On Thursday, Samsung launched a desktop version of its web browser. Why bother putting its mobile browser on Windows? Well, the company offers a hint in describing Samsung Internet as "evolving from a PC browser that waits for input to an integrated AI platform." So, surprise, surprise: It's about AI.
As one would imagine, Samsung Internet on Windows supports cross-platform syncing of data like bookmarks, browsing history and autofill. The company says it also prioritizes privacy and security, offering standard features like tracker blocking and a privacy dashboard.
But those aren't likely the main reasons Samsung is launching a desktop web browser in 2025. (Incidentally, Samsung briefly launched Samsung Internet for Windows in 2024, before pulling it from the Microsoft Store without fanfare.) Instead, this launch appears to be about positioning it in the rapidly emerging landscape of AI browsers.
AI browsers have been all the rage lately. Samsung's move follows the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas, Microsoft's Edge Copilot Mode updates, Opera Neon's early access and general availability for Perplexity's Comet browser. Samsung says its cross-platform browser will advance its "vision for ambient AI," anticipating your needs and offering more personalized assistance. If Samsung wants to be part of that fray, it makes sense for its software to be available on the desktop, too.
Samsung Internet is available (via a beta program) for Windows 11 and Windows 10 (version 1809 and up). You can sign up on the product page.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/samsungs-web-browser-arrives-on-windows-with-an-ai-future-on-its-radar-163526726.html?src=rss
It's been around three and a half years since season four of Stranger Things premiered. We finally have an actual trailer for the fifth and final season of Netflix's retro-soaked adventure series. It's a good thing, as the first batch of episodes drop on November 26.
As previously mentioned, this is a real trailer with tons of footage and not a teaser. It's over two minutes of Hawkins-based goodness. This is an action-packed affair that's heavy on emotion and light on the type of 1980s-style humor the show has become known for. That seems right, given the stakes are higher than ever.
If you just clicked on this and don't plan on actually watching the trailer, this is when I go into some light spoilers. It looks like the gang is trapped in Hawkins following the events of season four. There's a military enclosure around the city and, surprise, Vecna is back and looking for vengeance.
There's a very scary scene in which the entity looks to be controlling or torturing poor Will and we don't even know if he has a cassette player loaded with Kate Bush just out of frame. It's all very tense.
While the show premieres on November 26, this isn't a one-and-done season drop like many Netflix shows. It's being split into three installments. The first batch of episodes are set for November 26, with another batch dropping on December 25. The final episode will air on December 31 and is even coming to some movie theaters. It's a holiday miracle.
The showrunners do promise that this season will finally tell us exactly what the upside down is, which is something to look forward to. While Stranger Things is ending, the franchise will continue on. Netflix has some spinoffs planned for the future, but they won't have series creators the Duffer Brothers on board as showrunners. The pair recently signed a deal with Paramount.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/we-finally-have-a-real-deal-trailer-for-stranger-things-season-five-160222670.html?src=rss
Pinterest is adding a new way to find clothes, furniture and other sources of aesthetic inspiration through its app. It's called Pinterest Assistant, and it's an AI-powered search and recommendation tool that uses knowledge of your Pinterest activity to tailor its responses.
Whereas other search features work best when you have a specific thing you're looking for in mind, Pinterest says the Pinterest Assistant is meant to handle more open-ended requests. Asking for pillows that match your "living room decor" is supposed to be enough for the AI to surface interesting results. To do that, the Pinterest Assistant looks at the items you've saved and the boards you've created (for example, a board full of living room decor inspiration), compares it with the things Pinterest users with similar taste have saved and displays visual results tailored to you.
You start a search with Pinterest Assistant by tapping on the mic icon.
Pinterest
Pinterest appears to be specifically interested in the multimodal aspect of this new feature. The main way the company imagines you'll interact with Pinterest Assistant is via a mic icon in the Pinterest app that starts a voice search. The AI assistant then takes that audio prompt and uses it to filter and analyze visual content to find the best fit. Besides surfacing items you might not have found on your own, Pinterest says the whole process should be "closer to how people shop in real life."
Rolling out its own AI features puts Pinterest in an interesting place when it comes to AI content on its platform. Users have complained that the growing amount of AI-generated material on Pinterest has made it hard to find real things to buy or add to a board. In May, the company started labeling AI content in the app to make finding real items easier, and earlier in October it added a way to "dial down" the amount of AI generated content users see in the app. Pinterest Assistant isn't necessarily a solution for an AI slop problem the company is struggling to solve, but it might help users who are sick of sifting through AI content anyway.
Pinterest Assistant begins rolling out in beta today to users in the US who are 18 and over, with wider availability coming in the next weeks and months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/pinterest-has-its-own-ai-assistant-now-160000183.html?src=rss
Social media conversations can be vastly more enjoyable when you pick and choose who you're talking with. Today, Threads is adding more controls that let users determine who can reply to their posts.
One new feature is Reply Approvals, where the user will get a first look at responses before allowing them to appear publicly. The approval option can be turned on for individual posts rather than as a blanket policy for more granular control over replies. Threads is also adding new filters for viewing post replies. Now you can look at replies just from other Threads users you follow or sort them by mentions.
Threads has already had a busy week. Earlier this week, the social network introduced its take on ephemeral "ghost" posts, akin to the limited-time visibility features on Instagram Stories and many other platforms. According to parent company Meta's third-quarter earnings call, Threads has grown to 150 million daily active users.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/threads-is-making-it-easier-to-hide-replies-you-dont-like-154500456.html?src=rss
The SanDisk 256GB microSD Express Card for the Switch 2 is down to $60 via Amazon, which is a record-low price. This model is also available in storage sizes of 128GB and 512GB, but neither version is on sale.
This particular model easily made our list of the best microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2. It even made our list of the best Switch 2 accessories. It just gets the job done. We loved the speed on offer here. It was the fastest of all the cards we tested when transferring games and loading games.
We also found that it performed admirably at just about every test we threw at it. The card was always consistently right near the top, thanks to outstanding sequential read and write performance. This was backed up by benchmark testing with PC tools like CrystalDiskMark.
The Switch 2 only works with SD Express cards, so this covers that. Luckily, this card isn't just for Nintendo's latest console. It'll work with just about everything, if you ever find it outstays its usefulness as a storage container for Mario and friends.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sandisks-microsd-express-card-for-the-switch-2-is-cheaper-than-ever-151331702.html?src=rss
Norton Security has some reliable products, but its VPN isn't one of them. In my Norton VPN review, I argued that it's only really worthwhile if you can get a discount on it as part of a Norton 360 package — and even in that case, you should only use it for non-sensitive activities due to some holes in Norton's comprehensive privacy policy.
That's a lot of conditions, so I'd understand if you're here because you've decided Norton VPN isn't for you. Read on to learn your options for cancelling this VPN, getting a refund and replacing it with a better provider.
How to turn off Norton VPN auto-renewal
The simplest way to cancel Norton VPN is to stop your subscription from automatically renewing. That way, you'll have until your plan expires to look for a new VPN. Note that the steps below are the same no matter how you got Norton VPN, whether on its own or as part of Norton 360 — though they only apply if you subscribed through the Norton website, not an app store.
Sign into your account at my.norton.com. You'll be taken to your account dashboard with your subscriptions tab visible. If it's not, click on My Subscriptions.
On your subscriptions hub, find the plan you get Norton VPN through. Click the words Manage Renewal or Cancel Subscription Renewal.
In the window that appears, click Unsubscribe. Select a reason for cancellation (no need to be truthful) and click Next.
At this point, you'll have to wade through several pleas for you to stay. Stand firm and keep clicking through until you can click No thanks, cancel my subscription.
Continue clicking Next until you see a confirmation that auto-renewal has been turned off. Wait 24 hours for the change to take effect.
Sam Chapman for Engadget
If you change your mind after turning auto-renewal off, you can turn it back on again anytime before the subscription expires. For those who bought through an app store, there's no way to turn off auto-renewal; you can only cancel the subscription altogether. See the end of the next section to learn how to do that.
How to cancel Norton VPN and get a refund
You can request a refund on any annual subscription for 60 days after paying. Monthly subscriptions can only be refunded once, within 14 days of paying — if you renew a monthly plan then decide to cancel, you're out of luck.
The only way to get a refund is to contact Norton directly. If you're ready to go cold turkey, follow these steps.
In a browser, open support.norton.com.
Scroll down until you see nine buttons arranged in a 3x3 grid. Find the second button down in the left-hand column, Contact us, and click on it.
Enter the email address for your Norton account. Check that inbox for a verification code, then enter it in the next box and click Verify.
When the live chat asks you what you need help with, select Purchase & Billing, then Request refund. Give a reason in the dropdown menu.
As usual, be persistent until you get a message in writing that your refund will be processed. Wait at least three days for the money to appear.
Sam Chapman for Engadget
If you subscribed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you'll have to cancel through the same platform where you started. Just go into the subscriptions page of the store's mobile app, find your Norton VPN subscription and click the Cancel button beside it. After that, just follow the prompts, then request a refund using the steps above.
How to uninstall Norton VPN
To get your money back from Norton, you can't just shut off auto-renewal. You'll have to cancel your plan immediately and delete all Norton apps from your devices. I recommend following these steps even if you aren't eligible for a refund, since Norton software is notoriously hard to uninstall and will crop back up if you don't completely root it out.
On Android and iOS, uninstalling Norton VPN is relatively easy — after cancelling your subscription, delete it like you would any other app. Things are a bit trickier on the desktop OSes. On Windows, hold the Windows key and press R to make a black box appear. Type appwiz.cpl and hit Enter. A list of programs should appear; click on Norton VPN, then click Uninstall/Change and follow the instructions.
On a Mac, open your Applications folder and find Norton VPN. Click the app icon and drag it to the trash. This should start a separate program called Norton Uninstaller. Click OK, enter your password if asked, then click Uninstall. Finally, you'll need to restart your computer to finish uninstalling.
Norton VPN alternatives
Once you've dispensed with Norton VPN, you can get started with a provider that fits your needs better. Proton VPN, my current top pick in our guide to the best VPNs, takes privacy more seriously than Norton and has superior app design and speeds. Surfshark is the fastest VPN, NordVPN has the best features and ExpressVPN is the friendliest for beginners.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-norton-vpn-uninstall-it-and-get-your-money-back-150000872.html?src=rss
A number of US government agencies are backing a potential move by the Commerce Department to ban TP-Link routers, according to The Washington Post. Multiple sources familiar with internal deliberations spoke with the publication on the condition of anonymity, including a former senior Defense Department official.
A months-long interagency process involving the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Defense took place this summer to consider the sweeping move. Investigations into the company stemming from national security concerns have been taking place since at least last year.
At the heart of the potential ban is a concern that TP-Link retains ties to China, despite splitting from Chinese corporation TP-Link Technologies to become a standalone entity in 2022. A spokesperson for TP-Link denied any Chinese ties, saying "any adverse action against TP-Link would have no impact on China, but would harm an American company."
US officials told The Washington Post they are concerned because under Chinese law, TP-Link must comply with Chinese intelligence agency requests and may even be pressured to push malicious software updates to its devices. US-based TP-Link Systems said the company is “not subject to the direction of the PRC intel apparatus.”
TP-Link routers are among the most popular in the United States, with the company claiming 36 percent of US market share. Earlier this year however, former American cybersecurity official Rob Joyce testified before Congress that TP-Link’s market share was roughly 60 percent, thanks in part to selling its equipment below cost in order to drive out competition.
The potential ban of TP-Link products is another in a long list of bureaucratic moves or discussions that have come against the backdrop of trade negotiations between the US and China. While a potential breakthrough in these talks was achieved today, a source for The Washington Post said a ban on TP-Link products remains a bargaining chip for the administration.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/us-government-is-getting-closer-to-banning-tp-link-routers-145528317.html?src=rss
Donald Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, have agreed to a one-year pause on the punitive Trump-instated tariffs that are at the heart of the ongoing trade war between the two superpowers. Among the issues discussed when the two leaders met face-to-face in the South Korean city of Busan were China’s chokehold on rare earth metals and the export restrictions on NVIDIA’s AI chips.
Trump had previously made some characteristically explosive threats that he would impose new 100 percent tariffs on imports from China as a retaliation to Xi’s tightening grip on rare earths, the processing of which is almost entirely controlled by China. These materials are essential for manufacturing everything from smartphones and EVs to military equipment. As part of the (for now) temporary truce, China reportedly agreed to pause the new measures for the next 12 months in exchange for Trump lowering Chinese tariffs by 10 percent.
According to The New York Times, Trump said he had discussed semiconductors during his talks with Xi, and “did not rule out” the possibility of allowing NVIDIA to sell AI chips to China. The American company was allowed to resume selling its H20 chips in China in July after an initial ban earlier in the year, only for Beijing to reportedly respond by instructing its largest tech companies not to do business until a national security review had been completed. The leaders did not discuss the possible availability of Blackwell chips — NVIDIA’s most advanced AI chip to date that is currently in development and possibly a motivating factor in China’s apparent indifference to the H20 architecture — at their meeting in South Korea.
There was also no resolution on TikTok and its future in the US. The last we heard, the Trump administration claimed to be close to agreement that would see the US gain majority ownership of the Chinese-owned social media giant where it was operating on home soil, but nothing has been finalized at the time of writing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us---china-trade-talks-see-one-year-pause-on-punitive-tariffs-140550358.html?src=rss
LG and Ubisoft have teamed up to bring the motion-controlled rhythm game Just Dance Now to LG Smart TVs. The game will be available from December in the LG Gaming Portal for LG TV users in the US and Europe running webOS 22 or later, with no additional hardware required.
Just Dance Now originally launched in 2014 as a mobile app for iOS and Android, before Ubisoft brought the game to Apple TV a year later. A main series spinoff aimed at people who don't own a console, Just Dance Now offers a library of hundreds of songs that span decades of music, which you'll be able to access for free for a limited time each day. If that just isn’t enough dancing time to satisfy you, you can subscribe to one of Ubisoft's paid plans or purchase song packs.
Just Dance Now was originally designed to be played using your phone as a controller, with your handset of choice functioning much like the Wii Remote did in the very first Just Dance game back in 2009. In the LG Gaming Portal version of the game, the motion-sensing LG Magic Remote becomes the peripheral, so you really don't need any extra gear.
Ahead of the December launch, the Just Dance Now app will be available in beta, allowing players to try three songs on the first day, followed by one daily for the remainder for the two-week trial. Ubisoft hasn’t announced the release date for the beta yet.
The LG Gaming Portal is gradually becoming a viable alternative to a console for people with a casual interest in games. The cloud version of Xbox Game Pass joined the platform back in April, and the new and improved GeForce NOW app introduced up to 4K 120Hz game streams on LG TVs a few months ago.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/just-dance-now-is-coming-to-lg-smart-tvs-140042944.html?src=rss
Many of us would rather forget all about the annus horribilis that was 2020, but there was at least one glaringly bright spot in that year, as Animal Crossing: New Horizonsprovided solace for many. Almost six years after the game's debut, Nintendo is hoping you'll return to your island — or start a new one — as a Switch 2 version with a bunch of upgrades will arrive on January 15. A free update is coming to both the Switch and Switch 2 versions of the game on the same day.
A 12-minute video on Nintendo's YouTube channel went over a lot of the changes. The Switch 2 version has improved graphics with support for 4K visuals in TV mode. You'll be able to play with mouse controls via Joy-Con 2. Nintendo suggests that could make it easier for you to redecorate your home, make custom designs and create messages on the bulletin board. With the Switch 2's microphone, you'll be able to use your voice to call out to the residents of your island when you pick up the new megaphone item.
The online features are getting upgrades. Up to 12 players will be able to hang out on the Switch 2 version, up from eight. There's support for the Switch 2 camera feature as well — you and your friends will be able to see each other's faces above your characters as you play.
The Switch 2 edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be available as physical and digital versions for $65. There’s an upgrade pack for the original game, which will run you $5 — that’s very reasonable, especially by Nintendo standards.
As for folks who are sticking with the original Switch for the time being, there are a lot of new features coming via a free update. It brings a new locale to your island in the form of a hotel on the pier. You can decorate the room as you wish based on certain themes, and get souvenirs from the gift shop as a reward. You can pick up new outfits from the hotel too. The update will also add a dream world with up to three more islands for you and your friends to play and create in. There'll be fresh craftable items and the option to expand your home storage to up to 9,000 items (up from 5,000).
The update will bring new collaborations to ANCH as well. You can pick up various Nintendo consoles as decorative items, and even play games on them if you have a Switch Online subscription. Lego items are coming to the game, along with a Legend of Zelda and Splatoon crossovers that work with select Amiibo. Of course, all of these additions will hit the Switch 2 version as well. I can imagine that a bunch of people are going to spend many more hours in ANCHin 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/a-switch-2-edition-of-animal-crossing-new-horizons-will-land-on-january-15-135000347.html?src=rss
