Tag Archives: language|en-US

Eero launches a weatherproof extender for outdoor Wi-Fi

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Some folks have properties too vast to be covered by the fanciest of mesh Wi-Fi sets, especially if they’ve got vast tracts of land. It’s an issue Eero is looking to tackle with the Outdoor 7, an add-on to its Eero 7 series of mesh Wi-Fi nodes that’s built to live outdoors. The hardware is IP66 rated and the company says it’ll keep working in temperatures ranging from -40F to 130F, no matter the weather.

With a range of 15,000 square feet, Eero says the Outdoor 7 should suit everyone from cafe owners with patios to land owners looking to keep their security cameras connected. Each unit supports Wi-Fi 7 with speeds up to 2.1Gbps, works with Thread, Zigbee and Matter devices, and has a 2.5Gb ethernet port with support for Power Over Ethernet. You’ll also get a mounting kit that’ll help you screw it into stucco, vinyl, wood or fiber cement walls.

The Eero Outdoor 7 will be available to buy in the US on November 13 for $350, or for $400 when bundled with the company’s 30W outdoor Power Over Ethernet adapter.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/eero-launches-a-weatherproof-extender-for-outdoor-wi-fi-140010463.html?src=rss

Amazon’s God of War series hires Ronald D. Moore as showrunner

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A few days ago, Deadline reported that several key personnel behind Amazon's upcoming live-action God of War adaptation have left the project. But the series' production will still push through, and according to the publication, Ronald D. Moore will now serve as its showrunner, as well as one of its writers and executive producers. He's replacing original showrunner Rafe Judkins (Wheel of Time) and EPs Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby (Children of Men and Iron Man). It'll be Moore's first project with Sony TV after returning to the studio with a multi-year deal in June. 

Moore is known for developing and producing the Battlestar Galactica reboot and for writing dozens of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine episodes. His writing credits also include several Star Trek movies, Mission Impossible II, and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams for Amazon. He worked with the studio for a decade, developing shows that include Outlander for Starz and For All Mankind for Apple TV+, before departing in 2020. 

Judkins, Ferus and Otsby had already written multiple scripts for the show, but Amazon reportedly wanted to move in a different creative direction. Deadline previously reported that in addition to hiring someone new to lead the production, Amazon was also looking to put a new writers' room together. Several EPs from Santa Monica Studio (the game's developer) and PlayStation Production who had been involved from the start are still with the project. 

The God of War series will be based on 2018 game that's inspired by Norse mythology. It will focus on Kratos, as he embarks on a journey with his son to spread the ashes of his late wife from the highest peak. They battled gods, monsters and other entities before they reached their destination, and they unearthed secrets about each other and the realm they live in along the way. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazons-god-of-war-series-hires-ronald-d-moore-as-showrunner-133004763.html?src=rss

Google’s Pixel Tablet is up to $110 off right now

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Update 10/26/24 9am ET: The deal below has expired, but you can get a similar deal on the Pixel Tablet at Wellbots right now. The Pixel Tablet with its charging speaker dock is $110 off and down to $489 when you use the code ENGPIX110 at checkout. You can use the same code to get $110 off the 256GB Pixel Tablet on its own, bringing the final price down to $389.

Tablets might be a cheaper alternative to laptops but they can still cost a good chunk of money. Sales make all the difference and, right now, the 128GB Google Pixel Tablet is available for $275, down from $399. The 31 percent discount brings this tablet to a new all-time low price. The sale is only available if you get the tablet in Porcelain and doesn't come with the speaker dock (though that combo is 11 percent off). 

Google released this Pixel Tablet in summer 2023 and gave us things we really liked and others we weren't wowed with. We gave it an 84 in our review thanks, in large part, to its smart home features. Our reviewer, Cherlynn Low, already had a Nest Mini in her room, but was impressed with how much better the tablet worked. The sound is great — though that was thanks to the Speaker Dock — and its Hub Mode is very useful. It shows you all the devices throughout your home, including camera feeds and switch lamps. 

If you want this device for entertainment and ease then it could be great. However, there were a few aspects that we weren't as keen on. Some of the movements aren't very intuitive and we didn't use it much without the stand. But, it has great battery if you do get it without a dock, lasting 21 and a half hours with 50 percent brightness on our test.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-pixel-tablet-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-132239944.html?src=rss

No Man’s Sky just got a creepy Lovecraftian update in time for Halloween

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There is no greater advertisement for the virtues of patience than No Man’s Sky. The game was an underwhelming fart when it first released back in 2016. Now it’s one of the best titles around, thanks to continuing support by developer Hello Games. The company just dropped a surprise Halloween-themed update and it’s pretty darned cool.

The latest release is called The Cursed and it’s filled to the brim with creepy stuff to experience. There’s a whole new “twilight universe” where “players will fight to keep a grip on reality while haunted by visions and voices from another dimension.” Time can shift unexpectedly and players could encounter “spectral anomalies.” There’s also no FTL in this twisted realm, forcing players to strategically use the ancient portal network.

This kind of reality-bending nonsense seems plucked straight out of the Gamecube classic Eternal Darkness or, more recently, the horror fishing sim Dredge. I’m very much here for it.

To navigate this cursed space, there’s a new ship to pilot. The Boundary Herald Starship is a legitimate flying saucer, made from a “Giger-esque coil of tubes, pipeworks and engines.” It’s a real beauty and the developer’s first attempt at designing a retro-style spaceship. The update also includes bioluminescent pets and a new exosuit.

A flying saucer.
Hello Games

This is a limited-time event, as players will only have around three weeks to explore this twilight universe. However, the glow-in-the-dark pets, updated exosuit and, thankfully, the flying saucer are here to stay.

This is just the latest gameplay update for No Man’s Sky. So far, there have been over 35 major named updates and many more medium-sized patches and the like. In recent months, the developers added the ability to fish and integrated new weather systems.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-just-got-a-creepy-lovecraftian-update-in-time-for-halloween-130020444.html?src=rss

TSMC has reportedly cut off a company that sent its chips to Huawei

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Chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) halted semiconductor shipments to a client that may have illegally sent the chips on to Huawei, according to Bloomberg. That follows reports that TSMC had informed the US government that its chips appeared in one of Huawei's AI accelerators. There's no confirmation on whether the company was acting on Huawei's behalf or where it's based. 

TSMC cut off shipments to the entity in mid-October after it noticed that the same chips had appeared in Huawei products. It notified the US and Taiwanese governments of this latest development and is further probing the matter, Bloomberg's sources said. They asked not to be identified given the sensitive nature of the matter. 

Yesterday, Bloomberg and The Financial Times reported that Canadian research firm TechInsights had spotted TSMC chips in a Huawei AI accelerator, a clear violation of US sanctions. That brought into question how Huawei had obtained those chips, with a third-party company being a strong possibility. 

In 2020, the US Commerce Department implemented trade restrictions against Huawei that barred the company from obtaining chips made by foreign firms. Earlier this year, the US government further tightened restrictions by revoking its licenses with Intel and Qualcomm to produce chips for its devices.

In a previous statement provided to the Commerce Department, TSMC denied any working relationship with Huawei since mid-September of 2020. TSMC also told Bloomberg that it hasn’t produced any chips for Huawei due to the amended restrictions. For its part, Huawei said in a statement yesterday that it hasn't used any chips sourced from TSMC since the 2020 restrictions were enacted. 

Rather than using TSMC, Huawei was supposedly obtaining chips from a local partner, China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) — including a 7-nanometer processor for Huawei smartphones. However, US officials doubted that SMIC could build such chips at sufficient scale to meet market demand. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/tsmc-has-reportedly-cut-off-a-company-that-sent-its-chips-to-huawei-124900342.html?src=rss

Vimeo brings spatial videos to the Apple Vision Pro

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The Apple Vision Pro has experienced a few new perks since its February release, and the latest comes via Vimeo. The video platform has launched an app for Apple's Vision Pro that allows users to view, create and share spatial videos. "The launch of our Apple Vision Pro app marks a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to push the boundaries of video experiences," said Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer. "This kind of spatial content is the future of storytelling, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this revolution." Content can be sent privately or shared publicly from the iOS and visionOS apps or Vimeo's website.

Users can also capture spatial videos with Vimeo on the iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple is also planning to introduce a Final Cut Pro update by the end of 2024 that lets users edit spatial videos on their Macs. 

We had very mixed feelings when Apple released the Vision Pro. We gave it a 74 in our original review as its immersive video and and micro-OLED screens were very impressive, but its weight and lack of native apps, among other issues, led to us calling it, "a beta product aimed at developers." Two months and a few updates later and we were more impressed thanks to features like Spatial Personas, which makes it feel like avatars are right in your home. Plus, it offers some 3D films for Apple TV+ subscribers and more games. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/vimeo-brings-spatial-videos-to-the-apple-vision-pro-123046749.html?src=rss

Arm cancels Qualcomm’s license to use its chip design standards

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Arm has taken its feud with Qualcomm to the next level, two years after filing a lawsuit against its former close partner. According to Bloomberg, the British semiconductor company has canceled the architecture license allowing Qualcomm to use its intellectual property and standards for chip design. As the news organization notes, Qualcomm, like many other chipmakers, uses Arm's computer code that chips need to run software, such as operating systems. Arm has reportedly sent Qualcomm a 60-day notice of cancelation — if they don't get to an agreement by then, it could have a huge impact on both companies' finances and on Qualcomm's operations. 

The SoftBank-backed chipmaker sued Qualcomm in 2022 after the latter purchased a company called Nuvia, which is one of its other licensees. Arm argued that the US company didn't obtain the necessary permits to transfer Nuvia's licenses. As such, Nuvia breached their contract and it had terminated its licenses, Arm explained in its lawsuit. Qualcomm has been using Nuvia-developed technology in the chips designed for AI PCs, such as those from Microsoft and HP. But Arm wants the company to stop using Nuvia-developed tech and to destroy any Arm-based technology developed prior to the acquisition. 

Qualcomm will have to stop selling most of the chips that account for its $39 billion in revenue, Bloomberg says, if the companies don't resolve the issue within the next 60 days. It seems the US chipmaker believes this is a tactic by Arm to threaten its business and to get higher royalties, because its spokesperson told Bloomberg and the Financial Times: "This is more of the same from Arm — more unfounded threats designed to strong-arm a longtime partner, interfere with our performance-leading CPUs, and increase royalty rates regardless of the broad rights under our architecture license." Qualcomm also accused Arm of attempting to disrupt the legal process, called its grounds for licensing termination "completely baseless" and said that it's confident its "rights under its agreement with Arm will be affirmed."

Meanwhile, an Arm spokesperson told us: "Following Qualcomm’s repeated material breaches of Arm’s license agreement, Arm is left with no choice but to take formal action requiring Qualcomm to remedy its breach or face termination of the agreement. This is necessary to protect the unparalleled ecosystem that Arm and its highly valued partners have built over more than 30 years. Arm is fully prepared for the trial in December and remains confident that the Court will find in Arm’s favor."

Update, October 23, 2024, 11:33PM ET: This story has been updated to add Arm's statement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/arm-cancels-qualcomms-license-to-use-its-chip-design-standards-123031968.html?src=rss

Intelsat’s Boeing-made satellite explodes and breaks up in orbit

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An Intelsat communication satellite built by Boeing has exploded and broken up in geostationary orbit. Intelsat confirmed the news in a press release, declaring the satellite a "total loss." The US Space Force said it is tracking around 20 associated pieces but "has observed no immediate threats" to other satellites so far (Roscosmos said it was tracking 80 fragments). The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but the news is another blow for Boeing following Starliner's failed crew test flight, problems with the 737 Max and delays to the 777x. 

Intelsat said it's working to move customers to its other satellites or third party spacecraft. "A Failure Review Board has convened to complete a comprehensive analysis of the cause," the company wrote. The satellite was uninsured, a spokesperson told SpaceNews. 

The explosion fragments could still pose a risk to other satellites. "The problem is that there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the orbits of these fragments at the moment," said a spokesperson for Spaceflux, a UK company that tracks objects in orbit. "They can be potentially dangerous for other satellites but we do not know that yet." 

Intelsat 33e is one of six "EpicNG" satellites built by Boeing, and uses the latter's 720MP satellite platform equipped with 16 hydrazine-powered engines built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The type is widely used for telephone, internet and satellite TV/radio broadcast services. 

It entered service three months late due to an issue with its primary thruster, and another propulsion issue reduced its service life by 3.5 years. The first EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 29e, was declared a total loss in 2019 after just three years in service, reportedly due to a meteoroid impact or wiring flaw. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/intelsats-boeing-made-satellite-explodes-and-breaks-up-in-orbit-120036468.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Our verdict on the iPad Mini 7

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For me, the iPad Mini is one of those devices I know I should like but can never quite bring myself to actually appreciate. Apple must feel similarly, given it only sporadically updates its smallest tablet, knowing its target market probably isn’t in need of blazing speed. But, with Apple Intelligence looming, Apple has launched the seventh-generation Mini. Naturally, we handed our review unit to tablet expert Nathan Ingraham for his opinion. Is the iPad Mini 7 worth the price?

On paper, Apple didn’t do a lot beyond cramming in a chip, the A17 Pro, capable of running the company’s new AI bells and whistles. But Nathan found that plenty of pain points from the older Minis — including the dreaded jelly scrolling — have been airbrushed out of the picture. You’ll also get support for the Apple Pencil Pro, helpfully streamlining the company’s presently messy stylus lineup. Ironically, what sold him on this device was neither of those features but that he found the iPad Mini the perfect device for Balatro. If you don’t know what that is, click through.

— Dan Cooper

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The biggest tech stories you missed

Online junk stores offering ludicrous discounts for badly made tat shipped directly from China is not a new phenomenon on the internet. After all, it was only a few years ago everyone in the US was wringing their hands about the threat Wish posted to traditional retailers. Bear that in mind when you learn Amazon, nervous about Temu’s success, is considering its own low-cost online retailer.

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Despite being drowned in sanctions, Huawei may still be using chips made by TSMC for some of its products. A series of blockbuster reports suggests the Ascend 910B chip in a new AI accelerator was made by the Taiwanese chip giant. All we have right now are a lot of denials and pointed fingers, but this story is likely going to rattle on for a while until we know what happened.

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Image of the LISA Prototype
NASA / Dennis Henry

NASA has shown off a prototype telescope that can detect gravitational waves to help better understand the building blocks of the universe. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is expected to launch in the mid-2030s, with three linked satellites orbiting Earth. The trio will keep track of each other’s precise location, monitoring when gravitational waves shift from their expected pattern. If successful, it could offer useful insights into black holes and the Big Bang, which are difficult to study using other means.

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Meta has shut down accounts tracking the movements of prominent public figures’ private jets, saying they risk the privacy and safety of those concerned. Accounts following the whereabouts of Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg himself have all been axed.

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Still from Tesla's 'Cybercab' live stream
Tesla

They say the only two certainties in life are death and taxes, but, if you’re Elon Musk, that list has swelled to include lawsuits. Alcon Entertainment, which produced Blade Runner 2049, is suing Tesla after it used a Blade Runner 2049-esque image during the Cybercab launch. You could dismiss this as mere coincidence, but Alcon added it had previously denied a request by Tesla to use clips from the film during the event.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-our-verdict-on-the-ipad-mini-7-111546869.html?src=rss

Oversight Board says Meta’s handling of a satirical image of Harris and Walz raises ‘serious concerns’

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Two weeks before the US presidential election, the Oversight Board says it has “serious concerns” about Meta’s content moderation systems in “electoral contexts,” and that the company risks the “excessive removal of political speech” when it over-enforces its rules. The admonishment came as the board weighed in on a case involving a satirical image of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Meta originally removed the post, shared on Facebook in August, that showed an edited version of a movie poster from Dumb and Dumber. The original 1994 movie poster shows the two main characters grabbing each other’s nipples through their shirts. In the altered version, the actors’ faces were replaced by Harris and Walz.

According to the Oversight Board, Meta cited its bullying and harassment rules, which includes a provision barring “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.” The social network later restored the post after it drew attention from the Oversight Board, and the company acknowledged the satirical image didn’t break its rules because it didn’t depict sexual activity.

Despite Meta’s reversal, the board says the case suggests larger issues in how Meta handles posts dealing with election-related content. “This post is nothing more than a commonplace satirical image of prominent politicians and is instantly recognizable as such,” the board wrote. “Nonetheless, the company’s failure to recognize the nature of this post and treat it accordingly raises serious concerns about the systems and resources Meta has in place to effectively make content determinations in such electoral contexts.”

In response to the Oversight Board's take on the situation, a Meta spokesperson gave the following brief statement: "We mistakenly removed this post but restored it after the issue was brought to our attention."

It’s unusually direct criticism from the Oversight Board, which released its analysis of the case in a summary decision, which comes without the group’s typical laundry list of recommendations for the social media company. The board has previously pushed Meta to clarify its rules around satirical content.The latest case highlights another issue that many of the company’s users have also complained about: over-enforcing its rules.

“In this case, however, the Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment policy with respect to satire and political speech in the form of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures,” the board wrote. “It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political candidates, including in a sarcastic manner.”

Update, October 23 2024, 1:00PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Meta.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/oversight-board-says-metas-handling-of-a-satirical-image-of-harris-and-walz-raises-serious-concerns-100046800.html?src=rss