Dacor's Undercounter Collection, featuring elegant wine and beverage storage with precision temperature control, flexible design, and refined aesthetics.
The post Dacor’s New Undercounter Collection: Luxury Beverage Storage first appeared on Trendy Gadget.
The PlayStation 5 Pro is nearly here, as it hits retailers on November 7. If you’ve been on the fence about dropping a cool $700 on a mid-generation refresh, Sony just published a list of more than 50 games that will offer enhanced versions when the console launches later this week.
This list includes modern favorites like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and God of War Ragnarök. It also features newer games like NBA2K 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. All told, it’s a pretty decent start. The console will unlock all kinds of graphical enhancements, like advanced ray tracing, higher frame rates and Sony’s proprietary upscaling system called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution.
However, it’s also worth pointing out some games that aren’t on the list. Gran Turismo 7 is missing, despite an enhanced version already being announced. It must not be ready yet. Final Fantasy XVI is also absent from the list, and that one has frame rate issues on the PS5. The same goes for both Returnal and Elden Ring. Now, just because these games aren’t on the launch list, doesn’t mean they won’t get enhanced versions down the line. It probably depends on how many consoles Sony sells.
The PS5 Pro offers more than just slight graphical upgrades to pre-existing titles. It boasts faster memory, support for Wi-Fi 7 and ships with a large 2TB SSD. Digital Foundry recently did an unboxing and also found 2GB of additional DDR5 RAM and a user-accessible battery bay. These are all nifty upgrades, though I’m still not sure if all of this adds up to me spending $700.
By now, you’d think that Apple’s vetting procedures for the App Store are watertight, but think again. As reported by The Verge, this Threads post shows that an app called Univer Note, a productivity app on the outside, is actually an illegal app that grants certain users access to pirated films.
The kicker isn’t only that the app is Apple-approved. Univer Note actually functions as a productivity app, but if you’re in countries like France or Canada, a French menu full of pirated movies and shows will show up. The app’s listing makes it appear like a standard, if generic, app, but it has an incredible rating of 4.9 stars out of 5.
When we downloaded and tested this ourselves, we found movies and shows like Agatha All Along, Breaking Bad, The Office, Deadpool and Wolverine and many other titles, all streaming for free.
The content is divided into sections for various streaming services including Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Max, Paramount+ and Crunchyroll, as well as a few French-only platforms. Some of the movies have only recently been released in theaters, including Venom: The Last Dance and Terrifier 3.
Apple will likely remove Univer Note from the store soon, and it likely won’t be the last app to slip past the tech giant’s filters. However, the fact that it has plenty of content from large streaming platforms makes it a particularly egregious slip-up. You have to imagine that Netflix and Disney aren’t happy with this.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-just-approved-another-app-that-streams-pirated-movies-and-tv-shows-164549689.html?src=rssMeta has shared more information about how it plans to use AI to catch teens who lie about their age on Instagram. As first reported by Bloomberg, early next year, the company will deploy “adult classifier,” a tool it says will identify users who are younger than 18 and automatically apply Instagram’s more restrictive privacy settings to them.
According to Allison Hartnett, Meta’s director of product management for youth and social impact, the software will look at indicators like the accounts a user follows and the content they interact with regularly. If the tool suspects someone is under 18, it will move them to a teen account, regardless of what age they claim to be on their profile.
Meta did not immediately respond to Engadget's request for comment.
Meta first said it would use AI to identify young users who had lied about their age when it began rolling out teen accounts in September. With those accounts, the company automatically applies Instagram’s most stringent privacy settings to kids younger than 16. For instance, the accounts are automatically set to private, and they can’t message strangers. Facing pressure from lawmakers and parents, Meta had already been applying many of those restrictions to underage users before the rollout of teen accounts, but with the official launch of the feature, the company made it so that teens cannot change those settings without approval from a parent.
On Monday, the company didn’t disclose how accurate the adult classifier tool is at determining a person’s age. Meta told Bloomberg it would eventually give people who are wrongly identified by the software the ability to appeal, though the social media giant is still working out what that process will look like.
The company will prompt teens who attempt to manually change the age listed on their account to prove their identity. Users will have the option of either uploading an official government-issued ID or sharing a video selfie to Yoti. Meta previously partnered with Yoti to bring age verification to Facebook dating. The company’s machine learning algorithm estimates a person’s age based on their facial features. Once Yoti shares its estimate with Meta, they both delete the video.
The adult classifier software is part of broader effort by Meta to make it more difficult for people to lie about their age on Instagram. Separately, the company plans to flag teens who attempt to create a new account using an email address that’s already associated with an existing account and a different birthday. It also plans to use device IDs to get a better picture of who is creating a new profile.
Meta, alongside Google and TikTok owner ByteDance, recently failed to convince a US federal judge to dismiss a series of lawsuits alleging the companies failed to adequately protect their young users from the harmful and addictive effects of social media use.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-details-adult-classifier-tool-for-catching-teens-who-lie-about-their-age-on-instagram-164439051.html?src=rssAmazon completely revamped its Kindle family in October when it debuted the entirely new Colorsoft ereader along with updated generations of the other three existing models: the standard Kindle, the Paperwhite and the Scribe E Ink tablet. The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen, a bigger battery and a more powerful processor that Amazon combined with E Ink tech to make page turns faster. This Paperwhite again comes in a Signature Edition, which adds wireless charging, an auto-adjusting front light and extra storage — all for $200, which is $10 more than the previous Signature Edition.
The standard Kindle also got a $10 price bump, leaving the same $90 gap between Amazon’s cheapest model and the Signature Edition. I tested both to see whether the price difference between the two is worth it. The higher-end model is certainly posh, but the base model handles ereader basics well. Is the deluxe treatment that much better?
The company is calling the Paperwhite (Signature and standard) the “fastest Kindle ever” thanks to a new dual-core processor and an oxide thin-film transistor layer that enables quicker switching of the text and graphics on the page. That layer is also more transparent than the previous tech, so the on-page clarity has increased as well.
As for storage, the Paperwhite Signature gets 32GB, double that of the regular Paperwhite, which is the same treatment as the prior generations for both. They have a couple additional backlights this time: ten standard LEDs and nine warm ones for a total of 19.
The screen is a little larger at seven inches, up from 6.8, and sports the same 300 ppi resolution. Despite a larger battery capacity (with an estimated 12 weeks of live instead of just ten), the device is a fraction of a millimeter thinner than last time, and weighs just two-tenths of a gram more. It has the same IPX8 rating, meaning it can handle full submersion, and the back is made from a metallic plastic with a rubberized texture that’s easy to grip (so you’re less likely to accidentally dunk it in water). The bezels help with grip too, as they’re just wide enough to accommodate a thumb without triggering a page turn.
The hardware upgrades are subtle, but they add up to a downright elegant way to read books. Pulling up menus, opening new titles and turning pages are all speedier than any ereader I’ve tried. And ghosting is basically non-existent. The roomy screen displays text that’s crisper than a January morning and the auto-adjusting front lights are like a warm lantern lighting your way.
If I take any issue with the design of the Signature, it’s the placement of the power button at the bottom edge. One of the simple joys in this life (for me anyway) is eating while reading. That means I hold a book or ereader on the table in front of my plate as I shovel stir fry into my mouth. Often, resting the Signature on the bottom edge accidentally presses the power button, shutting off my read mid-forkful. Notably, this doesn't happen with the standard Kindle, even though the button is in the same place, simply because the smaller ereader isn’t heavy enough to trigger the button-press. The Signature also has a rubber grommet around the edge of the flush-front screen, which I don’t hate, but I do find myself distractedly fidgeting with it when I read.
I sat the Paperwhite Signature next to other ereaders in my testing collection and compared the page-turn speeds, menu load times and scrolling refresh rates. Though the differences weren’t significant, the Signature was definitely faster. (But the Kobo Libra Colour is still the fastest at waking up after a sleep of longer than a few minutes.)
The Signature’s touch response is impeccable. I’ve accepted the fact that most ereader screens occasionally need an extra tap before they do what I want. Whether that’s turning a page or pulling up a menu, my first gesture sometimes goes unnoticed. Not here; the screen immediately responds to every swipe and tap I make. Unfortunately, sometimes that tap is unintentional, and other times the screen doesn’t respond the way I want — but it always responds.
That leads me to a couple of disappointments in the Paperwhite’s interface. Those misinterpreted taps were almost always page turns. The area that skips back in your reading is a narrow sliver on the left-hand side. Some people may plow forward in a book with no backwards glances, but I often find myself at the top of a new page with the realization that I’d been thinking about toast or Cristin Milioti for most of the last page and have no idea what’s going on. Then, when I tap to go back, I’m often taken forward, which confuses me more. To be fair, swipes are generally accurate — but I’m a tapper not a swiper.
This wouldn’t be a problem if the area for a back tap were wider — but you can’t adjust that. In fact, you can’t adjust the way your taps and swipes work at all. The middle of the top of the page accesses the header menu and a swipe down from the top brings up the quick settings panel. There’s no switching those gestures or the zones to suit your preference.
It’s unfortunate because that’s something both Kobo and Boox devices can do. Those readers also give you finer adjustments for the margins, line spacing, font weight and more. The options the Kindle does provide for the look of your text are honestly fine, though. And the Kindle gets points for letting you create and save themes made up of different combinations of fonts and layouts. Kobo doesn’t allow this and Boox can’t do it in its native reader app.
Acquiring books you want to read is maybe one of the most important qualities in an ereader and Kindles have their strengths and weaknesses. These features aren’t unique to the Paperwhite, but it’s worth mentioning how Amazon’s book access compares to its competitors. The first thing to acknowledge is that the Amazon Kindle library is the largest, thanks to Amazon Exclusive books and self-published, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) titles. That said, if you mostly read titles from established publishers, you’ll find them on any reader.
Amazon’s devices are better for people who like to flit between reading and listening to a given book. Not only do you get a discount on an audiobook if you buy the ebook version, the Whispersync feature keeps track of where you are so you can swap between the formats and pick up the story at the right place. And if you’re active on Goodreads, a Kindle will also serve you better as the integration with (the Amazon-owned) site is baked-in.
What Kindles don’t support are ePubs with any digital rights management (DRM) other than its own. If you buy a book from a third party ebook store that uses Adobe DRM, you can’t read it on a Kindle — but you can on Kobo and Boox devices (with a few extra steps). Finally, you may want to consider how you’ll access books borrowed from your local library. Using either the Libby app on your phone or your local library’s website, you just need to choose the “send to Kindle” option for them to show up on your reader. It's worth noting that Kobo lets you search for and borrow library books from the device itself, and Boox devices let you do so from the Libby app directly.
The regular Paperwhite is $160 and the Signature Edition is $200. That’s a $40 increase that may make sense for some, but probably not for most people. The three add-ons (extra storage, wireless charging and auto-adjusting light) are handy, but won’t dramatically improve your reading experience. If you like having offline access to lots of audiobooks, the larger 32GB capacity might be worth it. But if you mostly read ebooks (and/or use your phone for audiobooks, which makes more sense to me), the 16GB-capacity should be more than enough for years of library expansion.
The auto-adjusting front light on the Signature Edition is responsive and calibrates the light to the environment pretty well. I still need to manually lower it in a fully dark room, so it’s not fully hands-off, plus it’s easy enough to adjust. The separate warm light (which you get with the regular Paperwhite) is the more critical feature anyway, as it makes reading into the wee hours of the night far more pleasant. The final Signature-only feature, wireless charging, is probably the least important — you only charge these things once every other month at the most. How you do so feels inconsequential.
So if you save $40 by not going with the Signature model, does it make sense to save even more by going with the $110 standard Kindle? That’s harder to answer. The base Kindle has the same 300 ppi resolution, the same storage capacity, the same font and layout options and access to the same audio- and ebooks as the standard Paperwhite. But the Kindle’s screen is smaller, the device is not waterproof, the battery lasts half as long and there’s no warm light. Touch responsiveness isn’t quite as good and page turns are slightly slower (though the difference on both counts is minor).
Honestly, the lack of a warm light on the base Kindle is the only major drawback. It’s far more enjoyable to read the softer yellowish screens of either Paperwhite than the harsher blue of the base model. But I found myself getting used to it fairly quickly, and I probably noticed the difference most when switching back and forth between the two — something most people won’t do.
In short, the Kindle Paperwhite and the new Paperwhite Signature offer a more premium reading experience. The flush front screen and soft-touch back feel more upscale. The larger screen feels like the difference between reading a mass market paperback and a trade paperback, which isn’t to say the standard Kindle feels cramped, it’s just smaller. I see the Paperwhite (especially the Signature model) appealing to people who want the most elevated reading experience — the crispest text, the least lag, the swankiest feel. And the regular Kindle is perfect for those who just want the most direct line to reading nearly any book they want.
It comes down to whether you think a heightened experience will make you read more. If so, then it’s probably worth the price jump in the long run. But if you’re just looking for a no-frills way to read books, go for the base Kindle. Even though it’s less high-end, it feels more durable and more portable. The smaller size can fit in a back pocket and you may be more apt to toss it in a cluttered bag — all of which may very well mean you read more, and, really, that’s the whole point of any ereader.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/kindle-paperwhite-signature-2024-review-a-luxurious-reading-experience-163036611.html?src=rss
The computer mouse is innately an unintuitive device and yet has become the most common way we interact with computers. There might be times when direct input through touchscreens is better, but that only works if you’re using a tablet or a touch-enabled monitor. A trackpad, like the ones built into laptops, stands somewhere in between, but it isn’t of much use to desktop users or even for laptops that have very small trackpads.
Apple users have the advantage of having something like the Magic Trackpad exactly for that purpose, but the choices on the Windows side of the computing landscape are very slim. Most of them simply offer the same limited functionality as laptop trackpads, as if they just yanked those out and made them a separate device. This concept, however, goes the extra mile to make the trackpad not only look more elegant but also offer a better user experience.
Designer: Ivan Llaneza
Unlike a touchscreen, a mouse provides an indirect interaction method where you use it to move a cursor around as a proxy for your finger. A trackpad works the same way but uses a more or less flat surface that, to some extent, makes it almost feel like you’re remotely doing it on the screen rather than moving a soap-shaped device. The ergonomic problem with laptop trackpads is their location beneath the keyboard, so some prefer having an external version off to the side in place of a mouse.
PAD is a trackpad design concept that provides an experience similar to the Apple Magic Trackpad. But unlike that already popular solution, the design goes beyond simply replicating a trackpad. For one, its circular, dome-shaped design gives it a unique appearance, and its focus on premium materials separates it from typical plastic mice.
More importantly, however, PAD thinks of ways to improve or augment that user experience. Given its circular shape, it’s possible to press not just the left and right edges but also the front and the back for additional mouse buttons. The top surface is also touch-sensitive, so touch gestures also work there. In fact, the middle of the dome can have an embedded fingerprint scanner, which makes PAD a secure authentication tool as well.
The design also goes beyond mouse functions, and it’s not just the RGB lighting around the rim. Since you won’t be moving PAD around your desk, it’s possible to use it as data storage. It can also have a microphone and small speakers for use with an AI assistant. The latter might be overkill for a computer pointing device, but given how AI is being incorporated into almost everything, it won’t be an alien concept in just a few years.
The post Circular trackpad concept tries to upgrade the way we use computers first appeared on Yanko Design.
Xbox has revealed the first wave of Game Pass additions for November. While there perhaps isn't anything quite on the mainstream blockbuster level of recent newcomer Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, there's still plenty worth paying attention to.
Arguably the most notable new game to hit the service this month is Flight Simulator 2024. For the first time in the series, you'll be able to exit your aircraft and explore more than two dozen biomes. You can seemingly land anywhere in what's said to be the most detailed recreation of our world in the franchise so far. There are new weather features, including auroras. Meanwhile, you'll be able to undertake various aviation careers, including medevac operations and aerial firefighting. On top of that, you'll be able to compete against other players in races.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will hit Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on its November 19 release day. You'll be able to play it via PC (if you have a beefy enough rig), Xbox Series X/S and, appropriately enough, the cloud.
In the meantime, you'll be able to check out Metal Slug Tactics on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and the cloud on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass starting November 5. This is a tactical RPG take on the classic run-and-gun series that will hit the service on day one. The game is arriving on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5 on Tuesday as well.
Also on Tuesday, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to play the single-player components of StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection on PC at no extra cost. The multiplayer aspects of both are already free.
Four games are joining the Game Pass Standard tier on November 6: Go Mecha Ball, The Rewinder, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (all on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S) and Harold Halibut (Xbox Series X/S only). The following day, you can hop into Goat Simulator Remastered via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on PC, Xbox Series X/S and the cloud.
Meanwhile, Xbox is removing some other titles from Game Pass on November 15. Those are:
Dicey Dungeons (cloud, console and PC)
Dungeons 4 (cloud, console and PC)
Goat Simulator (PC)
Like a Dragon: Ishin! (cloud, console and PC)
Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (cloud, console and PC)
Persona 5 Tactica (cloud, console and PC)
Somerville (cloud, console and PC)
I just love people who are considered “boy scouts” as they have whatever it is that you need at the moment in their bag. Sometimes I want to be that person but I am almost always too lazy to carry a lot of things around (except probably for stationery and journaling stuff). Fortunately there are more and more 1 million in 1 (okay an exaggeration) tools available out there for you to become your group’s go-to person when it comes to tools on the go.
Designer: Leatherman
The Skeletool CX is one such tool that is pretty lightweight so it can fit into your bag or even your pocket. All the 7 basic tools that you may need to use when you’re out of the house can be found here: needlenose pliers, regular pliers, wire cutters, hard-wire cutters, carabiner/bottle opener, large bit driver, and a 154cm knife. The knife itself is made from high-quality stainless steel so it can resist wear and corrosion and stay sharp far longer than other knives. You can even lock it into place if you want to be safe when not in use.
The tool has other features which make it even more convenient. You can store tool bits in the handle so you can access them easily when needed. You can even use some of the features even when it’s in folded or closed position. If you’re good, you can even just use it with one hand, There’s also a pocket clip if you want to attach it to your belt loop or pocket.
The Skeletool CX weighs just 5 oz so it won’t be a pain to carry it around. It comes in seven different colors to match your aesthetic: guava, verdant, nighshade, onyx, paradise, black and stainless, and OD Green. While there are several tools out there that may have more functionalities, this is a pretty good basic tool that is lightweight and handy.
The post Leatherman’s Stainless CX is a lightweight 7-in-1 tool to carry around first appeared on Yanko Design.
Amazon's new Kindle lineup features the first color Kindle, a revamped Scribe for notes, and the fastest Paperwhite yet, enhancing the reading experience.
The post Discover the New Kindle Lineup: Innovation Meets Reading first appeared on Trendy Gadget.
The Volvo XC90 Hybrid SUV is transforming the automotive industry by seamlessly combining luxury, efficiency, and advanced technology. As Volvo’s flagship hybrid SUV, the XC90 offers consumers a choice between petrol-electric plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid petrol powertrains, accommodating a variety of preferences and needs. The vehicle’s striking new frontal styling enhances its already distinctive and […]
The post Volvo XC90 Hybrid SUV Starts at £63,790 appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.