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The Nintendo Switch was a great place to play Persona games, and it looks like the outgoing console has passed on the torch to its successor, with last year's Persona 3 Reload kicking things off when it comes to Switch 2 on October 23. 

Reload is a full remake of 2006's Persona 3 (later ported to the PSP as Persona 3 Portable), which Engadget's Mat Smith called "a gorgeous version of itself" in his review. It's both one of the most confusing and influential entries in the long-running series, and the remake's updated visuals means it sits proudly alongside Persona 5 Royal as one of the most stylish RPGs you'll ever play. It's also one of the more repetitive entries, but that didn't put off the many Persona sickos out there from experiencing the remixed game all over again. 

The Switch 2 version of Persona 3 Reload means the game will be playable on practically every modern platform, but the big question will be how it performs on the more powerful hardware. The Switch port of Persona 5 Royal wasn't quite as easy on the eyes as the PlayStation, Xbox and PC versions, but the portability made it the ideal platform for the game all the same. 

Persona 3 Reload comes to Switch 2 on October 23. At the time of writing there's no news on whether a physical version will be available at launch. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/persona-3-reload-arrives-on-switch-2-in-october-134501067.html?src=rss

Google has introduced a new AI model called AlphaEarth Foundations that it says can function like a "virtual satellite." The model uses a system called "embedding," which works by taking big volumes of pubic information from various sources every day, such as optical satellites, radars and climate simulations, and then combining them all together. It then divides lands and coastal waters into 10x10 meter squares, which it then analyzes and tracks over time. As Wired explains, these squares are color-coded to indicate different characteristics, such as vegetation types and material properties. 

The company said AlphaEarth Foundations makes its data easy to use by creating what it calls "highly compact summary" for each square of land or coastal water it monitors. These compact summaries apparently need 16 times less storage compared to those produced by comparable AI systems, thereby reducing costs needed for Earth observation. 

So what exactly can the model's data be used for? Google explained that scientists can use the model to create detailed maps on demand for multiple purposes, such as to monitor crop health or to track deforestation. In its announcement, the company claimed that the model excelled at a wide range of tasks over different time periods when it was tested. "AlphaEarth Foundations represents a significant step forward in understanding the state and dynamics of our changing planet," Google wrote. The company gave over 50 organizations access to the model's Satellite Embedding dataset, a collection of its annual embeddings, to test its use in real world applications over the past year. Now, it has released the dataset in Google Earth Engine so that other scientists can use it for their own research. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-virtual-satellite-ai-model-can-provide-a-near-real-time-view-of-earth-133055880.html?src=rss

Brilliant Labs is the startup behind Frame, the open-source smart glasses designed for hackers and other creative types. Today, the company is launching Halo, a new pair of glasses that, predictably for the age we live in, are being sold on the back of their AI features. Halo is a wayfarer-style pair (compared to the Panto-styled Frame) and, if you’re a spectacles wearer, you’ll be able to get prescription lenses in more than 100 countries thank to a partnership with SmartBuyGlasses.

Brilliant is happy to brag that Halo includes a camera, microphone and bone-conduction speakers in its slender chassis. A natural pitfall of many smart glasses has been the compromises necessary to keep weight down while still offering enough functionality to be useful. Being able to keep the weight to a trim 40 grams is one hell of an achievement, especially given the glasses have a color OLED display and a battery that promises to run for 14 hours on a single charge.

Unfortunately, instead of a display that overlays onto the lens, Halo "works" by projecting into your peripheral vision. I’ll be honest, these displays are becoming more of an irritation the more I use them, especially compared to models that have prisms inside the lenses.

Last year, Brilliant introduced Noa, its AI agent which it said was designed from the ground up to be used within the context of a pair of glasses. The company says that, when paired with Halo, Noa will be able to talk to you in a way that is natural and intuitive, as if “speaking with a real person.” It claims the secret sauce is in the fact Noa will be able to “understand what it hears and sees within its environment and responds with contextually relevant information in real time.”

That’s a lot of braggadocio, especially given the promises that come next about Narrative, its agentic memory system. Narrative will, so it is said, remember the name of a person you met or the details of a conversation you’ve had “years or even decades later.” This will harness the glasses’ optical sensors and microphones to keep tabs on what’s going on from your point of view. And since audio and video are both being constantly recorded, the system will build a “private and personalized knowledge base” about you.

Naturally, a pair of AI-enabled smart glasses will raise privacy hackles, and Brilliant says Noa will act as a VPN between you and the AI model behind it. Your interactions will be private by default, and users will get a lot of fine-grain privacy controls to ensure they’re happy with how much data they share. Plus, you’ll have voice commands to turn off the microphone, camera and the glasses themselves should you need to. Although if you’re doing something you’d rather not be recorded, the smartest advice is to not wear a pair of AI glasses in the first place. Not to mention that your general concerns about having a database built of every single thing you do in a day (and your social graph) is likely to be easily de-anonymized if necessary.

Brilliant also promises Halo will enable users to build custom applications for their glasses just from natural language commands. The company says that you just need to tell Noa what you need, and it’ll build an app to serve your purpose “within seconds.”

Pre-orders for Halo are opening today, but shipping isn’t due to begin until late November 2025, with the price set at $299. Compatible prescription lenses will be available to purchase through SmartBuyGlasses, too. The company is also taking great pains to tell users that it will, again, be releasing a limited number of pairs and so anyone interested in owning one will need to get in the line.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/brilliant-labs-launches-its-second-generation-smart-glasses-130000032.html?src=rss

A new cybersecurity "breach" has revealed the personal information of various celebrities, and while it won't let you steal their identities, it will allow you to... judge them. The "Panama Playlists" details the Spotify song choices of notable people ranging from Vice President JD Vance to talk show host Seth Meyers to tech bros like Palmer Luckey. And technically, it wasn't a breach at all, but a possible lack of understanding around Spotify's privacy settings. 

Spotify has always allowed users to make playlists public or private and some even actively seek followers. On top of that, each playlist cover shows "Public Playlist" or "Private Playlist" right up top. However, the default for new playlists is "Public," so many users may not be aware that they're listening habits are available for the world to see — if someone looks hard enough. 

That's exactly what the unknown creator of the Panama Playlists did: simply search for famous people and find their public playlists. The results aren't really that interesting? Sure, it's kind of funny that JD Vance has I Want It That Way on his "Making Dinner" playlist, ironic that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's playlist features Aretha Franklin's Respect, and very on-the-nose that US AG Pam Bondi has Cold As Ice on her playlist. 

Panama Playlists

Other standouts are Young Dumb, Broke by Khalid on Sam Bankman-Fried's "loud" playlist, James Blake's Retrograde on Pete Buttigieg's "Election Eve" playlist and Billions and Billions on venture capitalist Mark Andreesen's "Focus Alpha" list. In other words, everything is about as you'd expect given the personalities (most of whom aren't exactly in the A-list tier). As The Verge noted, one list was attributed to Kara Swisher, but she said it was inaccurate so it was removed. 

While a relative trifle compared to other data leaks, Panama Playlists does show Spotify's loose behavior around user privacy. For one thing, it makes all your playlists public by default. If you switch that to private in the settings, it will only affect playlists created afterwards. You then need to set each one to private individually. Playlists, followers and following also appear on your profile by default. With that in mind, think of Spotify as not just a streaming but a social media platform, and treat your privacy accordingly. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/spotifys-lax-privacy-means-anyone-can-see-the-vice-presidents-song-choices-123015427.html?src=rss

1Password is running a notable back-to-school sale in the middle of July, but the deals more than make up for the chronological discrepancy. Many subscription plans are half off until September 12. This includes the Individual and Families plans.

That brings the price of the Individual plan down to $18 for a year and the Families plan down to $30 for a year. The plans are nearly identical, but the Families plan accommodates five additional people. These discounts are only available to new customers and the prices expire after the year, so set a reminder to cancel or reassess.

This provider actually topped our list of the best password managers, and for good reason. We appreciated the intuitive interface and the fact that it's available on most platforms, so you'll never be left out in the cold. These include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, macOS, iOS, Windows, Android and more.

Subscriptions include industry standard encryption and a "secret key" that only you know on top of a master password. There's also two-factor authentication and the platform issues alerts when credentials have potentially been compromised.

The only downside here is the one that accompanies many password managers. There is no free version. Obviously, this won't be an issue for the year, but it could once the plan runs out.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/1password-deal-get-50-percent-off-plans-for-the-back-to-school-season-150817718.html?src=rss

DJI is finally taking on rising rival Insta360 with its first panoramic action camera, the Osmo 360. The company dug into its deep engineering toolkit in an effort to one-up the competition with features like a new sensor design, up to 8K 50 fps 10-bit log recording and a smaller, lighter body.

It also matches or beats its rival in other areas, with similar battery life and superior low-light capability. After testing the device in various scenarios like riding around on an e-bike, I’m impressed. Like other 360 cameras, though, the Osmo 360 sacrifices video quality for the convenience of unlimited angles. Plus, DJI’s editing app still needs some work.

Design and features

Insta360’s cameras made a splash in the action cam world because of a then-unique trait: they capture footage from all angles. That lets you reframe video in any direction so you’re not stuck with a traditional camera's forward-only view. The downside is that quality is reduced from the stated resolution (from 8K to 4K, for example) when footage is "de-warped" or flattened to create the final video.

DJI has so far stayed out of this category, but that's changed with the Osmo 360. Like rival models, it has a lens and sensor on each side, with a display at the back and a record and camera view button below (just like Insta360). There’s also a power button on the side. Other settings and controls are operated from the screen or a smartphone via DJI's Mimo app.

A key feature is the new 1-inch square sensor designed specifically for panoramic shooting. That allowed DJI to use 25 percent more of the sensor than rival models with rectangular chips, in turn boosting image quality and low-light capability. It also makes the camera more power-efficient.

The Osmo 360 is a bit smaller than Insta360's latest model, the X5. Though a bit thicker and wider, the Osmo is substantially shorter at just 83mm compared to the X5 (124.5mm). It's also about 9 percent lighter at 183 grams. All that makes it slightly easier to carry and attach to your body, bikes or other things, though it's still bulkier than a regular action cam.

Another bonus with the Osmo 360 is the 105GB of usable built-in storage (plus a microSD slot), compared to… zero for the competition. The battery is the same as the one in the Osmo Action 4 Pro and 5 Pro, so owners of those models already have a compatible battery. It supports up to 120 minutes of 8K 30 fps recording in endurance mode, or 100 minutes in regular mode, similar to the X5's 93/115 minutes. On top of that, battery life on the Osmo 360 can be boosted to 180 minutes with an optional battery extension rod.

Video and audio DJI

With its new sensor, the Osmo 360 can produce the highest quality video in the 360 category at up to 8K 50 fps, compared to 8K 30 fps on the Insta360 X5 and 6K 30 fps on the Insta360 One RS. That in turn lets creators capture high-quality flat (de-warped) video at up to 4K 50 fps. The new model also offers 10-bit D-LogM recording to boost dynamic range, which is better than the X5's 8-bit I-Log. And if you'd rather record flat video, you can do that in single-lens "Boost Video" mode at 4K 120 fps, with a field of view up to 170 degrees.

What's more, I was able to continuously capture 8K at 50 fps for nearly 90 minutes (8K at 30 fps for just over 100 minutes) without any overheating or other issues. That's impressive considering the size of the camera and amount of data being pushed through it.

The other benefit is improved low-light capability in all modes. DJI says that the native 8K pixel size is 2.4 micrometers, twice that of the X5, allowing for increased light gathering. If you want to take panoramic photos, the Osmo 360 beats the competition there as well with up to 120MP photos (compared to 72MP for the X5), or it can bin four pixels down to one for 30MP photos with lower noise in low light.

After testing it in day and night conditions, I’m impressed. In good light, it was on par with Insta360's X5 in terms of sharpness and color accuracy. It was superior in tricky contrasty situations, though, with the D-LogM profile boosting dynamic range. Skies, shiny roads and other brightly lit objects showed more detail than the 8-bit I-log video shot with the X5 and shadows were also less washed out.

DJI's digital RockSteady stabilization delivered impressively smooth video, even over rough cobblestone roads. And as with other DJI devices, you can let the camera bank with your movements or keep the horizon level (HorizonSteady), although that will come at the cost of some resolution. Stitching was also seamless (except occasionally with objects close to the camera), so I could choose any angle without worrying about distortion.

Not all was perfect though. As with other 360 models, the Osmo 360 is clearly less sharp than DJI's Action 5 Pro after conversion to 4K flat video. And while low-light performance was indeed very good, digital stabilization became problematic when shooting at night, showing signs of pixelation and video tearing due to motion blur. However, that’s a problem that’s typical with all action cams since they lack optical stabilization.

Like other DJI Action cams, the Osmo 360 supports the company's Mic 2 and Mic Mini wireless microphones and can record from two of those at the same time via its OsmoAudio direct connection system. You can also connect third-party wireless earbuds as I did with Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro 2, though only one set at a time.

DJI’s mics allow for crisp and clear audio, and add a lot of convenience. When paired with the camera, they can also record audio internally to provide a backup copy. Insta360 recently released its own microphone system with the $50 Mic Air that connects directly to the Insta360 X5 and Insta360 Ace Pro 2. However, those models can only use one mic at a time rather than two like the Osmo 360.

DJI Studio editing Steve Dent for Engadget

Software is an important component of panoramic cameras. On top of editing, they help creators change camera angles and do 360-specific moves. And if you plan to output full panoramic content, it injects that metadata into the final video so that apps like Facebook and YouTube will recognize it correctly.

A big reason for Insta360’s success has been its excellent Studio app that helps users do all of those things. DJI’s response to that is a new app of its own, which is also called Studio, but its first crack at a 360 editor doesn’t quite measure up to its rival.

DJI Studio does let you do basic editing, like inserting shots and trimming them. However, it’s not the most intuitive process — it took me too long to figure out how to trim shots before inserting them into the timeline. It’s also a bit buggy: the source display tends to show shots you haven’t selected and the camera angles sometimes randomly change. It also lacks features found on Insta360 Studio like text overlays and transitions.

That said, DJI Studio does a good job with its most important task. It’s easy to switch to a new view using keyframes and set animations to improve smoothness. You can then export video in either flat or panoramic formats and import it into apps like Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve for the final color correction, effects and titles. All told, DJI Studio is good for a first release, but still needs work compared to its main rival.

Wrap-up Steve Dent for Engadget

It took DJI awhile to get a panoramic action cam into the market, but the Osmo 360 was worth the wait. It stacks up well against its main rival, Insta360’s X5, by offering better video quality in low light or high-contrast situations. It’s also easy to use, offers good battery life and trumps its competition with a large amount of built-in storage.

The primary drawbacks are slightly lower image quality compared to regular action cams and stabilization that breaks down a bit in low light. The all-new DJI Studio app also needs some work. For a first effort, though, the Osmo 360 is a surprisingly solid rival to Insta360’s X5.

DJI's Osmo 360 is now available nearly everywhere but the US at €480 for the Standard Combo (around $554) which includes a single battery, protective pouch and rubber lens protector, or €630 ($728) for the Adventure Combo which adds two extra batteries, a charger, a quick release adapter mount and a 1.2m Invisible Selfie Stick. As for US availability, "it will not be available for sale immediately in the U.S. market through official DJI channels," a DJI spokesperson told Engadget. "We currently do not have an estimated timeline… but we will let you know when we do."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-osmo-360-review-a-capable-action-cam-thats-a-real-threat-to-insta360-120019592.html?src=rss

Earlier today, Mark Zuckerberg shared a rambling memo outlining his vision to build AI "superintelligence." In the memo, Zuckerberg hinted that the pursuit of more powerful AI might require the company to be more selective in what it open sources.

Citing "safety concerns" he wrote that Meta would need to be "rigorous" about such decisions. The line stood out to many as Zuckerberg — who once said "fuck that" in reference to closed platforms — has made open source central to Meta's AI strategy.

During Meta's second quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg further acknowledged there could be a shift, though he downplayed the significance of it. Here's what he said when asked if his thinking had changed.

I don't think that our thinking has particularly changed on this. We've always open sourced some of our models and not open sourced everything that we've done. So I would expect that we will continue to produce and share leading open source models. I also think that there are a couple of trends that are playing out. One is that we're getting models that are so big that they're just not practical for a lot of other people to use, so we kind of wrestle with whether it's productive or helpful to share that, or if that's really just primarily helping competitors or something like that. So I think that there's, there's that concern.

And then obviously, as you approach real superintelligence, I think there's a whole different set of safety concerns that I think we need to take very seriously, that I wrote about in my note this morning. But I think the bottom line is I would expect that we will continue open sourcing work. I expect us to continue to be a leader there, and I also expect us to continue to not open source everything that we do, which is a continuation of kind of what we, what we've been, been kind of working on.

That's notably different than what he wrote almost exactly a year ago in a different memo titled "Open Source AI is the Path Forward." In that, even longer note, he said that open source is crucial for both Meta and developers.

"People often ask if I’m worried about giving up a technical advantage by open sourcing Llama, but I think this misses the big picture," he wrote. "I expect AI development will continue to be very competitive, which means that open sourcing any given model isn’t giving away a massive advantage over the next best models at that point in time."

He also argued that open source is safer. "There is an ongoing debate about the safety of open source AI models, and my view is that open source AI will be safer than the alternatives. As long as everyone has access to similar generations of models – which open source promotes – then governments and institutions with more compute resources will be able to check bad actors with less compute."

To be clear, Zuckerberg said the company would continue to open source some of its work. But he seems to be laying the groundwork for a future in which Meta's "superintelligence" could be a lot less open.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/is-mark-zuckerberg-flip-flopping-on-open-source-ai-231310567.html?src=rss

Spotify is introducing new requirements to confirm the ages of users in the UK trying to access explicit content. The streaming platform is implementing a facial scan process in partnership with Yoti, which also provides its services to Instagram. UK Spotify users may be prompted to perform this age check when they try to view or listen to age-restricted content.

This type of approach to checking ages can sometimes yield wrong results. If the facial scan based on a photo of the user determines their age incorrectly, the person can instead provide an ID for verification. In addition to the limits on some explicit content, Spotify may use the results of these checks to deactivate an account if the user is below the minimum required age to be on the platform. In the UK, the minimum age for Spotify users is 13. "If you cannot confirm you’re old enough to use Spotify, your account will be deactivated and eventually deleted," the company said.

The UK's Online Safety Act has seen companies and services including Reddit, Bluesky, Microsoft/Xbox and pornography providers now requiring some form of age verification, either within the region or for all users.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/spotify-now-requires-face-scans-to-access-age-restricted-content-in-the-uk-210738192.html?src=rss

Fable, a startup designing tools to generate animated TV shows from scratch, is launching an AI-powered streaming service this week, Variety reports. The service is called Showrunner, and it will allow subscribers to generate scenes, view content created for Fable's in-house AI-generated animated shows and even insert themselves into the animations they generate.

Showrunner is launching in alpha, and based on Fable's website, you'll primarily interact with it through the company's Discord to start. Per Variety, subscribers will pay anywhere from $10 to $20 month for credits that can be exchanged for the ability to generate new animated scenes. The word "scenes" is key here. While Fable is launching with a couple of distinct animated shows, they're really more like collections of worlds and characters that subscribers can use to create new scenes. 

Those include Exit Valley, a Family Guy-inspired riff on the culture of Silicon Valley, and Everything is Fine, a comedy about a husband and wife who are stranded in an alternate world and trying to reunite. The company's goal is bigger than than just original content. Fable founder Edward Saatchi imagines a Disney-owned "Toy Story of AI" where subscribers could generate endless new scenes of Buzz and Woody interacting. For now, though, interested Showrunner users have to settle with knockoffs.

Engadget was able to preview an earlier version of Fable's Showrunner AI models back in 2019 that capably generated new South Park episodes based on audio inputs. The startup's model was able to create a watchable copy of the show's style even back then, which might be why Amazon has invested an undisclosed amount in Fable as part of the launch of Showrunner. 

While creatives remain skeptical to downright antagonist towards AI, companies have started using it more publicly in production. For example, Netflix recently touted its use of generative AI in its original show The Eternaut. Even if adoption grows, though, that doesn't really clarify whether the average film or TV viewer has any desire to generate content on their own, especially if it's as rough-around-the-edges as most AI-generated media is. Besides being a public demonstration of Fable's tech, Showrunner seems like a test to see if that desire is even there.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/showrunner-an-ai-powered-streaming-service-launches-in-alpha-this-week-204042241.html?src=rss

President Donald Trump's latest economic move is to halt the de minimis exemption, a provision that made international shipments of low-value items cheaper. When the exemption ends on August 29, shipments valued at or under $800 will be subject to duty fees when sent by any carrier other than the international postal network, no matter what country they are coming from.

According to the White House's announcement of this change, shipments will either be assessed with an ad valorem duty equal to the tariff rate for the country of origin set by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or with a limited-time specific duty between $80 and $200 per item. The specific duty will only be a available for six months, after which all shipments will be subject to an ad valorem duty. The administration claimed the de minimis exemption was harming US businesses and that the loophole was being used to ship synthetic opioids such as fentanyl into the country.

The administration had already suspended de minimis exemptions for shipments from China and Hong Kong in May. A large number of those low-cost purchases originated in those regions, which are the center for several online shopping sites specializing in inexpensive goods, such as Shein and Temu and Amazon's Haul.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-will-end-the-de-minimis-exemption-for-low-cost-global-shipments-202707806.html?src=rss

It was easy to view Substack's 2023 Nazi controversy as a kicked can that could turn up again. Well, white supremacist content led to another headache for the company this week. User Mag reported on Tuesday that the app sent a push alert to some users promoting a Nazi newsletter. The company told Engadget the notification was an "extremely offensive and disturbing" error.

The Substack newsletter in question describes itself as "a National Socialist weekly newsletter." It includes "opinions and news important to the National Socialist and White Nationalist Community." The far-right blog has a mere 757 subscribers. (That's a drop in the ocean compared to, say, Heather Cox Richardson's 2.6 million, George Saunders' 312,000 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 236,000.)

Given the newsletter's offensive content and relatively paltry audience, this wouldn't seem like something to promote. According to the company, it didn't mean to. "We discovered an error that caused some people to receive push notifications they should never have received," a Substack spokesperson told Engadget.

"In some cases, these notifications were extremely offensive or disturbing," the statement continued. "This was a serious error, and we apologize for the distress it caused. We have taken the relevant system offline, diagnosed the issue and are making changes to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Engadget asked Substack for extra details or context about how the accident happened. It didn't have further comment at the time of publication. We'll update this story if we find out more.

The newsletter in questionSubstack

User Mag reports that those who clicked on the Nazi blog's profile received recommendations for a similar one. That one had a larger audience of 8,600 subscribers.

One reason social users were quick to pounce on the latest incident: It provides a symbolic callback to Substack's 2023 Nazi shitstorm. That's when The Atlantic dug up "scores" of white-supremacist, neo-Confederate and Nazi newsletters on the platform. Some were monetized.

Substack's policy is one of anti-censorship. "I just want to make it clear that we don't like Nazis either — we wish no one held those views," Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie wrote in December 2023. "But some people do hold those and other extreme views. Given that, we don't think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away — in fact, it makes it worse."

After weeks of negative press coverage and prominent authors leaving the platform, Substack relented… sort of. On one hand, the company removed "some" pro-Nazi publications. However, it did so without changing its policies. Instead, it said five publications violated its existing content guidelines. Specifically, they broke rules prohibiting "incitements to violence based on protected classes."

Some critics didn't believe that was enough. The Platformer's Casey Newton, a prominent voice who left Substack during the episode, thought the company needed to take more responsibility. "Every platform hosts its share of racists, white nationalists and other noxious personalities," Newton wrote in early 2024. "In some very real sense, there is no escaping them online. But there ought to be ways to see them less; to recommend them less; to fund them less. Other platforms have realized this as they’ve grown up. Here’s hoping Substack does the same."

Substack has since found its footing as a haven for independent content creators. Numerous journalists looking to build an audience sans traditional media have flocked to it. (Among others, that list includes Tina Brown, Jim Acosta, Terry Moran and Jennifer Rubin.) In recent years, Substack has added a Twitter-like social feature, live video and TikTok-esque vertical video.

The company said it had its biggest week during the 2024 presidential election with an 82 percent boost in paid subscriptions. It recently raised $100 million in funding.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/substack-accidentally-sent-push-alerts-promoting-a-nazi-publication-191004115.html?src=rss

Opera is filing an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Brazil, alleging it creates an unfair environment for alternate browsers to compete with Edge. The Norway-based company claims Microsoft's deals to make Edge the exclusive pre-installed browser on Windows machines creates an unfair environment for alternate browsers to compete. Opera also argued that Microsoft uses design tactics and dark patterns to further discourage people from downloading and using rival products. It is asking Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to pursue remedies against Microsoft.

"Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn. First, browsers like Opera are locked out of important pre-installation opportunities," Aaron McParlan, general counsel for Opera, said in a statement. "And then Microsoft frustrates users' ability to download and use alternative browsers."

This isn't the first time these two companies have clashed. Opera sued Microsoft in the EU all the way back in 2007 with a similar argument that bundling Internet Explorer was anticompetitive. Last year, it also argued that Microsoft should have gatekeeper designation for the Edge browser under the EU's Digital Markets Act; that case against the European Commission is ongoing.

Update, July 30, 2025, 3:05PM ET: Corrected the status of Opera's case against the European Commission.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/opera-takes-its-browser-beef-with-microsoft-to-brazil-in-antitrust-complaint-214105355.html?src=rss

LinkedIn quietly changed the language of its hateful content policy this week. The update, the company's first change in three years according to the site's own changelog, removed a line that stated the company prohibits the misgendering and deadnaming of transgender individuals.

The change, which was first noted by the organization Open Terms Archive, was the only modification to the "hateful and derogatory content" policy. An archived version of the rules includes "misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals" as an example of prohibited content under the policy. That line was removed on July 28, 2025.

Open Terms and other groups have interpreted the change to mean that LinkedIn is rolling back protections for transgender people.

A LinkedIn spokesperson told Engadget the company's underlying policies hadn't changed despite the updated wording. The company's rules still reference "gender identity" as a protected characteristic. "We regularly update our policies," the company said in a statement. "Personal attacks or intimidation toward anyone based on their identity, including misgendering, violates our harassment policy and is not allowed on our platform." The company didn't provide an explanation for the change.

Advocacy groups say they are alarmed by the move. In a statement, GLAAD denounced LinkedIn's update and suggested it was part of a broader pattern of tech platforms loosening rules meant to protect vulnerable users. “LinkedIn’s quiet decision to retract longstanding, best-practice hate speech protections for transgender and nonbinary people is an overt anti-LGBTQ move — and one that should alarm everyone," a spokesperson for the organization said in a statement. "Following Meta and YouTube earlier this year, yet another social media company is choosing to adopt cowardly business practices to try to appease anti-LGBTQ political ideologues at the expense of user safety."

Earlier this year, Meta rewrote its rules to allow its users to claim LGBTQ people are mentally ill. The company also added a term associated with discrimination and dehumanization to its community standards and has so far declined to remove it even after its Oversight Board recommended it do so. YouTube also quietly updated its rules this year to remove a reference to "gender identity" from its hate speech policies. The platform denied that it had changed any of its rules in practice, suggesting to User Mag the move "was part of regular copy edits to the website."

Have a tip for Karissa? You can reach her by email, on X, Bluesky, Threads, or send a message to @karissabe.51 to chat confidentially on Signal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/linkedin-quietly-removed-references-to-deadnaming-and-misgendering-from-its-hateful-content-policy-190031953.html?src=rss

Dropbox is saying goodbye to its password manager after five years of service. This leaves current customers in a lurch, as the company has also announced that users only have a few months to extract all of their data.

This discontinuation will happen in phases, but October 28 is the day Dropbox Passwords will be entirely shuttered. On August 28, the platform will become view-only in both the mobile app and browser extension. The autofill functionality also deactivates on that date.

On September 11, the mobile app will stop working, though information will still be retrievable via the browser extension. As previously mentioned, users lose access to everything on October 28 as all data will be "permanently and securely deleted."

Dropbox didn't give an actual reason behind this move, only saying that it's "part of our efforts to focus on enhancing other features in our core product." That likely means it wasn't attracting many people to platform, despite being a fairly solid offering. It's been a free perk of the larger Dropbox suite since 2021, after first being offered to just Pro users.

The company recommends current users transition over to 1Password, which happens to be our pick for the best password manager. However, there are plenty of other platforms out there to try out. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/dropbox-is-pulling-the-plug-on-its-password-manager-184720450.html?src=rss

Skechers just released a helicopter parent's dream shoe. Find My Skechers is a new line of children's shoes that encourages parents to hide an Apple AirTag under the heel. If tracking them on Snapchat wasn't enough and tracking their smartwatch didn't quite cut it, now you can hide an AirTag on their person.

Remember running around the neighborhood with your friends and being told to be home for dinner? Or perhaps biking to and from school? You were figuring out how to navigate the world on your own and parents were learning how to let you do so just like they did when they were younger.

Find My Skechers shoes are offered in sizes for children as young as one and as old as ten. This begs the question: does Skechers think we are leaving our toddlers unsupervised to the degree that we need to hide trackers in their shoes? On the other end of the spectrum, do we think a 10‑year‑old won't figure out that their parents bought them the AirTag‑tracking shoe? After all, about 42 percent of 10‑year‑olds own a smartphone and might even get alerted that an AirTag is following them. Add to this that there is research suggesting that using digital technology to track your children's whereabouts can lead to more rebellious behavior.

This feature may help locate shoes left at school, camp or a sleepover. Some online commentators were also quick to point out that this shoe could help keep track of elderly loved ones who might wander.

A commercial for the new line of shoes describes the "clever secure hidden compartment" where parents can hide the AirTag and notes that your child won't be able to feel it in their shoes. The shoes are machine‑washable and available for sale now. An Apple AirTag is not included.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/skechers-releases-kid-shoes-with-a-hidden-airtag-compartment-181041440.html?src=rss

DJI's Amflow electric mountain bikes are now available to buy in the US, one full year after they made their way to European customers. These bikes include the company's proprietary and impressive Avinox drive system, which is built around a 1000W motor capable of producing 120Nm of max torque.

This system is also light and compact, allowing for efficiently-designed bikes like the Amflow line. The Amflow PL e-bike weighs just over 40 pounds and includes a four-bar linkage structure, a rear shock co-tuned with FOX and an SRAM rear derailleur. The specs fluctuate depending on if you choose the standard model or the Pro. 

The Avinox system uses GaN 3x fast-charging tech, so the batteries on these bikes can go from empty to 75 percent in around 90 minutes. The system also integrates with a full-color touchscreen for control over the assist modes and to display pertinent information. Like most modern e-bikes, this system can connect to a smartphone for even more data.

These bikes have the usual assortment of riding assist modes, but the Auto mode uses "multi-sensor fusion" to continuously adjust the assistance level based on real-world riding resistance. The powerful motor of the Amflow PL is great for standard riding, but excels in off-road areas.

Now onto the bad news, and boy is it bad. The cheapest configuration of the Amflow PL is $7,500 and prices shoot up to $10,200 for the Pro model. Luckily, curious consumers can book a test ride in many locations. DJI has been licensing the Avinox drive system to other e-bike manufacturers, so maybe we'll get more budget-friendly offerings in the future. As of this writing, 16 international brands have announced they are building bikes built around the system.

Don't worry. This foray into e-bikes shouldn't cut into DJI's drone-making operation. It recently released the Mavic 4 Pro, which we absolutely loved.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/djis-amflow-e-bikes-are-available-to-order-in-the-us-but-they-dont-come-cheap-174538774.html?src=rss

Of all the new iOS 26 features that Apple previewed at WWDC in June, AirPods updates were only briefly mentioned. Studio-quality audio recording and improved call clarity got top billing, while the addition of a camera remote control was also quickly discussed. However, when the beta software arrived last week, it turned out there were actually more features than described at the event, making this a meatier update for Apple’s recent AirPods than initially indicated. I’ve spent some time testing all of the new tools, so here’s what you can expect when you decide to use them.

How to get the latest AirPods features

All of these updates are available for AirPods that have the H2 chip. Those include AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2. You’ll have to download the public betas of both iOS 26 and the latest AirPods firmware to use these features. If you’re not feeling adventurous, all of these items will arrive this fall when the final versions of Apple’s OS updates roll out. That’s likely to happen for iOS and AirPods in early September, around the time the new crop of iPhones debuts.

Studio-quality audio recording

Apple may have framed the voice quality improvements on its AirPods as a boost for creators, but I’d argue the upgrade will be a welcome change for all. Sure, people who create content will benefit considerably from what Apple calls “studio-quality audio recording,” but the improved performance in noisy environments is something anyone will appreciate.

The company hasn’t offered much detail on exactly what it did to produce higher-quality audio, only describing the change in an initial press release as the result of a mix of the AirPods’ H2 chip, beamforming microphones and computational audio. That last update is likely doing the heavy lifting here, assisted by Apple’s audio chip, of course. I asked Apple for more specifics, but have yet to hear back.

Improved audio recording is available across iPhones, iPads and Macs, working in apps like Camera, Voice Memos, Messages (for dictation), Webex and more. Apple also says there’s upgraded vocal sound quality for calls, offering “more natural vocal texture and clarity” for Phone, FaceTime and other CallKit-enabled apps. As the voice upgrades are the most notable new features, I was eager to test them, and have spent the last several weeks doing just that (via the developer beta).

Billy Steele for Engadget

If you’re recording in a quiet room, you’ll notice that enhanced texture and clarity Apple promised. In my samples captured in Voice Memos, there’s not a huge difference between new and old firmware, but there is a noticeable one. The bigger improvement came when I moved to a noisy spot. Here, Apple dialed back its noise suppression in favor of voice clarity. While you’ll hear the slight roar of background noise in my audio clip, I actually sound better overall. That’s a trade I’ll bet many users will gladly make over the highly processed, digital-sounding results AirPods used to give us in less-than-ideal surroundings.

I also noticed that both of my samples with the new software were captured with a 48kHz sample rate. This isn’t new for AirPods audio recording/quality per se, but before this update some of my clips were still 24kHz — like my noisy sample with the old firmware. It seems like Apple is now defaulting to 48kHz as part of the overall sound boost, but that’s currently unclear and is something else I’ve asked the company for more info about.

Camera remote

The less exciting, but equally handy update for AirPods that Apple announced at WWDC is the addition of a camera remote control. Since newer AirPods have either force sensors or touch controls on their stems, the company saw fit to let you use those to take a photo or start and stop video recording. All of these tasks are done with either one press or a press and hold (you select which one you prefer when you enable the camera remote function).

For photos, you get a three-second countdown before your device snaps the picture. This gives you ample time to put your hand down after pressing the AirPods stem so you don’t ruin the selfie. For video, there’s no countdown, but there is a second or two delay before the recording starts. So, if you’re quick about it, you can get your hand away from your ear before showtime. However, you’ll still have to reach for an AirPod or your phone when the time comes to stop recording, so there will be some editing to do there. This all works well, but just remember you have to enable the camera remote feature as it’s not activated by default after the firmware update.

Sleep pausing and CarPlay switching Billy Steele/Engadget

Most AirPods users have probably fallen asleep with one or both of the earbuds in their ears. Apple’s update will add automatic pausing when you’ve dozed off to help you not miss much of your TV show or podcast you were watching or listening to. However, it’s unclear how this works. All we know is it’s a simple on-or-off switch, and it’s disabled by default. Some have speculated that it uses sleep data from the Apple Watch, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Since AirPods have accelerometers, it’s possible the feature may rely on detecting movement, but I’ve asked for a firm answer on what’s going on here.

Another item on the list of AirPods updates is automatic switching for CarPlay. This is supposed to seamlessly transfer the audio to your car’s infotainment system from the earbuds when your phone connects to your vehicle. Again, there hasn’t been much discussion of this, and my attempts to trigger it were unsuccessful. That may be due to the fact that it requires wireless CarPlay, but I’m not seeing specific options for this in my AirPods settings. I’m waiting for more info from Apple on this feature too, and hopefully I’ll have more details to add to my observations soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/ios-26-updates-for-airpods-preview-enhanced-audio-recording-camera-remote-and-more-173036046.html?src=rss

YouTube will be included in Australia's social media ban for children under 16, as reported by Bloomberg. The country's Labor government said that the site will be subject to the same rules as other leading platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X when the legislation goes into effect this December.

Australia had planned to exempt YouTube from the forthcoming social media ban, on the grounds that it's an educational tool. This irked other platforms, with Meta and TikTok urging the country's government to backtrack on the exclusion.

This move didn't sit too well with YouTube and parent company Alphabet. A company spokesperson told CNN that this decision “reverses a clear, public commitment” from the government to treat the platform as an educational tool. YouTube Kids isn't included in the ban because it doesn't allow users to upload videos or comment.

The government said this reversal was largely influenced by a survey released by Australia's independent online regulator, the eSafety Commission. It found that 37 percent of children surveyed had reported seeing harmful content on YouTube. This includes stuff like dangerous online challenges, fight videos and hateful rhetoric.

Communications Minister Anika Wells recently spoke to the Australian Parliament and noted that "YouTube uses the same persuasive design features as other social media platforms, like infinite scroll, like autoplay and algorithmic feed." She went on to say that she accepted the results of the aforementioned survey and that YouTube "should not be treated differently from other social media platforms."

The ban originally passed at the tail-end of last year, though some of the details have yet to be ironed out. The government has until December to finalize everything. We do know that the ban puts the onus on the actual platforms to prevent children from opening up accounts, as they'll face hefty fines of up to nearly $50 million Australian dollars ($32 million USD) if they don't comply.

“Kids, God bless them, are going to find a way around this. Maybe they’re all going to swarm on LinkedIn. We don’t know,” Minister Wells said. My hunch is that it'll be more VPN than LinkedIn.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/youtube-will-be-included-in-australias-social-media-ban-for-children-after-all-161707399.html?src=rss

A group of Cornell computer scientists has unveiled what they believe could be a new tool in the fight against AI‑generated video, deepfakes and doctored clips.

The watermarking technique, called “noise‑coded illumination,” hides verification data in light itself to help investigators spot doctored videos. The approach, devised by Peter Michael, Zekun Hao, Serge Belongie and assistant professor Abe Davis, was published in the June 27 issue of ACM Transactions on Graphics and will be presented by Michael at SIGGRAPH on August 10.

The system adds a barely perceptible flicker to light sources in a scene. Cameras record this pseudo-random pattern even though viewers cannot detect it, and each lamp or screen that flickers carries its own unique code.

As an example, imagine a press conference filmed in the White House briefing room. The studio lights would be programmed to flicker with unique codes. If a viral clip from that press conference later circulates with what appears to be an inflammatory statement, investigators can run it through a decoder, and by checking whether the recorded light codes line up, could determine whether the footage was doctored.

“Each watermark carries a low‑fidelity, time‑stamped version of the unmanipulated video under slightly different lighting. We call these code videos,” said Abe Davis, assistant professor of computer science at Cornell. “When someone manipulates a video, the manipulated parts start to contradict what we see in these code videos, which lets us see where changes were made. And if someone tries to generate fake video with AI, the resulting code videos just look like random variations."

While the scientists acknowledge that rapid motion and strong sunlight can hinder the technique’s efficacy, they are bullish on its utility in settings like conference‑room presentations, television interviews or lecture‑hall speeches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/flickering-lights-could-help-fight-misinformation-155829489.html?src=rss

Mark Zuckerberg has spent the last several months and several billion dollars recruiting prominent AI researchers and executives for a new "superintelligence" team at Meta. Now, the Meta CEO has published a lengthy memo that attempts to lay out his big plan for using the company's vast resources to create "personal superintelligence."

In the memo, which reads more like a manifesto than a strategic business plan, Zuckerberg explains that he's "extremely optimistic that superintelligence will help humanity accelerate our pace of progress." The technology, according to him, "has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment where people will have greater agency to improve the world in the directions they choose."

Zuckerberg, who has previously expressed a desire to build artificial general intelligence, never defines "superintelligence." Nor does the 616-word memo explain how Meta plans to create such a technology, what it might help people accomplish or why anyone should trust the company to build it. Instead, he implies that Meta will be a better steward of this non-specifically powerful AI than "others in the industry" who expect "humanity will live on a dole of its output."

As profound as the abundance produced by AI may one day be, an even more meaningful impact on our lives will likely come from everyone having a personal superintelligence that helps you achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, experience any adventure, be a better friend to those you care about, and grow to become the person you aspire to be.

Meta's vision is to bring personal superintelligence to everyone. We believe in putting this power in people's hands to direct it towards what they value in their own lives.

This is distinct from others in the industry who believe superintelligence should be directed centrally towards automating all valuable work, and then humanity will live on a dole of its output. At Meta, we believe that people pursuing their individual aspirations is how we have always made progress expanding prosperity, science, health, and culture. This will be increasingly important in the future as well. 

Left unsaid by Zuckerberg, is the fact that the memo comes at a time when he's been rapidly reorganizing Meta's AI teams. Last month, the company invested $14.8 billion into Scale AI, a move that allowed it to bring Scale CEO and founder Alexandr Wang into the company. The 28-year-old founder is now Meta's Chief AI Officer in charge of its superintelligence efforts.

Meta has also been on a hiring spree for the effort, and has reportedly been offering prominent researchers eight- and nine-figure pay packages to come to Meta. In recent weeks, the company has successfully recruited high-profile talent from Apple and OpenAI, including Shengjia Zhao, who helped created GPT-4. Zhao announced last week that he will take on the role of "chief scientist of Meta superintelligence labs." Just yesterday, Wired reported that Meta has recently turned its recruiting efforts to Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and that in at least one case it made an offer worth more than $1 billion over several years. (Meta PR said some details of that report were "off.") All that is on top of the $72 billion Zuckerberg has said Meta plans to spend on AI infrastructure.

Driving all this is that Zuckerberg has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated by Meta's own generative AI efforts. The company has had to delay its larger "Behemoth" Llama 4 model by months. Llama's struggles have also reportedly caused Zuckerberg to question whether Meta's AI efforts should remain open source, according to CNBC.

It's also likely no coincidence Zuckerberg's rambling manifesto comes hours before the company is scheduled to report earnings and tell analysts more about its plans to spend billions of dollars on new AI efforts.

Meta's CEO also clearly sees AI dominance as an opportunity to end the company's reliance on mobile platforms, especially Apple, which he believes have been able to exert too much control via their app stores. In his memo, he explains that "personal devices like glasses … will become our primary computing devices." A future where smart glasses are more important than smartphones would, of course, be extremely convenient for Meta, which has spent the last several years building smart glasses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/mark-zuckerberg-shares-a-confusing-vision-for-ai-superintelligence-153944322.html?src=rss