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25.04.2024 15:30 It's a post-Digital Markets Act world, and Spotify continues to test what that means for its iOS app. The music streamer announced that it submitted an update for Apple's approval that would allow Spotify to display "basic pricing and website information" on its app in Europe and "the bare minimum outlined under the European Commission's ruling in its music streaming case." "Apple continues to break European law,” and unfortunately that means we still can’t give EU consumers the information they need and the choices they deserve in our app. Here’s what we mean. pic.twitter.com/tkcXQkRqLy— Spotify News April 24, 2024 In the news, shared in a post on X , Spotify's chief public affairs officer Dustee Jenkins further stated, "By charging developers to communicate with consumers through in-app links, Apple continues to break European law. It's past time for the Commission to enforce its decision so that consumers can see real, positive benefits." Apple and Spotify have consistently butted heads over what the latter can and can't do with its iOS app. Following the DMA going into effect, Spotify submitted an update to Apple that would have allowed users to purchase plans directly from the app, but Apple rejected it. Apple did so even though the European Union had just hit it with a nearly $2 billion fine for "blocking" alternative music apps. The EU is also investigating Apple, Meta and Google for self-preferencing and charging developers additional fees. As for how Apple will react to Spotify's latest test, we'll just have to wait and see. Update, April 25 2024, 8:45AM ET: Apple has rejected Spotify's update. "Apple has once again defied the European Commission’s decision, rejecting our update for attempting to communicate with customers about our prices unless we pay Apple a new tax. Their disregard for consumers and developers is matched only by their disdain for the law," a Spotify spokesperson told Engadget. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-tests-apples-resolve-with-new-pricing-update-in-the-eu-120004754.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 15:30 Facepunch Studios has announced on Steam that it's removing 20 years' worth of Nintendo-related workshop items for its sandbox game Garry's Mod to comply with the Japanese company's demands. Earlier this year, an X user with the name Brewster T. Koopa posted that a group of trolls was filing false DMCA claims against the game to get Nintendo add-ons removed and to get add-on makers to shut down. The perpetrators allegedly used a fake email to impersonate Nintendo's lawyers to send DMCA takedown notices. Facepunch Studios said in its new announcement, that it believes the demands legitimately came from Nintendo and that it has to respect the company's decision and start taking down items related to its IPs. "This is an ongoing process, as we have 20 years of uploads to go through," the developer wrote. "If you want to help us by deleting your Nintendo related uploads and never uploading them again, that would help us a lot." False flaggers on the Garry's Mod Workshop.There is someone, or a group of trolls going around the Gmod workshop filing false DMCA claims and shutting down addons, over 10 Gmod addon makers, myself included have been attacked, with over a dozen of our addons gone. pic.twitter.com/ZwVVhQjQlu— Brewster T. Koopa February 11, 2024 Koopa said in a follow-up tweet that they sent an email to the company to let it know that the demands aren't actually from Nintendo. They previously argued that the takedown notices couldn't be from the Japanese gaming giant, because Nintendo add-ons have been around since 2005 and because the company would've contacted Valve, the publisher of Garry's Mod, itself. While the announcement is still up, Facepunch founder Garry Newman announced that his team has received people's emails and DMs and that the developer is conducting an investigation. "We need to take these things seriously , but we also can't let people misuse DMCA takedowns," Newman wrote. We've reached out to Nintendo to ask whether the takedowns Facepunch received truly came from the company, and we'll update this post once they respond. Yes, we have got your emails and dms, we have seen your theads, we're doing our own investigations. We need to take these things seriously , but we also can't let people misuse DMCA takedowns.— garry April 25, 2024 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/garrys-mod-faces-deluge-of-nintendo-related-dmca-takedown-notices-123027589.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 15:30 Back in January, startup Rabbit revealed its first device at CES 2024. The R1 is an adorable, vibrant orange AI machine with a camera, scroll wheel, and ambitious demos. Now, the device is being sent out to early adopters , and we’ve got some proper hands-on experience to tide you over until we’ve wrapped up a full review. It’s definitely cute, designed by Teenage Engineering, which has put its design talents to use on the Playdate as well as Nothing’s most recent phones as well as music gadgets. Like all those things, it combines a retro-futuristic aesthetic with solid build quality, shiny surfaces, glass and metal accents. Engadget Then again, the Humane AI Pin was a beautiful piece of tech too, but it was also… rubbish. The Rabbit R1 is a different device. First, it costs $199 — less than a third of the AI Pin’s $700. Humane also requires a monthly $24 subscription fee to use the thing — you don’t need a sub for the R1 at all. Immediately, that’s much better. The category of AI assistant-centric devices is very new, however. Rabbit’s device is different to Humane’s in both hardware and features, but we know the R1 isn’t launching with all its features just yet. There are a few curiously simple tools missing, like alarms and calendar support. Make sure you check out our first impressions here. Review incoming! — Mat Smith ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest stories you might have missed Mercedes-Benz quad-motor G-Class could be the ultimate EV off-roader TikTok Lite axes ‘addictive as cigarettes’ reward-to-watch feature The best ereaders for 2024 JetBlue’s in-flight entertainment system just got a watch party feature Joe Biden signs the bill that could ban TikTok The company has called the law ‘unconstitutional.’ That thing that’s been happening since Saturday is still happening. But, well, TikTok still isn’t banned. In a statement, the company said it would challenge the law in court, which could delay an eventual sale or ban. Continue reading. Threads has 150 million monthly users Mark Zuckerberg has speculated it could be Meta’s next billion-user app. Threads is still growing. During the company's first-quarter earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg shared the latest user numbers of Meta’s latest spin-off social network, saying the app “continues to be on the trajectory that I hope to see.” Notably — but perhaps not surprisingly — Threads seems to outperform X , with analytics firm Apptopia indicating Threads has more daily users than X in the United States. Continue reading. Windows 11 now comes with its own adware App promotions in the startup menu are enabled by default. Microsoft The latest update to Windows 11 comes out this week and includes ads for apps in the recommended section of the Start Menu. “The Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps,” says the release notes. Apps are apparently from a “small set of curated developers.” Thankfully, you can restore your previously ad-free Windows experience by going into Settings and selecting Personalization > Start and toggling off Show recommendations for tips, app promotions and more. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-testing-the-rabbit-r1s-ai-assistant-skills-111505087.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 15:30 Most new features and experiments Adobe has announced recently involve AI, like object addition and removal for Premiere Pro and text-based image generation in Photoshop. Now, the company has unveiled VideoGigaGAN, an experimental AI feature it says can upscale video by eight times without the usual artifacts like flickering or distortion, The Verge reported. VideoGigaGAN beats other Video Super Resolution methods because it avoids the usual artifacts and flickering introduced by GAN , according to Adobe. At the same time, it adds sharpness and detail — where most other systems fail to do do both of those things at once. Adobe Of course, the system is making up detail that doesn't exist out of whole cloth, so this wouldn't be suitable for things like forensic video enhancement, à la CSI-style crime shows. But the detail it does add looks impressively real, like skin textures, fine hairs, swan feather details and more. The model builds on a large-scale image upsampler called GigaGAN, according to to Adobe's researchers. Previous VSR models have had difficulty generating rich details in results, so Adobe married "temporal attention" , feature propagation , anti-aliasing and something called "HF shuttle" to create the final result. Adobe If added to products like Premiere Pro or After Effects, it could allow video producers to make low-resolution shots look a lot better, though using AI too enhance people is a controversial practice. There's no word yet on whether Adobe plans to do this but plenty of companies including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Blackmagic Design and others are working on AI upscaling technology as well. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobes-new-upscaling-tech-uses-ai-to-sharpen-video-103431709.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 10:20 Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's District Attorney, wants to meet with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to discuss why the website allows the posting of videos on how to manufacture "ghost guns" and why its algorithm is pushing them to underage viewers who watch video game content. Ghost guns are firearms assembled using 3D-printed parts or components purchased as kits. That means they have no serial numbers, making them near impossible to trace, and don't need any kind of background check to acquire. In a letter sent to Mohan requesting a meeting, Bragg referenced a study conducted by the Tech Transparency Project in 2023, wherein it created four test YouTube accounts and gave them the profiles of 14-year-old and 9-year-old boys. Apparently, after playing at least 100 gaming videos, YouTube's algorithm started recommending them instructional videos on how to make ghost guns. It doesn't matter if they'd only watched, say, Call of Duty gameplay videos and had never interacted with any content featuring real guns. YouTube still pushed real gun content to their accounts, as well as other violence-related videos, such as those of school shootings and serial killers, even if they were supposed to be minors. Bragg also called YouTube's attention to the fact that there's no way for guardians to switch off the website's recommendations in parental controls. A lot of young individuals being investigated for gun possession in New York City said they learned how to make ghost guns from YouTube, Bragg wrote. While the website does remove those videos when they're flagged by gun safety groups, the DA said YouTube should be more proactive in removing them, should make sure they get blocked from being uploaded in the future and should provide viewers a way to switch off recommendations. Especially since the website does have a policy that prohibits the uploading of videos intending to sell firearms or to instruct viewers on how to make them. YouTube told New York Daily News in a statement that it'll "carefully review" videos the Manhattan DA shares with the company and that it remains committed to "removing any content that violates policies."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/manhattans-da-wants-to-know-why-youtube-is-pushing-ghost-gun-tutorials-to-kids-070219455.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 Meta’s Threads app now has more than 150 million monthly users, an increase of about 20 million new users since February. Mark Zuckerberg shared the latest user numbers during Meta’’s first-quarter earnings call, saying that the app “continues to be on the trajectory that I hope to see.” The update suggests Threads is continuing to grow steadily, though at a slower rate than its initial explosive growth. The app racked up more than 100 million downloads in its first week, but later saw a drop-off in engagement. But over the last six months, Threads has seen more consistent growth and Zuckerberg has speculated the service could eventually be Meta’s next billion-user app. Notably, Threads seems to be out-performing X by some metrics. Estimates from analytics firm Apptopia indicated Threads has more daily users in the United States than X, Business Insider reported earlier this week. Threads also scored another significant win recently when Taylor Swift joined the platform to promote her latest album. Threads is, for now, unique among Meta’s apps in that it doesn’t have advertising so the company doesn’t make money from the app directly. That will likely change at some point provided Threads continues to expand its reach. Zuckerberg has previously said the company would “focus on monetization” only after the app has grown sufficiently.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-has-150-million-monthly-users-215853190.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 The EU has effectively vanquished a TikTok feature that Europe’s digital commissioner described as “toxic” and “addictive as cigarettes.” Owner ByteDance said on Wednesday that TikTok Lite’s reward-to-watch feature would be suspended. It’s been a brutal day for TikTok as President Biden signed a bill forcing ByteDance to sell the platform’s US operations or face a ban. TikTok Lite, launched earlier this month in France and Spain, lets users earn rewards by watching and liking videos. They can then exchange their points for real-world perks like Amazon vouchers or in-app ones like TikTok’s virtual currency, which is used to tip creators. The EU Commission said the “task and reward” feature can stimulate “addictive behavior” in children. “Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” EU commissioner Thierry Breton posted on X on Wednesday. “I take note of TikTok’s decision to suspend the #TikTokLite ‘Reward Program’ in the EU.” However, he added a parting shot to remind ByteDance it isn’t out of the woods: “The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.” Statement on TikTok Lite: "TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators. We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised."— TikTok Policy Europe April 24, 2024 Breton fired a warning shot at ByteDance earlier this week, saying the EU had opened a formal investigation into TikTok for violating the Digital Services Act . The landmark legislation, adopted in 2022, gives European regulators the teeth to force significant changes in social media platforms to protect consumers. Companies that break the rules can risk fines of up to six percent of their global revenues — enough to force compliance from even the richest companies. Wednesday’s suspension marks the first concrete example of the EU using the DSA’s enforcement powers to force significant changes on a social platform. The EU’s formal investigation into TikTok Lite was its second targeting the platform this year. An earlier case, launched in February, opened proceedings against TikTok and Meta for their handling of the privacy and safety of minors. The Guardian notes that both cases remain active. “TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the platform’s Policy Europe X account posted on Wednesday. “We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-lite-axes-addictive-as-cigarettes-reward-to-watch-feature-under-the-eus-watchful-eye-211157092.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 PUBG: Battlegrounds is somehow old enough to evoke nostalgia. The pioneering battle royale game, which entered Steam Early Access in 2017, will borrow a page from Fortnite’s playbook and honor its first map. Erangel Classic will recreate the old-school battlefield from the game’s inception for a limited two-week run in May and June. Developer and publisher Krafton says the Erangel Classic map will reproduce the original’s concepts, graphics, atmosphere and UI. However, it will blend those with “modern tweaks” to deliver “the enjoyable gameplay experiences that players have grown accustomed to.” In other words, much like remasters of other classic games, the goal is to feel as close to the original as possible without chucking out all of its subtle quality-of-life improvements from the game’s evolution. Krafton If the revamped map idea sounds familiar, Fortnite brought back its original 2018 island map late last year, breaking its records for player counts. It’s easy to see why Krafton would want a piece of that action. Specific nods to the original map include foggy and rainy weather to add an air of unpredictability. In addition, you’ll find bench weapons on the starting island , and all weapons will have reduced recoil to match the original. It will also have a Tommy Gun in the care package, a vintage map UI and a “charmingly tacky font and graphics.” The tiered rollout will arrive on PCs and consoles at different times, extending the playtime for those who own the game on multiple platforms . Erangel Classic will be available in PUBG: Battlegrounds on PC from May 14 to May 28 and on consoles from May 23 to June 6, replacing the modern Erangel map during those periods. Krafton says the May 14 patch notes will go into more detail about all the map’s changes, so keep an eye out.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pubg-will-take-a-nostalgia-infused-trip-back-to-its-first-map-in-may-194736249.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 JetBlue is revamping its in-flight entertainment system, complete with a new branding. It’s now called Blueprint and brings several features that should make your next flight just a teensy-bit less grueling. The biggest news here is a watch party feature that lets customers view the same TV show or film with up to five other people. This is actually pretty cool, as watching stuff with friends and family during a long flight typically requires the finicky “push play at the exact same time and hope nobody has to go to the bathroom” method. The watch party feature includes functionality that pauses content for all viewers, should one have to take a break to deal with existential panic from being six miles above the ground. It also works no matter where the seats are. Introducing Blueprint by JetBlue™, a personalized inflight experience, giving you new ways to use your seatback screen with watch parties, the ability to resume your content on your next flight, entertainment recommendations and real-time arrival details.

25.04.2024 00:41 Threads users may soon have a new way to clean up their timelines. The app is testing a new archive feature that can be used to manually archive individual posts or automatically hide posts after a set period of time, Adam Mosseri shared. As on Instagram, archiving a post on Threads will hide it from public view, though the post will be available to the original author to view or undo. The Instagram head said the feature will be available to a “small number of people” to start. Though optional, Mosseri has made no secret that his preference is for all posts on the service to be somewhat ephemeral. “I think we should move to automatically archive posts on Threads after a month or so,” he wrote in a post back in February. But, in a poll shared with that earlier post, Threads users overwhelmingly said they would “never” want their posts automatically hidden from public view. In his latest update, Mosseri noted that “the resounding feedback was not to make this the default” so the company will try out archiving “as an option” to start. While archiving old posts is popular on Instagram, the feature could be somewhat more controversial on Threads. As the service grows and adds more features geared toward real-time information, posts that automatically archive could make it harder to go back and revisit the original source of an update. At the same time, allowing posts to be ephemeral often encourages users to share more often, which is even more important for Threads’ continued growth.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-is-testing-automatic-archiving-for-posts-184243484.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 Several months after Meta brought WhatsApp passkey logins to Android, it’s doing the same on iOS. The company is rolling out the feature now, and it will be available to all users in the coming weeks. Passkeys are seen as a more secure login method as it mitigates the risk of scammers convincing users to share their SMS passcode. Instead, you can log in by verifying a passkey using facial recognition, biometrics or a PIN stored on Apple’s passkey manager. Passkeys work by securely storing an authentication credential on your device that pairs with one saved by the service you want to log into. To turn on passkeys for WhatsApp on iOS, go to the Account section of the app’s Settings, and then tap Passkeys. “Passkey verification will make logging back into WhatsApp easier and more secure. We’re excited to launch this on WhatsApp and give users an added layer of security,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said in a statement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-is-enabling-passkey-support-on-ios-182527962.html?src=rss

25.04.2024 00:41 The Biden administration is tackling the monumental task of making America’s industrial freight system more environmentally friendly. The White House said on Wednesday that it aims to have 30 percent of industrial truck sales produce zero emissions by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. In addition to those non-binding targets, the White House is meeting on Wednesday with stakeholders from the commercial vehicle, shipping and infrastructure industries to help execute its agenda. The roundtable is designed to advance the Biden Administration’s goal of “supercharging the buildout of the infrastructure necessary to make a zero-emissions freight ecosystem a reality in the United States.” Unsurprisingly, the freight industry uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of pollution to match. Bloomberg notes that the transportation sector emits about 29 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions, and freight makes up about a third of that figure. So, you can ballpark that the American freight industry is responsible for roughly 10 percent of the country’s carbon emissions. As part of the election-year rollout, the Biden Administration plans to ask the public to comment on charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles, signaling that the specifics of the plan aren’t yet finalized. The White House wants to avoid a fragmented industrial EV charging system without a universally agreed-upon standard. The industry has seemingly settled on Tesla’s NACS as the de facto choice in the lightweight consumer sector. Alongside the newly announced industrial goals, the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is opening up about $1 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding to replace Class 6 and 7 vehicles with electric equivalents. The IRA requires that at least $400 million of that funding goes to local communities hit the hardest by industrial pollution. The White House says 72 million Americans live near truck freight routes and bear the brunt of their short-term output. Sadly but unsurprisingly , people of color and those from low-income households are most likely to be heavily affected by high environmental toxin levels. The White House’s goals are admirable, given the urgency of the global climate crisis and the freight industry’s role. However, one significant problem remains: These are voluntary, non-binding resolutions that could — and, given public comments, almost certainly would — be undone by a second Trump Administration, should the serial napper return to office next year. As with many other aspects of the nation’s and world’s future, US voters will decide the outcome this November.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-white-house-wants-a-zero-emission-freight-industry-by-2040-180401537.html?src=rss

24.04.2024 19:40 Parents throughout the country just breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of allowing more screen time for their kids that doesn’t revolve around some really loud and annoying YouTube dude. PBS just launched a new free ad-supported channel called PBS Retro, as reported by The Wrap. As the name suggests, this is a repository for all of your favorite edutainment classics from the 1980s, 1990s and beyond. The nostalgia is strong with this one. PBS Retro is available via The Roku Channel, which is a streaming service on smart TVs and, of course, Roku devices. The 24/7 channel airs all of the shows you’re likely picturing right now, including Reading Rainbow and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. You’ll also be able to introduce your kids to Thomas and Friends, Zoboomafoo and Kratt's Creatures, among others. It’s a collection of old-school classics. This isn’t the only PBS-adjacent channel available on Roku’s platform. It’s home to other ad-supported channels like PBS Antiques Roadshow, Antiques Road Trip, PBS Food, Julia Child and PBS Nature. There are also plenty of PBS-related channels available via subscription, including PBS Masterpiece, PBS Kids, PBS Living, PBS Documentaries and PBS America. Some of these are available on Hulu+ Live TV. PBS may become an even bigger fixture in the free ad-supported streaming television space in the future. The organization says it's in the “early days of experimentation” with a goal of making PBS content “available in new places.” It will “continue to consider additional opportunities” if these FAST channels increase revenue and brand awareness. In the meantime, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood makes for some mighty fine ASMR.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pbs-retro-is-a-new-fast-channel-playing-just-the-classics-173125500.html?src=rss

24.04.2024 19:40 At CES this January, startup Rabbit unveiled its first device, just in time for the end of the year of the rabbit according to the lunar calendar. It’s a cute little orange square that was positioned as a “pocket companion that moves AI from words to action.” In other words, it’s basically a dedicated AI machine that acts kind of like a walkie talkie to a virtual assistant. Sound familiar? You’re probably thinking of the Humane AI Pin, which was announced last year and started shipping this month. I awarded it a score of 50 earlier this month, while outlets like Wired and The Verge gave it similarly low marks of 4 out of 10. The people at Rabbit have been paying close attention to the aftermath of the Humane AI Pin launch and reviews. It was evident in founder and CEO Jesse Lyu's address at an unboxing event at the TWA hotel in New York last night, where the company showed off the Rabbit R1 and eager early adopters listened rapturously before picking up their pre-orders. Engadget's sample unit is on its way to Devindra Hardawar, who will be tackling this review. But I was in attendance last night to check out units at the event that industry peers were unboxing . What is the Rabbit R1? As a refresher, the Rabbit R1 is a bright orange square, co-engineered by Teenage Engineering and Rabbit. It has a 2.88-inch color display built in, an 8-megapixel camera that can face both ways and a scroll wheel reminiscent of the crank on the Playdate. The latter, by the way, is a compact gaming handheld that was also designed by Teenage Engineering, and the Rabbit R1 shares its adorable retro aesthetic. Again, like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1 is supposed to be your portal to an AI-powered assistant and operating system. However, there are a few key differences, which Lyu covered extensively at the launch event last night. Rabbit R1 vs Humane AI Pin Let's get this out of the way: The Rabbit R1 already looks a lot more appealing than the Humane AI Pin. First of all, it costs $199 — less than a third of the AI Pin's $700. Humane also requires a monthly $24 subscription fee or its device will be rendered basically useless. Rabbit, as Lyu repeatedly reiterated all night, does not require such a fee. You'll just be responsible for your own cellular service , and can bring your own SIM card or just default to good old Wi-Fi. There, you'll also find the USB-C charging port. The R1's advantages over the Pin don't end there. By virtue of its integrated screen , the orange square is more versatile and a lot easier to interact with. You can use the wheel to scroll through elements and press the button on the right side to confirm a choice. You could also tap the screen or push down a button to start talking to the software. Now, I haven’t taken a photo with the device myself, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of images I saw on its screen. Maybe my expectations were pretty low, but when reviewers in a media room were setting up their devices by using the onboard cameras to scan QR codes, I found the images on the screens clear and impressively vibrant. Users won’t just be capturing photos, videos and QR codes with the Rabbit R1, by the way. It also has a Vision feature like the Humane AI Pin that will analyze an image you take and tell you what’s in it. In Lyu’s demo, the R1 told him that it saw a crowd of people at “an event or concert venue.” Cherlynn Low for Engadget We’ll have to wait till Devindra actually takes some pictures with our R1 unit and downloads them from the web-based portal that Rabbit cleverly calls the Rabbit Hole. Its name for camera-based features is Rabbit Eye, which is just kind of delightful. In fact, another thing that distinguishes Rabbit from Humane is the former’s personality. The R1 just oozes character. From the witty feature names to the retro aesthetic to the onscreen animation and the fact that the AI will actually make jokes, Rabbit and Teenage Engineering have developed something that’s got a lot more flavor than Humane’s almost clinical appearance and approach. Of all the things Lyu took shots at Humane about last night, though, talk of the R1’s thermal performance or the AI Pin’s heat issues was conspicuously absent. To be clear, the R1 is slightly bigger than the Humane device, and it uses an octa-core MediaTek MT6765 processor, compared to the AI Pin’s Snapdragon chip. There’s no indication at the moment that the Rabbit device will run as hot as Humane’s Pin, but I’ve been burned before and remain cautious. I am also slightly concerned about the R1’s glossy plastic build. It looks nice and feels lighter than expected, weighing just 115 grams or about a quarter of a pound. The scroll wheel moved smoothly when I pushed it up and down, and there were no physical grooves or notches, unlike the rotating hinge on Samsung’s Galaxy watches. The camera housing lay flush with the rest of the R1’s case, and in general the unit felt refined and finished. Most of my other impressions of the Rabbit R1 come from Lyu’s onstage demos, where I was surprised by how quickly his device responded to his queries. He was able to type on the R1’s screen and tilted it so that the controls sat below the display instead of to its right. That way, there was enough room for an onscreen keyboard that Lyu said was the same width as the one on the original iPhone. What’s next for the Rabbit R1? Rabbit also drew attention for its so-called Large Action Model , which acts as an interpreter to convert popular apps like Spotify or Doordash into interfaces that work on the R1’s simple-looking operating system. Lyu also showed off some of these at the event last night, but I’d much rather wait for us to test these out for ourselves. Lyu made many promises to the audience, seeming to acknowledge that the R1 might not be fully featured when it arrives in their hands. Even on the company’s website, there’s a list of features that are planned, in the works or being explored. For one thing, an alarm is coming this summer, along with a calendar, contacts app, GPS support, memory recall and more. Throughout his speech, Lyu repeated the phrase “we’re gonna work on” amid veiled references to Humane . Ultimately, Lyu said “we just keep adding value to this thing,” in reference to a roadmap of upcoming features. Hopefully, Lyu and his team are able to deliver on the promises they’ve made. I’m already very intrigued by a “teach mode” he teased, which is basically a way to generate macros by recording an action on the R1, and letting it learn what you want to do when you tell it something. Rabbit’s approach certainly seems more tailored to tinkerers and enthusiasts, whereas Humane’s is ambitious and yet closed off. This feels like Google and Apple all over again, except whether the AI device race will ever reach the same scale remains to be seen. Last night’s event also made it clear what Rabbit wants us to think. It was hosted at the TWA hotel, which itself used to be the head house of the TWA Flight Center. The entire place is an homage to retro vibes, and the entry to Rabbit’s event was lined with display cases containing gadgets like a Pokedex, a Sony Watchman, a Motorola pager, Game Boy Color and more. Every glass box I walked by made me squeal, bringing up a pleasant sense memory that also resurfaced when I played with the R1. It didn't feel good in that it's premium or durable; it felt good because it reminded me of my childhood. Whether Rabbit is successful with the R1 depends on how you define success. The company has already sold more than 100,000 units this quarter and looks poised to sell at least one more . I remain skeptical about the usefulness of AI devices, but, in large part due to its price and ability to work with third-party apps at launch, Rabbit has already succeeded in making me feel like Alice entering Wonderland.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-hands-on-already-more-fun-and-accessible-than-the-humane-ai-pin-163622560.html?src=rss

24.04.2024 19:40 Google keeps promising to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome but not actually doing it. The company vowed to deprecate cookies back in 2020, pushing the date back to 2023 and then 2024. We did get some traction earlier this year, when Google disabled cookies for one percent of Chrome users, but those efforts have stalled. Now, the company says it won’t happen until next year. It’s easy to drag Google for this but it’s not entirely in the company’s hands. The tech giant is working closely with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to ensure that any tools it implements to replace the cookie’s tracking and measurement capabilities aren’t anti-competitive. These tools are known collectively as the Privacy Sandbox and Google says it has to wait until the CMA has had “sufficient time to review” results from industry tests that’ll be provided by the end of June. Google’s Privacy Sandbox has stirred up some controversy in recent years. The proposed tools have drawn complaints from adtech companies, publishers and ad agencies, on the grounds that they are difficult to operate, don’t adequately replace traditional cookies and give too much power to Google. To that end, the company said that it recognizes “ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers.” This is another reason given for the delay until next year. The CMA isn’t the only regulatory agency giving the side-eye to the current iteration of these Privacy Sandbox tools. The UK-based Information Commissioner’s Office drafted a report that indicated these tools could be used by advertisers to identify consumers, as suggested by the Wall Street Journal. Those in the ad industry want to see cookies given the heave-ho, despite complaints about Privacy Sandbox. Drew Stein, CEO of adtech data firm Audigent, told Engadget that it’s time for Google “to deliver on the promise of a better ecosystem” by implementing its plans to eliminate third-party cookies. The CMA, on the other hand, has indicated a willingness to keep third-party cookies in play, particularly if Google’s solution does more harm than good. Craig Jenkins, the CMA’s director of digital markets, recently said the organization would delay implementation of Privacy Sandbox tools if “we’re not satisfied we can resolve the concerns”, as reported by Adweek. We’ll see what happens in 2025.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-has-delayed-killing-third-party-cookies-from-chrome-again-155911583.html?src=rss