Tag Archives: author_name|Mariella Moon

Netflix went down for some viewers after Stranger Things premiered

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Netflix has crashed for what seemed to be thousands of viewers after the first four episodes of Stranger Things season 5 went live for streaming. Downdetector started getting an unusual number of outage reports at around 10 minutes before 8PM Eastern time, when the episodes were scheduled to hit the service. The numbers climbed up to almost 14,000 before they went down over the next few minutes.

According to Entertainment Weekly, affected viewers were getting an NSEZ-403 error, which means their accounts couldn’t connect to Netflix. They were seeing “Something went wrong” and “Sorry, we're having trouble with your request” messages on their screens. For the NSEZ-403 error, in particular, Netflix advises switching to a different device. It’s worth nothing that the show’s creator previously said that Netflix increased its bandwidth by 30 percent to avoid a crash for the season premier. The company has told Engadget that some members briefly experienced an issue streaming on TVs, but that service has been restored for all accounts within 5 minutes.

In season 5 of Stranger Things, the Hawkins gang is set to face Vecna one last time. After these first four episodes, Netflix is dropping three more on December 25 and then the finale itself on December 31.

Update, Nov. 26, 2025, 10:56PM ET: This story and its headline have been updated to include the information Netflix shared with Engadget.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-went-down-for-some-viewers-after-stranger-things-premiered-025540635.html?src=rss

Character.ai launches guided Stories format after banning teens from its chatbots

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Character.ai has introduced Stories, its first format that was specifically created to “enhance [teens’] experience,” on the same day the company removed their ability to engage with its chatbots. Stories works similarly to choose-your-own-adventure apps that offer interactive visual novels users can play. The company describes Stories as a “visual, narrative-first format.” Players can choose two to three characters, pick a genre and then write their own premise or auto-generate one. From there, users can steer the story with their decisions on every branching path. That means they can keep replaying the game for different outcomes based on the paths they choose.

While the Stories experience is a lot more customizable than the typical visual novel app, it still doesn’t offer the same open-ended, back-and-forth conversations Character.ai’s chatbots do. The narrative will be guided by the AI, though the company promises that players will be asked to make choices frequently.

AI companies are under scrutiny from authorities, who are pushing them to put safeguards in place to protect younger users. Character.ai announced in October that it was going to ban users under 18 from accessing its open-ended bots. The company has also introduced a new age-check tool to ensure users will only be able to access experiences appropriate for them. In addition, the company is facing a wrongful death lawsuit involving the suicide of a teenage girl in Florida. Her family alleged that the girl confided in one of the website’s chatbots about feeling suicidal, but it did not point her towards any resources or report it to authorities.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/characterai-launches-guided-stories-format-after-banning-teens-from-its-chatbots-133000131.html?src=rss

Poco’s new flagship phone has a Bose subwoofer and a ‘denim’ option

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Back in 2018, Xiami launched Poco as a sub-brand that specializes in mid-range smartphones. Now, Poco has launched its first premium flagship phone series, the F8 Ultra and the F8 Pro, at an event in Bali. Both devices will use Sound by Bose technology, thanks to a partnership with the brand, and runs Xiaomi HyperOS 3. Kang Lou, Poco Global’s Senior Product Marketing Manager and Spokesperson, said the F8 Ultra sets “a new benchmark for true flagships.” Meanwhile, the F8 Pro will make “all-round flagship experiences accessible to more users.”

The 6.9-inch Poco F8 Ultra has a dual-chipset architecture, consisting of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm’s latest flagship mobile platform, and the VisionBoost D8 chipset that enables “AI Super Resolution for crisper, more detailed images.” It uses Poco’s new HyperRGB display, which the company says uses a full RGB subpixel structure wherein red, green and blue subpixels are fully used. Another notable feature is its 6500mAh battery, which is the largest yet on a Poco F series phone. The Ultra version comes in a “Denim” variant, though it doesn’t actually use denim: Its back was merely designed to look like it’s covered in the fabric, but it actually uses a special Xiaomi nanotech material.

Meanwhile, the 6.59-inch Poco F8 Pro has a subtle micro-curved design, wherein its edges transition into its back panel. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform and comes with a 6210mAh battery that can last for 16 hours of continued use. Both models are now out in the UK. The Poco F8 Ultra will set you back at least £749, while the F8 Pro will cost you at least £549. In the US, the F8 Ultra with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage will cost you $729, while the one with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage will cost you $799. It will be $579 for the F8 Pro with the lower specs and $629 for the one with the higher specs. Poco is giving discounts that shave at least $50 off their price for early buyers, but it has yet to announce a release date for the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/pocos-new-flagship-phone-has-a-bose-subwoofer-and-a-denim-option-130811181.html?src=rss

China launches emergency mission to its space station

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The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft that China launched on November 25 has already reached the Tiangong space station, according to SpaceNews and Chinese state media. Now that it’s docked with the station, the astronauts onboard are no longer left without a vehicle that they can use to head home in case of emergencies. The astronauts part of the Shenzhou-21 mission haven’t had a lifeboat since November 11, because the team before they arrived had to use their vehicle to return to Earth.

On November 5, the astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission were supposed to make their way back home aboard their own spacecraft. But just hours before their departure from the station, China’s space agency discovered minor cracks in their vehicle’s window from a suspected debris impact. The Shenzhou-20 crew flew back to Earth on November 11 using the Shenzhou-21 vehicle, which means the newer team stayed in the station with no way to leave for over 10 days.

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft was supposed to carry three more astronauts to the station in April or May 2026. Instead, it flew much earlier and without a crew, filled with supplies to make up for what the Shenzhou-20 mission astronauts consumed during their extended stay. It will return back to Earth next year after the current crew is done with its six-month stint.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/china-launches-emergency-mission-to-its-space-station-143000171.html?src=rss

Apple lays off part of its sales team

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Apple has laid off dozens of employees across its sales team to streamline the organization and eliminate overlapping roles., according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “To connect with even more customers, we are making some changes in our sales team that affect a small number of roles,” the company told Gurman, though it didn’t say how many people were affected. Apple also said that it’s hiring for new sales roles and that laid off employees can apply for them. They have until January 20 to secure a new position within the company, or they will be let go with a severance package.

Some of the affected workers told Gurman that while Apple’s official internal reason was to streamline its organization, the layoffs were primarily driven by its plan to shift sales more towards third-party resellers. By relying on third-party channels further, Apple could lower costs like its spending for people’s salaries, especially since it eliminated longtime employees. They reportedly include managers and other staff members who’ve been with the company for 20 to 30 years.

Apple’s government sales team, which works with the Defense and Justice departments, was one of the biggest groups affected by the layoffs. It’s not quite clear if it was a direct effect of the recent US government shutdown. As Gurman notes, the layoffs have taken place in the middle of a record-breaking period. After posting a $102.5 billion revenue for the quarter ending in September, it’s now on track to make $140 billion in sales for the quarter ending in December.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-lays-off-part-of-its-sales-team-140000749.html?src=rss

Trump’s Genesis Mission aims to build a centralized AI platform to power scientific breakthroughs

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President Donald Trump has issued a new Executive Order that launches the “Genesis Mission,” an AI-focused initiative that will be led by the Department of Energy. It will “harness the current AI and advanced computing revolution to double the productivity and impact of American science and engineering within a decade,” the DOE explained. One of the mission’s main goals is to build a centralized platform that will house a huge collection of datasets collected “over decades of federal investments,” as well as datasets from academic institutions and partners from the private sector.

Those datasets will then be used to train scientific foundation models and to create AI agents, automate research workflows and accelerate scientific breakthroughs, the administration said in its announcement. “The platform will connect the world’s best supercomputers, AI systems, and next-generation quantum systems with the most advanced scientific instruments in the nation,” the Energy department said.

Based on that statement, the platform will be linked to the two sovereign AI supercomputers the agency is building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, its famous research and development center. The machines, to be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprises, are meant to be the Trump AI Action Plan’s flagship supercomputers. The DOE previously revealed that the machines will be powered by AMD chips and will help tackle the biggest challenges in energy, medicine, health and national security.

“The Genesis Mission marks a defining moment for the next era of American science. We are linking the nation’s most advanced facilities, data, and computing into one closed-loop system to create a scientific instrument for the ages, an engine for discovery that doubles R&D productivity and solves challenges once thought impossible,” said Dr. Darío Gil, the Under Secretary for Science and Genesis Mission Director.

In the next four months, the Energy department must identify its initial set of data and model assets for the Genesis platform. The department must be able to demonstrate “an initial operating capability of the platform for at least one of the national science and technology challenges” the government has identified within nine months. While the list of challenges is pretty long, the Genesis Mission will focus on addressing three key challenges overall. First, it aims to accelerate nuclear and fusion energy, as well as to modernize the energy grid using AI. It also aims to power scientific discoveries for decades to come. Finally, it aims to create advanced AI technologies for the purpose of national security, such as systems that can ensure the reliability of America’s nuclear weapons and can accelerate the development of materials for defense.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/trumps-genesis-mission-aims-to-build-a-centralized-ai-platform-to-power-scientific-breakthroughs-043506089.html?src=rss

Microsoft isn’t releasing a diversity report for 2025

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Microsoft will not release a diversity and inclusion report for 2025 like it has been doing every year since 2019, Stephen Totilo from Game File has reported. Totilo asked the company if it was skipping this year after it failed to publish a report from October to early November like it had done so the previous years. “We are not doing a traditional report this year as we’ve evolved beyond that to formats that are more dynamic and accessible — stories, videos, and insights that show inclusion in action,” said Microsoft’s chief communications officer, Frank Shaw, in a statement. “Our mission and commitment to our culture and values remain unchanged: empowering every person and organization to achieve more.”

As Totilo notes, the Trump administration made it very clear early on that it was against government and corporate diversity, equality and inclusion programs. Trump signed executive orders directing government agencies to roll back DEI initiatives and encouraged the private sector to do the same. Meta reportedly ended its DEI programs earlier this year, while Google reportedly announced that it will “no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce.”

Totilo previously reported that Microsoft didn’t mention anything about its diversity programs in two shareholder reports for 2025, signifying that the company wasn’t highlighting its DEI initiatives anymore like it did the previous years. Based on its statement, Microsoft isn’t completely dropping its DEI efforts. Without a report, however, we can’t keep an eye on its progress when it comes to things like pay equality and workforce diversity.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-isnt-releasing-a-diversity-report-for-2025-180000401.html?src=rss

Waymo gets California DMV’s approval to test robotaxis in more areas

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The California DMV has approved Waymo’s request to conduct driverless testing and to deploy its robotaxis in more locations in the state. As CBS News reports, Waymo now has the permission to operate across the whole Bay Area, Sacramento and most of Southern California up to the border of Mexico. It’s a huge expansion, based on the maps the state DMV has provided. In the images below, you’ll see Waymo’s old areas shaded in a darker color, while the locations with a lighter shade indicate areas added in the expansion.

Waymo's new operation map in California.
Waymo's new operation map in California.
California DMV

“We're officially authorized to drive fully autonomously across more of the Golden State,” Waymo said in an announcement on X. It didn’t say when it’ll start testing and offering rides to the public in the new areas, but it said the company’s “next stop” in California after this is San Diego. Waymo will start offering rides in the city sometime in mid-2026. It will also deploy robotaxis in Las Vegas, including the Strip with plans to expand to the airport, and Detroit next year. In addition, it recently announced that it’s coming to Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando in 2026.

On the Waymo and San Francisco subreddits, people pointed out that Waymo robotaxis could become a hit in Wine Country. People could call them for transportation, for instance, if they’re doing wine tasting.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-gets-california-dmvs-approval-to-test-robotaxis-in-more-areas-170000104.html?src=rss

HP and Dell cut HEVC support in some laptops

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HP and Dell has disabled support for the High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard in some of their laptops, Ars Technica reports. HEVC is a codec that enables the compression of large videos into smaller files while retaining their quality. Sixth-gen Intel Core chips and later, as well as AMD chips made over the past 10 years, come with built-in support for the standard. But as some HP and Dell owners on Reddit have shared, they found themselves faced with an infinite loading screen when they tried to view HEVC Content on a browser, like Chrome and Firefox.

Ars Technica found documentation for some HP business laptop models, including the HP ProBook 460 G11, ProBook 465 G11 and EliteBook 665 G11, stating: “Hardware acceleration for CODEC H.265/HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) is disabled on this platform.” Dell didn’t explicitly mention disabling support for HEVC, but it has a support page explaining that HEVC content streaming is only possible on devices with specific configurations.

To be clear, users will still be able to play HEVC videos on programs like VLC and Windows Media Player. However, users with the affected laptops will have to deal with broken videos if they try to play anything on their browsers that use the standard. HP told Ars that it disabled HEVC on select devices way back in 2024 and encouraged people to use “licensed third-party software solutions” instead. Meanwhile, Dell told the publication the its premium laptops still support HEVC videos. For users with base and standard laptops that can no longer play them, the company also encourages the use of third-party software.

The companies didn’t say why they decided to switch off HEVC playback for certain models, but as Ars notes, it could be associated with increasing licensing fees. After September 30 this year, the royalty rates for the HEVC codec went from 20 cents to 24 cents per unit for over 100,001 units. HP and Dell are two of the largest laptop manufacturers in the world, so that translates to a considerable chunk of money.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/hp-and-dell-cut-hevc-support-in-some-laptops-130000940.html?src=rss

Amazon Alexa+ is now available in Canada

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Amazon has launched Alexa+, its next-generation digital assistant, in Canada. The company unveiled the new assistant in February, and it has been making its way to more and more people since. Canada is the first region outside the US to get access Amazon’s upgraded Alexa. Like the version that rolled out in the US, users can communicate with Alexa+ in natural language. They can say “I’m cold,” for instance, and the assistant will turn up the heat in their home. If they say “It’s dark,” Alexa+ can switch on the lights for them.

In Amazon’s announcement, Allison Siperco, the Alexa manager for Canada, said the assistant understands Canadian culture and regional expressions. It can understand distinctly Canadian topics, such as the country’s hockey teams and musicians. In addition, the assistant links with services Canadians use. It can make restaurant reservations for them through OpenTable, connects them to CBC news and help them look for and buy items from their e-commerce platforms. Siperco said the assistant will also support Yelp, Uber Eats, Suno and TripAdvisor in the country “soon.”

Alexa+ is capable of adapting its tone to everyone in the household, suggesting different routines based on the user. It can suggest meditation, for example, to someone who’s had a long day at the office. And it can remember if someone has dietary restrictions when recommending restaurants. Alexa+ can also help users shop by finding items with the best pricing, by creating grocery lists for them while taking dietary restrictions into account, as well as by comparing features across products and summarizing reviews on Amazon Canada.

Amazon’s upgraded assistant is free during its Early Access phase, though those who are interested to try it out right now will have to purchase the new Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio. After Early Access, it will remain free for Prime subscribers, while everyone else will have to pay $28 CAD a month for it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-alexa-is-now-available-in-canada-050827689.html?src=rss