Tag Archives: region|US

Black Friday PS5 deals discount the DualSense wireless controller to $55

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Whether you picked up a new PS5 console on sale or not, you can also save on console accessories for Black Friday. One of the best deals for Sony fans is on the PS5 DualSense wireless controller, which you can give for $55 a pop at various retailers including Amazon, Target and Best Buy. The discount applies to a bunch of colorways, too, so you’re not limited to just the standard black or white versions. Just be aware that some color options are a tad more expensive at $60 each.

A brand-new PS5 ships with one of these controllers, but you need two to enjoy some sweet couch co-op. We called out the gamepad in our official review of the PS5, saying it had “some of the most advanced haptic controls” we’ve ever experienced.

The analog triggers can be manipulated to emulate various sensations, like pulling an arrow back or running out of ammo with a gun. It’s a gimmick, sure, but a fun one. The built-in haptics also allow for more realistic rumble, which is heads and shoulders above what the DualShock 4 offered.

There’s a built-in microphone, a headphone jack, a tried-and-true button layout and a pair of joysticks. It’s a really well-designed controller. It’s a DualSense. It is not, however, a DualSense Edge. That’s Sony’s ultra-premium controller that costs nearly $200. That one offers extra features like easy button remapping, multiple joystick nubs, customizable rear paddles and more.

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/black-friday-ps5-deals-discount-the-dualsense-wireless-controller-to-55-081313630.html?src=rss

Black Friday PS5 deals: Grab the Slim console for $75 off

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Remember when it was nearly impossible to get your hands on a PS5? Those days are basically over now, which is only a good thing for gamers and those looking to get the console for the first time. Black Friday deals have even discounted the PS5 this year: PS5 Slim is available for $75 off at Amazon, Walmart, Target, Sony and other retailers. You can get the digital edition for $375, or the disc-based model for $425. While we wouldn’t call this a budget console, these deals make it just a bit more affordable and an ideal time to see what all the PS5 fuss is about if you don’t have one yet.

Despite the moniker, there’s nothing slim about the specs. This is a regular PS5, with the same horsepower as the original unit. However, the PS5 Slim is 30 percent smaller and around 25 percent lighter. When it comes to tech, smaller is typically a good thing.

Both versions ship with a DualSense controller and a 1TB SSD. These consoles also come with Astro’s Playroom pre-installed, which is the precursor to the incredible Astro Bot. They don’t, however, come with a vertical stand. That’ll cost extra. The digital-only model, obviously, doesn’t ship with a disc drive, though there’s a standalone drive available for those who would rather make that decision later.

Otherwise, this is a PS5. There’s no other way (right now) to play games like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. It also runs cross-platform hits like Star Wars Outlaws and Elden Ring, in addition to pseudo-exclusives that made their way to PC like God of War Ragnarök.

This sale is not for the recently-released PS5 Pro, so you won’t get all of those graphical upscaling bells and whistles. However, that new console is a whopping $700, whereas these PS5 Slim consoles are just over half that. And we'd be remiss if we didn't also mention the sale happening on DualSense Wireless Controllers that work with PS5 consoles; you can pick them up starting at just $54 a piece at Amazon and Sony.

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/black-friday-ps5-deals-grab-the-slim-console-for-75-off-080645152.html?src=rss

Black Friday Apple deals include the 10th-gen iPad for a record-low price

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Apple's Black Friday deals have started popping up, and this is your chance to grab a new iPad at a discount if you've been thinking of getting one. The 10th-gen iPad is currently on sale for $279 at Amazon, $50 less than what it usually costs. A few color options have an additional coupon that brings the final price down to $250. Apple released the tablet back in 2022, but it's still our best budget iPad option for 2024.

The 10th-gen iPad is only slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad Air. It looks similar to the iPad Air, too — the tablet no longer has the Home button that its predecessor did, and it has a bigger screen with smaller bezels.

The device is powered by Apple's A14 Bionic chip, which was first seen on the iPhone 12 and is powerful enough that we could edit RAW photos in Lightroom when we tested the tablet. When we ran a test for battery life, we discovered that the model could play movies continuously for 11 hours and 45 minutes on a single charge. 

Unlike previous models with Lightning ports, this one comes with a USB-C port for charging. Apple moved its front-facing camera to its landscape edge, as well. The company gave it a larger display, measuring 10.9 inches, so it doesn't feel as cramped as previous models even with a lot of apps. While the iPad Air does have a better display overall with its lamination and anti-reflective coating, the 10th-gen iPad's isn't bad at all seeing as it costs significantly less, especially with this discount. 

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/black-friday-apple-deals-include-the-10th-gen-ipad-for-a-record-low-price-130005592.html?src=rss

LinkedIn is killing the standalone live audio feature you probably forgot about

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Remember in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when live audio was suddenly everywhere? The trend was made popular by the briefly viral phenomenon Clubhouse before seemingly every other online platform copied the feature for themselves.

Since then, live audio has become mostly a footnote to a weird time when we were all stuck at home at the same time with nothing to do and listening to hours-long streams of strangers talking to each other passed as entertainment. Now LinkedIn, which was somewhat late to the live audio party in 2022, has opted to get rid of its standalone live audio events.

In an update, the company says it will no longer support native audio events beginning next month. Users will stop being able to create new events as of December 2, and previously scheduled events will no longer work after December 31. Instead, the company is “bringing together” audio events with its live-streaming feature, LinkedIn Live. LinkedIn Live, however, requires creators to use third-party tools to set up streams. So while audio-only streams will still be able to exist on LinkedIn, they will take a few extra steps.

LinkedIn isn’t the only company to change course on live audio. Reddit, Facebook, Spotify and Amazon have all shuttered their pandemic-era live audio products.Even Clubhouse (which, yes, still exists) pivoted away from the format last year. The feature is, however going strong on X despite a few high-profile technical issues.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/linkedin-is-killing-the-standalone-live-audio-feature-you-probably-forgot-about-232705727.html?src=rss

Anthropic will use AWS AI chips after $4 billion Amazon investment

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Amazon is doubling its investment in Anthropic. The e-commerce giant will provide Anthropic with an additional $4 billion in funding on top of the $4 billion it committed last year. Although Amazon remains a minority investor, Anthropic has agreed to make Amazon Web Services (AWS) its “primary cloud and training partner.”

Before today’s announcement, The Information had reported that Amazon wanted to make any additional funding contingent on a commitment from Anthropic to use the company’s in-house AI chips instead of silicon from NVIDIA. It appears Amazon got its way, with both companies noting in separate press releases that Anthropic will use AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips to train future foundation models.

Additionally, Anthropic says it will collaborate with Amazon’s Annapurna Labs to develop future Trainium accelerators. “Through deep technical collaboration, we’re writing low-level kernels that allow us to directly interface with the Trainium silicon, and contributing to the AWS Neuron software stack to strengthen Trainium,” the company said. “Our engineers work closely with Annapurna’s chip design team to extract maximum computational efficiency from the hardware, which we plan to leverage to train our most advanced foundation models.”

According to another recent report, Anthropic expects to burn through more than $2.7 billion before the end. Before today, the company had raised $9.7 billion. Either way, it’s bought itself some much-needed runway as it looks to compete against OpenAI and other companies in the AI space.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-will-use-aws-ai-chips-after-4-billion-amazon-investment-222053145.html?src=rss

UK watchdog says Apple’s rules restrict iOS browser competition

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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has “provisionally concluded” that Apple’s restrictive mobile browser policies limit innovation. After an independent inquiry group shared its findings on browser competition on iOS and Android, the governing body’s board plans to conduct an in-depth assessment of how Apple and Google constrict third-party browsers on their platforms. However, Apple — with its more closed ecosystem — appears to have borne the brunt of the CMA’s concern.

The CMA’s investigation is based on the premise that Apple and Google have an effective duopoly on mobile platforms, allowing them to set the rules of how mobile browsers work. The board says third-party browser developers have complained that they’re constricted by rules like Apple’s requirement to use the company’s WebKit browser engine.

“The group has provisionally found that Apple’s rules restrict other competitors from being able to deliver new, innovative features that could benefit consumers,” the CMA wrote. “Other browser providers have highlighted concerns that they have been unable to offer a full range of browser features, such as faster webpage loading on iPhone.”

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), which passed earlier this year, will give the UK body extra ammunition to carry out its next steps. The UK’s equivalent of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) can designate big tech companies as having “Strategic Market Status” with “substantial and entrenched market power” and “a position of strategic significance.”

Much like the EU’s version, the law gives the UK some teeth to negotiate and force concessions from Big Tech behemoths that, at least in the US, often seem untouchable: The DMCC will empower the UK board to fine infringing companies up to 10 percent of their global revenue.

The CMA’s summary of Apple’s hearing reveals the iPhone maker argued that it restricts browser engines to “ensure users get the best security, privacy, and performance on iOS devices” — a familiar argument to those who’ve followed Apple’s previous competition trials. Apple claimed healthy competition exists, due to the presence of third-party browsers with features like ad-blocking, VPNs and AI. The company also said it routinely considers developer feedback and hadn’t heard any fuss over its current browser rules.

Contradicting that, the CMA said other browser providers have highlighted features they can’t implement on iOS, like faster webpage loading. “Many smaller UK app developers also told us that they would like to use progressive web apps — an alternative way for businesses to provide apps to mobile users without downloading apps through an app store — but this technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices,” the board wrote.

The CMA also said that how browser choices are presented to users lets Apple and Google “manipulate these choices to make their own browsers the clearest or easiest option.” In addition, it pointed out a revenue-sharing agreement between the two companies that “significantly reduces their financial incentives to compete in mobile browsers on iOS.”

The board’s next step is a period of open comments on its findings, which will end on December 13. After its investigation, the CMA expects to make its final ruling in March 2025.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uk-watchdog-says-apples-rules-restrict-ios-browser-competition-201106359.html?src=rss

GTA III and Vice City are leaving Netflix’s mobile games catalog next month

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Two Grand Theft Auto titles that helped Netflix's games division pick up steam are leaving the service next month. Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City won't be available through Netflix's library of mobile games after December 13.

The Netflix app lists that as the "last day to play" both games. There's no such deadline on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas listing, indicating that subscribers can still enjoy CJ's story at no extra cost.

"Just like with series and film, games will be removed from Netflix as licenses expire," a Netflix spokesperson said, according to GameSpot. "Players will notice a 'Leaving Soon' badge and be notified by the app itself well in advance of removal." Netflix is removing those two games exactly a year after adding them and San Andreas to its library, indicating that it had an initial 12-month agreement with publisher Rockstar.

Earlier this year, Netflix said that the GTA trio had boosted game engagement at the end of 2023. Some people even signed up just to play them, the company claimed. However, Netflix recently scaled back its gaming ambitions to a degree by closing a studio that had some notable developers who were working on a AAA title.

You can still play the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (what a mouthful!) versions of GTA III and Vice City on iOS and Android after December 13, but you'll need to buy them from the respective app stores. If you're looking for other games to play with your Netflix subscription, don't worry, we've got you covered with our picks. Or just Poinpy and thank me later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/gta-iii-and-vice-city-are-leaving-netflixs-mobile-games-catalog-next-month-193106378.html?src=rss

Hackers breach Andrew Tate’s online ‘university,’ capturing data on 800,000 users

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Hackers breached an online course founded by far-right influencer, and accused human trafficker, Andrew Tate, according to reporting by Daily Dot. The hackers captured data on more than 800,000 users and revealed the email addresses of around 325,000 of them.

Tate’s self-proclaimed “online university” hosts courses on fitness, finance and content creation, all for the low price of $50 per month. The site currently claims it has over 113,000 active users, which translates to an estimated $5 million per month injected into Tate’s bank account. A source familiar with the breach told Daily Dot that Tate’s website is “hilariously insecure,” so the hack wasn’t difficult.

The unnamed hackers cite “hacktivism” as their motive, suggesting an issue with Tate’s particular brand of toxic discourse and his alleged propensity toward sex trafficking underage girls. To that end, they broke into the website in the middle of a livestream led by Tate, accessing the primary chatroom.

The hackers punctured the safe space of Tate's chatroom and uploaded emojis sure to upset the hyper-masculine influencer and his fans, like a transgender flag and a feminist fist. They also posted an AI-generated image of Tate draped in a rainbow flag. They even got a hold of admin controls and temporarily banned some users. The hackers also downloaded public and private chats made on the platform.

Daily Dot took a look at some of the acquired chat logs. They were filled with conversations about the “LGBTQ agenda” and, of course, “the matrix.” The publication shared the leaked email addresses with HaveIBeenPwned, a site that alerts users when they have been, well, pwned. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time Tate’s site was hacked this year. Back in July, over a million users and 22 million messages were exposed. 

Tate is currently facing five legal investigations in Romania and the UK. He is alleged to have sex trafficked and raped minors, as well as forming an organized crime group with the intent of sexually exploiting women. He denies all of the charges.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/hackers-breach-andrew-tates-online-university-capturing-data-on-800000-users-184800703.html?src=rss

Threads is testing out advanced search features and AI summaries for trending topics

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Threads is making more changes to address long-running complaints from users. This time, the company is testing out improvements to its search and trending topics feature in updates that Adam Mosseri described as “long-overdue improvements.”

On search, Threads is testing the ability to search for posts within specific date ranges and account-specific searches. The changes are similar to some of X’s advanced search capabilities and could make it easier for users to look for a specific post they want to revisit. The lack of advanced search on Threads has long been frustrating and up to now, the most reliable way to search for a specific Threads post was to use Google.

Threads is also experimenting with AI-powered summaries for its “trending now” topics, which shows US users a handful of popular topics on the platform. The app will also show an “expanded set” of up to 15 trends (currently, Threads only displays five trends at a time). The changes sound a little more like how X handles trends, which are sometimes summarized by its “Grok” AI feature. (Grok has somewhat of a mixed track record when it comes to accuracy, however.) It’s unclear how Meta plans to handle these summaries, though the company already uses Meta AI to summarize Facebook comments and discussions in groups.

The new tests are the latest in a flurry of updates from Threads. In the last week, Meta has also announced a test of custom feeds, which it made official just five days later, and improvements to users’ algorithmic feeds. Those changes also just happen to coincide with a huge surge in growth for Threads competitor Bluesky. The decentralized service has grown to more than 20 million users and has had several days where its growth has rivaled Threads daily sign-up numbers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/threads-is-testing-out-advanced-search-features-and-ai-summaries-for-trending-topics-182250201.html?src=rss

Here’s your first chance to try Microsoft’s Recall feature on Copilot+ PCs

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Microsoft is opening up access to its controversial Recall feature on Copilot+ PCs starting today. Those who have an eligible system and are enrolled in the Windows Insider program can now check out a preview of the feature, which is designed as a "photographic memory" for practically anything you ever do on your PC. It works by storing snapshots of your activity.

The main idea behind Recall is to improve search on your system. Microsoft says that you should be able to find an app, website, image or document by describing its content (the tool leverages AI, of course). Once you're all set up, you can access Recall from the All apps list on the Start menu. You'll need to enable Windows Hello, Bitlocker and Secure Boot for security purposes and to opt into saving snapshots.

After that, it's a case of using your PC as normal until you need or want to search for something you did in the past. Every time you open Recall, you'll need to authenticate yourself with a fingerprint, facial recognition or PIN. The feature is completely opt-in too — a change Microsoft made after critics raised well-founded privacy concerns.

Microsoft notes that you have control over the snapshots and you can pause them at any time. Snapshots can be deleted and you can tell Recall not to take any of a certain website or app. The company adds that it won't access your snapshots, share them with third parties or use them for training purposes.

Windows 11 2024 update
Microsoft

Moreover, Recall is now said to detect sensitive information such as PINs, credit card numbers and passwords. It won't take or store snapshots of anything containing detected sensitive info.

As part of this Insider preview, you'll be able to try out a Recall-powered feature called Click To Do. This will let you carry out actions on text and images in snapshots by holding down the Windows key and clicking on something. 

It includes options you'd normally find in the right-click menu, such as copying text, saving and sharing images, searching for text on the web and opening identified URLs (bear in mind that AI is being used to detect text and images here). There are some other AI-powered functions for images, including background blurring and removal, Bing visual search and erasing objects.

For now, the Recall preview is only available for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft says it will expand the offer to Intel- and AMD-powered systems soon.

If you're interested in checking out Recall now (and don't mind running the risk of encountering bugs on an in-development Windows build), you'll first need to register for the Windows Insider program. After that, you'll need to go to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and select "Get Started."

Pick the account you used to join the Insider Program, select the Dev Channel and reboot your system. After your Copilot+ PC is back up and running, go to Settings > Windows Update, check for updates and install Build 26120.2415.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/heres-your-first-chance-to-try-microsofts-recall-feature-on-copilot-pcs-180536504.html?src=rss