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In a nondescript warehouse outside of Atlanta, nestled among the office parks and chain restaurants that pepper suburban America, AT&T is preparing for catastrophe. This is one of the company's Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) sites, a place where a volunteer group of AT&T workers can test and train on equipment that can quickly spin up connectivity when a local office is destroyed. 

Longtime Engadget readers may remember our 2008 visit to a similar Chicago-area site, only a year after the launch of the iPhone and long before the company started deploying 4G LTE. Given just how much the world has changed since then — with smartphones in practically every pocket, and billion-dollar weather and climate disasters on the rise.

Originally launched in 1991, AT&T has spent over $650 million in the US building up the NDR program (up $100 million since 2008). Since 2017, AT&T has also provided network support for FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority), which delivers a public safety wireless network throughout America. Both T-Mobile and Verizon have their own disaster response initiatives, but AT&T’s cellular division has the advantage of launching more than a decade before either of those competitors arrived in the US. Neither company has publicly stated how much they invest in disaster recovery, and our inquiries for more specifics have gone unanswered.

It’s one thing for AT&T to claim it’s spending a huge chunk of change on disaster recovery (the cynic in me can’t help but wonder how that figure is calculated). But seeing the vast amounts of gear the company has devoted to its NDR program makes one thing clear: This is more than just good PR. It’s a moral mission for AT&T’s volunteer staff, many of which come from military backgrounds. While it’s not as mission critical as supplying food, water and shelter, providing connectivity could still save lives by making it easier for first responders to communicate with each other, not to mention giving people in danger a way to reach out for help.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

During our 2008 visit, we learned the NDR team was using a standard Chevy Suburban jam-packed with cellular gear to restore parts of its network. Today, they’re looking to the sky and beyond. (That Suburban has also been replaced by a 4x4 emergency response club cab pickup.) AT&T has been using drones called Flying COWs (Cell-on-wings) for several years, but its upcoming iteration can spit out 5G coverage to around ten square miles from 300 feet in the air, while the drones currently being used deliver Band 14 LTE.

For safety reasons, all of the company's drones are currently tethered to stations on the ground, which provide power for as long as their generators can stay fueled. They also require two people to operate — one to fly the drone, and another to keep an eye out for obstacles. The drone I saw looked larger than any consumer model I've seen, and it can hold a payload up to five pounds.

Looking ahead, AT&T has patented a remote flight system that lets operators control drones from thousands of miles away, and it's exploring solar-powered units that could fly autonomously for days. (Unfortunately, I didn't get to see AT&T's 55-foot long blimp, which flies 1,000 feet in the air to provide connectivity across 100 miles for up to two weeks.) NDR staffers tell me AT&T is also testing robodogs that can deal with a variety of scenarios – from running up a mountain during a forest fire, to helping with bomb disarmament.

The company has also beefed up its ground and water game with the Amphib. With its enormous treads, it looks like a red mini-tank, but it can also float and make its way through water using rear propellers. It's the sort of vehicle that can make dealing with hurricanes much easier, according to AT&T's Kelly Morrison, who is also a longtime NDR volunteer. The Amphib is basically a people and payload mover, but it gives the company more flexibility when dealing with flooded areas. Given the historic rainfalls we've recently seen in St. Louis and Kentucky, in addition to inevitable rising sea levels, the Amphib could end up being one of the NDR team's most useful tools.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Of course, these new toys are great and all, but the core of AT&T'S NDR team continues to be its COLTs (Cell on Light Truck). They can tap into the company's existing fiber backhaul lines and deliver cellular connectivity within a few hours. If local infrastructure is completely down, AT&T can use SatCOLTs to reach satellites instead. And for hard-to-access areas, the company now has "Compact Rapid Deployables" (CRDs), which can fit on the back of a truck or be hiked to the top of a mountain. The company also has thousands of generators on-hand – a necessity for every disaster site. While the main goal is to restore connectivity for first responders and customers, AT&T’s FirstNet commitment also ensures interoperability with competing carriers too.

During the devastating Marshall Fire in Colorado, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes, FirstNet responders rushed to set up two SatCOLT's over New Year's Eve. Additional teams came in from Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and Missouri, leading to a peak of eight SatCOLTs being used to support FirstNet works and local businesses. The fire wasn't the only challenge: Additional calls required a team to cover two mountain passes during heavy snow conditions.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The NDR team hasn't gotten many breaks throughout the year. According to AT&T, three SatCOLTs helped first responders during Yosemite's wildfire in July. And as of August 1st, FirstNET also deployed another two SatCOLTs to assist rescue operations during the recent flood in Kentucky. The team has been deployed more often since 2018, when AT&T was tapped to support FirstNet, and it’s also responding to the increasing number of wildfires we’re seeing in the US.

And, of course, NDR workers are always keeping an eye on new ways to improve their disaster response. The team tells us they're looking forward to using low-Earth satellites eventually, which would offer more bandwidth and lower latency than the existing fixed satellites. Virtualizing their work would also be a huge help. Currently, much of their response involves moving workers and setting up control centers in dangerous areas. But as they move towards smaller and easier to deploy assets, like drones and CRDs, they may not have to set up a trailer at all.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

After my tour of the NDR site, I couldn’t help but notice the cellular equipment dotting the sparse Georgia landscape. I could see towers at practically every high point in the area, delivering robust 5G speeds on the same roads where I used to struggle to get 2.5G Edge reception over a decade ago. It’s easy to take this blanket of connectivity for granted. And now that we’re starting to see more frequent extreme weather events, it’s clear that AT&T’s NDR team, and similar initiatives from competitors, will be more necessary than ever.

Following successful votes in the Senate and House of Representatives, President Joe Biden has signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. The $280 billion measure will provide significant financial assistance to American semiconductor firms. It sets aside $52 billion in tax credits and funding for US chipmakers to expand domestic production. In a rare episode of bipartisan unity, the Senate voted 64-33 in favor of the bill. It was later passed by the House thanks to a 243-187 vote.

“America invented the semiconductor, but over the years we let manufacturing of semiconductors move overseas. As we saw during the pandemic, when the factories that make these chips shut down, the global economy came to a screeching halt, driving up costs for families” Biden said during the ceremony. “A third of the core inflation last year was due to the high price of automobiles, which was driven by the shortage of semiconductors. For the sake of our economy, jobs and national security, we have to make these semiconductors in America again.”

The CHIPS and Science Act is unlikely to affect domestic production immediately. It takes years to build new foundries and upgrade existing ones to increase output. When Intel recently broke ground on two new $20 billion facilities in Arizona, the company said it would take about three years to complete construction on those plants.

The signing comes shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a trip to Taiwan, despite warnings from China that there would be “resolute and strong measures” if she went ahead with visit. Before her arrival on the island, Taiwan’s presidential website went down to an apparent cyberattack. The self-governing island is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the most important chip foundry in the world. On its own, TSMC supplies the majority of all semiconductor parts used by US companies.

Spotify's Soundtrap is now more useful for artists who want to make music with distant friends. The online digital audio workstation (DAW) now has an opt-in beta for a live collaboration feature that lets multiple people make and see changes to a tune in real time. If you want to add a sick beat, you don't have to tap a sync button to ensure everyone hears it.

Another opt-in beta adds an (arguably overdue) auto-save feature to preserve your work. If you'd rather not participate in any tests, you can now leave Google Docs-style comments on tracks to guide your fellow composers.

Soundtrap starts at $10 per month, or $8 per month if you pay yearly. That's not as affordable as a collab-friendly alternative like Soundation ($5 per month when paid yearly), but it could make the DAW more compelling if you crave unlimited projects (Soundation's entry paid tier is limited to 10) or simply want Spotify's resources at your disposal.

I live in a creaky old house that’s in constant need of repair. The electric drill that came with the place, ah, looks like it was used to build the place. It has a power cord that’s just barely holding together through a combination of duct tape and anxiety. Two electrical shocks, a blown fuse and several delightful new curse words into my first home improvement project, I was convinced to get with the 21st century and purchase a cordless drill. Way too many YouTube tool-review rabbit holes, three trips to my local Ace Hardware and one exhaustive excel spreadsheet after that, I’d found the drill I would buy.

Now, DIYers have more choice than ever when it comes to battery-powered electric tools. Makita, Ryobi, Bosch, Black and Decker, Milwaukee, Kobalt, and Rigid all make solid products but I opted for the DeWalt 20V 1/2-inch cordless drill. Let me tell you why.

First off, the price was right. The DCD771C2 comes bundled with a pair of 1.3Ah 20V batteries, charging base and storage case for $160 MSRP, though since April when I first started looking, I have yet to not see it on sale for under $100. I bought mine during Home Depot’s Memorial Day sale along with a 16-piece screwdriver bit set for $120 out the door. You can also find them at Lowes, Ace stores and on Amazon.

Second, it offered the features I needed with a 20V power level I could handle. Sure I could have opted for the heavy-duty DCD991P2 — probably even eventually convinced myself I had need for a commercial-duty DCH614X2. But in reality, I’m mostly installing banisters, building trellises and doing light handiwork, not installing siding or anchoring things into concrete, so a 60V rotary hammer would be overkill.

My DCC771C2 weighs a little under four pounds, with most of the mass at the bottom of the unit where the battery sits. It outputs 300W (530 in-lbs torque), the two-speed transmission switches between 0 - 450 and 1,500 RPM while the 16-stop clutch lets me fine tune the amount of torque the drill exerts. With it, I can just as easily screw a fire alarm bracket into drywall as I can bore holes through a pressure-treated 4x4.

Third, I really like DeWalt’s 20/60 FlexVolt battery system and it’s a big part of why I went with that brand. DeWalt makes a variety of power tools that largely work off 20V for light duty stuff like string trimmers, drills, circular saws and routers, and 60V for medium-duty gear like chainsaws, lawnmowers, grinders and impact drivers. If I own a 20V drill and buy a 60V lawn mower, I’d normally be stuck buying separate 20V and 60V batteries, separate 20V and 60V chargers — basically doubling up because the two systems have incompatible power units. With FlexVolt, all of the batteries are 60V max but their output can be stepped down to accommodate a 20V system. This way, I just need one set of batteries and a single charger. And even if I stick with just 20V tools, the FlexVolt batteries can reportedly deliver longer runtimes in 20V than the regular 20V Max batteries can.

Of course, a pair of DeWalt’s non-FlexVolt 1.3Ah “20V Max” batteries came with my drill, and I can go buy larger capacity batteries (up to 12Ah) if I need them — but they won’t work on a 60V tool, just as a 60V battery won’t work in my 20V drill. All of which means I’ll have to eventually spring for a FlexVolt charger once I expand my power tool menagerie.

The first two Sonic movies were solid hits for Paramount. So much so, the studio has confidence the previously announced third movie can be successful even during the competitive holiday season. As such, it gave Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a release date of December 20th, 2024.

Few details have been revealed about the third entry in the series as yet. It's unclear whether Jim Carrey will return as Dr. Robotnik after the actor said he was considering retiring from acting. Meanwhile, a spin-off series focused on Knuckles (Idris Elba) is coming to Paramount+ next year.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2 were released in February 2020 and April 2022, respectively, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing video-game film in the US. It's also the ninth highest-grossing movie of the year so far after raking in just over $400 million worldwide. Sonic 3 will be competing against the likes of Avatar 3 and a movie version of the Broadway show Wicked.

Elsewhere, a Sonic-themed Fall Guys event starts on Thursday and runs until Monday. In the new Bean Hill Zone level, you'll be tasked with collecting rings to earn rewards such as Sonic sneakers. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Super Sonic and Dr. Robotnik outfits will be available in the store during the event, as will a Sonic foot tap emote. A Sonic skin was previously available in the game soon after it launched in August 2020. A Knuckles outfit appeared in the store last year too.

You probably weren't waiting for earbuds designed by a reality-TV-star-slash-entrepreneur, but here they are. Kim Kardashian has teamed up with Apple on a custom version of the Beats Fit Pro. The new Beats x Kim collab is available in a trio of skin colors (Moon, Dune and Earth) that are meant to either "blend in or stand out," as Kardashian puts it. In other words, they look less like electronics and more like cosmetics.

They're functionally identical to the regular Beats Fit Pro, although that's not a bad thing. We found the normal ones more comfortable than AirPods, with strong bass (this is Beats, after all) and solid active noise cancelation. You'll also get the usual tight integration with Apple's other devices, although the earbuds will still work properly with Android. You're mainly missing out on wireless charging and that signature AirPods look.

The Beats x Kim models will be available through Apple's online store on August 16th at 10AM Eastern, and they'll sell at the Fit Pro's standard $200 price in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Japan. Don't expect to find them at all the usual locations when they hit retail on August 17th, however. In-person sales are limited to 10 Apple stores (including 5th Avenue, Regent Street and Champs-Élysées) as well as fashion chains and department stores like Selfridges (in the UK) and SSENSE (in Canada). You can also buy through Amazon in North America, or WeChat in China.

These aren't the first flesh-colored earbuds in recent memory, and they certainly aren't the most affordable. JLab partnered with the nail care brand ORLY to unveil the $20 Go Air Tones in December. The Beats Fit Pro might be the best-sounding, though, and Kim Kardashian's name recognition is bound to give Apple a gigantic marketing advantage.

Apple and Google are already facing scrutiny in the wake of a South Korean law requiring that they allow third-party payments. Reutersreports the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) will investigate Apple, Google and SK Group's One Store over potential violations of the in-app payment law. Regulators said they started inspecting the digital shops on May 17th, and found enough to be concerned all three might have broken the rules.

It's not certain just how the firms might have violated the law. MacRumorsnoted that a delay in communicating changes might have played a role in Apple's case. While the law (a revision of the Telecommunications Business Act) took effect in March, Apple didn't notify developers until late June. Google alerted Android developers in November of last year.

Both companies still take cuts from purchases made using alternative billing systems — they just take smaller portions. When Google announced its policy change, it maintained that it needed fees to "continue to invest" in Android and the Play Store. It's not clear if these policies play any role in the investigation, however.

We've asked Apple and Google for comment. In a statement to Reuters, Google said it would continue cooperating with the KCC and that it had "worked closely" with both the government and developers to comply with the law.

The law allows for fines as high as two percent of the average yearly revenue for related business. Officials didn't set expectations for possible fines, but the stores are major money generators. Apple, for example, paid developers $60 billion worldwide in 2021 and made a tidy profit for itself through fees on those sales. Even if South Korea only considered revenue earned within its borders to be actionable for fines, this could still lead to steep penalties if the KCC finds any violations.

Netflix’s entry into the gaming market has been quiet. According to analysis by Apptopia, Netflix games have been downloaded 23.3 million times and have an average 1.7 million daily users. Framed against the 221 million customers paying for the streaming service, it’s not a great number — just one percent of them. The company indicated it didn’t expect its gaming division to be profitable immediately. “We’re going to be experimental and try a bunch of things,” Netflix COO Greg Peters told investors during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings calls last year.

But given that Netflix is not afraid to cut well-regarded shows after a few seasons, how long will it be willing to run a gaming arm before it’s successful? And what does success look like for Netflix? Earlier this year, the company paid $72 million to acquire Next Games, the studio behind Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales. More recently, it secured exclusive mobile rights to beloved indie titles like Spiritfarer and Into The Breach.

For what it’s worth, Poinpy is a pretty wonderful game worthy of your smartphone gaming time.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• SNK is making its first new Fatal Fury game in 23 years

• Anker charging gadgets are up to 40 percent off for Prime members

• 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' multiplayer reveal set for September 15th

• Arrival pauses work on its electric bus and car projects

• What we bought: This LED desk lamp gave me the best lighting for video calls

• MG's new all-electric hatchback will cost just $31,400 when it arrives in the UK

US imposes sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer that may have laundered over $7 billion

Tornado Cash helped North Korea, according to the Treasury.

The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash, a mixer that allegedly helped launder more than $7 billion in stolen crypto funds since its inception in 2019. Like a previous sanctions target, Blender, Tornado Cash is accused of "indiscriminately" helping thieves by hiding transaction details while failing to institute meaningful anti-laundering safeguards. Tornado Cash runs on the Ethereum blockchain. North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group hackers are believed to have funneled $455 million through the mixer so far.

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Lucid Air will soon have a Stealth Look trim option

The $6,000 theme gives the EV a 'darker and overtly sporting personality.'

Lucid

Lucid is adding a new trim option to its Air electric vehicle. The idea behind Stealth Look is to give the car a "darker and overtly sporting personality," according to the automaker. Lucid is swapping out 35 exterior components that have a platinum finish for versions with a darker appearance, with black gloss and satin graphite accents. Lucid plans to introduce the $6,000 option early next year, though whether you'll actually be able to get your hands on an Air at all anytime soon is another matter. Earlier this month, Lucid once again revised its production target for 2022, this time from 20,000 to between 6,000 and 7,000 units.

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A live-action Pac-Man movie is the video-game adaptation no-one asked for

No Adam Sandler though.

Bandai Namco is developing a live-action Pac-Man film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Japanese gaming giant has reportedly tapped Wayfarer Studios, best known for its work on 2019’s Five Feet Apart, to produce the project. The film was reportedly pitched by Sonic the Hedgehog producer Chuck Williams. In 2020, Sonic the Hedgehogbroke the record for a US video game movie debut. So it’s all Sonic’s fault.

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HBO Max finishes rolling out its much-needed app redesign

Just in time for Discovery to make it obsolete.

HBO

Warner Bros. Discovery has finished rolling out its redesigned app on desktop, Android and iOS, delivering a more intuitive interface, a performance boost and some overdue features. You'll also find a dedicated video download page, split-screen support and SharePlay — at least for Apple devices in the US. The timing isn’t great. Warner Bros. recently confirmed it's merging HBO Max and Discovery+ into one service next summer. The app you see today won't last long.

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Nintendo will dedicate a 30-minute Direct stream to 'Splatoon 3'

The event happens on August 10 at 9 AM ET.

Splatoon 3 will arrive on September 9th, and Nintendo is setting the table with a dedicated Direct showcase. The stream will get underway at 9 AM ET on August 10th and have around 30 minutes of updates. Expect a deep dive into one of Nintendo's tentpole Switch releases of the year, encompassing multiplayer changes and in-game mechanics.

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WhatsApp just introduced several important privacy features including the online status blocking option it recently showed in beta, TechCrunch has reported. The aim is to eventually make WhatsApp "as private and secure as face-to-face conversations," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. 

The new "online presence control" feature allows you to send messages while appearing to be offline. That offers another level of privacy over the ability to hide your "last seen" status from specific contacts, a feature introduced earlier this year. 

You can control the feature in a granular way, deciding which contacts can view your online status and which can't. There are no limits, and you can swap people in and out at any time. The feature will roll out to all users across desktop and mobile, later this month. 

WhatsApp is also testing screenshot blocking for view once messages that disappear after a single view. When those messages were introduced last year, Meta said that you should still take caution as you wouldn't know if someone screenshotted them. A new feature that lets you block such screenshots is now in testing, but the company hopes to get it to all users "soon." 

With the final change, you can leave leave groups privately without sending out a mass notification to everyone else that you're gone — though group admins will still be notified. That should save some awkwardness when it rolls out to the desktop and mobile apps, also later this month. 

Google has sued Sonos, alleging that its new voice assistant violates seven patents related to its own Google Assistant technology, CNET has reported. It's the latest salvo in a long-running smart speaker battle between the companies, with each suing and countersuing the other following a period when they worked together. 

"[Sonos has] started an aggressive and misleading campaign against our products, at the expense of our shared customers," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. 

Sonos' Voice Control assistant arrived in June, letting users give commands with the phrase "Hey Sonos," much like Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant. In the complaint, Google said it "worked for years with Sonos engineers on the implementation of voice recognition and voice-activated devices control in Sonos products... even providing its Google Assistant software to Sonos for many years." 

The fight erupted in early 2020 when Sonos sued Google for alleged patent infringement after the companies had collaborated for several years. Sonos claimed that Google gained knowledge of its technology when they worked together and used that information to develop its own smart speaker line. The company filed another suit in September 2020, claiming that Google infringed on five more patents. 

Google countersued, alleging that Sonos was using Google’s search, software, networking, audio processing and other technology without paying a license fee and made "false claims" about their work together

In 2021, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Google infringed on five Sonos patents. That forced Google to change the way its speakers were set up to avoid an import ban. Most of those were related to the way speaker groups are controlled — for instance, users can no longer change the volume of a group of speakers and must adjust them individually instead. 

"Google previously sued us all over the world and Sonos has prevailed in every decided case," Sonos' chief legal officer Eddie Lazarus told CNET. "[The latest lawsuits] are an intimidation tactic designed to retaliate against Sonos for speaking out against Google's monopolistic practices."