Engadget
Latest
Eyesy is a Raspbery Pi-powered video synthesizer
Critter & Guitari gave its Organelle music computer a major upgrade last year. This year, it's turning its attention its line of video synthesizers. The ETC visualizer is being replaced by Eyesy, a Raspberry Pi-powered computer that turns sounds and music into Atari-esque pixelated animations. Like the ETC before it, the Eyesy runs visualization programs called "Modes" written in Python -- a relatively user-friendly language. Basically it's the visual companion to the Organelle. And you can find a library of official and user-created modes hosted on Patchstorage.com.
Sony debuts $200 headphones with powerful ANC and long battery life
Over the last few years, Sony has given Bose a run for its money when it comes to noise-cancelling headphones. With the 1000X line, Sony has continued to improve both audio and active noise cancellation (ANC) in successive products. It also offers a taste of those high-end features in more affordable models, like the WH-XB900N I reviewed last year. Still, that Extra Bass option was $250. Now the company is back with another set of noise-cancelling headphones: the WH-CH710N. And this time, thankfully, they're even more affordable at $200.
Sony's latest true wireless earbuds have more bass and a lower price
Sony's flagship WF-1000XM3 true wireless earbuds have been our top pick since they arrived last summer. Even before that, the company had a few true wireless models under its belt, and today it's revealing the latest option. The WF-XB700 ($130) is a new entry in Sony's Extra Bass lineup, a range of devices that promise more low-end tone for those who crave it. In general, Extra Bass headphones offer a collection of handy features, but at a price that's more affordable than those powerful and pricey 1000X devices. With the WF-XB700, Sony packed the essentials in uniquely designed earbuds and kept the price well under $150.
FCC will require phone carriers to authenticate calls by June 2021
The FCC announced today all carriers and phone companies must adopt the STIR/SHAKEN protocol by June 30th, 2021. The regulatory requirement is designed to combat robocalls, specifically those that try to hide their phone numbers by allowing carriers to authenticate caller IDs.
How Valve brought Half-Life to VR
It's hard to believe that a new Half-Life game is actually here. Half-Life: Alyx is everything I've ever wanted from a flagship VR game. It takes full advantage of the immersiveness of virtual reality, and while it might not be the sequel many gamers have been waiting for, it's still an important move for Valve. It's not treating VR like a special mode bolted on top of another game, like Resident Evil 7 or Fallout 4. After years of investing in the medium, Valve has proved it's possible to make a lengthy, big-budget title that will actually get gamers excited and maybe even convince them to buy pricey headsets en masse.
Amazon draws criticism for firing employee who led coronavirus protest
An Amazon employee claims he was fired by the company after he led a protest against its coronavirus safety conditions. In an interview with Bloomberg, Chris Smalls, former assistant manager at Amazon's Staten Island fulfillment center, said that he and more than 60 colleagues walked off the job on Monday to demand Amazon close the center for proper cleaning. Smalls said his employment was subsequently terminated.
Satellite internet startup OneWeb declares bankruptcy to look for a buyer
OneWeb's dreams of satellite internet access have hit a major setback. The startup has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after attempts to get crucial financing fell through. The company said it was "close" to getting support, but the COVID-19 pandemic produced a "financial impact and market turbulence" that cut the deal short. Chapter 11 bankruptcy will let it use debtor-in-possession proceeds to sell the business and keep its existing work going.
LG TVs add a Movies Anywhere app
Now that Ultraviolet is gone, Movies Anywhere has become the dominant "digital locker" that enables viewing of purchased movies across different devices and services. Now LG is the first TV manufacturer (it was previously available on platforms like Roku or Fire TV, but those aren't only for smart TVs) to feature the main app, which easily organizes and sets up links for your accounts across the services that connect to it: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, Xfinity, FandangoNow or Verizon. Hopefully, it should make movie night a little easier whether you're watching or just checking to see if a particular movie will be part of your digital collection on the service (Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM still haven't signed up, so your options are all from Disney/Fox, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.). And if you have a few accounts with those services, then you can pull them all together in one place. It's also convenient if you're taking advantage of the recently-announced Screen Pass sharing feature that allows free viewing of movies your friends have purchased -- with some notable restrictions.
Google pulls Infowars from the Play Store over coronavirus misinformation
In 2018, several internet services decided to pull channels from Alex Jones and his Infowars setup, including YouTube and Apple's App Store, but until now the company's app remained available via the Google Play Store. While conspiracy theories and lawsuits from parents who said he'd lied about them and their children weren't enough to earn Jones the boot, Wired reports that the final straw came after Jones published a video disputing quarantine and social distancing efforts meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. Google and other companies have banded together to combat misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, and in a statement a spokesperson said "Now more than ever, combating misinformation on the Play Store is a top priority for the team." The only question left is why they waited so long to do something that seemed inevitable from the start.
Netflix is turning manga and anime 'One Piece' into a live-action series
If you're a One Piece fan, this may be the best or the worst piece of news ever, depending on how you feel about Netflix's anime adaptations: The streaming giant has approved a 10-episode live-action series based on the classic manga and anime. Even if you hate the company's attempts at turning anime into live action shows -- Death Note is still a sore point -- you can take solace in the fact that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda will oversee the series himself as an executive producer.
DirecTV satellite is at risk of explosion due to battery issues
DirecTV has one month to remove a satellite from geostationary orbit, so it doesn't take other satellites down with it if it ends up exploding. The AT&T-owned TV service fears that its Spaceway-1 satellite (a Boeing 702HP model) might explode due to battery issues that started manifesting in December. According to SpaceNews, DirecTV explained in an FCC filing dated January 19th that an anomaly caused "significant and irreversible thermal damage" to the satellite's batteries.
UN calls for investigation into alleged Saudi hacking of Jeff Bezos
The United Nations is joining the chorus of those concerned about allegations Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in hacking Jeff Bezos' phone. UN experts have issued a statement calling for an "immediate investigation" into claims the Crown Prince's account was used for a WhatsApp hack as well as his reported "continuous, multi-year, direct and personal" role in efforts to target opponents. These allegations are particularly "relevant" in light of looks into the Saudi royal's role in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the UN experts said.
Star Trek-inspired medical bed could make X-rays more affordable
X-ray scans are unavailable for most people on Earth (two thirds of them, according to 2012 WHO data), in part due to the sheer cost of the machines themselves. The superheated filament in conventional X-ray machines requires so much energy and heat that it costs millions of dollars just to keep the patient safe. Nanox might just have a way to make these scans widely available, though. It's introducing the Nanox.Arc, an X-ray machine that looks like a Star Trek biobed and promises to lower the cost to low five-digit figures.
Scientists created living robots out of stem cells
Scientists have created a new life form that's something between a frog and a robot. Using stem cells scraped from frog embryos, researchers from the University of Vermont (UVM) and Tufts University assembled "xenobots." The millimeter-wide blobs act like living, self-healing robots. They can walk, swim and work cooperatively. Refined, they could be used inside the human body to reprogram tumors, deliver drugs or scrape plaque out of arteries.
Apple might be developing a 'Pro Mode' to speed up Macbooks
Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro was a return to form for the company, especially when it came to portable power. (We did call it the "ultimate MacBook," after all.) Now, Apple might be developing another way to speed up its notebooks: a new "Pro Mode" that users can manually turn on and off. As 9to5Mac reports, the new mode is referenced in the Catalina 10.15.3 beta build, though it doesn't appear as a working feature just yet.
Samsung's clamshell foldable phone may be called the Galaxy Z Flip
Samsung may not be particularly attached to the Galaxy Fold name. Historically reliable leaker Ice Universe has claimed that Samsung's reported clamshell foldable phone will be called the Galaxy Z Flip, not Fold 2, Bloom or other rumored names. We'd take the claims with a small grain of salt when there isn't much corroborating evidence (Ice acknowledged that the logo is a mockup), it would make sense given the nature of the device -- it's a flip phone that folds in the Z axis, after all.
Warner Bros. will use AI to help make decisions on movie releases
AI is about to play more of a role in the movie-making process. Warner Bros. Pictures has unveiled plans to use Cinelytic's AI project management system to assist in making decisions on movies during the "greenlight process." No, it won't have the final say on whether or not a movie goes forward. Rather, this will help the studio predict a movie's revenue, gauge the value of stars and determine when a title should premiere. Studio execs would ultimately have the final say, but the AI could help determine whether a movie is treated as a summer blockbuster or early-in-the-year filler material.
Greetings from CES 2020!
For Engadget editors, life is just a series of moments while you wait for CES to come back around again. Sometimes it almost feels like we never left. But we did. And now we're back. CES 2020 is about to get started in sunny (and slightly smelly) Las Vegas. As always there will be plenty of cars, TVs and smart (fill-in-the-blanks). But our real job is to separate the wheat from the chaff and bring you only the best of what the world's largest tech conference has to offer. The show floor hasn't officially opened yet, but we've already seen plenty shiny new laptops, a lot of 8K screens, and even a shower head that's also a smart speaker. Of course, you don't want to miss out on our liveblogs for Sony (January 6th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT) and Samsung (January 6th at 9:30pm ET / 6:30pm PT). And as always we are hosting the official Best of CES awards on Thursday January 9th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
The most expensive new Mac Pro configuration costs $52,599
If you've been waiting to get the best Mac money can buy, well, today's the day. Apple's new Mac Pro is on sale, and it starts at an eye-popping $5,999. That's a lot of cash for the average user, but maybe not so much if you make your living on how fast your computer is. The Mac Pro is highly customizable, though, and Apple is letting potential buyers upgrade it to a ludicrous level. What do I mean by "ludicrous," you may ask? Well, the top-of-the-line Mac Pro costs $52,599. That's not a typo.
NASA unveils 'the most powerful rocket ever built'
NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, aims to carry astronauts to the moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis project. This weekend at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gave the public its first up-close look at the system, which he described as "the most powerful rocket ever built."
