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If you've had to deal with a rash of fake Xbox Live accounts in recent times, you're far from alone. Microsoft has published its first-ever Xbox transparency report, and it's now clear the company is banning or otherwise cracking down on bots. The company says it issued over 4.33 million "proactive enforcements" (that is, taking action without user reports) against fake and compromised accounts in the first half of 2022. That represented 57 percent of the enforcement actions over the six-month span, and a ninefold surge in the amount of proactive efforts versus the same period a year ago.

Microsoft was previously pouring most of its energy into "reactive" enforcement (responses to gamer reports), and taking fewer actions as a whole. The company issued 2.24 million reactive enforcements in the second half of 2021, and just 461,000 proactive measures. Other violations were relatively few and far between. "Adult" content led to just 199,000 proactive enforcements, while fraud, harassment and other abuses each had fewer than 100,000 actions.

It won't surprise you to hear that most of Microsoft's 33.08 million user-prompted crackdowns focused on toxic players. Enforcement was equally dominated by reports of cheating and other poor conduct (43 percent) and abusive communication (46 percent). Just 11 percent of enforcements were tied to user-made content like offensive nicknames and screenshots. Thankfully, there appear to be fewer overall incidents — Microsoft received 59.65 million reports in the last half of 2020.

Don't count on winning an appeal if you think Microsoft made a mistake. Out of more than 151,000 case appeals during the period, just six percent (about 9,250) led to reinstatements.

You can expect a new Xbox transparency report every six months from now onward. There doesn't appear to be equivalent reports for the equivalent Nintendo and Sony online services. Still, this may be good news if you've wondered about Xbox Live's problem areas, and whether or not Microsoft is taking bots seriously.

Today, muscle atrophy is often unavoidable when you can't move due to severe injury, old age or diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). However, Harvard researchers see hope in soft robotics that could someday stretch and contract the muscles of patients unable to do so themselves.

The Harvard engineers tested a new mechanostimulation system on mice, successfully preventing or assisting in their recovery from muscle atrophy. The team implanted the "soft robotic device" on a mouse's hind limb, which they immobilized in a cast-like enclosure for around two weeks. While the control group's untreated muscles wasted away as expected, the actively stimulated muscles showed reduced degradation. The researchers believe their system can eventually lead to implants helping humans with atrophy.

Its promise stems from its ability to induce a small mechanical muscle strain that mirrors natural stimulation during exercise. Moreover, while keeping atrophy at bay, the device didn't lead to any severe tissue inflammation or damage.

"There is a good chance that distinct soft robotic approaches with their unique effects on muscle tissue could open up disease or injury-specific mechano-therapeutic avenues," said David Mooney, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and Harvard's Wyss Institute engineering faculty member.

Wyss Institute

Dubbed MAGENTA (short for "mechanically active gel-elastomer-nitinol tissue adhesive"), the anti-atrophy system includes an engineered spring made from nitinol, a shape memory alloy (SMA) that can rapidly actuate when heated. Researchers control the spring with a wired microprocessor unit that determines the frequency and duration of muscle contractions and stretches.

The system also includes an elastomer matrix forming the device's body and providing insulation for the heated SMA. In addition, a layer of "tough adhesive" keeps MAGENTA aligned with the muscles' natural movement axis while transmitting stimulation deep into muscle tissue.

"While untreated muscles and muscles treated with the device but not stimulated significantly wasted away during this period, the actively stimulated muscles showed reduced muscle wasting," said first-author and Wyss Technology Development Fellow Sungmin Nam, Ph.D. "Our approach could also promote the recovery of muscle mass that already had been lost over a three-week period of immobilization, and induce the activation of the major biochemical mechanotransduction pathways known to elicit protein synthesis and muscle growth."

The team also experimented with a wireless version, using laser light rather than electrical wiring to actuate the SMA spring. Although this approach showed reduced effectiveness due to fat tissue absorbing some of the laser light, the researchers believe this approach still holds potential and warrants further research.

Disney is making one of its best shows of the year more accessible. On Monday, the company announced it would begin airing Andor on ABC, FX, Freeform and Hulu. Starting November 23rd, the expansion will allow those without access to Disney+ to watch the first two episodes of the Tony Gilroy project. That’s just enough to get a sense of Andor’s smart writing, immaculate production and obsession with institutions, but without seeing the conclusion of its initial arc.

The announcement comes after the show arguably had its best episode yet. Anchored by a stellar performance by Stellan Skarsgard, “One Way Out” featured a thrilling prison break and was a neat encapsulation of Andor’s many strengths. It also comes amid questions about just how many people are watching the show.

In October, Parrot Analytics data analyst Brandon Katz shared a graphic that suggested it was lagging behind other live-action Star Wars shows. Katz later retracted his findings, noting he had incorrectly inputted the relevant data. “It’s performing much better than the initial tweet showed,” he said. “It has hit exceptional demand in several instances.”

Even with the retraction, the discourse around Andor has centered around the show’s viewership numbers. Disney’s decision to air the show on more platforms would seem to lend weight to suggestions the show has been less popular than The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Amazon could announce sweeping layoffs as early as this week, according to The New York Times. The company reportedly plans to cut approximately 10,000 corporate employees, with staff at its consumer-facing devices division among those who are likely to be affected by the move. Amazon employs approximately 1.5 million people globally. If the company moves forward with the cuts as reported, they would affect about three percent of its corporate workforce and would represent the largest reorganization in Amazon’s nearly 30-year history.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. Mass layoffs have been a frequent occurrence in the US tech sector in recent weeks. On November 9th, Facebook parent company Meta cut about 13 percent of its workforce, a move that saw more than 11,000 people lose their jobs at the social media giant. Before that, Twitter was decimated after Elon Musk ordered a 50 percent reducation of the company’s headcount. Over the weekend, the company also let go of most of its contract workers. Smaller firms like Lyft and Snap have laid off employees in recent months as well.

For Amazon, the planned layoffs are reflective of the company's changing fortunes. Thanks to early pandemic lockdown measures, the retail giant experienced record growth and went on a hiring spree that saw its workforce double. In recent months, however, the company has seen growth slow due to a combination of mounting costs and the return of in-person shopping. The company recently posted a $2 billion loss and froze hiring at its corporate offices.

Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle charges brought forth by 40 attorneys general. They accused the company of misleading users into believing they had turned off location tracking in their settings, but Google continued to collect information about their movements. As part of the settlement, Google has agreed to "significantly improve" its location tracking disclosures and user controls starting next year.

“For years Google has prioritized profit over their users’ privacy,” Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum, who led the case along with Nebraska AG Doug Peterson, said in a statement. “They have been crafty and deceptive. Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.”

The AGs opened the investigation in 2018 following an Associated Press report suggesting that Google tracks location data even after users ask it not to. The report indicated that turning off the Location History setting didn't stop Google from knowing where a user was. Some apps, such as Maps and Search, still created a snapshot of their location on their Google account. Although it was possible to remove this data from one's Google account, doing so was "laborious," the AP noted.

The AGs determined that Google violated state consumer protection laws since at least 2014 by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices. They claimed that the company "confused its users about the extent to which they could limit Google’s location tracking by adjusting their account and device settings." They noted that this is the largest-ever consumer privacy settlement by US states (Meta, then known as Facebook, agreed to pay $5 billion to settle FTC charges over the Cambridge Analytica scandal). 

According to a press release from the Oregon AG's office, Google has agreed to:

• Show additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off”;

• Make key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and

• Give users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.

Last month, Google agreed to pay Arizona $85 million to settle a 2020 lawsuit accusing it of tracking users for targeted ads even after they switched off location data settings. The company is facing other location tracking suits filed by AGs in Washington DC, Texas, Washington and Indiana.

The Xbox Series S doesn't see a lot of discounts, but right now Adorama has knocked $50 off the sticker price, which is the lowest we're seeing anywhere. We originally saw this as Adorama's deal of the day last Friday and added it to our weekly deals recap. For those of us who may have slept on it, they still have units left at the $250 price.  

We reviewed the Series S when it came out, calling it the next-gen starter pack. Even though it doesn't support gameplay in 4K, it still plays incredibly smoothly. And the console itself is downright adorable. Thanks to the FPS boost technology added to the Series S and X, older games, including many made for Xbox One, will look and perform better with faster frame rates. 

Unlike the Series X, which as far as we know hasn't budged from its $500 list price, the Series S only plays digital titles, with no slot to insert physical game media. Microsoft is likely counting on most people going for an Xbox Game Pass membership, currently $10 per month for the Console tier, and $15 per month for the Ultimate tier. Either level unlocks a library with hundreds of game to download and play, sort of like Netflix for games. Memberships also grant discounts to many of the titles you might want to buy outright.  

Another caveat to note when comparing the Series X and S, is the Series S has less SSD storage, with 512GB on-board, compared to the 1TB of storage you get with the Series X. If you like to keep lots of titles on hand, without having to delete, you'll have to weigh that preference against the price of the Series X. Seagate does make an expansion card built specifically for the Xbox Series X/S, but at $200, you end up losing most of the money you saved buying the cheaper console.  

Despite any caveats, we found the performance impressive and loved the look of the physical box. For casual console gamers, it's a great option. Especially when you consider all you'll get out of backward-compatible games from the Game Pass library. If you've been waiting for a discount before you dive in, this is the best deal we've found. 

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Back at I/O in May, Google announced Health Connect, a platform it worked on with Samsung to enable health and fitness apps to share data more easily with each other while maintaining privacy measures. That initiative is taking another step forward today, as the Health Connect app has moved out of early access and into beta on the Play Store, while several health and fitness apps are rolling out integrations.

Peloton, Oura, WeightWatchers, MyFitnessPal, Flo, Lifesum, Tonal, Outdooractive and Proov Insight have joined Google and Samsung's own services: Fitbit, Google Fit and Samsung Health. The integrations mean that when you take on a workout in one app, you can share your stats across the Health Connect ecosystem. The likes of Oura and WeightWatchers will be able to take into account your Peloton workouts, for instance.

Google and Samsung have made it easier for health and fitness app developers to tap into such information by creating a standardized data schema. This supports more than 40 data types across six categories: activity, body measurement, cycle tracking, nutrition, sleep and vitals. Google notes that it only takes a few lines of code for apps to read and write any of these data types through Health Connect.

One of the key benefits for users is that they'll be able to manage permissions for all these integrations in one place. Health Connect includes granular controls over which types of data each third-party app can access. You can also block all apps from accessing Health Connect data with a couple of taps.

Self-driving cars frequently have trouble with poor weather, but Waymo thinks it can overcome these limitations by using its autonomous taxis as weather gauges. The company has revealed that its latest car sensor arrays are creating real-time weather maps to improve ride hailing services in Phoenix and San Francisco. The vehicles measure the raindrops on windows to detect the intensity of conditions like fog or rain.

The technology gives Waymo a much finer-grained view of conditions than it gets from airport weather stations, radar and satellites. It can track the coastal fog as it rolls inland, or drizzle that radar would normally miss. While that's not as important in a dry locale like Phoenix, it can be vital in San Francisco and other cities where the weather can vary wildly between neighborhoods.

There are a number of practical advantages to gathering this data, as you might guess. Waymo is using the info to improve its Driver AI's ability to handle rough weather, including more realistic simulations. The company also believes it can better understand the limits of its cars and set higher requirements for new self-driving systems. The tech also helps Waymo One better serve ride hailing passengers at a given time and place, and gives Waymo Via trucking customers more accurate delivery updates.

The current weather maps have their limitations. They may help in a warm city like San Francisco, where condensation and puddles are usually the greatest problems, but they won't be as useful for navigating snowy climates where merely seeing the lanes can be a challenge. There's also the question of whether or not it's ideal to have cars measure the very conditions that hamper their driving. This isn't necessarily the safest approach.

This could still go a long way toward making Waymo's driverless service more practical, though. Right now, companies like Waymo and Cruise aren't allowed to operate in heavy rain or fog using their California permits — the weather monitoring could help these robotaxi firms serve customers looking for dry rides home.

Hulu is adding 14 new channels to its Live TV offering, the Disney-owned streaming service announced on Monday. Five of the additions – the Weather Channel, Comedy.TV, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama – are already available to watch, with the remaining nine (most of them Vevo music channels) joining the service on December 1st.

That means most of the new additions will arrive a week before Disney increases the cost of its Hulu + Live TV bundle. After December 8th, the with ads package will cost $75 per month, up from $70 currently. With today’s expansion, Hulu notes the Live TV component of its service provides access to more than 85 channels, with mainstays like CNN, EPSN, MTV and the NFL Network represented.

For some, the new channels might make them reconsider canceling or modifying their Hulu + Live TV subscription, an outcome Disney is clearing banking on. Last week, the company announced Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ had a combined customer base of 236 million subscribers, putting the company in the ballpark of Netflix’s numbers. At the same time, Disney said operating losses for streaming increased from $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion during its most recent fiscal quarter. Moving forward, Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company expects those losses to narrow, partly thanks to the price increases it announced earlier this year.

Even if you live for the holiday season, the shopping portion of it can be daunting for us all. Maybe you made a resolution last year to be better prepared this time around, but it’s easy to get sidetracked by all the other demands of everyday life. Holiday sales may have already begun, but if you’re just getting your list together now, you’re not alone.

This is where our holiday gift guide comes in. Every year, we gather our favorite gadgets and other miscellany into one big (and, we hope, helpful) guide. You’ll find gift ideas for the audiophile in your life, video gamers, board gamers, frequent travelers, people who work from home, and others. We also have all of our bread-and-butter gadget categories represented, with lists of our favorite laptops, tablets, smart home devices, home theater gear and gaming accessories.

We also know that gadgets can get expensive fast, so in addition to having a bunch of types of gifts covered in our guide, we have every budget represented, too. Whether you’re ready to splurge this year or need to find inexpensive gifts, we have options for you. And if you’re willing to wait, Black Friday and Cyber Monday should bring a number of great deals on some of our favorite gadgets. If you haven’t crossed everything off your list by that point, be sure to follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter so you don’t miss any of the worthwhile tech deals this season.

We hope that our product recommendations can lessen your holiday stress because you’ll spend less time worrying about which gift to get for whom. And don’t forget to pick up something for yourself along the way – you deserve it.

Check out all of our holiday gift guide stories right here.