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The largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere has joined the search for technosignatures, signals that indicate the presence of technology developed by extraterrestrial intelligence. A new instrument utilized by the MeerKAT radio telescope, which is in a remote region of South Africa, will increase the number of targets that Breakthrough Listen can observe by a factor of 1,000.

A team of engineers and astronomers involved with Listen, an initiative that's seeking signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, spent three years working on the instrument, which is said to be the most powerful equipment ever deployed to aid the search for technosignatures. The instrument is integrated with MeerKAT's control and monitoring systems.

Listen is already employing the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, the Parkes Telescope in Australia and others in its hunt for technosignatures. What's different about MeerKAT is that there's no need to physically move its antennas. Its 64 dishes can monitor an area of the sky 50 times larger than what GBT can view at once.

“Such a large field of view typically contains many stars that are interesting technosignature targets," Listen principal investigator Dr. Andrew Siemion said in a statement. "Our new supercomputer enables us to combine signals from the 64 dishes to get high resolution scans of these targets with excellent sensitivity, all without impacting the research of other astronomers who are using the array.”

Along with being able to monitor a larger area of the sky at a given time, the ability to scan 64 objects at once will help Listen to detect and dismiss interfering signals from spacecraft launched by humans, such as satellites. One of the first targets that the new instrument will observe is Alpha Centauri. In 2020, Listen detected an odd radio signal coming from Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun and a member of the Alpha Centauri system.

“It will take us just two years to search over one million nearby stars," Listen project scientist Dr. Cherry Ng said. "MeerKAT will provide us with the ability to detect a transmitter akin to Earth’s brightest radio beacons out to a distance of 250 light years in our routine observing mode.”

Google’s interactive Doodle today celebrates the life and accomplishments of video game pioneer Gerald “Jerry” Lawson on what would have been his 82nd birthday. The Doodle lets you play five retro pixel-art platformers in your browser — with two even letting you play as Lawson. The Doodles’ creators want to inspire young people to follow in his footsteps, and it includes a built-in level editor and creator to nudge them on that path.

Lawson was known as the “father of the video game cartridge,” which he developed as Director of Engineering and Marketing at Fairchild Semiconductor. In 1976, the company released the Fairchild Channel F home console, with Lawson serving as lead developer. The Channel F (the “F” stood for “fun”) was the first system with interchangeable game cartridges, a novel concept in an era when games were permanently coded into hardware. Interchangeable ROM-based cartridges were a massive breakthrough that let users build entire libraries rather than playing one game ad nauseam.

Google

Today’s Doodle includes games from guest artists and game designers Davionne Gooden, Lauren Brown and Momo Pixel. “The concept starts with the player as a little Jerry Lawson,” explained Brown. “This takes us through anecdotes about Jerry’s life, parts of his journey that he went about to create the cartridge. Once you complete the level, you then get to create your own game with an editor that allows you to reimagine the level design and innovate like Jerry Lawson did.”

Along with the cartridge advancement, Lawson’s Channel F was the first console with an eight-way joystick and a pause menu. Although it wasn’t a commercial success, Channel F’s innovations would influence later systems that dominated home gaming over the following decades — it was a predecessor to platforms like the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Even in today’s world of always-online digital games, the top-selling console — the Nintendo Switch — still (optionally) uses a form of cartridges.

Lawson faced considerable challenges during his early years at Fairchild as an African-Amercan man in a field that wasn't known for being racially diverse. He noted that working as an engineer as a 6-foot-6-inch Black man would surprise people, with some reacting with “total shock” when they saw him for the first time. Additionally, he was one of only two Black members of the Homebrew Computing Club. This group included Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, along with other Silicon Valley pioneers.

The Estate of Jerry Lawson

After his innovations at Fairchild, Lawson left in 1980 to start his own company, VideoSoft, one of the first Black-owned video game development firms. VideoSoft closed five years later, and Lawson consulted engineering and video game companies for the rest of his career. He passed away in 2011 at 70 from diabetes complications.

“When people play this Doodle, I hope they’re inspired to be imaginative,” said Anderson Lawson, Jerry’s son. “And I hope that some little kid somewhere that looks like me wants to get into game development. Hearing about my father’s story makes them feel like they can.”

Frictional Games thinks it has a way to shake up the Amnesia horror formula — throw out most of the predictability. The studio has unveiledAmnesia: The Bunker, a "semi-open" survival horror title that takes place during the First World War. You play a French soldier (an amnesiac, of course) who has little more than a revolver and flashlight to defend themselves against a mysterious creature hunting them down. There are "hardly any" scripted events, and frequently multiple ways to overcome the game's hurdles.

The new release also promises new forms of interaction, with elements of sandbox games despite the presence of a story. You can also expect improved lighting effects and "carefully" crafted sound. And yes, you'll still get Frictional's signature extra-gloomy environments.

Amnesia: The Bunker releases on PlayStation, Xbox and PC (via Epic Games Store and Steam) sometime in 2023. It's too soon to say if the open world format will help, or simply introduce the problems that sometimes creep up in those games — it won't be very frightening if you're wandering aimlessly. If nothing else, the approach should improve the replayability compared to other horror projects. You can come back knowing the scares won't always pop up at the same places.

Microsoft has revealed its first wave of Game Pass additions for December and the headliner is a major game that debuted earlier this year — Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. You'll be able to play through all nine core films in the Star Wars franchise and you can choose which trilogy to begin with. It's maybe the best Star Wars game I've played. It's gorgeous, the gameplay is a blast and it's very funny, with clever twists on many of the series' most memorable moments. It's coming to Game Pass on December 6th and you can play it on Xbox, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

A few games have joined Game Pass today, including Eastward, a charming indie RPG that debuted last year. It has a lovely art style that takes inspiration from Earthbound. Both that and The Walking Dead: The Final Season are now available on Game Pass via console, PC and the cloud. Also hitting PC Game Pass today is Totally Reliable Delivery Service, a ragdoll physics game about terrible package couriers.

Looking further ahead, Hello Neighbor 2 (console, PC and cloud) will hit Game Pass on December 6th, followed by Chained Echoes (all three platforms) two days later. An Xbox One version of Metal: Hellsinger will be available on Game Pass on December 8th too — subscribers can already access it on Series X/S, PC and the cloud.

One of the last big Xbox exclusives of the year, High On Life, will arrive on Game Pass on December 13th. The sci-fi first-person shooter from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland is coming to console, PC and cloud gaming. "Alchemist simulator" Potion Craft will be available on console and PC via Game Pass on the same day. On December 15th, subscribers can check out Hot Wheels Unleashed – Game of the Year Edition (which I've heard great things about) and puzzle-platformer Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan on console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming at no extra cost.

On the other side of the coin, several games are leaving Game Pass on December 15th, so you have a couple more weeks to check them out before you'd need to buy them (though you'll get a 20 percent discount if you're a Game Pass subscriber). The titles that will soon depart the library are:

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite (cloud, console and PC)

• Breathedge (cloud, console and PC)

• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (cloud, console and PC)

• Firewatch (cloud, console and PC)

• Lake (cloud, console and PC)

• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (cloud, console and PC)

• Neoverse (cloud and console)

• Race with Ryan (cloud, console and PC)

• Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (cloud, console and PC)

• Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (console) 

• Transformers: Battlegrounds (cloud, console and PC)

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched with plenty of glitches, to put it mildly, but the developers are at least trying to make amends. Alongside an update, Nintendo said it was aware of performance problems and was taking player feedback "seriously" as it planned fixes. The patch both introduces Season 1 of Ranked Battles and addresses numerous bugs, including inconsistent music playback during key events.

The creature-collecting game routinely suffers from poor frame rates, particularly in busy areas like cities. It's also common to encounter crashes, visual flaws and showstopping bugs like getting stuck in the terrain. Autosaves lessen the sting, but this still isn't the polished experience you expect from first-party Switch titles. The sometimes mediocre graphics don't help, either.

Not that Nintendo is likely worried about the flaws affecting sales. As IGNnotes, Nintendo recently boasted that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold a combined 10 million copies worldwide in their first three days. The feat made them the fastest-selling Nintendo game on any of the company's platforms. Japan's Pokémon fandom played a major role, as domestic sales topped 4 million in those early days.

Those numbers also suggest Nintendo is still faring well against its biggest console rivals. Sony's fastest-selling PlayStation game, God of War: Ragnarok, 'only' managed to move 5.1 million copies during its first week. That's not completely shocking given the brutal brawler's narrower audience, and Sony is unlikely to complain much when third-party releases like the Call of Duty series routinely sell well. However, it's telling that the Switch can still rally massive demand five years later.

I don’t know about your LinkedIn experience, but each time I visit the website I find my inbox flooded with messages. Most aren’t even worth reading, but a few inevitably promise new career opportunities and the chance to work with interesting people.

LinkedIn wants to make it easier to find those messages quickly. Starting today, the social network is rolling out a new feature called Focused Inbox. It separates your inbox into two tabs titled “Focused” and “Other.” A machine learning algorithm will then do its best to flag messages that include the most relevant outreach to you and push them to the top of the Focused tab. If you don’t find the feature useful, you can switch to the old interface at any time.

LinkedIn’s hope is that the feature helps people be more productive. The Focused Inbox comes at a time when the company says more of its users are turning to its instant messaging feature to communicate. In the last year, LinkedIn says it has seen a 20 percent increase in those types of chats.

Disney researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that seemingly makes it far easier to make an actor appear younger or older in a scene. While artists will still be able to make manual adjustments to make sure the effect looks as realistic as possible, the AI tool could take care of most of the heavy lifting. It's said to take the AI just five seconds to apply the aging effects to a single frame.

Re-aging an actor is typically an expensive and laborious process that requires artists to go through a scene frame-by-frame to manually change the character's appearance. Attempts have been made in the past to automate the process with neural networks and machine learning. Disney's researchers note that, while they might work well for still images, other systems "typically suffer from facial identity loss, poor resolution and unstable results across subsequent video frames." They claim their solution offers "the first practical, fully-automatic and production-ready method for re-aging faces in video images."

The team wrote in a paper that it would be impossible to train the FRAN (face re-aging network) neural network on a dataset of real people. That would require pairs of images showing a subject with the same facial expression, pose, lighting and background at two different and known ages. Instead, the researchers created a database of several thousand randomly generated faces. They re-aged those synthetic faces using existing machine learning aging tools, then fed the results of that process into FRAN.

The neural network can analyze a headshot and predict which parts of a face would be affected by aging and then it applies effects like wrinkles or skin smoothing as a layer on top of the original face. As Gizmodo notes, the researchers claim this approach allows FRAN to re-age the performer with their identity and appearance intact, even when their head or face is moving around or the lighting changes in a shot. Unlike with other methods, FRAN doesn't require an extra face alignment step either.

There are many good reasons why Disney would want to develop such a tool. It could lessen visual effects artists' workloads and speed up the process, for one thing. In addition to helping productions without blockbuster budgets age their actors up or down, it might help keep ballooning budgets in check. A significant chunk of The Irishman's budget, which reports suggest was as much as $200 million, went toward making Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci look younger.

Disney has been de-aging performers in its own projects, notably with Mark Hamill in Star Wars. When Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones next summer, he'll also look a little younger than you're used to seeing him — at least for the opening sequence. Disney's new re-aging tool should make it faster for effects artists to take years off such performers' faces in the future.

Don't worry if you missed Samsung's Black Friday TV sales — there are still good deals to be had. Woot is running a sale on Samsung's 2022 Frame TVs that includes some of the best prices we've seen. The best value is the 50-inch model, which is down to $870 — a healthy 33 percent off. You'll see steep discounts across the range, though, including the sweet-spot 55-inch and 65-inch models (now $1,100 and $1,490). Even the gigantic 85-inch version has dropped to $2,998 versus the usual $4,298.

The appeal, as with past Frame models, is turning your TV into a piece of living room art. Wall-mount your set (the kit is included) and it becomes a dynamic painting when you're not using it. You can even use custom bezels to help it match your decor. The 2022 version is a big leap forward for the series with a more canvas-like matte display that cuts reflections. The color-accurate 4K HDR picture (1080p on the 32-inch set), game mode and voice assistant support also ensure that you won't compromise much to get always-on artwork.

If there's a catch, it's that there are extra costs involved in getting the Frame TV's look just right. You'll need Art Store purchases or a subscription to get world-famous paintings from Da Vinci or Van Gogh, and those custom bezels add to the cost. With that said, these prices are low enough that you might justify spending extra to see your favorite artwork in between streaming video marathons.

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Apple’s iPad lineup is both more interesting and more complicated than it’s been in years. After October’s launch of the 10th-generation iPad and the M2-powered iPad Pro, Apple now sells three tablets in the 11-inch range that pack broadly similar designs but have key differences when it comes to internal components and accessory support. Last year’s 10.2-inch iPad remains on sale, but seemingly targets a different market than its “next-generation” successor of the same name. The iPad mini is still doing its thing, too.

If you’re confused about which to buy, you’re not alone. The decision isn’t as cut-and-dry as it has been in the past, so we’re here to break down the pros and cons, detail how they compare to each other and help make your decision a bit easier.

Engadget's picks

• Best for most: iPad Air

• Best budget: iPad (9th gen)

• Best for one-handed use: iPad mini

• Best for power users: iPad Pro 12.9-inch

Best for most: iPad Air

Of the six iPad models currently on sale, the iPad Air is the closest to being universally appealing. We gave it a review score of 90 earlier this year: It has the same elegant and comfortable design language as the iPad Pro while costing less, with a bright, sharp and accurate 10.9-inch display surrounded by thin bezels and flat edges. It comes with a USB-C port, similar to what you’d find on a MacBook and many other non-iPhone devices, and while it’s not a Thunderbolt connection as on theiPad Pro, simply being able to charge the Air with the same cable you use with your other gadgets is a plus.

Apple refreshed the Air earlier this year with its M1 system-on-a-chip, which is the same silicon found in the entry-level MacBook Air. This isn’t Apple’s newest SoC, but it’s still more than powerful enough for virtually any task you can throw at it, and an increasing number of iPadOS features are exclusive to M-series chips.

The iPad Air is also compatible with Apple’s best accessories, including the second-generation Pencil stylus and the (excellent) Magic Keyboard, just like the 11-inch iPad Pro. These add a good bit of cost to the bottom line, but for digital artists or frequent typers, they’re there.

The middle of Apple’s iPad lineup is a bit congested. If you need more than the Air’s default 64GB of storage, you might as well step up to the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at 128GB and packs a better 120 Hz display and M2 chip for not much more than a higher-capacity Air. (The display on the 2021 iPad Pro is better, too.) The new 10.9-inch iPad isn’t bad, either, but with its non-laminated display and lacking accessory support, it’s a harder sell unless you see it on deep discount. Still, while it’s not cheap, the iPad Air is Apple’s best blend of price and performance for most.

Best budget: iPad (9th generation)

If you can’t afford the Air, or if you just don’t use your tablet heavily enough to warrant spending that much, it’s perfectly safe to get the 9th-gen iPad instead. Starting at $329 for a 64GB model — and regularly available for less than $300 — it’s by far the most wallet-friendly way into iPadOS. While its hardware is an obvious step down from the models above, it’s still more than capable for the essentials.

We gave the 9th-gen iPad a review score of 86 last year. This is the only “current” iPad to follow Apple’s older design language: It’s just a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the 10th-gen iPad and iPad Air, but its wider bezels mean there’s only enough room for a 10.2-inch display. Like the 10th-gen iPad, that screen isn't laminated and more susceptible to glare, though it’s just as sharp. There’s a Home button located on the bottom bezel that also houses a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and the device charges via Lightning port rather than USB-C. Its speakers don’t sound as nice, either, but it’s the only iPad to still have a headphone jack, and its 12MP front camera is fine (though, it’s not landscape-oriented as on the 10th-gen iPad).

The 9th-gen iPad runs on Apple’s A13 Bionic, which is the same SoC used in 2019’s iPhone 11 series. It won’t be as fluid or futureproof as the M1, but it’s plenty quick for casual tasks. In terms of first-party accessories, the tablet supports Apple's Smart Keyboard and first-gen Pencil stylus. Those are less convenient than the company’s newer options, but they’re at least there.

In the end, it’s all about the price. The 9th-gen iPad is the most affordable model in Apple’s lineup, and those savings go a long way toward papering over its issues.

Best for one-handed use: iPad mini 

The iPad mini is exactly what it sounds like: the small iPad. It’s easily the shortest (7.69x5.3x0.25 inches) and lightest (0.65 pounds for the WiFi model) of every current iPad, with an 8.3-inch display that’s more comfortable to operate with one hand.

We gave the iPad mini a review score of 89 last year. Its design follows closely after that of the iPad Air: squared-off edges, thin bezels, no Home button, a Touch ID sensor in the power button, stereo speakers, solid cameras and a USB-C port. Its display is technically sharper, but otherwise gives you the same max brightness, lamination, anti-reflective coating and wide color gamut. It doesn’t have a “Smart Connector” to hook up Apple-made keyboards, but it does support the second-gen Apple Pencil.

The mini runs on Apple’s A15 Bionic SoC, the same as the one in 2021’s iPhone 13 phones. This is technically faster than the chip inside the 10th-gen iPad and, again, more than powerful enough for most tasks, though it’s a step behind the laptop-grade M1 or M2.

The mini has an MSRP of $499 for the 64GB model and $649 for the 256GB model. That’s a lot, though in recent months we’ve seen both SKUs available online for up to $100 less. If you specifically want a smaller tablet — whether it’s to easily stuff in a bag, use with one hand or treat like a high-end e-reader — this is the only option Apple sells, and the best tablet in its size range, period.

Best for power users: iPad Pro 12.9-inch

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro exists in something of its own realm within Apple’s tablet lineup. It starts at $1,099 for 128GB of storage, which is $100 more than the M1 MacBook Air. That’s well beyond what anyone needs to pay to do the vast majority of iPad things, and quite a chunk of change for a platform that still has issues with laptop-style productivity. But the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the best pure piece of tablet hardware that Apple makes.

We gave the latest iPad Pro a review score of 87 in November. The display here can get brighter than the Air’s, and it has a 120 Hz refresh rate (the Air is limited to 60 Hz). The 12.9-inch Pro’s display is more of an upgrade than the 11-inch model, though, as it’s the only iPad to use mini-LED backlighting, which can deliver higher peak brightness, improved contrast and a generally more realistic image. Beyond that, the Pro runs on Apple’s new M2 SoC, which isn’t a huge upgrade over the M1 in real-world use but offers more performance overhead going forward. The iPad Pro has the same 12MP rear camera as the Air, but adds a 10MP ultrawide lens and an LED flash (plus a LIDAR scanner for AR apps). The 12MP front cameras, meanwhile, can take shots in portrait mode.

Beyond that, the Pro has a faster Thunderbolt USB-C port, more robust speakers and Face ID support. With its latest refresh, it can now recognize when an Apple Pencil is hovering above the display and preview would-be inputs. There are more storage options, going all the way up to 2TB, with the 1TB and 2TB models doubling the RAM from 8GB to 16GB (at a super high cost). And it works with all of Apple’s best accessories.

It’s a powerhouse, and if you do want to use an iPad more heavily for work, the roomier display on the 12.9-inch Pro should make it the most amenable option for all-day, laptop-style use. You’ll want to add a keyboard to get the most out of that, but if you’re spending this much on an iPad to begin with, that may not be as big of a deal.

Like the iPad mini, this is very much a niche device. It’s prohibitively expensive, and its hulking size makes it less portable than other iPads. Certain creatives have made it work as a laptop replacement, but for most, iPadOS still makes multitasking and other computer-y tasks more convoluted than they’d be on a similarly priced MacBook. It’s only a minor upgrade over last year’s model, too. Still, as a tablet, the 12.9-inch Pro is deeply powerful.

Google is quickly joining Apple in recognizing the top apps of the year. The company has announced the Google Play Best of 2022 awards, and this year's biggest winners clearly reflect the cultural zeitgeist. The best Android app of the year is Wombo's Dream, an AI art generator — yes, one of the trendiest technologies of the year took top honors. The user's choice winner, meanwhile, is the social media phenomenon BeReal.

Respawn swept the top game awards. Apex Legends Mobile won both Google's nod as well as the user's choice pick. Todoist is Google's favorite app for Wear OS smartwatches, while Pocket's reading tool is the top tablet-friendly app. The best software for good was The Stigma App, a community platform dor discussing mental health.

Notably, Google significantly expanded the categories this year — if partly to promote its own platforms. There's now awards for Chromebook-friendly apps, including best app (the music maker BandLab) and best game (the metaverse-like Roblox). Very Little Nightmares is Google's favorite Play Pass game. The game list has expanded, too. The Android port of Papers, Please won the best story award, while the gacha game Genshin Impact took the distinction of the best ongoing game.

As with Apple, Google's year-end list is as much about driving downloads as anything else. The internet giant's Best of 2022 section on the Play Store is effectively a one-stop shop for Android and Chromebook newcomers looking to expand their app libraries. However, it does give a feel for the cultural pulse of a mobile world where AI, the metaverse and online gaming dominate.