-like security flaws

  To say Intel was caught flat-footed by the Meltdown and Spectre flaws would be an understatement. However, it has a potential solution: enlist more people for help. It's widening its bug bounty program to both include more researchers and offer more incentives to spot Meltdown- and Spectre-like holes. The program is now open to all security researchers, not just by invitation, and includes sweeter rewards for discovering exploits. You now get up to $100,000 for disclosing general security flaws, and there's a new program dedicated to side channel vulnerabilities (read: issues like Spectre) that offers up to $250,000 through December 31st, 2018.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• MIT’s low power encryption chip could make IoT devices more secure

  The Internet of Things hasn't ever been super secure. Hacked smart devices have been blamed for web blackouts, broken internet, spam and phishing attempts and, of course, the coming smart-thing apocalypse. One of the reasons that we haven't seen the same sort of encryption as the web affords, however, is that such protection is energy-intensive. MIT is working on a new chip, however, to perform this sort of public-key encryption that only uses 1/400 as much power as a software solution would. In addition, the chip uses about 1/10 as much memory and executes processes 500 times as fast.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Attackers used Telegram to deliver cryptocurrency-mining malware

  Kaspersky Lab says it spotted evidence of a vulnerability in the desktop version of Telegram that allowed attackers to install cryptocurrency mining malware on users' computers. The zero-day exploit was used to trick Telegram users into downloading malicious files, which could then be used to deliver cryptocurrency mining software and spyware. According to Kaspersky, those behind the exploit used the computers their malware had been installed on to mine digital currencies like Monero, Zcash, Fantomcoin and others. Kaspersky also says it found a stolen cache of Telegram data on one of the attackers' servers.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Cryptocurrency mining site hijacked millions of Android phones

  Smartphone users are just as vulnerable to cryptocurrency mining hijacks as their PC counterparts, and sometimes on a dramatic scale. Malwarebytes has detailed a "drive-by" mining campaign that redirected millions of Android users to a website that hijacked their phone processors for mining Monero. While the exact trigger wasn't clear, researchers believed that infected apps with malicious ads would steer people toward the pages. And it wasn't subtle -- the site would claim that you were showing "suspicious" web activity and tell you that it was mining until you entered a captcha code to make it stop.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The Morning After: Cryptocurrency's security problem

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome back! Over the weekend, you may have missed the cost of Apple HomePod repairs (they're not cheap) and more shaky security around crytocurrencies. We've also got the best coffee equipment you should have in your life -- which is well-timed, as I've had two weeks off the stuff, and I'm very, very ready to reacquaint myself with a cortado or two.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Government websites fall prey to cryptocurrency mining hijack

  It's not just private companies' websites falling victim to cryptocurrency mining hijacks. Security consultant Scott Helme and the Register have discovered that intruders compromised over 4,200 sites with Coinhive's notorious Monero miner, many of them government websites from around the world. This includes the US court info system, the UK's National Health Service and Australian legislatures, among others. The intruders spread their JavaScript code by modifying an accessibility plugin for the blind, Texthelp's Browsealoud, to inject the miner wherever Browsealoud was in use.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Olympics officials confirm cyberattack during opening ceremony

  Officials saw suspicious activity on Olympics systems during the 2018 winter games' opening ceremony, and now it's confirmed: it was a cyberattack. PyeongChang organizers have revealed that someone compromised services (including internet and TV) while athletes were on parade. Everything had been "resolved and recovered" by the 9th, spokesman Sung Baik-you said. He added that they knew the cause of the attack, but were "not going to reveal the source" after talking to the International Olympics Committee.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Pennsylvania requires paper trail on all new voting machines

  Pennsylvania has taken a leaf out of Virginia's book and is now looking to replace its obsolete and vulnerable voting machines with more secure ones. A new directive requires counties planning to replace their voting machines with new ones that have paper backups -- problem is, the state doesn't have the budget for them. Most of the 20,000 machines Pennsylvania has been using the past decade are purely digital, so the state will need around $60 million to replace them with systems that cost $3,000 each.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Equifax breach may have exposed more data than first thought

  The 2017 Equifax data breach was already extremely serious by itself, but there are hints it was somehow worse. CNN has learned that Equifax told the US Senate Banking Committee that more data may have been exposed than initially determined. The hack may have compromised more driver's license info, such as the issuing data and host state, as well as tax IDs. In theory, it would be that much easier for intruders to commit fraud.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Italian cryptocurrency exchange BitGrail loses $170 million

  One of the biggest problems with cryptocurrency exchanges is that they're a juicy, enticing target for high-tech criminals. Case in point, Italian exchange BitGrail, which lost $170 million worth of Nano tokens, a little-known digital coin previously called RaiBlocks. BitGrail is the second exchange that lost of massive amount of money this year -- and it's only February -- following Tokyo-based Coincheck, which lost between $400 and $534 million worth of coins in a cyberattack on its internet-connected wallet back in January.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 32 senators want to know if US regulators halted Equifax probe

  Earlier this week, a Reuters report suggested that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had halted its investigation into last year's massive Equifax data breach. Reuters sources said that even basic steps expected in such a probe hadn't been taken and efforts had stalled since Mick Mulvaney (pictured above) took over as head of the CFPB late last year. Now, 31 Democratic senators and one Independent have written a letter to Mulvaney asking if that is indeed the case and if so, why.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Crucial iPhone source code posted in unprecedented leak (updated)

  Critical, top secret Apple code for the iPhone's operating system was posted on Github, opening a new, dangerous avenue for hackers and jailbreakers to access the device, Motherboard reported. The code, known as "iBoot," has since been pulled, but Apple may have confirmed it was the real deal when it issued a DMCA takedown to Github, as Twitter user @supersat noted.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Intel releases new Spectre patch for its Skylake CPUs

  More than a month after researchers revealed a pair of serious security issues affecting many modern CPUs, Intel is still working on updates that close the hole. VP Navin Shenoy has written another blog post about the situation, and said that the company has released microcode updates for Skylake-based chips to its industry partners. If one of those chips is inside your PC, you should expect to see a patch arriving shortly, and other platforms should follow "in the coming days." That includes those based on technology including (but not limited to) Broadwell and Haswell which had previously seen an update that the company withdrew after reports of random reboots. Basically, keep an eye out for more firmware and OS updates in the coming days, but we don't yet know exactly how long it will take for this mess to get sorted out on every platform.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• US busts $530 million Infraud cybercrime ring

  The US just took down one of the larger online crime organizations in recent memory -- certainly one of the largest prosecuted by the feds. Department of Justice officials have filed charges against 36 people allegedly involved with Infraud Organization (no really, that's the name), a global cybercrime ring with roots in the US as well as numerous other countries. Combined, the group is believed to have trafficked in stolen financial data (including up to 4 million cards), identities and contraband worth over $530 million in losses. And that's what they actually managed to accomplish. Reportedly, they hoped to inflict a total of $2.2 billion in damage.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Activist and EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow has died

  John Perry Barlow, a founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, died in his sleep this morning at the age of 71. EFF executive director Cindy Cohn shared the news in a blog post.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• Russians accessed US voter registration records before 2016 election

  The Department of Homeland Security has revealed that Russian forces have successfully accessed voter registration rolls of several US states in the months prior to the 2016 presidential election. Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity of the Department of Homeland Security, told NBC News that of they saw a targeting of 21 states, and "an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated."

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Russian trolls used Tumblr to influence American voters

  If you thought that Tumblr was just fan fiction and monochrome erotica GIFs, then you probably haven't been paying attention. The blogging platform has also, in recent years, become a hotbed of Russian activists seeking to disrupt American politics. That's the charge leveled at the platform by Buzzfeed and Professor Jonathan Albright, an authority on so-called fake news.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Two men charged with bank fraud following 'jackpotting' heist

  A Connecticut court has charged two men with bank fraud after they allegedly stole thousands of dollars through ATM jackpotting. While a relatively new scheme in the US, jackpotting has been a problem in Asia, Europe and Mexico for years and involves loading up ATMs with malware and forcing them to release their cash contents. The two men are said to have dressed up as ATM technicians and accessed a Citizens Bank ATM in Cromwell, Connecticut in late January. Police found them near the ATM with tools and electronic devices believed to be required for jackpotting as well as $9,000 in $20 bills.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Grammarly patches bug that could expose everything you write (update: not everything)

  Grammarly, a copyediting app/extension for Chrome and Firefox that points out typos and grammatical mistakes, had a major bug that allowed any website you visit to log into your account and read everything you ever wrote. It made all your documents, history, logs, tweets and blog posts vulnerable to high-tech snoops. Google's Project Zero, which unearths and tracks vulnerabilities and reports them to software-makers, revealed the bug on February 2nd. Thankfully, the Grammarly team has quickly patched it up and has already auto-updated the program used by over 20 million users.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Alleged British hacker Lauri Love wins US extradition appeal

  Lauri Love, a 32-year-old student accused of hacking US government websites in 2012 and 2013, has won a high court battle and will not be extradited to the States. He suffers from Asperger syndrome -- a form of autism that makes him worry and obsess -- depression and sudden, untreatable outbursts of eczema. Love's legal team argued that extradition would have caused his condition to deteriorate and, therefore, compromised his basic human rights. In the US courts, he faced up to 99 years in prison — an effective life sentence — and a fine up to $9 million (£6.3 million). Love said he would kill himself if he was extradited.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Strava’s fitness heatmaps are a 'potential catastrophe'

  The 2018 cybersecurity race to the bottom is off to an exciting start. First out of the gate is Strava — now widely known as the "social network for athletes" -- and its reckless data-visualization "heat map" gimmick that revealed details of secret military bases around the world. It was the kind of incident deserving of a plot line in a ridiculous Hollywood drama. And yet, here we are, with Twitter and the whole world discussing and dissecting fitness routes of soldiers and agents in sensitive locations, such as American bases in Afghanistan and Syria, a possible secret CIA base in Somalia, military facilities in war zones and much more.

  By Violet Blue Read More

• The only thing Equifax's new credit app locks is itself

  Equifax still appears to have trouble wrapping its head around the concept of trustworthy software following its massive security breach. The company has launched its promised free credit report locking service, Lock & Alert, but there's one overriding problem: at least initially, the mobile app associated with it doesn't appear to work. The New York Times and Ars Technica both report pervasive problems with the app, ranging from the basic login to... you know, locking your credit report. In the NYT's case, the tester gave up after the locking attempt stalled five times in a row.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

Entertainment (6)

• What’s so funny about technology?

  Moments after he stepped onstage, Joe Leonardo sensed the crowd would be difficult to win over. It was a recent Tuesday evening at the Peoples Improv Theater, a New York comedy venue with photos of Stephen Colbert, Will Ferrell and Tracy Morgan on the walls and mantras -- "Follow the fear" -- next to the stage entrance.

  By Chris Ip Read More

• How La Liga is making Barcelona and Real Madrid games high tech

  La Liga, Spain's professional football (soccer) league, is home to two of the biggest clubs in the world: Barcelona and Real Madrid. And those teams are each anchored by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively, who are the two biggest players in the sport. While that alone is a reason to keep up with La Liga every season, the league isn't resting on its laurels and is working hard to make the game experience for fans more interactive -- particularly those watching at home. Through a partnership with Intel, La Liga is now letting TV viewers have access to 360-degree replays, thanks to the same True View tech that was recently implemented in the NBA and NFL.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Mattel's 'Jurassic World' dino-bots are surprisingly realistic

  Mattel's last Kamigami STEM robot was an adorable DIY lady bug. Now, the toy company is aiming for something bigger with its new Jurassic World bots. You'll still have to put them together first, but what you end up with is a complex robo-dino with realistic movement. And, just like before, they'll also help kids bone up on their STEM chops.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Kendrick Lamar bans all cameras during his latest tour (update: no)

  You've likely heard of big-name musicians banning smartphones at concerts, but Kendrick Lamar is taking things one step further. The superstar isn't allowing any cameras during the European stint of his latest tour, including pro photographers. Yes, you won't even have the opportunity to share official shots, let alone record the show with your phone. Lamar had allowed some pros during his North American gigs, but that's apparently as far as he was willing to go.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• After Math: It's bobsled time!

  The 2018 Winter Olympics are starting up but Pyeongchang won't be the only place crowning champions. This week we've already seen Waymo win out over Uber in court; Sasha 'Scarlett' Hostyn, the most successful woman in eSports, was victorious in an Olympic-backed Starcraft 2 tournament; and Amazon came up with yet another way to dominate the delivery market -- 2-hour Whole Foods deliveries. Numbers, because how else will you count the scorecards?

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Recommended Reading: The excess of the Olympics

  How the Olympics got Disneyfied Michael Weinreb, The Atlantic No matter which country hosts the Olympics, the Opening Ceremony is always jam-packed with over-the-top futuristic visuals and tons of culture. It's a display "financial and cultural excess," as The Atlantic's Michael Weinreb describes it, and it all got started in the US during the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley.

  By Billy Steele Read More

EVs and Transportation (65)

• Porsche claims Mission E won't have Tesla's performance limits

  Porsche knows you're probably going to compare the Mission E to Tesla's cars, and it's determined to prove that it its electric performance car is the one to beat. Company EV head Stefan Weckbach has promised that the Mission E has "reproducible" performance Tesla (and particularly the Model S) can't match. The Model S can only hit its claimed 0-60MPH time "twice" in short succession, Weckbach claimed, and can't run at at full speed for significant stretches either. The Mission E can maintain its full speed for "long periods," Weckbach said.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• VW's first electric bus begins service in mid-March

  The I.D. Buzz might not be the first electric Volkswagen bus you see roaming the streets. VW's Scania brand has announced that its first electric bus, the Citywide Low Floor, is going into full-fledged service in the Swedish town of Österlund in mid-March. And it's not a tiny experimental run, either. The initial three buses will run a 9.3-mile route with about 40 stops, and they'll make a total of 100 trips each day. The vehicles' 10-minute charging intervals (helped by massive charging stations) keep them from being sidelined for hours like typical electric cars.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• US regulators delay noise mandate for EVs and hybrids (again)

  Electric cars are considerably quieter than their gasoline-powered counterparts, but that's not always a good thing. Pedestrians, especially those who have visual impairments, often rely on audible cues to signal an approaching vehicle. That's why a law was proposed in 2013 to add noise to electric vehicles and hybrids traveling under 18.6 miles per hour. It was supposed to go into effect in late 2015, but it was delayed. Now, it's been delayed again.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• German court says cities can ban diesel cars

  Germany has already made its commitment to cleaner vehicles clear by calling for a ban on combustion engine cars starting by 2030. Now, in a landmark ruling, a top court says cities have the right to ban diesel motors in an effort to improve air quality. The decision will potentially affect 12 million cars on Germany's roads.

  By Rachel England Read More

• The Morning After: A 360-degree Waymo ride

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. February is wrapping up but MWC 2018 is still going strong, and we have even more stuff to show you (plus one phone that's not here but should be.) It's also time to evaluate Google's AI-powered Clips camera and get ready for the Tamagotchi app.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Waymo's 360-degree demo ride shows what self-driving cars 'see'

  One of the big steps necessary to roll out self-driving cars is getting the public to trust them, and Waymo's latest attempt to achieve that is with a new 360-degree experience. Viewable on a computer, your phone or a VR headset, it feeds a simulation of mixed video and sensor data (LiDAR, radar and cameras) from one of the company's Pacifica Hybrid minivans to give you a feeling of what it "sees" while driving along.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Hyundai's Kona Electric SUV boasts a 292-mile range

  Hyundai's newly bolstered EV strategy might be off to a good start. It just unveiled the Kona Electric, an adaptation of its crossover SUV that promises to combine both ample space with meaningful performance. The base edition's 186-mile range and 9.3-second 0-62MPH time won't raise eyebrows, but a long-range version can muster a 292-mile range and reach 62MPH in 7.6 seconds. That's about as much range as a top-spec Tesla Model X -- if you don't need blistering acceleration or gobs of seating, you can get a very capable electric people hauler.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Ford will test self-driving car service on Miami streets

  Ford is venturing well beyond its home turf of Michigan to test its fledgling self-driving delivery service. The automaker has revealed a pilot program that will see its autonomous vehicles roaming the streets of downtown Miami and Miami Beach. The initial test will separate the delivery and self-driving products, and will gauge what works for both customers and companies. How do you pick up your delivery from a self-driving car, for example, and how far are people willing to walk to get their grub? Domino's is active right now, while Postmates should be available in March.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Energy storage breakthrough could boost EV range and slash charge time

  Electric cars could soon have as much range as petrol and diesel cars -- and recharge in a matter of minutes -- thanks to what researchers are calling a "breakthrough" in energy storage technology. Teams from Bristol University and Surrey University have created a new material for supercapacitors, which store electric charge, that could see EVs recharge in as little as 10 minutes compared to the eight hours it can take for EVs with lithium-ion batteries. And according to the researchers, it boasts enough energy density to see EVs surpass even the top range of current leading models, such as Teslas. Elon Musk himself has previously said a breakthrough in EV technology would likely come from supercapacitors, rather than batteries.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Fiat Chrysler reportedly phasing out diesel passenger cars by 2022

  Fiat Chrysler's diesel plans are back in the spotlight again. The Italian-American car maker was hit with several lawsuits last December, each claiming that the company's heavy-duty pickup trucks used devices aimed at cheating emissions tests. Last month, the EPA said that Chrysler had violated the Clean Air Act, alleging that the company had installed software in some diesel vehicles that increased emissions. Now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is apparently ditching diesel as a fuel source in its passenger cars by 2022, according to a report in the Financial Times.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Ford is updating Sync with Waze and a driving assistant

  Ford is updating its Sync infotainment software with a few new navigation options. Sygic is a name we haven't heard in quite awhile, but the GPS company will bring its voice assistant to certain Ford vehicles. If your blue-oval-clad ride has Sync 3 and you've got Sygic's nav app installed on your phone, you'll be able to press a button on your steering wheel to activate Sygic's new voice-powered Driving Assistant. According to TechCrunch, you can ask Driving Assistant for traffic info, gas prices and parking advice, among other tasks. It sounds quite a bit easier than using voice commands while driving with Siri, or fiddling with your car's infotainment screen.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Huawei made a Porsche slightly autonomous with a smartphone

  With no flagship phone to show off to the assembled mass of journalists, bloggers and tech execs, Huawei took a different tack this year at MWC. If it wasn't slick laptops with pop-up webcams, then it's this: The "RoadReader." To showcase the company's AI push (read: remind everyone it's really into this neural processing gig), the Huawei used its Mate 10 Pro smartphone as a lightweight autonomous car brain, inside a Porsche, right outside FC Barcelona's stadium. I was one of the lucky few to experience what it's like to be driven around by an Android phone.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Tesla's electric trucks may be more cost-effective than expected

  When Tesla unveiled its Semi electric truck, it made audacious claims about the big rig's value -- namely, that companies would recoup the cost of the vehicle in 2 years thanks to the savings on fuel. As it turns out, that might have been conservative. DHL exec Jim Monkmeyer told Reuters in an interview that he expects the shipping company to reach that point in a year and a half, saving tens of thousands of dollars per year. The absence of fuel is only part of the equation, he noted. As EV motors are much less complex than the big diesel engines that power conventional trucks, the Semi shouldn't need as much maintenance.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Fully driverless car tests in California could start in April

  Automakers testing their self-driving cars on California roads might be able to go fully autonomous as soon as April, according to the state's DMV. Instead of putting someone behind the wheel to take over in certain circumstances, such as when the self-driving system isn't working as well as it should, the companies will be required to link their cars to remote operators. Those remote drivers' job is to keep an eye on multiple cars and to take over their controls if and when needed.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Tesla wants to install charging stations at your office

  Tesla has a pretty good track record when it comes to making its chargers more accessible, but it needs to step up its game now that it's shipping more and more cars. One of the ways it plans to do that is by launching yet another charging program, this time for your office. The electric automaker is providing employers and commercial property managers with free Tesla Wall Connectors -- and will also install them on company parking lots for free -- so long as they apply and qualify for the program.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Nissan's self-driving taxi is ready for passengers

  Nissan will start testing its self-driving taxi service Easy Ride in a few days in hopes of launching it in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The automaker and Tokyo-based mobile developer DeNA will begin ferrying passengers in Yokohama on March 5th. Nissan's autonomous cars will only be able to drive them along a set route, a 2.8-mile-long stretch of road between Nissan's HQ and the Yokohama World Porters shopping center. But they'll at least be able to give the Easy Ride app's features a try during their trip.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• UPS is adding to its fleet of electric delivery trucks

  UPS announced today that it will soon deploy 50 electric delivery trucks designed by Workhorse Group Inc. that will cost about the same as traditional, conventionally fueled trucks. They'll have a between-charge range of around 100 miles, will be zero-emission and the first vehicles will be tested in a handful of cities this year. "Electric vehicle technology is rapidly improving with battery, charging and smart grid advances that allow us to specify our delivery vehicles to eliminate emissions, noise and dependence on diesel and gasoline," Carlton Rose, UPS' president of global fleet maintenance and engineering, said in a statement. "With our scale and real-world duty cycles, these new electric trucks will be a quantum leap forward for the purpose-built UPS delivery fleet. The all electric trucks will deliver by day and re-charge overnight."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Watch Airbus' drone taxi take to the skies for the first time

  Back in late January, Airbus' Vahana team successfully flew their autonomous air taxi for the first time. Now, you can finally watch how the drone stayed in the air on its own in the video below the fold. It shows the aircraft hovering around 16 feet above the ground for a few seconds -- not particularly exciting if you're not enthused about the possibility of traveling aboard a single-passenger self-piloted taxi. But it was still a 53-second flight all on its own, without the input of a human operator.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Volvo adds the V60 wagon to its car subscription service

  If you're interested in a car subscription from Volvo, but you're not a fan of SUVs, the Swedish automaker just announced that its new V60 wagon will be available with the service called Care by Volvo.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Renault's 'smart island' runs on wind power and recycled batteries

  Renault has launched a "smart island" in Portugal that uses its Zoe electric vehicle, home batteries, smart charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2E) energy storage to run without fossil fuels. The idea is to make the Madeira island of Porto Santo energy independent and stimulate renewable energy production. "[We want] to build a model that can be carried over to other islands and cities," Renault Electric Vehicle Director Eric Feunteun told Engadget.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Uber officially launches ‘Uber Express Pool’ in select cities

  After being piloted in Boston and San Francisco, Uber is officially launching Express Pool in those two cities along with Los Angeles, DC, Miami, San Diego, Philadelphia and Denver. The ride-hailing company plans on launching the service in more cities soon.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Archos' electric scooter taps Android for directions

  It's not just bicycle makers hoping Android will improve your two-wheeled transportation. Archos has unveiled a Citee Connect electric scooter with a 5-inch Android computer in between the handlebars. The hardware won't rival your phone (it an uses unnamed quad-core chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage), but it does have 3G built-in for directions and other tasks that might be handy while you commute around town. There's also a dedicated mobile app that can control the scooter's built-in reel lock.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Existing EV batteries could be recharged five times faster

  Lithium-ion batteries have massively improved in the last half-decade, but there are still issues. The biggest, especially for EVs, is that charging takes too long to make them as useful as regular cars for highway driving. Researchers from the University of Warwick (WMG) have discovered that we may not need to be so patient, though. They developed a new type of sensor that measures internal battery temperatures and discovered that we can probably recharge them up to five times quicker without overheating problems.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Toyota's next EV motor could use 50 percent less rare earth metals

  Toyota has designed a magnet that halves the amount of rare earths needed in its electric cars, which could help mitigate the fall out of a looming materials shortage. Like other electric carmakers, Toyota has traditionally used neodymium, terbium and dysprosium in its electric vehicles, but it believes demand for these materials will outstrip supply come 2025. The new magnet uses the rare earths lanthanum and cerium instead, which are more plentiful and cost 20 times less than neodymium.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Lyft offers more rides to non-urgent medical appointments

  Lyft is continuing its bid to become the go-to choice for non-emergency medical trips. It's launching a new partnership with Hitch Health that will offer Lyft rides to health care appointments across the US. The basic concept is familiar, but there's a personalized twist: Hitch offers technology that can identify the patients most likely to need a ride. In a 6-month trial run, the partnership focused on low-income, uninsured and vulnerable patients that couldn't realistically consider driving, taking the bus or asking a friend.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• UK National Grid plans superfast country-wide EV charging network

  Range anxiety could soon be a thing of the past for electric vehicle drivers in the UK, as National Grid is proposing a network of superfast charging points that would mean 90 percent of motorists would always be within 50 miles of a charging station. The strategically-placed points would offer up to 350KW of power, drawn directly from the country's high-voltage power grid, which is managed by the company, and could charge a car in between five and 12 minutes -- much faster than the 20 to 40 minutes it currently takes.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Control Volkswagen's latest concept car with your voice

  Volkswagen will debut an autonomous concept car called the I.D. Vizzion at the Geneva International Motor Show next month. The interior of the all-electric car doesn't reflect that of a traditional vehicle; it's been completely redesigned. There is no steering wheel and it does not have visible controls. It's the fourth car in Volkswagen's I.D. line, which is focused on developing electric car technology.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Elon Musk gets Hyperloop digging permit in Washington, DC

  Last year, the internet needled Elon Musk for tweeting he had verbal approval to dig a Hyperloop tunnel in Washington, DC, because officials said they granted no such thing. Now, however, The Boring Company does have an honest-to-gosh written permit, albeit only for some preliminary site preparation and excavation, the Washington Post reports.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• The Morning After: Water purification could lead to more electric cars

  Hey, good morning! Welcome back! We hope you had a great weekend. We've been playing with some cool dinosaur toys (we're grown-ups, I promise), hearing about Tesla's next power grid experiment, and the end of free Wikipedia data for developing countries.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• India inches ahead in the race to build a Hyperloop

  Plenty of places have committed to exploring the economic viability of building a Hyperloop, but nobody has been brave enough to say they'll actually construct one. It's why the news coming out of India's latest announcement is such a big deal, because it includes a pledge to build a working test track.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Daimler may have used software to cheat on US emissions tests

  Daimler has been under suspicion of cheating on US emissions tests for quite a while now -- in 2016, a number of customers even sued the automaker, claiming their cars had sneaky software made to trick testers similar to Volkswagen's. Now, according to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, US authorities investigating the Mercedes maker have discovered that its vehicles are equipped with illegal software to help them pass United States' stringent emission tests. Citing confidential documents, the publication said Daimler's employees doubted their vehicles would be able meet US standards even before Volkswagen's diesel scandal blew up. Internal testing apparently revealed that some Mercedes models emit ten times the country's nitrogen oxide limit.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Water purification could be the key to more electric cars

  Humanity is going to need a lot of lithium batteries if electric cars are going to take over, and that's a problem when there's only so much lithium available from conventional mines. There may be an oddball solution for that, however: turn the world's oceans into eco-friendly mines. Scientists have outlined a desalination technique that would use metal-organic frameworks (sponge-like structures with very high surface areas) with sub-nanometer pores to catch lithium ions while purifying ocean water. The approach mimics the tendency of cell membranes to selectively dehydrate and carry ions, leaving the lithium behind while producing water you can drink.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Smart Fortwo EV Cabrio is the tiny car for the big city

  There are cars out there that fill a need in someone else's life. Maybe you live in a large city and don't have the room or desire for a truck with a powerful diesel engine. Or you're part of a couple that has no need for an SUV with seats for eight. For me, the Smart Fortwo Cabrio EV seemed to fit the bill of cars that would be good for someone, just not me. I like electric cars, but I also need something large enough to haul gear and, well, I like going fast. Then I spent a week with the tiny EV.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Elon Musk promises Model 3 safety changes after crash report

  Tesla has an excellent reputation for safety and it looks like the Model 3 is just as solid as its other EVs -- but it still needs a few tweaks. Reddit user "Model 3 Crash Dummy" managed to walk away from an accident that totaled his car, despite the fact that "the paramedics said I should be dead," he wrote. However, he also reported that his passenger's arm hit the center display, breaking it and cutting her arm, while also de-activating the glove box. Elon Musk heard about this, however, and promised hardware and software updates to fix the problem.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Officials probe first possible drone-related aircraft crash in the US

  US authorities have started investigating what could be the first drone-related aircraft crash in the US, according to Bloomberg. Pilots have been reporting more and more drone sightings these past few years based on data from the FAA, but most of those incidents have been harmless. That might not be the case this time around. The pilot and student flying the helicopter that crashed in South Carolina on Wednesday told investigators they saw a small drone appear in front of them while practicing maneuvers 50 feet above the tree line.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Uber hopes to win back London with a 24/7 helpline

  When Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew Uber's operating license last September, issues with safety were among the primary reasons for the regulator's decision. Specifically, TfL wasn't enamored with how Uber reported serious offenses and conducted driver backgrounds checks, showing a lack of corporate responsibility. Since then, Uber's been keen to win TfL over, recently imposing limits on how long drivers can work without taking a break -- forced downtime of a similar nature has just been implemented for US drivers, too. Today, Uber has announced another raft of changes intended to make its service safer and curry favor with London's transport regulator.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Lyft's Baltimore deal turns bike sharing stops into pickup points

  Uber isn't the only ridesharing outfit with an interest in bike sharing. Lyft has formed a partnership with Baltimore Bike Share that will launch hybrid pickup points and bike sharing hubs across the Maryland city. The aim, of course, is to help you switch transportation methods with a minimum of fuss. You could take just one Lyft trip downtown and pedal around for the rest of the day, or bike to a stop if you only occasionally need more than human-powered transport.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• London may force Uber to introduce women-only UberPools

  Out of the blue, Transport for London (TfL) has issued a "policy statement" on ride-sharing services in the capital. Most of it isn't new — the bulk of the six-page document recaps older policy announcements, such as the controversial English language test for Uber drivers — but there is one idea that hasn't been communicated before. "Operators should provide mechanisms to allow passengers to choose who they share vehicles with (e.g. women-only vehicles) and establishing how passengers might be able to decide on this before accepting a ride." That would affect UberPool and similar services that offer discounts if you share a ride with a stranger.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• A road trip with Nissan ProPilot Assist

  By Joel Stocksdale We've had a bit of experience with the Nissan ProPilot Assist system here at Autoblog.

  By Engadget Staff Read More

• Dyson's debut EV might not showcase its next-gen battery tech

  Though it had been rumored for some time prior, it was still somewhat surprising when Dyson formally revealed it was getting into the EV game. Even for a company that takes research and development to an excessive level to make some of the best vacuum cleaners (and more recently, hairdryers) around, a car is a different league of machine. The Financial Times has learned a little more about Dyson's progress from several anonymous sources -- namely that the current roadmap consists of not one, but three cars. Crucially, little birdies also said the company was considering using a lithium-ion battery to power its first EV, the same tech every automaker uses in their electric cars now. In other words, not particularly innovative for an EV set to hit the road several years from now.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Thermal cameras could be key to safer self-driving vehicles

  The typical self-driving prototype is outfitted with a barrage of sensors, from cameras to LiDAR and radar to ultrasonic sensors. All of these are watching the road, other vehicles, pedestrians and, frankly, anything that could disrupt a leisurely drive. But are all of these eyes on the roadway enough? Adasky doesn't think so.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Faraday Future may have received a $1.5 billion lifeline

  To say Faraday Future has had a rough time would be an understatement between its financial crisis, executive exodus and CEO troubles. However, things might be looking up for the electric car maker. A Business Insider source has claimed that an unnamed Hong Kong backer has promised a $1.5 billion investment, $550 million of which is "already in the bank." That only goes so far with an automaker, but it's reportedly enough to speed up development of the FF91 and get it on the market by the end of 2018.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Uber is forcing six-hour rest breaks on busy US drivers

  With its latest app update, Uber is forcing US drivers to take a six hour break after working 12 straight hours. The company implemented a similar feature in the UK earlier this year, but lets American drivers work two hours longer. The app will issue three warnings, starting after 10 hours of straight driving, before going offline and forcing drivers to stop. The aim is to put a halt to drowsy driving that causes 4,000 accidents a year, the company said in a statement.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Porsche and Audi will share an electric car platform

  Porsche and Audi are no stranger to sharing car innards (the Cayenne and Macan use the same basic chassis as the Q7 and Q5, for instance), and that's holding true in the electric era. Porsche's Oliver Blume and Audi's Rupert Stadler told Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview that the two Volkswagen-owned brands will jointly develop a common EV platform that will find its way into several models from 2021 and beyond. Audi is already expecting two sedans and two SUVs, while Porsche could build its first vehicle on the platform at the same factory as the Macan. This doesn't mean you'll see an electric Macan, but that suggests it isn't an electrified coupe.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Uber settles with Waymo over allegations of stolen trade secrets

  The case between Uber and Waymo is over, and Uber is settling with Waymo over claims that the former stole trade secrets. The payout is a 0.34 percent equity stake in Uber to Waymo which totals around $245 million, according to CNBC. Waymo's accusation was that Uber stole trade secrets (some 14,000 files, allegedly) after engineer Anthony Levandowski left Uber to start Otto, the self-driving truck company that was then purchased by Uber in 2016 for $680 million.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Tesla targets 2,500 Model 3s a week while posting largest quarterly loss

  After its CEO launched one of its Roadsters into space yesterday, Tesla posted its largest quarterly loss while simultaneously posting a jump in revenue. Meanwhile, the company is still working towards its earlier goal of producing 5,000 Model 3s a week.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Renault-Nissan and Didi plan self-driving ride service in China

  Didi, the company that purchased the rights to Uber in China, plans to build an electric, autonomous ride-sharing service with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and other automakers. The two companies are currently in the exploration stages, but Renault said it will launch "robo-vehicle ride-hailing services" with Didi as part of its Alliance 2022 strategic plan.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Mercedes will build an electric version of its popular Sprinter van

  It's all well and good to drive your own electric car, but what about the companies delivering your mail or fixing your water heater? They could stand to benefit from EVs, too -- and Mercedes-Benz is happy to help out. It's launching a refreshed Sprinter van that will, for the first time, include an eSprinter electric version. Details on the range and performance aren't available, but that's likely to vary widely as Mercedes customizes the eSprinter based on individual companies' demands. It's mainly aimed at "city centers," so we wouldn't expect hundreds of miles of driving.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Embark’s self-driving semi completes trip from California to Florida

  Last year, autonomous trucking company Embark announced that it would begin using its Level 2 autonomous semis to deliver refrigerators from Texas to California. Now, TechCrunch reports, the company has taken it a step further as one of its trucks has now completed a 2,400 mile trip from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. The trip took five days, which included scheduled rest breaks for the driver that was on board, and TechCrunch says that Embark's team is now assessing all of the trip's data. While there's no word yet on just how often the system required the driver to step in, those on board said that the truck went "hours at a time with no disengagements, and when they did occur they were usually only a few seconds," according to Embark CEO Alex Rodrigues.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Tesla’s big battery is undercutting Australia’s energy cartels

  When Tesla installed the world's largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia last year, it came with the promise that it would revolutionize the way electricity is produced, stored and sold in a region known for blackouts and market monopolizing. Less than two months later, that promise has been delivered to the tune of a multimillion-dollar saving, as the Tesla big battery essentially noped an attempt by Australia's energy cartel to capitalize on power fluctuations and send the market into overdrive.

  By Rachel England Read More

• NVIDIA will power Continental's self-driving car platform

  German automotive components producer Continental has partnered with NVIDIA to produce a full-scale self-driving car platform. It will use the GPU maker's autonomous vehicle hardware and software setup, DRIVE, to make a unified platform that prospective automakers and others can build their own self-driving cars upon.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Sondors' three-wheeled EV is affordable and stylish

  Starting a new car company is tough. In fact, it's nearly impossible. Then Tesla pulled it off. As we transition from the internal combustion engine to electrification, startups and even a few established players are taking a chance on EVs. Building a three-wheeled autocycle isn't revolutionary, exactly. But making an EV starting at $10,000, with all the usual amenities, makes it a car worth watching. Plus, it looks spectacular.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Lyft Line's pre-tax commuter perks are available in 18 cities

  Lyft Line was built from the start to make daily ridesharing more affordable, but it really comes into its own if you can use a commuter benefits card. It lets you use pre-tax dollars to pay for a ride, cutting up to 35 percent of the price. It's a good thing, then, that you no longer have to worry about where those cards are available -- Lyft has expanded the use of commuter benefits to all 18 US cities where Line operates. Provided your employer offers the cards in the first place, you now have a low-cost way to commute to work without taking a bus or train.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Hyundai's self-driving fuel cell cars complete a record highway trip

  Future self-driving cars don't have to be pure electric vehicles, and Hyundai is determined to prove it. The automaker just had a five-strong fleet of Level 4 autonomous hydrogen fuel cars drive themselves 118 miles from Seoul to the Winter Olympics' home venue of Pyeongchang. That's the longest any self-driving vehicle has traveled at highway speeds (around 62-68MPH), the company claimed. Previously, they had to putt around at slower speeds, and frequently on limited road sections.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Mercedes and Bosch will test self-driving taxis in a few months

  Mercedes (or rather, its parent Daimler) and Bosch aren't far off from making their self-driving taxis a practical reality... in a manner of speaking. Bosch chief Volkmar Denner has informed Automobilwoche that the two companies will put test vehicles on the road within a few months. He didn't supply other details, but the mention provided a more definitive timetable for their ambitions. Until now, the two had only promised to have fully autonomous vehicles ready by the start of the next decade.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Tesla's plan to charge electric semis relies on its customers

  Customers have been lining up to order some of Tesla's electric big rigs since the Semi debuted in November, but there is one big question: where will they get charged? According to Reuters, at first the rollout will rely on customers like Pepsi and UPS to build on-site "megachargers" and trucks will be restricted to going back and forth on routes that keep them near home base. Representatives for the companies confirmed they're working with Tesla to build in-house charging locations, however, the plan for a Supercharger-like network that could juice up trucks on the road is a bit fuzzier.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Mercedes’ updated A-Class introduces individual car sharing

  Usually an automaker's entry-level vehicle is where features initially dropped into the premium line trickle down. Mercedes has taken a different approach with the introduction of the new A-Class.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Ford’s Chariot ride-sharing vans come to London

  Chariot is Ford's attempt to launch its own quasi-public transport system with a fleet of minibuses designed to serve flush commuters. The service has seen some success in the US, and operates routes in San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Columbus and New York. That's enough to convince Ford to take the service worldwide, with the first European routes launching in London.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Coord feeds real-time transportation info into navigation apps

  Google Maps might plot the fastest route to your destination, but it doesn't tell you the smartest (or cheapest) place to park. Coord wants to fix that by supplying parking, toll and parking information for companies to plug into their other apps and services using an API.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Airbus' drone taxi takes to the skies for the first time

  When Airbus first announced its plans to develop a self-flying taxi, it sounded like a fever dream of a sci-fi fan. Now, the aerospace giant has proven that it wasn't joking: Airbus' Vahana team have successfully flown their autonomous air taxi dubbed "Alpha One" for the first time. Sure, it only reached an altitude of 16 feet and remained in the air for 53 seconds before descending, but it did so while fully self-piloted. The team conducted another test flight the day after, and by the sound of things, that one also went well.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• All-Tesla EV racing series could hit the track this year

  Tesla's electric race car series has been in the planning stages for awhile, and now it has been approved by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the organization that oversees Formula One. Eventually, the plan is to put together an all-electric series of racing events around the world. But because others' electric racing vehicles aren't ready yet, the Electric Car Production Series is starting with the Tesla Model S P100D. It was previously called the Electric GT Wold Series.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Uber, Lyft and others pledge to improve urban transportation

  With the rise of ride-sharing, alternative fuels and ongoing developments in autonomous vehicle technology, transportation is in the midst of a rather drastic transformation, and how we get around in the not too distant future is likely to be very different than how we get around today. But with so many companies working towards a new transportation future, things could get a little messy. To address that concern, over a dozen companies have now committed to 10 Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, a pledge initiated by Zipcar cofounder Robin Chase.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Uber’s battle to get your car to arrive on time

  Maps were essential to the exploration of the world. Most of our history books are filled with people who decided to go out into the abyss with just an inkling of what they would find, usually based on incomplete or even nonexistent charts. Uber and other ride-hailing systems started a bit like that, creating a business that relied on regular people driving other regular people around. It wasn't completely uncharted -- we've had taxis and their illegal counterparts, "pirate taxis," forever. Today, everything an Uber car or driver does is mapped, catalogued and analyzed. Not because Uber wants to or because it's exploring strange new worlds but because it needs to.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• UK group planning complex 200-mile autonomous car trial

  As the UK attempts to position itself at the forefront of autonomous driving, the government -- with help from startups and universities -- has embarked on a number of trials in order to rack up the necessary miles on the road. This normally involves putting a self-driving through the small patches of the best and worst British highways have to have offer, providing car makers with the data they need to manufacture a safe autonomous vehicle and pave the way for updated laws and regulations in order to govern them.

  By Matt Brian Read More

• Waymo drove 2 million autonomous miles in 2017

  Waymo's vehicles drove 2 million miles in self-driving mode across 25 cities in 2017, putting its total autonomous miles to 4 million. It accelerated its testing to prepare for its ride-hailing fleet's launch this year, allowing it to "gather as much data as possible in order to improve [its] technology." According to its annual report submitted to the government of California, Waymo drove 352,545 of those miles in The Golden State from December 2016 to November 2017. Within that period, the company reported a total of 63 disengagements (instances wherein the human test driver had to step in), which means its vehicles drove an average of 5,595 miles for every disengagement.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

Gaming (58)

• 'The Blackout Club' is a co-op horror game from 'BioShock' veterans

  Many horror games are solitary affairs -- a little odd when horror movies are frequently shared experiences. Why not make games which play off the social side of fear? Question is trying just that. The group of BioShock and Dishonored alumni has unveiled The Blackout Club, a co-op horror title where survival depends on working as a team. You play as a group of teens who've uncovered a terrifying conspiracy in a small town, and they can only see the villains' central "boogeyman" by closing their eyes (part of the reason for the "blackout" in the name). If your group is going to live, everyone will need to keep watch -- you may save a friend who doesn't realize they're in danger.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Play the new 'Overwatch' support hero on test servers right now

  There was a time when the Overwatch team spent months dripping out information about a new hero for fans to obsess over. But now it's content to simply drop a new one out of nowhere like a dropped mic and revel in the game's overjoyed community. Today is one of those days: Brigitte, a new melee support hero, has joined the fray -- and you can play her right now on the game's PTR servers.

  By David Lumb Read More

• ESRB addresses loot box controversy with ‘in-game purchases’ label

  The controversy over loot boxes in games like Star Wars: Battlefront II, Need for Speed: Payback and Destiny 2 hasn't settled and state legislators in the US and governments abroad are considering legislation that would limit their use or straight up ban them. Central to the debate is whether loot boxes should be considered gambling and in that regard, the ESRB has maintained that's not the case, saying last year, "While there's an element of chance in these mechanics, the player is always guaranteed to receive in-game content (even if the player unfortunately receives something they don't want)." But that hasn't kept people from pushing the ESRB to do more. New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan sent an open letter to the regulatory body earlier this month, asking it to review its policies on loot boxes and take into account their potential to do harm. And today, the ESRB announced what it will be doing to address concerns over loot boxes.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Some 'Hearthstone' cards will be phased out with April's expansion

  Blizzard has solidified Hearthstone's annual flow of retiring old cards and welcoming new ones: For the third year in a row, a new expansion will come in April that signals a sea change in the digital card game. While we don't know the title or flavor of Hearthstone's next set, we do have a list of changes and new features that will arrive when 2017's Year of the Mammoth gives way to 2018's Year of the Raven.

  By David Lumb Read More

• 'Into the Breach' is monsters, mechs and a reset for strategy games

  Subset Games' 2012 space command simulator FTL wasn't the first roguelike indie game to come out during the subgenre's renaissance, but it stood out from the rest. Players guide their single ship against a galaxy of enemies, and the challenge and high skill ceiling earned legions of fans and financial success. Last February, the studio teased its second game, Into The Breach, a grid-based strategy game where the player's trio of mechs must fight off an invading onslaught of colossal bugs while saving as many people as possible. The game comes out today -- and anyone that loved the studio's tough-but-rewarding first game will be equally charmed by its sophomore release.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Can legislation fix gaming's loot box problem?

  Last year's gaming controversy has turned into this year's legislative battleground. Fans were outraged when Star Wars: Battlefront II launched with buyable loot boxes that unbalanced multiplayer combat, and other games like Need For Speed: Payback and Destiny 2 had their own pay-to-win controversies. Eventually, loot boxes unsettled enough constituents to rile their representatives. Legislators in Hawaii, Washington and Illinois have introduced bills to either study loot boxes or restrict access to young players, but how effective will they be? What else can lawmakers do?

  By David Lumb Read More

• 'Ghostbusters World' AR game is coming to Android and iOS this year

  Using AR to promote movies isn't entirely new. We've already seen official movie tie-in augmented reality apps for Spider-Man: Homecoming and the Jon Hamm vehicle, Marjorie. Now, though, Sony Pictures is taking things a bit farther with Ghostbusters World, a mobile AR game based on the popular film, television and comic book franchise. The title is currently in development with 4:33 Creative Lab and should launch sometime this year on iOS and Android.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• MLB's 'Home Run Derby VR' is coming to PSVR and Vive this spring

  Major League Baseball has gotten into VR lately with a host of initiatives, including partnerships with Google for At Bat VR, Intel for "Game of the Week" live streams and Samsung for immersive highlights of the 2017 season. Now MLB is bringing a VR Home Run Derby that debuted at the All-Star Game and select ballparks to your home via PlayStation VR and HTC Vive.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Discord signs eSports pros to use its chat app

  Discord has become something of a gaming chat-app phenomenon lately, partnering with Spotify for in-chat soundtracks, adding video chat and screensharing and bringing verified official game channels to its service. Now the company plans to expand into the eSports realm by partnering with more than 20 teams, including Team Liquid, DreamHack, and almost every Overwatch League team out there. The program launches February 22nd on the company's verified servers and will let team members and fans chat, share news and discuss upcoming matches.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• College esports is set to explode, starting with the Fiesta Bowl

  As executive director of the Fiesta Bowl, one of the largest postseason college football games of the year, Mike Nealy was more familiar with shoulder pads than mousepads. Six months ago, he didn't know people were making money playing video games professionally, he'd never heard of Twitch, and the last time he picked up a controller, it was attached to an Atari 2600. That all changed after a conversation with John Pierce, an esports consultant and former marketing head for the Phoenix Coyotes and US Olympic Committee. Pierce outlined the professional-gaming boom to Nealy and explained how it could tie into the collegiate football scene. He put Nealy in touch with Blizzard, the studio behind Overwatch.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• Bungie pushes back 'Destiny 2' feature upgrades

  If you were looking forward to Bungie tackling the laundry list of Destiny 2 issues in short order, you'll have to be be a little more patient. The studio has delayed the implementation of a handful of features that were slated to arrive between now and May. Most notably, a sought-after revamp of the equipment mod system won't make it for May. Don't like the seemingly endless wave of redundant or ineffective add-ons? You'll have to wait a while longer.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Twitch is cashing in on your love for Overwatch League

  The Overwatch League is blowing up and Twitch wants to make some extra money off its exclusive streaming partnership. To encourage viewership, you'll be able to earn Overwatch League Tokens (what you use to buy League skins). You'll pick up one token per live map finish, and a "percentage" of viewers of the "conclusion of the final map" during a live 'cast will randomly win 100 tokens.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• MLS eSports league's first tournament streams on Twitch this April

  Last month, Major League Soccer became the latest US sports association to create its own eSports league, eMLS, which will exclusively run EA Sports' game FIFA 18. We knew its first-ever event would be a tournament (the eMLS Cup) at the upcoming PAX East where 19 players, each representing an MLS team, will compete to qualify for the league's global playoffs. But today, the nascent eMLS has laid out how the tournament will go down -- and where folks at home can stream it.

  By David Lumb Read More

• 'Angry Birds Champions' lets players fling pheasants for real money

  Angry Birds Champions is now available on iOS devices and through the developer's website, allowing players to fling their feathered friends against precarious piles of pigs in a bid to win real money for the first time. The game is accessible through the WorldWinner iOS app or on WorldWinner.com, joining the studio's other real-money tournament games like Wheel of Fortune, Solitaire, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. "It's really the original Angry Birds physics game -- and obviously Rovio's done a number of different derivatives using the iconography -- but this is the core physics game of shooting birds and killing pigs," WorldWinner boss Jeremy Shea told Engadget.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• 'Rocket League' DLC adds DC superhero flair on March 5th

  When car-soccer game Rocket League was updated last November, it included two DC Comics-inspired customization options like The Flash wheels and player banner. On March 5th, the game will get an entire roster of Justice League cars from Warner Bros., including two different Batmobiles -- one from the 1989 film and the other from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• 'Burnout Paradise' is back with a $40 4K remaster March 16th

  Burnout Paradise was one of those rare racers that transcended its genre and was just a killer game. If its recent 10th birthday had you feeling nostalgic, then we've got good news. Come March 16th, you'll be able to hit the streets of Paradise City once again, to the complete original soundtrack, and replete with all 150 cars and eight main expansion packs -- including the "Big Surf Island" premium DLC -- in Burnout Paradise Remastered.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• ’Elite Dangerous: Beyond’ Chapter One arrives on February 27th

  If you've been eagerly waiting for the third season of Elite Dangerous, your time has almost come. Today, Frontier Developments announced that the first chapter of the new season of the space MMORPG, called Beyond, will arrive on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on February 27th. The company also released a trailer for the third season, which you can see below.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• The ESA says preserving old online games isn't 'necessary'

  The video game industry as a whole does a poor job of preserving its history -- especially when it comes to online games. The Entertainment Software Association -- responsible for E3; counts Electronic Arts, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and Ubisoft as members -- is petitioning the US Copyright Office to not make DMCA exemptions for abandoned online multiplayer games. It's an effort to block the folks at the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment in California who would like to see an exemption made to how the DMCA treats titles like the original Everquest.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Engadget giveaway: Win a pro controller package from Scuf Gaming!

  Edge. That's what helps elevate pro gamers to the next level and Scuf Gaming offers a lot of it in its competitive controllers. The company has beefed-up versions for both PlayStation and Xbox, so you can focus on natural moves with custom settings that work for you. This week, Scuf has provided us with a B.O.T.G bundle along with a second Impact controller (both for PlayStation / PC). As always, these are built to spec at Scuf workshops in the US and UK. The bundle provides limited edition swag, a custom B.O.T.G. Impact controller, cabling and thumbstick and ring & lock kits. Plus, there's the additional Impact controller so you don't have to roll solo. These competitive units offer on-the-fly interchangeable thumbsticks, adjustable trigger mechanisms and four paddles for improved reach. You can play via Bluetooth or a wired set-up with improved cable retention to avoid accidental breaks in the action. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below to give your gaming a professional boost. You'll have up to three chances at winning all the edge you'll need for your next mission! Winner: Congratulations to Geo W. of Kittery, ME!

  By Jon Turi Read More

• You get to pick the next free games on Twitch Prime

  Twitch has been giving away free games with a Prime membership for awhile now, but now you'll have a say in what's handed out each month. With the Indie Amplifier program, users can pick from eight indie games and the one with the most votes will be given away March 15th. Here's what's in the running:

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Atari will use cryptocurrency to bolster its online gambling business

  In its latest bid for relevance, Atari is glomming onto the cryptocurrency craze. The company is hoping to bolster its gambling business in Europe with Atari Token, according to Bloomberg. "Our aim is to take strategic positions with a limited cash risk, in order to best create value with the assets and Atari brand," CEO Frederic Chesnais noted in a release. Like Kodak and, err, Long Island Iced Tea before it, the stock market has responded favorably to the news, pushing Atari share prices up by over 60 percent after the company announced its intent to jump into cryptocurrency. Maybe now the company can afford to tell people what it's going to include in the Ataribox.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Crowdfunded ‘Shaq-Fu’ revival game finally comes out this spring

  The early '90s made a bad habit out of terrible action games cashing in on brands and celebrities. One of the latter was Shaq Fu, which has become a punchline in Worst Games of All Time lists for franchising out NBA star Shaquille O'Neal into a bad fighter filled with a confusing mish-mash of myths. Instead of ruin, some saw kitschy promise, and a revival was successfully crowdfunded in 2014. Friends who collectively sunk over $450,000 into this dream, your time is coming. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn will arrive for PC and consoles (including the Switch) this spring.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Niantic to host 48 real-life Ingress events around the world

  Niantic hasn't forgotten its old, less-popular game Ingress even though its name has mostly been associated with Pokémon Go these past couple of years. After giving us a sneak peek of its revamp called Ingress Prime late last year, the AR game-maker has revealed that it's hosting 48 free real-world events for the hidden-reality sci-fi game in 2018 and 2019. They'll take place around the globe, adding layers of mystery in augmented reality to cities, turning them into interactive locations where players can find "portals," mostly on public art and landmarks.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 'Dab on 'em Haterz' turns surviving the internet into a game

  Last month, Dab on 'em Haterz launched on Steam, an indie game that puts the player in charge of a YouTube creator who must sift through comments and presumably stay sane in the process. It's up to our hero to give negative feedback a good dabbing that banishes it from his queue and nets him some money. But it's in his head, of course. Forever scraping away at his self-confidence and belief in humanity. Yes, Dab on 'em Haterz seems a microcosm of living on the internet in 2018.

  By David Lumb Read More

• ‘Where The Water Tastes Like Wine’ arrives on February 28th

  Two years ago, a trailer dropped at The Game Awards that promised a story about stories. In Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, players would trek across a dusty America, meeting vagabonds and trading tales while folk music trailed in the background. We knew the title was coming early this year even as more exciting news stole headlines, like adding Sting to the voice cast. But we won't have to wait much longer: Where the Water Tastes Like Wine will arrive on February 28th and retail for $20 on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Video game records are broken. Can anyone fix them?

  After a period of relative quiet, Twin Galaxies recently found itself thrust into the spotlight. The arbiter for video-game recordkeeping played an intrinsic role in disputing two long-standing achievements hosted on its forums: Todd Rogers' unbeatable Dragster time and Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong high score. Both records have had their share of challenges over the decades, but before users on the TG forums raised their concerns the other week, nothing was done to officially dispute them. In 1982, Rogers sent Dragster developer Activision a letter saying he'd finished a race in 5.51-seconds -- without proof -- and in return, he received a certificate saying he held the record. For many, Mitchell is the "King of Kong" thanks to his appearance in a documentary by the same name. He has recorded higher scores since, but allegedly, Mitchell's 2010 best wasn't recorded on an actual Donkey Kong cabinet, but in MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). (We reached out to Mitchell and Rogers for comment, but they haven't responded.) According to Jace Hall, TG's head custodian of records, it was only a matter of time before these disputes happened.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• 'The Evil Within 2' has a new first-person mode for up-close horror

  Originally released in October of last year, The Evil Within 2 is a bleak, tense take on the horror genre, where exploration and discovery are just as important as the scares. The game was designed as a third-person experience, much like producer Shinji Mikami's famous Resident Evil series. Now, however, developer Tango Gameworks has launched a free update that will make the entire game playable in first person perspective.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Overwatch League signs its first female player

  It's official: Overwatch League has its first female player. The Shanghai Dragons have signed Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon as part of a four-player addition. The South Korean teen rose to prominence thanks to her reputation for playing Zarya (one of Overwatch's "tank" characters) so well that she was pressed into a livestreamed skill display to prove that she wasn't cheating. She was also the first female player to compete in her home country's Apex league, one of the game's foremost competitive events until Overwatch League showed up.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Florence' turns falling in love into a video game

  Video games are good at war. For decades, games have covered the breadth, horror and honor of battle in every conceivable arena, from ancient history to futuristic space stations, from the hills of Mordor to the beaches of Normandy. Games have a long history of transforming firefights into sporting events, pitting players against one another with a wide array of weapons at their disposal. It makes sense, given where the industry started. "When our technology was really primitive, the easiest things to create were simulations of sports and of physical things and battles and sort of black-and-white conditions," Ken Wong, the creator of Monument Valley, says. "Since then we've developed so much technology and discussion, and we're able to create stories and characters with a lot of subtleties, but it feels like gaming as an industry is still hanging onto that past as sort of the true form of gaming."

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• 'Devil May Cry' will be free with Twitch Prime on February 27th

  Twitch Prime only occasionally offers sweet game deals, but this one might be worth grabbing if you want to brush up on video game history. Twitch and Capcom are offering the Windows version of the original Devil May Cry (specifically, from the HD Collection) for free to Amazon Prime subscribers starting on February 27th. In many ways, this is the archetype for stylish hack-and-slash action titles like Bayonetta -- Dante succeeds in his demon hunting saga by mixing up attacks to create an unbroken chain of death. Add in a story inspired by The Divine Comedy and it's fairly clear why the series spawned both multiple sequels and a remake, even if if they didn't always live up to the original.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Hawaii legislators want to put age restrictions on loot crates

  The video game industry is getting a wake up call over paid loot boxes. Last November, Belgium ruled that loot crates in Star Wars Battlefront II could be classified as gambling. Last month, a Washington Senator proposed a bill aimed at regulating the practice via the state's gambling commission. Now Hawaii is looking to limit these types of game systems with a couple of bills proposed by state legislators, one of which restricts sales of these types of games to the over-21 crowd.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Play ‘Rocket League’ IRL with a Hot Wheels RC car kit

  After arriving on the Nintendo Switch in November, there's few places Rocket League hasn't reached -- but soon it will hit the real world. No, not in actual rocket-boosted vehicles, which would be way cooler to watch than a show about its eSports competition. Instead, fans will soon be able to race around in Hot Wheels-brand RC car replicas of the in-game vehicles.

  By David Lumb Read More

• 'Assassin's Creed Origins' virtual tours can actually teach history

  The Assassin's Creed series is known for its vast and richly detailed historical environments, and well... lots of murder. What you might not realize is just how much work goes into making these virtual windows into the past somewhat realistic. That's something Ubisoft is aiming to highlight with Assassin's Creed Origins' Discovery Tour. You can think of it as a museum-like experience set within the game's meticulous rendition of ancient Egypt. The goal? To turn one of the most popular gaming franchises in the world into a truly useful educational tool.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• ‘Sea of Thieves’ will live or die by how its world grows

  Sea of Thieves is unquestionably an absolute blast to play. It unashamedly embraces every seafarer cliché and trope so you can live out all your pirate fantasies, just without the sunburn, scurvy and missing appendages. You can down grog until you puke, take to the open ocean in search of treasure or conflict and, when you lose a cannon fight, play a mournful tune with your fellow scallywags as you go down with your galleon. But Sea of Thieves isn't supposed to be a game you spend a few fun evenings playing before forgetting it just as quickly. Developer Rare envisions its core audience spending hundreds if not thousands of hours plundering this new world. If that's going to be the case, though, it has to grow to be twice the title it is today.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Play 'Overwatch' for free (again) this weekend

  Blizzard has a habit of seasonally opening up its hero shooter Overwatch for everyone to try every couple months, typically just after it announces a new hero, event or map. Fittingly, the publisher announced that new PC, PS4 and Xbox One players can try out the game for free next weekend to get a taste of the just-launched Lunar New Year seasonal event.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Play giant-sized 'Pong' by shuffling your feet

  You may have seen attempts at real-world Pong before, but rarely have they been so... athletic. Moment Factory has created GRiD, a Pong variant that uses a LiDAR sensor (the same tech as in self-driving cars) to create an enormous, 40-by-60 foot playing field where the paddle only moves when you and a partner shuffle your feet together. You could get quite the workout if the teams are evenly matched, and that's before the game adds wrinkles like surprise acceleration or an extra ball.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Ben Heck's 'Hex' game: Will it sell?

  Would you like to be able to buy Ben Heck's "Hex" game?

  By Engadget Staff Read More

• 'Monsters Inc' is the next Pixar world coming to 'Kingdom Hearts 3'

  Pixar's presence in Kingdom Hearts 3 won't be limited to the Toy Story crew. Square Enix and Disney have revealed that Monsters Inc will play a role, too. You'll see Boo, Mike and Sully (minus the famous actors, of course) as well as settings from the classic CG movie, such as the door vault. There's even the chance to wield weapons themed around the movie... including Mike, apparently.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• ‘Destiny 2’ Nightfall raids get an improved scoring system

  Just a few days ago, Bungie released its Destiny 2 development road map, full of improvements to counter complaints about diminishing rewards. Now the company has announced a new scoring system for the game's weekly Nightfall raids aimed at rewarding players for more fine-grained achievements instead of a simple time-based pass/fail mechanism.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Razer suspends 'Paid to Play' rewards over negative feedback

  Last March, Razer put forth a way to earn points that could be redeemed for the company's peripherals like keyboards and mice. All you needed to do was to launch games via Razer's Cortex desktop software and play up to five hours of eligible games each day. Unfortunately, this "Paid to Play" initiative is now at an end, at least temporarily. Razer will suspend the program beginning on March 1, based on what the company calls negative feedback from the community.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• 'The Red Strings Club' explores the morality of transhumanism

  If you had the ability to turn off all the negative emotions in your mind -- depression, anxiety, rage -- would you do it? Would you eagerly implant a device in your body that eliminates those feelings, or would you pause and consider the consequences? Without anxiety, would your drive to succeed stagnate? Without rage, would your body be primed to fight or flee in a sticky situation? Without depression, would you appreciate joy? Think about it for a moment. We'll wait.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

• 'Overwatch's' new Capture The Flag map and competitive mode is live

  For the second year, Blizzard has launched a seasonal event to celebrate the Lunar New Year. As promised in a Developer Update video earlier this week, players get a new Thailand-inspired map and competitive mode for Capture The Flag, as well as new skins. There are a couple more changes, too -- including, at long last, the ability to change your hero's outfit at the start of the match.

  By David Lumb Read More

• GDC 2018 will feature the event's first film festival

  The Game Developers Conference (GDC) takes place in San Francisco next month and this year's event includes the GDC's first ever film festival. For three days starting March 19th, the GDC will host a selection of documentary and narrative films focused on the art and culture of video games, and Q&As with the filmmakers will follow most of the screenings.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• ‘Monster Hunter: World’ is the best way to fight bosses with friends

  Monster Hunter: World is the latest entry in a decade-plus game franchise dedicated to killing huge monsters. But the series has another reputation: barely explained mechanics, labyrinthine menus and difficult co-op play. Capcom smoothed out a lot of those rough edges for Monster Hunter: World and released it simultaneously worldwide, which has made it the most accessible of the franchise. Now, finally, it can take the crown as the best co-op boss fight experience out there.

  By David Lumb Read More

• EVO 2018 lineup adds 'Dragon Ball FighterZ'

  This year's EVO, arguably the biggest fighting game tournament, will feature eight titles in Las Vegas this year, including established favorites like Street Fighter 5, Tekken 7 and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, however, will not be making an appearance this time. The series has regularly appeared at the tournament, but the newest addition apparently hasn't made the cut. Don't worry though, in its place there are new games!

  By Mat Smith Read More

• ‘Overwatch’ update adds Thailand-inspired Capture the Flag map

  It's the Year of the Dog in Overwatch, and Blizzard game director Jeff Kaplan has revealed a little more about what we can expect from the game's seasonal event. The biggest headline is a new, Thailand-based map, which Kaplan says is "absolutely gorgeous". One side boasts an ancient feel, with a temple, the other is more "bright and beautiful" and modern. More importantly, though, this is the first map Blizzard has ever made specifically for Capture the Flag, which is also returning with the event.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Shanghai may sign Overwatch League's first female player

  Shanghai Dragons is reportedly fixing a problem with Overwatch League: the lack of female players for a game with an impressively diverse cast of characters. According to ESPN, the team has signed South Korean player Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon, who's so good at playing Zarya (pictured above), she was once accused of using cheats. After Geguri livestreamed a game to prove her critics wrong, she played in the Overwatch Apex tournament in her home country last year. Now, she might be bringing her skills to an even bigger platform.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Tencent-backed 'Arena of Valor' World Cup boasts $500,000 purse

  Mobile eSports are becoming a big deal. Last year, mobile MOBA Vainglory's big eSports tournament was backed by Amazon. Supercell put on a Clash Royale $1 million tournament last summer, too. Now China's Tencent Games is getting in on the action with plans for a series of eSport tournaments, beginning with the Arena of Valor World Cup in July of this year. The contest will take place in Los Angeles and offer a prize pool of more than $500,000, according to the press release.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Here’s what it would take to make Overwatch’s ‘Blizzard World’ IRL

  Last week, the Overwatch team released a new map: Blizzard World. The multiplayer arena is a colorful amusement park filled with attractions and rides themed after Blizzard's stable of games. It's a delightful backdrop for the team-based shooter, filled with in-jokes and puns that make it look like a rapturous place for a gamer to visit. But what would it take to bring Blizzard World to life?

  By David Lumb Read More

• What we're playing: 'Yakuza 0' and 'Reigns: Her Majesty'

  Welcome back to Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where several editors talk about what they've been playing in their downtime. This month, we spend too much time taking photos in Assassin's Creed Origins, lose ourselves in Yakuza 0's side stories, and ask the important question: "Tinder or Reigns?"

  By Engadget Read More

• 'Destiny 2' March update brings the thrill back to competitive play

  Bungie has spent much of its recent time addressing gripes with Destiny 2's story and cooperative play, but players in the competitive Crucible mode? Not so much -- some have complained that the Crucible just isn't that exciting, and the infamous Prometheus Lens incident arguably wouldn't have happened if Bungie had been paying closer attention to Crucible gameplay. You might not have that complaint for much longer, though. The studio has detailed some of the changes coming with the March 27th update, and a large chunk of them are designed to ratchet up the intensity of player-versus-player fights.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Far Cry 5' season pass takes you to Mars and Vietnam

  It's almost time to head to Hope County, Montana. In addition to Far Cry 5's American vibes, there will be more to explore if you pony up for the game's season pass. The trio of adventures will have you battling the undead in "Dead Living Zombies," the Viet Cong in "Hours of Darkness" and gigantic spiders in "Lost on Mars." Sure, aside from "Hours of Darkness" these sound pretty over-the-top, but they aren't out of the ordinary for the series. For example, Far Cry 3 had the awesome, '80s-inspired "Blood Dragon" add-on pack that starred Michael Biehn.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Niantic buys Escher to power shared world AR experiences

  While Pokémon Go was a big step forward for AR in gaming, it appears that Niantic, the studio behind the game, has grander ambitions. This week, the company announced the acquisition of Escher Reality, which focuses on "persistent, cross platform, multi-user experiences," according to the release.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• UNICEF recruits gamers to mine cryptocurrency for Syrian kids

  UNICEF has launched a new fund-raising project in the same vein as SETI@Home and Einstein@home, but with a cryptocurrency spin. In an effort to raise money for the children in war-torn Syria, the organization is asking gamers, eSports fans and anybody with powerful graphics cards in their computers for help in mining Ethereum. It's calling the new project "Game Chaingers," and joining it is as easy as going to its website, giving it a few details about your system so it can configure the mining software and installing that software to your PC.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• ‘Diablo’ creator’s next game is a 2D dungeon crawler

  If you lost hours and hours delving beneath Tristram in the original Diablo, you have David Brevik to thank, who created and programmed the classic action RPG. The veteran developer went on to co-found and head the studio that became Blizzard North, which made the even-more-successful Diablo II. After years consulting and leading studio Gazillion Entertainment, Brevik is returning to dungeons and lurking horrors in his next game It Lurks Below, which he created entirely himself and will launch later this year.

  By David Lumb Read More

• 'Red Dead Redemption 2' is coming on October 26th

  Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released October 26th. That gives you just under nine months to round up a posse for Rockstar Games' next adventure in the Dead West. The developer apologized for the delays -- last May it promised RDR 2 would be out this spring, and before that, it was scheduled for Fall 2017 -- saying that it's using the extra time to add some polish to the game. Rockstar didn't have much else to share, but teased that more information will be coming soon. Until then, enjoy the new screenshots below.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Third-person MOBA 'Gigantic' to close on July 31st

  Gigantic's long and troubled development cycle is finally over. The colorful, hero-based MOBA will be shut down on July 31st, developer Motiga announced in a blog post yesterday. Ultimately, the game "did not resonate" with as many players as the studio had hoped, limiting the viability of future updates and support. As a result, the January Update — which contains new hero T-Mat, various skins and computer-controlled bloomer creatures — will be "the final content update." Microtransactions have been switched off, making all heroes free to unlock, and store items will be heavily discounted for anyone who has leftover cash to spend.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Bungie’s ‘Destiny 2’ roadmap is designed to win back players

  Destiny 2 fans haven't given Bungie an easy ride. After rolling out a free trial in November, the team has been besieged with gripes about the game's XP system, the now-infamous Prometheus Lens, and, increasingly, the fact that players are running out of content. As Twitch metrics show, engagement has been on the decline for months. Now, in a bid to reignite fan excitement, Bungie has released a pretty comprehensive development roadmap.

  By Rachel England Read More

Google (55)

• Google's Slack alternative is available starting today

  It's been almost a year since Google first mentioned Hangouts Chat -- a totally redesigned messaging service that's more like Slack than the Hangouts most consumers know today. As of now, Hangouts Chat is out of its "early adopter" program and will be available to all G Suite users over the next week, assuming their company enables it, of course. To be clear, Hangouts Chat is a totally separate and distinct service from Hangouts proper, which still lives in your Google mail inbox. And while we'll forgive you for rolling your eyes at yet another chat service from Google (the number of different chat apps the company has built is legendary at this point), Hangouts Chat does offer something potentially valuable to companies using G Suite -- assuming they're not on Slack already.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Google beta tests Flutter toolkit for better cross-platform apps

  Building apps for both Android and iOS can be a pretty time-intensive task, so it's no wonder that many developers often build for one platform first, followed by the other. There are workarounds to this, such as using Facebook's React Native that lets you build apps just with Javascript. Last year, however, Google introduced its own solution called Flutter. First revealed at I/O, Flutter is an open-source toolkit that lets devs create native apps for both platforms quickly and easily. Plus, it's also compatible with Fuchsia, Google's upcoming OS. Now, at Mobile World Congress, Google has announced that Flutter is officially in beta and is thus ready for wider adoption.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Google Shopping's 'gun' ban blocked people from buying wine

  Google Shopping banned weapon listings way back in 2012, but users have just been noticing it -- and have learned that the filtering has been a little too aggressive. Visitors from the US and elsewhere have discovered that the shopping search page hasn't been showing results for anything with "gun" in the name, including some perfectly innocuous items. Did you want to find Burgundy wine or Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction? Too bad. You could still find things through a regular Google search, but that wouldn't be as helpful.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• YouTube restores Logan Paul's ad revenue following suspension

  Apparently, YouTube's temporary suspension of Logan Paul's ad revenue was very temporary. The company has resumed running ads on the comedy star's channels this week, roughly two weeks after it cut the promos off for a string of behavior that included posting a video of a suicide victim. He's still under a 90-day "probation" that prevents his videos from showing up in recommendations for non-subscribers (both in the trending tab and notifications), and disqualifies him from the Google Preferred ad program.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• German court rules Google isn't required to vet websites

  Do search engines have an obligation to make sure every website obeys the law before listing it? They certainly don't in Germany. The country's Federal Court of Justice has ruled that Google isn't required to vet sites for defamatory material before they appear in its results. Two people had demanded that Google create filters to avoid showing sites where the complainants had been verbally attacked, but the court determined that search firms like Google only had to take action when notified that a site has clearly violated someone's rights.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google releases info on 2.4 million 'right to be forgotten' requests

  Google has received 2.4 million "right to be forgotten" requests since 2014, most of which came from private individuals, according to its latest transparency report. Europe's biggest court passed the right to be forgotten law in 2014, compelling the tech titan to remove personal info from its search engine upon request. In the report, Google has revealed that it complied with 43.3 percent of all the requests it's gotten and has also detailed the nature of those takedown pleas.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google Assistant now launches specific tasks in Android apps

  Believe it or not, Google still isn't done with its slew of Assistant upgrades this week. The AI helper can now use Actions to perform specific intents within other Android apps for those times when voice alone won't cut it. If you need to see the parking pass you just booked, for instance, you can tap a button to go directly to that pass in the relevant Android app. The feature is rolling out over the next few weeks, and it's accompanied by a few other Assistant improvements that should make life a little easier.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Android's official augmented reality toolkit is available to the public

  Google's take on a mobile augmented reality framework is no longer limited to a modestly-sized preview. It just released ARCore 1.0, letting anyone publish Android apps that take advantage of the toolkit to meld virtual objects with the real world. To no one's surprise, Google has already lined up apps from big-name brands to take advantage of the new platform. Snapchat has an AR "portal" that takes you inside FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium, while Porsche lets you explore the Mission E Concept as if it were parked in front of you. A number of games (such as Ghostbusters World and a range of titles from NetEase) and home furnishing apps (Sotheby's, JD.com, Easyhome and Otto) are also on tap.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google Assistant will get support for Routines 'in the coming weeks'

  Today's Google Assistant is much, much more capable than the version that first debuted on the original Pixel and Pixel XL. Don't expect that progress to slow anytime soon, either: Google laid out some new plans to improve the Assistant just in time for Mobile World Congress, and they extend far beyond just teaching it more languages.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Google Assistant will soon recognize the language you're speaking

  In advance of the Mobile World Congress, Google has announced some exciting new language features for Assistant. Later this year, Google Assistant will have multilingual features. This means that people who speak different languages over the course of their day can switch seamlessly between languages. Google Assistant will be able to identify the language you are speaking and follow along. The feature will be available first in English, German and French, but support for more languages is planned.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Businesses tap Google's RCS for more useful text messages

  Google has supported Rich Communication Services (RCS) for a while now, hoping to bring features like group chat, high-res photo sharing and read receipts to all Android users. The company made a big push to expand RCS support on Android last year, and carriers have been slowly adopting the standard and preloading Android Messages to the standard app load out. Now, Google says that it's convinced 43 carriers and device makers to add native support for the messaging protocol.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google faces lawsuit for firing critic of anti-diversity memo

  Google fired James Damore last year, in part, because of a leaked memo alleging that the company culture unfairly targeted white males and political conservatives. Now Google is being sued by a former employee who claims he was targeted for speaking out against Damore on internal message boards, according to The Guardian. Tim Chevalier, a site reliability engineer who identifies as queer, transgender and disabled filed a lawsuit saying, in part, that he was ousted for "calling out discrimination and harassment for what it was."

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Google uses AI to place ads across the internet

  Google's ubiquitous AdSense ads are already heavily automated by their nature (they're targeted based on a look at a site's content), but it's taking that hands-off approach one step further. The search firm has officially launched Auto Ads, a system that uses machine learning to not only determine the types of ads you see, but how they're placed. The AI technology will decide how many ads are appropriate for a page and where to put them. Advertisers have to give up control, but Google has bet that they won't mind the results. A long beta test saw publishers rake in an average of 10 percent more revenue.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• YouTube's trending section shows it has a fake news problem, too

  In discussions of the ongoing battle over fake news, we often hear Facebook and Google criticized for playing a hand in spreading false information. And while both have made efforts recently to stem the spread of misinformation on their platforms, they've each had some major missteps. YouTube is talked about less often when it comes to fake news, though it isn't short of scandals itself. Last year, a number of companies and groups pulled their ads once it became known that they were appearing alongside extremist content and YouTube has also had to deal with predatory comments on children's videos, content falsely parading as being appropriate for kids and of course Logan Paul. But today, YouTube has stepped into the fake news spotlight. The number one trending video on the site earlier today was a video purporting to be evidence that David Hogg isn't a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student but instead an actor paid to speak out during crises.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Nest adds Google Assistant to the indoor Cam IQ

  The Nest Cam IQ is the smartest camera in the company's security-oriented lineup, and now it's even smarter. Today, Nest announced that the Cam IQ natively supports Google Assistant, thanks to an over-the-air update. It's important to note, though, that this is only for the indoor version of the Cam IQ.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Google's Gboard can now search emoji, stickers and GIFs at once

  Gboard is making it easier to look for the perfect emoji, sticker and GIF in one go -- at least for beta testers on Android. As 9to5google reports, the keyboard's latest beta update adds a "Search all media" option that surfaces all the results it has on offer that corresponds to your query. So, if you search for a smiley face, it brings up all the emoji, all the stickers and all the GIFs you can use at the same time. To find the new search bar, tap on the Google icon, then any of the other icons that pop up and then the search button that appears on the bottom left-hand part of the keyboard.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google Pay is the new Android Pay

  Google recently admitted that Android Pay and Google Wallet probably didn't need to exist as two different services. After a fictional, Highlander-style battle, it was Google Pay that emerged victorious, taking on a new name to define this united brand. And so today, Android Pay becomes Google Pay. The app still does everything you'd expect it to, though there's a new Home tab that puts recent transactions, nearby stores and rewards in one place. The Cards tab, on the other hand, is more a catalog of your payment cards, gift cards, loyalty schemes and offers. Unexpectedly, Google Pay doesn't actually include Google Wallet functionality, meaning you can't use it to send or request money. Not yet, anyway.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Chrome cleans up messy URLs when you share from your phone

  Google keeps making the web easier to use with its Chrome browser, from filtering ads on the desktop to getting rid of pop-ups and redirects on Android. The company just made sharing messy URLs nicer, too, thanks to the latest version of Chrome on mobile, v64. Now when you grab a long, complicated web address, Chrome will trim off the unnecessary bits from the end. That way, you won't muck up a chat with a whole bunch of personal tracking info at the end of an Amazon link, for example.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google is testing a splitscreen view for Android apps on Chromebooks

  The latest update to Chrome OS' Canary test channel should make multitasking on a Chromebook easier. Now, in addition to split-screening two native Chrome OS apps on your machine, you can run a Chrome OS app and an Android app side-by-side or two Android apps. It should be mentioned that Canary is pre-alpha software and isn't exactly stable, as 9to5 Google notes, so maybe don't try this out on your daily driver. This could be a sign that Chrome OS tablets and Chromebooks with detachable screens are en route. The video below from Chrome Unboxed, however, shows the feature running on a Samsung Chromebook Pro which suggests it'll work on existing convertibles too.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Labor board says Google legally fired diversity memo writer

  James Damore may claim Google was wrong to fire him over his memo criticizing the company's diversity culture, but a federal government overseer begs to differ. The National Labor Relations Board has published a January memo recommending a dismissal of Damore's then-active complaint. Board attorney Jayme Sophir found that Damore was protected under federal law when he criticized Google, but that he wasn't protected when he suggested that women were biologically inferior at programming. His remarks were likely to create "serious dissension and disruption" in the workplace, Sophir said, and that actuallly happened -- women pulled their candidacy for engineering positions after hearing of Damore's memo.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google spending $2.5 billion to expand operations across the US

  Just over two years ago, Google announced it would convert a 1,300-acre former Hemlock Semiconductor facility in Clarksville, Tennessee into a new $600 million data center. Today, the search giant broke ground on the site -- and Google CEO Sundar Pichai used the opportunity to announce the company will invest $2.5 billion to open new facilities or expand existing ones in 14 states.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Google Pixel 2 users report warming phones and shortened battery life

  If you've noticed your Pixel 2 running warm lately or found its battery life to suddenly be shortened, you're not alone. As 9to5Google points out, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users are reporting on Reddit and Google's Pixel User Community that their phones are having some issues since they installed Google's February security update. 9to5Google's Ben Schoon reports that his own Pixel 2 XL has been running warm while in standby mode since the update and that its battery life is noticeably reduced.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Google is making it easier for 911 to find you in an emergency

  When you call 911 from a cellphone, your location is typically sent to the call taker by a wireless carrier. But that information isn't always so accurate. Well Google might have a better way of going about it and it tested its system across a few states in December and January, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the states where the tests took place, Google sent location data from a random selection of 911 callers using Android phones straight to the people taking those calls. The test included 50 call centers that cover around 2.4 million people in Texas, Tennessee and Florida, and early reports of the results suggest the system is promising.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Google removes ‘View Image’ button from image search

  Say goodbye to the "View Image" link in Google Images. Google announced a few changes to its image search today, one of which being the removal of its option to check out an image without visiting the site that hosts it. It might be a bummer for some, but since it was a stipulation of Google's settlement with Getty Images, it was only a matter of time before it happened. In a tweet, Google said today that the changes "are designed to strike a balance between serving user needs and publisher concerns, both stakeholders we value."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Google gives Gmail the Android Go treatment to save data and storage

  Last December, Google launched Android Go, a lightweight operating system for less capable phones typically used in places like India and Indonesia. The company has also been creating apps for these less-capable phones, too, including YouTube Go and a Go-enabled Assistant. Now Google has Gmail Go, a Gmail client made to use less data and storage space for lower end Android phones.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google Maps for iOS adds easy access to traffic and transit info

  Over a year ago, Google updated its Maps app for Android, making it easier for users to search for restaurants, check out nearby traffic and find public transit schedules. Today, that update is now available for iOS users. With the update, Google Maps users will see three options on the bottom of their screens -- explore, driving and transit.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Google's Project Fi now covers 170 countries with international data

  Project Fi's same-as-at-home international data is now decidedly more useful -- including before you've even left. The Google-run carrier has expanded its travel coverage from "over 135" countries to 170, including nations like Belize, Monaco, Nigeria and Tunisia. You'll still pay $10 per 1GB up to 6GB (with another 9GB free), with unlimited texting and calls at 20 cents per minute. The additions may not make or break your vacation plans, but they could reduce doubts about whether or not it's safe to document your vacation on Instagram.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The Morning After: Google Chrome gets an ad filter

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Notice anything new in your browser this morning? We'll explain Chrome's latest trick, plus the problem with video-game records and where you shouldn't put your new HomePod.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Google Play removed thousands of legit ‘Game Dev Tycoon’ reviews

  Google has removed some 77 percent of reviews for Game Dev Tycoon's mobile port on Google Play. Developer Greenheart Games contacted Google to find out why the (mostly) five-star reviews were disappearing, and was told that the scores were removed on purpose, with little other explanation. Greenheart's theory is that Google uses the same algorithm to police free-to-play game reviews on the Play store that it does paid games; Game Dev Tycoon costs $5 and you can't write a review unless you've purchased it. Free-to-play games, on the other hand, anyone can write a review with practically no time investment.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Google explains how its Chrome ad filter will work

  Tomorrow, Chrome will deploy its built-in ad filter that can keep the most annoying types of ads on the internet out of sight even if you don't use an ad blocker. In a post on the Chromium blog, Google has revealed more details about the filter before it drops, going under the hood to explain how it works more clearly. The big G says it starts by evaluating sample pages from a website to determine whether it has any advertisement that violates the standards set by the Coalition for Better Ads.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google team will bring Smart Replies to more chat apps

  If you've wanted to use Google's canned Smart Replies in chat apps, you've been limited to using Allo or (if you're on the right carrier) Android Messages. But what if you're one of the many, many people using something else? Don't fret: Google's experimental Area 120 group is working on a Reply project that, as the name implies, will bring Smart Replies to many messaging clients (currently just for Android). Hangouts is logically on the list, but so are third-party apps like Facebook Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp and even Twitter's direct messages. You'd only have to tap a button in your notifications to confirm that you're on your way or say you're doing well.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• BBC and Google take you under the sea in VR

  It's easier to appreciate nature when you witness it first-hand, but that's rather difficult with the ocean unless you have a submarine at your disposal. The BBC and Google have a more practical solution: they've launched a BBC Earth: Life in VR app that illustrates the underwater ecosystem on Daydream View headsets and compatible phones. You can explore environments ranging from kelp forests to deep sea trenches, and life as large as whales or as tiny as plankton.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google plans Snapchat-esque stories for mobile search results

  Assuming you have a basic understanding of social media and haven't been living under a rock for the last year, you're going to be familiar with "Stories" -- full screen displays of content that you can swipe or tap through, which are available for a limited time. Snapchat got the ball rolling, Instagram got on board, Facebook followed suit, and now Google is getting in on the action, following the initial report it would back in August. According to a Google blog post, "AMP Stories" are in the works, and soon they could completely shake up the look of your search results.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Google is testing its fast-loading AMP tech inside Gmail

  At this point, Gmail is the world's most popular email client, but that doesn't mean that Google can rest upon its laurels. The company is now experimenting with its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) tools to bring email into the 21st century. If you're unaware, AMP is Google's way of making webpages load faster on mobile devices, often by acting as an intermediary between you and the site you want to visit.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• What we're using: Google Maps while lost in Japan

  This month, Associate Editor Mariella Moon humblebrags about her vacation to Japan. But that's not what she's going to discuss. Hailing from a country where Google Maps is lacking in detail (and metro details), she didn't expect much. However, even after installing several rival map and guidance apps, it turned out that Google knew best when it came to directions in Tokyo's spaghetti subway -- and even offered a price estimate. The mapping service is moving fast, but it also brings into focus all the work Google still has left to do elsewhere.

  By Engadget Read More

• Google Maps may let you share your battery life status

  Ever wanted to know if someone made it home safely, but didn't know if they had enough battery life to stay in touch along the way? You might not fret quite so much about it in the future. Android Police has spotted code in a Google Maps beta for Android that hints at sharing your remaining battery life alongside your location. You'd only get a generic range (likely because charge levels can change minute-to-minute), but this could be helpful if a friend's phone is running low on their way home from a night out.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google will make copyright credits more apparent in image searches

  Google has reached a deal to end Getty Images' European complaint over photo copyrights, and it's quite likely that you'll notice the effects. A new agreement between the two will see Google obtain a "multi-year" license for Getty's photos in its products in exchange for reforming its approach to copyright in image search. Google will do more to highlight copyright attribution for the photos you find, so you'll know whether or not you'd need to pay for a picture. It will also pull "view image" links for pictures to reduce the number of direct downloads.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• YouTube found 'no interference' from Russia during Brexit vote

  YouTube says that it hasn't found any evidence of Russian interference during the UK's Brexit vote in 2016. Members of parliament aren't satisfied, however, and are asking for the video network to examine clips of Russian origin, not just ads, according to The Guardian. For its part, YouTube says it will do a more comprehensive review.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Google explores texting from your browser

  Google's Android Messages app could soon get a dramatic makeover with some interesting new features, judging by an APK teardown by XDA Developers and Android Police. Most significantly, it looks like you'll be able to pair your phone with a computer and text directly from a browser like Chrome, Firefox and Safari, much as you can with Google's Allo messaging app.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Code suggests Google Assistant will come to all Chromebooks

  If you want Google Assistant on a Chromebook, you currently have exactly one option: Google's own $1,700 Pixelbook. It looks like Google's about to unleash its voice helper on any ChromeOS device, however, if code spotted by XDA Developers is implemented. In a recent ChromeOS built, there's a new feature that will let manufacturers enable Google Assistant (by default, it's off). According to another part of the code, OEMs will be able to decide whether it listens for a keywords or is activated simply by a button press.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Nest co-founder Matt Rogers is leaving Google

  It's been a little more than four years since Google acquired Nest for $3.2 billion, and now both co-founders have left the company. Former CEO Tony Fadell departed in 2016 to be replaced by former cable exec Marwan Fawaz, followed today by co-founder and chief product officer Matt Rogers. In a tweet, Rogers said that after nine years spent building Nest he's "decided to begin my transition to dedicate more of my time to Incite.org, as well as to start thinking about the next adventure."

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Upcoming Chrome update will label HTTP sites ‘not secure’

  Chrome has been taking measures to inform users when they're on an unencrypted HTTP website, adding notifications to more and more sites over the last couple of years. Today, Google announced it will be taking that one step further, labeling all HTTP sites as "not secure" starting with the release of Chrome 68. You can see what that will look like in the image below.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Lawsuit claims Google 'knowingly sold' Pixels with microphone issues

  Shortly after Google released its first branded smartphones in 2016, the Pixel and Pixel XL, some early adopters reported a microphone issues. While they were fixed in phones produced later, the problems disabled all three mics on the devices and often cropped up at odd times, like when holding the devices in different ways or in cold temperatures. Now the search giant faces a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company knew about the issues but sold the phones anyway.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Google opens Maps Go beta to US-based testers

  You can now take the lite version of Google Maps for a spin if you're in the US. Google has opened the beta version of Maps Go to US beta testers, giving you a way to look up directions or transit info even if you're an area with poor connection. Google launched Android Oreo Go December last year, but Maps Go didn't become available until mid-January. It was only compatible with very, very few (mostly Oreo Go) devices, though, and availability was limited to a few locations. Android Police has noticed the rollout first and has managed to install it even on regular non-Go Android phones.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google Photos uses AI to make videos for multiple occasions

  Google Photos has been making themed videos from uploaded pictures for a while now. Originally introduced in late 2016, the AI-powered videos have already substituted for for an actual Mother's Day card. You can also see all your smiles from 2017 in a special selfie compilation video. Now Google is expanding its automatic video creation chops again with nine different themed movie sets that you can create via the Google Photos app or on the web. The service is rolling out to most countries today, with more to come over the next year.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google and Nest’s hardware teams are joining forces

  Google acquired home automation company Nest back in 2014 for $3.2 billion. Now Google is integrating the smaller company even more by merging the Nest and Google Hardware teams into one working group. As noted by CNET, Google's AI, which powers its Home smart speakers, can now be more easily integrated with Nest hardware.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google is reportedly working on a video game streaming service

  It sounds like Google might be working on a game streaming service. According to a report from The Information, the tech juggernaut has been floating the idea for a streaming service (like PlayStation Now or NVIDIA's GeForce Now) for around two years. The service is codenamed "Yeti" and Google is apparently even testing hardware for it as well. The Information's sources say that the service might stream to a Chromecast, and that hiring Phil Harrison last month as VP of hardware -- formerly of Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions -- could point toward a standalone gaming console.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Google Drive enables commenting on Microsoft Office files

  It's not that hard to convert Microsoft Office files into G Suite docs, sheets or slides, so you and your teammates or clients can collaborate via Google Drive. But thing is, it's just so much easier if you don't have to. Now, Google has rolled out a feature that gives you the power to comment directly on Microsoft Office files, PDFs and images uploaded on Drive. You simply have to highlight the part you want to comment on in Preview mode (like what you'd do on a G Suite file), click the Comment icon that pops up and type what you want to say.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Alphabet picks former cable exec to run its Google Fiber division

  The Alphabet division behind Google Fiber finally has a replacement leader 5 months after its former chief left. The tech giant has hired Dinesh Jain, most recently Time Warner Cable's former chief operating officer, as the Access team's CEO. He'll watch over business in the nearly 20 markets where both Fiber and Webpass operate. There aren't any indications as to whether or not he'll usher in a change of direction, but his career may speak volumes about Alphabet's intentions.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Get your hotel rooms and flights right from Google search

  Google Flights is already a great place to search when you're headed out on vacation or business trips. It uses AI to predict possible flight delays, too, and helps you find rate information on hotels and airline tickets based on peak travel times. Now some new updates will help you find and book hotels and flights right in a Google search.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google+ for Android gets rebuilt for the few that still use it

  Remember Google+? The search giant's take on a social network, complete with 'Circles' for organising contacts and 'Communities' for connecting with like-minded people? Well the site is still up and running, even if its active user base remains low. If you're a holdout, however, good news — Google is working on a "brand new" version of the Google+ app for Android devices. Though it "closely resembles" the current app, the underlying rewrite means the team should be able to build new features "on a modern tech stack." That's according to Leo Deegan, anyway, an engineering manager for the Google+ team, who explained the changes in a public post.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Alphabet picks up momentum with Google's cloud and hardware

  You probably don't need to be reminded that Google makes the vast majority of its money from ads scattered across every corner of the internet. Other products are more recognizably Google-y, however, and Alphabet's new earnings release shows off some impressive growth in areas beyond just ad money. Alphabet raked in $32.3 billion in revenue in its fourth quarter, and just about $4.7 billion came from what Alphabet refers to as Google's "other revenues."

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Google Assistant gets music-powered alarms and better Netflix controls

  Google has been improving its Home devices for a while now. The company added better search, upgraded the Home app interface and enabled an intercom feature last November. It can also now match your voice to your own Netflix profile, too, a feature that builds upon Home's multiple voice recognition system. Now Google has added an update that adds a voice-powered alarm function and makes it a bit easier to find shows and music with your Home devices.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Google backs a single stylus for all your devices

  The Universal Stylus Initiative has found a powerful new ally in Google. Mountain View has officially joined the project's top-tier backers, which include Intel and Lenovo, giving it the power to participate in USI's development of an open active stylus standard and to approve its final specifications. A USI stylus will work with any device designed to adopt the standard -- you don't need to configure or to set it up beforehand to be able to use it, and it even remembers your settings even if you switch devices.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Google launches lightweight Assistant app for slower phones

  Android Go is Google's streamlined OS that is designed to work on entry-level mobile devices. Apps are designed to use less memory and storage space, as well as be less data hungry. Today, Google released a version of its Assistant that is optimized for the Go platform. It's available for download at the Play Store.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

Laptops (5)

• Intel will bring 5G to laptops in 2019

  5G hardware is closer than you think. Intel's upcoming XMM 8000 series modems will power 5G in notebooks in the second half of 2019, the company announced today. That'll include machines from Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft. (Yes, that means we'll see a 5G Surface next year.) You can expect their mobile network speeds to be blazing fast, naturally, but they'll also take advantage of 5G's low latency. That'll led you do things like play online games with the same responsiveness as a wired network connection.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• ASUS puts discrete graphics inside its ultra-thin ZenBook

  ASUS showed off its ridiculously thin and light ZenBook 13 at CES earlier this year, but the model was missing a key component: a dedicated GPU. Now, though, the new ZenBook 13 UX331 offers the whole shebang at just 0.47-0.55 inches thick and weighing in at just 2.47lbs, with a discrete graphics card on board and a 13.3" FHD touchscreen display.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Lenovo recalls some Thinkpad X1 laptops due to overheating risks

  Lenovo has just issued a recall for some of its 5th-generation X1 Carbon laptops. The company says that a limited number of the machines may have a loose screw that can damage the battery, leading to overheating and a possible fire hazard. Lenovo urges owners of these devices made between December 2016 and October 2017 check their serial number on the support page to see if their own X1 is affected. X1 Carbon laptops made after November 2017 are not affected, according to the company.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Panasonic claims its new Toughbook can last 17 hours on a charge

  Panasonic has been making its Toughbook line of ultra-durable laptops for two decades now as rarely-fail machines capable of surviving rough working environments. The line introduced the latest model of its 2-in-1 hybrid Toughbook 20, but it appears to have gotten mostly small improvements over the model's first version that debuted two years ago.

  By David Lumb Read More

• HP's EliteBooks pack mics on both sides for clearer Skyping

  Laptop updates are no longer confined to boring iterative improvements year after year. We're starting to see useful new features being introduced to PCs, even if they aren't the most groundbreaking ideas. Case in point: HP's new business notebooks will not only sport the latest eighth-generation Intel Core chipsets, but also come with "world-facing" mics for clearer conference calls, among other new tools.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

Meta (15)

• Facebook's job listings are now available in over 40 countries

  Facebook's job listings have been available in the US and Canada for a while, but now they're expanding in a big way. The feature will be available in over 40 countries in the next few weeks, including the UK, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. As before, the allure is finding and applying for positions from Facebook's mobile app or website, rather than having to visit a dedicated job service. Companies can even chat with you through Messenger if they're interested in your skills.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Facebook expands customer service tools in Messenger

  Google isn't the only one looking to improve messaging software to help businesses connect meaningfully (and profitably) with customers. Facebook just announced a new update to its own Messenger platform, which improves quick replies, expands on customer chat plugins and better customization tools.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Facebook has big plans to bring internet to more people in rural areas

  Over the past few years, Facebook has been rolling out several initiatives to bring free and cost-reducing internet to people in underdeveloped areas all around the world. That includes things like Terragraph, a millimeter-wave wireless technology that not only serves connectivity but does so in speedy form -- it runs on the same frequency as the one being tested by operators for proposed 5G cellular networks. Then there are others such as the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), a collaboration between tech industry firms to accelerate the development of internet infrastructure in rural areas. OpenCellular, meanwhile, is a low-power base station optimized for underserved regions across the globe. In order for all of these projects to be successful, though, Facebook can't do it alone.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Facebook removes VR shooting demo from conservative conference

  This week at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference Facebook chose to maintain a booth for attendees that includes an Oculus virtual reality demo. Now This writer Sean Morrow noticed that it included a demo of a shooting game, Bullet Train, where players teleport around a train station killing waves of masked enemies. The timing of the demo came into question as it's so close to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting last week. After the photos surfaced, Facebook VR VP Hugo Barra said that it's part of a standard package, but "In light of the recent events in Florida and out of respect for the victims and their families, we have removed them from this demo."

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Facebook Messenger adds an easy way to start group calls

  If you've ever tried initiating a group voice or video call on Messenger, then you know that it's not intuitive at all. You'd have to hang up on your friend, start a new group convo and then call from within that window to be able to talk to several friends at the same time. Facebook must have realized that the process shouldn't be more complex than setting up a three-way call on a landline, so it has launched an easier way to initiate group calls. Now, when you want to bring the rest of your circle into an ongoing call, you simply have to tap on the screen and select the "add person" icon.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook will send postcards to verify US election ad buyers

  Facebook has a new yet very old solution to fighting Russian manipulation attempts during future US elections: conventional mail. Global policy program director Katie Harbath has revealed that the social network will send postcards to verify the identities and locations of anyone hoping to buy ads related to federal-level candidates. Recipients will have to enter a code on the postcard to prove that they are, in fact, living in the US. The requirement won't apply to state-level candidates or ads based around issues.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Facebook: Two-factor authentication spam was caused by a bug

  A number of people have been receiving random notifications from Facebook after giving the social network their phone number for two-factor authentication. Worse, if they attempt to cancel that by replying to the message, say with STOP or CANCEL, Facebook would post their replies as a status update for all to see. Now, the social network has admitted that the issues were caused by a bug and promised to roll out a fix that will stop non-security-related notifications in the next few days.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook Community Help crisis tool is no longer limited to individuals

  Facebook has been evolving its Safety Check feature over the last year, adding complementary capabilities to go alongside it and building it into a crisis hub. Last February, Facebook introduced Community Help, a feature that allowed users to find and provide help during a crisis and in September, it launched Crisis Response, a one-stop spot where people could access Safety Check, Community Help and media, like articles and videos, related to an ongoing crisis. Now, Facebook has announced some changes to Community Help that will allow organizations and businesses to post in the forum rather than just individuals.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Facebook's Lists are its latest attempt to encourage oversharing

  Facebook's latest attempt to get you to post more original content is a feature called Lists. It lets you post a customized list such as "My travel wishlist" or "Goals for the year" and the idea is your Facebook friends will then engage with post, adding suggestions or giving encouragement. You can further personalize your list with various background color options or by adding emojis and Facebook will also provide list suggestions, though you can make up your own as well. Additionally, if someone else's list inspires you -- or infuriates you -- you can mimic theirs and add your own twist.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Facebook opens up social VR app Spaces to Groups

  Facebook Spaces is no longer just a place for you to hang out with friends and family in your list: you can also use it to form bonds with people in the Groups you're in. You can now host or join a VR Space with up to four people from a Group, so you can discuss shared interests in virtual reality. The social VR app allows you to connect with new people in a deeper way: you could, for instance, conduct practice sessions together using VR props if you're all part of a music or a stand-up comedy group. You could perform in one Space as a band and livestream your performance to friends. You could also watch videos together or just chat and get to know one another at a deeper level in a VR environment.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook patents tech to determine social class

  We've got great news this week for nation-state employees tasked with using social media to spark a class war in previously stable democracies! Facebook is patenting technology to decide if its users are upper, middle or working class -- without even using the usual marker for social class: an individual's income (the patent considers this a benefit).

  By Violet Blue Read More

• Facebook will invest tens of millions in community leaders

  At its Communities Summit in Europe today, Facebook launched its Communities Leadership Program, an initiative meant to "invest in people building communities." The social network has pledged "tens of millions of dollars," including up to $10 million in grants that will fund initiatives proposed by individual awardees. Up to five people will be selected for residencies, while up to 100 will be chosen for a fellowship program. Residents will get up to $1 million for their proposals, while fellows will receive up to $50,000 for specific community initiatives.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Facebook's Quill tool now lets you animate VR

  For those interested in creating 3D art directly in VR, the update to Facebook's Quill released today should be good news. The update includes new animation tools like free frame-by-frame redrawing, copy-and-re-pose animation and an animation brush that let artists bring their drawings to life directly in Quill. "These tools open the door for a whole new kind of storytelling, with VR characters who move and perform in scenes and environments that are more alive than ever," Facebook said in a statement. "Inspired by the early hand-drawn animation of the 1920s, but powered up with modern technology and native VR workflows, Quill animation brings a new level of freedom to artists in this rapidly emerging medium."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Seattle demands Facebook disclose campaign ad information

  Seattle has launched the first attempt in the US to regulate political ads on the internet. According to Reuters, Seattle's election authority is accusing Facebook of violating a city law that requires entities to disclose the identities of people buying campaign ads. It wants the social network to reveal info on the accounts that purchased ads for last year's city elections, and it's threatening to slap Facebook with penalties if it doesn't comply.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook may share ad money to lure creators from YouTube

  Facebook has been gearing up its Watch platform for months, now. Originally launched last August, it already has tons of shows on tap (for US audiences, at least). The company may even spend $1 billion on original video this year in hopes to catch Netflix and Hulu, and it's been running ads in front of Watch videos for a while. Now, according to a report on CNBC, Facebook is talking to media buyers about expanding the Watch service to more individual creators to rival YouTube's similar business model.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

Microsoft (13)

• Microsoft and Xiaomi will pair up on AI-powered speakers and hardware

  In July, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi jumped into the smart speaker race with its answer to Amazon's Alexa and Google Home, the $45 Mi AI -- though it probably won't find its way to American shores, given how had a time it's had penetrating the US and European markets. Today, the company made a different move with artificial intelligence, signing a deal with Microsoft to partner up on projects involving AI, cloud computing and hardware to help the device company expand into other markets.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Microsoft's Mixer lets viewers buy games straight from livestreams

  A few weeks ago, Microsoft outlined new plans for its Mixer streaming service, including Direct Purchases. The feature would enable viewers to buy whatever game (or DLC) they're watching direct from the company's store, which would then give streamers a cut of the revenue. Today, that goes live, making it easier for players to get content -- and ensure they're buying straight from Microsoft.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Microsoft stops pushing notifications to Windows 7 and 8 phones

  The end of Microsoft's Windows Phone project has been a long time coming, and now there's another nail in the coffin. Microsoft is ending support for all push notifications for Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8.0 starting Tuesday, February 20th. According to Microsoft's blog post, in addition to the discontinuation of push notifications, live tiles will no longer be updated and the find my phone feature will not work.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Microsoft inadvertently outlines the limits of Windows 10 on ARM

  Microsoft began introducing ARM-powered Windows devices this past holiday season, and now we have more information on the limitations of these devices. Thurrott noticed that Microsoft published a list of limitations on the ARM version of Windows 10. It appears to have been inadvertant, as the document has since been removed, but The Verge noted that cached versions of the article are still available.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Microsoft’s Cortana is finally on IFTTT

  Microsoft keeps striving to find Cortana a place in the crowded smart assistant market, and despite losing a minor feature, it's still adding functionality. Today, Cortana added IFTTT, and launched with interactions to link it up with 550 apps and devices.

  By David Lumb Read More

• A major bug is forcing Microsoft to rebuild Skype for Windows

  Skype has fallen afoul of a security flaw that can allow attackers to gain system-level privileges to vulnerable computers, Microsoft has confirmed. However, the company won't immediately fix the issue because doing so would require a complete code overhaul. The bug was discovered by security researcher Stefan Kanthak, who says the Skype update can be tricked into loading malicious code instead of the right library. An attacker would simply need to put a fake DLL into a user-accessible temporary folder, with the name of an existing DLL that could be modified by anyone without system privileges. Anyone trying to hijack your PC would need access to your file system obviously, but according to Kanthak, once system access is granted, an attacker "can do anything". However, the hacker would require physical access to the computer to do this.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Microsoft makes it easier to preview Windows apps

  If you're looking to get a peek at what cool features are coming to Windows apps in the future, then you pretty much need to run an Insider build. But Microsoft realizes that some folks don't want to run beta software on their machine, which is why it's developing a way to test apps inside retail versions of the OS. Right now, a handful of Windows 10 apps have been opened up to let users see what's coming down the pipeline, regardless of their Insider status.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Microsoft's Build developer conference begins May 7th

  Microsoft has just announced the dates for Build, its annual developer event, and it'll be held from May 7th to May 9th in Seattle, Washington. It's been quite an eventful year for Microsoft, as it ramps up its efforts in Windows Mixed Reality, churns out even more Surface laptops and leverages Cortana to go up against rivals like Alexa and Google Assistant. With all that, we have no doubt that Build 2018 will be a pretty exciting one, and of course, we'll be there on the ground covering it all. You'd better mark your calendars now.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Microsoft tests a password-less Windows 10 S

  Microsoft's latest Insider Preview update is a huge one, and for Windows 10 S users, it means being able to ditch system passwords. The tech giant is testing the ability to unlock the security-focused Windows flavor through an Authenticator App you can install on your phone. You simply have to set up Windows Hello with the app, and you won't see Password as a sign-in option anymore anywhere in the platform's interface. Even if you don't use Windows 10 S right now, you might be able to access this feature someday. According to reports, Microsoft plans to drop 10 S as a standalone product in order to offer it as a mode to both Home and Pro users.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Microsoft's Windows 10 Store is getting more web apps

  Thanks in a roundabout way to Google, you're about to see more apps on the Windows 10 Store. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are like app versions of websites that work even when you're offline and offer services like push notifications -- minus the installation fuss of regular apps. Android popularized them by letting you add them to your home screen when you load certain websites. Now, Microsoft is introducing Progressive Web Apps to the Windows 10 Store, making them "first-class app citizens in Windows," on par with Universal Windows Apps (UWAs).

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Microsoft releases its LinkedIn resume helper for Word

  Microsoft is now ready to polish your job applications -- the company has released its LinkedIn-powered Resume Assistant for Office 365 subscribers. The AI-based helper sifts through LinkedIn profiles to find prominent examples of work experience and skill listings for your dream job, giving you some helpful tips for customizing your CV. You can also tap the ProFinder marketplace to talk to experts who can offer career advice, and search for relevant jobs without leaving Word.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Microsoft to drop Windows 10 S as a stand-alone product

  Windows 10 S was supposed to be Microsoft's firm answer to Chrome OS, offering comparable security (by limiting you to Microsoft Store apps) while running more powerful software. However, its implementation for home users has been ham-fisted: you have to unlock Windows 10 Pro if you want more freedom, which should (eventually) cost money and is clearly overkill for many people. That's about to change. Both Thurrott and Neowin have discovered that Microsoft is dropping Windows 10 S as a stand-alone product for everyday users in favor of an S Mode, which is already available for the enterprise crowd.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Microsoft offers cheaper Surface laptops with lower specs

  Microsoft wants to make it easier to buy into the Surface family. The company has begun offering a lower specced Laptop running Windows 10 S -- Microsoft's take on Chrome OS -- and an Intel Core m3 processor in the US. It'll set you back $799 versus the standard model's $999 asking price, and is only available in the platinum colorway, as spotted by Windows Central. As for storage and memory, you'll get 128GB and 4GB, respectively. If you're thinking that sounds an awful lot like the $799 Surface Pro tablet, you aren't wrong. But, that won't get you a keyboard cover, which The Verge points out is a $130 add-on.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

Mobile (24)

• The chaos of unlocking your phone in 2018

  PIN codes and patterns are passe. MWC 2018 kicked off with the usual fanfare of a major flagship launch -- the Galaxy S9. With it, Samsung introduced its own, new, face unlock feature. Google may have added the feature to Android many years ago, but it seems technology has progressed enough to make it worth resurrecting by Samsung -- with some extra biometric backup. The House of Galaxy might have also felt the competitive tug of Apple's surprisingly slick Face ID unlock feature on the iPhone X. Samsung wasn't the only company innovating when it comes to how we get our smartphone working. And it's not just the thousand-dollar flagships, either. Biometrics are here in a big way, although no-one seems to know which method's best. How many of these techniques will last to see 2020?

  By Mat Smith Read More

• T-Mobile promises 30 '5G-ready' cities this year, but no actual 5G

  T-Mobile isn't going to sit by the wayside while AT&T and Sprint brag about their 5G rollout plans. The magenta network has outlined its early deployment strategy for 5G, and you can expect actual service well before the company's self-imposed 2020 goal for a nationwide network. It's building the gigabit-class networks in 30 cities in 2018, including on the 600MHz band and the high-frequency millimeter wave spectrum. Actual service will launch in Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City in early 2019, but T-Mobile is promising a 'real' launch with smartphones -- not hotspot routers or fixed home broadband.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Viasat touts fastest satellite internet in the US with new service

  Today, communications company Viasat debuted the fastest satellite internet available in the US -- up to 100 megabits per second. It's thanks to the Via-Sat 2 satellite system, which serves North America, Central America, the Caribbean and a small part of northern South America. Viasat is now also offering tiered unlimited data plans, from 12 to 30 megabits per second. The plans top out at $150 per month during the promotional period.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Sprint plans 5G infrastructure for six cities in 2018

  It's been a race between mobile carriers to roll out 5G service, and it looks as though Sprint might be gaining on its rivals. Starting in April, the US wireless carrier will make 5G-like capabilities available in three cities: Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. The company will add Atlanta, Washington, DC and Houston to the list later this year. A full 5G rollout is expected in the first half of 2019.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Bloomberg: AT&T and Verizon plan to launch 5G hotspots

  In late January, AT&T chief Randall Stephenson revealed that the carrier wants to offer customers puck-shaped 5G hotspots before phones that can handle the new speeds become available. Turns out other carriers might do the same thing. According to Bloomberg, Verizon also plans to release a portable 5G hotspot this year for those who can't wait before the first 5G phones come out. Verizon wireless chief Ronan Dunne said in an interview at Mobile World Congress:

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Court rules FTC data-throttling lawsuit against AT&T can proceed

  AT&T has been involved in a long-running battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 2014, the agency sued AT&T for throttling its customers' unlimited mobile data plans while not properly informing them it would be doing so. A few months later, the company claimed that its common carrier status meant it wasn't under the jurisdiction of the FTC and it asked a court to dismiss the agency's suit. In 2015, a judge rejected the carrier's claim, but in 2016, a three-member Ninth Circuit appeals court tossed out that ruling and the FTC's lawsuit saying that AT&T's common carrier status did indeed exempt it from the FTC's regulatory jurisdiction. And that brings us to today. As the Wall Street Journal reports, a federal appeals court has ruled that the FTC can proceed with its lawsuit, rejecting the Ninth Circuit court's earlier decision.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Bipartisan bill calls for study on economic impact of broadband access

  Two Democratic and two Republican Representatives have introduced a bill that, if enacted, would require the Department of Commerce to research how access to broadband impacts a variety of economic factors like employment, income and population growth, Wired reports. The proposed legislation, called Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act of 2017, was introduced by Representatives Ro Khanna, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anna Eshoo and Ryan Costello and is a companion bill to a bipartisan Senate proposal led by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Shelley Moore Capito.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• New alliance wants to improve terrible in-flight internet

  The frustrations of internet access aboard commercial aircraft may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the Seamless Air Alliance. Formed by Airbus, Delta, OneWeb, Sprint and Airtel, the group aims to improve the connectivity experience for passengers aboard aircraft by allowing mobile operators to provide internet access directly via satellite tech.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: ‘We need smart networks, not dumb pipes’

  After cancelling his CES 2018 appearance in January, reportedly due to death threats, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today attended a panel at MWC 2018 in Barcelona. During the event, titled "The Future of the Industry: Transatlantic Digital Policy and Regulation," Pai discussed his plans for 5G connectivity and, of course, his decision to repeal net neutrality in the US. He said that, despite public perception on the moves he's made since taking over the FCC as part of President Trump's administration, the internet will remain open and free and that "no one gets a pass." The "no one" he mentions is likely a reference to the idea that certain companies, particularly network carriers like Verizon, will get special treatment after net neutrality ends on April 23rd.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Intel makes huge 5G promises for the 2020 Olympics

  It might seem strange to say it, but 5G is creeping closer to reality. Intel has already been powering a "broad-scale" 5G network at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but come the 2020 games in Tokyo, Intel is planning to make an even bigger splash. At Mobile World Congress today, the company announced that it'll be working with Japan's NTT Docomo to build a 5G network for the games. Notably, Intel expects it to be the largest commercial 5G deployment at that time. That's not a huge surprise, since many carriers will likely offer 5G by 2020, but it's nice to see Intel thinking big.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• We're live from MWC 2018 in Barcelona!

  Spring season is right around the corner, and that means it's time for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world's biggest phone show. This year, you can expect to be introduced to Samsung's next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S9, as well as a slew of other handsets from big-name companies like BlackBerry and Nokia. Yes, you know you love BlackBerry and Nokia. Of course, we'll likely also come across a bunch of other tech products, such as wearables and others things that could be revealed at the show -- Facebook has a press conference, for instance. We're on the ground for the next week, which means you need to keep your eyes peeled to the site so you won't miss a thing from MWC 2018.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• The Morning After: Mobile World Congress preview

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Before you wrap this week up, check out our Mobile World Congress preview, so you don't miss any of the new phones we're expecting to see(set a reminder for Samsung's Galaxy S9 event on Sunday.) Also, the FCC is in for a fight over its plan to repeal net neutrality and Blizzard is celebrating a patch for a 15-year-old game.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• FCC hopes opening up communication airwaves will boost innovation

  Today, the FCC voted to move forward with a proposal to open up communications spectrum beyond 95 GHz. In a statement, it said that spectrum above this range has been thought to be at the edge of what's usable, but now it wants to provide different levels of authorization to use the spectrum to, as Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement, "promote innovation and help put this spectrum to its best use." Pai noted that some might be skeptical as to whether spectrum above 95 GHz can actually be used, but he added, "The point is that we must be open to new technologies that haven't even been developed. And while we don't know precisely how far the laws of physics will permit us to go, we do know there's potential and interest. Engineers and entrepreneurs need to have the ability to push the envelope."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• AT&T will launch mobile 5G in Atlanta, Dallas and Waco

  AT&T is finally willing to say exactly where you'll see mobile 5G in 2018. The carrier has confirmed that "parts" of Atlanta, Waco and its home turf of Dallas will adopt the standards-based service when it goes live before the end of the year. It'll name the remaining nine cities "in the coming months." There's no mention of the first devices (many of those will have to wait until 2019), but it's clear that this will be a cautious first step into the future rather than a full-on leap.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• England turns to the church to help fix rural internet

  Though our cities now teem with fiber optic cables and 4G signals, it's still common for rural areas to struggle with even basic connectivity. In the UK, a new pact between church and state could help local religious hubs become bastions of faster broadband. The National Church Institutions (NCIs) of the Church of England and the government will work together to promote the use of churches and other church-owned properties as sites for digital infrastructure, improving broadband, mobile and WiFi access for rural communities.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Qualcomm's Snapdragon X24 modem will enable 2 Gbps LTE speeds

  Even as the race toward real-world 5G picks up steam, LTE technology as it exists will remain crucial for most of us in the next few years. Qualcomm's latest gigabit LTE modem, the X24, can reach speeds of 2 Gbps (where supported by carriers) -- a significant jump from the 1.2 Gbps promised by its predecessor, the X20. And just as that modem was eventually embedded into the Snapdragon 845 chipset announced in December, it's likely that the X24 will be integrated in Qualcomm's next premium mobile chip, which we can expect to power many of next year's flagships. In fact, you can expect it to show up in commercial devices in the first half of 2019, according to the company's announcement video.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Verizon will begin locking phones to deter thieves

  Verizon currently has the most generous unlocked phones policy of all wireless carriers, but according to CNET, that will be changing soon. In an effort to combat phone theft, Verizon will begin locking the phones it sells to consumers starting Monday. While the phones will immediately be unlocked as soon as the customer activates service, later this spring the wireless carrier will begin keeping phones locked for a certain amount of time after purchase.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Verizon streamed Super Bowl LII in VR over 5G

  A crowd of more than 67,000 people watched the Philadelphia Eagles trounce the New England Patriots last Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, while around 103 million viewers across the country did the same on their television sets. At the same time, a small group of Verizon employees in New York City were viewing the game in a different way: through VR. And they were able to do so entirely over a 5G connection.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Qualcomm will power 5G devices from LG, Sony and more in 2019

  Since the first 5G standard was approved two months ago, the industry has been racing to deliver next-generation mobile data to the world. Qualcomm made two announcements today that show us real-world 5G is almost here. First, it revealed a slew of consumer electronics companies that have committed to making 5G-ready mobile devices starting in 2019, using Qualcomm's X50 5G modem. This list includes LG, Sony Mobile, HTC, ASUS, Xiaomi, ZTE, Netgear and more. Don't forget, Samsung also announced a partnership with Qualcomm last month to work on 5G technology through the next few years.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• A state-run wireless network isn't a crazy idea, just ask Mexico

  America's mobile infrastructure isn't good enough, at least according to former National Security Council officer Brigadier General Robert Spalding. Spalding's briefing document said the US was lagging behind China in wireless, and the solution was to build its own federal 5G network. The memo cost Spalding his job and sent parts of Washington DC into fits of apoplexy over the proposals. But this idea, deemed too radical to even discuss in the US, has actually been implemented in countries like Mexico, Rwanda and Australia.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Air Force general behind government 5G memo leaves White House

  That scrapped proposal for a goverment-run 5G network is triggering a political fallout. A senior official has confirmed to the Washington Post that the author of the memo pushing for the 5G network, Brigadier General Robert Spalding, has left his position as the National Security Council's senior director for strategic planning and returned to the Air Force. He wasn't fired, the insider claimed, and this wasn't prompted by the leak -- rather, the Council decided against renewing his position in part because his push for government 5G had "gone beyond his role."

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Studies suggest cellphone radiation doesn't threaten humans

  No, the debate over the risks of cellphone radiation isn't over yet. The US National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program has published details of draft studies which suggest that normal cellphone radiation levels aren't harmful to humans. The research subjected rats to very high levels of RF radiation at 2G and 3G cellular frequencies, and produced results where there was no clear pattern of harm even at the exaggerated radiation levels.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Sprint plans to raise prices and roll out 5G next year

  It's become a fairly close race to provide mobile 5G service, with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all announcing plans to roll out the faster network tech within the next couple of years. Sprint already has plans to launch its own 5G network in 2019, which it confirmed today during an earnings call, as reported by VentureBeat.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• British Airways is finally offering onboard WiFi

  British Airways is meant to be a premium airline, however in one department it's woefully archaic: WiFi. If you choose one of its planes for a long-haul trip, you're typically stuck with its in-flight entertainment or whatever you remembered to download beforehand. Not anymore. At long last, BA is offering "high-speed" WiFi on a grand total of three aircraft. That's right, three. The company promises that the number will rise to 118 planes over the next two years, however. That means you can finally stream Netflix and post photos to Instagram while you're 35,000 feet up.

  By Nick Summers Read More

News (69)

• 23andMe now paints a far clearer picture of your DNA ancestry

  To date, 23andMe's Ancestry Composition report could trace your genetic roots back to 31 populations. That's decent, but not exactly the most accurate representation of your lineage. It could soon be more accurate, however. The company is updating its methods to trace ancestry back to 120 more populations, for a total of 151. If you have uncommon origins, you might have a better chance of discovering them.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• One of the UK's largest electronics retailers is broke

  Many years ago, Maplin was the place to go if you needed a VGA to Scart cable, a weird battery or a new charger for your Samsung flip phone before there were industry standards for that kind of thing. It's the UK equivalent of RadioShack, and the only well-known highstreet chain still selling obscure electronics. Next to aisles of every cable and converter you could imagine, you'll often find random delights such as a smoke machines and soldering stations. In more recent years, Maplin started stocking products with a broader appeal, like Nest thermostats, Amazon Fire TV sticks and Google Home speakers. It even launched a smart home consultation service late last year, but the change in tack hasn't rescued the retailer from going broke.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• House passes contentious anti-online sex trafficking bill

  Sex-trafficking victims, prosecutors and state attorneys will be able to sue websites that host ads and content linked to the sex trade under the bill the House has just approved. The bill called "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017" or FOSTA seeks to amend Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects websites from lawsuits over user-generated posts. It was filed by Rep. Ann Wagner (pictured above) to target websites like Backpage, which hosts sex and child trafficking ads. Previous investigations have revealed that Backpage went as far as editing posters' ads -- it replaced words in ads trafficking minors with terms like "fresh," for instance -- to conceal evidence from law enforcement.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Walmart offers same-day delivery from Sam's Club through Instacart

  To combat Amazon's two-hour PrimeNow Whole Foods deliveries, Walmart is adding a similar feature for its members-only warehouse chain, Sam's Club. Through a partnership with Instacart, customers can order food and other goods from the bulk outlet and get them delivered on the same day.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Senate officially introduces resolution to restore net neutrality

  Last week, the FCC officially published its net neutrality rollback plans, which were voted on back in December. Today, the next stage of the battle begins. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced his Congressional Review Act "resolution of disapproval" that would begin the process of undoing the FCC's vote.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Oregon moves forward with its own net neutrality legislation

  Oregon legislators just took a step towards protecting net neutrality in their state. The Oregon House of Representatives passed a proposal yesterday that would require state agencies to sign internet service contracts with providers that abide by net neutrality practices, meaning no blocking, throttling or paid prioritization. The bill now heads to the state Senate. While governors in Montana, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and Vermont have signed executive orders that institute similar requirements on state agencies, a handful of states are pursuing comparable statutes through legislation.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Trump's former digital advisor will manage his re-election bid

  Today, Trump announced he will run for re-election in 2020. But we also learned who will be managing his next campaign: Brad Parscale, the digital advisor for Trump's 2016 run. He lead the then-Presidential candidate's social media strategy, which massively influenced the campaign's fundraising and online presence, as Wired reported days after the election. Parscale won't be idle in the run-up to 2020 -- he'll be helping Republican candidates in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Bitcoin 'creator' slapped with $10 billion lawsuit

  Craig Wright, the Australian who has previously claimed to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is the subject of a multi billion dollar lawsuit. Wright is being sued by the estate of David Kleiman, who was thought to have co-created the cryptocurrency with the Australian. Kleiman passed away in 2013, but Kleiman's brother Ira claims that Wright somehow appropriated his former partner's bitcoin hoard.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Barclaycard wants you to dine and dash legally

  Barclaycard is testing a new payment service that could mean the end to waiting for your bill at a restaurant. It's called Dine & Dash, but in this version, dashing doesn't mean skipping out on your tab. Instead, with this service, restaurant-goers would download the Dine & Dash app and just tap their phone on the Dine & Dash device at their table once they arrive. They would then order their meals and eat as usual, and once they were done, they could just leave. When the Dine & Dash app registers that the diners have left the restaurant, it will check them out and close the bill, issuing payment from whatever payment option was loaded into the app by the diner.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Canon launches the EOS M50, its first 4K mirrorless camera

  Canon has responded to criticism of the lack of 4K in all but it's high-end DSLRs by launching the EOS M50, its first mirrorless M-series camera with Ultra HD 4K video. Packing a new DIGIC 8 processor, the 24.1-megapixel, APS-C model can shoot 3,840 x 2,160 video at 24 fps, or 1080p video at 60 fps. At $780/£540 (body only) Canon says the M50 is now its "entry-level" M-series camera. Since it's the only one with 4K, that presents an awkward dilemma for potential buyers of the top-end EOS M5 and M6 models.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• After Math: Calls for alarm

  While the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting provided the nation with a master class in how to effectively articulate policy reform demands and ruthlessly drag talking heads of the political class, the tech industry had some communication issues of its own. Like the 1,600 911 calls a set of iPhones at a California repair center made, or the Tinder security flaw that enabled account access with only a phone number, or how the FCC is getting sued (again) for trying to roll back Net Neutrality rules. Numbers, because how else are you going to see how savagely the NRA is getting ratioed?

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Nearly half of 2017's cryptocurrencies have already failed

  The surging price of bitcoin (among others) in 2017 led more than a few companies to hop on the cryptocurrency bandwagon with hopes of striking it rich almost overnight. Many of their initial coin offerings seemed dodgy from the outset... and it turns out they were. Bitcoin.com has conducted a study of ICOs tracked by Tokendata, and a whopping 46 percent of the 902 crowdsale-based virtual currencies have already failed. Of these, 142 never got enough funding; another 276 have either slowly faded away or were out and out scams.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The Morning After: Weekend Edition

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the weekend. We're hours away from Samsung's big Galaxy S9 event, so catch up on this week's news and get ready for the liveblog starting at noon ET on Sunday.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• CamSoda’s RubGrub is a pizza-ordering button for your vibrator

  CamSoda, an adult entertainment platform, announced a new product this week that aims to satisfy you in a number of ways. The RubGrub is a 3D-printed button attachment made to fit on a Lovense Nora vibrator. And the idea is that when you're done using the Nora, all you'll have to do is tap the button and the RubGrub will order you a large pizza. It's essentially an Amazon Dash Button meant to fulfill your post-coital cravings. However, it orders you a Domino's pizza, so I hope the time spent with the Nora was more satisfying than your dinner will be.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• HTC confirms layoffs as it combines VR and smartphone divisions

  It's been an interesting few months for HTC. Google bought the team responsible for Pixel phones last year for $1.1 billion. The president of HTC's smartphone operations just resigned, claiming a "personal career plan" for the move. Now, the remaining US workforce is facing layoffs. As first reported by Digital Trends this week, HTC has confirmed that it will combine its smartphone and VR divisions, resulting in employee reductions.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Public radio stations are saving Gothamist sites

  Last year, billionaire Joe Ricketts shut down Gothamist and DNAInfo a week after newsroom employees unionized. Though there was immediate public outcry over the decision, the sites' future has remained bleak and uncertain, but, as Wired reports, they're now getting an unexpected helping hand from some old-school media -- public radio. At least three public radio stations -- New York's WNYC, Washington DC's WAMU and Southern California's KPCC -- will be taking over Gothamist and associated sites like LAist, DCist and DNAInfo, maintaining their archives and adding new content in the near future.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Pentax's full-frame K-1 Mark II has a ridiculous ISO range

  Pentax has unveiled the 36.4-megapixel K-1 Mark II DSLR, the successor to its first full-frame, the K-1. The new model hasn't changed much, apart from one outstanding new feature. Thanks to a new "accelerator unit" for its Prime IV image processor, the K1 II can do noise reduction much quicker, allowing you to shoot at up to 819,200 native ISO.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Paul Ryan moves to replace election security official

  The White House and House Speaker Paul Ryan are looking to replace a federal official who's been working to protect election systems from possible Russian cyber attacks. According to Reuters, Matthew Masterson, who holds a seat picked by the House Speaker and formally nominated by the president, won't be re-appointed as a commissioner for the US Election Assistance Commission. Masterson made cybersecurity his priority when he became the commission's chairman in February 2017 in response to what happened during the 2016 Presidential Elections.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Robinhood's commission-free cryptocurrency trading is live

  The zero-fee stock trading app, Robinhood, announced its plan to enable users to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum last month. Now the company is making good on its promises. Starting today, Robinhood is rolling out access to trade the two cryptocurrencies in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire, with plans to expand to many more states later.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• 23 attorneys general refile challenge to FCC net neutrality repeal

  The FCC's order to overturn net neutrality protections was officially published in the Federal Register today and soon thereafter, the attorneys general of 22 states and Washington DC filed a lawsuit challenging the FCC's order. The coalition filed a suit earlier this year, but agreed last week to withdraw it until the FCC published the order, Reuters reports. "Today, the FCC made official its illegal rollback of net neutrality -- and, as promised, our coalition of attorneys general is filing suit," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. "Consumers and businesses in New York and across the country have the right to a free and open internet, and our coalition of attorneys general won't stop fighting to protect that right."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Net neutrality repeal goes into effect on April 23rd

  Two months from now, net neutrality will officially be dead. Today, the Federal Communication Commission's revocation order was published in the Federal Register. The effective date is April 23rd.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Ford president Raj Nair leaves over 'inappropriate behavior'

  Ford will have to adjust its technology strategy, and not for the right reasons. The automaker's North America President Raj Nair has left the company after an internal investigation determined that "inappropriate behavior" was out of line with the employee code of conduct. While the company wouldn't actually say what that was, it noted that it was committed to a "safe and respectful culture."

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Kids play mechanics for Marvel heroes with the Electro Hero Kit

  Not every child wants to be a coder or an engineer, which can make it hard to get them playing with STEM toys if they don't really care about making their own video games or building a cool robot. However, many kids are into role playing and telling stories, which is what Tech Will Save Us' newest set focuses on instead. The Electro Hero Kit asks children to build stuff to help out their favorite Marvel characters, while imparting some basic lessons about electricity in the process.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• Why am I so terrible at email?

  Ever heard the phrase "run into an asshole and they're the asshole, run into assholes all day and you're the asshole?" It's been rattling around my brain of late, after several miserable weeks caused by my apparent failure to be a good emailer. (Or maybe I'm just an asshole, but since I'm not going to tackle that existential crisis head-on, let's focus on the emails.)

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• South Korea won't ban cryptocurrency trading after all

  South Korea has been flirting with banning cryptocurrency trading for some time now. However, now it appears the country is backtracking. Bloomberg reports that South Korea's regulators have indicated that they will continue to support "normal" trading of the cryptocurrency.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Air Hogs' Supernova packs motion controls in a kid-friendly drone

  Toy drones have been cheap and plentiful over the past few years, but it's really hard for new products to stand out from the pack when they need to keep the price down and can't throw in premium features like a 4K camera. But that hasn't stopped Spin Master from trying new things with its Air Hogs line: At this week's Toy Fair, the company is debuting its first motion-controlled model, the Supernova. It's not quite DJI's Mavic Air, but it's still got some sweet moves to show off in a more kid-friendly form factor.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• The WyzeCam gets a smarter sequel that still costs only $20

  That the $20 WyzeCam worked as well as it did is still kind of a surprise. It's no wonder then that the Amazon alums who created it have been working on a sequel: the WyzeCam v2. It'll still cost $20 when it starts shipping at the end of February, but don't let yourself be fooled by its almost-unchanged design — version 2 packs a handful of handy extras.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• After Math: Market fluctuations

  It's been a volatile week for us all, what with the stock market's unpredictable undulations, the US Senate's DACA drama, the Olympics hacking and whatever other craziness that's sure to happen between the time I file this post and Sunday morning. It was pretty wild for the tech industry as well. Turns out that Apple's HomePod seemingly secretes wood-marking oils, Sony announced it'll cut the price of its VR headset by a third, and Netflix continued its spending spree, blowing $300 million on the guy who brought us "Glee." Numbers, because how else are you going to count stuff?

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• PowerUp releases its phone-controlled paper airplane

  PowerUp first previewed its smartphone-controlled paper airplane back in 2014, but now it's finally available to everyone. The startup has announced that a retail version of its Dart aircraft will ship in February, and is running a pre-order campaign for barebones (just the propeller module and two templates) and standard (wheels and Japanese aerobatic papers) kits that start at $29 and $37 respectively. Higher-priced packs offer additional modules and stands for your aeronautics-minded friends.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• littleBits launches more accessible $40 'Hall of Fame' kits

  littleBits kits are a great way to teach kids how to build their own toys and electronics, but they're not exactly cheap. The Star Wars Droid inventor set, for instance, will set buyers back $100, while others could cost as much as $300. Now, the startup is lowering the barrier of entry by debuting four "Hall of Fame" kits priced at only $40 each. Upon taking a look at littleBits' offerings on its website, we only saw one set priced at $40, and it's only a three-module hardware development bundle for more experiences users. All the others cost $80 and more. These products will give more people the chance to get one for their kids or themselves and to try out the company's electronic building blocks.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• The Morning After: Weekend Edition

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the weekend. Once you return from Wakanda, you can check out SpaceX's next rocket launch and revisit our Apple HomePod review.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• IKEA and Teenage Engineering preview their collaboration on Instagram

  Teenage Engineering is known for its wonky-looking yet functional synths and speakers, while IKEA furniture fills college (and folks who still live like it's college) apartments. Their powers combined has produced...some neat, boldly-colored speakers, actually. On its Instagram, Ikea just posted a sneak peek at their upcoming line of collaborated products built "so that you can host your party, wherever you may be."

  By David Lumb Read More

• US indicts 13 Russian nationals for alleged election tampering

  Today, the office of special counsel Robert Mueller announced that a federal jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to defraud the US. The charges mean that these individuals are now officially wanted by the US government, though actual arrests may be hard to come by. "Defendant Internet Research Agency LLC is a Russian organization engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes," says the indictment. "Beginning as early as 2014, [it] began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Why sneakerheads are leaving eBay for Detroit startup StockX

  Buying a pair of new rare sneakers is harder than reselling them on StockX. To buy new, the Yeezy or Jordan gods have to smile upon you, giving you that winning raffle ticket at a local store or letting you beat the bots online. To resell, all you have to do is go to the StockX website and set a price. You don't take photos or haggle with potential buyers. Instead, you look at what price the shoes are selling for and list your pair at whatever amount you think someone will pay for them. Like a stock exchange, buyer and seller identities are kept from one another. StockX acts as a middleman, only releasing payment once it verifies that goods are authentic. It's this simplicity that has helped the company earn so many loyal users. StockX was founded in 2015 after Quicken Loans founder and CEO Dan Gilbert bought Campless -- an online repository for sneaker sales data -- from Josh Luber. As part of the purchase, Luber moved from his native Philadelphia to the Detroit metro area, taking up the mantle of StockX CEO and working from Gilbert's One Campus Martius building downtown. In a little under three years, the company has become the go-to source for buying rare high-end shoes and streetwear.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Hot Wheels' new AR track turns toy racing into a warzone

  Hot Wheels may be known for little die-cast cars, but celebrating its 50th birthday this year doesn't mean it's stuck in the past. The brand's already given us AI-controlled racers and cars on virtual courses, but the one thing that's gone largely untouched is its signature plastic track. This year, Hot Wheels mixes things up with Augmoto, which takes the classic racing set and throws augmented reality on top of it. Now, road hazards and collisions can now look as cool as they do in your head, and each race becomes a lot more strategic.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• The Morning After: 'Black Panther', modernizing old B&O speakers

  Friday morning. Almost as good as Saturday. Today, we're talking discounted PlayStation VR headsets (down to $200), our thoughts on Marvel's Black Panther and a very convoluted way to upgrade your old B&O speakers for the modern age.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Embedding a tweet could violate copyright

  If you've ever embedded a tweet on your blog, that could be a copyright violation, according to a New York federal court ruling. Numerous sites, including Time, Yahoo (which is part of Oath, Engadget's parent company) and Breitbart published stories with an embedded tweet containing an image of NFL star Tom Brady. The tweet was posted by another party, but the photographer who took the photo accused the news sites of copyright infringement for embedding it. The judge agreed, saying their actions "violated plaintiff's exclusive display right."

  By Steve Dent Read More

• FCC watchdog is investigating Pai's moves before Sinclair merger (updated)

  Last April, the Federal Communications Commission, led by its Trump-appointed chairman Ajit Pai, eliminated a restriction that had capped how many stations media companies could own. Weeks later, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced a long-suspected deal to acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion. Anyone finding that timing suspicious wouldn't be alone: For two months, the FCC's internal watchdog has been investigating whether Pai and his aides improperly pushed to change the rules and timed it to help Sinclair, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) confirmed to The New York Times.

  By David Lumb Read More

• B&O’s upgrade for old speakers requires some heavy tinkering

  In 2018, most new speakers come with WiFi and/or Bluetooth as standard options. Let's face it: Almost everyone is using their phone to access music these days, so wireless connectivity is a must. However, if you invested in a set of non-connected speakers before the wireless craze hit, you may not want to shell out more money to replace them just yet. For older passive speaker setups, Bang & Olufsen has an option for getting that connectivity thanks to a collaboration with HiFiBerry. You'll have to get your hands dirty, though.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Fujifilm targets video shooters with the new flagship X-H1

  Fujifilm has put Sony and Panasonic on notice with the X-H1, its new flagship APS-C mirrorless that excels at both photography and video. It sports a 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor housed in a body with features from the ergonomically excellent X-T2 and medium-format GFX 50S. Fujifilm calls it "the highest performance camera in the X series lineup," thanks to features like true DCI 4K video (4,096 x 2,160), 14 fps max burst shooting and, for the first time in a Fujifilm camera, 5-axis in-body stabilization.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• What's on TV: 'Justice League,' 'Secret of Mana' and 'Bayonetta'

  This week Winter Olympics action continues on NBC (get ready for more women's skeleton, Super-G and hockey), but you can also watch Justice League on video on-demand. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fans will see the third season's finale episode Friday night, while gamers can dig into a 3D Secret of Mana remake, as well as Bayonetta 1 & 2 on Nintendo Switch. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Salon asks readers to pick their poison: ads or crypto mining

  If you use an ad-blocker, you'll now be met with a pop-up when you visit Salon's website, the Financial Times reports. It will offer you two choices -- turn off your ad-blocker or let the website mine cryptocurrency with some of your computer's extra processing power. Salon says on its site that it makes its money off of advertisements, but because more and more readers are now using ad-blockers, it has seen a large drop in revenue. Cryptocurrency mining is its way of recuperating those losses. "Like most media sites, ad-blockers cut deeply into our revenue and create a more one-sided relationship between reader and publisher," Salon says. "For our beta program, we'll start by applying your processing power to mine cryptocurrencies to recoup lost ad revenue when you use an ad blocker. We plan to further use any learnings from this to help support the evolution and growth of blockchain technology, digital currencies and other ways to better service the value exchange between content and user contribution."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• The Morning After: Weekend Edition

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. It's been a busy week, with a successful SpaceX launch, Uber and Waymo's legal tussle, and guides to both smartwatch buying decisions and cameras. Snap is now doing better business, and Twitter finally made a profit.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Tumblr, Sonos among those backing another net neutrality day of action

  A number of organizations and websites are planning an online day of action meant to garner more support for a Senate vote that would reverse the FCC's removal of net neutrality protections. The Senate is currently one vote away from overturning the FCC's decision and the day of action aims to convince one more Senator to vote in favor of protecting net neutrality. Taking place on February 27th, Operation: #OneMoreVote is already backed by companies like Tumblr, Etsy, Vimeo, Medium, Imgur, Sonos, Namecheap and DuckDuckGo.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• New tech 'addictions' are mostly just old moral panic

  The World Health Organization took an unprecedented step in January when it decided to include "gaming disorder" in its 11th International Classification of Diseases (IDC). Though doctors and researchers have examined the effects of heavy internet usage since the days when access arrived on AOL CDs, this marks the first time that the organization has listed this disorder as a mental health condition. Doing so could have far-reaching, and potentially negative, implications for how the disorder is diagnosed and treated.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Detroit begins enforcing its new Airbnb ban (updated)

  Detroit authorities are turning up the heat on Airbnb hosts, now that the city's new zoning rules are in effect. According to Detroit Metro Times, the local government has begun sending cease and desist letters to owners, particularly those renting out units in the R1 and R2 (single- and double-family properties) residential zones. Detroit approved an update to the city's zoning code in November, which makes it illegal to rent out homes and rooms in those residential zones, unless it's a secondary property.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Viacom closes its VR studio

  VR hasn't yet become the shot in the arm the entertainment industry was hoping it would be, and so things have to change. Viacom has decided to close down Viacom Next, its emergent technology group which produced VR content like The Melody of Dust and Are Aligned. Variety reports that some staffers will lose their jobs, while others will be given the chance to transfer to other parts of the media conglomerate.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• DJI will create no-fly zones around Olympic venues in South Korea

  Days ago, South Korean authorities announced that they'd capture any drone that got too close to Olympics event facilities. If you have a DJI-made craft, you won't even be able to get close. The UAV maker is releasing a software patch that creates a no-fly zone around Olympic areas.

  By David Lumb Read More

• UK government will finally settle the gig economy ‘worker’ debate

  The UK government is making some changes to the rights and working conditions that "gig economy" workers are entitled to. Under its new 'Good Work Plan', legislators will ensure "vulnerable workers" -- defined by low wages -- have access to basic holiday and sick pay. These will be included in "a list of day-one rights" that include the right to a payslip. These measures are designed for zero-hour and agency workers, but could impact Uber and Deliveroo's flexible workforce too. For instance, all workers will have the right to "request" more stable hours, "providing more financial security for [people] on flexible contracts," according to the government.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Olympus' tiny Pen E-PL9 has 4K and image stabilization

  Olympus has introduced the PEN E-PL9, giving its smallest Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera a significant overhaul with the addition of 4K video and in-body stabilization. The new model carries the retro look of its predecessor, the E-PL8, but improves on it with a bigger grip and mode dial. It now packs the same 16-megapixel sensor, TruePic VIII processor and 121-point contrast-detect AF (with face and eye detection) as the larger OM-D E-M10 Mark III, but is still limited to 3-axis instead of 5-axis stabilization.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• US Senators want to give feds sole power to issue missile alerts

  US senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii announced back in January that he wants take the responsibility of sending missile alerts away from state and local governments. Now he and fellow Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Gardner have introduced a legislation that would give feds the sole authority to send out missile threat notifications. Under the bill, called Authenticating Local Emergencies and Real Threats (ALERT) Act, the Department of Defense would be able to send notifications to the public using the same system US Presidents use to issue warnings in the event of national catastrophes.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Netgear turns its security cameras into a separate business

  Netgear's Arlo security cameras are apparently a hit -- so much so that the company is turning them into a separate business. The router maker has revealed that it's spinning out Arlo as a separate company, with the regulatory paperwork completed in the first half of 2018 and a public stock offering in the second. Senior strategy VP Matthew McRae (who used to be Vizio's chief technical officer) is expected to helm Arlo when all is said and done.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Turing Robotics files for bankruptcy, CEO assures company isn't finished

  Back in mid-2015, Turing Robotics Industries unveiled its delightfully quirky debut smartphone, an encrypted Android device encased in colorful chrome. Though we cautioned that it could be delayed for a myriad of reasons that often plague small companies, we looked forward to their release in December...then delayed until early 2016...and long story short, it didn't ship at all. Now the company is filing for bankruptcy in Salo, Finland where it had rented a warehouse for manufacturing.

  By David Lumb Read More

• People aren’t happy with the BBC’s big weather redesign

  Today, the BBC is launching a major redesign of its popular weather forecast services — and some Brits are furious. It all started in 2015 when the broadcaster announced it was ditching the Met Office and looking for a new provider of accurate weather data. MeteoGroup was eventually crowned the winner and work began to overhaul the technical architecture underpinning the BBC's much-loved TV bulletins, mobile apps and website. The new web and mobile designs were rolled out to "some users" last month and the reaction was overwhelmingly negative. On a blog post written by the BBC's Michael Burnett, one user commented: "You seemed to have ruined what was a superb site with a wealth of information."

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Botched tsunami warning test is the latest false alarm

  It's only been a few weeks since a false warning told Hawaiians that a missile attack was headed for their state, but another mistaken alert has been sent out into the world. Earlier this morning, an emergency tsunami alert was issued to East Coast residents via the widely-used Accuweather service. According to various tweets, the alert stretched as far north as Portland, Maine; an Engadget editor much further south in Jersey City also received the alert. Accuweather confirmed in a tweet that the original alert was a "test," though it certainly wasn't presented to those alerted in that fashion.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• New Jersey governor orders ISPs to uphold net neutrality

  New Jersey has joined Montana and New York in the growing list of states fighting back against the FCC's decision to repeal net neutrality. Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order prohibiting ISPs from blocking, throttling or taking payment to prioritize one web content over others if they sell internet service to state agencies. The order (PDF), which is pretty much identical to the ones signed by Montana Governor Steve Bullock and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, doesn't cover ISPs that don't count state agencies among their customers.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• US regulators are trying to figure out what to do with cryptocurrency

  Both chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and chairman Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will warn Congress tomorrow about how risky cryptocurrencies are for investors and the financial system as a whole. According to prepared testimony published today, they will advocate for reviewing the smattering of rules guiding cryptocurrency exchanges, and potentially replacing them with federal regulation. Ultimately, they want to safeguard everyone without stifling innovation.

  By David Lumb Read More

• UK banks ban Bitcoin purchases with credit cards

  It's happened in the US and now it's happening in the UK. Lloyds Banking Group, which runs Halifax, Bank of Scotland, MBNA and, of course, Lloyds, has banned its customers from buying bitcoin with their credit cards. "We do not accept credit card transactions involving the purchase of cryptocurrencies," a Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson told the Guardian. It's thought to be the first UK bank — or rather, banking chain — to block its members from investing in the cryptocurrency. The worry, presumably, is that people will borrow cash and then be saddled with large amounts of debt they cannot pay back due to Bitcoin's fluctuating value.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Panavision's latest cinema camera has an 8K RED sensor

  Nearly every blockbuster film used to end with "Lenses and Panaflex camera by Panavision," but now it's more likely that your favorite movie was short on Arri or RED. Panavision is trying to flip that equation, however, by adopting one of its rivals' key pieces of tech. Its latest cinema camera, the Millenium DXL2 uses RED's Monstro 8K VistaVision sensor, giving it 16-bit, 8,192 x 4,320 RAW output with a claimed 16 stops of dynamic range.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Drone catchers and face-detecting planes will guard the Olympics

  South Korean authorities are adopting some pretty high-tech security measures for the upcoming Winter Olympics, including the deployment of drone-catching-drones and a tactical plane with facial recognition. The drones they're using to patrol the event won't chase away rogue drones that get too close to the venues: they'll cast nets to catch any UAV that shows up on the the security team's radar.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• After Math: The state of the 'uniom'

  It was a week of taking stock as the President meandered his way through the State of the Union address and a number of tech firms reviewed their Q4 earnings. Alphabet and Amazon both had something to crow about, while Apple and GoPro both posted less than stellar holiday sales. Numbers, because how else would we realized that, at this point, the rules are made up and the points don't matter?

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Banks ban credit purchase of cryptocurrency due to risks

  If you use your Bank of America-, JP Morgan Chase- or Citigroup-issued credit card to buy cryptocurrency, then you'll have to find an alternative ASAP. According to Bloomberg, the banks have banned crypto purchase using their cards due to the virtual coins' volatile nature. BofA has already started declining credit transactions with known exchanges, though its debit cards aren't be affected by the ban. Citigroup also announced on Friday that it'll no longer process crypto purchases, while JP Morgan Chase's new rule will take effect today.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• The Morning After: Weekend Edition

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the weekend. Between Strava's potentially catastrophic heatmaps, cheaper Surface laptops and another iPhone issue, you could almost forget about the big game.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• The Morning After: Testing Nintendo's new toys, Sony's CEO changes

  It's Friday, and in celebratory fashion, we've been playing with Nintendo's new cardboard gambit, getting hyped over a new Stargate (no judging) and investigating how Uber's getting into mapping to get your ride where you need it to be.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• GoPro faces uncertain future as holiday sales disappoint

  The holidays were not kind to GoPro. The action camera company had already issued an earnings warning in January, dropping its projected Q4 revenues from $470 million to $340 million, that's a 37 percent year-over-year decline. The holidays were so dreadful, in fact, that GoPro has since decided to abandon its drone pursuits and a fifth of its workforce, roughly 300 positions. That said, the company did earn $1.18 billion in 2017, flat year-over-year, and the staff reductions did help drop GoPro's operating expenses by 30 percent, which left the company with $247 million in cash and marketable securities at the end of the year. That's $50 million more than it had on hand at the end of Q3.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Every NFL player can get a smart bed to track their sleep

  The Super Bowl is almost here, and that means one thing in the tech world besides new ads: conveniently timed sports partnerships. The NFL and Sleep Number have unveiled an agreement that will offer every league player a Sleep Number 360 smart bed. The auto-adjusting design will theoretically improve their rest, of course, but the real star is the sleep tracking. Sleep Number will work with teams to incorporate the players' habits into their training regimens, so they'll know whether or not they're getting enough sleep to make the most of their performance on the field.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• India rejects cryptocurrency, but it isn't giving up on blockchain

  India officially will not treat cryptocurrencies as legal tender and will try to stop their use in payments, according to a Bloomberg report. This isn't unexpected, given how the country sent tens of thousands of tax notices out after realizing virtual currencies are making $315 million worth of trade per month. While India has finally come out against cryptocurrencies, after repeated warnings that they were "Ponzi schemes," the government will continue exploring the blockchain's potential for the future digital economy.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Gawker's journalism will be preserved online

  When a billionaire bankrolls lawsuits to shut down a news outlet that they don't like, it's a pretty big deal for how we treat journalism. It's why the Freedom of the Press Foundation has announced that it will launch an online archive for news sites, starting with Gawker. The project, in partnership with the Internet Archive, has crawled every page of the disputed site, as well as others like the L.A. Weekly, for preservation.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• The Morning After: More Mario and sold-out Boring flamethrowers

  Hey, good morning! Welcome to February, which we're starting off with lost-in-space satellites, a piano that plays in response to interpretive dance and Samsung getting into bitcoin. Oh, and Nintendo snuck out a bunch of announcements. Let's hit those first.

  By Mat Smith Read More

Nintendo (11)

• Nintendo already pulled user reviews for Switch games

  Last week, Nintendo began allowing customers to leave reviews for Switch games on its site. Along with leaving comments, reviewers could list themselves as a Nintendo fan, core gamer, casual player or a parent and they could also tag their review with a number of descriptions such as kid appropriate, immersive or great characters. But, as Polygon reports, customer reviews have already been suspended and there's no word on when or if they might be back.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Nintendo now allows Switch user reviews on game pages

  You no longer have to head to a reseller's site or post a social media diatribe to let others know what you think about a Switch game. Nintendo has updated its website to enable customer reviews on Switch games' product pages -- so long as you sign into your Nintendo Account, you can tell would-be buyers whether or not a title is worth their time. They're not just the usual star ratings and comments, either. Similar to Steam, you can tag your review with qualities that describe a title (such as "kid appropriate" or "challenging") to help people find titles with similar traits. You can even summarize your overall experience with games, whether you're a "core gamer" (read: you play games often) or a parent gauging your child's reaction.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• ‘A Normal Lost Phone’ arrives on Nintendo Switch March 1st

  A Normal Lost Phone is the kind of indie game that seizes a tricky niche (mobile gaming) and leans into the form factor for a unique experience -- a Gone Home or Life Is Strange that takes place entirely within a mock phone interface. The game will lose that skeuomorphic novelty when it arrives on Nintendo Switch on March 1st, but will be able to reach players on a console increasingly known for indie titles.

  By David Lumb Read More

• ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ gets its Balloon World update

  If you're looking to squeeze a little more out of Super Mario Odyssey, then Nintendo's got something that'll brighten your day. The company has released a small update to the Switch title, named Balloon World, that includes a new mini-game, plus additional outfits and camera filters. All you need to do to access it is finish the main story, and then search for Luigi in each kingdom and strike up a conversation.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Play 'Doom' with motion controls on Nintendo Switch

  Doom's arrival on the Nintendo Switch back in November was something of a surprise, given the limitations of the platform, but it's quickly captured the hearts of many a gamer. Now, developer Bethesda has improved the gameplay experience even more. Polygon notes that a patch released today enables motion controls for the game.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Modders turn Nintendo Switch into a full-fledged Linux tablet

  For all of its Nintendo customizations, the Switch is ultimately a tablet running a garden variety NVIDIA Tegra processor -- and that means it can potentially handle the same software as other mobile devices. To prove that point, the fail0verflow team has shown a Switch running an honest-to-goodness Linux distribution. The touchscreen, networking and accelerated 3D graphics are all functioning, as evidenced by the modders tweeting from the Switch and running a benchmark. You're not about to run Steam games on it (many Linux apps aren't built for ARM-based chips), but you could theoretically use the Switch as a basic computer.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Mega Man Legacy Collection' is headed to Nintendo Switch May 22

  Mega Man fans were likely excited to hear that the next chapter in the venerable video game franchise, Mega Man 11, is slated for a release sometime this year. At the same time, Capcom announced plans to release two new Mega Man Legacy Collection compilations. Now we've got a date for their release on Nintendo Switch: May 22, 2018.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• 'Super Mario Bros.' encyclopedia comes to the US October 23rd

  Nintendo did many things to mark the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., but there's been one you couldn't usually get your hands on unless you lived in Japan: the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia. You'll be glad to hear that it's coming to the West, though. Dark Horse Publishing has announced that the official guide to Mario's universe will be available in a standard edition in the US on October 23rd for $40. Amazon is also hinting at releases in the UK and Europe, although we don't have official information as of this writing.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Nintendo will convert Gold Points into Switch game discounts

  If you buy a lot of Switch games, good news — Nintendo is about to reward you with some discounted software. The company announced in a blog post today that you'll soon be able to spend Gold Points — earned by purchasing Nintendo games — on Switch software in the eShop. Each Gold Point is worth one British pence, which means you'll need to buy a lot of games (a £40 game on the eShop will net you 200 Gold Points, or £2) before you can get something substantial for free. It's a similar story in the US; a $50 purchase will net you 250 Gold Points, or $2.50. If you don't have enough points, you can always make up the difference with regular cash.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• The ‘King of Kong’ could be stripped of his high score

  Just days after video game high score champ Todd Rogers was stripped of his Dragster title for mathematically impossible times, the man who was the Donkey Kong king for almost 20 years has also come under scrutiny. Billy Mitchell's 2010 high score for Donkey Kong has been called into question on a Twin Galaxies dispute forum by Jeremy Young, the moderator of Donkey Kong Forum (DKF). Young has presented a wealth of evidence to show that Mitchell's performance was likely faked, and has thus removed the high score from DKF's leaderboard.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Nintendo Labo gadgets can be remixed with 'Toy-Con Garage'

  Nintendo stunned the gaming world last month when it unveiled Labo, a system that uses the Switch and some cardboard to make lovably homely little minigames. Reception among the Engadget staff was... mixed. But Nintendo might have nullified a growing concern about the system's longevity with its latest announcement. At a hands-on press event earlier today, the company introduced the Toy-Con Garage, a feature in the Labo's base software that lets users essentially create their own Switch-empowered cardboard toys.

  By David Lumb Read More

PC Gaming (6)

• Surprise! A bad mobile port of 'Chrono Trigger' is on Steam

  Last year, Nintendo one-upped its NES Classic retro console with the SNES Classic, a powerful and value-packed trip back to the best of 90s gaming. But among all the gems bundled into the box, one was notably missing: Chrono Trigger. Out of nowhere, that exclusion was given a chance for redemption when the game appeared on Steam today. Unfortunately, a flood of negative reviews pointed out the truth: This new PC version appears to be straight-up ported from the 2011 mobile version.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Blizzard will host a tournament for the 15-year-old ‘Warcraft III’ 

  Out of nowhere, Blizzard introduced a public test realm (PTR) last fall for its 15-year-old game Warcraft III. PC fans of its current best-sellers like Overwatch play on PTRs to try out new features before they're released to everyone, so creating one for an old title clearly implies greater plans. Today, as was rumored, we know what those are: A new gameplay patch and a tournament at the end of February featuring top players from the game's heydey to the present.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Shadow virtualizes a high-end gaming PC on your desktop clunker

  In the early days of computing, local storage and processing weren't actually a thing. Instead, your individual computer acted as a terminal, pulling data from a central processing server. Well, the French startup Blade likes it that way and has released a similar system but with a 21st-century twist. Its cloud-computing system, dubbed Shadow, can impart the performance of a $2,000 high-end gaming rig onto any internet-connected device with a screen. And now the company is bringing Shadow to California.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• The original 'Dead Space' is free... on EA Origin

  Beloved horror survival game Dead Space is now available completely free on PC. The 2008 sci-fi hit is the newest addition to EA's "On the House" offering, and as long as you grab it directly from Origin it's yours without charge, to play and keep forever. That said, it's not clear how long the promotion will run for, so you should probably download it sooner rather than later.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Top female player wins Olympics-backed 'StarCraft 2' tournament

  Sasha 'Scarlett' Hostyn is one of the most skilled and successful women in eSports, and she just won a major StarCraft 2 tournament. Not just any competition, either: An Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament was held in Pyeongchang ahead of this weekend's Winter Olympics and, most importantly, is the first competition backed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In other words, as Polygon pointed out, Scarlett became the first female winner of a big international StarCraft 2 tournament, which itself is a promising foray in eSports and Olympic collaboration.

  By David Lumb Read More

• A game about penises made Steam live streaming a reality

  You won't find Genital Jousting on Twitch, largely because the game is populated by a variety of brightly colored penises with X-marked anuses between their testicles. The penises are often clothed, it should be noted, but the gameplay makes this odd anatomy lesson very clear: One of the main mechanics has players attempt to stick a penis tip into the anus of another penis. So, no, you won't find Genital Jousting on Twitch. It's on the site's list of banned games, alongside titles like Battle Rape, The Maiden Rape Assault: Violent Semen Inferno and Suck My Dick or Die. However, Genital Jousting is not a violent sexual game. It's not even really about intercourse or how silly penises look when they're flopping around a screen -- it's designed to shine a spotlight on toxic masculinity and highlight the perils of a patriarchal society. Its story mode is fully narrated, starring a penis named John as he grapples with a midlife crisis and reevaluates his priorities. In short, Genital Jousting is meant to demystify the penis in an accessible, light-hearted, fully-clothed manner.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

PlayStation (7)

• PlayStation Plus won't include free PS3 and Vita games next year

  Changes are afoot for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Starting next March, the smattering of monthly free (with subscription) Instant Game Collection offerings won't include titles for the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita. It won't affect any games you downloaded previously, however, according to a post on the PS Blog. "Your game saves and other benefits of PS Plus will also remain the same -- the only change is that no new PS3 and PS Vita games will be added to the PS Plus monthly games lineup beyond March 8th, 2019."

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• PlayStation profiles are now available on the web

  PlayStation is putting your user profile on the web. Head over to the PlayStation website today and you'll find a new tab in the upper right corner that says "My PlayStation." Click it and you'll see what looks like a classic Facebook profile page. Your photo is in the upper left, along with your trophy collection, friends list and who's online. You can also compare your trophy progress/collection against friends. Basically, it takes a lot of the functionality you'd need to turn your PS4 on or open a mobile app to get and puts it in your browser. There's a lot of empty white space, but compared to Xbox.com's overwhelmingly cluttered dashboard -- the US PS Blog isn't much better -- the minimalism is appreciated. It feels a little too barren at this point, though.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• PSVR's rodent adventure 'Moss' arrives February 27th

  PlayStation VR's adorable murine tale Moss finally has a release date. Next Tuesday, February 27th, you'll be able to guide the big-eared rodent Quill along her adventure on your PlayStation 4. When it debuted at E3 last year, developer Polyarc (made up, in part, of former Bungie and Rockstar Games alums) promised the mouse-scale adventure would be out by holiday, but the game was delayed until this spring. If you're curious how it'll play before you drop hard-earned cash, there's a demo version available as part of the free PSVR demo disc on the PlayStation Network Store. Need more convincing? Maybe the new trailer below will do the trick.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Sony drops PlayStation VR prices as low as $200

  Sony thinks its holiday PlayStation VR discounts were a success, so it's bringing them back now that it wants to clear some end-of-winter stock. The company is running a new promo that drops PSVR prices by $100 across the board between February 18th and March 3rd. The sweetest deal by far is the Gran Turismo Sport bundle -- you can get the racing game, a PSVR headset and the requisite camera for $200. You can also buy just the headset for $200, although that won't make much sense unless you just can't find the GTS pack.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ remake is missing something vital

  Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Shadow of the Colossus. Shadow of Colossus on the PlayStation 4 has everything you'd expect in a modern game. Its sharp graphics are are a huge step above the original PlayStation 2 title, which was released in 2005. There's support for HDR and, if you own a PlayStation 4 Pro, you even have the option of 4K rendering. At last, there's a console capable of handling the scope of Fumito Ueda's grand vision.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• PS4 Pro will make more games look better on older TVs

  The next PlayStation 4 firmware update will make the PS4 Pro a lot more like the Xbox One X. No, I don't mean the patch will malevolently shrink the breadth of Sony's first-party games lineup next time the console is in sleep mode, either. Instead, software version 5.50 adds a supersampling mode to the PS4 Pro.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• 'Yakuza 6: The Song of Life' launch date pushed back to April 17th

  One more month, folks. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is due to land in the United States, Europe and elsewhere around the world on April 17th, a one-month delay from its original release date. To soften the blow of this announcement, publisher Sega also revealed the launch date for the Yakuza 6 demo: It'll go live on PlayStation 4 on February 27th, and save data will transfer to the full game.

  By Jessica Conditt Read More

Reviews (43)

• Intel's PC concept 'hides' a 5G antenna in a plump kickstand

  MWC 2018 has been gripped with 5G fever, even more intensely than in years past. Intel has gone all out for the show this year, with display upon display of 5G demos dominating its booth. One of the new proofs of concept from the chip maker is a detachable PC streaming a 4K video over a test 5G connection using an early modem. Intel also announced a partnership with Dell, Lenovo, HP and Microsoft to bring 5G-connected PCs with XMM 8000 series modems to market in the second half of 2019.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• ASUS’ ZenFone 5 stretches the limits of the term ‘AI’

  As expected, ASUS officially revealed its new ZenFone 5 in Barcelona today, and if you don't mind I'm going to skip my usual meandering intro. The company talked up a handful of AI features in its latest midrange smartphone, but I think ASUS is throwing around the word "AI" haphazardly. More on that later though: Let's get the usual hands-on stuff out of the way first.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Google Clips review: A smart, but unpredictable camera

  A few months ago, I met my favorite dog. I was standing in my friend's living room when Tassie, a little black and white chonzer puppy, came sniffing by my feet. She looked up at me, got up on her hind legs and placed her two front paws on my shin. A second later, she leaned forward, crossing her paws behind my calf and hugged my leg. I froze, my heart stopped and I melted into a puddle on the floor. I didn't dare to move in case she stopped hugging me. But then I thought, "This is a moment I want to memorialize!" So I reached for my phone, and as I shifted my weight slightly, Tassie walked away. I tried to get her to hug me again, but to no avail. My heart had been won, but the moment was lost.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 VR kit needs software to make it shine

  When Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR platform earlier this year, it threw around terms like "6 DoF SLAM" and "foveated rendering" as highlights. While it's easy to understand the benefits of these tracking and graphics improvements in theory, seeing them in practice is what could get you excited about upcoming headsets. At its booth in MWC 2018, the chip maker had a demo on its reference design headset to showcase some of the changes, which we checked out briefly.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Panasonic’s GH5s is perfect for video shooters and no one else

  Panasonic was the first company to embrace mirrorless camera video, with the GH1, helping to change the way low-budget movies could be made. Finally, videographers had a (reasonably) large sensor camera that could handle autofocus, external microphones and 1080p video. The company raised the bar with each subsequent model, introducing 4K video with the GH4 and internal 10-bit 4K with the GH5. With the launch of the GH5s, however, Panasonic made a gutsy move by launching a mirrorless camera that prioritizes video in a way that none of its rivals have. As a fan of large-sensor video, I was curious to test it out, especially for low-light shooting. My conclusion? It produces the best video of any mirrorless camera on the market. But many folks considering it -- like documentary makers, event videographers and vloggers -- will likely prefer the GH5, which has built-in stabilization and costs $400 less.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• The Morning After: Sony's new A7 III

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. MWC 2018 is in full swing, and we have a whole new list of phones to pore over, including Sony's Xperia XZ2 and the first cellphone with a cryptocurrency wallet.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Sony's $2,000 A7 III camera adds 4K video

  Following the recently refreshed A7R III, tonight Sony announced its "basic" model update with the A7 III mirrorless camera. This time around it's packing a 24.2 MP sensor, internal 4K HDR video capability (downscaled from 6K) and what Sony says is the longest rated battery life of any mirrorless camera thanks to its Z series battery. It will cost $2,000/£2,000 for the body alone when it goes on sale in Europe in March and in the US this April, or as a kit with FE 28?70 mm F3.5?5.6 lens for $2,200/£2,200.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• I found a Gemini PDA running Sailfish OS, and it was wild

  At CES, a certain portion of Engadget's staff fell in love with the Gemini, a reimagining of the Psion PDA from the late 1990s. If the promise of a dual-booting Android and Linux phone had you drooling at the mouth, strap in, because I've just seen the same hardware running Sailfish OS. That's right, the alternative mobile operating system that Jolla has been working on since 2011. It's one of the strangest and most surprising phone collaborations of 2018, and I can't help but applaud the audacity of it all. The only problem is that the phone isn't very fun to use -- not yet, anyway.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• The Galaxy S9+ vs. the competition: Beyond the dual cameras

  This year's bigger Galaxy handset focuses on its picture-taking capabilities: The S9+ is Samsung's first flagship with a dual camera, which brings it in line with competing phones like the Pixel 2 XL as well as its sibling Galaxy Note 8. There's also a plethora of new software tricks to make the most of its new picture taking rig, which you can read all about in our hands-on. However, if you're all about the number crunching, check out the table below, where we'd laid out the key specs of the S9+ as well as its closest competition, including both flavors of iPhone. Of course, numbers aren't everything, so you'll have to stay tuned for our full review of the S9 and S9+ in a few weeks.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• The Galaxy S9 vs. the competition: Under the hood

  On the outside the Galaxy S9 looks pretty familiar: not only does it maintain the same basic shape as the S8, but it's kept the screen and battery size of its predecessor as well. In fact, other high-end phones like the Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 have also stuck with familiar design language, which means that you have to look at the specs to see what's been revised or refined. This year it's mostly about the S9's cameras, with the rear-facing one boasting a dual aperture and the software adding a slew of new features for better pictures and videos. But what other changes should you look at, and how do they compare to what's already on the market? We've stacked up the Galaxy S9 versus its closest competitors so you can get a better idea which one you might want to pick up this spring -- though we also advise checking out our full review of the S9 when it drops next month.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• Vivo’s all-screen concept phone hides a pop-up selfie cam

  When I think of funky, ambitious smartphones, I don't usually think of the name Vivo. That began to change after seeing a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor -- the world's first, actually -- a month ago at CES. Now, after playing with the company's APEX FullView concept phone, it's clear that Vivo is more clever than we've given it credit for.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Lenovo's Yoga 730 is a cheaper 2-in-1 with Alexa support

  Mobile World Congress, for obvious reasons, isn't really known for its laptop announcements. Lenovo is bucking that trend today, however, with three mid-range convertibles sporting the Yoga name. The most exciting is the Yoga 730, a sleek 2-in-1 that sits below the company's flagship Thinkpad X1 line and the popular Yoga 920. It will be available in 13- and 15-inch variations, sporting similar designs but slightly different upgrade options. They'll be joined by the Flex 14 (which will be marketed as the Yoga 530 outside of North America) a cheaper alternative with a near-identical form factor.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• The Xperia XZ2 is Sony's fastest, strangest flagship phone yet

  Sony has longed to find lasting success in the smartphone market, but none of the devices it released in the past few years have done the job. It's clearly time for a change, and Sony knows that — that's why the new Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are notable steps away from the company's smartphone norm. They're fast, fascinating and pretty (to me, anyway), and it seems obvious that Sony wanted to strike a balance in these devices between immersive media consumption and powerful content creation. After a little bit of hands-on time with the XZ2 and its little sibling, I don't think Sony hasn't gotten everything right, but at least these things are pleasantly strange.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Canon's entry-level Rebel T7 DSLR targets social media users

  On top of its M50 mirrorless with 4K video, Canon also took the wraps of its latest DSLR, the Rebel T7 (also known as the EOS 2000D in some parts of the world). The successor to the two-year-old, 18-megapixel Rebel T6 now has a much bigger 24.1-megapixel sensor, making it more attractive next to excellent smartphone cameras on the iPhone X and Galaxy S8+, for instance.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ hands-on: The devil is in the details

  Getting to know the Galaxy S9 is like unwrapping a present you think you've already opened. On the surface, it looks familiar, but once you peel back the layers, you'll notice the contents are new. That's not to say that the changes between the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8 are insignificant. There's a ton of them, and you'll have to look carefully to spot them all, but when considered as a package, this update feels more incremental than monumental. At least, based on our brief time with it.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Nokia's new affordable smartphones prioritize design

  Generating hype around the Nokia brand with retro-inspired feature phones is all well and good, but that doesn't necessarily result in people opening their wallets. And to best cash in on any interest, you need a little something for everyone. To that end, HMD Global has announced a number of new Android smartphones at MWC beyond its pricey flagship. There's the Nokia 1, the company's cheapest entry-level device to date; the second-gen Nokia 6, which is going global after debuting in China last month and the Nokia 7 Plus, a bigger version of the China-exclusive 7, which was released last fall.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• The Nokia 8 Sirocco edition is 95-percent glass

  HMD brought a Nokia phone for all tastes to this year's MWC. Just as some people might want a retro feature phone or an entry-level smartphone, others want the best that money can buy. HMD's latest offering to these flagship fiends is the Nokia 8 Sirocco, which is pitched as a special edition of the Nokia 8 that launched last summer. Make no mistake, this isn't merely the same phone in a new funky color. It sports a completely overhauled design consisting almost entirely of glass.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• The Nokia 8110 Reloaded is HMD's latest retro feature phone

  Many companies descend on the annual Mobile World Congress event to plug their first smartphone launches of the year. It's an established routine, but HMD Global undeniably stole the show in 2017 with, of all things, a new feature phone. Flexing its newly-acquired license to the Nokia brand, HMD put on a marketing masterclass by announcing a re-release of the iconic Nokia 3310. This year, it's attempting a similar trick, preying on '90s nostalgia with the new Nokia 8110 Reloaded.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Huawei's MateBook X Pro crams a pop-up webcam into the keyboard

  When Huawei unveiled its first true laptop barely a year ago, it was a slightly more useful MacBook lookalike. While the MateBook X looked a lot like Apple's device, it offered some minor changes that alleviated common grievances, including the MacBook's solo USB-C port and its barely-there key travel. At MWC this year, Huawei is unveiling the next generation of the series, called the MateBook X Pro. It's a larger, more powerful notebook with a better display and impressive audio tech, but one quirky new feature could prevent it from being a good option for professionals.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• LG’s V30S ThinQ is the AI-fueled phone the V30 should’ve been

  In the midst of a tricky fiscal year, LG decided to run with a new strategy: cook up interim smartphones to sell between its major flagship releases. The plan was based in part on the surprising success of phones like the X cam, and since the company needed to try something different, it pressed on with its experiment. And lo, the LG V30S ThinQ was born.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Alcatel crams flagship features into its affordable smartphones

  When I first saw its 2018 phone lineup, Alcatel was clear: Its plan for this year was to make premium smartphone features available for much less than typical flagship prices. In this case, Alcatel means giving 18:9 screens, fingerprint sensors, and elaborate camera setups to as many people as possible. Based on some hands-on time here in Barcelona, Alcatel seems to have done a fine job democratizing these features; the real question is how the phones will stand up to the rest of the impressive low-cost devices we expect to see as the show goes on.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• In search of pixel perfection with the Analogue Super NT

  The 16-bit aesthetic is the new vinyl. It taps into a growing vein of '90s nostalgia, and it also reflects a longing for a tactile past world that just predates full-scale digitization. Fat, colorful sprites represent an era when technology was still analog and full of exciting possibilities. The Super Nintendo is as much an emblem of this retro near-futurism as it is a game machine. But boy, is it also a great game machine. Hence, nostalgia for the Super Nintendo is currently at its absolute peak. There are half a dozen or so clone consoles on the market and advanced emulators such as Higan that run with near-cycle perfection on high-end PCs. Then there's Nintendo's own incredibly popular SNES Mini. In short, there is no shortage of ways to play these classic games right now. All options have their strengths and drawbacks, but Analogue's new Super NT retro console easily blows them all out of the water, delivering sprites with pixel-perfect accuracy, zero lag and considerable polish.

  By Zach Hines Read More

• Cat's S61 is an ideal phone for blue-collar workers

  Two years ago, I was shown a Cat-branded smartphone with a thermal camera for people who work in construction and other outdoors-y, get-your-hands-dirty professions. I wasn't the target market, of course, and struggled to judge whether the feature was a gimmick or not. Turns out it was the latter; Bullitt, the British phone maker that built the Cat S60, is back with a new model called the S61. The heat-sensing FLIR camera now goes up to 400 degrees celsius (the S60 maxed out at 120 degrees) so workers can analyze faulty engines, electronic equipment and more.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• If NBC can’t improve its VR Olympics coverage, it should just stop

  If you're watching the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics on TV like a normal person, you may not realize there's another option. I viewed the opening ceremonies, skiing, curling, figure skating and other events in virtual reality on my Samsung Gear VR (2017) headset via NBC's app. I didn't expect the coverage to be as smooth as TV, but I thought it would be a cool way to watch the events as if I were a live spectator. Sadly, with one exception, the experience was spotty and disappointing.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Rocket League Rivals brings absurd car-based soccer to the real world

  This week Hot Wheels unveiled Augmoto, an AR-enhanced course that makes the brand's track races a lot more video game-like. However, in the other direction it's also introducing Rocket League Rivals, a remote control vehicle kit that brings the popular console game's madcap soccer-but-with-cars action into the real world. Based on the number of times our cars flipped over or ran off the track while playing at this week's Toy Fair, it seems to have captured the spirit of the game, at least.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on DJI's Mavic Air

  If you have a checklist for a camera drone, it probably includes things like portability, image quality, battery life and cost. DJI has been in the game long enough to know the things you want, and the result is the Mavic Air. Not to give you any spoilers, but the Mavic Air does well on all the above, and offers a whole lot more to boot. It's not all up-sides though (okay, it is mostly upsides, but you'll probably want to watch our "pros and cons" video above all the same).

  By James Trew Read More

• Samsung Notebook 9 Pen review: Solid stylus, so many compromises

  My backpack is a disaster. I've always been sort of a pack rat, and working at Engadget doesn't help. Every day I lug a laptop, a tablet, a few phones (for review purposes), an SLR, a huge power bank, chargers and cables for all of those things, and a book to the office. With MWC coming up, this seemed like a great time to reevaluate what I drag with me everywhere. And at the top of my list for reevaluation is my 15-inch MacBook Pro -- one of the heaviest things in my bag. Enter Samsung's (awkwardly named) Notebook 9 Pen. For $1,399 you get one of the lightest Windows 10 ultraportables out there, and as the name suggests, it's one of just a few Samsung laptops that use the company's famous S Pen. After a week of testing, it's clear that the Notebook 9 Pen has its uses, but most people won't miss out by skipping it.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• The Morning After: Apple HomePod, reviewed

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Happy Valentine's Day! Now that's out of the way, we've got Apple's HomePod review (great sound, not so smart), adorable robot skiers and problems with Star Trek Discovery.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Korg Konnect: A smart amp for small audiences

  For large gatherings, PA systems keep you from just yelling at a group of people to share your message. For musicians, a PA is necessary to amplify your voice and instrument to an audience. On the surface, Korg's Konnect PA speaker does pretty much what every other speaker with a few mics attached to it does, make things louder so folks can hear them. But look a little deeper, and you'll see the Konnect takes what Korg knows about sound and performances and shoves it into a four-channel speaker. One you can control via a companion app that's surprisingly robust.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Apple HomePod review: A great speaker that’s not so smart

  For Apple, being late to the smart speaker party isn't necessarily a sin. The company's ethos -- as explained by CEO Tim Cook time and again -- is that Apple cares more about being the best than being first. The $349 HomePod is proof that's not always true. Apple put considerable time and effort into making its first smart speaker sound better than its rivals, and I'd argue they succeeded. After a few solid days of testing, I can honestly say the HomePod is the best smart speaker I've ever heard -- it's just not very smart in the ways I was hoping.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Panasonic's ZS200 compact camera doubles down on zoom

  Along with the all-new GX9, Panasonic launched the ZS200 compact superzoom, a successor to the excellent ZS100. The new model hasn't massively changed, as it still offers a 1-inch, 20.1 megapixel sensor, 5-axis stabilization, 4K, 30 fps video and more. However, there's enough new stuff there to make it interesting. Mainly, the Leica-built zoom lens has an increased range of 24-360x, compared to 25-250x (35mm equivalent) for the last model, albeit at a loss in aperture speed from f/2.8-5.9 to f/3.3-6.4.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Panasonic's GX9 packs 4K video and more into a tinier body

  Panasonic's Lumix GX8 flagship compact was already a pretty innovative camera back in 2015 with 4K video, stabilization and a relatively high resolution 20.3-megapixel sensor. The next generation Lumix GX9 builds on that tech, but lowers the price and fits it into a new body borrowed from the GX85. That's a good thing -- the GX85 is a nice-looking, very compact camera with physical dials, and the GX9 brings its bigger sensor, tiltable electronic viewfinder (EVF) and other nice perks.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• The Morning After: Apple's HomePod gets hacked apart

  Morning there! Apple's technically impressive HomePod has literally been hacked into pieces, we get a taste of Qualcomm's potent smartphone chip (coming soon) and strap an editor into an Iron Man toy mask in the interests of Journalism with a capital 'J'.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• PicoBrew Z series is a modular all-in-one setup for serious homebrewers

  After introducing Keurig-like pods for brewing beer at home, PicoBrew is back with a more traditional all-grain setup. The new Z Series allows brewers to use their own loose grains and hops instead of the company's own pre-packed ingredients. There are also four models, from 2.5 gallons up to 10 gallons -- each one increases brew capacity by 2.5 gallons. Like the Zymatic these units replace, PicoBrew designed these devices for pros, especially since a 5, 7.5 or 10 gallon batch would be enough to put on tap in a tasting room -- for pilot batches, at least. However, experienced homebrewers can also use their expertise for the Z Series.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Don't even try to repair Apple's HomePod

  You may not like the thought of paying Apple a pretty penny to fix the HomePod, but you might have to -- it definitely isn't meant for DIY repairs. An iFixit teardown has revealed a clever design that makes good use of a tiny space, but is also nigh-on inaccessible. It appears that you can pull the fabric mesh off with a drawstring, but almost everything else requires tearing things apart. Many parts are glued on (including the top and bottom), and there's one seam so thoroughly sealed that iFixit needed a hacksaw and ultrasonic cutter to get in. If there's a non-destructive way to get in, it's not obvious.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The 'Spire' portable recording studio is all about spontaneity

  Inspiration hits you at weird times -- usually when you're in the shower or about to fall asleep. Basically, moments when you have very little chance of putting it down on paper or recording it. The $350 portable Spire Studio from iZotope probably won't help much in those situations (unless you keep it next to your bed with a guitar or keyboard). But, for folks who write music, it's a surprisingly simple to use 8-track recorder that hooks up to almost all your gear.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 845 is a graphics powerhouse

  Qualcomm recently let journalists benchmark the upcoming Snapdragon 845 on its own reference smartphone, and the results look promising for the Galaxy S9 and other new devices. On the one hand, CPU improvements were merely incremental, despite a switch to new ARM Cortex designs. On the other, Qualcomm's new Adreno 630 GPU performed impressively, especially considering the power draw, putting rivals like Samsung and Huawei on notice. "There is need for more radical change to keep up with Qualcomm," said Anandtech.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Samsung's Olympic Galaxy Note 8 isn't for sale, but I wish it was

  In addition to the honor of representing their homelands, this year's Winter Olympic athletes will also receive something else: a limited-edition Galaxy Note 8. Unlike Samsung's first Olympic phone, though, it's unlikely that this version will ever go on sale to the public. To own one, you have to be a world-class athlete or an Olympic staff member whose job is to support world-class athletes. To play with one, though, you just have to write things on the internet, so here we are.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Sony’s latest PlayStation headset looks awfully familiar

  Sony has yet another wireless PlayStation headset coming soon. Last year it was the misnomered $150 Platinum Wireless Headset, and this time it's a new Gold Wireless Headset. The refreshed cans take the basic form factor of the company's stereo headset and shoehorn virtual 7.1 surround sound into it, in addition to wireless capabilities and compatibility with PlayStation VR. There are also new ear-cups and a redesigned headband in addition to a pair of hidden noise-cancelling microphones.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Steadicam Volt's cinematic smartphone stabilizer is a little fiddly

  Steadicam is the company behind iconic tracking shots in films like Rocky and Return of the Jedi, so when parent Tiffen launched a smartphone stabilizer bearing its name at CES 2017, there was a ton of interest. The $195 Steadicam Volt nabbed more than $1 million on Kickstarter and is now on sale at stores. It works very well and can produce natural-looking, cinematic shots, but don't expect it to do that out of the box. It takes a fair amount of time to set it up, and even longer to master.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• BMW’s C Evolution squeezes EV technology into a scooter

  While new companies like Zero and Gogoro are establishing themselves as first-rate two-wheeled vehicle builders, the Hondas and Yamahas of the world have taken a more cautious approach to the market. BMW, on the other hand, launched its own electric scooter way back in 2014. Sadly it was only available in Europe -- until now. It's finally in the US, and I took it for a spin in America's parking lot (i.e., Los Angeles).

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• DJI Mavic Air review: Aerial photography's next small thing

  When DJI revealed the Mavic Pro in late 2016, it ended up being a turning point for the company. DJI was already the dominant name in consumer drones thanks to the Phantom series, but the Mavic Pro was cheaper, smaller and downright meaner-looking. The combination of price, features and cool-factor made it an instant success. Then there was the Spark, which was smaller, but less powerful and lacked some of the basic features that a budding aerial photographer wants. Enter the Mavic Air, a quadcopter that slots between the Mavic Pro and Spark on DJI's roster.

  By James Trew Read More

• Nintendo Labo hands-on: Cardboard has never been this fun

  Leave it up to Nintendo to get us excited over cardboard. Labo, its DIY Switch-powered cardboard accessory line, seemed like the purist encapsulation of Nintendo's philosophy: "Play" is far more important than having the best graphics. At first glance, Labo seems like a unique mixture of digital and analog gaming that kids will likely love. And based on my brief time with a few Labo kits today, it's something adults will likely have a blast with as well.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

Robotics (12)

• MIT's robotic carpenters take the hassle out of custom furniture

  If you want to build custom furniture, you usually need to know your way around a saw and devote days to both designing it and cutting every last piece. MIT's CSAIL might have a better solution: let computers and robots do the hard work. Its researchers have developed an AutoSaw system that makes it easy to craft furniture without the risk of cutting your fingers. You start on your computer by customizing furniture templates in OnShape's simple CAD system. After that, modified robots (a Roomba for a jigsaw, Kuka youBots for chopping) cut the individual parts. You still have to assemble it yourself, but the software will guide you through the process.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Boston Dynamics' robots won't be held back by puny humans

  Are you looking for the exact moment when the robots decide to turn on their human creators? You might want to mark this day on your calendar. Boston Dynamics has posted video of a SpotMini test where it gauged the bot's ability to adjust to interference -- in this case, from a pesky human. The quadruped managed to open a door despite a human pushing its hand down with a hockey stick, pushing the door closed and even tugging on its 'tail.' It clearly struggled, but its ability to adapt and rebalance left it unfazed.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Robots that pick up and sort objects may improve warehouse efficiency

  Sorting and organizing may not always be the most difficult tasks, but they can certainly get tedious. And while they may seem like prime examples of something we might like robots to do for us, picking up, recognizing and sorting objects is actually a pretty difficult thing to teach a machine. But researchers at MIT and Princeton have developed a robot that can do just that and in the future, it could be used for things like warehouse sorting or cleaning up a disaster area.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• A machine literally shocks you into taking 'good' photos

  Machines are getting excellent at recognizing images, and they're even pretty good at rating them. So, why do you even need humans to take the photos in the first place? Designer and artist Peter Buczkowski took that question in a dark, amusing direction with a project called Prosthetic Photographer. He created an AI device that can recognize a well-composed scene and then force the photographer to press the shutter via a mild electrical shock to their hand.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• 3Doodler's new kits help kids make robotic bugs and dinosaurs

  3Doodler's safer, cuter 3D-printing pen for kids called Start can already bring their imagination to life. But these new sets can help them get used to drawing objects if they're just starting out and take their creations to the next level. The company has launched new Start sets at Toy Fair 2018, including a collaboration with insect robot-maker HexBug. It comes with Doodlemolds in the shape of bugs' legs and bodies, as well as motorized parts, so kids can build actual moving critters and race their friends. 3Doodler says the kit can help teach kids physics, engineering and structural principles, since they'll have to make sure the bug they designed can actually move.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Robots had their own skiing competition at the Winter Olympics

  The Olympics aren't just an event for the most talented athletes to strut their stuff on the world's stage. No, The Games are where robots can find honest work and leisure, too. Some 85 robots (spread across 11 different models, humanoid and otherwise) have been serving drinks, cleaning floors, swimming around fish tanks, guiding lost visitors at the airport and even skiing according to regional publication Korea JoongAng Daily. "We applied three yardsticks in choosing the robots to use at The Games -- how stable, new and useful they are going to be," Park Hyun-Sub, of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• The Skydio R1 might be the smartest consumer drone in the sky

  Autonomous features in commercially available drones are nothing new. Heck, I'm old enough to remember when DJI Phantoms didn't even offer follow-along technology. Shorter version: Most every drone worth its rotors possesses some level of autonomy. But then there's Skydio's R1, which ratchets things up a notch. Or two.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Boston Dynamics' robots are the politest 'pets' you'll meet

  We hope you weren't planning on sleeping tonight. Boston Dynamics has posted a video showing that its SpotMini robot can hold the door open for its fellow automatons. If one bot needs a helping hand, it'll signal to another machine nearby that can pry the door open and let it through. It's very polite... and more than a little unsettling, especially since it's not clear they'll extend the same courtesy to humans. At least the robots will have manners when they take over.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• MIT CSAIL’s drone is never quite sure where it is

  The current generation of autonomous drone navigation and flightpath planning systems are almost too precise, demanding hundreds of measurements be taken so that the UAV knows exactly where it is in space at any given moment. And if those readings are off by even a little, then the drone is in for an impact. What's more, all that data collection is computationally intensive -- especially for smaller drones where the space and weight capacities are limited.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• EHang shows footage of its passenger drone in flight

  EHang has been talking about its 184 passenger drone for ages, but there's been a curious absence of footage showing manned flights. Thankfully, it's rectifying that situation: the company has posted a video showing the EHang 184 in action through a series of manned tests. The clip shows both single- and double-seat models going through the paces, including extreme conditions such as typhoon-level winds, intense maneuvers and high-altitude climbs. There's a definite Blade Runner vibe -- EHang's personal vehicle like one of the sci-fi franchise's Spinners, just with rotor blades.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Louisville wants a fleet of drones to survey areas after shootings

  Earlier this week, the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky told reporters that he wants the city to field a fleet of drones that automatically survey areas after guns are fired. The city would detect firearm discharges using its existing ShotSpotter system, WDRB reported, and immediately send the UAVs to the scene, potentially before emergency responders are even called. But this isn't coming out of nowhere: Louisville could just be the first of over 300 cities that have applied to a federal program that provides funding for local governments that are trying to start their own drone programs.

  By David Lumb Read More

• DARPA turns drone ship development over to the Navy

  DARPA has completed its part in the development of Sea Hunter, a submarine-hunting drone ship that can cross the open seas without a human crew for months at a time. It has officially handed over the ship's development to its project partner, the Office of Naval Research, which has already begun fine-tuning the drone's autonomous features. The Navy has also renamed the drone to Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV)... which really isn't any better than its old name, Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel or ACTUV. We've got a feeling people will stick to calling it Sea Hunter, unless the Navy can come up with a snappier nickname.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

Samsung (12)

• Samsung says its smart speaker will arrive in the second half of 2018

  We've known for awhile now that Samsung was working on its own smart speaker, an answer to Apple's HomePod. It appears that the speaker, which will run Samsung's voice assistant Bixby, will debut in the second half of 2018 according to The Wall Street Journal.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Samsung's updated DeX desktop experience uses the S9 as a trackpad

  When it launched last year, Samsung's first DeX dock was the latest in a long line of attempts to blur the line between phones and traditional PCs. And you know what? It worked surprisingly well, even though the value for most people wasn't particularly clear. That didn't stop Samsung from trying again, though: the company unveiled a new version of its DeX hardware alongside the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, and it's much different from the dock we got last year.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Watch Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2018 event right here!

  Samsung's getting ready to unveil its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S9, at MWC 2018 in Barcelona. You can watch a livestream of the Unpacked 2018 event in the video below, and don't forget to follow the action on our liveblog, as well -- where we'll have colorful commentary from our senior editors Cherlynn Low and Chris Velazco. It all starts at 9AM PT/12PM ET, so you have a few minutes to grab a drink and a snack before finding out what the Galaxy S9 looks like.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Live from Samsung's Galaxy S9 event at MWC 2018!

  Today is the day Samsung will be unveiling its highly anticipated Galaxy S9, the company's latest flagship smartphone. As we discussed earlier this week, you can expect an improved, smarter camera on the handset, as well as an answer to Apple's Animojis, animated emojis that will use face recognition technology to make your phone more interactive when you message friends or family. We'll learn all about the Galaxy S9 in the next few hours, so stay tuned to this post to keep up with the action as it happens. The event kicks off at 12PM ET/6PM Barcelona time. Enjoy!

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Samsung revives Opera's data-saving app as a Galaxy exclusive

  Opera Max was a great way to keep track of what apps were siphoning data in the background and keeping (some of) your privacy intact. Then Opera announced it was shuttering the app. There's a sliver of silver lining to that though: Samsung has stepped in and rescued the application from the great smartphone in the sky, renaming it to Samsung Max in the process. The downside? If you were a fan and using the app on something other than a Galaxy handset, you'll have to say goodbye once Max drops its Opera branding.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Samsung has the world's largest SSD, again, at 30TB

  Nearly two years ago Samsung released a 15.36TB drive that it said had the most capacity of any SSD. Now, it has topped that with a new effort that it claims features twice the capacity and performance. Inside its 2.5-inch frame, the PM1643 has 30.72 TB ready for whatever enterprise storage needs you have, with sequential read/write speeds of 2,100MB/s and 1,700 MB/s.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Samsung patents a flying screen that could be used for hovering video

  Samsung was awarded a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office last week for what it's calling a "flying display device." The patent, spotted by LetsGoDigital, was filed for in 2016 and describes a drone-like device with a screen that could be capable of streaming video, like, for example, broadcast television, but, as The Verge points out, it could also presumably be used as a hovering advertisement display. According to Samsung's patent, the flying screen would be supported by four propellers and could have features like voice recognition, a vibration system, an obstacle detection unit with a camera or a sensor as well as gyro, motion and accelerometer sensors. And the display could be a range of devices, including a tablet, a laptop or a mobile medical device.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Samsung's redesigned emoji are actually recognizable

  When you send an emoji to a friend, you want it to convey the same information. For example, if you sent a "rolling eyes" emoji to a buddy using a Samsung phone, they might not pick up what you're laying down. That's because 2017's "rolling eyes" emoji looks more like a happy face with eyebrows and a smirk. Luckily, the new Samsung Experience 9.0 (set to release as part of the Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 users) has tweaked quite a few emoji, including the eye-rolling one, to bring them all more in line with other platform's representations of the Unicode characters.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Samsung leak shows off the Galaxy S9's new DeX Pad

  When reports came out late last year that Samsung was going to reveal the Galaxy S9 at CES 2018, it was bundled with rumors about a new DeX docking station. Well, the S9 reveal didn't happen at CES, but that part about a new DeX device might just be true: noted leaker Evan Blass (evleaks) has posted images of "the so-called DeX Pad" on his Twitter account. Like what previous reports said, it's a flat dock unlike the first DeX device for the S8, which looks like more like a traditional dock.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Samsung created a 3D version of its 34-foot cinema LED screen

  Last year, Samsung unveiled its Cinema LED Screen, a giant, 34-foot screen that can be used in theaters in place of traditional projector systems. Now, Samsung has announced that it has created a 3D version of that screen and it brings all of the image quality benefits of the Cinema LED Screen as well as some added bonuses like less dizziness and fewer headaches compared to typical 3D cinema viewing experiences.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Disgraced Samsung boss walks free from prison

  The heir to South Korea's largest company has avoided a lengthy spell in prison after a court suspended his sentence. Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee was initially meant to spend five years behind bars after being found guilty of bribing public officials. Now, after spending close to a year in detention he has been released although he will spend the next four years on probation.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Qualcomm hopes Samsung deal will fix its antitrust woes

  Troubled chipmaker Qualcomm has struck a deal with Samsung that may quash its hefty antitrust case in South Korea and ward off a rumoured hostile bid takeover from rival Broadcom. While the exact terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, the new patent cross-licensing agreement stipulates that Samsung "will be withdrawing" its interventions in Qualcomm's appeal against its $854 million fine from the Korean Fair Trade Commission.

  By Rachel England Read More

Science (25)

• Watch the world's largest plane hit 46MPH in latest taxi tests

  While Stratolaunch didn't meet its original 2016 launch goal, the company has been putting its massive plane through one test after another over the past year. During its most recent tests, the 500,000-pound aircraft with a 385-foot wingspan has successfully reached a top taxi speed of 46MPH. It still hasn't taken to skies, but that's a huge improvement over the 28MPH it hit during the first taxi tests the space transportation company conducted in December.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Researchers improve spinach-based solar cells by adding blackberry dye

  Biohybrid solar cells aren't nearly as efficient as standard silicon panels, but including natural materials in renewable energy could make it more cost-effective. Scientists have refined one design based on the proteins in spinach leaves by adding natural dye extracted from blackberries, a combination which apparently produces much more voltage than the greens alone.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Not even IBM is sure where its quantum computer experiments will lead

  Despite the hype and hoopla surrounding the burgeoning field of quantum computing, the technology is still in its infancy. Just a few years ago, researchers were making headlines with rudimentary machines that housed less than a dozen qubits -- the quantum version of a classical computer's binary bit. At IBM's inaugural Index Developer Conference held in San Francisco this week, the company showed off its latest prototype: a quantum computing rig housing 50 qubits, one of the most advanced machines currently in existence.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Installation begins on Bezos-backed 10,000 year clock

  How will our actions affect our grandchildren? Our great-grandchildren? And their great-grandchildren? That's the kind of long-term thinking that the non-profit organization the Long Now is trying to foster. And now Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has revealed that construction has begun on the organization's ambitious project, the 10,000 year clock.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• 3D-printed smartphone microscope is good enough for scientists

  Your smartphone could soon be a fully functional microscope capable of examining samples as small as 1/200th of a millimeter. Australian researchers have developed a clip-on device that requires no external light or power sources to produce a clear picture of microscopic organisms and cells from animals, plants and blood -- and it can be made by anyone with a 3D printer, as the team is sharing the 3D printing files publicly.

  By Rachel England Read More

• A 'trapped' atom is visible to the naked eye

  The tiny dot in the center of the screen, between the two metal electrodes, is the light emitted by a single atom. The photo, Single Atom in an Ion Trap, just won the grand prize in the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) science photo and imaging contest. "The idea of being able to see a single atom with the naked eye had struck me as a wonderfully direct and visceral bridge between the miniscule quantum world and our macroscopic reality," said Oxford University quantum physics professor David Nadlinger, who took it.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• A new form of light could power next-gen quantum computers

  Photons are among the most ubiquitous, but loneliest particles in the quantum world -- they're always around us, but don't interact with each other. Scientists from MIT and Harvard have managed quite a feat then, by observing groups of three photons interacting and sticking together to create a new weird form of light. The research is purely experimental for now, but could enable researchers to entangle photons, a key part of building quantum computers.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Throat sensor helps you recover from a stroke

  Your abilities to speak and swallow are frequently signs of how well you're coping after a stroke, but measuring that is difficult. Microphones frequently can't distinguish between the patient and ambient sounds, and there's the not-so-small problem of making sensors that can hold up to the rigors of life outside of the hospital. Northwestern University may have a better way: its scientists have designed a wearable throat sensor that help diagnose and treat aphasia, a communication disorder typically associated with strokes. The wireless device tracks the vibration of your vocal cords to gauge your recovery and determine whether or not doctors need to intervene.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Device provides years of power through temperature swings

  Eventually, you might not need a battery or a conspicuous external power source to keep a device running for years on end. A team at MIT has created a device that produces energy by exploiting the temperature swings that occur between day and night. Known as a thermal resonator, it uses a hybrid of materials that produce both high heat conduction and capacity. A copper or nickel foam at its core is coated with graphene to boost its conductivity, and is infused with a phase-changing material (octadecane) that serves as storage. Effectively, one side of the device is always capturing heat while the other is storing it -- you just have to harvest that energy with conventional techniques.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Electronic skin can display a heartbeat on your hand

  Electronic skins might not only detect health troubles in the near future, but display them for the world to see. University of Tokyo researchers have developed an e-skin that can measure vital signs like your heartbeat and display them in real time on a skin display. The design blends a breathable nanomesh electrode and stretchable wiring with an array of micro LEDs that can output basic images bending with your body. Others know right away if you need help -- they'd just have to look at your hand (or anywhere else the sensor works) to get an idea of what's wrong. The sensor can pair with a smartphone and transmit its info to the cloud, too.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Ancient city's LiDAR scans reveal as many buildings as Manhattan

  When researchers surveyed the ruins of a Purépecha Empire city in Mexico the old-fashioned way a decade ago, it took them two seasons to explore two square kilometres. Good thing they decided to use LiDAR, because the city called Angamuco turned out bigger than they previously thought. LiDAR gave the researchers the power to see underneath the lava that covers Angamuco. Thanks to the laser technology, they now know that the city occupied 26 square kilometers of land instead of 13 square kilometers. Colorado State University archaeologist Chris Fisher is presenting that finding and all the latest info on his team's study at the ongoing American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• How Mattel is using AR to let you preview Hot Wheels playsets

  Taking a cue from Lego, Mattel is betting on augmented reality as a new way to entice shoppers. The company will introduce an AR app this fall, which will generate a virtual version of its Hot Wheels City playsets when you point your phone or tablet at their boxes in stores. The idea is to give kids and parents a better sense of how the set looks and functions without open anything up, and without retailers wasting precious floorspace on demo units.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Authorities deactivate transit pass implanted in biohacker's hand

  Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow couldn't just toss away his New South Wales transit pass even after he found out that it got deactivated while he was on a trip to the US. See, Meow-Meow (yes, that is his legal name) cut the chip out of the travel card, encased it in biocompatible plastic and had it implanted under the skin on his left hand. The biohacker now plans to file a lawsuit against New South Wales' transport authorities, not just to fight the decision, but also to help create laws around body-hacking tech. In addition to the transit pass chip, Meow-Meow has two other implanted electronic components in his body, including one that can store his important documents.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Researchers use CRISPR to detect HPV and Zika

  Science published three studies today that all demonstrate new uses for CRISPR. The gene editing technology is typically thought of for its potential use in treating diseases like HIV, ALS and Huntington's disease, but researchers are showing that applications of CRISPR don't stop there.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• FDA approves blood test that determines severity of concussions

  The FDA announced this week that it has approved a blood test that can quickly and reliably detect signs of a concussion. Typically, when someone seeks medical care following a head injury, they're subjected to a neurological test and/or a CT scan. However, CT scans can only detect bleeding or swelling in the brain, and for injuries that are more minor but still serious, those scans aren't terribly useful. Additionally, if CT scans don't spot anything, and in many cases they don't, the person undergoing the scan has been subjected to unnecessary radiation and, usually, an unneeded expense.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Graphene film makes dirty water drinkable in a single step

  Every year, millions of people around the world die from drinking unclean water. Now, researchers have developed a process that can purify water, no matter how dirty it is, in a single step. Scientists from Australian research organization CSIRO have created a filtration technique using a graphene film with microscopic nano-channels that lets water pass through, but stops pollutants. The process, called "Graphair", is so effective that water samples from Sydney Harbor were safe to drink after being treated.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Researchers use nanorobots to kill tumors in mice

  Our current methods of fighting malignant tumors are wildly inadequate. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while sometimes successful, come with massive side effects, mainly because every other cell in the body is also getting bombarded with chemicals and radiation even though the main targets are the tumor cells. Finding a way to specifically target tumor cells while leaving healthy cells alone is something that many researchers are working towards and a new study out today demonstrates that nanorobots made out of DNA could be an effective option.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Rugged e-skin can heal its cuts and scrapes

  Scientists dream of prosthetics and robots with electronic skin that can convey heat and pressure just like the real thing, but there's a big problem getting in the way: the outside world. Bumps and scrapes can damage these sensors, and it's not really practical to toss these skins in the trash when they're no longer useful. UC Boulder researchers hope to fix that. They've developed an e-skin that can communicate temperature and pressure, but is both self-healing and fully recyclable. You could take a cut on a synthetic arm without panicking, and reuse any damaged 'tissue' to make replacements.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Researchers grew a fully mature human egg in a lab

  Researchers in the UK and the US have taken human eggs in their most early stage and developed them to maturity in a lab for the first time. It's a big achievement that could open up new avenues for infertility treatment and give scientists a better understanding of how the egg development process works and how it can go wrong. While this has been done before in mice, experiments of which have resulted in live offspring, this is the first time it has been done with human eggs.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• New laser technology could improve how scientists study molecules

  We use lasers for a lot of things, from cutting metal to improving eyesight, but lasers have their limitations. One major holdup is that they can only emit certain types of light. Researchers have gotten around this particular limitation by using what are known as optical parametric oscillators, which allow regular laser light to be converted into other wavelengths of light that may be useful for certain areas of research. One example is studying how molecules behave. However, these gadgets have their limitations too. They typically have weak outputs and they require extreme stability and precision, making them hard to use outside of highly controlled lab environments. But researchers at Stanford may have found a way around this issue and their work could make these systems more efficient and easier to use.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• A US Paralympian designed Team USA's snowboard prosthetics

  Mike Schultz was a professional snowmobile racer, and a damn good one at that. But in 2008, his life's course took a turn after a competition accident shattered his left knee and left him clinging to life. When his injuries began causing his kidneys to shut down, doctors decided to amputate the leg just above the knee.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• US military explores using sea life to spot threats

  The sea is potentially full of undersea military threats, and that makes it daunting to detect them all using hardware. The scale and cost would be utterly impractical. DARPA, however, has a potential workaround: make sea life do the work. It recently launched a Persistent Aquatic Living Sensors program (yes, that shortens to PALS) that will study the viability of using both natural and modified sea organisms to detect underwater vehicles. If the US military can translate the biological responses of this sea life into usable data, it could warn ships without needing conspicuous, expensive hardware -- the fish and plants would be enough.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• LiDAR reveals Mayan mega city hidden in Guatemalan jungle

  A vast Mayan megalopolis apparently lies hidden underneath all the trees, creepers and centuries of growth and soil in the Guatemalan forest -- and we might never have found it if not for the wonders of laser technology. The PACUNAM Foundation, which champions the use of scientific research to preserve cultural heritage, has scanned the jungles in the country using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and found an interconnected network of ancient cities. They discovered 60,000 previously unknown structures without having to cut down a single plant, and that discovery changes many things we thought we knew about the ancient civilization.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• UK doctors plan country's first three-person fertilization procedure

  UK officials have approved two women for mitochondrial replacement therapy, the fertilization procedure that results in a baby technically parented by three people, the Guardian reports. The procedure, which still isn't approved in the US, was legalized in the UK in 2015 and the Newcastle Fertility Centre, where the two women will be treated, was granted a license to perform the procedure last March. While it's not the first time a procedure like this has been done, it is the first time it will happen in the UK.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Technology can’t save football players' brains

  Tregg Duerson was 25 years old when his father committed suicide in 2011. A former defensive back for the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Phoenix Cardinals, David "Dave" Duerson made a career out of being one of the most feared tacklers during his 11-year stint in the National Football League. His skill set helped him win two Super Bowl championship rings, one with the Bears in 1985 and another with the Giants in 1990, cementing his legacy as one of the NFL's all-time greats. Along the way, he was also selected to the Pro Bowl, a postseason game that rewards the league's best players, four consecutive times from 1985 to 1988. Duerson had the NFL career most players can only dream of, but it ultimately cost him his life.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

Smartphones (50)

• Please, Nokia, bring back the 7110 next

  It's becoming something of an MWC tradition that HMD Global, the company that builds phones under the Nokia brand, offers a gift to sentimental Europeans. In 2017, the manufacturer rebooted the 3310 while 2018 saw the arrival of a similarly refreshed version of the 8110. When HMD/Nokia returns to Barcelona in 2019, I hope that the company chooses to unveil a new version of the 7110, because I'd be first in line to buy one.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Watch ASUS' Zenfone 5Z launch in under 9 minutes!

  When you're going up against serious mobile heavyweights, carving out a little bit of MWC for yourself can be tough. Maybe that's why ASUS held its Zenfone 5/5Z launch on the second day of the show (and that's not counting the pre-event press days). Either way, company CEO Jerry Shen was more than happy to enjoy his time on stage and tell us all about what's new with Zenfone. Catch up on the whole affair right here. Catch up on the latest news from MWC 2018 right here.

  By Engadget Read More

• ASUS' Zenfone 5Z flagship looks the same as its mid-range cousin

  ASUS's Zenfone 5 just made its first official appearance at MWC, and aside from overenthusiastic claims about its AI prowess, it's still a solid little machine. It isn't a flagship-level powerhouse though, which is why ASUS cooked the ZenFone 5Z -- it uses the exact same body as the more affordable Zenfone 5 but holds within it a Snapdragon 845 and up to 8GB of RAM.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Dear HMD, the world is finally ready for the Nokia Communicator

  The phone that stole the show at last year's MWC wasn't an Android, didn't have a Samsung badge on it, could barely connect to the internet and didn't have a touchscreen. The relaunched Nokia 3310 traded on one key thing: nostalgia. But it was enough for it to grab most of the headlines, and even see a re-rerelease later that year with souped up "3G" data speeds. That wasn't it though, just a month ago, we finally got the 4G version we presume some people were asking for.

  By James Trew Read More

• Engadget giveaway: Win a limited edition Essential PH-1 smartphone!

  Andy Rubin's company Essential has steered around the rat race of Android handset manufacturers, instead focusing on smaller runs with a more handcrafted approach. This latest batch of Essential PH-1 smartphones is emblematic of those goals. This trio of new limited edition colors was sourced from a single experienced Japanese vendor with an eye on quality control and consistency. The Ocean Depths, Copper Black and Stellar Gray exteriors offer beautiful design touches to parallel the edge-to-edge QHD display. In addition to looks, you get a clean version of Android, 128GB of storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera and plenty of other high-end features. All this comes at an approachable price of just $499 ($599 for limited edition colors while they last). This week, three lucky winners will each get a PH-1 in one of the three new colorways. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning one of these special edition Essential PH-1 smartphones. Winners: Congratulations to Scott E. of Owasso, OK; Howard Y. of Mountain View, CA and Danial A. of Kanata ON, Canada!

  By Jon Turi Read More

• Snapdragon 700 brings AI acceleration to lower-cost phones

  There's long been a conspicuous feature gap between Qualcomm's mobile processors: You typically have to choose between a do-it-all beast like the Snapdragon 845 or settle for the good-enough features of midrange parts like the Snapdragon 600 series. The company is trying to bridge that divide today. It's introducing the Snapdragon 700 series, which promises some of the features from the 800 line without the pricey hardware. It's providing only a handful of details as we write this, but they'll give you an idea of what to expect.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Motorola's low-cost E5 Plus may pack a big screen in a sleeker body

  Motorola might not reserve large updates for its higher-end smartphone models this year. Leaker Evan Blass has posted an image of what should be the Moto E5 Plus, the bigger-screened device in the brand's expected low-cost phone lineup, and it's clearly not just a speed bump for the E4. For one, there's a different camera array -- there's just one camera (despite the two cutouts), but this definitely isn't a rehash of 2017. The picture also suggests a much sleeker-looking body that tucks the fingerprint reader at the back in return for smaller bezels (albeit large enough for a prominent "Motorola" at the bottom).

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Huawei's P20 smartphone may sport an iPhone-style notch

  Whether or not you think iPhone X- and Essential-style screen notches are clever design flourishes or just abominations, it looks like they're here for the long haul. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has obtained a photo of what looks like the P20, Huawei's next mid-size flagship phone, and it appears the device will have a tall screen with a cutout for the camera system at the top. The company wouldn't shove the fingerprint reader to the back (or eliminate it entirely) like so many of its peers, though. Apparently, Huawei would keep the P10's front-mounted fingerprint reader in a tiny chin at the bottom -- the P20 may be taller than other phones as a result, but you wouldn't have to unlearn existing phone habits.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• BlackBerry calls 2017 a success amid reports of soft sales

  TCL unveiled the Blackberry KEYOne at MWC 2017 and now, a year later, we have an idea of how well it sold as well as a glimpse into the company's outlook going forward. IDC's Francisco Jeronimo says that just 850,000 BlackBerry devices shipped last year, a very low number that's well behind those of companies like Apple and Samsung. But according to The Verge, who spoke to two members of the BlackBerry Mobile team, the company considers last year's sales a success.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Watch Sony's Xperia XZ2 launch in under 10 minutes!

  Sony phones have had a consistent look for years now -- and we've never been sure if that's a good thing. It seems like Sony might agree, too, as the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are some of it's most distinct phones to date. That date is today, for the record, as Sony took to the stage (or, rather, it's booth here at MWC) to reveal them to the world. Catch up on the best bits of the event right here. Catch up on the latest news from MWC 2018 right here.

  By James Trew Read More

• Watch Samsung's Galaxy S9 launch in under 11 minutes!

  And just like that, Samsung's Galaxy S9 has arrived. Today, at MWC 2018, the company introduced its new flagship handset with the slogan "The camera. Reimagined." While the bulk of improvements to the Galaxy S9, over the S8, are imaging-focused, there are also new features like AR Emojis -- Samsung's answer to Apple's Animojis. You can watch a recap of the Unpacked 2018 event here, where you'll also learn more about the updated DeX desktop experience, which now uses the S9 as a trackpad.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• The Galaxy S9 likely won't support 4K HDR recording

  At 6:30pm Central European Time, Qualcomm sent out a press release. The first paragraph of the statement was embedded in the email, saying "The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, featuring Ultra HD Premium capture for cinema-quality video and Gigabit LTE for lightning-fast connectivity." This morning, hours after that release went out, something's changed. The words "Ultra HD Premium capture for cinema-quality video" have been replaced by "an immersive camera experience" on Qualcomm's news portal and PRNewswire.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Jolla's alternative Sailfish OS is coming to more phones

  It's been a long time since we've covered Jolla on Engadget, and with good reason — the company has had a tumultuous time of late. The Jolla Phone — the first hardware running its alternative Sailfish OS platform — failed to take off and its tablet was cancelled after heavy layoffs in 2015. Somehow, though, the company survived. And today at MWC, it's announcing that Sailfish OS will soon be compatible with a bunch of new devices including the Sony Xperia XA2, the upcoming Gemini PDA, and a tablet by Russian brand Inoi. In addition, it will support feature phones later this year.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• The Morning After: This is the Samsung Galaxy S9

  Welcome back! We kicked off MWC 2018 in Barcelona, in style, with the launch of Samsung's Galaxy S9 -- and the S9 Plus. That's not all: There's a ridiculous Huawei laptop with a hidden webcam and Nokia's latest smartphone range as it continues to reinvent itself. You'll be able to find all things MWC right here.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• OnePlus 5T will only play HD Netflix if you send it in for service

  Good news: the OnePlus 5 and 5T can finally play Netflix in HD... if you're willing to go through a convoluted process. OnePlus has launched an update program to enable the higher-resolution video streaming, but the "security processes" involved in enabling HD require that you send your phone in. As it revolves around the WideVine copyright protection used to allow Netflix playback, OnePlus has to perform the update with a wired connection to an "authenticated PC" -- thanks, movie industry.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Galaxy S9 US pre-orders focus on trade-in deals

  Now that Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9+ are official, American carriers are tripping over themselves to offer launch details ahead of March 2nd pre-orders and the March 16th launch... and trade-in deals are a common theme this time around. T-Mobile, for instance, is promising $360 off the price of the S9 or S9+ if you turn in an eligible phone (typically a high-end Apple, LG or Samsung phone from the past couple of years). Verizon, meanwhile, is offering between $100 to $350 in credit if you hand in a qualifying phone from Apple, Google, HTC, LG, Motorola or Samsung. Comcast's relatively new Xfinity Mobile is getting in on the action as well, with promises of at least $200 and as much as $450.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Watch Nokia's MWC 2018 event in under 10 minutes

  It's good times for Nokia. Or rather HMD Global, the Finnish company that now owns the beloved Nokia brand. After a successful holiday season the phone maker has marched into Mobile World Congress with a bevy of new devices in tow. The Nokia 8 Sirocco is a stylish-looking Android flagship, while the Nokia 8110 Reloaded is a throwback to the classic 90s slider. For the average consumer there's also the entry-level Nokia 1, mid-range Nokia 6 and 6-inch Nokia 7 Plus. For a full rundown of the company's announcements, check out our 10-minute press conference supercut.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Android P won't get a 'dark mode' after all

  There was a short-lived hysteria Friday when it seemed like Google would grant a longstanding request to add built-in "dark mode" theming on stock Android, similar to the tweak OnePlus adds. Unfortunately, the team updated its tracker to explain that there was a misunderstanding, and it's not coming. For users who prefer custom themes they'll still need to root and add third-party tools to do it, but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. As a post in the thread explains, what the Android team will change in its "P" release is a new toggle that makes it easier for developers to test a night mode (Twitter has one) in their apps. The function was already there, but now it's easier to access in Settings, so more apps may take advantage and save a little eye strain or potentially even energy on OLED-screened phones. Hi folks, you may remember me from the last three releases where it looked like Dark Mode was being added. Unfortunately, this bug was closed prematurely due to a miscommunication with the team that handles AOSP issues. What we *have* added in a future Android release is a developer-facing setting (via Developer Options) to toggle the -night UI mode qualifier, which will make it easier for developers to create and test apps that implement night mode. This qualifier has been in the platform since Froyo (SDK 8) and globally modifiable via UiModeManager since Marshmallow (SDK 23); however, there was never an explicit toggle made available anywhere in Settings. If it's any consolation, we will also not be adding Hot Dog Mode (where all UI elements are yellow and red).

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Android Go phones will be available soon

  Android Oreo had quite the interesting feature lurking in its software: Go Edition, which was designed for smartphones with 1 GB of RAM or less. Today, the company announced that the first set of Android Oreo (Go Edition) phones will be unveiled next week and be available for purchase soon after that.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Samsung Galaxy S9: What to expect from Unpacked 2018

  Samsung is primed to unveil its latest flagship, the Galaxy S9. Fortunately for anyone desperate to hear what's coming on February 25th, there's been no shortage of leaks and renders before the big day. It's not good news for the secret-keepers at Samsung but gives us plenty of threads to pull at ahead of the big reveal in Barcelona. How will the Galaxy series fare against the latest trio of iPhones? Can it best the talking-poop emoji?

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Sony’s new flagships ditch an aging design for full screens

  Sony's phones have looked largely the same for years now, but that's apparently about to change. The electronics company has redesigned its flagship phone to be full screen. Venture Beat has pictures and descriptions of the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, which will be revealed at MWC 2018.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• UK tech brand Acorn taps nostalgia to sell a rebranded phone

  Acorn, the British computer company that dominated the market in the late '70s has been revived, once again. This time out, the outfit is pushing its own smartphone, the Acorn Micro Phone C5, which appears to be a rebadged Leagoo S8. Should you want that device, albeit with the Acorn logo and a little union flag symbol on the base, then you can throw some cash at Indiegogo. Backers will need to spend between £90 ($125) and £150 ($210) to snag the handset, assuming the company hits its target of £450,000 ($628,456).

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• MWC 2018: What to expect from the world’s biggest phone show

  Team Engadget is en route to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, and while the show officially starts on Monday, you'll start to see some of this year's key news and announcements as soon as this weekend. We don't want you going into things blind, though, so here's a primer on what to expect from the world's biggest and best phone-makers once MWC 2018 gets off the ground.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• Samsung resumes Android O update for Galaxy S8

  Well, that didn't take long. After pausing the Android Oreo rollout on Galaxy S8s over a reboot glitch, Samsung has restarted the process in Europe. As SamMobile reports, it's an altogether different firmware version. The rollout has resumed in Germany and it shouldn't be long before the update starts appearing domestically -- just in time for Samsung to reveal the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress in Spain this week! Curious if you've already gotten it? Look for firmware versions G950FXXU1CRB7 or G955XXU1CRB7 on your S8 or S8+.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• LG updates its cheap K-series phones with new hardware

  After renewing its high-end mobile push through 2017 with new G and V series phones, LG is taking another shot at the low-to-mid range with these K-series devices. The new K8 and K10 (with three sub-models that vary in RAM, built-in storage and color) will debut at MWC 2018 next week and pack specs that match their slots in the lineup. The metal-framed 5.3-inch K10 claims a 13MP rear camera snagged from the G6, but with only a single lens, to go with its 8MP front camera and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Land Rover Explore is a rugged phone with swappable backs

  At last, we have a Land Rover phone that doesn't look like it was built from parts found on a factory floor. The new 'Explore' is the work of Bullitt, a British company that has made handsets for Caterpillar, Kodak and JCB in the past. It was actually unveiled at the ISPO trade show earlier this month — Bullitt held back the spec sheet, though, thinking it would be a better announcement at MWC. Today, we have those all-important details. And at first blush, it's a strangely alluring device blending rugged looks with a modular, Moto Mod-inspired 'Pack' system for people who love the great outdoors. It might be the first car-branded phone that isn't terrible.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus dual cameras detailed in latest leaks

  At this rate, there might not be much mystery left to the Galaxy S9 when Samsung reveals it on February 25th. WinFuture and Evan Blass have posted a flood of leaked images and details that appear to confirm key features of the S9, particularly its cameras. Sure enough, the larger (6.2-inch) S9 Plus should have dual 12-megapixel rear cams that will give it a clear hardware advantage over the 5.8-inch standard S9 -- your choice won't boil down to screen size like it did with the S8.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• LG's next flagship phone may tout an extra-bright, low-power screen

  Just because LG is shying away from typical smartphone release cycles doesn't mean it will have nothing big to show in 2018. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has heard that LG is planning to unveil a new flagship phone, nicknamed Judy. The star attraction, as with the G6, would be the display -- though not for the usual reasons like size or resolution. Judy would have a 6.1-inch, 18:9 ratio screen whose MLCD+ technology (which includes white sub-pixels) promises a high 800-nit brightness while consuming 35 percent less power than a typical IPS LCD panel. You could use the phone outside on a sunny day without killing your battery as quickly as usual.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Samsung halts S8 Android Oreo update due to reboot glitch

  If you were hoping Android Oreo would make its way to your Galaxy S8 soon, well, it sounds like you're going to have to wait. Samsung has halted the firmware rollout, as spotted by SamMobile, because the software was causing some handsets to randomly reboot. The rollout began in Europe, where users in the beta program noticed the problem. If you already downloaded and installed, you can keep using the software. But if you downloaded and didn't install, apparently the files will be deleted from your phone. Samsung is working on a fix but hasn't revealed when it will arrive.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Essential's PH-1 phone is getting new limited edition colors

  Essential's first smartphone wasn't exactly perfect, but it was beautifully designed. Its existing black and white models aren't striking enough for everyone, though, which is why the Andy Rubin-helmed startup will soon start pushing out a handful of limited edition color options. And thankfully, the first one to be released is the blue-and-copper Ocean Depths finish the company teased from the very beginning.

  By Chris Velazco Read More

• US intelligence agencies warn buyers to avoid Huawei smartphones

  After being rebuffed by carriers AT&T and Verizon, Huawei's push to sell phones in the US isn't getting any easier. Six top US intelligence chiefs, including the heads of the FBI, CIA and NSA, told Americans they wouldn't recommend buying products or services from the Chinese manufacturer, CNBC reports. "We're deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments ... to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks," FBI Director Chris Wray testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• HTC smartphone president Chialin Chang has resigned

  Not long after letting go of its Pixel team in exchange for some much needed cash from Google, HTC is now also losing its smartphone lead. Chialin Chang, who joined the company as CFO back in April 2012, has immediately resigned as the President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business due to "personal career plan," according to HTC. There's no word on who will take over this role, which basically means more work for Chairwoman and CEO Cher Wang until she finds a replacement, if any.

  By Richard Lai Read More

• Samsung's Galaxy S9 may offer its own version of Apple's Animoji

  Samsung has a history of going toe-to-toe (or sometimes, finger to finger) with Apple on features with its Galaxy S phones, and the Galaxy S9 may be no exception to the rule. ETNews sources have claimed that the S9 will include a "3D emoji" feature that -- surprise! -- counters the Animoji you find on the iPhone X. The smartphone would reportedly use upgraded facial recognition (no word on how closely it matches the iPhone) to create 3D faces that mimic your facial expressions and add a little spice to your messages. The technology would also lead to "more secure financial transactions," which implies that you could use your face for Samsung Pay in the same way that iPhone X owners can stare at their device to use Apple Pay.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• LG will unveil the new V30 with an AI camera at MWC 2018

  LG will unveil a new version of its flagship phone, the V30, at the annual Mobile World Congress this year -- and as the rumors said, it'll have an AI-powered camera. The Korean company has developed "Vision AI" to make the phone's camera smarter and easier to use. Vision AI can automatically analyze what you're taking a photo of and can recommend the best shooting mode among the eight (portrait, food, pet, landscape, city, flower, sunrise and sunset) available. It can take the object's angle and color, any reflection in the surroundings, as well as the lighting and saturation levels into account to conjure up the best image possible.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• IDC: Essential shipped less than 90,000 phones in 2017

  Andy Rubin's Essential Phone found its way into our best-of lists this holiday season and had a couple of great price drops, including a $399 Cyber Monday deal. Still, the phone doesn't seem to be doing very well. According to a tweet from IDC research director Francisco Jeronimo, the phone sold less than 90,000 units in the first six months after it launched.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Android P might support 'notched' displays

  It sounds like Google is taking inspiration from the iPhone X display's notch for the next version of Android. The idea is for Android Pistachio Ice Cream (the software version's internal name, according to Bloomberg) is to win potential iPhone customers over by offering a similar look to its OS. While some like Samsung have outright mocked the cut-out, other manufacturers like Essential (above) have embraced it. This move makes it sound like Google expects more of the latter than the former, which means you can likely expect to find more phones with all manner of sensors tucked into the space in the future. Chinese OEM Huawei is rumored to join the notched-display party as well.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• LG may update its flagship V30 with an AI camera

  LG's V30 smartphone arrived last fall as a strong flagship with notable flaws, but we loved how much it suited the vlog life. Rumor has it that LG will announce a new model at the upcoming Mobile World Congress: The V30s, a largely similar phone equipped with a new AI-powered camera.

  By David Lumb Read More

• UK Android upstart Wileyfox goes into administration

  When UK phone maker Wileyfox burst onto the smartphone scene in August 2015, the company positioned itself as a small company that operated on small margins, with a plan to sell powerful but low-cost Android handsets. Its first two phones -- the Swift and the Storm -- delivered on that promise, earning favourable reviews for their premium design and impressive spec sheet. The company's next releases, however, didn't fare as well. It was forced to ditch the Cyanogen operating system and build its own Android platform, which ultimately led to it offering reduced prices if you didn't mind putting up with lockscreen ads.

  By Matt Brian Read More

• Latest iOS beta shows how battery health settings will work

  In a letter to Senator John Thune, Apple confirmed that it would bring transparency to the way its iPhones handle CPU slowdowns due to aging lithium-ion batteries. If you have an Apple Developer account, you can check out the solution the company has baked right into its upcoming iOS 11.3 release. As first noticed by 9to5Mac, the iOS 11.3 beta has a new "Battery Health" system preference screen, with a "Performance Management" section.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• China's smartphone market shrinks for the first time in 9 years

  For a while, it seemed like the Chinese smartphone market was an infinite growth machine. Companies would have rough patches, but the overall field would always be on the up and up. Well, those days are over. IDC estimates that Chinese smartphone shipments declined 4.9 percent in 2017 -- the first drop since 2009. The analyst firm pinned it primarily on "minor upgrades" to Chinese phones that weren't enough to spur a wave of new buyers. We'd add that the market is maturing. Much of the rapid growth from past years was sparked by a burgeoning Chinese middle class buying its first smartphones. Many of the people who could afford smartphones have them, and they aren't always in a rush to upgrade.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• You can’t buy an ethical smartphone today

  Any ethical, non-???? ???? recommendations? It all started with a WhatsApp message from my friend, an environmental campaigner who runs a large government sustainability project. She's the most ethical person I know and has always worked hard to push me, and others, into making a more positive impact on the world. Always ahead of the curve, she steered me clear of products containing palm oil, as well as carbon-intensive manufacturing and sweatshop labor. That day, she wanted my opinion on what smartphone she should buy, but this time requested an ethical device. Until now, she's been an HTC loyalist, but wanted to explore the options for something better and more respectable. My default response was the Fairphone 2, which is produced in small quantities by a Dutch startup, but I began to wonder -- that can't be the only phone you can buy with a clear conscience, can it?

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Samsung's dual camera 'bokeh' tricks are coming to budget phones

  Dual-camera smartphones with improved low-light photos and fancy, defocused "bokeh" behind subjects are pretty new and until now, have been reserved for high-end smartphones. Showing how fast things can move nowadays, however, Samung has revealed a new "Isocell dual" camera module for lower-priced mobile phones. With built-in software and algorithms, they specifically allow two features: shooting in dim light, and blurring backgrounds to create "bokeh" after you've taken a photo.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• NYPD starts replacing cops' Windows Phones with iPhones

  Microsoft will soon lose 36,000 of its remaining Windows Phone customers, as the NYPD starts distributing iPhones to its officers. The department, which first announced its decision to replace cops' Windows Phones last year, is now rolling out 600 iPhones a day in Manhattan. Once it's done upgrading the phones of all the cops in the borough, it'll start the rollout in Brooklyn and then in Queens. According to New York Daily News, the transition started just before Christmas, and officers can choose between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• France bans smartphone use in cars even when you pull over

  Road deaths have been on the rise lately in France and with nothing much else to pin it on, authorities are going after scofflaw drivers who text or call. It's now illegal to hold your phone on public roads even when you're pulled over to the side of the road, whether you're blocking traffic or not, Le Figaro reports. The high court ruling means that taking what some consider to be a safe step -- pulling over to talk on the phone -- could still result in points and a fine of 135 euros.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Nougat is now the most-used version of Android, 17 months later

  Google hasn't quite licked its problems getting users to adopt the latest version of Android. Its latest Play Store user share stats show that Nougat has become the most-used Android release at 28.5 percent... just over 17 months after its summer 2016 debut. Not exactly a speedy transition, then. That still gives it the edge over the older-still Marshmallow release, mind you, and indicates that a large chunk of the user base is running a modern take on Android.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Google flips on Pixel 2's HDR+ feature for your go-to photo apps

  The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL include Pixel Visual Core, Google's first custom imaging chip that allows for HDR+ quality pictures in third-party apps like Instagram and Snapchat. But Pixel 2 users haven't been able to take advantage of those capabilities because the co-processor hasn't been enabled. Well, they'll be able to soon because Google announced today that it's turning on Pixel Visual Core, bringing the HDR+ technology that's been available through the Pixel 2's main camera app to other photography, social media or camera apps.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Huawei's Mate 10 Pro is available to pre-order in the US

  American carriers may have been pressured into dropping Huawei's Mate 10 Pro from their lineup, but you can now buy one independent of a carrier if you feel it didn't get a fair shake. Pre-orders for the company's flagship smartphone are available today at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Newegg and Microsoft. Blue and gray variants are available to order right now, with "mocha brown" coming soon. The handset still costs a fairly stiff $800, but Huawei is sweetening the deal -- if you order before the February 18th ship date, you'll get a $150 gift card at the store in question. Given that there's no native headphone jack, you might want to use that money to get a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• iPhone X owners report trouble answering phone calls

  The iPhone X's early teething troubles have largely gone away, but there's a lingering problem for some owners... and it's a fairly serious one. Users have reported that the iPhone X's touchscreen won't turn on for several seconds when there's an incoming call, preventing them from answering or seeing who's on the other line. Complaints started surfacing in December, but the issue has persisted until now.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• This shameless iPhone X clone costs just $160

  What? A company has made a phone that borrows heavily from Apple's design? (And LG, Samsung while we're here.) At least the notch is real this time. Oukitel's U18 is up for preorder, priced at $160, making it the cheapest iPhone X that... isn't an iPhone X at all. But, you could get six of them for the price of a real one. The hardware design is all over the place: look at that Samsung chin, or the LG-inspired button on the back. Meaning, for some reason, Oukitel's brought together all the things that I hate. However, it is backed it up with a 4,000mAh battery, at least. (It's the same company that debuted that insane 10,000mAH smartphone a way back.)

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Flash storage spec doubles speeds on future smartphones

  Smartphones already have storage speeds that rival PCs and they're going to take another big leap soon. Standards group JEDEC has unveiled UFS 3.0, a new flash storage standard for mobile devices, Chromebooks, VR headsets and automotive devices that doubles the bandwidth of UFS 2.1 to a stellar 2.9 GB/s. That's only a theoretical maximum that real-world devices won't likely reach, however, and requires that the host device has the hardware to support it.

  By Steve Dent Read More

Social Media (50)

• Discord bans a number of alt-right servers

  The gaming chat service Discord has reportedly banned several alt-right groups. The move comes six months after the platform shut down racist accounts in the wake of the Charlottesville protests in order to 'take action against white supremacy, nazi ideology and all forms of hate.' But Discord backed away from calling out particular groups that it kicked off its service; Instead, it has removed a number of unnamed groups due to violations of the platform's terms and services, a spokesperson told Engadget in a statement.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Twitter makes it easier to save and share tweets

  Twitter has replaced its "send via DM" icon with something that can do more than forward a tweet to somebody's inbox. The new share icon brings up a menu with three options to choose from: "Send via DM," "Add Tweet to Bookmarks" and "Share Tweet via..." Yes, the social network is making it much easier to save tweets so you can read them later and to share them off the platform. Twitter's engineers started developing the tools during the company's annual Hack Week activities in 2017 and even finished working prototypes after the event.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook program aims to boost local news subscriptions

  Just because Facebook is downplaying publishers in your News Feed doesn't mean it's uninterested in giving media outlets a helping hand. The social network's Journalism Project is launching a Local News Subscriptions Accelerator that will help "metro newspapers" grow their reader bases. The $3 million, 3-month pilot will have 10 to 15 publishers participate in weekly training and once-a-month meetings to improve their digital subscription marketing both on and off of Facebook, including the creation of tailor-made projects with funding.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• No, postcards won’t solve our Russian interference problem

  We just learned all the ways Russian propaganda agents fooled American social media companies, thanks to the recent indictments of Russian nationals by Team Mueller. After years of these companies forcing us to adhere to their contrived "community safety" policies and made-up rules to police our identities (which they swore was for our own good), their failures are rather spectacular.

  By Violet Blue Read More

• Twitter relaxes the rules for customer service DMs

  Twitter's bot crackdown is great for improving the quality of the service, but might make it harder for businesses to use it effectively. That's why the company is tweaking its system to enable companies to better deal with bulk communications. In the future, you shouldn't be waiting as long for a response from your favorite airline / cable provider, unless of course they're just ignoring you.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Twitter's new rules prohibit bulk tweeting to fight spam

  Twitter's spam bot issue isn't new, but it came to a head when it was revealed that thousands of Russian troll accounts used the platform to influence the 2016 Presidential elections. Now, the company has announced a set of changes and new developer guidelines meant to fight off automated actions and to make it harder for "tweetdeckers" to flood the social network. Starting on March 23rd, 2018, apps will need to be able to prevent bulk tweeting or face "enforcement action, up to and including the suspension of associated applications and accounts."

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Medium suspends alt-right trolls following major rules change

  Medium is taking its own steps in the fight against fake news and following a major reworking of its rules, has suspended the accounts of a handful of writers. As The Outline reports, the accounts of Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Laura Loomer now link to a largely blank page that says, "This page is unavailable."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Facebook signs European licensing deal for music you share

  Facebook has dealt with some criticism over the unpaid use of licensed music in videos on the company's various platforms like Instagram. Back in September of last year, it was reported that the social network was paying out "hundreds of millions of dollars" to labels to clear songs for this kind of use. The company also made deals with Sony and Universal to let you use the publishers' respective catalogs within uploaded videos. Now, according to a report at TechCrunch, Facebook signed a deal with licensing group ICE Services to allow around 31 million musical works from the UK, Sweden and Germany to grace the home movies you share on Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and Oculus.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Twitter says most recent follower purge is about bots, not politics

  A number of Twitter users are claiming the platform is purging itself of conservative viewpoints as some lost thousands of followers last night. Richard Spencer, writer Mark Pantano and Candace Owens of Turning Point USA were among those spreading the #TwitterLockOut hashtag campaign and claiming that only conservative accounts were being targeted.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Facebook makes it easier to share detailed 3D objects

  Facebook has had the option to post 3D objects for a while, and now you'll have some better reasons to use it. The social site has introduced support for a standard 3D file format (gITF 2.0) that not only allows for richer objects with more realistic rendering like textures and lighting, but easier ways to share those objects. New developer hooks in Graph let any app share 3D content, including things you've created on your phone. Xperia XZ1 owners can capture an item in 3D Creator and send it directly to their Facebook feed, for instance. You can also share objects directly from libraries like Oculus Medium or (eventually) Google Poly.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Snapchat adds Giphy's GIF stickers to liven up your Stories

  Usually you see Instagram borrowing features from Snapchat, but the reverse is true this time around. Snapchat has added GIF stickers from Giphy's library to its Android and iOS apps, giving you a considerably wider selection to choose from when crafting your Stories -- just like Instagram did a few weeks ago. The stickers are singled out in the app when you search for them, so you don't have to wade through regular Snap-created stickers if you're looking for some variety. There are some interface tweaks coming along for the ride, too.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Snapchat is selling more than just crappy merch (updated)

  Weeks ago, Snap opened up an in-app Snapchat store to sell merch, which appeared to be an attempt to open up a new revenue stream. But it looks like it will offer more than just dancing hot dogs. During yesterday's NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles, the Jordan brand held a community concert that doubled as a sneaker drop for yet-unreleased shoes, which attendees could buy by scanning a custom code using the Snapchat app.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Twitch postpones new rules to clarify vague expectations

  Twitch is temporarily putting the brakes on its new rules for hate speech, harassment and sexual material. The livestreaming service has postponed the enforcement of new rules from February 19th to March 5th in order to "better explain some sections" in the wake of feedback. The company hasn't explained just what those sections are (we've asked Twitch to elaborate), but there's a good chance it's addressing both streamers' oversight of their viewers as well as acceptable clothing.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Twitter’s fake news problem is getting worse

  Earlier this week, we endured another school shooting. This time, in Parkland, Florida, where at least 17 students were killed. During the shooting's aftermath, hoaxes and disinformation spread on Twitter. It's a phenomenon that happens after every tragedy, and it doesn't seem to be going away.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• EU: Facebook and Twitter must do more to protect users

  New changes made by Facebook and Twitter to their terms of service still don't conform to the EU's demands to protect consumers, the European Commission said. Specifically, the social networks haven't properly told users why content is removed and that they have the right to terminate their accounts. On top of that, the companies still aren't saying how quickly they'll deal with requests from authorities to pull down harmful content.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Twitter will broadcast local TV news to avoid misinformation

  In an effort to curb the spread of misinformation, Twitter will begin broadcasting local TV news alongside the timeline when tragedy strikes. The microblogging service tested the feature yesterday, streaming news coverage of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Miami. As Buzzfeed News reports, once you click on the live videos on the timeline, you'll be taken to another timeline populated by tweets about whatever's happening on the news.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Snapchat gives influencers a look at how popular they really are

  To date, Snapchat hasn't shown any more data to its biggest users than its everyday audience -- DJ Khaled and Chrissy Teigen probably know as much about their success as you do. That's about to change. The Snap team will offer a wide range of viewer data to the "tens of thousands" of popular users creating official Stories. That includes not only the views themselves (including how many people watched to the end), but demographics like age group, gender, regions and preferred topics. If creators are hip with the teens or have the beauty market cornered, they'll know.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Tinder opt-in feature would give women control over conversations

  Tinder is taking a page out of Bumble's book and will soon give women the option to control the initiation of conversations, MarketWatch reports today. Bumble, helmed by Tinder co-founder Whitney Holfe Herd, has amassed some 22 million registered users and what sets it apart from other dating apps is that only women who use the app get to decide whether to start a conversation with a man they've matched with. Now, Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group -- which owns Match.com, OKCupid and Tinder -- says that Tinder will soon allow its women users to decide whether they want to have control over initiating conversations. Through a future app update, women will be able to opt in to the feature. "Often, women don't really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that's great," Ginsberg told MarketWatch. "Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is the big difference."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Pinterest's new tools help keep your boards organized

  Pinterest has rolled out new tools that will help keep you sane if the pins you've been collecting for years have been driving you mad. To start with, you can now archive a board once you're done with it. Say, you've been using Pinterest to plan a party or a wedding -- you can toss that board to archive after you're done with it to keep things clean. By doing that, you're also stopping Pinterest from sending you relevant recommendations, so you don't have to keep seeing bouquets and wedding dresses if you're sick and tired of looking at them.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• YouTube chief says Logan Paul won't get the banhammer

  YouTube might have cut off Logan Paul's ad revenue, dropped him from Google Preferred and suspended his planned original projects, but that doesn't mean he'll get booted off the platform anytime soon. In an interview at Recode's annual Code Media conference, YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki said Paul won't be getting banned from the video website anytime soon. "He hasn't done anything that would cause those three strikes," she explained when host Kara Swisher asked why the company hasn't banned Paul. "We can't just be pulling people off our platform... They need to violate a policy."

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Facebook will add a Watch section for breaking news videos

  Facebook may be downplaying news in your actual News Feed, but its Watch team is headed in the opposite direction. The social network has announced that it's creating a section in Watch that will feature breaking news stories. News partnership lead Campbell Brown didn't say when it would launch or which outlets would show up, but it recently said the News Feed would prioritize local stories. The Watch tab could easily follow suit.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Twitter bans Congressional candidate after racist image

  Twitter is continuing to act on its promise to fight hate speech, however imperfectly. The site has banned Wisconsin Congressional candidate Paul Nehlen after he posted a racist image that placed the face of Cheddar Man (a dark-skinned British ancestor) over actress and soon-to-be-royal Meghan Markle, who's mixed race. The company said it didn't normally comment on individual accounts, but said the permanent suspension was due to "repeated violations" of its terms of service.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Instagram tests screenshot warnings for Stories

  Instagram is borrowing another feature from Snapchat, although this is one you'll definitely appreciate if you value your privacy. The social site has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's testing a screenshot warning system for Stories. If you're in, you'll get a notice that Story creators can see the screenshots you take. You won't get an alert with each screenshot when you're the creator, but you will see that people took screenshots when looking at your viewer list.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Snapchat brings Snap Map to the web

  Last year, Snapchat released Snap Map, collections of public Stories laid out on a map so you can check out what your pals are up to or see if anything interesting is happening nearby. Now, Snapchat has made the map viewable on the web. Whether you're on Snapchat or not, you can head over to map.snapchat.com and view public Stories from around the world.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Exile sues Facebook in hunt for Cambodian leader's paid 'likes'

  Facebook doesn't normally have to answer questions about government leaders' public pages, but it might have to very shortly. Exiled Cambodian politician Sam Rainsy has sued Facebook insisting that it provide any information that might show Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen (above) bought millions of fake "likes" to feign popularity. Rainsy himself is the target of a defamation case for making the allegations, and is betting that Facebook's data can clear his name.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• NSA sent coded messages through Twitter

  Spy agencies have a long history of using public outlets to deliver secret messages, such as numbers stations or cryptic classified ads. Now, however, they've adapted to the internet era. Both the New York Times and the Intercept have learned that the National Security Agency used Twitter to send "nearly a dozen" coded messages to a Russian contact claiming to have agency data stolen by the Shadow Brokers. Reportedly, the NSA would tell the Russian to expect public tweets in advance, either to signal an intent to make contact or to prove that it was involved and was open to further chats.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• YouTube reveals how it will punish creators' 'egregious actions'

  YouTube will make sure creators who step out of line can feel the consequences of their actions in a big way. After cutting off Logan Paul's ad revenue, the video platform has revealed its new policies written to address creators' "egregious actions." In other words, stunts that can cause a lasting damage to the reputation of the community among advertisers and the general public. If a YouTuber does something that "results in widespread harm" to the community, the Google-owned platform may remove their channel from Google Preferred and suspend their originals. The platform may also suspend creators' ability to earn ad revenue and even kick them out of the YouTube Partner Program. Finally, it can completely remove their channels' ability to appear in YouTube's home page, trending tab or watch next, effectively limiting the ways viewers can find their videos.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Tweet with #GIFhistory to learn your favorite GIF's origin

  There's a good chance you've seen a classic GIF and wondered just where it came from. But where do you start looking if the answer isn't obvious, and you don't want to comb through a dedicated website? If you use Twitter, you just have to ask. Filmmaker Matthew Cherry has launched an informal #GifHistory project where he'll track down the source video for a GIF, whether it's by himself or with the help of others. The source of that blinking reaction GIF (spoiler: it's former Giant Bomb staffer Drew Scanlon) may be a quick tweet away.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Logan Paul hasn’t learned his lesson

  Logan Paul, the YouTube star who came under fire recently after posting a video of a corpse, is at the center of yet another controversy. This time around, Paul is facing backlash for uploading a video in which he's seen shooting two lifeless rats with a Taser gun. As if that wasn't enough, in a now deleted tweet, he joined the Tide Pods internet challenge, suggesting he'd eat one of the detergent capsules for every retweet he got. Perhaps that's just his sense of humor, but Paul should have known that everything he does from now on will be heavily scrutinized.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• YouTube temporarily cuts off Logan Paul's ad revenue

  YouTube star Logan Paul is in hot water again with YouTube, following his suspension from the service's Preferred Ad program for posting a video of a suicide victim in Japan. YouTube has temporarily suspended all ads on his channels, cutting off revenue estimated between $40,000 to $600,000 per month. On Twitter, YouTube Creators cited his "recent pattern of behavior," as reason for the suspension. Paul posted an apology video following the first suspension, but has since gone back to his shock tactics, posting videos showing dead fish and the tasering of a dead rat.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Twitter may have forgotten to purge Kremlin Vine accounts

  Twitter may be getting better at removing Russian propaganda bots from its service, but that doesn't mean it's still not a little bit careless. CNN believes that the company may have purged some offending Twitter accounts, but forgot to check if any of them had Vine profiles as well. Consequently, it took until this week and CNN's intervention, before a string of notorious six-second video clips were taken down.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Facebook's 'downvotes' test tries to fix comment moderation

  Back in 2016, Facebook reportedly chose to roll out Reactions instead of a dislike button, because the latter would've sown too much negativity. According to The Daily Beast, though, the social network is now testing a "downvote" button, which has its own place underneath comments separate from Reactions. While it's easy to think of it as the antithesis to Like, Facebook told us that's not the case at all. "We are not testing a dislike button," a spokesperson told us. "We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts. This is running for a small set of people in the US only."

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Twitch updates policies on hate speech, harassment and sexual content

  The fight against online hate speech and harassment continues to gain momentum. Twitter's new policies against such behavior went live last November, while Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg began the new year with a new pledge to combat abuse and hate, too. Now video game live-streaming platform Twitch has updated its community guidelines to be clearer about what constitutes harassment, hate speech, and sexual content, which are all already prohibited. The new rules will go into effect February 19th at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Twitter says 49 Russian accounts tried to sway Brexit voters

  UK officials have been pressing Facebook and Twitter to investigate whether Russian-based accounts attempted to influence the 2016 Brexit vote. Previous responses from both platforms were found to be inadequate by the chair of the UK's digital, culture, media and sport select committee and both companies were asked to do better. Now, BuzzFeed News reports that Twitter has in fact found some evidence of Russian meddling, albeit small in scope.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Refine Pinterest Lens visual searches with text suggestions

  2017 was a good year for Pinterest Lens users. Whether the feature helps you find recipes based on your brunch pics, offer style tips from the clothes you already own or gave you a hand with your Target shopping, the company's visual search is handy for a lot of things. In fact, Pinterest says Lens powers over 600 million of those searches monthly, and twice as many folks are using it every day compared to six months ago.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Snapchat lets you create personalized Lenses for parties

  If you post to Snapchat without a dancing hotdog or puppy face, did you even Snapchat? The platform already offers a baffling range of filters and AR novelties to play with, and now it's getting even more. From today, users will be able to create their very own personalized face lenses for events and celebrations, and have access to a whole bunch of new caption styles.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Twitter made its first profit, but still can't grow its user base

  Back in October, Twitter promised that by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, it would be profitable, or just about. Since then, however, the company lost its de-facto CEO and continues to raise the ire of figures on both sides of the aisle. It comes as something of a surprise then, that Twitter has managed to turn its first ever quarterly profit of $91 million. If there was ever cause for optimism that the 12-year-old company will survive, it's the fact that it's now making money.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Snapchat swaps mess for money

  Snap Inc. took a major risk when it completely redesigned Snapchat a few months ago -- it's no secret that people don't like change. But after constantly struggling to add new users since going public last February, the company decided it needed to make adjustments in order to attract people and keep others coming back. The solution was to refine the app with an easier-to-use layout and to separate friends' posts from media content. Suddenly Snapchat became a more refined app. It no longer feels like an overwhelming, discombobulated mix of stories from people you know, others you don't and publishers that are trying to get your attention. And based on Snap's Q4 2017 earnings report, the move seems to be paying off.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Instagram test lets some share other users' posts in Stories

  Instagram is currently testing a feature that would let users share others' posts in their Stories, TechCrunch reports. It's only being tested with a small number of Instagram users and there's no guarantee that it will see a full rollout, but since people tend to screenshot others' content and add it to their Stories anyway, this seems like a useful tool that Instagram users would take advantage of. Instagram told us, "We're always testing ways to make it easier to share any moment with friends on Instagram."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Reddit bans the 'deepfake' AI porn it helped spawn

  That didn't take long. Hot on the heels of Twitter, Reddit has updated its rules to expressly ban AI-generated "deepfake" porn. Where it previously had a single rule forbidding porn and suggestive material involving minors, it now has two -- and it's clear that you're not allowed to post "depictions that have been faked." You also can't post regular imagery of others with the goal of producing fake nonconsensual porn.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Snapchat and NBC are going all-in on the Winter Olympics

  Snapchat is teaming up with NBC to put the 2018 Winter Olympics in your pocket. Starting February 10th you'll be able to watch the Games live in the Discover tab. More than that, it sounds like there will be daily highlights as well. "Snapchatters can expect one pivotal moment from NBC's primetime broadcast to be live in Snapchat each day, and can sign up for notifications" in the app, the company says.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Twitter bans 'deepfake' AI-generated porn

  The fight against the spread of "deepfake" porn has another ally: Twitter. The social network has told Motherboard that it's banning accounts that are either the original posters of AI-edited videos or dedicated to posting these clips. These face swaps violate the company's "intimate media" policy, which bars any sexually explicit photos or videos produced or shared without someone's consent. It's on par with revenge porn, in that regard.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• UK to review online trolling laws

  Over the last nine months, the UK government has looked at various ways to make the internet safer for people across Britain. In October 2017, culture secretary Karen Bradley published an Internet Safety Green Paper, which discussed a voluntary levy on major social media companies to fund awareness and preventative activity against online trolls and in turn help users report threatening behaviour. Today, the Prime Minister -- supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport -- announced a new independent review "to make the UK the safest place to be online." It'll seek to clarify whether current laws are effectively treating online and offline behaviour the same.

  By Matt Brian Read More

• Snap's efforts to reel in new users are starting to pay off

  It's been a year since Snap Inc filed for its IPO, and all told, it's been a tepid 12 months for the company. Despite launching its own TV shows as well as those in collaboration with big-name companies like NBC, ESPN and MGM Television, Snap has struggled to win over new users, and even saw a major partner like CNN end its daily Snapchat show. But according to its fourth quarter earnings report, the company has finally managed to add new daily active users (DAU) at a record high rate of 5 percent (8.9 million new users), which represents "the highest net adds since Q3 2016." That's still measly compared to Instagram's 100 million new users in the third quarter of 2017, but at least Snap is making some progress.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Patreon lets creators share progress through Snapchat-like stories

  Even Patreon is getting into the trend of cloning Snapchat. The funding service is introducing a mobile Lens feature that lets creators produce Snapchat-like stories that disappear after 24 hours, giving backers a behind-the-scenes look at a project without the hassle of shooting a formal video. And unlike Snapchat (or Instagram, or...), you can limit posts just to backers without having to create a special account, share private links or otherwise jump through hoops.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Snapchat's in-app Snap Store peddles memetastic merch

  It's no secret that Snapchat has struggled a bit when it comes to attracting users and generating revenue. And earlier this month, reports surfaced that Snap had laid off 22 employees and consolidated its content operations. Now, as TechCrunch reports, Snapchat has launched an in-app Snap Store, and it could be a sign of where the company will seek revenue going forward.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Facebook promoted conspiracy theories surrounding Amtrak crash

  On Wednesday, a train carrying House Republicans collided with a truck. The accident left one person dead and another injured. It's a tragedy, to be sure, and promoting misinformation around the event is incredibly unhelpful. Which is why it's so frustrating that Facebook is apparently up to its old tricks; the social network promoted stories in the "People are Saying" section of "Trending News" that were full of conspiracy theories and misinformation, including that Hillary Clinton ordered the crash. The Daily Beast first reported on the issue.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Instagram lets you skip the photos with text-only Stories

  Instagram is a photo- and video-centric social network by its very nature, but that doesn't mean you always want to share images along with your thoughts. And now, you don't have to. The service is releasing a Type Mode for Stories that, as the name implies, lets you write with a creative flair while skipping the pressure to use pictures. Switch to a new Type section and you can jot down whatever you like while choosing little more than a font style and background. You can produce a deep confessional or a clever transition without having to think about composing a shot, although you can add them (or other flourishes) if you'd like.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Ads in Instagram Stories are about to get worse

  More ads are coming to Instagram. This time, the photo-minded social network is upping the amount brands can put into Stories. Now, instead of one photo or video in an advertiser's Story, there can be up to three. Coca-Cola, movie studio Paramount and Gap clothing are working with the new tools, but the social network says more brands will have the functionality soon enough. If you're trying to get through your friends' Stories quickly, this will probably prove annoying. But, you can always back out to the main feed and tap on each friend to see their evaporating photos and video instead of letting everything auto-play.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Appeals court throws out case blaming Twitter for ISIS attacks

  A woman suing Twitter for allowing ISIS activity on its website has had her case thrown out by a federal appeals court in San Francisco. The court ruled that Twitter Inc is not liable to families of two US government contractors killed in an Islamic State attack in Jordan for its failure to block ISIS from using its messaging services.

  By Rachel England Read More

Space (39)

• Researchers may have detected signals from the universe’s first stars

  The early development of our universe is still quite a mystery, but in a new study published today in Nature, researchers describe what may be evidence of when the first stars began to form. After the Big Bang, which took place some 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was dark, hot and full of high-energy particles. Photons couldn't survive, but after around 380,000 years, the universe cooled enough to allow light to actually stick around. That's when the cosmic microwave background (CMB) came to be. It's our universe's first surviving radiation and researchers have looked to it in order to learn more about the earliest years of our universe.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• The moon may have formed inside the early Earth

  Scientists have been puzzling over the moon's formation for a long time, and now there's a new theory that might explain some of the baffling mysteries surrounding our satellite. A new study published today in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets posits that the moon may have actually formed inside the Earth, before our planet had fully taken shape.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Blue Origin isn't interested in a race with SpaceX

  When we talk about the current era of private spaceflight, the phrase "space race" is thrown around quite often. It's meant as a good thing; a space race against the Russians is what put American astronauts on the moon. The idea of rocket billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos working day and night to outdo one another in some spectacle of bravado may sound appealing; it would certainly have entertainment value. But a space race isn't necessarily, in and of itself, a good thing. After all, it's why we've been stuck in low Earth orbit for going on five decades.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon

  German new-space firm PTScientists has been planning a mission to the Moon for many years now. It has partnered with Audi to produce and deliver two XPrize-winning quattro rovers to the Moon that will explore both the lunar surface and carefully return to the Apollo 17 landing site in 2019. Now the team has partnered with Vodafone and Nokia to create a Moon-based communications network using 4G LTE to bring high-def video of the moon to those of us here on Earth.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Water could be extracted all over the Moon, not just at its poles

  If we're ever going to colonize another world, we can't rely solely on the supplies we bring with us. We'll have to make use of the resources available at our destination, with water being one of the most important. Not only can we drink it, but add a bit of science and voilà! You've got oxygen to breathe or rocket fuel to fly. Figuring out what resources are where is extremely important, and we've been honing this craft by looking at our celestial ally, the Moon. A study published last year suggested that water may exist in high quantities in the lunar interior, and now researchers have found evidence of water being distributed across the entire satellite, which is at odds with the widely held theory it's concentrated in the colder spots at the Moon's poles.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory saved from uncertain fate

  Arecibo Observatory, which is the second-largest radio telescope in the world, is under new management. A group led by the University of Central Florida will take over the operations of the telescope from the National Science Foundation, which was considering shutting down the observatory.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 carrying internet satellites

  SpaceX successfully launched another Falcon 9 rocket today carrying Spain's radar imaging Paz satellite as well as two of its own satellites, Microsat-2a and -2b. The two experimental satellites will be used to test SpaceX's plan to deliver internet to people around the globe through thousands of low-orbit satellites.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Mike Pence’s space council is big on business, small on science

  Yesterday evening, Vice President Mike Pence announced the candidates asked to serve on the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group. Members will have to be officially selected by the Administrator of NASA (a position which remains open). The selections draw heavily from the space industry, including former astronauts and executives from private spaceflight companies, and a few conservative political appointees.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Watch SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch its internet satellite payload (updated)

  A SpaceX Falcon 9 is blasting into the skies today carrying Hisdesat's PAZ satellite, which will spend five and a half years carrying out radar and imaging work for the Spanish government and businesses. The launch, which uses a first stage booster previously used last August during the FORMOSAT-5 mission, will also have on board SpaceX's first demonstration satellites for its proposed satellite broadband service, which will be tested out before a full constellation launch over the next five years. Weather permitting, you'll be able to watch the launch live on PAZ's YouTube channel at 9AM EST (6AM PST), although a back-up window has been scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd, should things go awry -- since today's launch was initially slated for February 17th, that's not entirely unfeasible. Update 2/21/18 9:27AM ET: SpaceX has announced that the launch will be delayed until February 22nd due to strong winds. Standing down today due to strong upper level winds. Now targeting launch of PAZ for February 22 at 6:17 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 21, 2018

  By Rachel England Read More

• Bigelow forms command center for its expandable space stations

  Bigelow Aerospace has big plans for its future expandable space stations, so it has formed a whole new company for them. Called Bigelow Space Operations (BSO), the new private space company will oversee the marketing and customer service, as well as become the operations center for the space habitats its parent corporation is developing. If you'll recall, Bigelow's inflatable module BEAM is currently being tested aboard the ISS. It's been doing so well NASA has decided to keep it around longer to be used as an on-orbit storage facility.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• The Morning After: Mars 5K

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. This morning we're serving up Apple updates, some information on Elon Musk's next big tunnel plan and a check-in on a very long Martian road trip.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• NASA’s Opportunity rover sees its 5,000th day on Mars

  This weekend, NASA's Opportunity rover spent its 5,000th day on Mars. While that is a feat in and of itself, it's even more impressive when you consider that it was only planned to last 90 Martian days, or sols. Both Opportunity and its companion rover Spirit were launched towards Mars in 2003, landing on two different parts of the planet in January 2004. Neither were expected to make it through Mars' harsh winter though, which lasts about twice as long as ours and is severely lacking in light, but NASA's team discovered that pointing the rovers towards the north and towards the sun was enough to keep them powered through the winter. Further, making sure the rovers were on north-facing slopes each winter helped to keep them going for years longer than they were ever intended to function.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• SpaceX delays its satellite internet launch to February 21st

  Sorry, folks, you'll have to wait a while longer before SpaceX's satellite internet launch takes place. With hours to go, SpaceX has delayed the liftoff from its February 17th target to 9:17AM Eastern on February 21st. According to the company, the crew at the Vandenberg launchpad needed extra time to run "final checkouts" of the upgraded fairing used to protect the Falcon 9 rocket's payload. The company has been inching toward completely reusable rockets, and it wants to be sure it's making progress on that front.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Website follows journey of Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster through space

  Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster may have slipped the surly bonds of Earth, but you can still follow its path through the Solar System. Satellite guru Ben Pearson's unofficial Whereisroadster.com website is tracking the EV based on NASA data and his own flight modeling (which, it turns out, is more accurate than Musk's). The site not only gives you an idea of the relative position and speed, but offers fun tidbits such as the number of times the car has voided its 36,000 mile warranty and its equivalent fuel economy if it had traveled under its own power.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Defunding the ISS might just help get us to Mars

  There's good news for NASA in the Trump administration's proposed FY2019 budget and some bad. On the one hand, the space agency would receive a minor funding boost -- NASA itself would get $19.9 billion, a 1.3 percent increase over 2017, while its science directorate would receive $5.9 billion, a 2.3 percent increase.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• Cryptocurrency mining is hampering the search for alien life

  It turns out that high-end graphics cards are fantastic for mining non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies, which has led to a global shortage of GPUs. Gamers are livid at the lack of supply, especially as prices skyrocket on secondary markets. But they're not the only ones with ruined dreams: The shortage has stalled plans to expand the search for alien life.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Watch Starman and its Tesla get swallowed by the darkness of space

  Starman is drifting farther and farther away from us; a lot of the telescopes that have been tracking the Tesla and its passenger's journey will soon no longer be able to see them. The Virtual Telescope Project, which has been keeping an eye on the spacefarer and its trusty Tesla from the time they left the planet aboard the first Falcon Heavy launch, is bidding the duo goodbye by live streaming their trajectory one last time. VTP gives people a way to access several robotic telescopes in real time over the internet -- the images of Starman and its Tesla zooming across the sky, in particular, were and will be provided by the Tenagra Observatories in Arizona.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• SpaceX to launch its satellite internet prototypes this weekend (update: delay)

  For years, Elon Musk has been talking about his plans to launch thousands of low-orbiting satellites that will be able to provide high speed internet to people around the globe. While the details of those satellites have been kept largely under wraps, we've known that the first round of prototypes were nearing a launch date, and according to a letter posted on the FCC's website yesterday (and spotted by CNET), the first two test satellites will be placed into orbit this weekend.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Virgin Galactic’s VR-powered website lets you tour its spaceships

  As Virgin Galactic gears up for commercial spaceflights and science research, the company has partnered up with Microsoft and its Edge browser to create a new website that's both mobile-friendly and WebVR optimized. The new site shows off Virgin's efforts to create a new space-based travel industry to good effect.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Trump’s new budget won't land us on the moon anytime soon

  Vice President Pence may have vowed that the US would return astronauts to the moon, but it looks like we aren't getting there anytime soon. Ars Technica appears to have received an early copy of the White House's fiscal year 2019 budget set for release at 1 PM ET today. The "Lunar Exploration Campaign" outlined in the document only provides for incremental steps to return astronauts to the moon's surface, rather than a renewed focus on exploration.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• New Horizons probe captures images at record distance from Earth

  Voyager 1 has held the distance record for a captured image for the past 27 years thanks to its legendary "Pale Blue Dot" photo (3.75 billion miles away from Earth), but that milestone just got smashed. NASA's New Horizons probe took pictures of Kuiper Belt objects at a distance of over 3.79 billion miles from our cosmic home on December 5th. They weren't technically the first images to break the record, though -- an image of the "Wishing Well" star cluster from two hours earlier (below) has that honor.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Trump administration hopes to privatize ISS after 2024

  If the US government plans to stop funding the International Space Station at the end of 2024, there's a big question: what happens next? Hand the keys over to the private sector, apparently. The Washington Post has obtained a NASA document outlining a plan to privatize the ISS as part of a Trump administration budge request. The plan would request funding (starting with $150 million in fiscal 2019) to foster "commercial entities and capabilities" that could fill the ISS' role, potentially including "certain elements or capabilities" of the station itself.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• NASA tests treatment that could slow astronauts’ muscle loss

  Even though astronauts exercise everyday while they're aboard the International Space Station (ISS), they still experience a fairly significant loss of muscle mass. So much so that they require physiotherapy once they return to Earth. However, researchers with the Houston Methodist Research Institute and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research are testing a device that can continuously administer a medicine that may help prevent muscle deterioration, Seeker reports. The team sent 40 mice to the ISS in December, some with devices that deliver the drug and some with devices that just deliver an inactive solution. Half returned to Earth in January and the other half will do so this month.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• The Falcon Heavy launch brought me to tears

  The buzz over SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launch might have seemed to erupt out of nowhere, but for space enthusiasts, it was a long time coming. I've followed the development of the Falcon Heavy since it was announced in 2011, and I was on the ground at Cape Canaveral to see the launch in person, about three miles away at NASA's press site.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Dream Chaser's first ISS resupply mission launches in late 2020

  After years of testing, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft has a launch window. NASA has given the go-ahead to the vehicle's first mission, which is now slated for late 2020. Appropriately, it's a straightforward resupply trip for the International Space Station. The company received the all-clear after hitting a slew of key NASA-approved design milestones.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• What's next for SpaceX after its successful Falcon Heavy flight?

  Yesterday, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket to much fanfare. After numerous delays due to upper-level winds, the rocket lifted off at 3:45 PM ET on Tuesday. The rocket worked perfectly, delivering the test payload into orbit (a red Tesla roadster) and coasting for six hours before performing another engine burn to take it deeper into the solar system. SpaceX was even able to land two of the three boosters in beautiful synchronization. The core booster was lost because of low propellant; it slammed into the ocean at around 300 miles per hour, 300 feet from the drone ship.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• NASA will test a key deep space navigation tool this year

  The Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) is finally ready for testing, and NASA's JPL has begun preparing it for launch this year after working on it for two decades. Current space vehicles and observatories already use atomic clocks for navigation -- they are, after all, some of the most accurate timekeeping devices ever. However, the way they work isn't ideal for use in vessels going beyond Low-Earth Orbit.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• The Morning After: Falcon Heavy away

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Elon Musk did it. The Falcon Heavy has launched Starman on his trip through the Solar System, but we're still here to bring you the latest news. Take a peek at the launch if you missed it, and then find out what's missing from Shadow of the Colossus and why you'll want to Skype from HP's new EliteBooks.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Falcon Heavy completes its final maneuver as SpaceX turns to the BFR

  After the successful launch of SpaceX's massive Falcon Heavy rocket, Elon Musk indicated there may be a change of plans coming. On the conference call where he confirmed the loss of its core booster, Musk said the company is focusing on the development of its BFR and has "kinda tabled" development of the Crew Dragon spacecraft intended for use with the Falcon Heavy. None of this seems final, however, and Musk also said that if there are delays on the BFR project and an "aspirational" projection that its upper spaceship portion could be ready for short flights next year, then things could change.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• SpaceX confirms it lost the center core of the Falcon Heavy

  SpaceX pulled off quite the feat today when it launched the Falcon Heavy rocket. What's more, it landed the two flanking boosters in perfect synchronized formation. But the fate of the core booster was unclear; now it appears that the center booster, which was supposed to land on a drone ship, was lost.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• SpaceX successfully launches its Falcon Heavy rocket

  Today, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket successfully lifted off from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first flight of the 27-engine rocket; so far, the mission appears to be going well. The rocket made it through the the moment of maximum stress and released the two outer cores, which have now successfully landed back at Kennedy Space Center.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Watch SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch today at 3:45 PM ET (updated)

  Today, SpaceX will attempt to launch the Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time. The launch window is between 1:30 PM ET and 4:00 PM ET. If you'd like to watch the launch (and trust me, you definitely want to), then you can livestream it below. The stream will go live about 15–20 minutes before the launch window opens. Because this is a demo flight of a new rocket, though, delays can and should be expected.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Elon Musk emphasizes the risks ahead of Falcon Heavy’s first mission

  Tomorrow, SpaceX will attempt to launch its massive Falcon Heavy rocket for the very first time. If successful, it will be the most powerful rocket in operation and opens up the possibility of future crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. Today, Elon Musk gave a few more details about the launch attempt during a press call ahead of tomorrow's main event.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• SpaceX animation shows the ideal outcome for the Falcon Heavy launch

  SpaceX will attempt to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time tomorrow. It's no small feat and a lot could go wrong, but SpaceX has a released a video showing how the launch will work if everything goes according to plan.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Hubble provides the cosmic background to a dark French opera

  Grandiose space images from NASA's Hubble telescope might be the last thing you'd expect see in an early 20th century French opera. However, Marco Brambilla, the artist behind epic video art installations and Kanye West's "moving painting" music video for Power, has done just that. He created the video backdrop for a new production of Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, currently running at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, Belgium.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• A tiny NASA satellite mapped Earth’s atmospheric ice

  Last May, NASA launched a small, bread loaf-sized satellite into orbit around Earth. Dubbed IceCube, the satellite's mission was to measure cloud ice in our planet's atmosphere -- a challenging task that researchers have previously only been able to perform in limited ways. Sensing ice clouds requires measurements at a range of frequency bands but particularly within what are known as submillimeter wavelengths, or electromagnetic wavelengths that fall in between those of microwave and infrared waves. The problem is, instruments that can take those kinds of measurements have previously had to be on board high-altitude research aircraft, meaning measurements were limited to the areas where those aircraft were flying. Launching a satellite that can perform those measurements could open up what parts of the atmosphere can be studied, and that's where IceCube comes in.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch gets a spacesuit-clad 'Starman'

  The debut launch of the Falcon Heavy will be a serious and complex affair, but SpaceX boss Elon Musk is trying to boost the fun level to maximum. Not only is he using a cherry red Tesla Roadster as ballast for the first test, he's placed a dummy wearing SpaceX's stylish new space suit in the driver's seat, according to a new Instagram post. "Starman in Red Roadster," Musk wrote, a reference to the fact that the EV will supposedly be blasting David Bowie's Space Oddity.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• SpaceX confirms it will try to land all of Falcon Heavy's boosters

  SpaceX hasn't been shy about wanting to land Falcon Heavy's three booster rockets (it formally proposed its plans a year ago), but will it try now that the launch has finally been nailed down? Yes. Elon Musk's outfit has confirmed that it will attempt to land all three boosters on Falcon Heavy's launch, which is now slated for a 2.5-hour window starting at 1:30PM Eastern on February 6th. As expected, the two side boosters will come back to the on-ground landing zones at Cape Canaveral, while the center booster should land on a drone ship off the coast.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Japan launches smallest rocket ever to carry satellite into orbit

  Japan has set a new spaceflight record -- and unlike most of these feats, it's defined by what wasn't involved. The country's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the smallest-ever rocket to carry a satellite into orbit, a modest SS-520 sounding rocket modified with a third stage inside its nose cone to get its payload into orbit. As you might guess, the key to the record was the tiny cargo -- the rocket was carrying TRICOM-1R, a three-unit cubesat measuring just 13.6 inches long. You don't need a giant vehicle when the mission hardware would fit in the backseat of your car.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

Streaming (68)

• YouTube moderators inadvertently removed right-wing channels

  YouTube's crackdown on conspiracy theories in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting has had some unintended casualties. The streaming video firm has confirmed to Bloomberg that its human moderators inadvertently removed videos and took down channels from right-wing and pro-gun outlets. Newcomers to YouTube's moderation team can "misapply" its policies, a spokesperson said, which led to "mistaken removals" of content. The site vowed to reinstate material it had incorrectly pulled.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• YouTube TV adds Seattle Sounders local broadcasts to its MLS slate

  YouTube TV has landed another Major League Soccer deal, and this time you might be more likely to notice. As part of a multi-year agreement, the internet TV service is now the official streaming option for all Seattle Sounders FC games. Similar to the LAFC deal, you can watch the 14 nationally televised games on conventional TV networks like ESPN and Fox (including through their online apps), but a dedicated YouTube TV channel will stream the teams' 20 regionally-broadcast games online.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Spotify's public filing reveals key stats about the streaming giant

  Spotify quietly signaled its intention to become a publicly traded company in December of last year, even though several lawsuits over licensing were looming. Now the streaming service has filed for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an alternative to the more typical initial public offering (IPO) that offers the company a savings on underwriting fees and a dilution of existing shares.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• YouTube bans Neo-Nazi group following backlash over hate speech

  YouTube has banned the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, but only after a Daily Beast report shamed the platform for its inaction. Since the Logan Paul fiasco, YouTube introduced a stricter content policy and (somewhat) more serious consequences for content that harms the community, but it took reports from ProPublica, Vice and The Daily Beast in the last week before Atomwaffen was banned.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Amazon now streams UFC pay-per-view fights

  Amazon really isn't shy about its ambitions for live sports streaming. The tech firm is now selling access to pay-per-view UFC matches, starting with the March 3rd bout between Cris Cyborg and Yana Kunitskaya. If you're willing to drop $65, you can watch fights on any device that can play Prime Video -- although you won't need a Prime subscription. You won't need a TV subscription or a UFC Fight Pass, either.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• TwitchCon returns to the Bay Area on October 26th

  TwitchCon has been pinballing around California since it debuted in 2015 in San Francisco, shifting to San Diego and Long Beach in the following years. But in 2018, Twitch is bringing its convention back to the Bay Area, occupying the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA on October 26-28.

  By David Lumb Read More

• M. Night Shyamalan is the latest to join Apple's original TV ranks

  Apple's $1 billion budget for original programming is definitely getting put to good use. Variety has just reported that M. Night Shyamalan, the auteur behind plot-twist classics like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, will be producing an original series just for Apple's TV platform. In line with his previous films, the series is set to be a psychological thriller. It'll be written by Tony Basgallop, whose credits include Berlin Station, 24: Legacy and 24: Live Another Day.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Netflix plans to offer around 700 original titles in 2018

  This year, Netflix aims to have around 700 original TV shows and movies on its streaming service, Variety reports. CFO David Wells told an audience at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today that the company will spend some $8 billion on originals and licensed content this year saying, "Let's continue to add content. It's working. It's driving growth." Among those 700 productions will be around 80 originals made outside of the US, such as the German show Dark.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• F1's streaming service will be ready for March's Grand Prix

  Formula 1 racing is getting in on the streaming game. F1 TV launched today at Mobile World Congress, and the new functionality will be up and running in time for March's opening grand prix in Melbourne, Australia. F1 TV will deliver racing fans commercial-free streams, which include access to onboard cameras for all 20 drivers in competition. From there you can arrange the camera feeds on your device however you like. There will also be a premium tier that grants access to exclusive camera feeds "not available on any other platform with the capability of multi-level personalization," according to Formula 1.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Epix is the first US network to stream 4K content within its apps

  If you're about eye-watering clarity when it comes to home entertainment, get yourself an Epix subscription. The network has announced that from today it'll be offering Ultra HD content on its platform -- the first such offering from any premium network in the US. The service launches with a select number of movies and original programs, including a raft of old-school James Bond films and newer additions such as Arrival, Star Trek Beyond, Transformers: The Last Knight and the Epix original series Get Shorty.

  By Rachel England Read More

• You can now sign up for PlayStation Vue without a TV

  While Sony's TV-streaming service PlayStation Vue has been around for almost three years, it's currently facing stiff competition from the likes of Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV and Hulu TV. To stave off its rivals, it's been adding features like multi-picture viewing as well as beefing up its sports offerings. Today, Sony announced three more updates, all of which are designed to make the service more mobile-friendly. Of note, you now no longer need a television to sign up for PS Vue.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Sky Q is getting better personalisation features and Spotify

  All of a sudden, Sky has become the prize in a bidding war between US media giants Fox and Comcast, but for now, it's business as usual on the ground. The pay-TV provider has today announced a number of new features coming to its Sky Q service, primarily focused on making the user experience more personalised. Machine learning will begin to play a more important role throughout -- surfacing different TV shows depending on the time of day, for example. The sports tab is also becoming better tailored, assessing your viewing habits and liaising with the Sky Sports app so it knows your favourite events and teams.

  By Jamie Rigg Read More

• All-you-can-stream VR porn will cost you $25 per month

  VR porn is many things, but cheap isn't one of them. Just like conventional movies, you're going to pay a pretty penny to own anything that isn't free. For VRPorn.com, the solution is obvious: turn virtual smut into a subscription service. It's launching a Premium service that, for $25 per month, provides "hundreds" of videos and games from over 25 studios. That makes your Netflix subscription seem like a bargain in comparison, but the company is clearly betting that it'll justify itself after a few views.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• CBS launches 24/7 sports streaming network for news and analysis

  Today, CBS launched CBS Sports HQ, a new sports-focused streaming network meant to be complementary to CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network programming. The 24-hour, free streaming network will feature sports news, game previews, highlights and post-game analysis and is accessible through a number of platforms at launch. Along with being able to jump into live programming, CBS Sports HQ visitors will also be able go back and watch previous segments with the network's DVR-like functionality.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• YouTube enables captions for live broadcasts

  YouTube is making live broadcasts more accessible by giving creators the power to add real-time captions in the English language. They could provide their own if they plan to read off a script or have access to professional captioners that can feed their work to the platform. But YouTube live broadcasts tend to be unscripted and pretty interactive, so creators can also choose to depend on the platform's live automatic speech recognition technology to auto-generate captions.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Netflix lands sci-fi movie from 'Planet of the Apes' director

  Netflix's sci-fi adaptations are about to expand beyond the likes of Altered Carbon and Lost in Space. Deadline has learned that Netflix has secured the rights to Life Sentence, a movie take on a Matthew Baker short story about a future where authorities wipe the memories of criminals instead of sending them to prison. Matt Reeves, the director of the two most recent Planet of the Apes movies, is producing the title. It's not known when the movie would premiere, but apparently that's not the big story -- there was reportedly a fierce bidding war.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Twitch’s live game show ‘Stream On’ premieres March 8th

  Last December, Twitch announced that it would be making a live-streaming reality show, Stream On. In it, Twitch creators who need a boost to make streaming a full-time gig compete against one another in a series of challenges, Survivor-style, for a grand prize of $60,000, delivered across 12 months. Now the details are out, with the live game show set to debut with 14 competitors on March 8th at 3:00 pm PST.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• YouTube finally notices Infowars is peddling dangerous conspiracies

  Earlier this week, YouTube took down a video from one of Infowars' channels. It was one of many videos out there claiming that students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are not in fact students and school shooting survivors, but are instead paid "crisis actors." The video, which was titled "David Hogg Can't Remember His lines In TV Interview," was removed by YouTube from the Alex Jones Channel on Wednesday and the platform said it violated its policies against harassment. CNN now reports that this qualifies as one strike against the Infowars channel and if it gets two more within a three-month period, the channel will be terminated.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• YouTube reportedly plans to spend 'hundreds of millions' on Red originals

  While Facebook and Netflix are (reportedly) spending billions on new programming, YouTube is said to be holding its investments at current levels. Google's video wing is only spending "a few hundred million" on original shows for Red this year according to Bloomberg's sources. Other details are scant, but unlike the competition, YouTube also has a live TV service that's expanding in reach. Google could just be taking a "wait and see" approach to its investments this year. There's also the chance that the reticence to invest stems from recent black eyes. Its biggest stars have been in the headlines pretty frequently lately and not for flattering reasons.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Netflix courts HGTV fans with its first home makeover series

  Netflix appears to be looking to pull in more of that HGTV crowd, as Deadline reports that the streaming service just ordered its first property-focused original series. With a working title of Amazing On The Inside, the show will reportedly feature homes that look ordinary on the outside but have incredible interiors that reflect their owners' passions and identities. Deadline says Netflix has ordered 12 30-minute episodes.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Watch Netflix's first trailer for hip-hop biopic 'Roxanne, Roxanne'

  Roxanne, Roxanne, the Lolita "Roxanne Shanté" Gooden biopic that premiered at Sundance last year, is making its way to Netflix on March 23rd -- and you can watch its first official trailer below the fold. Shanté rose to prominence as one of the most fearsome battle rappers in Queens, New York back in the 80s when she was just 14 years old. The biopic has some big names attached to it, including Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Luke Cage). Chanté Adams, the new actress who plays Roxanne, held her own though and won Sundance's Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Sling TV offers League Pass to expand its NBA streaming options

  A day after Sling TV revealed that it counts 2.2 million subscribers, the over-the-top internet service announced that it's added new add-on options to watch NBA games. Users can access NBA League Pass today to watch out-of-market games, and in the coming weeks they'll be able to subscribe to Team Pass to follow a single club.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Netflix will stream the terrible-looking 'ReBoot’ reboot

  By the mid-90s, Saturday morning cartoons were a blur of occasionally brilliant animated comedy and a ton of trash made to sell toys. One rose above the rest for sheer novelty: ReBoot was one of the first shows anywhere to be completely computer-generated, and it was set within a computer, turning programs and viruses into heroes and villains. It was kinda wild, a futurist TRON-for-kids that pushed young viewers to think about technology. Revival-happy Netflix just released a trailer for a new ReBoot television show...and it looks like a far cry from the original.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Roku lays out its plan to please cord cutters -- and advertisers

  Now that Roku is a publicly traded company, it has to release quarterly updates about how things are going. Today in its first Q4 earnings release (PDF), the company said that revenue is up 28 percent from last year to $188 million, while the number of active accounts grew from 13.4 million to 19.3 million and those users streamed over 4.3 billion hours of video. While investors are concerned about lower estimates for Q1 2018, the report also reveals Roku's focus going forward.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Disney reportedly plans 'Muppets' reboot for its streaming service

  It's no secret that Disney's upcoming streaming service will bank on familiar names, but we're now getting a clearer sense of what that means. Hollywood Reporter sources have claimed that Disney is working on a "reboot" of The Muppets, the short-lived ABC comedy that followed the lives of Kermit, Miss Piggy and crew. Other details aren't clear, but the series is reportedly in its earliest stages -- Disney hasn't even found a writer yet.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The next Duplass Brothers movies will be on Netflix

  Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to the next four films from the Duplass Brothers, Jay and Mark. The indie filmmaker duo's credits include Creep and Jeff Who Lives at Home. The deal covers the brothers' upcoming untitled film starring Ray Romano, which will be released later this year, reports Variety.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Sling TV touts 2.2 million subscribers as cord cutting continues

  With how popular cord-cutting is, you'd think more services would be keen to share their subscriber stats. Dish pulled back the curtain today and revealed that its Sling TV service has some 2.2 million folks paying for the service. That's compared to just over 11 million Dish satellite customers. Those numbers don't mean a ton on their own, but when you compare them to AT&T's DirecTV Now numbers you can get a sense of where each are at. Last October, the telco reported that its streaming service had 787,000 subscribers. Of course, Sling TV has been around around a year longer, so that's to be expected.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Netflix's 'Lost in Space' reboot premieres April 13th

  Netflix's Lost in Space remake has been a long, long time in coming (word broke of it back in 2015), but it's finally here... almost. The streaming service has revealed that the sci-fi show will debut on April 13th, 2018, and has offered a teaser trailer to whet your appetite. Not surprisingly, this promises to be a thoroughly modern retelling of the Robinsons' wayward mission. It appears to take a more serious tone, and reflects much of what we've learned about space in the roughly 50 years since the original TV series. The family is out to colonize Alpha Centauri, for starters.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Netflix orders animated series from team behind 'Bojack Horseman'

  Netflix is getting another animated series from the team behind Bojack Horseman. Called Tuca & Bertie, it centers on two 30-year-old birds -- Bertie, an anxious songbird, and Tuca, a more carefree toucan. The two are friends, living in the same apartment complex. Bertie hasn't been cast yet, but Tuca will be voiced by Tiffany Haddish. Bojack Horseman producer Lisa Hanawalt created the series and it will be produced by Bojack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Bojack producers Noel Bright and Steven A. Cohen.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• The Morning After: Spotify plots its own smart speaker

  Hi there! Watching the PyeongChang Winter Olympics? Been watching them in VR? We have. We also have news of a Burnout comeback (The Best Driving Game) and Amazon brings its Prime rewards to Whole Foods shoppers.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• 'Santa Clarita Diet' returns to Netflix on March 23rd

  Netflix's show about managing suburban life with a zombie wife, Santa Clarita Diet, proved popular enough to secure a second season last spring. A year from that renewal, fans will finally get to watch when it arrives on March 23rd.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Fox News' streaming service will cater to 'superfans'

  Fox News is joining the ranks of conventional broadcasters launching stand-alone streaming services. The channel has revealed plans for Fox Nation, an internet-only subscription video service for "superfans" of its ultra-conservative programming. The service will focus on opinion shows, and will include special events as well as access to 20 years of back catalog videos that won't be available elsewhere. The service doesn't yet have a price ahead of its debut in the fourth quarter of 2018, although we'd expect it to be relatively inexpensive given that it's an offshoot of a single channel.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Spotify might be building a smart speaker of its own

  Spotify appears to be working a smart speaker that it says will be "category defining," according to new job listings. "Spotify is on its way to creating its first physical products and set up an operational organization for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and marketing," one ad states. So far, it has relied on other products like Google's Assistant, Amazon Echo and Sonos One to stream its service. However, Apple recently launched its HomePod speaker with only native Apple Music support, showing Spotify's need to take action on its own hardware.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• Netflix deal provides a much-needed boost in the Middle East

  Despite what it seems, Netflix isn't a dominant force everywhere on the planet. In fact, it's struggling in the Middle East and northern Africa -- Netflix and Amazon combined represent 21 percent of the local subscription video space. The company is determined to get a leg up, however. It just forged its first partnership deal in the region, signing a pact with pay TV provider OSN to make its content available across the area. OSN customers will have access to Netflix through a set-top box launching near the end of the second quarter (around June), and will have the option of paying for Netflix through their existing OSN bills.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Pandora Premium finally works in your web browser

  It's been almost a year since Pandora Premium -- the company's on-demand streaming service and competitor to Spotify and Apple Music -- first arrived. Ever since launch, Premium has only been available on mobile phones, but today it'll finally have a player in the web browser, as well. And while it's been well over two years since Pandora purchased the dearly-departed Rdio, those who used the old service will find Pandora's web service very familiar.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• 'Stargate: Origins' debut brings the 1994 flick along for free

  As promised, MGM's Stargate Command service has launched the first three episodes of Stargate: Origins exclusively for its streaming customers. The service is making a pitch similar to, but not exactly like the one attempted by CBS' controversial All Access setup with Star Trek: Discovery, charging a one-time $20 fee for access to "the ultimate Stargate library including SG-1, Atlantis, Universe, and all 3 movies." Sure, they used to be available on Netflix in the US, but now their owner is trying to squeeze a bit more value out of the franchise.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Netflix’s ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ returns May 30th

  The fourth season of Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a premiere date, or at least the first half of it does. The show is taking a different route than it has before, releasing the first six episodes ahead of the rest of the season, and the first half will be available to stream starting May 30th. Jane Krakowski, who plays Jacqueline on the show, told the Today show, "We're going to shoot them and get them out as quickly as possible so we don't have to make our fans and audiences wait so long." Season three debuted in May last year.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Vimeo wants to power Facebook, Twitch and YouTube livestreams

  Vimeo made clear its focus on its creator community last year when it introduced livestreaming tools, now it's expanding its efforts with new distribution features that will help creators grow and expand their audiences. Announced today are "Simulcast" and "Publish to Social", both designed with creators in mind and, no doubt, to help the platform develop its visibility beyond a single destination.

  By Rachel England Read More

• YouTube TV gets TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN and a price bump

  It's been almost a year since Google first announced YouTube TV, its $35-per-month service for cord cutters. Since then, Google has been iterating to improve on a product that was solid at launch -- but today marks the biggest expansion of YouTube TV thus far. The service now has access to a host of new channels from the Turner network, including TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, CNN, Turner Classic Movies and a few others. For sports fans, YouTube is also adding NBA TV and the MLB Network as well. But there's a bit of bad news that comes along with this: New YouTube TV subscriptions will now cost $40, up from the $35 price that the service has cost since launch. The price increase will hit on March 13th, so new potential customers still have a month to get in the door and lock in the $35 rate; existing subscribers won't see a change to their bill at all.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• Netflix signs up 'Glee' producer Ryan Murphy

  Refusing to slow its pace of dealmaking, Netflix announced tonight that it has a new "multi-year" agreement with producer Ryan Murphy, starting in July. Murphy has produced a string of hit series over the years, including Glee, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story and Scream Queens. His contract with Fox is about to expire, and according to reports from the New York Times and Deadline, this began a bidding war that put the price of his five-year agreement at as much as $300 million.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Chris Rock’s first Netflix special debuts February 14th

  Chris Rock signed a deal with Netflix in 2016, agreeing to two comedy specials for a reported sum of $40 million. Well the wait for Rock's comedy special return is finally over as Netflix has announced that the first of those two specials will air on February 14th. Chris Rock: Tamborine is Rock's first special since 2008's Kill the Messenger and Variety reports that it will cover topics that span from relationships to race.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Apple Music student discounts come to 82 new regions

  Apple has increased the number of markets where students can grab a discount on their Apple Music subscription. As iMore's Rene Ritchie notes, the deal is being offered in 82 new regions — 79 now and a further three on February 26th — including Israel, Poland, Portugal and the Philippines. Pricing varies by country, but as a general rule students get half-off (in the US, for instance, it's $4.99 instead of $9.99 per month.) Apple uses UniDAYS to verify the listener has enrolled at a college or university, and will periodically check their status while the four-year discount applies.

  By Nick Summers Read More

• Netflix will stream HBO’s ‘The Defiant Ones’ outside of the US

  Netflix might make headlines for securing its latest show, but its documentaries have been powerhouses in their own right; Last year, The White Helmets won the streaming service its first Academy Award. But the company is just as open to securing non-fiction content from other providers. On March 23rd, Netflix subscribers outside the US and Canada can watch The Defiant Ones, the HBO documentary miniseries chronicling Dr. Dre's and Jimmy Iovine's decades-long partnership.

  By David Lumb Read More

• TNT's NBA VR livestreams begin February 16th

  Last November, Intel and TNT announced a partnership to bring 360-degree, 3D broadcasts of NBA games to GearVR and Daydream VR headsets. Now Turner Sports and Intel have officially launched the app that brings an immersive basketball experience via TNT's VR app and powered by Intel's True VR technology. While the current VR app is mainly a Turner Broadcasting initiative, it can only help the NBA expand its audience via the technology.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• MoviePass adds 500,000 subscribers within a month

  MoviePass' $10-per-month subscription service was a hit from the start, enough to crash the company's website when it was first announced. It looks like demand isn't slowing down anytime soon either: it has gained 500,000 more subscribers merely a month after it reached 1.5 million users. The fact that MoviePass cut off members' access to some popular AMC theaters had little effect, if any. It's easy to see why 2 million would sign up: for 10 bucks a month -- an ongoing promo even cuts the price down to $7.95 -- they're entitled to see one 2D film a day, every day, without paying extra.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• 'Altered Carbon’ is more than just a 'Blade Runner’ ripoff

  Altered Carbon is the very definition of a guilty pleasure. The show, adapted by Laeta Kalogridis from Richard Morgan's novel, isn't exactly well written. And, like most Netflix joints, it goes on for way too long. But it's gorgeous, it's filled with charismatic actors and its cyberpunk aesthetic feels like a '90s anime brought to life. (That's a good thing -- to me, at least.) Altered Carbon is simply a lot of fun. And while it owes an obvious debt to Blade Runner, I was surprised that underneath the ultraviolence and gratuitous Cinemax-esque sex scenes, it's also an intriguing exploration of where digital consciousness could take us.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Facebook adds Elizabeth Olsen dramedy to its growing video lineup

  Facebook will soon be home to a half-hour dramedy series starring Elizabeth Olsen, Deadline reports. The show is currently untitled, but was formerly known as Widow, and is thought to be about a young widow who's reconnecting with people from her past while she deals with the loss of her husband. It was created by Kit Steinkellner (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Switched at Birth creator Lizzy Weiss will serve as showrunner.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Viacom says its streaming service will launch this year

  Yesterday, Viacom CFO Wade Davis said during an earnings call that the company is planning to launch its own streaming service this year, TechCrunch reports. Davis said that while withholding much of its content from other streaming services has reduced the revenue it could have collected, it also allowed the company to go forward with its own service. "In terms of the amount of content that it's going to have, it's going to have tens of thousands of hours of content that cut across the library we have on a global basis," said Davis. "And it's important to note one of the reasons that we are able to do this is that we've chosen to curtail the amount of content that we license into third-party [business to consumer] experiences."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• How to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics

  With the opening ceremonies completed and the torch lit, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are officially underway and will run through February 25th. Viewers have plenty of options to stream events this time around -- and while you can watch almost everything on NBC with your cable subscription, there are several internet TV providers that include some or all of the network's coverage through their own service subscriptions.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Disney's streaming originals may lean on familiar names

  We know that Disney will launch its subscription streaming service in 2019, but now Deadline has learned more about the kind of content that will be on it. Info gleaned from Hollywood creative types shows that the plan (at first) will focus on content that's "consistent with the Disney brand" (read: nothing R-rated and leaving the various Marvel series where they are). Expect a launch in the US first before it goes overseas, with four to movies and five TV shows in the first year. Its original content will include TV shows and movies, with movies like 3 Men and a Baby, Sword in the Stone, Don Quixote and Lady and the Tramp in the works. Two films for the service that have already been made and are in post-production include Magic Camp and Noelle, which stars Anna Kendrick. During the company's earnings call this week CEO Bob Iger said several Star Wars shows are in development with one close to being announced. Deadline's report backs that up, adding shows for High School Musical, Monsters Inc. and a live-action Marvel series. Overall Disney looks like it's going for a very familiar feel out of the gate, relying on content that appeals to adults of various ages who might add this alongside a Netflix and/or cable subscription. If it launches with a price that's cheaper than Netflix and others, then that nostalgic appeal (plus exclusive access to big-budget flicks) could pull large amounts of subscribers in quickly, even for a new service.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Hulu's Cloud DVR adds more control over what episodes to record

  Along with 60fps support and some new options for Olympic viewing, Hulu is also improving its cloud DVR. Mimicking other DVR platforms, now Hulu TV subscribers will have more choices of what to record when they add a show to "My Stuff" for automatic recording. Instead of simply recording new episodes, viewers can tell it to stash reruns too, or just bookmark the show without recording episodes at all. For shows already in MY Stuff, users can go in and adjust the settings as they prefer. The new feature is rolling out on iOS, Apple TV (4th gen.), Xbox, Amazon Fire TV devices, Nintendo Switch and 2017 Samsung Smart TVs now, with other devices coming soon.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Netflix rescues sci-fi movie 'Extinction' from oblivion

  The Cloverfield Paradox isn't the only sci-fi movie Netflix has saved from Hollywood purgatory. Variety has discovered that Netflix bought the worldwide rights to Extinction, a sci-fi thriller from Universal starring Lizzy Caplan and Michael Pena. The studio was originally slated to have released the alien invasion flick on January 26th, but took it off its release schedule just two months prior -- not exactly a resounding vote of confidence. The title is expected to premiere on Netflix sometime later in 2018.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Hulu adds 60fps support for select live TV channels

  Just a few days after Hulu added a new way for sports fans to customize their Olympic coverage, the company is back with another bit of news for sports fans. Subscribers to Hulu's live TV service will be able to watch their favorite games at 60 frames per second (fps) on select channels. The higher frame rate, common on video game platforms, will help you follow the quick action in broadcasts like March Madness and the Winter Olympics. "This was one of the most-requested features by our viewers," the company wrote in a Reddit announcement.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• ESPN Plus streaming service launches this spring for $4.99

  As Disney announced its quarterly earnings results today, CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the company plans to price its standalone streaming version of ESPN at $4.99 per month. We've already heard that ESPN Plus will include "10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year" including MLB, NHL and MLS action, and Iger said it will arrive along with a relaunch of the ESPN app this spring. The idea is to reach out to cord-cutters and cord-nevers, hoping they're into some sports you wouldn't catch on its cable broadcasts (other sports will include various college games, Grand Slam Tennis, Boxing, Golf, Rugby and Cricket), plus included access to its library of 30 for 30 documentaries. It will be available "iOS, Android, tvOS and Chromecast" at launch, with other platforms following. As far as the new ESPN app, we should expect even more personalization with the usual relevant scores and highlights next to streaming versions of ESPN's cable broadcasts as well as its podcasts. When it launches, ESPN Plus will only be the beginning of Disney's streaming push, before its Disney-branded service launches in 2019. During the call, Iger said Disney is developing "a few" Star Wars series for the new app, and that it's close to revealing at least one of the projects (separate from the new series of movies announce earlier from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Marvel’s Wolverine podcast debuts on March 12th

  We first heard about Marvel's Wolverine-starring 10-episode podcast series at the tail end of 2017, and it sure sounded sweet: Ten episodes following agents tracking the legendary mutant as he hunts down a serial killer in a fictional Alaskan town. Now we have a release date. Wolverine: The Long Night's first episode airs on March 12th exclusively on Stitcher Premium, with a new one dropping every week.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Best Buy will stop CD sales as digital music continues to take over

  There's not much reason to shop for CDs when you download or stream all your music, and big-box stores are reacting to that decline. Billboard sources have learned that Best Buy has told suppliers that it will remove music CDs from its stores as of July 1st. The chain was only making $40 million per year from the plastic discs -- a drop in the bucket for a retailer this size. Vinyl aficionados will still find records on sale for the next 2 years, according to the insiders, although they may have to be sold next to the turntables themselves.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'The Cloverfield Paradox' would be doomed without Netflix

  The Cloverfield Paradox would have been a theatrical failure. It's exactly the sort of B-grade sci-fi critics tend to eviscerate. So how do you generate hype for a movie that's practically doomed? If you're Netflix, you unveil a trailer during the Super Bowl with an unprecedented announcement: you'll be able to watch the film right after the game ends. No warning, no early reviews. It's the sort of "holy shit" moment you could only pull off if you're a global entertainment powerhouse. You could think of it as Netflix flexing its marketing muscles and mocking its competitors, "Do you even stream, bro?"

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Tweak Spotify's recommendation tech to create custom playlists

  If you're looking for a way to fine-tune your Spotify experience, you might want to check out Nelson, a web-based playback jukebox of sorts on app-maker website Glitch. You choose as many genres as you like before tweaking some of the Spotify API's various parameters, and Nelson will compile a custom set of songs. You can even have it create a playlist right on Spotify for you.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Netflix snags 'Glee' creator's comedy series 'The Politician'

  The name Ryan Murphy may not ring a bell, but you've undoubtedly heard of the big-name TV shows he created. From Glee to American Horror Story, Nip/Tuck and others, Murphy has a solid track record when it comes to television. Deadline reports Netflix has snapped up the rights to the director/producer/writer's upcoming comedy series created alongside Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Titled The Politican, the show will be the second from Murphy on Netflix with Ratched (focusing on Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) already in the works.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• Netflix's 'Cloverfield' sequel starts streaming tonight

  Last year Netflix's Super Bowl ad focused on a season of Stranger Things we still had months to wait for, but this year things are different. The streaming company dropped a surprise 30-second teaser for The Cloverfield Paradox, a sequel to the 2008 monster movie that will be available for viewing worldwide tonight, right after the game. As Deadline notes, the Paramount/J.J. Abrams flick had been planned for a theatrical release this weekend, but reports that this agreement with Netflix made the $45 million movie "immediately profitable." Also, on Twitter Netflix revealed a promotional deal that will send snacks directly to viewers in New York, San Francisco, LA and Chicago, in time for the movie's debut after the game. The Cloverfield Paradox is directed by Julius Onah (The Girl is in Trouble), with stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights, A Wrinkle in Time) and David Oyelowo (Selma, Queen of Katwe) taking the top credits. Netflix pushed the bar with the release of Bright in December, but this is an all-new mark for its original movie efforts. While Cloverfield may not be as expensive as that Will Smith movie, it's arriving without any of the usual highlights, reviews or press tours. Just one advertisement on the day of its worldwide release. How successful will it be? Since Netflix doesn't release exact numbers that will likely be up to others like Nielsen to estimate, but as the company splashes its $8 billion content budget around we don't expect that this will be the last surprise up its sleeve. Netflix: In the near future, a group of international astronauts on a space station are working to solve a massive energy crisis on Earth. The experimental technology aboard the station has an unexpected result, leaving the team isolated and fighting for their survival. Update: And there it is. As promised, once the game ended, the streaming started. Let us know what you think of this latest addition to the Cloverfield series.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Apple Music could overtake Spotify in the US this summer

  Spotify's lead in paid music streaming might not be as impregnable as it looks. The Wall Street Journal has obtained industry figures suggesting that Apple Music is growing faster than Spotify in the US, adding 5 percent to its base every month versus 'just' 2 percent for Spotify. If that rate continues, Apple could surpass its rival in the country during the summer. There are other numbers to suggest Apple is catching up, for that matter.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Hulu Live TV subscribers can customize their Olympic coverage

  The 2018 Winter Olympics are just around the corner and while anyone with access to NBC channels will be able to watch the competitions and events, those with Hulu Live TV will get to build a personalized viewing experience tailored to their interests. Starting today, Hulu will let those with a Live TV subscription pick which Olympic sports they're most interested in and from there, it will customize users' UIs based on those preferences. For example, users selecting luge and freestyle skiing as their favorites will see coverage of those events appear up top in the Olympic Winter Games section of the Hulu UI. They'll also see replays, highlights and athlete profiles surfaced.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Spotify now shows songwriter and producer credits

  Spotify announced today that when listening through the desktop platform, users will now be able to view song credits. Starting now, right-clicking on a track and selecting "Show Credits" from the menu will bring up its performer, writer and producer credits as well as the source from which that info was provided. Spotify says that currently, those details have been compiled from record label-provided metadata and they may be incomplete in some cases, but going forward, the feature will become more functional and will use information from other sources.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• YouTube labels news videos that have received government funding

  YouTube has been making efforts to improve its transparency, which is why anyone viewing news broadcasts on the platform may notice a change starting today. If a news video has received any public funding or government support, YouTube will show a notice below the video. This only applies to videos that are uploaded by news organizations.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• YouTube will address ‘egregious’ acts by creators in new policies

  The massive backlash to Logan Paul's Aokigahara forest video pushed YouTube to make a few changes in how it handles the content it hosts. The company took some specific actions against Paul himself, putting his original projects on hold and pulling his Preferred status, but it has also begun to tweak its policies and regulations overall. Now, in a blog post, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says there are more changes to come. "We're also currently developing policies that would lead to consequences if a creator does something egregious that causes significant harm to our community as a whole," she wrote. "While these instances are rare, they can damage the reputation and revenue of your fellow creators, so we want to make sure we have policies in place that allow us to respond appropriately."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• YouTube's live TV service is now available on Apple TV

  Looks like Google is making good on its promise to bring its cord-cutting alternative to more popular platforms. YouTube TV is now available for Apple TVs, after having hit Roku devices earlier today. The service is available in almost 100 different metro areas, and can also be downloaded for Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One and newer Samsung and LG TVs. It's taken almost a full year since Google announced the service for this to happen.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• Data-friendly YouTube Go app is available in 130 more countries

  Lately, Google has been putting a lot of focus on its lightweight "Go" Android apps that are meant for countries where good cellular coverage and bandwidth in general is difficult to come by. YouTube Go started out in only one country -- sure, it was India, but there were still plenty of other places where the app would be useful. As of today, many more countries will be able to use YouTube Go. More than 130, in fact.

  By Nathan Ingraham Read More

• YouTube's live TV starts streaming on Roku devices

  Google is living up to its promise of making native YouTube TV apps available for the media hub of your choice. You can now add a YouTube TV channel on "select" Roku devices, giving you the service's usual range of live broadcasts, a cloud DVR and the other perks of the cord cutter service. There isn't any mention of Roku-specific features, but the allure is really the freedom to watch in your living room using a device explicitly meant for a laid-back viewing experience.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

Tablets (2)

• Huawei's MediaPad M5 is the first tablet with a curved glass screen

  You'd be forgiven for thinking that premium Android tablets were on the way out. While you'll see occasional high-end entries like the Galaxy Tab S3, many are low-cost slates that don't exactly push the boundaries of design. Huawei, however, wants to keep that torch alive -- it's unveiling the MediaPad M5, which promises a few flourishes you don't usually see in tablets. Its 8.4- and 10.8-inch variants are reportedly the first tablets to tout "2.5D" curved glass screens. That promises both improved viewing and a "great hand-feel," according to Huawei, although it certainly doesn't hurt that they're posh-looking at the same time.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Cortana for iPad takes full advantage of the larger screen

  Microsoft updated its Cortana app and it now features native iPad support. The interface makes use of the bigger iPad screen, but otherwise it's largely similar to the iPhone version. The update, spotted by MacRumors, also notes that the app now opens 20 percent faster. "Introducing a brand-new Cortana for iPad design. Enjoy an exclusive layout and interface for your iPad," says the update release. "Cortana now launches 20 percent faster! Enjoy a lightning-fast experience."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

Tomorrow (2)

• Technology as racial exploitation in 'Black Gooey Universe'

  Art is often about making you look at regular, day-to-day objects in ways you haven't before. Artist and UNBAG co-founder American Artist has certainly done that with Black Gooey Universe, showing at Brooklyn's HOUSING studio until February 16th. The exhibition features pieces like "Mother of All Demos," named after the famous XeroxPARC GUI demo, and "No State," a 12-by-12 grid of shattered iPhones. The idea with the exhibition and accompanying essay is to show how the evolution of such devices relates to the African American experience.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• How Elon Musk plays on our science fiction dreams

  Elon Musk has said that he wants to die on Mars -- after it's been colonized by his company SpaceX. He may not have the precise details yet, but Musk will figure out the mission in style: The SpaceX space suits are sleek and form-fitting, while his cherry red Tesla sports car will be aboard the maiden flight of the interplanetary Falcon Heavy rocket. Meanwhile, on Earth, he'll work on connecting our brains to computers through tiny electrodes, building underground networks of car sleds that function like a personal subway system, firing passenger trains through a vacuum tube at the speed of sound and replacing air travel with his Big Fucking Rocket (BFR) spaceship that gets passengers anywhere on the planet in under an hour. That's without mentioning his efforts to advance electric cars and solar energy. Or the fact that this week, he made $10 million in four days by selling promotional flamethrowers.

  By Chris Ip Read More

TV & Movies (43)

• What's on TV: 'Atlanta,' 'Moss' and the Oscars

  A bit of a late start to this week's listings, but still in time to catch the return of Donald Glover's show Atlanta on FX. While the Academy Awards will be the focus this weekend, you can check out some potential award winners ahead of time including Coco, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards on Blu-ray or video on-demand. Gamers have a DLC pack for Call of Duty WWII, Moss on PlayStation VR and some remastered Turok games to choose from, while Netflix just dropped a new show, The Push, where Derren Brown apparently tries to convince someone to commit a murder and it has a new anime series from Production I.G. called B: The Beginning. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• ‘Wreck-it Ralph 2’ runs the gamut of online culture

  The teaser trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph dropped today. In this second movie, Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) and his friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) head out into the expansive world of the internet. And, if the title of the movie is any indication, they wreak some real havoc along the way. Disney will release Ralph Breaks the Internet in theaters on November 21st.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Visit the British Library’s ‘Harry Potter’ exhibit from your sofa

  Assuming your Hogwarts letter got lost in the mail (it happens from time to time) and you still want a peek at The Boy Who Lived's coursework, Google has you covered. The search juggernaut has digitized the British Library's "Harry Potter: A History of Magic" exhibit and tossed it on the Google Arts & Culture mobile-and-web app.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Comcast tops Fox's bid for UK pay-TV giant Sky

  An interesting wrinkle in Disney's deal to acquire most of Fox is that Fox is also in the middle of a deal to buy Sky -- a major telecom company and pay-TV service in the UK. Now Comcast (which includes NBCUniversal) has jumped in the middle of that deal with an offer that values Sky at $31 billion -- that's more than Fox's offer to buy out the 61 percent it doesn't already own, which values the company at about $23.2 billion (£18.5 billion). Fox already has an agreement in place, but that's under review from regulators. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said his company's offer of £12.50 in cash for each share it buys in Sky is "a significant premium to the 21CF price currently recommended," and that "We would like to own the whole of Sky and we will be looking to acquire over 50% of the Sky shares." Previously rumored to have an interest in acquiring Fox, Comcast is now in a position to complicate Disney's pending arrangement, which would see Disney take ownership of Sky -- assuming everything goes through as planned. If Comcast successfully bids for Sky, then it could give NBCUniversal a better position in the UK.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Amazon renews podcast-inspired 'Lore' series for a second season

  Amazon's podcast-based series Lore will return for a second season. Production for the horror-tinged series begins in April, and in addition to new episodes, it'll feature a new showrunner, Sean Crouch, who worked on The Exorcist series. There aren't a ton of details, but Amazon promises that the new season will explore horror stories on a global level. Given the production timeline, it doesn't seem like a stretch to assume the new episodes will be available by Halloween -- just in time to compete with Hulu's forthcoming macabre show.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• Michael B. Jordan burns all the books in 'Fahrenheit 451' trailer

  Last year, HBO announced that it was adapting Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 into a movie and today we get its first trailer. In it, we see Captain Beatty, played by Michael Shannon, telling underling fireman Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan) about the dangers of books and why they have to be burned. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," he says. "News, facts, memoirs, internet of old -- burn it." We also see Jordan's character spreading those ideas to school children, lighting room-fulls of books ablaze and saying with barely restrained fury, "I want to burn."

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• 'Papers, Please' official short film recreates the game's bleak tone

  The official Papers, Please short film has been a long time in coming, but it's finally here... and if you're a fan of the game's grim Soviet Bloc atmosphere, you're in for a treat. The 11-minute production includes plenty of nods to the title's nerve-wracking customs checks, such as the dread you feel when you're not quite sure you should have let someone through. It also touches on the game's underlying theme -- how do you maintain some shred of humanity in a job that's frequently heartless? Be sure to turn subtitles on, by the way, as the dialogue is appropriately Russian.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Black Panther' is amazing. Why are its CG models so terrible?

  Black Panther is a refreshing answer to the increasingly stale world of superhero cinema. But there's one glaring flaw throughout the film: its use of CG models to replace humans during action sequences. They're weightless, ugly and, worst of all, incredibly distracting. You'd think that in the year 2018, following the recent glut of comic book films, visual effects (VFX) studios would have perfected the art of creating realistic CG humans. Instead, we appear to have peaked at Avatar in 2010. What gives?

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Disney’s lawsuit against Redbox may have backfired

  Disney's attempt to prevent Redbox from buying its discs for rental and resale may have blown up in the House of Mouse's face. The Hollywood Reporter describes how District Court Judge Dean Pregerson sided with Redbox to shoot down a Disney-mandated injunction. In addition, Pregerson contended that Disney may itself be misusing copyright law to protect its interests and its own forthcoming streaming service.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• The Morning After: Netflix's new 'Lost in Space' trailer

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Do you really need your own PC? Today we're looking into personal cloud computing, the risky side of Spotify's rumored hardware plans and how AI can help make CGI fur more realistic.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Netflix: 'Stranger Things' directors aren't leaving the show

  We haven't heard much about the next season of Stranger Things, but a rumor on Moviefone.com indicated that its directors, Ross and Matt Duffer, will be less involved after season three wraps up. This evening, Netflix tweeted "Rumors that the Duffer Bros are leaving Stranger Things after season 3 are false," which doesn't exactly refute the report, but hopefully means our Eggos and walkie-talkies are safe. The reported cited a source claiming the two would step back to work on two other projects for Netflix, so this could just mean they're more spread around. Still, we'll be watching carefully to make sure the quality holds up.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Jessica Jones confronts her anger in new season two trailer

  The long-awaited second season of Jessica Jones will finally debut next month and today Netflix gave us another look at what we can expect from it. In the first trailer, released earlier this month, we saw Jones grappling with her past and trying to get some answers to the many questions she has about her powers and the car crash that killed her entire family. In the second trailer we see how her anger affects, and often complicates, the life she has now.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• What's on TV: 'Thor: Ragnarok,' 'Metal Gear' and 'Walking Dead'

  As the Winter Olympics continue (expect plenty of speedskating, bobsled, hockey and freestyle skiing), we're ready for the return of The Walking Dead. There's also a new Metal Gear game out, Survive, and Thor: Ragnarok is ready for streaming from most video on-demand services (for good this time) if you need another hit of the MCU after Black Panther. Star Wars Rebels is back on Disney XD, and BET is airing a miniseries about the Death Row record label. On Netflix we can expect a second season of Marseille, as well as the premiere of Seven Seconds, a new show from the producers of The Killing. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• Hasbro's first HasLab toy is a replica of Jabba the Hutt's barge

  At this year's Toy Fair in New York, Hasbro announced HasLab, a new program that aims to bring to life special creations like a massive, four-foot long recreation of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge. The company is taking inspiration from platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, too: In order for the barge to become a real for-sale production item, Hasbro wants to gather 5,000 $499 pre-orders by midnight on April 3rd.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Joel McHale's weekly Netflix show premieres this weekend

  As promised, Joel McHale's weekly Netflix show is premiering on February 18th -- and you now have a better idea of what to expect going in. The streaming service has posted a preview of The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale that gives a feel for what the commentary series will involve. It doesn't include the signature green screen (a carryover from The Soup), but it's clear that the show will play on McHale's Community days -- fellow alumni and initial guests Alison Brie and Jim Rash show up to keep the star in check.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' VR mock-doc is live on Pixel phones

  Big-budget VR tie-ins are nothing new. Dunkirk got its own version from Intel, Blade Runner 2049 has one that debuted at Comic-Con and even Spider-Man got his own virtual reality "experience" when the reboot launched last year. Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs premieres next month in the US, but you can experience the film's VR tie-in now via Google Spotlight Stories app and your Pixel phone. The faux-documentary will go live for everyone else via YouTube (VR, 360 and 2D) March 2.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Schwarzenegger joins the sequel for internet cult classic 'Kung Fury'

  David Sandberg's instant cult classic, Kung Fury is not only getting a full-length sequel, it's attracting big-name stars to the action comedy set in 1980's Miami. Today, the former Terminator and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the upcoming film.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Apple renews 'Carpool Karaoke’ for second season

  Born out of a recurring sketch appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Apple's Carpool Karaoke: The Series seems to be resonating with subscribers of Apple Music. Today during an investor call, CBS (the producer of the show) announced the show would return for a second season.

  By Roberto Baldwin Read More

• Amazon confirms Jeffrey Tambor won't return to 'Transparent'

  Jeffrey Tambor's role in Transparent has been in limbo for months following sexual harassment allegations, but there's no ambiguity now: he's out. Amazon has confirmed that Tambor won't return to the series following an internal investigation into his conduct. Tambor had denied claims of intentional harassment and argued that the "politicized atmosphere" made it impractical for him to come back, but he had never gone so far as to formally depart.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Black Panther' proves why Afrofuturism matters

  Black Panther is groundbreaking on every level. It's a superhero film that's smarter and more meaningful than anything from Marvel yet. It's a blockbuster action movie written, directed by and starring black artists. And Black Panther also happens to be the purest expression of Afrofuturism -- science fiction and fantasy that reflects the African diaspora -- to hit cinemas around the world. It's about time.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Robert Rodriguez preps VR action series 'The Limit'

  Director Robert Rodriguez has been teasing a virtual reality video project for a while, and now it's clear just what it entails. He's partnering with STX on The Limit, a short-form VR action series starring long-time collaborator Michelle Rodriguez as a "genetically enhanced weapon of mass destruction" bent on destroying her creators. It's not a profound exploration of the human condition, then, but there's no question of the talent both in front of and behind the camera.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a 'Black Mirror' dating app

  So, it's Valentine's Day, and what better time to check on the potential end date of your romantic relationship? It's easy to do over at coach.dating, a fun little web app based on the dating AI, Coach, that manages dating relationships in the Black Mirror episode, "Hang the DJ."

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Amazon's cop drama 'Bosch' returns April 13th

  Amazon's longest-running TV show, Bosch, now has a premiere date for its fourth season: Friday, April 13th. The 10-episode season will address accusations of police brutality against the LAPD. When a civil rights attorney is murdered just before a case against the police department, Detective Harry Bosch is put in charge of a task force to find the truth, even if the responsibility lies with his fellow police officers. You can see a trailer for the fourth season below. The show has already been renewed for a fifth season.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• ‘Star Trek Discovery’ failed to do what good sci-fi does

  This article contains mild spoilers for the first season of 'Star Trek Discovery'. At its best, science fiction does more than just entertain, or ensure its cliffhanger is strong enough that you come back next week. The cool spaceships and robots are just the framework through which we explore the anxieties and morals of our society at large. And we're at such a febrile point in history that we need sci-fi to ground us in what's coming in the not-too-distant future. I've been preaching patience for a while now, but I don't think that I can defend Star Trek Discovery any further. The conclusion of its debut season has shown that, for all the promise of its raw material, it's been a big disappointment. The show lacked soul, and a theme, to the point where it has devoted its running time to celebrating its own coolness rather than exploring any sort of idea.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Netflix preps late-night series with 'Daily Show' vet Michelle Wolf

  Netflix is determined to cement its place in the talk show landscape. The streaming service has unveiled plans for a weekly late-night show hosted by Michelle Wolf, a contributor to the Daily Show and a veteran comedienne. While the half-hour program doesn't even have a title yet, it won't be limited to politics and will include the risqué humor "we couldn't do on TV," according to Wolf. The series will debut sometime later in 2018.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie will be directed by Chris Columbus

  Almost a year ago, Blumhouse Productions -- the studio that followed the wild success of Paranormal Activity with hits like Insidious, Whiplash, Split and Get Out -- secured the film rights for the video game Five Nights At Freddy's. Today, the company announced who'd be helming the movie adaptation, and it's...Chris Columbus, best known for directing Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Mrs. Doubtfire and the first two Harry Potter films.

  By David Lumb Read More

• What we're watching: 'Star Wars Rebels' and Marvel's 'Runaways'

  Welcome back to IRL, our series dedicated to the things that Engadget writers have been playing, using, watching and listening to. This week is all about what we're watching and includes an explanation of why you need to give Star Wars Rebels another look and check out Marvel's new Runaways series. Finally, we'll take a look back at one of our editors' first Netflix binge-watching experiences to see if it still holds up.

  By Engadget Read More

• Why is HBO making shows from podcasts?

  HBO has signed a deal with political podcast Pod Save America that will see the popular show become a series of TV specials. The episodes will be shot and broadcast during the 2018 midterms, produced and starring the usual trio of (the other) Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor. It's the second time in recent months that the cable giant has sought to adapt a podcast, following its deal with 2 Dope Queens.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• HBO taps 'Pod Save America' hosts for election specials

  HBO has already brought one hit podcast (2 Dope Queens) to its slate of comedy specials this year, so it makes sense they'd look to another one for new content. Pod Save America will bring the hosts (and maybe the format) of its twice-weekly political podcast to the network with a new series of specials. Co-hosts will include Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer and National Security spokesperson Tommy Vietor, as well as Jon Lovett, a producer for HBO's political drama, The Newsroom.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• In Amazon’s new sci-fi series, social media destroys the world

  Amazon's Electric Dreams on Prime streaming might not make you feel bad about your technology habits the way Netflix's Black Mirror does, but the tech juggernaut has plans to remedy that with its latest show. The Feed is based off a book by the same name from author Nick Clark Windo, covering what happens when we're able to download a social media feed directly into our skulls. But instead of sharing links to news sources of questionable repute, you're sharing every thought and emotion you have. And you can see those of everyone else. The story picks up when the titular social network collapses and the world along with it.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• 'Jessica Jones' season 2 trailer digs into a dark past

  After a brief teaser late last year, Netflix is finally ready to reveal what Jessica Jones' long-in-the-making second season is all about. The service has posted a full trailer for the Marvel show that focuses on Jessica's past: she wants to know why she's the only one to have emerged alive from the horrific crash that killed her family. It also brings up an attempt to take over her private investigation practice and a mysterious killer terrorizing New York City. In short, Jessica will have her hands full.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• DirecTV offers 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos for Winter Olympics replays

  Comcast and Hulu may have already revealed plans for Winter Olympics coverage, but today, DirecTV is letting us in on what it has in store for the next several days. In addition to the regular prime time coverage anyone with access to NBC's family of networks is privy to, the AT&T-owned company has a few other things up its sleeve to enhance your viewing experience. We're talking 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, for starters, when the festivities kick off this Thursday.

  By Billy Steele Read More

• 'Game of Thrones’ showrunners will write a new ‘Star Wars’ series

  If you were excited for Rian Johnson's upcoming trilogy of Star Wars films, there's even nerdier news incoming. Another film series in a galaxy far, far away has just been announced -- and they will be written and produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the showrunners of HBO's Game of Thrones.

  By David Lumb Read More

• Discovery, Scripps merger gets approval from European Commission

  Discovery Communications Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive. The merger was announced last July and both companies' shareholders voted to approve the $14.6 billion deal in November. Discovery, which owns TLC, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel will gain Scripps holdings such as HGTV, Food Network and the Travel Channel and once combined, the company will control around 20 percent of ad-supported, pay-TV audiences in the US.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Amazon is developing a new 'Conan the Barbarian' series

  Conan the Barbarian is getting new TV treatment. As part of Amazon's push into the fantasy genre, the company is developing drama series Conan, based on the books by Robert E. Howard. This literary retelling of the classic 1932 tale will see our unlikely hero searching civilisation to find a place and purpose in a world that rejects him as a savage.

  By Rachel England Read More

• What's on TV: Winter Olympics, 'Shadow of the Colossus'

  Now that football is done, it's time for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to take center stage. NBC will make all the programming available for live viewing this year, which should be easy since so much of it will occur during prime time viewing hours. Check out the streaming schedule to find out when your favorite events will be on. For gamers, the big release this week is a throwback as Shadow of the Colossus debuts in rebuilt form on the PS4. On streaming, Netflix caught us all by surprise with The Cloverfield Paradox, but this weekend we'll check out the scheduled season finale of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' trailer reveals Han's roots

  Wondering how Lucasfilm and Disney would handle that long-in-the-making Han Solo movie? You now have an idea of what to expect. They've released the full teaser trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story... and it's definitely Han. Alden Ehrenreich may not sound that much like Harrison Ford, but the clip otherwise gives a good feel for how the iconic smuggler got started -- yes, he was always an overconfident troublemaker saved by his talent, luck and good intentions.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• The Morning After: Cloverfield returns

  Hey, good morning! We're kicking off the week with Netflix's Super Bowl surprise, hints about the future of Windows 10 S and more details around SpaceX's upcoming Falcon Heavy launch.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• 'Westworld' season two trailer shows us what comes next, and when

  While Netflix dropped a day-and-date trailer for its Cloverfield flick, HBO has a more traditional reveal for season two of Westworld. Its Super Bowl spot (the first one HBO has ever aired for a specific series) showed off the network's "most-watched freshman series ever" with some new scenes that were interesting without revealing too much about where the show will go. We won't go too deep into the specifics for those who haven't checked out the first season yet, but at least now the vision of robots running amok includes massive mechanical bulls.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• TiVo flips 'SkipMode' around for Super Bowl ad fans

  A few years ago TiVo rolled out SkipMode for its DVRs that would allow viewers to jump past ads (on certain prime-time programs) with the press of a button. This year, for Super Bowl LII it's flipping the technology around with GameSkip that works favor of people who watch the game just to see all of those (incredibly expensive) advertisements. Sure, you can usually see the best ones on YouTube either before the game or immediately after they are, but for dedicated fans of everything except Eagles vs. Patriots, it could be an easy way to catch up.

  By Richard Lawler Read More

• HBO outbids Apple for J.J. Abrams' latest sci-fi thriller TV series

  J.J. Abrams' newest TV show, a sci-fi thriller called Demimonde has landed at HBO with a straight-to-series order. While Apple was very interested in the project, Abrams ultimately went with the network because he was impressed with its work on Westworld, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

• Netflix and Univision will co-produce at least five more TV shows

  Netflix's team-up with broadcaster Univision on El Chapo was a hit (it became hugely popular both in Mexico and on Univision), and the two are determined to capitalize on this success. They've renewed their partnership with the promise of creating "at least" five more shows together. The productions will be available in both English and Spanish, with Univision getting the chance to air them on TV in the US before they stream worldwide on Netflix. The first show out of the gate will be Tijuana, a Spanish-language show about a "web of corruption" that unfolds when reporters investigate the assassination of a presidential candidate.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• 'Stargate: Origins' trailer has an 'Indiana Jones' feel to it (updated)

  Stargate: Origins will come to Stargate Command, a new streaming service focused on the franchise, on February 15th. Now MGM has released a full trailer for the show, and it looks pretty spectacular.

  By Swapna Krishna Read More

Wearables (25)

• Apple Watch Series 3 will track your shredding on the slopes

  Fancy yourself a skier or snowboarder? Don't let winter's impending conclusion distract you from news that your Apple Watch Series 3 can now track those snowy workouts and put them toward your daily activity goals. Apps including Snoww, Slopes and Ski Tracks will take advantage of the Watch's built-in GPS and altimeter.

  By Timothy J. Seppala Read More

• How to improve battery life on your smartphone or smartwatch

  If you've lived with mobile devices for long enough, you've likely had that moment when you received a low-battery warning well before the end of the day. It's more than a little worrying, especially if you're far from home. But how do you wring the most out of your remaining battery life in those situations -- or better yet, avoid those problems in the first place? You don't always have to rely on your phone's low-power mode. We've compiled a slew of tricks that can extend the longevity of your smartphone or smartwatch, and they're not necessarily obvious -- in many cases, it's as much about discipline as it is flicking the right software switch.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Nokia made a smart, fashionable jacket for first responders

  Nokia has been creating unconventional products for years, like that weird touchscreen made of ice from 2010. And now, at MWC 2018, the company is showing off a new, offbeat project that's in the works: the CHASE (connected health and safety equipment) LifeTech FR (first responders) jacket. This smart garment was designed in collaboration with Kolon, a South Korean fashion brand, and GINA, a software developer from the Czech Republic. While the CHASE LifeTech FR may look like a traditional bright piece you'd see on a cop or firefighter, there are a few things that make it different than your average first-responder jacket.

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Fitbit's cheaper, smaller smartwatch leaks out

  It's crunch time for Fitbit as it searches for a way to get plenty more folks buying its smartwatches. On Monday, the company said that it was planning a "family" of devices for 2018, including a watch that was cheaper than the Ionic and aimed at the mass-market. Now, Wareable believes that it has renders of the device, which is set to launch in the Spring.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Fitbit's Adidas-branded smartwatch will cost you $330

  Last year, Fitbit announced it had entered a multiyear deal with Adidas -- a partnership that would result in a new edition of the Fitbit Ionic and exclusive personal training programs to go along with it. Today, the company announces that the product of that collaboration is now available for presale. The Fitbit Ionic: Adidas edition is a running-focused smartwatch that comes with a breathable sport band, an Adidas-designed clock face inspired by race bibs and the Adidas Train app, which includes six workouts aimed at improving your running performance.

  By Mallory Locklear Read More

• Fitbit plans a 'family' of smartwatches in 2018

  Fitbit knows it can't lean on activity trackers forever, and it's going to shake things up in 2018. As part of a call discussing its latest earnings, the company said it would produce a "family" of smartwatches this year -- it's not just going to hope a single model like the Ionic will be enough. Details are unsurprisingly thin (this wasn't an announcement), but the aim is to produce smartwatches with "more mass appeal" while taking advantage of its core strengths in health and fitness. Don't be surprised if that translates to more aggressive pricing.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• What does Fitbit need to succeed?

  Fitbit is the current king of wearables, but for how much longer? The company has recorded four successive quarters of losses since the tail end of 2016, and that's a problem. Fitbit will publish its latest earnings results later today, and those numbers won't just tell us how the company is faring, but also how the wearables industry is doing as a whole.

  By Daniel Cooper Read More

• Sony will sell its wireless 'open-ear' buds in the US

  There was a time when it wasn't clear if Sony's Xperia Ear Open Style Concept buds would even become a real product, let alone reach the US, but they're most definitely real -- and a US launch is relatively close. Sony has announced that the finished product, the Xperia Ear Duo, will go on sale in the US this May for $280 with both black and gold designs. That's a while to wait, but Sony is betting that the unique 'open-ear' listening experience will reel you in.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Flying with a VR headset isn't as dorky as it sounds

  As a somewhat regular flyer, I had always been intrigued by the concept of wearing a head-mounted display for some immersive in-flight entertainment. However, I never really found the "cinema" part of existing "personal cinema" headsets pervasive at all. Watching a tiny video through those headsets is like sitting in the last row of an empty theater. I'm not going to pay $800 for that. Then came the smartphone-powered VR headsets, but their three-degree-of-freedom (3DoF) tracking for just the head was never precise enough for prolonged usage. It wasn't until the Vive Focus, HTC's $630 standalone 6DoF VR device for China (about $100 of which goes to local taxes), that I finally decided to give virtual reality a chance to prove itself as a worthy alternative to those in-flight touchscreens. Luckily for me, my wife didn't forbid me from bringing this bright blue headset to our vacation, as long as it would fit into my carry-on.

  By Richard Lai Read More

• Level's activity-tracking smart glasses launch this March

  Even though Intel unveiled its Vaunt smart glasses earlier this month, insurance provider VSP has actually been working on its own take on smart eyewear for well over a year now. It's called Level, and while it won't offer heads-up notifications like the Vaunt, it does feature activity tracking and calorie counting. Think of it as less of a Glass successor, and more like a Fitbit you wear on your face. Now, after nearly a year of beta testing, VSP is finally ready to bring Level to the public for the first time. It will cost $270, excluding lenses.

  By Nicole Lee Read More

• Qualcomm's sample headset teases what's next for mobile VR

  Ahead of Mobile World Congress, which is taking place in Barcelona next week, Qualcomm has announced a VR headset reference design based on its latest Snapdragon Mobile VR platform. The new system works on the Snapdragon 845, the company's latest premium mobile chipset, and will bring about new features like foveated rendering and room-scale tracking. According to Qualcomm, it'll also be 30 percent faster and use 30 percent less power than the Snapdragon 835 version.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• HoloLens adds mixed reality to a Japanese national treasure

  One of the best ways to give centuries-old artifacts a modern touch is mixed reality. The technology allows you to add interesting elements to any object without actually touching or altering it in any way. Microsoft, for instance, has helped Tokyo-based mixed reality lab hakuhodo-VRAR turn a Japanese national artwork from the 1600s into an interactive experience for HoloLens. They're applying mixed reality to the The Folding Screen of Fujin and Raijin (Wind and Thunder God), explaining the motivations of its Edo-period artist, Tawaraya S?tatsu, in an immersive experience.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• ASUS' Windows Mixed Reality headset is now on sale for $429

  We liked what we saw of ASUS' foray into Windows Mixed Reality hardware at IFA 2017, but we always figured it would likely be pricey. That's been proven true now as the HC102 headset and two controllers are finally on sale in the US for $429, and in the UK for £430.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Razor's e-skates are equal parts Heelys and hoverboard

  As a cranky, childless adult in her late thirties I've largely missed the boat on personal transportation trends like Razor scooters, Heelys and hoverboards. This year Razor manages to combine all of those things into its new Turbo Jetts e-skates: It's the sort of thing that your inner child will love, even as your adult self screams, "Get off my lawn!"

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• Nokia might give up on wearables (updated)

  Less than two years after spending millions repositioning itself in the consumer health market, Nokia has announced a strategic review of its digital health business which comes after news that the company could shed up to 425 jobs in its home country of Finland. Nokia acquired French fitness tracker manufacturer Withings for $191 million in 2016 as part of its new digital health strategy WellCare, which is not dissimilar to Apple's HealthKit. The deal came amid a spate of acquisitions by Nokia, buoyed by investment from Microsoft following their Windows Phone agreement.

  By Rachel England Read More

• Magic Leap's AR headsets will start at around $1,000

  Magic Leap is spilling more and more of its secrets as it gets nearer to releasing its first mixed reality headset this year. At Recode's annual Code Media conference, Magic Leap chief Rony Abovitz has revealed the company's plans to release not one, but multiple versions of the headset. He also announced its deal with the NBA to show basketball games in mixed reality.

  By Mariella Moon Read More

• Fitbit's latest acquisition could help you manage health conditions

  Fitbit is very familiar with the health care world, and its latest acquisition drives that point home. The company has bought Twine Health, whose centerpiece is a health coaching platform that helps you manage chronic conditions (such as diabetes and hypertension) and complete "lifestyle interventions" like weight loss or quitting smoking. The move will help Fitbit offer its wares to health plans and self-insured companies -- and, to no one's surprise, gives it a chance to make more money from subscriptions.

  By Jon Fingas Read More

• Hasbro's new AR helmet puts you inside Iron Man's armor

  Children love to role play, whether it's pretending to cook in a toy kitchen or swinging plastic swords at each other in the backyard. But lately, more than just about anything else, kids want to be superheroes. To help, toy companies like Hasbro sell costumes, weapons and other props so kids can live out their Captain America and Iron Man fantasies. But a plastic shield will only take you so far: It can't give you super strength or speed, and you certainly can't throw it at bad guys and have it return to your hands afterward. But Iron Man's a little different, since so much of his power is tied up in the suit. His armor enables him to fly, blast enemies and view the world through its informative heads-up display. The latter element is what Hasbro's new Hero Vision Iron Man AR helmet aims to imitate, using a phone to display its own custom HUD so kids can feel like they're really wearing the armored Avenger's suit.

  By Kris Naudus Read More

• Under Armour’s HOVR smart running shoes are more than just a gimmick

  As fascinating as shoes like Nike's "PlayStation" PG2s or Adidas' "4D" Futurecrafts are, those particular models don't offer many (if any) benefits to avid runners. They're more geared toward sneakerheads than anyone else. But, that doesn't mean there aren't any tech-oriented pairs designed for people who enjoy running, be it casually or on a regular basis. That's exactly the demographic Under Armour is going after with its HOVR connected shoes, which consist of two different versions: a low-top (the Sonic) and a mid-top (the Phantom, pictured here).

  By Edgar Alvarez Read More

• Zeiss' entry-level VR headset is about to get a lot more fun

  Normally when people talk about Zeiss, it's regarding the company's optics business, which has been around for more than a century. However, Zeiss is making inroads into the VR space as well. Last year, the company introduced its One Plus VR headset. This entry-level device retails for $70 and, like the Google Cardboard or Daydream, leverages your smartphone as both the processor and display unit.

  By Andrew Tarantola Read More

• So you bought a smartwatch. Now what?

  Now that smartwatches are actually useful enough for the general populace, setting them up isn't as pedestrian a task as pairing with your phone and calling it a day. On the surface, customizing your new device may not seem like a complicated task, but people often overlook some of the tools that can potentially make wearables more helpful. From recommended settings to the apps worth downloading, here's a walkthrough of what you should look out for when setting up your new wearable.

  By Cherlynn Low Read More

• The Morning After: Intel attempts smartglasses

  Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Good morning! Interested in a three-wheeled EV? How about a Han Solo origins movie? Ah, okay, how about Intel trying to make smart glasses a thing? We also take a closer look at how a US Paralympian designed Team USA's snowboard prosthetics for this year's Winter Olympics, while we get ready for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch planned for this afternoon.

  By Mat Smith Read More

• Intel unveils smart glasses that you might want to wear

  Intel has launched an impressively light, regular-looking set of smart glasses called Vaunt, confirming rumors from Bloomberg and others. Seen by The Verge, they have plastic frames and weigh under 50 grams, a bit more than regular eyeglasses but much less than Google Glass, for example. The electronics are crammed into the stems and control a very low-powered, class one laser that shines a red, monochrome 400 x 150 pixel image into your eye. Critically, the glasses contain no camera, eliminating the "big brother" vibe from Glass and other smart glasses.

  By Steve Dent Read More

• HP is making a bigger VR push for professionals

  Based on what we've seen from HP's VR backpack setup, as well as its Windows Mixed Reality Headset, the company is clearly taking virtual reality seriously. Now, HP is trying even harder to establish itself as a VR player for its commercial customers. The company announced a "Professional Edition" of its Windows headset today, as well a "VR Launch Kit" to help developers learn the ropes of the new medium. Additionally, it's also bringing some much-needed CPU upgrades to its Z4 Workstation, making it an even better rig for both running and creating virtual reality.

  By Devindra Hardawar Read More

• Intel spin-out could launch AR smart glasses this year

  Intel is reportedly working on a pair of AR smart glasses codenamed 'Superlite.' According to Bloomberg, the wearable will be part of a new hardware division, possibly called Vaunt, and could launch later this year. Intel wants to sell a majority stake in the business, which it's currently valuing at roughly $350 million. Investment, of course, is about financial aid, but the company is reportedly interested in sales and design expertise too. The device itself supposedly connects to your phone over Bluetooth and overlays images with a laser-based projector that reflects off the lens.

  By Nick Summers Read More

Xbox (2)

• You can finally stream Xbox One games to your Mac

  Before now, if you fancied playing console games on your Mac, you'd need to use PlayStation 4's Remote Play to do so. Windows 10 users have been able to stream Xbox One titles to their PCs since 2015, but macOS users have been out of luck. A new $10 app called OneCast, however, has apparently figured out how to get your Xbox One games streaming to your Mac.

  By Rob LeFebvre Read More

• Xbox party chat launches on Android and iOS

  It's now easier to keep up with your Xbox gaming pals when you've ventured beyond the living room. After several weeks of public testing, Microsoft has launched party chat in its Xbox apps for Android and iOS. If you use Xbox Live, you can use this to your fellow party members through voice or text wherever you happen to be. That can be helpful if you want to keep up with an in-game raid while you're rushing home, or if you just want to leave a party channel open as a semi-permanent group chat.

  By Jon Fingas Read More