Tag Archives: region|US

Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat is $85 off right now

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Wellbots has Google’s highly rated Nest Learning Thermostat on sale for $85 off. This elegant circular gizmo learns your heating and cooling habits and adjusts accordingly, making home temperature maintenance about as effortless as you could expect. Typically $249, Engadget’s exclusive coupon code ENGDTNLT85 brings the third-generation model down to $164.

The Nest Learning Thermostat helps reduce energy usage (and time spent thinking about your home’s temperature) by automating climate adjustments to fit your habits. After a week or so of studying your tendencies, it creates a schedule to maintain what it observed. If you want to make changes, you can still do that through the Nest app (available for iOS and Android).

The thermostat can also adjust automatically depending on whether anyone is at home. It uses sensors and your phone to determine when everyone is away, setting temperatures accordingly for energy savings until someone returns. If needed, the Nest app lets you make changes from afar.

Optionally, you can fine-tune the system even more with separate $39 temperature sensors. Place these in rooms throughout your home, and the Nest will balance their temperatures if your home’s heating and cooling system is compatible.

Its setup is pretty straightforward, and you install it similarly to other thermostats. On top of that, the thing looks pretty dang sleek with a 2.08-inch round display with 480 x 480 resolution (229 PPI) surrounded by a steel adjustment dial.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-nest-learning-thermostat-is-85-off-right-now-130012270.html?src=rss

Roku launches a weekly pop culture quiz

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I have to admit that the fact nerd in me is partial to a good guessing game, so I'm intrigued by Roku's newest offering. The streaming system has launched a new feature for US users called Roku Weekly Trivia, featuring pop culture questions you can answer right on your TV screen.

Roku Weekly Trivia should now exist in the options list at the left of your screen alongside categories like Live TV and Streaming Store. There, you can access a multiple-choice quiz with questions on topics such as movie and television premieres, the Summer Olympics, holidays, and more cultural moments. You can test your own knowledge or go up against friends and family — at the very least, it's an easy way to decide who picks the movie. 

A new quiz should appear on Roku every Tuesday. I tried a few sample questions ahead of its release, including "What was the first feature-length animated movie ever released?" and "Which movie franchise has the most films?" The first one I got, while the second surprised me, but I've never been a big REDACTED fan (I don't want to give you all the answers!). 

Update, June 25 2024, 3:00PM ET: A previous version of this post stated there would only be 10 questions per week. While questions are released in batches of 10, there will be over 100 per week according to a company spokesperson.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-launches-a-weekly-pop-culture-quiz-130005360.html?src=rss

Amazon is giving away 15 free video games ahead of Prime Day 2024, including Star Wars: KotOR 2

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Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be here next month, but the company has already pushed out its latest batch of free(ish) games that Prime members can snag right now (there are also a number of regular early Prime Day deals live today, too). In the run up to Prime Day on July 16 and 17, Prime members can grab 15 PC games at no extra cost, and there are actually some pretty groovy titles in the mix.

On July 11, you can scoop up Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 — The Sith Lords for the Amazon Games App. This sequel to one of the most beloved RPGs of all time is set five years after the events of the original game. It tells the tale of a Jedi Knight who was exiled from the Jedi Order, which the Sith has almost entirely eliminated by this point. You're tasked with finding the remaining Jedi to help you take on those on the dark side of The Force.

On the same day, you'll be able to claim Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge at no extra cost for the Epic Games Store. This arcade beat 'em up, a throwback to classics like Turtles in Time, is a blast, especially if you can persuade a few friends to pick it up and play co-op with you.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (also available July 11 for the Epic Games Store) is a solid modern remake of the 1986 Master System original. I've heard good things about Card Shark (June 27, Epic Games Store) and Hitman Absolution (July 3, GOG) as well, but I've yet to check those out.

Let's jam through the rest of the latest Prime Gaming freebies, including details on where and when they'll be available:

Available now

  • Deceive Inc. (Epic Games Store)

  • Tearstone: Thieves of the Heart (Legacy Games code)

  • The Invisible Hand (Amazon Games App)

  • Call of Juarez (GOG)

Available June 27

  • Forager (GOG Code)

  • Heaven Dust 2 (Amazon Games App)

  • Soulstice (Epic Games Store)

Available July 3

  • Wall World (Amazon Games App)

  • Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (GOG Code)

Available July 11

  • Samurai Bringer (Amazon Games App)

Amazon is promising more offers on Prime Day itself. The company gave Prime members a strong batch of extra freebies for last year's July shopping bonanza, including Prey, Baldur's Gate 2, Shovel Knight and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

There's a whole bunch of other titles you can snag from Prime Gaming at no extra cost right now too, such as The Lullaby of Life, Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the original 2005 one), Weird West, Genesis Noir and Everdream Valley. I just claimed MythForce, a first-person co-op dungeon crawler that's an ode to Saturday morning cartoons, since I've been meaning to check it out. At least based on the gameplay trailer, the vibes seem impeccable.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-giving-away-15-free-video-games-ahead-of-prime-day-2024-including-star-wars-kotor-2-124506410.html?src=rss

Google rolls out Gemini side panels for Gmail and other Workspace apps

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Google is making Gemini more easily accessible in its Workspace apps, if you're a paying customer. The company is rolling out Gemini side panels for Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Gmail, and it has also launched Gemini for the Gmail app on Android and iOS. When Google announced the Gemini side panels at I/O this year, it called the feature “the connective tissue across multiple applications with AI-powered workflow."

The side panel in Docs will help you refine and rephrase what you're writing, summarize information, suggest improvements and create new content based on other files. In Sheets, it can help you create tables, generate formulas and demystify various Sheets functions by teaching you how to do certain tasks. The side panel in Slides can help you generate custom images and summarize presentations, while in Drive, it can summarize several documents at once without you having to open any of them. 

Meanwhile, Gemini can summarize email threads in Gmail for you, suggest responses, help you draft new emails and help you find information from within your inbox or from your Drive files. Gemini in Gmail for Android and iOS can summarize your email threads, as well. There's no side panel in the mobile apps, of course, but you'll find a button near the top of your email that you can tap to generate a summary. Sometime next month, Gemini will offer contextual smart replies, which are one-tap response options based on the contents of your conversations. Gmail Q&A will also be available next month and will be able to find information from your emails when you type in questions like "What time does Chloe’s recital start on Saturday?"

You'll be able to use these features if you're paying for Google One AI Premium, or if you have access to Gemini add-in for Business, Enterprise, Education and Education Premium. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-rolls-out-gemini-side-panels-for-gmail-and-other-workspace-apps-123038034.html?src=rss

EU finds Microsoft violated antitrust laws by bundling Teams

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It has been nearly a year since the European Commission opened its investigation into Microsoft and there's finally a preliminary finding. The European Union's executive body announced its "view" that the tech giant violated antitrust laws by tying Microsoft Teams to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 business suites. Last October, Microsoft unbundled Teams for users in the European Union and Switzerland, but the European Commission's Statement of Objections calls it "insufficient."

The European Commission used its statement to detail its concern "that Microsoft may have granted Teams a distribution advantage by not giving customers the choice whether or not to acquire access to Teams when they subscribe to their SaaS productivity applications. This advantage may have been further exacerbated by interoperability limitations between Teams' competitors and Microsoft's offerings. The conduct may have prevented Teams' rivals from competing, and in turn innovating, to the detriment of customers in the European Economic Area."

Microsoft faces a fine equal to 10 percent of its annual worldwide turnover if the EU confirms its preliminary findings, so it's no surprise the company is being cordial. "Having unbundled Teams and taken initial interoperability steps, we appreciate the additional clarity provided today and will work to find solutions to address the Commission's remaining concerns," said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, in a statement shared with Engadget.

This ordeal began in 2020 when Slack — now owned by Salesforce — filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft, claiming it broke the EU's competition rules in bundling Teams to its suites. In April 2023, Microsoft declared its intention to offer Teams on its own (albeit without a clear plan), but the European Commission still formally opened an investigation just three months later. Following October's unbundling, Microsoft announced this past April that Teams would be available separately from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 to customers worldwide — current users could also switch plans. 

The European Commission's Statement of Objections also mentions a complaint by Alfaview, another video-conferencing software, which filed a similar grievance to Slack in July 2023 and notes it has open proceedings based on that complaint.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-finds-microsoft-violated-antirust-laws-by-bundling-teams-121520916.html?src=rss

Skullcandy expands its earbud lineup with three sport models all under $100

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Skullcandy has revealed a trio of earbud models it says were designed with the "most active and adventurous consumers" in mind. The Active Collection lineup ranges from $60 to $100 and were engineered to deliver reliable performance in any conditions, according to Skullcandy.

The Push Play Active, Push ANC Active and Sesh ANC Active all have a few common features. They all support multipoint pairing and rapid charging — a 10-minute charge will allow two hours of playback time. A Sidetone feature is said to counteract occlusion and make it easier to hear our own voice. Meanwhile, the adjustable stay-aware mode lets you tweak things so that it's easier for you to remain alert and hear what's going on around you.

Push Play Active earbuds and charging case
Skullcandy

The $60 Push Play Active buds have over-the-ear hooks and an IP55 rating for sweat and water resistance. Skullcandy claims that a smart mic will reduce background noise for "crystal clear" calls. The Push Play Active earbuds have several equalizer presets and you'll be able to set up your own custom five-band EQ as well. They offer up to 34 hours of battery life, according to Skullcandy, with the earbuds running for up to 10 hours on a single charge and the charging case adding an extra 24 hours of use.

The other two models have some shared features as well. Push ANC Active and Sesh ANC Active are IP67 rated, meaning they're sweatproof and waterproof. Both models use a four-mic array for adjustable active noise cancellation (ANC). The earbuds are compatible with the Skullcandy app, which will allow you to customize the onboard controls and equalizer levels. There's a personal sound feature too — you'll be able to take a real-time audio test to create a profile for optimized sound levels.

Push ANC Active earbuds and charging case
Skullcandy

The Push ANC Active earbuds are the most expensive option of the three at $100. Skullcandy claims you'll get up to 37 hours of use with ANC on (seven hours from the earbuds and 30 extra from the charging case) and as much as 58 hours of use with ANC off. The brand says you'll be able to use the earbuds for up to 12 hours before having to return them to the charging case. In addition, the case supports wireless charging.

It's worth noting that while the Push ANC Active option has an over-the-ear hook, there's a more traditional true wireless design for the Sesh ANC Active. Skullcandy says these earbuds have a "fit grip" to keep them in your ears. They have a promised battery life of up to 28 hours with ANC on (seven hours in the earbuds, 21 in the charging case) and up to 48 hours with ANC off (12 hours and 36 hours, respectively). The Sech ANC Active earbuds will run you $90.

Sesh ANC Active earbuds and charging case
Skullcandy

Skullcandy has earned a reputation for offering solid products at relatively budget-friendly prices, so these are options worth considering if you're on the lookout for a set of earbuds to use while you're working out. All three models will be available on Skullcandy's website starting on June 25.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/skullcandy-expands-its-earbud-lineup-with-three-sport-models-all-under-100-120049446.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Apple may face another huge EU fine

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The European Union isn’t entirely happy with Apple’s approach to its Digital Markets Act and there could be financial consequences. In preliminary findings of its investigation, the European Commission says the company breached Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules by failing to let App Store developers freely tell users about alternate payment options outside of Apple’s ecosystem, what it calls anti-steering rules.

It has been investigating Apple’s behavior since March. Regulators added that although Apple is entitled to receive a payment for helping developers find new customers through the App Store, “the fees charged by Apple go beyond what is strictly necessary for such remuneration.”

Apple told Engadget in a statement, “We are confident our plan complies with the law and estimate more than 99 percent of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created.”

There are wider repercussions: Apple is reportedly planning to withhold those intriguing new AI features in Europe due to regulations and the possibility that they could affect privacy rules.

— Mat Smith

Paramount+ is raising prices again for all of the Tulsa King fans out there

Google is reportedly building AI chatbots based on celebrities and influencers

Uber is locking New York drivers out of its apps and blaming a city pay rule

New difficulty mod in Stardew Valley will purge your saves if you use a guide

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The US government has issued a warning to employees with Pixel phones, mandating a security update by July 4. It’s a high-severity firmware vulnerability in the Android operating system that could open up devices to “limited, targeted exploitation.” Government employees who do not install the security update by July 4 must “discontinue use of the product.” However, patch notes and comments aren’t specific about how it works.

Continue reading.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison and has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act. According to a letter from the US Department of Justice obtained by The Washington Post, Assange is specifically pleading guilty to “conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States.”

He will return to Australia, his country of citizenship, right after the proceedings. The Justice Department prosecutors are reportedly recommending a sentence of 62 months, and as Assange already spent more than five years in a UK prison, he won’t be spending any time behind bars in the US.

Continue reading.

TMA
FromSoftware

Elden Ring’s giant Shadow of the Erdtree expansion dropped on Friday, and the first big bad you’ll face is the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, a fearsome creature that uses wind, lightning and ice attacks. But it’s not really a lion. It’s two giants in a costume, a la traditional Chinese dance lions. That information, however, probably won’t help you beat it. The DLC is even more punishing than the base game.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-may-face-another-huge-eu-fine-114236055.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day 2024 dates announced: Shop the summer sale on July 16 and 17

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Amazon made it official this morning: Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be on July 16 and 17 this year. The shopping event will start at 12:01AM PT/3:01AM ET on Tuesday, July 16, and conclude at the end of the day on Wednesday, July 17. As it has been for the past few years, Prime Day will actually last two full days, and it will bring thousands of exclusive, members-only deals on everything from electronics to household goods to fashion. If you can't wait a few more weeks, there are some Prime Day deals you can already shop now.

In addition to spurring a large number of sales in a short period of time, Amazon Prime Day has always been a way for the online retail giant to increase the overall number of Prime subscribers. Prime Day isn’t necessarily a perk of the service like access to Prime Video content or free two-day shipping are, but it certainly helps that most deals you’ll find on Amazon during the two-day event are exclusively available to Prime members. However, it’s worth noting that the cost of Prime has increased significantly since the service debuted in 2005: an annual membership will set you back $139 right now, nearly double the price it was at launch ($79 per year).

Prime Day in July has been the main shopping event for Amazon for a decade now, but that hasn’t stopped the company from expanding the event’s reach. For the past couple of years, we’ve seen a “fall Prime Day” of sorts pop up in October, presumably as Amazon’s official kickoff for the holiday shopping season. There’s no word on if October Prime Day will return for 2024, but since most online retailers have started their holiday sales earlier and earlier since 2020, we think there’s a good chance it’ll return this year as well.

If you do plan on putting that Prime membership to use next month, you can turn to Engadget to find the tech deals worth your month during the two-day event. Unsurprisingly, Amazon Prime Day is one of the best times of the year to get Amazon devices, since most of them will likely be down to all-time-low prices. But we also expect to see worthwhile sales on headphones, robot vacuums, laptops, SSDs and much more. You can also follow Engadget Deals on Twitter for the latest news during Prime Day, and sign up for the new Engadget Deals newsletter to get the best deals delivered right to your inbox.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-day-2024-dates-announced-shop-the-summer-sale-on-july-16-and-17-050559496.html?src=rss

Julian Assange has been released from prison in a plea deal with the US

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison and has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act. The WikiLeaks account on X, formerly Twitter, has announced his release after being granted bail by the High Court in London. It also tweeted a video that appears to show Assange boarding a plane at Stansted Airport. The WikiLeaks founder and former editor-in-chief is expected to appear in a courtroom in the US Northern Mariana Islands on June 26 in order to finalize his plea deal with the US government. 

According to a letter from the US Department of Justice obtained by The Washington Post, Assange is specifically pleading guilty to "conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States." He will also be returning to Australia, his country of citizenship, right after the proceedings. CBS News reports that Justice Department prosecutors recommended a sentence of 62 months, and seeing as Assange already spent more than five years in a UK prison, he won't be spending any time behind bars in the US. 

Assange was the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks when the website published US classified information, obtained by whistleblower and former Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning, about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange over allegations of sexual assault by two women. Swedish authorities dropped their investigation into the rape allegations in 2017. 

Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after losing his appeal against the warrant, and he lived there for seven years until he was evicted. Lenín Moreno, the president of Ecuador at the time, explained that his asylum was "unsustainable and no longer viable" because he displayed "discourteous and aggressive behavior." London's Metropolitan Police Service removed Assange from the embassy and arrested him on behalf of the US under an extradition warrant.

In WikiLeaks' announcement of his release, it said Assange left Belmarsh maximum security prison "after having spent 1,901 days there." The organization said that the "global campaign" by "press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum" enabled "a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice" that led to the plea deal. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/julian-assange-has-been-released-from-prison-in-a-plea-deal-with-the-us-044226610.html?src=rss

Google is reportedly building AI chatbots based on celebrities and influencers

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Google is reportedly building new AI-powered chatbots based on celebrities and YouTube influencers. The idea isn’t groundbreaking — startups like Character.ai and companies like Meta have already launched products like this — but neither is Google’s AI strategy so far.

Google’s celebrity chatbots will be powered by the company’s Gemini family of large language models according to The Information, which broke the story on Monday. The company is trying to strike partnerships with influencers as well as celebrities, and is also working on a feature that will let people create their own chatbots simply by describing their personalities and appearance — something that Character.ai already lets you do. A fun fact: Noam Shazeer, one of the co-founders of Character.ai, is a former Google engineer and one of the creators of “transformers,” the fundamental tech that made today’s generative AI possible.

It isn’t yet clear which celebrities or influencers Google might partner with. Meta’s chatbots, for instance, are based on personalities like TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, YouTube phenomenon Mr. Beast, Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady and Paris Hilton among others, while Character.ai’s characters include politicians, philosophers, fictional characters, and even objects like a block of cheese that talks. Google’s project is reportedly being led by a longtime executive called Ryan Germick who works on Google Doodles, and a team of ten.

It also sounds like Google’s bots could be just an experiment — according to the report, the bots might only show up on Google Labs, the company’s website for experimental products, instead of being available more broadly.

It isn’t clear why Google’s doing this. Meta’s AI chatbots based on celebrities never really took off despite the company stuffing them in every product it makes. As The Information pointed out, the company’s chatbot based on Snoop Dogg has only 15,000 followers on Instagram compared with 87.5 million followers who follow the human rapper.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-reportedly-building-ai-chatbots-based-on-celebrities-and-influencers-235731655.html?src=rss