NVIDIA confirmed Tuesday some of its data was stolen as part of a cyberattack that occurred last week. “We are aware that the threat actor took employee credentials and some NVIDIA proprietary information from our systems and has begun leaking it online,” a company spokesman told Engadget.
NVIDIA didn’t specify exactly what was stolen from its computer systems. But according to PCMag, a group called LAPSUS$ is claiming responsibility for the attack. It says it obtained 1TB of data, including schematics and driver source code. The collective is demanding a ransom paid in cryptocurrency to prevent NVIDIA’s files from becoming public. It says the company has yet to contact it.
It’s unlikely NVIDIA will get in touch. Following last year’s Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, the Biden administration has strongly discouraged businesses from cooperating with hackers. "We do not anticipate any disruption to our business or our ability to serve our customers as a result of the incident," the company said.
After becoming aware of the attack on February 23rd, NVIDIA says it notified law enforcement and began working with cybersecurity experts to respond to the incident. “We have no evidence of ransomware being deployed on the NVIDIA environment or that this is related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the company said. LAPSUS$ also claims its actions weren’t politically motivated. “We are not in politics AT ALL,” the group states in a post seen by PCMag.
Google has been working on a "new interaction language" for years, and today it's sharing a peek at what it's developed so far. The company is showcasing a set of movements it's defined in its new interaction language in the first episode of a new series called In the lab with Google ATAP. That acronym stands for Advanced Technology and Projects, and it's Google's more-experimental division that the company calls its "hardware invention studio."
The idea behind this "interaction language" is that the machines around us could be more intuitive and perceptive of our desire to interact with them by better understanding our nonverbal cues. "The devices that surround us... should feel like a best friend," senior interaction designer at ATAP Lauren Bedal told Engadget. "They should have social grace."
Specifically (so far, anyway), ATAP is analyzing our movements (as opposed to vocal tones or facial expressions) to see if we're ready to engage, so devices know when to remain in the background instead of bombarding us with information. The team used the company's Soli radar sensor to detect the proximity, direction and pathways of people around it. Then, it parsed that data to determine if someone is glancing at, passing, approaching or turning towards the sensor.
Google formalized this set of four movements, calling them Approach, Glance, Turn and Pass. These actions can be used as triggers for commands or reactions on things like smart displays or other types of ambient computers. If this sounds familiar, it's because some of these gestures already work on existing Soli-enabled devices. The Pixel 4, for example, had a feature called Motion Sense that will snooze alarms when you wave at it, or wake the phone if it detected your hand coming towards it. Google's Nest Hub Max used its camera to see when you've raised your open palm, and will pause your media playback in response.
Approach feels similar to existing implementations. It allows devices to tell when you (or a body part) are getting closer, so they can bring up information you might be near enough to see. Like the Pixel 4, the Nest Hub uses a similar approach when it knows you're close by, pulling up your upcoming appointments or reminders. It'll also show touch commands on a countdown screen if you're near, and switch to larger, easy-to-read font when you're further away.
While Glance may seem like it overlaps with Approach, Bedal explained that it can be for understanding where a person's attention is when they're using multiple devices. "Say you're on a phone call with someone and you happen to glance at another device in the house," she said. "Since we know you may have your attention on another device, we can offer a suggestion to maybe transfer your conversation to a video call." Glance can also be used to quickly display a snippet of information.
Google
What's less familiar are Turn and Pass. "With turning towards and away, we can allow devices to help automate repetitive or mundane tasks," Bedal said. It can be used to determine when you're ready for the next step in a multi-stage process, like following an onscreen recipe, or something repetitive, like starting and stopping a video. Pass, meanwhile, tells the device you're not ready to engage.
It's clear that Approach, Pass, Turn and Glance build on what Google's implemented in bits and pieces into its products over the years. But the ATAP team also played with combining some of these actions, like passing and glancing or approaching and glancing, which is something we've yet to see much of in the real world.
For all this to work well, Google's sensors and algorithms need to be incredibly adept not only at recognizing when you're making a specific action, but also when you're not. Inaccurate gesture recognition can turn an experience that's meant to be helpful into one that's incredibly frustrating.
ATAP's head of design Leonardo Giusti said "That's the biggest challenge we have with these signals." He said that with devices that are plugged in, there is more power available to run more complex algorithms than on a mobile device. Part of the effort to make the system more accurate is collecting more data to train machine learning algorithms on, including the correct actions as well as similar but incorrect ones (so they also learn what not to accept).
Google
"The other approach to mitigate this risk is through UX design," Giusti said. He explained that the system can offer a suggestion rather than trigger a completely automated response, to allow users to confirm the right input rather than act on a potentially inaccurate gesture.
Still, it's not like we're going to be frustrated by Google devices misinterpreting these four movements of ours in the immediate future. Bedal pointed out "What we're working on is purely research. We're not focusing on product integration." And to be clear, Google is sharing this look at the interaction language as part of a video series it's publishing. Later episodes of In the lab with ATAP will cover other topics beyond this new language, and Giusti said it's meant to "give people an inside look into some of the research that we are exploring."
But it's easy to see how this new language can eventually find its way into the many things Google makes. The company's been talking about its vision for a world of "ambient computing" for years, where it envisions various sensors and devices embedded into the many surfaces around us, ready to anticipate and respond to our every need. For a world like that to not feel intrusive or invasive, there are many issues to sort out (protecting user privacy chief among them). Having machines that know when to stay away and when to help is part of that challenge.
Bedal, who's also a professional choreographer, said "We believe that these movements are really hinting to a future way of interacting with computers that feels invisible by leveraging the natural ways that we move."
She added, "By doing so, we can do less and computers can... operate in the background, only helping us in the right moments."
There are only a few weeks left of winter, so it's time for many folks to start planning their outdoor setup so they can get the most out of the warmer months. Unfortunately, that means irritating bugs like mosquitos are on the way back. To ward off those pesky pests, Thermacell has released a smart mosquito repellent system called Liv.
Liv connects multiple repeller units to a smart hub. You can switch the system on and off using the hub, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The Liv+ mobile app also offers control over the repellers. You can turn them on or off from anywhere, set timers and set up push notifications. Using a feature that's in beta, you'll be able to monitor the cartridge levels of each device.
Thermacell, which also offers battery-powered bug repellent units, says the system isn't designed to run around the clock. Cartridges should last for a season — around eight hours per week for 12 weeks — before requiring refills. The repellent uses 5.5 percent metofluthrin as the active ingredient, and the units heat the cartridges to emit a small amount of fog. Thermacell says the fog is odorless and provides a 20-foot radius of protection from mosquitoes.
Thermacell
Liv requires a wired setup, though Thermacell can connect customers who aren't keen on DIY with professionals who can install it for them. The company says the repellents are weatherproof, so you shouldn't need to disassemble the system and put it back together every year.
Thermacell had been teasing the system for a while and it's available to order now. Liv starts at $699 for a pack of three repellers (which the company says will cover up to 945 square feet), plus the hub, cables, standard mounts and ground stakes. Thermacell claims the $799 four-pack will cover 1,260 square feet and the $899 five-pack will cover 1,575 square ft. The system can connect up to five repellers — adding an extra one will run you $150. Refills, meanwhile, cost $120 for a pack of six.
It's not an inexpensive system, especially for those who spend a lot of time in the yard or on the porch. Still, if it works as promised, Liv could keep the mosquitoes at bay without relying on other, smellier deterrents.
It took a year and a half, but Amazon's Luna cloud gaming service finally exists as more than an early access project. Amazon has formally launched Luna in the mainland US for Android, iOS, Chrome OS, macOS and Windows. The core Luna+ service with over 100 games will normally cost $10 per month, with the kid-friendly Family Channel and Ubisoft+ Channels available for a respective $6 and $18 per month. Amazon hopes to reel in newcomers by dropping the monthly fees of Luna+ and the Family channel to $6 and $3 for anyone who signs up during March. Existing users just have to maintain their subscriptions to lock in that pricing.
The official debut comes alongside some new channels. A Prime Gaming channel, as the name implies, gives Amazon Prime members a free, rotating mix of games. The March selection will include titles like Devil May Cry 5 and Flashback. Pay $5 per month for the Retro Channel and you'll get Capcom and SNK classics like Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting and Metal Slug 3, while a similar outlay for the Jackbox Games Channel provides access to all eight Jackbox Party Pack titles.
Luna's latest update also makes it simpler to stream gameplay from a Fire TV device, Mac or Windows PC on Twitch. You'll need a webcam and mic if you want to interact with viewers, but this might be an option if you're determined to broadcast and don't have a brawny-enough computer to play demanding locally-stored games.
Amazon's challenge, as with comparable services like Microsoft's Game Pass Ultimate, is to convince players that subscription-based game streaming is a good supplement or even replacement for conventional PC and console gaming experiences. You'll have the convenience of playing on seemingly every device you own, but you'll also be limited by what you can play and the quality of your internet connection. Amazon's main advantage is its ubiquity — it can make sure people are aware Luna exists, whether they're watching on Twitch or buying a Fire TV gadget for the living room.
You didn't think Disney+ would only offer Marvel's Netflix shows in Canada, did you? Sure enough, Disney+ has confirmed it will carry Daredevil, Jessica Jones and other former Netflix exclusives in the US starting March 16th. Agents of SHIELD will be available, too. As you might imagine, though, Disney isn't about to release that decidedly darker content without a heads-up to parents used to more family-friendly material — it's going to make everyone reconsider their content settings.
The first time you use Disney+ from March 16th onward, you'll be asked to update your parental controls. You'll have the option of setting per-profile content rating levels, PIN codes for more mature accounts and "Kid-Proof Exit" questions for child profiles. You'll remain at the usual TV-14 rating if you stick with the existing settings. The service has used strategies like this in places like Africa, Europe and the Middle East, but is now expanding that approach to the US.
Disney wasn't shy about the reasons for bringing the Netflix shows to Disney+ instead of Hulu, where mature shows are more expected. It "made the most logical sense" to serve Marvel fans by streaming more content in one place and reach a "broader audience," the company said. The parental controls will help Disney+ preserve both its trust and its reputation.
The Marvel productions were slated to leave Netflix as of today (March 1st). Disney telegraphed its attention for years, warning as early as 2017 that it would drop Netflix in favor of its own services. Netflix cancelled all of its Marvel shows by 2019, and Disney has given former Netflix characters limited roles in Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The US additions reflect the careful balance Disney+ has tried to strike since launch. While it's eager to maintain the stereotypically clean Disney image, it's also determined to attract subscribers drawn to content that doesn't quite fit that mold, whether it's Star's wider selection in some countries or exceptions like Hamilton. This latest expansion appears to continue the strategy — Disney+ isn't about to sacrifice viewers to avoid an inconsistency between the Netflix productions and its 'safer' Marvel fare.
Microsoft has revealed a solid list of titles that are coming to Game Pass this month. Starting today, you’ll be able to play Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox One, phones, tablets and web browsers via the cloud (fittingly enough). It was already on Xbox Games Pass and PC Game Pass, but now it’s available on the service formerly known as xCloud, more folks might be tempted to try the game. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers who normally play on PC might be swayed if they don’t have a rig that can get the most out ofFlight Simulator.
Also hitting Game Pass today on console, PC and cloud is Far: Changing Tides, in which you’ll explore a flooded, post-apocalyptic landscape and search for a new home. On March 3rd, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII comes to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
March 10th is shaping up to be a busy day for Game Pass. Subscribers will be able to play Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy via console, PC and the cloud at no extra cost. Square Enix Montreal offered a different spin on the quintet of superheroes than the Marvel movies. It dropped them into a surprisingly enjoyable adventure that bursts at the seams with jokes.
The other additions to Game Pass next Friday are Kentucky Route Zero, the Xbox One version of Lawn Mowing Simulator and a new brawler-RPG hybrid called Young Souls. Meanwhile, a few games will be leaving the lineup on March 15th: Nier: Automata, Phogs!, Torchlight III and The Surge 2.
Microsoft also noted the Xbox app for PC has been updated with a few features it started testing a few months ago. Players can now choose which folder they want to install games to, while they'll have the ability to mod more games.
This might be a good moment to start building your next desktop PC. Amazon is selling some of AMD's best Ryzen 5000 series processors at new all-time low prices. The six-core Ryzen 5 5600X is the best value of the bunch, selling for $260 (16 percent off) in the US and £215 in the UK. If you prize performance above all else, the 16-core Ryzen 5950X has been discounted to $599 ($200 off) in the US and £549 for UK buyers.
The Ryzen 5000 line isn't quite as dominant as it once was now that Intel's 12th-gen Core chips have made some much-needed strides forward. At these prices, though, they'll arguably deliver more for the money. The 5600X is a good all-rounder for general productivity and middle-of-the-road gaming. The 5950X, meanwhile, remains one of the best CPUs you can buy for multi-core tasks short of far pricier chips like AMD's Threadripper models or Intel's Xeons.
The timing is right, too. The Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series (AMD is skipping 6000 on desktops) isn't shipping until late 2022. You can buy the 5000 series now knowing that it will remain AMD's best offering for several months and remain very competitive throughout the year.
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To say the pandemic threw off my exercise routine would be an understatement. I was a gym regular who thrived on treadmills and weight machines, and I suddenly had to improvise with pushups and runs. I struggled to maintain a routine, and for a while gave up entirely. How was I going to stay fit at a time when merely ordering dumbbells was a challenge? Late last year, though, I resolved to get back into shape and bought a $599 Echelon Connect Sport exercise bike to use in tandem with an $80-per-year Apple Fitness+ membership. I haven’t regretted it.
The math behind my decision was simple: I wanted a quality bike that wouldn’t tie me to one service or empty my bank account in record fashion. That quickly ruled out Peloton, whose Bike ($1,495 as I write this) and full subscription ($39 per month) were overkill for someone who mainly wanted to shake off some cobwebs. The Connect Sport was appealing precisely because it didn’t chain me to anything; I could put my phone on the built-in stand and use a lower-priced service like Fitness+ to guide my workouts. I was poised to save hundreds of dollars per year, even if I had to buy the virtually mandatory Apple Watch. (I already own a Series 5.) An iPhone is also required, of course.
Yes, the Connect Sport amounts to a Peloton Bike doppelgänger without the screen, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Echelon’s machine feels solidly built, and it’s stable even in the midst of an intense workout. The flywheel-based mechanism is also remarkably quiet. Apart from a clacking sound that disappeared after the first three weeks, the loudest noise I’ve heard was my own breathing. The handlebars and seating are highly adjustable, and the pedals use cages to keep your feet in place (thus letting you use ordinary shoes) instead of clips. This is a bike that’s easy to live with, letting me concentrate on the task at hand rather than my equipment.
Jon Fingas/Engadget
The quirks mostly stem from the inherent nature of full-size spin bikes like this. The Connect Sport isn’t as compact as some alternatives, particularly folding models like Echelon’s own Flex Ultra. At 92 pounds, it’s also too heavy to casually move between rooms. And while you don’t need electricity unless you intend to use the built-in Bluetooth telemetry, the included power cord isn’t lengthy. I wouldn’t choose this bike if I was a space-conscious apartment dweller.
I’m happy with its Apple Fitness+ performance, though. To start a cycling workout, I just need to put my iPhone on the stand, launch the Fitness app and go. The exercise data I care about (heart rate, calories burned, duration) comes from the Apple Watch, so I don’t even need the Connect Sport’s Bluetooth functionality. I would only want to plug the bike into power if I craved the Echelon Fit app’s cadence and resistance info, which aren’t necessary with Apple’s service. Just be prepared to buy a tablet if you plan to use Echelon’s app (in its open-ended “free ride” mode) and Fitness+ at the same time, as you can’t juggle both on one screen.
Fitness+ works about as well as it did when Engadget tried it on launch, but that’s plenty for someone getting back into shape on the Connect Sport. Apple’s cycling coaches are friendly, helpful and accommodate a wide range of ability levels. Instead of demanding precise cadence and resistance ranges like you might see with some services, they frequently ask you to match a song’s beat or tweak the resistance to feel enough leg strain. That may be too fuzzy if you’re eager for consistent numbers, but for me it’s perfect: I’m measuring progress in terms of how well I can sustain an all-out push, not how closely I mimic someone else’s settings. The bike’s resistance knob is easy to adjust, so it’s trivial to ramp up the difficulty if a ride is too much of a cakewalk.
Jon Fingas/Engadget
I’ve found Apple’s cycling workouts challenging enough as someone relatively new to spin bikes while still well-acquainted with structured exercise. For one, there’s a healthy variety of classes now that Fitness+ has been available for over a year. Many of them rely on a familiar hill climb metaphor that alternates between intense pushes and easy recoveries, but I’ve sometimes encountered welcome twists, like rides that get progressively harder without significant breaks. While these classes likely wouldn’t push a pro athlete or dedicated amateur to their limits, they’ve gracefully scaled with me as my abilities improved.
More importantly, the sessions are engaging. I find myself picking workouts based on well-chosen music with some surprisingly deep cuts. Ever rally to nostalgia-inducing late ‘90s dance tracks, or a coach’s favorite heavy metal band? I have. And while the inspirational talk is borderline cliché, the personalities often shine through and help me look forward to classes from my favorite instructors. I just wish there were more episodes suiting my exact music tastes. It’s no fun to “settle” for a rock workout when I really hoped for dance, no matter how thrash-worthy that rock might be.
Jon Fingas/Engadget
As a result, the combination of a Connect Sport with Fitness+ works very well for me. Exercise is a pleasure I look forward to, and I’ve seen tangible improvements to my leg power and even my posture. I wouldn’t recommend the pairing to everyone, though. As you might have guessed, Fitness+ is a no-go if you’re either an Android user or seriously considering a switch. You’re thoroughly locked into Apple’s ecosystem if you sign up between the iPhone, Apple Watch and subscription. I would also pass if I were a pro or serious amateur racer — you just won’t get the detailed stats needed for targeted improvements. Spring for a dedicated sports watch and a more demanding membership instead.
If you do live in Apple’s universe and aren’t competing for glory, though, this duo is easy to recommend. It’s an affordable, effective way to cram some cycling into a packed schedule. Moreover, Echelon’s bring-your-own-device strategy offers a convenient escape hatch if you ever want to ditch a service without replacing your bike or rigging an ad hoc solution. For me, the results speak for themselves: I’m in the best shape I’ve been for two years, and I can’t ask for much better than that.
It’s been about a year since Sonos released the Roam, the company’s smallest and least expensive speaker yet. As with most modern Sonos speakers, the Roam has a built-in microphone that lets you use the speaker with Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant. Today, Sonos is releasing a variant of the Roam that omits that microphone, the Roam SL.
Aside from removing the microphone, the $159 Roam SL is identical to the original Roam, which costs $20 more. It's a small speaker that can connect to your WiFi network and be part of a Sonos multi-room audio system. But it also has a built-in battery and Bluetooth capabilities, so you can take it with you and use it away from a WiFi connection. It's also waterproof and dust-resistant (IP67 rated), and the battery is rated for about 10 hours.
Aside from losing voice assistant capability, losing the microphone takes away another feature from the Roam SL. The original Roam features Auto Trueplay, which uses the microphone to tune the speaker to sound better wherever you place it. With no microphone, the Roam SL won't be able to do this, and Sonos confirmed that you won't be able to manually tune the speaker with an iPhone as you can do with most of the company's other speakers. It's not a huge surprise, as the Roam SL is meant to be moved, so a manual tuning process isn't something that'll make sense for most people, but it's still worth knowing if you're choosing between the Roam and the Roam SL.
The Roam's battery life isn't as good as other speakers in its class, but it sounds great and is a relatively inexpensive way to see how the Sonos experience works. As such, we imagine the Roam SL will also be worth checking out for people who don't want a microphone on their speaker. Sonos has tried this before, with the One SL, a mic-less version of the Sonos One, so it's not a huge surprise to see the company offer the Roam without a mic as well. You can pre-order the Roam SL now on the Sonos website, and it'll be available on March 15th.
Many of Amazon's attempts at fighting climate change have revolved around policy promises and investments, but now it's focusing more on the goods it sells. The company has launched an Aware product line devoted to eco-friendly items like bedding, clothing, home essentials and skincare. In every case, they're made with "bio-based ingredients," recycled materials and other more sustainable elements.
All Aware products have received at least some form of independent environmental certification. Skincare products are certified as free of "chemicals of concern," for instance. Bed and bath products, meanwhile, are verified as made in "socially responsible working conditions" on top of their reduced ecological footprint.
Amazon has long been accused of contributing to waste through its dominance of online shopping. In 2018, it accounted for 5 billion out of 165 billion packages shipped in the US — that's a lot of cardboard, foam and other packing materials. The company has taken steps to minimize its impact, such as insisting on efficient packaging and developing reusable boxes you can turn into cat condos, but many of its own-brand products haven't been designed with the environment as a top priority.
Green products like the Aware range might be necessary, though. Amazon has made much ado about its Climate Pledge target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. While the company can reduce the impact of its facilities, packaging and transportation, it might have a harder time reaching that goal if its catalog doesn't make a similar pro-climate shift.
