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12.11.2022 14:00 A couple of days ago, Studio Ghibli tweeted a teaser video showing both its logo and Lucasfilm's, as well as a photo of a Grogu figurine. Now we know what those posts are hinting at. Apparently, the two companies worked together to create a short film hand-drawn by Studio Ghibli. It's entitled Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, starring the beloved alien toddler from The Mandalorian with a strong affinity for the Force and the "susuwatari" from Hayao Miyazaki's animated films My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away.According to IGN, the short film was directed by Katsuya Kondo, who's known for his character design work and a style that's deeply tied with Studio Ghibli's films. It also features music by Ludwig Göransson, who composed the scores for the previous two seasons of The Mandalorian. Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, will be available for streaming today November 12th on Disney+, exactly three years after The Mandalorian debuted.Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, a hand-drawn animated Original short by Studio Ghibli.Streaming tomorrow on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/G8tV37OD87— Star Wars | Andor Tales of the Jedi On Disney+ November 12, 2022Grogu will be back and will be reunited with "Mando" in the third season of The Mandalorian after leaving to train at Luke's Jedi Temple by the end of the second season. Disney gave fans a glimpse of what they can expect when the show comes back sometime next year in a trailer released during the company's D23 expo in September.

12.11.2022 03:10 Twitter's rash of impersonators is attracting scrutiny from politicians. Senator Ed Markey has sent a letter to company chief Elon Musk demanding answers regarding imposters on the platform. Markey wants to know how Twitter not only let a reporter for The Washington Postcreate a verified account impersonating the senator , but told users in a pop-up that the verification was due to a role in government. This was despite an existing checkmark for the real account, Markey said.Markey also wants Twitter to detail its verification process, including a comparison with the previous method. He asked Musk if Twitter will reinstitute merit-based verifications and, if so, how it will prevent fake accounts from receiving blue ticks. The senator gave Musk until November 25th to respond. The political leader was direct in his criticism. He accused Musk of instituting a "haphazard" series of changes at Twitter that included dismantling protections against disinformation. The service is quickly becoming the "Wild West of social media" and has a duty to prevent deception and manipulation from taking root, Markey added.Musk hasn't commented on the letter, and Twitter has effectively shut down its communications team. The entrepreneur previously argued that paying for verification democratizes the feature, and in a recent tweet claimed Twitter was backing citizen journalism despite opposition from the "media elite."There's no certainty the letter will translate to government action, particularly when the recent midterm elections could shift the congressional balance of power in January. Twitter's decision to temporarily halt Blue subscriptions in response to impersonations, not to mention the company's off-again-on-again "official" checkmarks, may also address some of Markey's concerns. However, it's safe to say the letter adds to the tumult surrounding the new pay-to-verify system.

11.11.2022 22:30 Amazon has unveiled its latest warehouse robot. It says "Sparrow is the first robotic system in our warehouses that can detect, select, and handle individual products in our inventory." The robotic arm uses AI and computer vision to recognize and handle millions of items, according to Amazon.The company says that, by employing robots in its warehouses, it can conduct operations more efficiently and safely. "Sparrow will take on repetitive tasks, enabling our employees to focus their time and energy on other things, while also advancing safety," Amazon said. "At the same time, Sparrow will help us drive efficiency by automating a critical part of our fulfillment process so we can continue to deliver for customers." It added that, by employing robots, it has been able to create more than 700 new job categories.Amazon doesn't exactly have a spotless record when it comes to conditions for warehouse workers, particularly when robots are involved. In 2020, the Center for Investigative Reporting's Reveal publication released a report indicating that, between 2016 and 2019, the rate of serious injuries sustained by Amazon employees at automated warehouses was 50 percent higher than at facilities that don't use robots.According to the report, the use of robots led Amazon to increase workers' quotas, requiring them to scan as many as 400 items per hour when they previously had to scan 100. "The data back up the accounts of Amazon warehouse workers and former safety professionals who say the company has used the robots to ratchet up production quotas to the point that humans can’t keep up without hurting themselves," the report reads.This past July, it emerged that the US government was looking into Amazon over alleged unsafe workplace conditions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration carried out inspections that were "related, among other things, to Amazon's required pace of work for its warehouse employees."Amazon revealed Sparrow amid a drive by warehouse workers to unionize their workplaces, where robots are taking over duties in some cases. In March, workers at the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to unionize, becoming the first Amazon warehouse to do so. The company has challenged the result of the election. More recently, workers at an Albany, New York warehouse voted against unionization after Amazon conducted an anti-union campaign.

11.11.2022 22:30 Elon Musk’s plan to democratize Twitter verification lasted less than two days. Twitter has temporarily pulled new signups for Twitter Blue after the platform was overrun by verified trolls. The company told staffers subscriptions were on hold to “help address impersonation issues,” according to Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer. It turns out paid verification was as much of a mess as nearly everyone predicted.At first, it seemed as if Twitter had a plan to address the impersonation issue. Just ahead of the rollout of the new Twitter Blue, It introduced a separate “official” badge that would be appended to “government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.” But Musk quickly changed his mind, and killed the idea just a few hours after it was announced. Paid verification launched Wednesday, without the label.Unsurprisingly, it started to go wrong almost immediately. A fake Nintendo account posted an image of Mario flipping everyone off. A fake Tony Blair retweeted a fake George Bush. A verified Pope John Paul tweeted conspiracy theories at a verified Martin Luther account, which was replying to a verified Pope Francis impersonator. An account masquerading as Twitter’s official @verified tweeted crypto scams. An imposter LeBron said he was requesting a trade.Screenshot via TwitterTwitter responded by halting Blue subscriptions for new accounts, but the move had little effect on the deluge of verified trolling. Fake accounts sprung up to interact with other impersonators.One of the most viral examples was a verified Eli Lilly account that tweeted “insulin is free now,” which forced the real ELi Lilly to apologize for the “misleading” tweet because its insulin is, in fact, not free. Another fake Eli Lilly then apologized for the actual Eli Lilly’s apology. An account that appeared to belong to a Twitter ad sales rep desperately tweeted at Musk to remove the fake Eli Lilly accounts. Both of the fake Eli Lilly accounts were suspended, but the tweets still sent the pharma company’s stock into a nosedive.Musk responded that parody accounts needed to be clearly labeled. “Tricking people is not okay,” he tweeted. Some made half-hearted attempts to comply. A fake Tesla account going by @Teslareal scrawled “parody” onto the header image in its profile, but continued to troll Musk ."Comedy is now legal on Twitter" -@elonmuskpic.twitter.com/oyZ73XSFuC— Karissa Bell November 11, 2022Meanwhile, a number of extremists and conspiracy theorists also purchased verification, including — ironically — Jason Kessler, whose 2017 Twitter verification prompted a nearly four-year “pause” of verification. Media Matters reported that many of these newly verified right-wing accounts were already using them to amplify misinformation. A verified account impersonator Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake tweeted that she had won her race even though it had not yet been called, according to The Washington Post.By Friday morning Twitter Blue subscriptions were no longer available in Twitter’s app or website. And it’s unclear when it could re-launch. And, two days after Musk said the blue check would be "the great leveler," Twitter confirmed it would bring back the gray "official" label after all in order to "combat impersonation."But despite the constant policy reversals and the flood of impersonators, Musk was still upbeat. "Some epically funny tweets," he said. "Hit all-time high of active users today." he added.

11.11.2022 22:30 When it comes to charging your EV in the US, Canada and Mexico, the only two connector types available aren't cross-compatible. Tesla has its J1772 connector, which in the company's defense was developed when Tesla was still the only EV game in town. Everybody else uses the current North American standard, the Combined Charging System . Tesla apparently hopes to upend that dynamic, announcing Friday that it is "opening our EV connector design to the world." Tesla is releasing its specs and production designs for the J1772 connector, which it is rebranding as the North American Charging Standard , in hopes that charging networks like Electrify America and Chargepoint will incorporate the company's hardware in their stations. The NACS contains "no moving parts, is half the size, and twice as powerful," as the alternative, Tesla argues. The company presses that these networks should adopt its technology because, "NACS vehicles outnumber CCS two-to-one, and Tesla's Supercharging network has 60 percent more NACS posts than all the CCS-equipped networks combined." I mean, sure, but that's kind of ignoring that those numbers are a direct result of the multi-year lead that Tesla held over its competition in coming to market, a capitalization lead that is rapidly shrinking as the industry's marquee brands like GM, Honda and Audi pivot to electrification and Chinese makers like BYD dominate the EV space in Asia's largest market.Tesla claims that "network operators already have plans in motion to incorporate NACS at their chargers," without specifying which networks are doing so and at what scale. The company "looks forward to future electric vehicles incorporating the NACS design and charging at Tesla’s North American Supercharging and Destination Charging networks."We can only speculate as to why Tesla has decided that right now — even as Elon Musk sinks faster than Artax into the quicksands of Twitter ownership — is the best tiime to open up their standard to the rest of the industry. Tesla, and now Twitter too, does not employ a public-facing PR team, so your guess is as good as any blue check's.

11.11.2022 22:30 You might think retailers would be holding their collective breath before the sales frenzy of Black Friday kicks in, but we found some pretty impressive deals on late-model tech this week. Apple's AirPods Pro dropped to a new low, while the Apple Watch SE with cellular cut $40 off the sticker price. Gamers looking for an entry point into the latest gear can get the base model Razer Blade 15 for a great discount, and there's a Friday-only deal on an Xbox Series X. We also found discounts on fitness trackers from Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. Apple AirPods Pro Billy Steele/EngadgetAs Apple's newest flagship buds, we were surprised to see a discount on the second-gen AirPod Pros this week. They're down to $234, which is the lowest we've seen them to date. We gave them a score of 88 in our review back in September, impressed by the full, immersive sound and what our reviewer called the "best transparency mode you’ll find on earbuds." Our tests gave a bit over six hours using a mix of active noise cancellation , transparency mode and calls. The AirPods Pro are among the best buds out there, and it's great to see them finally offering a discount. Buy AirPods Pro at Amazon - $234Apple Watch SE Cherlynn Low / EngadgetWhen we reviewed the latest release of the Apple Watch SE, we said Apple's most affordable smartwatch was "the best smartwatch for the money." Right now Amazon is offering $39 off the list price for the cellular-enabled model. That brings it down to $289 and matches the lowest price we've seen so far. We thought the newest Apple Watch SE deftly combined affordability with a comprehensive suite of features. We liked the easy-to-read screen, even in bright daylight and the comfortable, lightweight design. Since it uses the same S8 SiP advanced dual-core processor as the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra, its quick and snappy in its responsiveness. While it doesn't have the new temperature sensor that was added to the Series 8, it still does a great job of tracking your hear rate and other activities. We were also impressed with the way it looks pretty indistinguishable from the Series 8. The cellular model adds even more connectivity, adding the ability to take on calling and texting duties even when you leave your iPhone at home. Buy Apple Watch SE at Amazon - $289Razer Blade 15RazerRazer's Blade 15 made the cut as our favorite premium option in our gaming laptop guide and right now the base model Blade 15 is $250 off the list price, bringing it down to $1,550. The premium configuration got a review score of 86 and while that model is geared towards the gaming elite , this base model offers the quality build Razer Blade laptops are known for. This one's got plenty of features more casual gamers will appreciate, like dual graphics cards, a 15.6-inch full HD with a 144Hz refresh rate and 16GB of dual-channel RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Buy Razer Blade 15 at Razer - $1,550Apple iPad Pro AppleIt's been out less than a month and already the 11-inch iPad Pro has received its first discount. Both Amazon and B&H have knocked $50 off the list price of the 128GB model. That makes it $749, which still isn't cheap, but if you want to see for yourself the responsiveness of the new M2 chip and the improved battery life, may as well do so while keeping $50 in your pocket. There's also the addition of the app-organizing Stage Manager, which helps you take full advantage of what the iPad Pro can handle. This discount only applies to the Space Gray colorway, but if you're planning on using a case, color's not an issue. Buy iPad Pro at Amazon - $749Buy iPad Pro at B&H Photo - $749GoPro Hero 11 BlackJames Trew / EngadgetThe GoPro Hero 11 is usually a steep $500, but this week, GoPro is offering their newest action camera for $350 when you sign up for a one-year GoPro subscription. The subscription gets you things like auto uploads and unlimited backups on the cloud, plus discounts on products at the GoPro website and camera replacement. We found a lot to love about the Hero11 in our review, including admiration for the new taller sensor. It not only allows for a better horizon lock, but lets you record in "full frame," a mode that captures all possible action then allows you to crop it for different venues after the fact. For example, cropping to 16:9 for YouTube and 9:16 for TikTok. If you're subscription-averse, Amazon has the camera for $50 off the list price. Buy GoPro Hero11 at GoPro - $349Chromecast with Google TVWill Lipman Photography for EngadgetIf you don't already own a smart TV, the Chromecast 4K with Google TV is one of the most affordable ways to turn virtually anything with an HDMI port into a powerful streaming device. Right now, Amazon has the dongle-and-remote combo on sale for just $40, which matches its all-time low price. We gave it a score of 86 when it debuted, particularly impressed by the intuitive remote and the Google Assistant integration, meaning it basically turns your TV into a smart home hub, with control over Assistant-enabled smart home devices. We also liked the HD version of Chromecast with Google TV when we tried it out. If you've got an HD 1080p TV or monitor, the 4K version is probably overkill. You can pick up the HD version for $10 off list price, making it just $18 — possibly the lowest price you'll find on anything "smart."Buy Chromecast with Google TV at Amazon - $40Fitbit Charge 5Valentina Palladino / EngadgetThere's a good chance "more exercise" is on your 2023 to-do list, which makes this deal on a Fitbit Charge 5 a right on time. The discount brings the price down to just $100 from its usual price of $150. That's not the lowest we've ever seen, but its still a great price. The Charge 5 is our current favorite fitness tracker thanks to its reliable delivery of sleep and activity stats. It's got GPS to record your runs and hikes, and Fitbit play for in-store payments so you can leave your wallet at home when you run. And since it's not a smartwatch, the battery lasted over five full days in our review, in which we awarded the wearable a score of 82. Buy Fitbit Charge 5 at Amazon - $100Garmin Fenix 7 GarminGarmin's fenix 7 Series smartwatches have long battery lives, a slew of sensors and comprehensive GPS tracking capabilities — but they aren't cheap. MSRPs range between $700 for the smaller fenix 7S and $900 for the largest and solar-powered fenix 7X Solar. The current sale at Wellbots takes $100 off every model. And if you enter the code ENGWATCH15 at checkout, you'll get an additional $15 off. The battery on the fenix 7S can last up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, while the fenix 7X Solar can get a full month with regular exposure to the sun. Garmin also makes a slightly more affordable GPS smartwatch in the Instinct 2 and Instinct 2 Solar Edition. Those are currently $50 off as well, bringing the price down to $300 and $400, respectively. Use the same code and you'll score $15 extra off of those models too. Buy Garmin fenix 7 at Wellbots - $100 off Buy Garmin Instinct 2 Solar at Wellbots - $50 offApple Studio Display Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetIf you have newer versions of a Mac Studio, Mac Pro, Mac Mini or even a MacBook, you might want to keep the display in the family and go with the Apple Studio Display. Only trouble is, Apple's latest screen costs $2,000 for the model with height and tilt adjustments, and $1,600 for tilt adjustment only. To lessen the blow, B&H has the tilt-only model for $100 off and the height-and-tilt-adjustable model for $200 off, bringing them down to a . In our review of the Studio Display, we thought the speakers were impressive and the image quality of the 5K panel really popped. Buy Apple Studio Display at B&H Photo - $1,799SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSDSanDiskWe thought the deal on SanDisk's 1TB Extreme Portable SSD was great when it was $109. Now that Amazon has it for $99, it's the lowest we've ever seen and 66 percent off its $250 list price. This is a good opportunity to up the time to up your storage capacity with a solid state drive you can take anywhere. The tough exterior can handle falls from over six feet and shrugs off a heavy rainfall . Once you plug it into your computer or phone using the included USB-C cable, you'll get data transfer speeds of 1GB per second. It comes with optional 256‐bit AES password protection and a built-in carabiner cut out to strap it to your pack. For those who need more storage, the 2TB size is on sale for $150 at Amazon and Walmart has the 4TB size for $380. Buy SanDisk 1TB SSD at Amazon - $99Buy SanDisk 2TB SSD at Amazon - $150Buy SanDisk 4TB SSD at Walmart - $380Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5iLenovoWe named the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i the best overall pick in our guide to the best Chromebooks. Right now Amazon is taking 30 percent off the prices for both the 128GB model and the 256 model, bringing them down to $300 and $330, respectively. When we tested out he Flex 5i, our reviewer Nathan Ingraham said it was the best Chromebook option for most people thanks to its bright 1080p touchscreen, 11th generation Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM. It's got an eight-hour battery life and the screen folds open to create either a tent or all the way back to create a tablet experience. Buy Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i at Amazon - $300Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3Will Lipman Photography for EngadgetRight now Amazon has the Wonderboom 3 portable speaker from Ultimate Ears for up to 20 percent off, depending on the colorway, with a light gray hue seeing the biggest deal. That's the lowest this small-but-mighty speaker has gone yet and a great buy if you want something tough you can take outdoors. The speaker is compact, clocking in just shy of 15 ounces, but it delivers full, 360-degree sound. If you do take it outside, outdoor mode will boost the treble and bass so you can hear it farther afield. A strong IP67 rating means it can handle submersion in water for up to 30 minutes and shrugs off most of the dirt and dust you'll find in the wild. It made our list of recommended audio gifts and is a good deal even at its usual $99 price tag. Keep in mind, the Amazon listing includes the Wonderboom 2 speaker on the same page and the discount only applies to the newer Wonderboom 3, with savings of up to $20. Buy Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 at Amazon - $81Apple M2 MacBook Air Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetWe called Apple's newest MacBook Air a "near-perfect Mac" when it came out in July, and right now it's $150 off at both Amazon and B&H. That matches the lowest price we've seen so far. This is the base model of the ultraportable, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD memory. And it only applies to the space gray and silver colorways at Amazon. If you want a little bit more storage, Amazon is also knocking $150 off of the 8GB RAM/512GB SSD configuration in all four colorways. We gave the M2 MacBook Air a score of 96 earlier this year, giving enthusiastic props for the gorgeous, razor-thin design, the bright, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen, and a battery that lasted 16 hours and 30 minutes in our tests. One of our few caveats, other than the lack of Pro Motion, was the price. Now that you can pocket $150, it's a little easier to take. If you were thinking about going pro, Amazon is taking $150 off the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro and $300 off the 2021 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro. Buy MacBook Air at Amazon - $1049Buy MacBook Air at B&H Photo - $1049Google Nest Learning ThermostatGoogleGoogle's Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the better smart thermostats you can buy, and right now Wellbots has a discount code that knocks $70 off the price. When you enter THERMOENG at checkout, it brings the price down to $179, which isn't the lowest it's ever been, but beats many of the discounts we've seen recently. As a smart device, the Nest Learning Thermostat links up to your phone via the app, allowing you to control the thermostat from anywhere. In time, the Nest gradually learns your temperature preferences, allowing it to then automate your home's heading and cooling schedule with minimal input on your end. There are eco settings indicated by a green leaf, that let you know when you're optimizing your energy usage. It can even detect when no one's home and set the temps accordingly, so you're not overly heating or cooling an empty house. If $179 still feels a bit steep, Google also makes a lower-end model called the Nest Thermostat. The lack of "learning" in the product name tells you the main difference between the two devices. The base model doesn't learn your preferences, but it retails for just $130. Buy Nest Learning Thermostat at Wellbots - $179Ring Video Doorbell RingKeeping an eye on your package deliveries just got easier with 40 percent off the Ring Video Doorbell. The discount brings the Ring down to $60, which is lower than we saw on Prime Day in July when the price dropped by just 25 percent. This is the most recent model of the standard video doorbell from Ring, released in 2020. It sends 1080p video to your connected device, and offers the ability to both speak to and hear whoever's at your door with its built in mic and speaker. You can set it up to send pings to you whenever motion is detected if you so desire and it runs on either a rechargeable battery or your existing doorbell wiring. Right now Amazon is also pairing up the Ring in a bundle with an Echo Show 5, so you can keep tabs on your front door with the smart display. Together they're $70, which means you save $40 on the video doorbell and pay just $10 more for the display. Buy Ring Video Doorbell at Amazon - $60Apple MagSafe battery packAppleNo one loves a dead phone, and Apple's MagSafe battery makes sure that never happens. At less than a year old, the brand's only battery pack is usually $100, and we don't see it getting a ton of discounts. This is the best deal we've seen so far at just $71 or 28 percent off. Small enough to carry in a pack or purse, the diminutive block snaps onto the back of your iPhone for on-the-move refills, and you can use your phone as it charges. While your mileage may vary, published specs say you'll get a 70 percent fill for smaller phones like the iPhone 12 or 13 mini, and 40 percent on bigger models like the iPhone 14 Pro Max. If you need to charge both the battery pack and your iPhone at the same time, you can, provided you use a 20W or higher power adapter. While we don't know whether the price will drop further for Black Friday, this deal beats all of last year's discounts. Buy Apple MagSafe Battery at Amazon - $71Apple HomePod miniAppleRight now, and today only, Target is offering Apple's HomePod mini for just $80. That's a 20 percent discount and the lowest price we've tracked so far, which probably explains the limited-time, Friday-only deal. The smart speaker is geared towards a home that's already steeped in the Apple ecosystem, and if you like the way Siri handles your commands, this is a good time to bring home Apple's only home hub. It'll take voice commands from up to six different people in your home, seamlessly works with other Apple devices and works as an intercom when there's more than one. When we reviewed the tiny smart speaker upon its debut in 2020, we liked the dead-simple setup and the responsive way Siri controls the music. That said, we did note that the sound quality was much better when there were two speakers paired up. Now that you can score a 20 percent discount, getting two might just be an option.Buy Apple HomePod mini at Target - $80Xbox Series S ConsoleAaron Souppouris / EngadgetAs a reward for those of you who read to the bottom of lists, here's Adorama's one-day-only sale on the Xbox Series S console. The $50 discount brings the $300 console down to just $250, which is at least $25 less than we've tracked so far. In our review, senior editor and video game expert Jessica Conditt called it a next-gen starter pack, praising the cute aesthetics and incredibly smooth gameplay. The big differences between the Series X and the Series S is storage capacity and 4K gameplay. The Series X offers a solid 1TB of SSD space and 4K gaming. The Series S tops out at 512GB of storage and has a native resolution of 1440p. Also note that the Series S is digital only, as in you can't insert any physical game discs. That said, the Xbox Series X goes for over $500, granted you can find it. For those who want the smooth and fast play of a the latest generation Xbox, this might be the lowest price you see. Buy Xbox Series S Console at Adorama - $250Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

11.11.2022 22:30 Authorities in Canada have arrested an alleged member of the LockBit ransomware gang, according to the Department of Justice. Mikhail Vasiliev, a dual Russian-Canadian citizen, is awaiting extradition to the US, where he is charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands. Vasiliev faces a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if he is convicted.According to the complaint, the LockBit ransomware first emerged around January 2020, and the FBI has been investigating those behind it since March of that year. The DOJ claims LockBit is "one of the most active and destructive ransomware variants in the world," having claimed at least 1,000 victims, including a Holiday Inn hotel in Turkey. The agency added that members of the LockBit gang have demanded at least $100 million in total ransom payments. The gang has claimed tens of millions of dollars from victims, according to the DOJ.“This arrest is the result of over two-and-a-half years of investigation into the LockBit ransomware group, which has harmed victims in the United States and around the world,” deputy attorney general Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement. “Let this be yet another warning to ransomware actors: working with partners around the world, the Department of Justice will continue to disrupt cyber threats and hold perpetrators to account. With our partners, we will use every available tool to disrupt, deter and punish cyber criminals.”

11.11.2022 22:30 Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack is exactly what it says on the tin: a portable battery that snaps to the back of an iPhone through Apple's MagSafe magnetic charging tech and charges the handset wirelessly. The battery is a tougher sell at full price, but today it's available for $71, which marks the lowest price we've seen to date. For reference, Apple typically sells the device for $99, though its average price online has sat closer to $90 in recent months.The MagSafe Battery Pack works with any iPhone 12, 13, or 14 model, and using it is as simple as slapping it on the back of one of those devices and letting it do its thing. You don't have to press any additional buttons to start the charge, unlike many third-party competitors. Design wise, it's a slim, matte plastic rectangle that's designed to match the dimensions of an iPhone 12 or 13 mini, so it'll fit entirely within the back of a larger device like the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Because this is an Apple-made product, it's also able to integrate with an iPhone in ways competing MagSafe batteries can not. You can see the pack's charge level through iOS's Control Center and Batteries widget, for instance, and you can reverse-charge the battery itself from your iPhone when the latter is plugged in. By default, the pack will only charge your phone to around 90 percent to better preserve its efficiency, though you can turn that off if you wish.If you have a 20W or higher charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable, you can also turn the MagSafe Battery Pack into a 15W wireless charging puck, which gives it a bit of utility when you aren't out of the house. Unfortunately, and perhaps expectedly, Apple doesn't include a cable or power brick in the box, but that's less of a problem if you already own both of those for your iPhone. When it comes to actually charging your iPhone, the MagSafe Battery Pack is a bit more compromised. Part of that is just due to the nature of wireless charging; the tech has improved over the years, but if you want the fastest charge possible, a cable with a traditional battery pack can still be much quicker to top things off. But the capacity of the MagSafe Battery Pack itself is fairly small at 1,460mAh , so it can only charge a standard iPhone 14 to about 60-65 percent from zero. We've recommended Anker's 622 Magnetic Battery as a good alternative to the MagSafe Battery Pack in the past; that one has a larger 5,000mAh capacity that can get closer to an 80-85 percent charge on the same phone. It also costs less than Apple's pack even with the latter on sale, has a built-in kickstand, and comes in a wider variety of colors. It's not designed as neatly for iPhones and lacks the extras noted above, but it's a better value if you just want more juice from a compact MagSafe pack. Anker's 633 Magnetic Battery, meanwhile, has an even greater capacity, albeit in a thicker frame.Still, since their charging abilities are all somewhat limited, MagSafe packs like these are best thought of as battery extenders, things can use to keep your phone going in a pinch, more than full-on power banks. For that, the MagSafe Battery Pack is fine, particularly since Apple released a firmware update earlier this year that boosted the device's charging rate from 5W to 7.5W, which is still slower than an optimal wired connection but matches the Anker models above. If you can live with the lesser capacity and know you'll value some of its more iPhone-friendly features, it should be easier to justify at this deal price.Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

11.11.2022 22:30 If you've been waiting for the holiday shopping season to grow your smart home ecosystem without dropping unnecessary amounts of money, you're in luck. Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon has already knocked down the price of the standard Ring Video Doorbell to $60. That's $15 cheaper than it was during Prime Day in July earlier this year and the best price we've seen it. There are a couple of compelling bundles you could get, too: pair the Video Doorbell with an Echo Show 5 for only $10 more, or get it with a battery-operated Ring Stick Up Camera for a total of $160.While Ring has come out with multiple new versions of its signature doorbell, the standard model likely has everything most people would need from such a smart home device. It records 1080p video and will send alerts to your smartphone when it detects motion outside your door. It also supports two-way audio, so you can talk to visitors, delivery drivers and others when they ring the bell. This updated version of the original video doorbell has crisper night vision, along with support for privacy zones.Installing the video doorbell is pretty easy, and you have two power options: hardwire the device to your home for constant power, or keep it running using the built-in rechargeable battery. Just keep in mind that the battery in this model isn't removeable, so you'll need to take the whole device off its perch to power it up every once in a while. If that seems like a hassle to you, you'll have to spring for either the Video Doorbell 3 or Video Doorbell 4 to get a detachable battery. You'll also get advanced features like 5GHz WiFi and an included corner kit with both of those, too.Both another thing all Ring Video Doorbells have in common is the ability to sync with Alexa devices. If you have an Echo Show device in your home, or even a more advanced Fire TV streamer, you can use those displays or your TV to check your doorbell's camera feed.Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

11.11.2022 17:50 Twitter isn’t the only notable tech company to bandy around the word “bankruptcy” this week. After a stunningly rapid collapse, crypto exchange FTX has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, while founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned as CEO.The bankruptcy filing covers FTX Trading, FTX US, Alameda Research and around 130 other companies under the umbrella of the FTX Group, according to a press release. Some others, such as FTX Australia and FTX Express Pay, are not involved in the bankruptcy proceedings. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean that a company is dead in the water — it allows a business to keep trading while it figures out a plan to pay back creditors. However, it's a tough position to come back from.Press Release pic.twitter.com/rgxq3QSBqm— FTX November 11, 2022"The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders," new CEO John J. Ray III said in a statement. "The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be administered in an organized, joint process. I want to every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency." Ray suggested that stakeholders should remain patient, noting that "events have been fast-moving and the new team is engaged only recently."The company swiftly found itself in dire straits after the price of its native FTT token nosedived and many users withdrew their cryptocurrency. Following reports that FTX was facing a liquidity crisis, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of rival crypto giant Binance, said his company would sell off around $529 million worth of FTT. That all but wiped out the token's value.Binance then agreed to bail out FTX by taking over the company. However, it backed out of the deal a day later, citing concerns that emerged while conducting due diligence. Bankman-Fried went on to apologize for the mess and said on Thursday he was doing everything he could to raise funds and do "right by users." He stepped down just a day later. "This doesn't necessarily have to mean the end for the companies or their ability to provide value and funds to their customers chiefly, and can be consistent with other routes," Bankman-Fried wrote on Twitter after the bankruptcy filing. "I'm going to work on giving clarity on where things are in terms of user recovery ASAP." Bankman-Fried added that he will soon publish a more complete, play-by-play account of what happened to FTX.Meanwhile, reports have suggested that the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating FTX. It's not clear when the DOJ started looking into the company's dealings, but the SEC’s investigation has reportedly been ongoing for several months.

11.11.2022 17:50 Microsoft hasn't been shy about wanting to improve the repairability of Surface devices, and that now includes the availability of spare parts. In a statement to iFixit, Microsoft says it plans "broad availability" of parts for individuals and independent repair shops in the first half of 2023. You can also expect complete repair manuals for the Surface Pro 9 by the end of this year. A wider repair network will be available in early 2023 with the help of a "major US retailer."That improved stance is reflected in the company's latest designs. Microsoft says repairability was a "major focus" in the Surface Pro 9's construction, and iFixit has confirmed as much in its independently run teardown of the Windows tablet. The user-accessible SSD is just the start. The battery is screwed in rather than glued, and the display is easier to remove when you're digging into the internals. This is the "most repairable" Surface yet, according to iFixit, and a sharp contrast with the notoriously difficult-to-fix builds of the past.This isn't the first time Microsoft has made nods toward do-it-yourself repair. The Surface Laptop 3 was easier to open, and even the extra-slim Surface Pro X had a user-replaceable SSD. iFixit also warns that it can't truly judge the Surface Pro 9's repairability until the manuals and parts are available. The RAM is still soldered on, too, even if it might offer added performance and energy savings as a result. This is a large step in the right direction, but not the definitive solution.As with similar efforts by Apple, Google, Samsung and others, Microsoft isn't acting strictly out of kindness. The tech industry is facing pressure from federal and state governments to improve repairability, including through "Right to Repair" legislation that requires access to components, documents and diagnostics. If Microsoft didn't make the Surface lineup easier to fix on its own, governments might have stepped in.

11.11.2022 17:50 My first “adult” TV was a 200-pound CRT monstrosity that lived inside an even more monstrous, 300-pound cabinet with doors. After that, I upgraded to a monitor-and-laptop setup that stowed in the hidey compartment of my coffee table. The thing is, I loathe black mirrors; the blank void that stares out when a TV is off creeps me out. I decided all screens had to stay hidden if I wasn’t actively watching them and just avoided a wall-mounted TV altogether – until the market came up with one that looks like art when it's off.Samsung’s The Frame came out in 2017. I bought a 43-inch model back in 2019 and have been a big fan ever since. On the inside, it’s a thoroughly serviceable smart TV with a QLED panel and Samsung’s Tizen OS . The picture is bright, the sound is clear, and Tizen is easy to figure out – but I forked over $800 for the namesake feature.The Frame does a great job of looking like art hanging on my wall. The thin panel has picture-frame edges and mounts flat against the wall, like a giant photo. The panel connects via a thin wire to an external receiver/port hub/tuner box combo, which means you can actually drop the wire behind the drywall and have it pop out elsewhere, furthering the illusion that there’s nothing electronic going on here. The brick walls of my old house aren’t letting that happen, so I hide the wire behind a plant.Amy SkorheimAs for the effect, I’ve had people come over who asked me whether we had a TV at all, standing just a couple feet from The Frame. It’s fun to turn it on and witness their total surprise. I will say I’m jealous of the latest models, which have an anti-reflective matte finish that I wish my older model had. I think it enhances the effect.The Frame’s elegant hardware is a perk, but the other important factor in the art-not-TV illusion comes from Samsung’s Art Store, an $8 monthly subscription that grants access to a ton of art to display. There are collections from the Louvre as well as the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest, Etsy, Life Picture Collection, Saatchi Art, van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, BBC Earth, Magnum photos and lots more. I tend to go with abstracts and modern photography, and my kid likes the illustrations and wildlife photos.But if you have subscription fatigue from the 25 different services you pay for and don’t want to add another to the list, the included “Samsung collection” offers 10 artworks for free. You can also use your own images if you prefer . Personally, I’ve never tried using my own images; I leave art to the professionals.Amy SkorheimI like to swap out the image a couple times a month, and can easily kill an hour picking the next piece of art to grace my walls. There’s an option that’ll rotate through all images in a collection, automatically switching at regular intervals, from every 10 minutes to once a week. I firmly believe adding a mat to the image makes it look more real. After you pick the image you want to display, you have the option of selecting no mat, a modern mat or a shadowbox mat. Both mats come in ten different colors, but I’ve never found anything that beats the antique white color in the modern mat option.Considering the Frame is technically always-on, you may have reservations about the TV’s energy usage. In art mode, Samsung says a 65-inch Frame consumes about 50 watts of power. I’ve personally made a series of changes in life – downsizing square footage, trading a car for an e-bike, cutting out meat, etc. – to ease my carbon footprint, and I allow myself this minor indulgence. But if that aspect weighs on you, you could even consider the same carbon offsets people buy when they fly.Plus, there are a couple of features that make sure the Frame isn’t always on. With Night Mode, the TV shuts itself off when the lights go out. Then in the morning, after sensing light again, it turns the art back on. You can also set it to detect when there’s motion in the room, turning off when no one’s around. When I tried this, my model kept turning off and never sensing motion again, despite me doing jumping jacks right in front of it, so I opted to disable that feature. The same sensors that detect darkness and movement also adjust the brightness of the image, so it never looks too intense, a trait that keeps things looking more like a framed oil painting and less like a TV. Which, for me, is the whole point.

11.11.2022 17:50 Are you tempted by an air fryer, but fear you might just get another ill-fated kitchen gadget that takes up space in your tiny kitchen? We’re here to help you out with recommendations for the best air fryer. This popular appliance, which comes in several different shapes and sizes, can be a versatile addition to many kitchens, once you know what it’s capable of.Engadget's picksBest overall: Instant Vortex PlusBest budget: Cosori Compact Air FryerBest dual-zone: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air FryerWhat to look for in an air fryerFirst of all, let’s clear one thing up: it’s not frying. Not really. Air fryers are more like smaller convection ovens, ones that are often pod-shaped. This kitchen appliance works by combining a heating element and fan, which means the hot air can usually better crisp the outside of food than other methods. They often reach higher top temperatures than toaster ovens – which is part of the appeal.For most recipes, from chicken tenders to onion rings and sweet potato fries, a thin layer of oil helps to replicate that fried look and feel better. However, it will rarely taste precisely like the deep-fried version. Don’t let that put you off, though, because the air fryer, in its many forms, combines some of the best parts of other cooking processes and brings them together into an energy-efficient way of cooking dinner. Or breakfast. Or lunch.Convection ovensYou can separate most air fryers into two types and each has different pros and cons. Convection ovens are usually ovens with air fryer settings and features. They might have higher temperature settings to ensure that food crisps and cooks more like actually fried food. Most convection ovens are larger than dedicated air fryers, defeating some of the purpose of those looking to shrink cooking appliance surface area. Still, they are often more versatile and most have finer controls for temperatures, timings and even fan speed.You may never need a built-in oven if you have a decent convection oven. They often have the volume to handle roasts, entire chickens or tray bakes, and simply cook more, capacity-wise, making them more versatile than the pod-shaped competition.The flip side of that is that you’ll need the counter space to house them. It also means you can use traditional oven accessories, like baking trays or cake tins, that you might already own.Pod-shaped air fryersPod-shaped air fryers are what you imagine when you think “air fryer.” They look like a cool, space-age kitchen gadget, bigger than a kettle but smaller than a toaster oven. Many use a drawer to hold ingredients while cooking, usually a mesh sheet or a more solid, non-stick tray with holes to allow the hot air to circulate. With a few exceptions, most require you to open the drawer while things cook and flip or shake half-cooked items to ensure the even distribution of heat to everything.That’s one of a few caveats. Most pod-shaped air fryers – there are a few exceptions – don’t have a window to see how things are cooking, so you’ll need to closely scrutinize things as they cook, opening the device to check progress. These machines also generally use less energy – there’s less space to heat – and many have parts that can be put directly into a dishwasher.Some of the larger pod-shaped air fryers offer two separate compartments, which is especially useful for anyone planning to cook an entire meal with the appliance. You could cook a couple of chicken wings while simultaneously rustling up enough frozen fries for everyone. Naturally, those options take up more space, and they’re usually heavy enough to stop you from storing them in cupboards or shelves elsewhere.As mentioned earlier, you might have to buy extra things to make these pod fryers work the way you want them to. Some of the bigger manufacturers, like Philips and Ninja, offer convenient additions, but you’ll have to pay for them.Fabián Ponce via Getty ImagesAir fryer pros and consBeyond the strengths and weaknesses of individual models, air fryers are pretty easy to use from the outset. Most models come with a convenient cooking time booklet covering most of the major foods you’ll be air frying.One of the early selling points is the ability to cook fries, wings and other delights with less fat than other methods. As air fryers need to circulate heated air, the trays and cooking plates have holes that can also let oil and fat drain out of meats, meaning less fat when you finally plate things up. For most cooking situations, you will likely need to lightly spray food with a vegetable oil. If you don’t, there’s the chance that things will burn or char. The oil will keep things moist on the surface, and we advise refreshing things with a bit of oil spray when you turn items during cooking.Most air fryers are easy to clean – especially in comparison to a shallow or deep fryer. We’ll get into cleaning guidance a little later.With a smaller space to heat, air fryers are generally more energy-efficient than using larger appliances like ovens. And if you don’t have an oven, air fryers are much more affordable – especially the pod options.There are, however, some drawbacks. While air fryers are easy enough to use, they take time to master. You will adjust cooking times for even the simplest things – like frozen fries or brussels sprouts. If you’re the kind of person that loves to find inspiration from the internet, in our experience, you can pretty much throw their timings out of the window. There are a lot of air fryer options, and factors like how fast they heat and how well distributed that heat is can – and will – affect cooking.There’s also a space limitation to air fryers. This is not a TARDIS – there’s simply less space than most traditional ovens and many deep fat fryers. If you have a bigger family, you’ll probably want to go for a bigger model of air fryer – possibly one that has multiple cooking areas.You may also struggle to cook many items through as the heat settings will cook the surface of dishes long before it’s cooked right through. If you’re planning to cook an entire bird or a roast, please get a meat thermometer!The best accessories for your air fryerBeyond official accessories from the manufacturer, try to pick up silicone-tipped tools. Tongs are ideal, as is a silicon spatula to gently loosen food that might get stuck on the sides of the air fryer. These silicone mats will also help stop things from sticking to the wire racks on some air fryers. They have holes to ensure the heated air is still able to circulate around the food.Silicone trivets are also useful for resting any cooked food on while you sort out the rest of the meal. And if you find yourself needing oil spray, but don’t feel like repeatedly buying tiny bottles, you can decant your favorite vegetable oil into a permanent mister like this.yulka3ice via Getty ImagesThe best way to clean an air fryerWe’re keeping things simple here. Yes, you could use power cleaners from the grocery store, they could damage the surface of your air fryer. Likewise, metal scourers or brushes could strip away non-stick protection. Remember to unplug the device and let it cool completely.Remove the trays, baskets and everything else from inside. If the manufacturer says the parts are dishwasher safe – and you have a dishwasher – the job is pretty much done.Otherwise, wash each part in a mixture of warm water, with a splash of Dawn or another strong dish soap. Use a soft-bristled brush to pull away any greasy deposits or bits of food stuck to any surfaces. Remember to rinse everything. Otherwise, your next batch of wings could have a mild Dawn aftertaste. Trust us.Take a microfiber cloth and tackle the outer parts and handles that might also get a little messy after repeated uses. This is especially useful for oven-style air fryers – use the cloth to wipe down the inner sides.If Dawn isn’t shifting oily stains, try mixing a small amount of baking soda with enough water to make a paste, and apply that so that it doesn’t seep into any electrical parts or the heating element. Leave it to work for a few seconds before using a damp cloth to pull any greasy spots away. Rinse out the cloth and wipe everything down again, and you should be ready for the next time you need to air fry.How to find air fryer recipesBeyond fries, nuggets and – a revelation – frozen gyoza, there are a few ways to find recipes for your new air fryer. First, we found that the air fryer instruction manuals often have cooking guides and recipe suggestions for you to test out in your new kitchen gadget. The good thing with these is that they were made for your air fryer model, meaning success should be all but guaranteed. They are often a little unimaginative, however.Many of the top recipe sites and portals have no shortage of air fryer recipes, and there’s no harm in googling your favorite cuisine and adding the words “air fryer” on the end of the search string. We’ve picked up some reliable options from Delish, which also has a handy air fryer time converter for changing oven and traditional fryer recipes.BBC Good Food is also worth browsing for some simple ideas, as is NYT Cooking, with the ability to directly search for air fryer suggestions.And if you have a killer recipe or unique use for your air fryer, let us know in the comments. What’s the air fryer equivalent of the Instant Pot cheesecake? We’re ready to try it.Engadget picksBest overall: Instant Vortex PlusYou probably know the “Instant” brand from the line of very popular Instant Pot multi-cookers, but did you know that the company makes great air fryers too? We’re especially impressed by the Instant Vortex Plus with ClearCook and OdorErase, which features a clear viewing window so you can see your food while it’s cooking, plus an odor-removing filter. In our testing, we found that it didn’t completely eliminate smells, but it seemed significantly less smoky when compared to our Breville Smart Oven Air. We love the intuitive controls, the easy-to-clean nonstick drawer basket, plus the roomy interior – it’s big enough to fit four chicken thighs. Plus, it heats up very quickly with virtually no preheating time.A slightly more affordable option is its predecessor, the Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart. It lacks the viewing window and the odor-removing filters, but it still has the same intuitive controls and roomy nonstick interior. If you want an even bigger option, Instant also offers Instant Vortex Plus in a 10-quart model that has a viewing window and a rotisserie feature.Best budget: Cosori Compact Air FryerIf you don’t have a lot of space or money to spare, Cosori’s Compact Air Fryer is a great option. As a 3.7-quart capacity machine, it doesn’t take up too much counter space and it can easily fit into a cabinet when you’re not using it. It has a traditional, square-ish pod design with a touch panel on the top half and a removable cooking basket on the bottom. I was impressed by how easy this air fryer was to use from start to finish. Learning how to program cooking modes and times was easy and using the basket is simple as well. It also has a handy release button that disconnects the air fryer basket from the base, which makes cleanup quick and simple. This is a true air fryer in the sense that it has presets rather than a bunch of different cooking modes. It does have toast and bake, which are different from air fry, but otherwise you can choose from different food-specific presets like french fries, shrimp, frozen foods and more. While that’s not so great if you want a multipurpose device, it’s ideal if you’re just looking for an air fryer that can do exactly that very well. Not only was the Cosori machine fairly quiet, but it also only took between three and five minutes to preheat in most cases, and everything I cooked in it – from tofu nuggets to chicken wings – came out crispy and flavorful.Best dual-zone: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air FryerMost air fryers can make one thing at a time, but Ninja’s Dual Zone machine can handle two totally different foods simultaneously. Available in 8- and 10-quart capacities, the machine isn’t compact, so it won’t be a good option for those with small kitchens. However, if you have the counter space, it could be the best air fryer to invest in especially if you cook for a large family. You can prep two different foods at the same time with totally different cooking modes, or use Match Cook to prepare foods in both chambers the same way. The heating zones are independent, so if you only want to fill up one side with french fries and leave the other empty, you can do that as well.We appreciate how quickly the Ninja heats up and how it runs relatively quietly. It also has a feature called Smart Finish that will automatically adjust cooking times so that your chicken thighs in the first chamber and asparagus in the second will finish cooking at the same time, so you don’t have to wait for one part of your meal to be ready while the other gets cold. In general, dual-zone air fryers aren’t necessary for most people, but those who cook often will get a lot of use out of machines like this Ninja.Nicole Lee and Valentina Palladino contributed to this guide.

11.11.2022 17:50 The first headlights to adorn automobiles weren’t all that much better than squinting real hard and hoping any cows in the road had the good sense to move out of your way. The dim light cast by early kerosene oil and acetylene gas lamps made most travel after dark a fool’s errand. Today, of course, the latest generation of headlights work much like modern televisions with tightly packed arrays of pixelated lights blinking at up to 5,000 times a second, allowing drivers to essentially use high and low beams at the same time. Until very recently, however, cutting-edge features like that weren’t allowed on vehicles sold in the US due to an NHTSA regulation set in the 1960s. But thanks to a multi-year lobbying effort on the part of Toyota, those regulations changed this last February — now America’s roadways are about to become a bit brighter and a whole lot safer.How headlights evolved from open flames to laser pixelsFollowing the short-lived idea of using open flames to light the way, the first electric headlights appeared on the 1912 Cadillac Model 30 and, by the next decade, were quickly becoming mandatory equipment across the nation. The first split-intensity headlights offering separate low and high beams were produced in 1915 but wouldn’t be included in a vehicle’s OEM design until in 1924 and the floor-mounted switch that controlled them wouldn’t be invented until three years after that — a full decade of having to get out of the car just to turn your lights on and blink between brightnesses!The advent of sealed beam headlights with filaments for both low and high beams in 1954, and its widespread adoption by 1957, proved a massive technological leap. With low beams for dusk and evening driving, and high beams for late night travel on otherwise unlit roads, these new headlights would drastically extend the hours of day a car could safely be on the road.The first halogen light, which would itself quickly become a global standard, debuted in 1962. But halogens at that time were about as popular in the US as the metric system — we still preferred tungsten incandescents. That changed with the passage of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the formation of the National Highway Transportation Authority in 1968, which took the existing hodge-podge of state-level vehicular regulations and federalized them, as well as the formal adoption that year of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, which dictated that all headlights be constructed of sealed beams.kampee patisena via Getty ImagesBy the 1970s, halogen bulbs, with their increased brightness and efficiency compared to tungsten incandescents, became the industry standard. The ‘80s, in turn, saw US regulations expand to allow for replaceable-bulb headlamps, which the European market had already been enjoying for a number of years. The ability to swap out a bulb rather than an entire headlight unit, combined with recent material advances that saw lamp lenses constructed out of plastic instead of glass, drastically reduced the cost of making and operating headlights. And by the ‘90s, halogens had themselves fallen to the wayside in favor of modern xenon and LED lighting technologies. The 21st century has seen further advances to not just the lighting technology itself — hello halo and laser headlights! — but also the control systems that direct the beams.Due to differences in their relative transportation regulations, the rate of technological adoption has diverged between US drivers and their European counterparts — often with the Americans lagging behind. As with replaceable bulbs in the ‘50s and glare reduction efforts in the ‘30s, Europe has shown itself far more willing to innovate and readily implement recent headlight advances, in part to restrictions imposed by FMVSS 108. Because Standard 108 defined headlights as only having high or low beams — and legally requiring they remain separate — it tacitly excluded all of the technical advances that followed, specifically adaptive driving beam headlight systems as found in Audi’s matrix LEDs, Lexus’ Blade Scan LEDs or Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System, none of which you will currently find operable Stateside.Those and similar ADB systems have been available in the Europe, Canada and Japan since the technology's debut in 2004 . It would be more than a decade — not until Toyota’s monumental 2015 petition — before the NHTSA would even consider allowing their use in the North American market. In fact, it took another three years beyond that for the agency’s bureaucratic skullduggery to wrap up and it wasn’t until February of this year — a year and a half ahead of schedule because they had to satisfy a requirement set forth in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — that the NHTSA amended the regulation.“NHTSA prioritizes the safety of everyone on our nation’s roads, whether they are inside or outside a vehicle. New technologies can help advance that mission,” Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator, said in a February press release. “NHTSA is issuing this final rule to help improve safety and protect vulnerable road users.”“Adaptive driving beam headlight systems, or ADB, use automatic headlight beam switching technology to shine less light on occupied areas of the road and more light on unoccupied areas,” the NHTSA further explained. “The adaptive beam is particularly useful for distance illumination of pedestrians, animals, and objects without reducing the visibility of drivers in other vehicles.”How Adaptive Driving Beams bend light around rainBroadly, ADB are headlights that actively adapt to the prevailing weather conditions such as redirecting light around falling rain and snow, extending them ahead of turns or dimming the high beams towards oncoming vehicles only. These systems often leverage the same forward-facing cameras used by the adaptive cruise control system and can be programmed to not just illuminate the road ahead but display prescient navigation information as well.Audi outside of the US, for example, offers Digital matrix LED headlights — LEDs arrayed in a grid pattern and granularly controlled by a central processor called a DMD . They operate much like the digital projection technology they’re based on.”At its heart is a small chip containing one million micromirrors, each of whose edge length measures just a few hundredths of a millimeter,” Audi’s Lighting page explains. ”With the help of electrostatic fields, each individual micromirror can be tilted up to 5,000 times per second. Depending on the setting, the LED light is either directed via the lenses onto the road or is absorbed in order to mask out areas of the light beam.”Those masked areas are where the light isn’t bouncing off falling water or glaring into the eyes of other drivers. What’s more, the system will project “dynamic leaving- and coming-home animations” onto nearby surfaces, as a treat. More practically, the system can angle the beams to illuminate farther into turns.Similarly, the HD Matrix LED system found on later model year A8s, under specific circumstances, will dim the vehicle’s high beams without any human intervention. When the headlights are set to Automatic, the vehicle is going over 18 mph outside of urban areas , and the front camera sees an another vehicle, the headlights will darken and dim individual LEDs in 64 stages — roughly several million potential patterns — to “mask out other vehicles while continuing to fully illuminate the zones between and adjacent to them.”Ford’s high-resolution Adaptive Front Lighting System, which debuted in Europe this past August, offers similar capabilities. The company notes that roughly 40 percent of accidents occur on UK roads after sundown. Glancing down at bright infotainment displays while on dark roads can temporarily blind drivers, so Ford’s headlights will project speed limits, navigation cues and road hazard warnings onto the road itself. What’s more, the beams can “bend” around corners and penetrate fog, rain and other inclement weather conditions.“What started as playing around with a projector light and a blank wall could take lighting technologies to a whole new level,” Ford engineer Lars Junker said in a press release. “There’s the potential now to do so much more than simply illuminate the road ahead, to help reduce the stress involved in driving at night. The driver could get essential information without ever needing to take their eyes off the road.”Mercedes’ Digital Light system, on the other hand, uses a unique light module consisting of three LEDs mounted in each headlamp. Their light is reflected by a thumbnail-sized array of some 1.3 million micromirrors, each of which is controlled via an onboard graphics processor to precisely bend and attenuate the beams. According to Mercedes, that fidelity enables its Highbeam Assist to function two magnitudes more precisely in excluding oncoming traffic than conventional 84-pixel arrays.At the other end of the spectrum, Lexus’ Blade Scan high-definition headlights, which debuted in Asian markets in 2019, only utilize 24 LEDs per headlight. Rather than an array of micromirrors, Lexus uses a pair of rapidly-rotating mirrors to direct their light through the lens and onto the road. Per the company, this allows the system to aim with 0.7 degrees of accuracy and detect pedestrians at the roadside up to 184 feet away.Unfortunately, for as cool as these capabilities are and as technically legal as they are, American drivers still have a short wait before they come stateside. That's because the NHTSA must now devise a set of testing requirements by which to measure and regulate adaptive headlights under the revised standard. In the short term, it means we’ll likely see more new vehicles equipped with ADB-capable-but-disabled hardware that can be activated over-the-air later on, once the regulations have firmed up.“While adaptive headlights have been approved, the testing requirements for approval put forth by NHTSA is still under discussion,” an Audi representative told Engadget. “Because of this, afraid we are still not able to offer the matrix functionality in the US at this time and continue to work with regulators to bring this safety relevant function to market.”

11.11.2022 17:50 Magic Leap's glasses were supposed to lead us into the augmented reality era, a world beyond screens where we could interact with digital objects as if they were standing right next to us. Too bad they failed spectacularly. By early 2020, the company had raised nearly $2 billion. But aside from a few flashy demos and wild art projects, there wasn't much of a reason for anyone to buy a $2,295 headset . Like Google Glass before it, Magic Leap felt like a false start for AR, a solution to a problem that didn't exist.But the company isn't dead yet. With a new CEO onboard — former Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson — it's aiming for something far more practical: AR for the enterprise. That may seem like a retread of the HoloLens playbook, which has focused on business customers for years, but Magic Leap has a shot at giving Microsoft some serious competition with its second-generation AR glasses.Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetThe $3,299 Magic Leap 2 , which launched in September, is easier to wear, far more powerful and it offers a dramatically larger AR field of view than any headset we've seen before. It has the unique ability to dim its display, allowing you to block out light and focus more on virtual objects. And it should be easier for developers to work with, thanks to a new Android-based OS. While it's still unclear if the company's new business plan will pay off, ML2 is still a significant achievement, especially now that Meta is also pushing into similar AR-like territory with the $1,500 Quest Pro."It's been a long struggle," Magic Leap SVP and head of hardware Kevin Curtis said in an interview with Engadget. "When we came out of ML1, we learned a tremendous amount... Not just technically, but also from a market point of view. So that really was used to set the goals for ML2."Some of those goals seemed impossible at the time. The company wanted to double the field of view — the amount of screen area where you can actually see AR objects — as well cut the device's volume in half. Those moves would make its sequel headset even more immersive, while also being more comfortable for extended wear. According to Curtis, bumping up the field of view from 50 degrees to 70 degrees with ML1's projector and eyepiece technology would have required wearing something as large as an open hand. That's not exactly doable all day.Magic LeapMagic Leap spent years exploring existing forms of projection, including laser-scan based systems, uLED arrays and LCoS , but found them all lacking. Instead, it developed its own custom architecture, which uses LCoS together with LED RGB light modules and a complex system of concentrators and polarizers to bring images to your eyes. That works together with a new eyepiece design to achieve its lofty 70 degree field of view.But what does that actually mean? The Magic Leap 1 headset featured a FOV of 50 degrees, which made it seem as if you were viewing AR through a car's cramped rear window. With Magic Leap 2, the company hit a 70 degree FOV by increasing the vertical viewing area, allowing you to see taller objects without moving your head up and down. During my brief demo, it felt more like standing in front of an open doorway.Magic LeapThat's more akin to how you view things in real life, according to Curtis, and it goes a long way towards convincing you the AR objects you're seeing are real. I've tried a wide variety of headsets over the years , and the Magic Leap 2 is the first one that's delivered a genuine sense of presence. Whether I was viewing a large piece of medical equipment, or an expansive 3D model of downtown San Diego, I had to try hard to see the edges. It was almost aggressively immersive.The new projection technology also helped Magic Leap achieve its goal of reducing ML2's volume by more than half, leading to a 20 percent weight drop . The result is a pair of AR glasses that feel more like, well, glasses. While the original headset looked like a pair of enormous ski goggles, ML2 has flatter lenses and slimmer arms, making you seem less like a bug-eyed dork and more like an engineer or surgeon gearing up for a big project. All of this custom development will also help Magic Leap deliver better headsets down the line. The company claims its eventual Magic Leap 3 glasses, which have no release date yet, will lose another 50 percent in volume and deliver a larger field of view. The technology can potentially be scaled beyond 80 degrees, allowing you to view a building-sized object unencumbered by any AR boundaries.As I started demoing the Magic Leap 2 in a brightly lit hotel meeting room, it was mostly what I expected: A more comfortable and higher quality version of its predecessor. But at one point, I hit a button and the screen started to go dark, as if a shadowy cloud was blotting out the sickly fluorescent lights above me. I had flipped on the headset's global dimmer, which darkens the real world to better highlight virtual objects. The result is an almost VR-like experience. The virtual map I was viewing, which showed how first responders were dealing with wildfires in Colorado, all of a sudden looked sharper and more colorful. I wasn't distracted by the boring meeting desk in front of me, or the occasional bystander walking by.Every AR solution adds light, Curtis explained, what's unique about ML2 is that it's able to add the color black. The dimmer module is another display that sits in front of the headset's eyepiece, allowing it to reduce light across the entire screen, or into specific areas, by a factor of 100. That'll let you use ML2 in brightly lit rooms, or even outside on a sunny day, without making the AR images seem washed out. Developers can also use the dimmer to add shadows to their objects, giving you an added layer of depth in AR.Devindra Hardawar/EngadgetAs Magic Leap was working on making AR more VR-like, Meta was also doubling down on bringing the real world into VR with the Quest Pro. Thanks to new cameras and upgraded hardware, Meta is pitching that headset as a way to bring VR elements into your typical workflow . Based on my time with the Quest Pro so far, that's not something I'd actually want much of. The cameras just aren't good enough yet. But it's funny to see Meta tackling a similar problem as Magic Leap from another angle. Somewhere between these two headsets is the ideal balance between the immersion of VR, and the real world integration of AR.I was so distracted by Magic Leap 2's expanded field of view and dimming capabilities, I barely noticed that its controller felt more ergonomic. And I didn't think much of the headset's computing pack, which can now be worn across your body like a messenger bag. Naturally, it has faster hardware inside . But my main takeaway, after years of AR and VR testing, and the seemingly endless drumbeat of metaverse hype from an increasingly desperate Mark Zuckerberg, is that it’s nice to be genuinely surprised by a new headset.Magic LeapBut of course, tech alone won't make a successful product. Magic Leap isn't targeting ML2 towards consumers at all, instead it's being pitched to doctors who may want a bit of AR assistance during surgery, or engineers who would like to pull up schematics when they're standing in front of complex machinery."I think it's improved a lot, different company," said Chief Marketing Officer Daniel Diez, when I asked about the state of Magic Leap today. Amid dismal sales of its first headset, and increasingly dire financials, founder and CEO Rony Abovitz left in 2020. But now, thanks to more than $1 billion in additional funding and a new leader in Peggy Johnson, it has another shot at the AR market.At the very least, it’s clear the metaverse isn’t a problem Meta can solve on its own. Magic Leap is one of the few established competitors out there, making it a company that’s still worth watching. And if the enterprise play doesn’t work out, there’s a chance a large company like Google may have some use for all of this AR tech.