Tag Archives: author_name|Danny Gallagher

OpenAI rolls out Canvas, its newest ChatGPT interface

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OpenAI has debuted a new workspace interface for ChatGPT called Canvas. The AI giant unveiled its new ChatGPT workspace on its official blog and immediately made it available for ChatGPT Plus and Team users. Enterprise and Edu users will be able to access Canvas sometime next week.

Canvas is a virtual interface space for writing and coding projects that allows users to consult with ChatGPT on certain portions of a project. A separate window opens besides the main chat space and users can put writing or code on this new “canvas” and highlight sections to have the model focus on and edit “like a copy editor or code reviewer,” according to the blog.

Canvas can either be opened manually by typing “use canvas” in your prompt. Canvas can also automatically open when it “detects a scenario in which it could be helpful,” according to the blog post. There are also several shortcuts that can be used for writing and coding projects. For writing projects, users can ask ChatGPT for suggested edits or length adjustments, or ask it to change the reading level of a block of text, from graduate school level down to kindergarten. It can also add "relevant emojis for emphasis and color."

Coders can have ChatGPT review their code and add inline suggestions for improvements. It can also mark up your work with logs and comments to aid in debugging and make understanding your code easier. It's also capable of fixing bugs and port coding to a different language such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++ or PHP in Canvas mode.

OpenAI’s Canvas feature brings ChatGPT in line with other AI assistants that have separate workspaces to focus on certain areas of a project like Anthropic's Artifacts and the coding focused AI model Cursor.

Update, October 4, 12:55PM ET: This story was edited after publishing to include more context on the code and text functionality of the Canvas feature.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-rolls-out-canvas-its-newest-chatgpt-interface-230335185.html?src=rss

Tesla’s fifth Cybertruck recall is due to a rear-view camera glitch

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Tesla issued another recall for more than 27,000 Cybertrucks. This is the fifth time the electric truck has been recalled in the last year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the recall due to an image delay from the rear-view camera. The delayed rear-view camera failed to produce an image to the driver of what’s driving behind them within the legally required two seconds, “increasing the risk of a crash,” according to the official recall notice.

Reuters reports that the camera display is caused by a software glitch in the Cybertruck’s system. Some vehicles failed to complete the shutdown process before booting up again, causing a noticeable delay in the rear-view camera of up to eight seconds. So far, no crashes or injuries have occurred as a result of the software issue. Tesla is issuing a software update to address the rear-camera display delays.

This recall is just the latest in a string of notices and hiccups for the D-minus geometry project on wheels just this year. Tesla announced in April that it had to delay deliveries of the Cybertruck because of accelerator issues, a problem that prompted one of its most infamous recalls later that month due to sticky accelerator pedals.

Delivery delays led to another recall for the Cybertruck in June due to safety issues with the windshield wiper motor and trim. Several Cybertruck owners including some who just picked up their vehicle reported that the wipers failed to work.

Even virtual versions of the Cybertruck had to undergo repairs shortly after its release. The Cybertruck made an appearance in Fortnite as part of the game’s Summer Road Trip promotion but several players reported a weird glitch when they tried to morph a vehicle into Tesla’s signature truck. Epic Games pushed out a fix for the bug sometime later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/teslas-fifth-cybertruck-recall-is-due-to-a-rear-view-camera-glitch-214029747.html?src=rss

Find a new life in death in The Sims 4’s Halloween-themed expansion

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Playing The Sims, the virtual life simulator created by sim game maven Will Wright, has always given its players the feeling that they can control life and death. A new expansion for The Sims 4 takes that concept even further with the Life & Death pack that launches on Halloween.

The Life & Death expansion pack will take the world of Sims to a new plane of existence. It comes with new career paths, neighborhoods, haunted items and achievements about living life to the fullest until you die.

The biggest addition is a new suburb called Ravenwood that has three new neighborhoods to explore, including Crow’s Crossing, Whispering Glen and Mourningvale. You’ll be able to commune with the souls of the dead until they find a channel to the afterlife, make wishes with and investigate ancient shrines with mysterious powers and explore a cemetery. Each area also has a “Mysterious Merchant” who sells haunted objects and helps you pick out a final resting place during the “Try Before You Die Casket Sale.”

The Life & Death pack’s new achievements don’t just lean on the dead side of things. Your Sims can aspire to live a full life with the “Soul’s Journey” achievement track that offers a chance to “Rebirth a Sim” and create special “Bucket Lists” for young adult or older Sims. Once your Sim dies, they can come back as a ghost to complete unfinished business with the help of the living.

There’s also new career paths in the Life & Death pack that deal more with the darker side of the equation. Sims can pursue a profession on the Undertaker career track to become a mortician or a funeral director and achieve grisly rewards like a “Plague Mask” or a “Corpus Commendation Plaque.” The Reaper career path deals with the living and soon-to-be no longer living. Your Sim will work as the Netherworld Department of Death (NWDD) and train to become a soul reaper giving them the power to take life or give it back if your soul quota is too high.

The Life & Death expansion pack is available for pre-order for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and 5 and Xbox One and Series X|S. If you pre-order, you’ll receive some creepy collectibles including the Lasting Legacy Family Portrait, the Mournful Melodies Music Box and the Plumed Elegance Mask.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/find-a-new-life-in-death-in-the-sims-4s-halloween-themed-expansion-195544792.html?src=rss

The creepy Crow Country is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 16

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One of the year’s scariest and most engrossing horror games is clawing its way to a new console. SFB Games’ Crow Country will launch on the Nintendo Switch on October 16.

Crow Country may look like a cheerier, grainier Animal Crossing but that just adds to the horror adventure’s creepy and dark atmosphere. You play as Mara Forest, a plucky young woman exploring the remains of an abandoned amusement park called Crow Country. Its owner Edward Crow mysteriously disappeared in his park and has been missing for two years. It’s up to Mara to uncover the mysteries behind the abandoned theme park and its long lost owner.

Engadget’s Cheyenne MacDonald reviewed the game back in May and highlighted that it drew some inspiration from the aesthetics and horrific monsters of horror games on Sony’s first Playstation like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. She also described the game as “cozy,” an odd word to describe a horror game. Crow Country’s “cozy” nature adds to the horror by taking familiar seeming characters and putting them in the Lovecraft-ian atmosphere of terror and mystery. It’s so good that it even made our list of the best horror games of the year.

Crow Country is also available on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-creepy-crow-country-is-coming-to-nintendo-switch-on-october-16-215954902.html?src=rss

Epic will extend its free games program to its mobile store

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Until now, the mobile version of the Epic Games Store has mostly been focused on the brand’s staples like Fortnite and Fall Guys. It won’t be that way for long.

Epic Games Store general manager Steve Allison announced at Unreal Fest in Seattle that it plans to expand the Epic Games Stores’ mobile library with 10 to 50 new third-party games and start a free games program, according to mobilegamer.biz.

Allison said the free games program and third-party titles will be available in “Q4” or the last part of the year. Epic’s Unreal Fest keynote also teased that Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition will be one of the new third-party games on the mobile store.

Epic Games also wants to make the game submission process a lot easier. Allison mentioned the store would offer “self publishing tools” for developers. This will allow them to release their games “without any interactions with us, like they do on PC today.”

The Epic Games Store is available worldwide on Android devices and for iOS users in the European Union.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/epic-will-extend-its-free-games-program-to-its-mobile-store-211158377.html?src=rss

OpenAI rakes in over $6 billion in new funding

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Now that OpenAI is becoming a for-profit company, it’s making a tidy profit in the process. The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in new funding from investors, nearly doubling its value to $157 billion. The new funding also makes it the largest venture capital deal in history.

The new investors jumped on board after the artificial intelligence startup planned to switch from a charitable non-profit to a for-profit, product-focused company. If OpenAI fails to make the move to for-profit, investors have the right to pull their funding, according to Axios.

The venture-capital firm Thrive Capital founded by Joshua Kushner, the youngest son of convicted-turned-pardoned real estate developer Charles Kushner, led the new round of funding with $1.25 billion. Other investors included SoftBank, Nvidia, Fidelity Management and OpenAI’s previous largest investor Microsoft.

One name that was notably absent from the investor list is Apple. The tech giant was in the process of negotiating a funding deal but apparently the agreement fell apart.

Funding isn’t the only thing that’s growing for OpenAI. Its AI app ChatGPT has attracted 250 million weekly active users, up from the 200 million announced at the end of August, and 11 million paying subscribers. The higher usage rate has OpenAI officials thinking they should raise the subscription price for ChatGPT to $22 a month by the end of the year and $44 a month in the next five years.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-rakes-in-over-6-billion-in-new-funding-192110908.html?src=rss

Serve Robotics and Wing will partner for drone delivery pilot in Dallas

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A new joint venture between Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robots and Alphabet’s Wing flying drone service will do a dual test run. Both tech companies hope that flying and sidewalk drones can cover areas its counterpart can’t and speed up delivery times.

TechCrunch reported that Serve Robotics and Wing will start making deliveries in Dallas sometime in the coming months. The test will include a select number of customer orders being delivered by a combination of sidewalk robots and flying drones.

One of the biggest challenges for drone delivery is coverage. Flying drones can only travel a certain distance away from its headquarters. Sidewalk drones can find it hard to navigate densely populated areas and certain rocky terrains. Drone companies often have to upgrade their facilities to meet these distances and obstacles.

Wing and Serve Robotics will make deliveries in Dallas as part of a new pilot program.
Wing

Serve Robotics and Wing’s idea is to use both types of robots for delivering orders to cover areas traditional delivery services cannot. A road-based Serve bot picks up the order from a restaurant and carts the food to an “AutoLoader” where the Wing drone, a flying drone that can carry five pounds and fly at speeds up to 65 mph, picks up the order and completes the delivery.

It’s not known which restaurants or merchants will be part of the test, the areas in Dallas where the drones will deliver orders and any post-test plans for the new drone delivery fleet. Serve Robotics already makes deliveries for 300 restaurants in Los Angeles. Wing also works with Walmart in Dallas and participated in a pilot program with DoorDash and Wendy’s in Virginia.

Correction, October 2 2024, 1:00PM ET: This story originally stated that Serve Robotics was an Uber company. Originally, Serve Robotics was part of Uber but was spun out into an independent company several years ago. We apologize for the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/serve-robotics-and-wing-will-partner-for-drone-delivery-pilot-in-dallas-205628612.html?src=rss

OpenAI reportedly plans to increase ChatGPT’s price to $44 within five years

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OpenAI is reportedly telling investors that it plans on charging $22 a month to use ChatGPT by the end of the year. The company also plans to aggressively increase the monthly price over the next five years up to $44.

The documents obtained by The New York Times shows that OpenAI took in $300 million in revenue this August, and expects to make $3.7 billion in sales by the end of the year. Various expenses such as salaries, rent and operational costs will cause the company to lose $5 billion this year.

OpenAI is reportedly circulating the documents the NYT reported on as part of a drive to find new investors to prevent or lessen its financial shortfall. Fortunately, OpenAI is raising money on a $150 billion valuation, and a new round of investments could bring in as much as $7 billion.

OpenAI is also reportedly in the midst of switching from a non to for-profit company. The business model allows for the removal of any caps on investor returns so they’ll have more room to negotiate for new investors at possibly higher rates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-reportedly-plans-to-increase-chatgpts-price-to-44-within-five-years-225413308.html?src=rss

VR hit Walkabout Mini Golf is getting a mobile edition

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Walkabout Mini Golf has been filled with players ever since it launched around the same time as the Meta Quest 2. Now the multiplayer mini-golf game is making the jump to iOS devices.

The developer Mighty Coconut is currently beta testing its mobile mini-golf game Walkabout Mini Golf: Pocket Edition and plans to release a full version on the App Store on October 10.

The Pocket version may be on mobile devices but the miniature version of the mini-golf game isn’t straying away from its virtual interface. The iOS Walkabout game can be played in two different modes: “Touch-to-Putt” mode in which you use the touch screen to tap and drag your shot and “Swing-to-Putt” mode in which you hold your iPhone like a putter and take your swing the same way you would in the VR version.

Walkabout Mini Golf is one of the most popular multiplayer VR games for the Meta Quest series. The virtual mini-golf game has an extensive series of stylized courses including some based on movies, TV shows and games like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, the puzzle game Myst and the animated clay characters Wallace & Gromit. Mighty Coconut also designed a golf course with the immersive art company Meow Wolf and a series of courses based on the works of Jules Verne.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/vr-hit-walkabout-mini-golf-is-getting-a-mobile-edition-214918605.html?src=rss

Three men charged in connection with the Trump campaign hack

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The US Department of Justice charged three Iranian nationals as part of an effort to hack into the emails and computers used by President Donald Trump’s campaign staff and other political connections.

The Washington Post reported that DOJ officials filed charges against Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi in an indictment filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment alleges the three men “prepared for and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign” against current and former US officials, political campaigns and the media.

According to the indictment Jalili, Aghamiri and Balaghi’s "activity is part of Iran’s continuing efforts to [...] erode confidence in the US electoral process." They also face possible charges such as providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The suspects are accused of running a targeted hacking campaign committed in Iran over a four-year period. Their victims include current and former officials with the US State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the US Ambassador to Israel and an Iranian human rights organization.

Then last May, the three hackers successfully gained access to accounts belonging to Trump campaign officials. (Attempts to breach Biden campaign staff were, apparently, unsuccessful.) President Joe Biden’s campaign staffers as well as news outlets like The Washington Post and Politico received unsolicited emails from an AOL account owned by “Robert” that contained materials stolen from the Trump campaign. They included some internal poll results and the vetting dossier for Trump’s running mate Senator J.D. Vance.

Because of extradition laws, it's unlikely these hackers will be brought to justice on US soil.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/three-men-charged-in-connection-with-the-trump-campaign-hack-191154617.html?src=rss