Marshall has just announced two new Bluetooth options to its stable of portable speakers, along with a few new features. The Willen is the company’s first ultra-compact portable and it’s joined by the Emberton II, which improves on the previous model in a few ways. Both will now work with the Marshall Bluetooth app, which hasn’t been available on any of the portable speaker models before. It was also inevitable that the company would launch a feature called Stack Mode – a throwback reference to “Marshall stacks”. This simply catches them up with the rest of the speaker world and lets you wirelessly expand your music to other Willen or Emberton II speakers. Also worth noting is that Marshall has increased the battery life of the Emberton II from 20 hours of runtime to 30 or more on a single charge (at modest volumes I’m sure).
The Emberton II.
Marshall Headphones
As we alluded to in our recent Bluetooth speaker buyer’s guide, Marshall speakers (in general) have a wonderful warm sound, chunky bass and dynamic highs. We found the best value in both sound and price when you opt for the larger and relatively less portable Tufton model ($450). Although still priced at a slight premium, the smaller models have a scaled down version of the same sound.
Now that the Emberton II supports Stack Mode, 30 or more hours of runtime and offers an app for EQ tweaks and firmware updates, there’s more value tucked into that price tag. The Willen fills the gap for people looking to get a personal portable and save a few bucks, although we still have yet to give it a listen. Both speakers have Bluetooth 5.1, an IP67 weather-proof rating and are compatible with each other for Stack mode, which takes a triple press of the Bluetooth button to host and a double press on secondary speakers to join or disconnect.
Your pool of potential FIFA 22 rivals will soon extend beyond your platform of choice. 9to5Googlenotes EA has confirmed plans for a FIFA 22 cross-play test on PlayStation 5, Stadia and Xbox Series X/S. Once the test is available, you can opt in to play against a wider range of gamers in Online Seasons and Online Friendlies. You'll have to add buddies to the in-game friends list if you want them to join in, but there otherwise won't be any associated headaches.
EA didn't say just when the test would launch, or when it might become a regular feature of the game. The publisher is expecting feedback in its community forum when the test launches, however.
The test will no doubt frustrate you if you're an PS4 or Xbox One owner. All the same, this may be one of the more influential cross-play additions in recent memory. The FIFA series remains one of the most popular sports games worldwide, and that has typically made your choice of console important — you didn't want to get an Xbox if all your friends would play the latest FIFA title on PlayStations. Cross-play support will let virtual soccer fans use the platform they want without fear of being cut off from their social circles.
Just because they’re out of college doesn’t mean that the grads in your life won’t have time for gaming – it’s a great way to blow off steam after a hard day at work, or after a particularly grueling job search. But now that they’re older they could definitely up their accessories game a bit, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite gaming items that will upgrade their experience, and a few hot titles that will give them plenty to do this and talk about this summer.
8BitDo Pro 2
8BitDo
Your grad is fully out in the adult world now, so they really deserve a pro-level controller for their gaming activities — particularly one that’s flexible for all their needs, be it mobile or console gaming. 8BitDo makes a number of great solutions, but the one that we’d recommend above all else is the Pro 2. This PlayStation-styled controller is super comfortable to hold, pairs easily via Bluetooth and is compatible with a wide range of devices, from Windows and macOS machines to Android devices to the Nintendo Switch. If your grad is a tinkerer, the Pro 2 will even work with the Raspberry Pi. This is truly the Swiss Army knife of game controllers.
A headset is a must-have if you want the best game audio, but being tethered to a computer or console is not so much fun. Neither is the selection of colors available for most headsets, unless you’re a big fan of red and black all the time. Luckily, Logitech has this stylish wireless headset for around $80. The G435 connects to a computer via a Logitech Lightspeed dongle so your gamer won’t have to worry about Bluetooth lag or an unreliable connection. As for looks, it comes in cheery colors like blue or lilac, and the padded ear cups and headband will keep a head cool while not mussing up their hair.
If your grad is thinking about a career in streaming, they’re going to need the proper equipment to get started. It’s best to start out small, and the Stream Deck Mini is a nice, affordable way to dip their toe in the water. The Deck’s six buttons give budding streamers one-touch access to popular functions like lighting, audio and emotes. And it’s super easy to set up — just drop and drag in the software. Becoming a famous streamer can be a lot of work, and the Stream Deck just makes it a bit easier to handle.
Another key item to a successful streaming career is the lighting. After all, someone can’t be an on-camera personality if you can’t see them on camera. But ring lights can be expensive, unwieldy or just hard to set up. Logitech makes all those problems go away with its Litra Glow streaming light. This compact light can clip on the top of a laptop for on-the-go streaming while also providing soft all-over illumination — no telltale rings in your grad’s eyes when they stream.
No more classes means your grad can slim down in the backpack department. But if they’re a gamer they’re still going to need something with lots of pockets to store cables and cards. Gaming accessory maker SteelSeries and shoulder bag company Timbuk2 have collaborated on a pair of bags made for the gaming lifestyle, and the smaller CS03 is perfect for carrying around a Nintendo Switch, headphones and other mobile gaming accessories. This crossbody bag may remind you of a fanny pack, but it has way more pockets for cords and game cards, and a padded lining to keep delicate LCD screens safe from scratches.
Gaming mice are great for a lot more than just gaming — they’re great for school and work, so if your grad doesn’t already have one, why not upgrade them to the versatile Rival 5? Its curved shape feels great in the hand and the customizable lighting isn’t too flashy so it works for both home and office. Players will appreciate the array of nine programmable buttons that fit all genres of gaming, including popular titles like Fortnite and Genshin Impact to deeper strategy experiences like the Civilization series.
Your gamer shouldn’t have to settle for the keyboard that came with their laptop. They shouldn’t have to settle for anything less than a premium mechanical keyboard, and you don’t have to break the bank to get them one. The Huntsman Mini is a small 60 percent deck with optical switches. That’s not word salad – this just means it’s a smaller keyboard without a number pad or arrows, and it uses lasers under each key for a super fast response time. It’s a great keyboard to have in a gaming arsenal for travel purposes, but it’s good enough that gamers might make it a full-time accessory.
With the school year over and done with, grads have a bit of time on their hands, so why not give them a game to kick back and relax with when they’re not searching for a job? Players who grew up with the Pokémon franchise will appreciate this fresh take on the world, with action-oriented gameplay and a storyline that takes place in the distant past of the Sinnoh region from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Even if they haven’t played a Pokémon game before, Legends can make a good entry point to the franchise that will get them ready for this fall’s new generation of creatures in Scarlet and Violet.
Kirby titles have gotten a lot easier over the years, but Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a game for the old-school gamers who like more of a challenge. This epic title has Kirby exploring a post-apocalyptic world, battling enemies and gaining new abilities. If your grad has ever wondered if Kirby could eat a car, this is the Switch game to get them. Fans are even calling it the best Kirby game since the ‘90s, so it’s sure to keep your loved one busy over the summer.
Your grad has probably been super busy this year so far, studying for finals and getting ready for graduation. So it’s likely they haven’t dipped their toe into the massive, immersive experience that is Elden Ring. This epic title can be brutally difficult with a big learning curve, which makes it less for casual gamers than for those players who have a lot of time on their hands… like someone just out of school. Soon enough they’ll be slammed with job offers, so give them this soon-to-be-classic while they can fully enjoy it.
A robot vacuum can be a big purchase for your home, depending on the model you get. While there are plenty of affordable machines out there, you'll have to spring for a higher-end one if you want features like home mapping and stronger suction power. But you can save hundreds on some Roborock robot vacuums at Amazon right now thanks to a new one-day sale that knocks up to $280 off certain devices. You'll get the highest discount on the Roborock S6 Pure, which is $280 off and down to $320, while the Roborock S7 is $170 off and down to $480. The cheapest of the bunch, the Roborock E4, is $140 off and down to a record low of $160.
The S6 Pure and the S7 are actually quite similar, but the S7 has a few additional perks. Like the S7+ that earned a spot in our best robot vacuum guide, the S7 has stronger, 2500PA suction, a larger water tank for mopping and an ultrasonic sound feature that identifies carpet so the machine can automatically adjust cleaning strength. Also, the S7 can be connected to a clean base, so you have the option in the future to add another level of convenience to your robo-vac. Otherwise, both the S6 Pure and the S7 support voice control with Alexa or the Google Assistant, full app control, home mapping, cleaning schedules and spot cleaning, too.
As for the Roborock E4, it's on the more affordable side of things so it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles of the other two. However, it does have the same 2000PA suction that the S6 Pure does, plus a more primitive form of home mapping. If you want to set specific cleaning areas and no-go zones, you'll have to buy these magnetic strips that create "invisible walls" that the E4 can use as guides. It also doesn't come with an additional water tank for mopping, but you can buy one separately and swap it out with the dustbin to turn the machine into a smart mop.
We've had mostly positive experiences when testing Roborock vacuums. The suck up dirt and debris just as well as other robo-vacs we've tried, and depending on the model you choose, you'll get features like "pin and go," which sends the vacuum to a specific spot in your home and in-app manual controls so you can control the vacuum almost like you would a toy car. Our biggest gripe is that the Roborock app isn't as polished as that of competitors like iRobot and Shark. If you're new to the world of robot vacuums, it may take some time to learn all of the ins and outs of the app. But once you do that, your Roborock vacuum should serve you well.
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Following some concerns that it might break some websites due to the version number, Firefox 100 has arrived. While Mozilla hasn't exactly celebrated the milestone with massive updates, there are some useful new features for both desktop and mobile.
The desktop browser now has support for subtitles and captions when picture-in-picture mode is active. This is a welcome accessibility improvement for multitaskers, and one that users requested. PiP subtitles and captions will be initially available for YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video and sites that use the WebVTT format (such as Twitter and Coursera).
There's a new first-run language switcher feature too. When someone opens Firefox for the first time, it will check whether their device language is different from the browser's own default language. In that case, it will ask the user if they want to use one of more than 100 other languages as their default in Firefox. Meanwhile, the credit card autofill tool is now available in the UK, France and Germany. It was previously only active in North America.
On Android, there's now an HTTPS-only mode. That will automatically connect you to the HTTPS version of a website for increased security whenever possible. Mozilla added a similar feature to the desktop browser in 2020 and the Android version of its privacy-focused Firefox Focus browser in March. Other new Firefox mobile features include new wallpapers on both Android and iOS.
The latest version of the app offers clutter-free history and tabs on both platforms too. Duplicate sites will be removed from your history and items will be grouped (if you're looking for new shoes, for instance, all the options you looked at will be combined under the search term). There's also the option to search for things in your history too.
Tabs that haven't been opened in 14 days will be made inactive and moved out of immediate view, though you'll still be able to access them. Mozilla is bringing that feature to iOS after debuting it on Android last year.
A group of Apple employees have written an open letter to the company's executive team complaining about its new policy that only allows for two days of working from home, iMore has reported. They said that Apple's reasons for implementing the policy don't stand up, and that the policy is wasteful, inflexible and will lead to a "younger, whiter, more male-dominated, more neuro-normative, more able-bodied" workforce.
"You have characterized the decision for the Hybrid Working Pilot as being about combining the "need to commune in-person" and the value of flexible work," the letter states. "But in reality, it does not recognize flexible work and is only driven by fear. Fear of the future of work, fear of worker autonomy, fear of losing control."
We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely? How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don't live it?
In March, Apple announced that corporate employees would be return to the office, and need to be there two days a week at minimum by May 2nd. Starting May 23rd, it'll shift to a hybrid model with mandatory office days on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. CEO Tim Cook called in-person collaboration benefits "irreplaceable" and in an email, the executive team talked about the importance of "the serendipity that comes from bumping into colleagues" during in-person work.
However, the letter counters those arguments saying that in-person collaboration is not even needed monthly in some cases. It also disputed the "serendipity" statement, saying that Apple's siloed office structure makes it difficult to bump into colleagues, adding that remote tools like Slack are better for collaboration. Furthermore, Apple's open-plan offices limit the concentration "required for creativity and... deep thought," they said.
It noted that a daily commute "is a huge waste of time as well as both mental and physical resources." At the same time, it said that the policy favors people who can afford to live near the office and don't have to perform care-work. "In short, it will lead to privileges deciding who can work for Apple, not who’d be the best fit."
Perhaps the most compelling argument was that Apple was being hypocritical in the way it markets its own products. "We tell all of our customers how great our products are for remote work, yet, we ourselves, cannot use them to work remotely?" the letter states. "How can we expect our customers to take that seriously? How can we understand what problems of remote work need solving in our products if we don't live it?"
The letter is another sign of growing employee discontent at Apple, which often presents itself as progressive and inclusive in its ads. Employees recently started organizing a push for "real change" at the company, citing "a pattern of isolation, degradation and gaslighting," and even created an #AppleToo movement. The company is also facing a probe by the US National Labor Relations Board, which is looking into complaints over hostile working conditions.
Amazon already has a policy in place to reimburse employees up to $10,000 for travel expenses if they're having treatments for life-threatening issues. Now, it has also introduced a policy that will benefit those seeking other kinds of treatment. According to Reuters, the e-commerce giant has told its employees in the US that it will offer up to $4,000 in annual travel reimbursements for non-life threatening medical treatments, including cellular gene therapies, substance-abuse disorder services and abortions.
Politico recently obtained an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, showing that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion across the US. If Roe v. Wade truly gets overturned, then it's up to local state governments to decide whether to legalize or restrict abortion — and conservative states like Alabama, where Amazon has facilities, are expected to limit access to the procedure.
Reuters says Amazon will reimburse travel under the new policy if a procedure is not available within 100 miles of an employees' home and long-distance/virtual treatment isn't possible. It will apply to both office and warehouse employees, as well as their dependents enrolled in Premera or Aetna health plans. It will also be retroactively applied to eligible travel that took place within this year, starting on January 1st. As the news organization notes, it shows Amazon's efforts when it comes to retaining and attracting talent for the company.
That said, Amazon has also recently ended its paid COVID leave policy for workers. It will no longer pay time off for workers that test positive for the virus and will only offer them up to five days of unpaid leave going forward.
Splice, the popular music production service with a seemingly bottomless supply of samples, has just unveiled a new way to find inspiration from those sounds. CoSo is what it calls an "intelligent musical sketch pad" that lets you create "using your ear to find what appeals to you," the company wrote in a press release.
CoSo allows you to you stack up to eight samples based on genre or instrument type to quickly create loops, with a big assist from AI. Everything stays in key, beats per minute (BMP) are synced, and you can swipe to delete a sample or swap in a new one automatically. You can also solo specific loops (or mute them) by pressing and holding.
Once you create a loop, it's easy to share it on TikTok or export as an Ableton-ready project file. We've attached an example of what a creation looks like when shared via links, showing the final result and sounds used.
Splice has countless millions of samples, so dredging through them for good stuff can be tedious, particularly if you're not sure what you're looking for or want to avoid overused samples. Still, the app could be a good way of sparking inspiration as a form of musical roulette, much like the novice-friendly Orba music device.
"I believe we will hear a richer and more diverse selection of sounds bubbling up through this technology, that we might surprise creatives with new ideas," said Ale Koretzy, who heads the ML and Audio Science Innovation Team at Splice. "Some people will use it to discover sounds and others will use it to create music." CoSo is now available for Android and iOS devices.
A team of MIT scientists is looking for black hole echoes in an effort to shed some light on the regions of spacetime that largely remain a mystery to us. See, black holes only show any semblance of activity when they feed on gas and dust from one of their orbiting stars. When they do, they give off bursts of X-ray light that echo off the gas being consumed and which illuminate their surroundings. That's what a black hole echo is. While it's technically an X-ray echo, the team worked with MIT education and music scholars to turn the emission into audible sound waves you can listen to below.
For their new study, the astronomers developed an automated search tool called "Reverberation Machine" to comb through data gathered by NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, the X-ray telescope aboard the ISS. Their algorithm identified 26 black hole X-ray binary systems, which are systems with a star that's being consumed by a black hole at times. Ten of them are close enough for the echoes to be observable, and eight were previously not known to emit echoes.
So what did the team find out by analyzing the echoes? They found that the black holes initially go through a "hard" state upon feeding, wherein it forms a corona of high-energy photons and launches a jet of high-energy particles close to the speed of light. This state lasts for several weeks. After one last high-energy flash when the corona and jet die out, the black hole enters a "soft," low-energy state.
The scientists believe that these findings can help explain how supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies can help shape their formation. As Erin Kara, assistant professor of physics at MIT, said:
"The role of black holes in galaxy evolution is an outstanding question in modern astrophysics. Interestingly, these black hole binaries appear to be ‘mini’ supermassive black holes, and so by understanding the outbursts in these small, nearby systems, we can understand how similar outbursts in supermassive black holes affect the galaxies in which they reside."
The latest report on Meta’s VR ambitions has likened Project Cambria, its next headset beyond Quest series, to a “laptop for the face” or even a “Chromebook for the face.” Presumably with a rather different price tag.
A report from The Information suggests Meta will unveil its own VR operating system, which is based on Android. This will work with web-based tools and services, as well as some Quest apps. Technical specs are still unknown, but we can expect higher-res screens to make text easier to read — the aim could be to ensure the VR headset is usable in work situations.
We haven’t yet seen an entirely new VR device since the company rebranded, but all this suggests that, compared to the Rift and Quest devices, the use cases could be broader, or at least tap into some of that sweet enterprise segment. Companies are more likely to pay for cutting-edge VR and AR hardware — still Microsoft’s approach to the segment.
The headset will have outward-facing cameras for mixed reality functions, so it could tie together Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse ambitions in one fell swoop. For now, rumors and reports suggest Project Cambria will hit shelves around September, costing over $800.
Swedish game company Embracer Group has just made a blockbuster deal to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal for what seems like a bargain $300 million. Those studios represent around 1,100 employees across eight global locations, with more than 230 games in development, 30 of those being AAA titles. Alongside this acquisition news, another Deus Ex revival is incoming — powered by Unreal Engine 5.
Crystal Dynamics has already said it’s developing a new Tomb Raider game.
Whether your graduate is going after their first job or continuing their education, these gadgets can support their first professional steps — or simply help them relax during those early career challenges. We’ve even curated a guide for gifts that duck in at under $50.
It’s part of the Commission's antitrust probe into Apple's payment practices.
The European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager confirmed the EU has formally charged Apple over its iOS payment features. This could result in a substantial fine if it is upheld. In a statement, Vestager said the Commission had "indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple's devices."
The Commission opened a dual review into both Apple's in-app and NFC payment systems in June 2020, noting the company's choice could stifle competition and reduce consumer choice.
Designing and manufacturing soft robots is tricky. Now, scientists from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have come up with a new process called PneuAct, which uses computers and a special knitting process to design and digitally fabricate the soft pneumatic actuators. These actuators have conductive yarn for sensing so they can essentially "feel" or respond to what they grab.
