Tag Archives: author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

Nothing pulls its iMessage-compatible Chats app amid widespread privacy concerns

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Nothing has pulled the beta for its new messaging app, Nothing Chats, from the Play Store just a day after its release, and says it’s delaying the launch “until further notice.” The company touted the Sunbird-based Nothing Chats as the answer to the longstanding “Android versus Apple” texting woes, with support for both RCS and iMessage to bridge the gap. But since its announcement, a growing number of critics have voiced concerns over the risks that workarounds like this bring, arguing that Nothing Chats is an inherently less secure messaging option.

In a teardown of the app, 9to5google pointed out that Nothing Chats does not have end-to-end encryption, and found that attachments sent by other users could easily be accessed in plain text. The findings added support to concerns voiced by others that Sunbird uses HTTP instead of HTTPS. Kishan Bagaria, founder of Texts.com, called it out as “extremely insecure” and said further investigation from his team showed “all outgoing texts are being leaked to a sentry server in plaintext.”

On X, Nothing didn't directly address the privacy issues but said it's working with Sunbird to “fix several bugs” and “will do right by our users.” Nothing Chats was announced on November 14, and the beta hit the Play Store on Friday. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-pulls-its-imessage-compatible-chats-app-amid-widespread-privacy-concerns-165157058.html?src=rss

SpaceX loses another Starship and Super Heavy rocket in double explosion during test

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SpaceX's second test flight of its Starship spacecraft — which it hopes will one day ferry humans to the moon and Mars — ended in an explosion Saturday morning minutes after taking off from the company's spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas. Starship launched just after 8AM ET atop a Super Heavy rocket, the largest rocket in the world. 

Moments after completing stage separation, when the Super Heavy booster detached itself from Starship, the rocket's first stage exploded. Starship, however, continued on for several more minutes, surpassing the flight time of its predecessor. A faint explosion could be seen in the livestream around the 8-minute mark, and hosts confirmed soon after that they'd lost contact with the craft. 

Unlike in its first test, which came to an end about 24 miles above Earth's surface, Starship was able to reach space this time around. At the time of its explosion, the livestream's tracker clocked it at an altitude of about 92 miles.

Today’s flight was also SpaceX’s first attempt at its new separation technique called “hot staging,” in which it fired up Starship’s engines before the craft detached from the still-firing first stage. It managed to complete the motions before Super Heavy exploded, with Starship already far away. SpaceX will now have to figure out tweaks to its booster to help it withstand future hot-staging attempts.

But, as with the last test that ended in an explosion, SpaceX is still billing it all as a success. Kate Tice, one of the livestream's hosts and a quality engineering manager for SpaceX, said it was “an incredibly successful day, even though we did have a RUD — or rapid unscheduled disassembly — of both the Super Heavy booster and the ship. We got so much data and that will all help to improve for our next flight.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-loses-another-starship-after-rocket-explodes-during-test-flight-143503845.html?src=rss

Discord is already killing Clyde, its experimental OpenAI chatbot

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Discord is pulling the plug on its AI chatbot, Clyde, less than a year after it was first introduced. Clyde’s support page has been updated with a note alerting users that the bot will be deactivated at the end of this month. The platform announced Clyde back in March, describing it as an experimental feature. It’s powered by OpenAI technology.

“By December 1, 2023, users will no longer be able to invoke Clyde in DMs, Group DMs or server chats,” according to the note. Clyde was intended to act as an AI helper that could be accessed right within the server. Users could also converse with it for fun, and ask it to play games or spit jokes. It didn’t seem to roll out universally, though, and in the months after its release some users complained that their servers never got access to the bot. And, screenshots occasionally posted to the Discord subreddit showed it could easily be coaxed into spouting vile language.

Whatever the reason for its shutdown, Clyde will be no more come December. Discord integrated other AI features in the last year alongside the release of Clyde, including moderation tools, conversation summaries and avatar editing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/discord-is-already-killing-clyde-its-experimental-openai-chatbot-155231238.html?src=rss

Fortnite players can now submit audio clips as evidence when reporting in-game abuse

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Epic has introduced a new tool for documenting toxic behavior in Fortnite. Players will now have access to voice reporting, which will continuously record voice chats in 5-minute segments for players to submit as evidence to moderators when reporting bullying and other forms of harassment. For anyone under the age of 18, this feature will automatically be turned on.

Fortnite players who are over 18 will have a bit more say over how voice reporting is applied. In the game’s main settings, they’ll have the option to set it as “Always On,” which would apply to every channel they’re in, or “Off When Possible,” which would disable it in Party Channels with friends as long as everyone’s preferences match.

In what’s likely an effort to quell privacy concerns, Epic says audio clips won’t be kept for long and they’ll only be stored locally on the user’s device unless submitted as evidence. And, in those cases, you’ll have to move fast. As each new recording comes in, the previous will be deleted. “This means only the immediate last five minutes of audio is reportable,” Epic said.

The settings menu in Fortnite showing Voice Reporting preferences
Epic Games

Under normal circumstances, audio clips will be auto-deleted either after 14 days or once action has been taken, the company added. If the accused player appeals the decision within that time, it may be extended for another 14 days. However, Epic says it will hold onto an audio clip as long as necessary if legally required to do so.

The move follows similar action taken by companies like Activision, Microsoft, Sony and others in the recent past as they attempt to clamp down on harmful online behavior. Earlier this year, Xbox introduced a system for submitting 60-second audio clips alongside reports of abuse in voice chats.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fortnite-players-can-now-submit-audio-clips-as-evidence-when-reporting-in-game-abuse-220905599.html?src=rss

Amazon is officially killing the Comixology app, forcing users over to Kindle

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Amazon has begun notifying Comixology users that they’ll no longer be able to read comics on the app come December 4. Comixology is merging with the Kindle app, and users’ libraries will soon only be accessible via the latter. The move caps off the ruination of Comixology that began nearly two years ago, when Amazon started chipping away at the platform’s native features and general usability in order to force a fit with its own ecosystem.

The Comixology app will officially be dead as of December 4, according to Amazon. From that point on, all of the comics, manga and graphic novels a user has purchased or borrowed on Comixology will live exclusively in the Kindle app. While Amazon says things like reading progress will be synced, you’ll have to redownload everything in the Kindle app if you want to pick up where you left off, even on the same device. There are filters to see “Comics & Manga” or “Books” only, for anyone not thrilled about having it all jumbled together.

The writing was on the wall for Comixology for some time, and while the termination of the app may not entirely come as a surprise for longtime users, it’s surely a bummer. Amazon has owned Comixology since 2014, but only in recent years has it really started to impose its influence on the product in a noticeable way.

The browser version of Comixology shut down in early 2022, and the alternative — using the Kindle app or Amazon’s own browser-based reader — made a lot of comics more or less unreadable. Integration with the Amazon store made for a clunky search experience when looking for specific titles, especially at first. And at the start of 2023, Amazon laid off thousands of employees, including Comixology staff, signaling doom for the service’s future.

Moving forward, the process of purchasing comics through Amazon’s Comixology storefront will be the same. Comixology Unlimited subscriptions will also remain intact, according to Amazon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-officially-killing-the-comixology-app-forcing-users-over-to-kindle-213911500.html?src=rss

Google is testing community-sourced notes for search results

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Google is experimenting with a feature that would allow people to add their own notes to search results for anyone to see. In theory, this would make results more helpful, providing a bit of human perspective — like feedback on recipe links or tips relating to travel queries — so people can better find the information that’s relevant to them. Notes are available now as an opt-in feature in Google’s Search Labs.

Search Labs is where Google tests new features that may or may not eventually make it to its flagship search engine. For those who are enrolled and have opted in for the Notes experiment, a Notes button will appear in Search and Discover, and tapping that will pull up all the insights other people have shared about a given article. You can also add your own, and dress it up with stickers, photos and, down the line (for US users only), AI-generated images.

A Note on a recipe from Google Search
Google

While community-sourced notes sound a bit like a recipe for disaster in an age of rampant misinformation and trolling, especially with the inclusion of AI imagery, Google says it will use “a combination of algorithmic protections and human moderation to make sure notes are as safe, helpful and relevant as possible, and to protect against harmful or abusive content.” The company is also looking into ways to let site owners add notes to their own pages.

It’s still just a test, and users will have the opportunity to submit feedback based on their experiences with Notes. The experimental feature has started rolling out for Search Labs on Android and iOS in the US and India.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-testing-community-sourced-notes-for-search-results-173022736.html?src=rss

NASA can’t talk to its Mars robots for two weeks because the sun is in the way

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NASA’s Mars exploration robots will be on their own for the next two weeks while the space agency waits out a natural phenomenon that will prevent normal communications. Mars and Earth have reached positions in their orbits that put them on opposite sides of the sun, in an alignment known as solar conjunction. During this time, NASA says it’s risky to try and send commands to its instruments on Mars because interference from the sun could have a detrimental effect.

To prevent any issues, NASA is taking a planned break from giving orders until the planets move into more suitable positions. The pause started on Saturday and will go on until November 25. A Mars solar conjunction occurs every two years, and while the rovers will be able to send basic health updates home throughout most of the period, they’ll go completely silent for the two days when the sun blocks Mars entirely. 

That means the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, the Ingenuity helicopter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Odyssey and MAVEN orbiters will be left to their own devices for a little while. Their onboard instruments will continue to gather data for their respective missions, but won’t send this information back to Earth until the blackout ends.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-cant-talk-to-its-mars-robots-for-two-weeks-because-the-sun-is-in-the-way-213022922.html?src=rss

Apple’s iPad refresh next year could bring OLED iPad Pros and a 12.9-inch iPad Air

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Apple will introduce a new 12.9-inch iPad Air alongside the long-rumored OLED iPad Pro to kick off upgrades for its entire iPad lineup in 2024, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Updated versions of the iPad Air are expected to arrive in the beginning of the year, with the new iPad Pro models to follow by the second quarter.

Kuo predicts Apple will release a 10.9-inch iPad Air and, for the first time, a 12.9-inch model. While it’ll come in the Pro size, it isn’t likely to sport the Pro’s mini-LED display. But, Kuo says it will get the oxide backplane, which will make for better performance over the smaller model. As for the new iPad Pro, Kuo says there are two upcoming M3 models that will drop the mini-LED display for OLED and use the iPhone 15 Pro’s LTPO backplane.

The rest of the iPad lineup is due for upgrades as well, with both the 11th generation iPad and new iPad mini anticipated to arrive in the second half of 2024. It’s been over a year since Apple last released a new iPad.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-ipad-refresh-next-year-could-bring-oled-ipad-pros-and-a-129-inch-ipad-air-193729591.html?src=rss

Tesla could sue Cybertruck resellers for $50K if they flip it too soon

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A new “Cybertruck Only” clause in Tesla’s purchase agreement stipulates that buyers cannot sell their new vehicle within the first year unless they have explicit permission from the automaker, or they may be sued. The company just updated its Motor Vehicle Order Agreement ahead of the first Cybertruck deliveries, which it said last month are on track for November 30.

Under the terms, which have been making the rounds on social media this weekend, Tesla states that it “may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle” if buyers breach its resale provision, or it may “demand liquidated damages from you in the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.” The terms also warn that offending resellers could be barred from buying vehicles from Tesla in the future.

Tesla says it may grant exceptions to some people wishing to sell their Cybertruck within the first year, but they must get written consent. If the company does agree, it will either buy the car back at a reduced price — deducting $0.25 per mile driven, plus wear and tear, and the cost of any necessary repairs — or allow the owner to resell the truck to a third-party buyer. Tesla’s Cybertruck is only being released to a small number of select customers at first and won’t enter mass production until 2024, so naturally, the company is trying to get ahead of resellers looking to cash in on the vehicle’s rarity.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-fine-print-says-it-may-sue-cybertruck-resellers-for-50k-if-they-flip-it-too-soon-173137300.html?src=rss

Terminator is back with a new anime series coming to Netflix

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Netflix is giving the Terminator franchise the anime treatment in a new series that’s set to hit the streaming platform “soon.” The company dropped the first teaser for Terminator: The Anime Series this weekend during its Geeked Week event. Details so far are scant, but we do know it’ll be produced by Production IG, the Japanese animation studio behind the original Ghost in the Shell movie and spinoff TV series.

Terminator: The Anime Series will take us back to August 1997, when the Skynet AI becomes self-aware and turns against humans. While there is no information on the cast just yet, Variety reports the series will feature entirely new characters. 

Also on board as executive producers are Skydance and Project Power writer Mattson Tomlin, who will be the series’ writer and showrunner. Netflix hasn’t announced a release date yet or shown any preview scenes, so here’s hoping we get an expanded trailer soon. The Terminator franchise has had quite a few installments, not all of them good, but going back to the beginning could be just the refresh it needs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/terminator-is-back-with-a-new-anime-series-coming-to-netflix-154925265.html?src=rss