Author Archives: Cheyenne MacDonald

Cartoon Network just released an Over the Garden Wall stop-motion short

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If there’s one tradition I can count on every fall, it’s the annual rewatch of Over the Garden Wall. The leaves start changing color, pumpkins begin to pop up everywhere, and I start thinking about venturing into the Unknown with Wirt and Greg. Something tells me I’m not the only one. But this year is extra special — today marks the 10-year anniversary since the miniseries debuted on Cartoon Network, and there’s a new stop-motion short to celebrate it. The short, from Cartoon Network and Aardman Animations, features some of the show’s original voice actors, including Elijah Wood as Wirt, Collin Dean as Greg and Melanie Lynskey as Beatrice.

Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale pitched the idea for the stop-motion special to directors Mikey Please and Dan Ojari earlier this year, Ojari told Fast Company. All of the figures are hand-carved wooden puppets, and filming took place in miniature sets (including a “10-by-10 square meter forest”) that took two months to build. “The only thing that’s digital is the facial animation,” Please told FC.

The end result is really beautiful, and the perfect primer for your yearly return to the strange world of Over the Garden Wall. It’s available to watch now on YouTube and X.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/cartoon-network-just-released-an-over-the-garden-wall-stop-motion-short-174926664.html?src=rss

Cartoon Network just released an Over the Garden Wall stop-motion short

Posted on by

If there’s one tradition I can count on every fall, it’s the annual rewatch of Over the Garden Wall. The leaves start changing color, pumpkins begin to pop up everywhere, and I start thinking about venturing into the Unknown with Wirt and Greg. Something tells me I’m not the only one. But this year is extra special — today marks the 10-year anniversary since the miniseries debuted on Cartoon Network, and there’s a new stop-motion short to celebrate it. The short, from Cartoon Network and Aardman Animations, features some of the show’s original voice actors, including Elijah Wood as Wirt, Collin Dean as Greg and Melanie Lynskey as Beatrice.

Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale pitched the idea for the stop-motion special to directors Mikey Please and Dan Ojari earlier this year, Ojari told Fast Company. All of the figures are hand-carved wooden puppets, and filming took place in miniature sets (including a “10-by-10 square meter forest”) that took two months to build. “The only thing that’s digital is the facial animation,” Please told FC.

The end result is really beautiful, and the perfect primer for your yearly return to the strange world of Over the Garden Wall. It’s available to watch now on YouTube and X.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/cartoon-network-just-released-an-over-the-garden-wall-stop-motion-short-174926664.html?src=rss

FBI warns voters about inauthentic videos relating to election security

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The FBI issued a statement on Saturday about deceptive videos circulating ahead of the election, saying it’s aware of two such videos “falsely claiming to be from the FBI relating to election security.” That includes one claiming the FBI had “apprehended three linked groups committing ballot fraud,” and one about Kamala Harris’ husband. Both depict false content, the FBI said.

Disinformation — including the spread of political deepfakes and other forms of misleading videos and imagery — has been a major concern in the leadup to the US presidential election. In its statement posted on X, the FBI added:

Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI operations undermines our democratic process and aims to erode trust in the electoral system.

Just a day earlier, the FBI, along with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they’d traced two other videos back to “Russian influence actors,” including one “that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/fbi-warns-voters-about-inauthentic-videos-relating-to-election-security-185108885.html?src=rss

FBI warns voters about inauthentic videos relating to election security

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The FBI issued a statement on Saturday about deceptive videos circulating ahead of the election, saying it’s aware of two such videos “falsely claiming to be from the FBI relating to election security.” That includes one claiming the FBI had “apprehended three linked groups committing ballot fraud,” and one about Kamala Harris’ husband. Both depict false content, the FBI said.

Disinformation — including the spread of political deepfakes and other forms of misleading videos and imagery — has been a major concern in the leadup to the US presidential election. In its statement posted on X, the FBI added:

Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI operations undermines our democratic process and aims to erode trust in the electoral system.

Just a day earlier, the FBI, along with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they’d traced two other videos back to “Russian influence actors,” including one “that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/fbi-warns-voters-about-inauthentic-videos-relating-to-election-security-185108885.html?src=rss

Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 drop to $179 in this early Black Friday deal

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There’s a great deal on Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 over at Amazon right now. The earbuds are currently 28 percent off, bringing them down to $179. That’s just $10 more than the all-time-low price we saw during October Prime Day, and will save you $70. The AirPods Pro 2 got an update earlier this year that brought some major new features, most notably a suite of hearing health tools and the capability to be used as hearing aids. On top of that, they now offer new gesture-based Siri Interactions and Voice Isolation to reduce background noise when you’re on a call.

Siri Interactions allow for hands- and voice-free Siri controls; you can respond to Siri’s questions simply by nodding or shaking your head. The second-generation AirPods Pro are the best earbuds for iPhone users, with better sound quality than their predecessors and seamless integration with the other devices in the Apple ecosystem. The AirPods Pro 2 offer active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which allows for more natural conversations while they’re in your ear. They also support spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for certain media.

The buds come with four pairs of silicone tips in different sizes and are IP54 rated for protection against dust and sweat. They get up to 6 hours of listening time (though this will be less with certain features, like ANC, enabled) and up to 30 hours with a little help from the USB-C MagSafe Charging Case.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-pro-2-drop-to-179-in-this-early-black-friday-deal-161357773.html?src=rss

Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 drop to $179 in this early Black Friday deal

Posted on by

There’s a great deal on Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 over at Amazon right now. The earbuds are currently 28 percent off, bringing them down to $179. That’s just $10 more than the all-time-low price we saw during October Prime Day, and will save you $70. The AirPods Pro 2 got an update earlier this year that brought some major new features, most notably a suite of hearing health tools and the capability to be used as hearing aids. On top of that, they now offer new gesture-based Siri Interactions and Voice Isolation to reduce background noise when you’re on a call.

Siri Interactions allow for hands- and voice-free Siri controls; you can respond to Siri’s questions simply by nodding or shaking your head. The second-generation AirPods Pro are the best earbuds for iPhone users, with better sound quality than their predecessors and seamless integration with the other devices in the Apple ecosystem. The AirPods Pro 2 offer active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which allows for more natural conversations while they’re in your ear. They also support spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for certain media.

The buds come with four pairs of silicone tips in different sizes and are IP54 rated for protection against dust and sweat. They get up to 6 hours of listening time (though this will be less with certain features, like ANC, enabled) and up to 30 hours with a little help from the USB-C MagSafe Charging Case.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-pro-2-drop-to-179-in-this-early-black-friday-deal-161357773.html?src=rss

Playdate is officially getting a Season Two with ‘about a dozen games’ next year

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Panic slipped some major news into its fall Playdate Update: Season Two is happening, and we’ll see it next year. Can I get a “hell yeah!”? It’s been over two years since Season One dropped, and in the time since, it’s remained unclear whether another would ever follow. But in today’s livestream, Panic’s Video & Podcast host Christa Mrgan confirmed that Season Two is a go, and it’s “happening next year.” Consolation for killing the Stereo Dock, perhaps?

There are a lot of details we still don’t know about Season Two, like how much it'll cost (Season One was included with the purchase of a Playdate), but a PR person for Panic confirmed to Engadget that Playdate owners will have to buy it from the Catalog. Information on pricing and the exact number of games will be released in 2025. The first season brought two games per week over the course of 12 weeks, amounting to 24 games in all. According to Mrgan, Season Two so far includes “about a dozen games.” There’s also apparently another “really cool surprise thing” that we aren’t allowed to know the details about just yet, and my curiosity is definitely piqued.

In addition to the Season Two announcement, the fall update also highlighted some upcoming Catalog games to look out for in the coming weeks and into 2025: Owlet’s Embrace, a metroidvania about an owl who is scared to fly; Comet, a puzzle-adventure game about a girl who is forced to face her fear of the dark after her brother goes missing; Office Chair Curling, which is exactly what it sounds like and looks absolutely absurd in the best way; Bwirds, a cute word puzzle game; a pinball game called Devils on the Moon from the makers of the Tetris-like, Pullfrog; and the top-down boat racing game, RowBot Rally.

There’s also a huge Catalog sale going on right now that runs through November 14. Some of our favorite Playdate games are deeply discounted, so if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to scoop up all the titles on your “to play” list, now would be the time.

Update, October 31 2024, 2:45PM ET: This story has been updated to include additional information from Panic/Playdate's PR. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playdate-is-officially-getting-a-season-two-with-about-a-dozen-games-next-year-180446193.html?src=rss

Mosseri confirms Instagram reduces video quality for posts that aren’t raking in views

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In an AMA this weekend, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared some insight into why some videos on the platform appear reduced in quality well after they’re posted, and it all boils down to performance. Responding to a question about old stories looking “blurry” in highlights, Mosseri said, “In general, we want to show the highest-quality video we can. But if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video.” If the video later spikes in popularity again, “then we will re-render the higher quality video,” he said in the response, which was reposted by a Threads user (spotted by The Verge).

Further elaborating in a follow-up reply, though, Mosseri added, “We bias to higher quality (more CPU intensive encoding and more expensive storage for bigger files) for creators who drive more views.” The comment has sparked concern from small creators in the replies who say it puts them at a disadvantage competing with others who have larger platforms. Meta has previously said it uses “different encoding configurations to process videos based on their popularity” as part of how it manages its computing resources. 

The performance system “works at an aggregate level,” Mosseri said, “not an individual viewer level… It’s not a binary theshhold [sic], but rather a sliding scale.” In response to one user who questioned its fairness for smaller creators, Mosseri said the quality shift “doesn’t seem to matter much” in practice as it “isn’t huge” and viewers appear to care more about video content over quality. “Quality seems to be much more important to the original creator, who is more likely to delete the video if it looks poor, than to their viewers,” he said. Understandably, not everyone seems convinced.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mosseri-confirms-instagram-reduces-video-quality-for-posts-that-arent-raking-in-views-233033536.html?src=rss

Mosseri confirms Instagram reduces video quality for posts that aren’t raking in views

Posted on by

In an AMA this weekend, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared some insight into why some videos on the platform appear reduced in quality well after they’re posted, and it all boils down to performance. Responding to a question about old stories looking “blurry” in highlights, Mosseri said, “In general, we want to show the highest-quality video we can. But if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video.” If the video later spikes in popularity again, “then we will re-render the higher quality video,” he said in the response, which was reposted by a Threads user (spotted by The Verge).

Further elaborating in a follow-up reply, though, Mosseri added, “We bias to higher quality (more CPU intensive encoding and more expensive storage for bigger files) for creators who drive more views.” The comment has sparked concern from small creators in the replies who say it puts them at a disadvantage competing with others who have larger platforms. Meta has previously said it uses “different encoding configurations to process videos based on their popularity” as part of how it manages its computing resources. 

The performance system “works at an aggregate level,” Mosseri said, “not an individual viewer level… It’s not a binary theshhold [sic], but rather a sliding scale.” In response to one user who questioned its fairness for smaller creators, Mosseri said the quality shift “doesn’t seem to matter much” in practice as it “isn’t huge” and viewers appear to care more about video content over quality. “Quality seems to be much more important to the original creator, who is more likely to delete the video if it looks poor, than to their viewers,” he said. Understandably, not everyone seems convinced.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mosseri-confirms-instagram-reduces-video-quality-for-posts-that-arent-raking-in-views-233033536.html?src=rss

Apple may tap into a beloved retro design for its smart home display

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Apple’s rumored smart home display may look a lot like an old friend — the iMac G4 of the early 2000s. In the Power On newsletter this weekend, Mark Gurman reports that the countertop tablet will feature a square screen that’s “positioned at an angle on a small base, making it reminiscent of the circular bottom of the iMac G4.” That may be where the speakers are housed too. The device is expected to arrive sometime next year, followed later on by a higher-end version with a robotic limb that can change the position of the display.

The more affordable model, which will be released first, will have a relatively small screen, according to Gurman, being “about the size of two iPhones side by side.” It’s intended to be used for smart home controls, but will also run apps like FaceTime and Calendar, and display photos and videos. The more expensive model will boast a larger screen in addition to its robotic capabilities, according to Gurman. We likely won’t see that product until at least 2026, as he previously predicted, and it may run you almost $1,000. Both models are expected to come with Apple Intelligence.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/apple-may-tap-into-a-beloved-retro-design-for-its-smart-home-display-210412601.html?src=rss