Author Archives: Lawrence Bonk

Google announces satellite SOS calling for Pixel 9 phones

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Google just announced a whole bunch of new products at the Made by Google event, including a trio of Pixel 9 smartphones. The phones look cool and stuffed to the gills with high-tech features. Each of the four new models will also be able to use a long-requested safety tool. That’s right. Satellite-based SOS calling is coming to the Pixel 9 series.

This allows people to access emergency services even when they’re off the grid and have no access to cellular or Wi-Fi signals. This feature not only connects to emergency service providers, but can also share a location with contacts so someone can come scoop you up. It’s not 100-percent fool-proof, as the phone must have access to a satellite, but nearly every corner of the globe has access to one satellite or another. In other words, consider it 99-percent fool-proof.

While this is the first time a dedicated SOS mode is showing up on an Android phone, Apple has been offering the feature for a couple of years now. Apple typically allows for two years of free access to the service upon activation of a new iPhone 14 or higher. It’s assumed that, at some point, the company will begin charging for SOS calls, but Apple has yet to make this official.

Google’s adopting a similar method here. Pixel 9 owners get two free years of SOS calling, but the company hasn’t said what the price would be when that timeframe passes. The feature is only available in the US, for now, and Google says “connection and response times vary based on location, site conditions and other factors.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-announces-satellite-sos-calling-for-pixel-9-phones-170013392.html?src=rss

Google just announced the nearly-identical Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL

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Google just officially revealed the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL smartphones at its latest Made by Google event. These offer some major improvements when compared to the standard Pixel 9, which was also announced today.

First of all, it’s important to note that the Pro and Pro XL are essentially the same phone. The XL has a bigger screen, at 6.8-inches, and can charge up a bit quicker, but that’s it. So which one you choose should depend entirely on whether or not you want that added screen real estate. I personally like gigantic screens, even if the phones tend to be a bit cumbersome. 

A smartphone.
Google

The specs here are excellent, and should give Samsung’s latest high-end handsets a run for their money. The Pixel 9 Pro line features the brand-new Tensor G4 processor and an astounding 16GB of RAM. This RAM is pretty much required to simultaneously power all of the AI software that’s running underneath the hood. These phones are designed to handle a vast array of AI tasks, with Gemini baked into chats, photos, note-taking and more. To help seal the AI deal, the company’s packing in a one-year subscription to the Google One AI Premium Plan. This gives unlimited access to everything Gemini has to offer.

Another huge update is the camera system. Google phones are widely known for having some of the best cameras in the business, and the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL look to be keeping this tradition alive. The front camera has been upgraded to a 42 MP dual-pixel autofocus system. The triple rear camera system has also been enhanced, with a 50 MP main sensor, a 48 MP ultrawide sensor and 48 MP telephoto sensor.

A smartphone.
Google

The camera software has also gotten a boost to take advantage of the aforementioned specs. Video footage can be automatically enhanced to 8K, with the option for Super Res Zoom. There’s a macro focus tool and night sight capabilities. Users will also have access to all of the aforementioned AI bells and whistles, including stuff like Magic Eraser and Magic Editor.

Now onto the display. The standard Pixel 9 Pro includes a 6.3-inch Super Actua OLED with a 20:9 aspect ratio, 495 PPI, a variable refresh rate (up to 120Hz) and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. It’s also covered by ultra-durable Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, so it should be able to take a licking and keep on ticking. The Pixel 9 Pro XL boasts the exact same display specs, but with a 6.8-inch screen.

Both of these phones are available in four colors, including black, white, hazel and rose quartz. The Pixel 9 Pro starts at $1,000 and Pixel 9 Pro XL starts at $1,100, with pre-orders available now and open availability starting on August 22. Each model ships with 16GB of RAM, and that’s the only available option. Customers can add internal storage, however, with drives ranging from 128GB to 1TB.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-just-announced-the-nearly-identical-pixel-9-pro-and-pixel-9-pro-xl-170006200.html?src=rss

Paramount laying off another 15 percent of its US workforce

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Paramount is laying off 15 percent of its US workforce, according to reporting by Deadline. This follows a lean second quarter earnings report in which total revenue fell short from an expected $7.21 billion to $6.81 billion. The layoffs will impact around 3,000 people.

“The industry continues to evolve, and Paramount is at an inflection point where changes must be made to strengthen our business,” company CEOs wrote in a staff memo.

Paramount representatives say these cuts will happen in three stages, with layoffs beginning today and 90 percent of all cuts being completed by the end of September. The layoffs will primarily impact employees involved in marketing and communications, though the company’s legal and finance arms will also face cuts.

Paramount already laid off three percent of its workforce back in February, and this was after a three percent increase in revenue growth that was largely credited to its streaming and film businesses. So, a three percent increase of revenue translated to a three percent reduction of Paramount’s workforce and missing revenue expectations by around four percent is leading to layoffs accounting for 15 percent of company employees. Workers can’t catch a break.

All of these layoffs are likely being used to clear the runway, so to speak, for the forthcoming merger with Skydance. The merger was announced back in June and will soon head to the regulatory review process. Paramount has also been raising prices for its streaming service and, of course, deleting whole libraries of content for reasons that make a lot of sense to corporate executives but not so much to regular people.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/paramount-laying-off-another-15-percent-of-its-us-workforce-153119425.html?src=rss

Valve’s new game racks up 22K concurrent players, without officially existing

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Valve’s next game, which has yet to be officially announced, had over 16,000 concurrent players over the weekend. As of this writing, that number sits at 22,400 via SteamDB. The game is called Deadlock and we’ve known that Valve was working on it for a while, but now it seems as though we are in the midst of a soft launch of some kind.

Again, this game hasn’t been officially announced by the company, though something’s certainly going on. It’s likely that Valve has opened the game up to play tests to gauge how successful the title could be with a proper PR push behind it, as indicated by Eurogamer and others. These numbers are certainly impressive considering, you know, Deadlock has yet to be confirmed by the company.

So what is Deadlock? It’s a competitive MOBA shooter, billed as “the next Dota” by veteran Valve reporter Tyler McVicker. It’s reported to have been in development since 2018 and is a partnership with IceFrog, an unnamed creator who was originally behind the original Defense of the Ancients mod of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos that started all of the Dota mania.

By all accounts, Deadlock is already in an advanced state of development, given the robust concurrent player count. McVicker describes it as looking “like Valorant, Overwatch, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby.”

After this article was originally published, an Engadget writer got an invite to the playtest, and can confirm many of the details leaked about the game. There are currently 20 heroes to choose from, and you can enter a sandbox mode to try each of them out. You're also able to browse ongoing matches to spectate and get a better feel for things before you're ready to dive in. The playtest build shows that the servers are open every day, for at least 12 hours each day.

While Valve hasn’t officially announced Deadlock, likely waiting for a surprise drop of some kind, the company did trademark the name back in June. So that’s something. With over 22,000 concurrents, it won’t be long before we all know a lot more about this game.

Update, August 13, 3:30PM ET: This story was updated after publishing with a brief explanation of what Valve's Deadlock playtest entails. The number of concurrent players in the headline and article was also updated to reflect the game's current player count. The original article stated there were over 16,000 players.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/valves-new-game-racks-up-16k-concurrent-players-without-officially-existing-184342450.html?src=rss

The Indie Horror Showcase gaming event returns on October 24

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The Indie Horror Showcase event is returning on October 24. This is a “celebration of upcoming nightmarish games” made by developers throughout the world and will be hosted by DreadXP, an indie publisher responsible for well-received games like The Mortuary Assistant and Sucker for Love.

The upcoming streaming event promises “loads of cool new indie horror” from both DreadXP and plenty of third-party developers. As a matter of fact, submissions are open to anyone, just in case you’ve been tooling around with something particularly frightening.

There were some noteworthy games discussed during last year’s event. These included the now-iconic Slay the Princess and the supernatural phone operator sim Home Safety Hotline. Other standouts from last year included Pneumata and Janet DeMornay is a Slumlord (and a witch). DreadXP says that last year’s showcase featured more than 60 trailers and announcements. This year’s event should fall somewhere in that range.

The publisher hasn’t given any indication as to which titles to be on the lookout for this year, but submissions are still open until September 16. It has promised announcements and trailers from “developers of all sizes in the indie horror scene.” DreadXP has yet to announce a premiere time for the stream.

One game that’ll likely get an update is Paranormal Activity: Found Footage. This title leverages the “found footage” format from many horror movies and brings it to gaming. DreadXP is behind the spooky adaptation and it’s scheduled for release in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-indie-horror-showcase-gaming-event-returns-on-october-24-162507028.html?src=rss

This Anker 3-in-1 MagSafe charging station is cheaper than ever right now

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This Anker 3-in-1 MagSafe charging station is on sale for $88, which is a discount of 20 percent. That’s actually a record low price for the popular charging apparatus. It’s also been built primarily to suit Apple devices.

The big hook here is the “3-in-1” from the name. The Anker MagSafe can simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods. That’s just about everything a modern Apple fan could need, aside from a gigantic harness to accommodate the Vision Pro.

This particular charger made our list of the best Apple Watch accessories, and with good reason. It’s a MagSafe device, so it offers Qi2 wireless charging. This means that devices juice up by just laying on the charging station. It also means that it circumvents the recent switch to USB-C with iPhones. As long as you have an iPhone 12 or above, you’re good to go.

It works with every Apple Watch model, though you need a wireless charging case for AirPods. The AirPods Pro earbuds ship with one but standard AirPods do not. Other than that caveat, this is a solid device. We enjoyed the high-speed 15W charging and the nifty folding design, which makes it easy to pack.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-anker-3-in-1-magsafe-charging-station-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-151757235.html?src=rss

Researchers discover potentially catastrophic exploit present in AMD chips for decades

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Security researchers have found a vulnerability in AMD processors that has persisted for decades, according to reporting by Wired. This is a fascinating security flaw because it was found in the firmware of the actual chips and potentially allows malware to deeply infect a computer’s memory.

The flaw was discovered by researchers from the security firm IOActive, who are calling the AMD-based vulnerability a “Sinkclose" flaw. This potentially allows hackers to run their own code in the most privileged mode of an AMD processor, System Management Mode. This is typically a protected portion of the firmware. The researchers have also noted that the flaw dates back to at least 2006 and that it impacts nearly every AMD chip.

That’s the bad news. Now onto some better news. Despite being potentially catastrophic, this issue is unlikely to impact regular people. That’s because in order to make full use of the flaw, hackers would already need deep access to an AMD-based PC or server. That’s a lot of work for a random home PC, phew, but could spell trouble for corporations or other large entities.

This is particularly worrisome for governments and the like. In theory, malicious code could burrow itself so deep within the firmware that it would be almost impossible to find. As a matter of fact, the researchers say that the code would likely survive a complete reinstallation of the operating system. The best option for infected computers would be a one-way ticket to the trash heap.

“Imagine nation-state hackers or whoever wants to persist on your system. Even if you wipe your drive clean, it's still going to be there,” says Krzysztof Okupski from IOActive. “It's going to be nearly undetectable and nearly unpatchable.”

Once successfully implemented, hackers would have full access to both surveil activity and tamper with the infected machine. AMD has acknowledged the issue and says that it has “released mitigation options” for data center products and Ryzen PC products “with mitigations for AMD embedded products coming soon.” The company has also published a full list of impacted chips.

AMD has also emphasized just how difficult it would be to take advantage of this exploit. It compares using the Sinkclose flaw to accessing a bank’s safe-deposit boxes after already bypassing alarms, guards, vault doors and other security measures. IOActive, however, says that kernel exploits — the equivalent of plans to get to those metaphorical safe-deposit boxes — exist readily in the wild. “People have kernel exploits right now for all these systems,” the organization told Wired. “They exist and they're available for attackers.”

IOActive has agreed to not publish any proof-of-concept code as AMD gets to work on patches. The researchers have warned that speed is of the essence, saying “if the foundation is broken, then the security for the whole system is broken.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/researchers-discover-potentially-catastrophic-exploit-present-in-amd-chips-for-decades-161541359.html?src=rss

Roomba robot vacuums are up to $420 off right now

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Roomba robot vacuums are on sale right now via Wellbots and some of the deals are absolutely fantastic. The biggest discount is for the well-regarded Combo j9+, which is pretty much the company’s top-tier robovac. This vacuum and mop hybrid is typically a jaw-dropping $1,400, but this deal brings the price down to $980. Just enter the code “ENGT420” at checkout.

We loved this unit in our official review, calling it “the ideal robot vacuum and mop” and “a godsend for tired parents.” The vacuuming performance is excellent and mop is a great bonus for mild cleaning duties (it doesn’t excel with sticky messes.) The obstacle detection is fantastic. It’ll avoid furniture, walls and even pet-related fecal matter. It’s a high-end Roomba. You know the drill.

The base is designed well and allows the vac to get stuff done on its own. The vacuum will perform its cleaning duties and empty debris right into the base. This base can accommodate 60 days of solid debris and 30 days of liquid mess before having to be manually emptied. It also features an area for storing accessories.

About the only bad thing one can say about this vacuum is the exorbitant price. The typical cost of $1,400 is simply outrageous, despite being one heck of a cleaning robot. The discount to $980 makes it a more palatable option, but it’s still closing in a grand.

If you want a good robot vacuum and don’t have an endless supply of money, there are other items on sale. The original Roomba j9+, without the mop, is available for $580 instead of $900. Just enter the code “ENGT320” at checkout. The Roomba Combo j7+, which does include a mop, is $680 instead of $1,000 with the code “ENGT320” at checkout. Incidentally, this one made our list of the best robot vacuums.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/roomba-robot-vacuums-are-up-to-420-off-right-now-130019914.html?src=rss

Beloved cat sim Stray comes to the Switch on November 19

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Annapurna Interactive just revealed that its beloved cyberpunk cat simulator Stray will be released for the Nintendo Switch on November 19. We knew this was coming, and now we have an official date. Also, it’s no coincidence that Annapurna made this announcement on International Cat Day.

This was one of our favorite games of 2022, and for good reason. It’s a charming little adventure in which you control a cute cat as it navigates a cyberpunk dystopia. The game has been a huge hit for Annapurna and, as such, has slowly crawled onto just about every platform out there. The Switch is pretty much the final frontier, as it's already available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and even Mac.

There’s one feline-shaped elephant (?) in the room. The Nintendo Switch was already pretty much outdated, hardware wise, back when it was released in 2017. Now, it’s positively ancient. It remains to be seen how well the game will run on the Switch and what sort of trade-offs the developers had to make in order get it in decent shape. Some devs can strike gold on the Switch and others, well, not so much.

Publisher Annapurna hasn’t announced a price yet. Stray typically sells for anywhere from $18 to $30, depending on the platform. This being a Switch port, it’ll probably fall on the higher end of that spectrum.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/beloved-cat-sim-stray-comes-to-the-switch-on-november-19-184048780.html?src=rss

Arcane second season has leaked online, so watch out for spoilers

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A good portion of the upcoming season of Netflix’s hit animated drama Arcane has leaked online, a and according to reporting and folks on Reddit. A production assistant at Fortiche, the French animation studio behind the series, confirmed the news in a now-deleted post on X, which was captured and published by Mobile Syrup.

“We just got informed that episodes from Arcane season two have been leaked,” the post read. “I cannot express how sad we are. We worked very hard on the show. Please, try to avoid the spoilers as much as you can and do not share them. It feels devastating.”

This is especially noteworthy because Arcane doesn’t come back until November, which is three full months from now. There have been leaks for other shows, like Game of Thrones, but those have typically happened days before a premiere and not months.

The leak impacts multiple episodes of the forthcoming Arcane season, but it remains unclear as to the exact number. Some Redditors say it's nearly the first half of the season, but note that the episodes are unfinished. This is yet another reason to wait until November. Who wants to watch half-animated storyboards or whatever?

The leak doesn’t stop with Arcane. Reports indicate that other Netflix animated shows were also put online, including footage from Terminator Zero, Dandadan and Ranma ½. Wait, there’s a reboot of Ramna ½ coming? Cool!

As for Arcane, this second season will be its final batch of episodes. The spoilers are likely to be highly impactful and could involve plot elements that involve the end of the series, so browse at your own risk. For the uninitiated, the cartoon delves into the backstories behind some of the champions in Riot Games' League of Legends.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/arcane-second-season-has-leaked-online-so-watch-out-for-spoilers-173527865.html?src=rss