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The busy fall calendar of game releases remains in flux. Remedy Entertainment and publisher Epic Games have pushed back the Alan Wake II release date by 10 days to October 27th, and it seems the decision isn't specifically to do with giving the studio more time to polish the game. "October is an amazing month for game launches and we hope this date shift gives more space for everyone to enjoy their favorite games," a tweet on the Alan Wake Twitter (ugh, X) account reads.

Not only does that give Alan Wake II a bit more distance from some of the other major new games dropping around that time, it brings the survival horror title a bit closer to Halloween. In the meantime, you won't have to wait much longer to find out more about the game, which will be featured at Gamescom's Opening Night Live event next Tuesday. "We can't wait to show you what everyone's favorite novelist is up to in the Dark Place next week," the tweet states. "Thanks for your patience!"

October is an especially packed month for games. Alan Wake 2 is no longer arriving in the same week as Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but now it's arriving just a few days after Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection and a game that's in a similar wheelhouse in the form of Alone in the Dark.

There are many other notable games scheduled to land that month, including Detective Pikachu Returns, Forza Motorsport, Lords of the Fallen and Cities Skylines II. Earlier this week, Ubisoft sought to carve out a small window for itself by bringing the Assassin's Creed Mirage release date forward by a week to October 5th, while Batman: Arkham Trilogy will crash onto Nintendo Switch on October 13th. Phew. I hope you're already practicing your finger stretches ahead of that glut of games.

Microsoft has revealed when the Xbox 360 store will close its doors. You'll no longer be able to buy games, expansions or anything else on the Xbox 360 console or Marketplace after July 29, 2024. Any original Xbox or Xbox 360 games and DLC that are backwards compatible on the Xbox One or Series X/S will still be available to buy on the newer consoles' storefronts.

The Microsoft Movies & TV app will stop working on the console on the same date, so you won't be able to use it to watch TV shows and films. Any content you have bought from the Xbox 360 store will stay in your library and you can watch it on Windows 10 and 11 devices, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. You can also watch any titles with Movies Anywhere compatibility on that service's app and website.

You can still buy Xbox 360 games and other content through the console's storefront until next July (you should still be able to find second-hand physical copies of games you want to play too). Any games you have in your library will still work on your Xbox 360 after the store shutters, and you'll be able to access many of them on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S through backwards compatibility too. Microsoft notes that it has enhanced many Xbox 360 titles on the Series X/S, adding features such as FPS Boost, Auto HDR and snappier loading times.

Multiplayer features on Xbox 360 games will still be supported as long as publishers and developers keep their titles' servers up and running. You'll be able to save your games and progress to the cloud as well, and pick up where you left off on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S.

The Xbox 360 is 18 years old this year and (as best I can tell) it's been five years since the last game was released for it. It perhaps doesn't make business sense for Microsoft to keep the store open. However, the store's closure will prevent players from being able to buy many digital-only games, making the move a blow for game preservation.

After fans protested against Sony's plan to shut down the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores in 2021, the company relented and kept them open (though it followed through on closing the PSP store). On the other hand, Sony is making players jump through a few extra hoops to buy PS3 and Vita games as neither digital storefront directly accepts credit cards, debit cards or PayPal payments. In 2022, Sony set up a game preservation team.

The humble microphone. For many, it’s little more than a tool for a Zoom call. For streamers and podcasters it’s a utilitarian bit of kit. But for some — singers, musicians and other recording artists — it’s an instrument as characteristic and expressive as any guitar or piano. The microphone is often the biggest investment these performers ever make. If you want a different “timbre” to your recordings, then, you could just buy a lot of microphones. Alternatively, you might consider a “modeling” mic - one specifically designed to imitate the character of famous (and usually expensive) models.

For those not wanting to spend “small condo” levels of money on a well-stocked mic locker, something like the $1,000 Sphere LX from Universal Audio offers a tantalizing prospect. It’s one of the aforementioned modeling mics, and it claims to mimic 20 of the most sought after microphones of all time.

The Sphere LX itself is a condenser microphone, but thanks to its dual-capsule setup (most mics only have one) it’s able to do some pretty funky stuff. Not only can it pretend to be a dynamic or ribbon mic - both of which use different technology to a condenser - it can imitate environmental factors such as distance from the mic and/or different recording spaces. You can even blend two different virtual microphones at the same time for added versatility. It all sounds very clever on paper, but does it actually sound, well… good?

Universal Audio

Before we get to that, it’s worth understanding the setup required. As the Sphere LX has two capsules (the “sensor” part) it outputs in stereo unlike most vocal microphones that record in mono. This means it ships with a specific XLR splitter cable that requires two ports on your audio interface. So, if your setup currently only has one, you’d need to find a new one with multiple inputs (Shameless plug: I wrote an audio interface buyer's guide that you can read right here).

There are some important steps to take before you can start experimenting with your new virtual microphones. First, if possible, you’ll want to “bind” the two input channels on your interface so that they operate as one. This locks their gain levels so you don’t need to worry about the physical volume controls being different (which could impact the effectiveness of the modeling).

It’s also important to remove any processing your interface might apply. For example, Universal Audio’s own Volt 276 interface has hardware compression and EQ which you don’t want applied here. Other interfaces also can apply light processing or compression by default, so you will definitely want to check your interface’s settings. Sometimes such processing requires turning off via software - so watch out for that, too.

With the hardware set, you’ll want to open the Sphere’s companion software. It’s a VST plugin and therefore runs within other software — Ableton Live, Logic Pro or even Garageband will do. Drop the plugin onto the same audio channel assigned to the Sphere LX’s output and you’re set to record. Actually, you can even record first and then add the software later, as the emulation can be applied to any recorded audio (but only recordings from the Sphere will “match” the emulated mic).

Universal Audio

In the most simple use case, you would record your vocal with the Sphere LX and then choose the microphone you want it to sound like in the software. Then all you need to do is export the audio and you’re done. You can even go back, change the emulation to another microphone and export it a second time, but why stop there?

One of the key benefits of the dual-capsule system in the Sphere LX over, say, something like Slate’s M1 VMS system, is that it allows for things like changing the direction you were addressing the “mic” after the fact. If you recorded into the Sphere head on, but wanted a slightly off-axis sound (useful for taming high frequencies from a guitar for example), you can do that in the software after the fact. You can even change the polar pattern - the shape/area around the capsule in which sound is received.

While this feels a bit like witchcraft — changing the physical qualities of a microphone after something has been recorded — it serves both practical and aesthetic purposes. On the practical side, you can theoretically record once and “try out” different microphones, mic placements and polar patterns. This not only saves time with the vocalist or musician, you won’t need to keep moving gear around, perfect if you have a smaller space.

In practice, unless you have all of these classic microphones for comparison, it’s obviously hard to know how close the Sphere LX comes to the originals. I happen to have three of the microphones that are modeled by the system - Sennheiser’s MD421, Neumann’s TLM103 and Shure’s SM7B - although I use them primarily for spoken word, podcasting and streaming.

On simple tests with voice recordings, the Sphere LX comes really close for all three. There are definitely differences, but given that two units of the same mic can develop variations from each other over time, the LX likely falls within those differential boundaries. This is further reinforced by listening back to the raw audio captured by the Sphere which is very, very far from what it sounds like with emulation applied.

I was particularly interested in how well the Sphere LX would emulate the SM7B and the Sennheiser MD421, as these are both dynamic microphones. Condenser microphones work very differently, so the idea that one could imitate the other was interesting. Condenser mics are generally favored in vocal studios as they capture more detail, but dynamic mics are better for those with less than ideal recording conditions. Being able to flip between the two with one mic would be both convenient and impressive.

The MD421 in particular has a unique character for a dynamic microphone with a surprisingly detailed, lively sound. With a straight voice test, the Sphere LX doesn’t quite capture those trademark “sparkle” frequencies, but it definitely does a good job on generally sounding like the Sennheiser — and it’s distinct from its imitation of the SM7B (also a dynamic mic), but with more emphasis on the lower frequencies.

While the comparison shows a decent facsimile of the Sennheiser’s sound, it’s worth noting that both the MD421 and the SM7B have a physical highpass filters built in that can be adjusted through different settings of bass roll off. This isn’t something that’s replicated in the Sphere’s companion app, so if you wanted any sound other than their default, you would need to apply some post processing.

There are some other challenges, too. In almost every other recording situation, once the track is laid down, the take is set in stone. You can manipulate it after the fact, of course, but the take itself is immovable. With the Sphere LX, and similar systems, you can reimagine the recording the moment the singer’s lips stop moving. Flicking through each virtual mic and the related setting until you find the one you like the most. This could obviously be a good thing, but option paralysis is the death of many a good audio project.

The appeal of these systems could also depend on your budget and whether you feel confident that they will remain supported by the manufacturer. This is particularly prudent for professionals. “I find with anything like that you're into ‘what's it going to be worth in the next, you know, five years?’ Or when they decide to make the mic redundant, which I’ve found on products that involve anything software.” Chris Denman, CEO of Skyrocket Audio and professional sound engineer told Engadget. The redundancy isn’t a huge risk, unlike many app-dependent gadgets, as VSTs can live outside of an app store, but something to consider.

IK Multimedia

If you’re curious about microphone modeling but don’t want to jump right into a hardware system, there are software products that claim to do a similar thing without the $1,000 outlay. Something like IK Multimedia’s “Mic Room” plugin, for example, offers a similar roster of mics for well under $100. To get the best results, your current mic will need to be one the app has a reference for, so there’s possibly an additional spend, and the results aren’t as accurate or as configurable as the Sphere LX, but it’s an easy way to experiment before committing to something like Universal Audio’s solution.

All in all, whether mic modeling is right for you will come down to personal preference, economics and the projects you need it for. For casual users looking for a do-it-all mic, it’s perhaps a little complex and costly. However, for singers looking for a streamlined, versatile setup, it almost feels like a no brainer. There will be plenty of use cases that fall between and either way, it’s a really interesting concept that will likely only continue to become more accessible.

The 2023 version of Samsung's Freestyle projector is now available for pre-order through the company's website. Introduced at CES earlier this year, the Freestyle Gen 2 can throw 1080p images on your wall or your ceiling and transform it into a screen that's between 30 and 100 inches in size. Its cradle stand rotates 180 degrees, allowing you to move the screen for the best possible position, and it comes with built-in 360-degree sound capability for immersive viewing. 

Since the compact projector weighs less than two pounds and is meant to be used whether indoors or outdoors, you can also plug it into portable batteries with USB PD and 60W/20V output or above when outlets aren't available. In addition, it comes with the brand's SolarCell Remote, which, like its name indicates, has a solar panel attached to it for easy charging on the go. 

Like any regular smart TV, the Freestyle Gen 2 gives you access to the usual streaming apps, including the Samsung TV Plus service. You can also use it to play videos, though, through the Samsung Gaming Hub that lets you stream titles from various providers. The Gaming Hub gives you quick access to Samsung's streaming partners, which include Xbox Game Pass, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Amazon Luna and Utomik. While the hub is free, you will need a subscription to those services to be able to play the games they have on offer. Also, the projector doesn't come with its own controller, so you'll need to use your own and connect it via Bluetooth.

The Freestyle Gen 2 projector costs $800 and will be available for pre-order until August 30th, the day before it starts shipping. You'll get a free case with the unit if you purchase it before its launch date. 

Samsung

Fisker recently unveiled the Alaska electric pickup with a starting price of $45,400, one of the least expensive models out there. Now, the company has revealed more details about it including battery sizes, acceleration, projected range and more. On top of that, the Alaska may become the truck for wannabe ranchers thanks to features like a cupholder for humungous drinks, an expandable bed and yes, a purpose-built spot for your cowboy hat. 

The Alaska will come with either a 75 kWh or 113 kWh battery pack, offering a range of 230 or 340 miles, respectively. There's no mention of horsepower or drivetrain, but those things will vary across model versions. In any case, it'll accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in as little as 3.9 seconds for the most powerful version, or 7.2 seconds for the economy model. Fisker also claims that the Alaska will be the world's lightest electric truck — that's a good thing as some pickup EVs are very, very heavy. 

Fisker Inc.

Fisker is trying to tempt buyers with "the world's largest" big gulp cupholder, shown holding what looks like at least a couple quarts of liquid, allowing serious cattlemen to properly hydrate. It'll also come with a "cowboy hat holder, cockpit storage for work gloves, a large center armrest with storage for flashlights and pens, and a passenger tray with a tablet holder," Fisker wrote. 

Fisker Inc.

As for the bed, it features a "Houdini partition" behind the rear seats that can be raised or lowered electronically and protected by a flip-up panel. That allows the bed to be expanded from 4.5 to 7.5 feet, and with the liftgate dropped and rear seats lowered, you can get up to 9.2 feet of space. It's the same scheme used by the similar-looking Chevy Silverado, which expands from 5.9 to 10.8 feet. The gallery also shows a large center display, wood-colored trim and stitched leather-like seats, but no other interior details. 

Fisker Inc.

The Alaska is supposed to go into production in early 2025 (treat the dates and prices skeptically given the company's past delays and price bumps). It's likely to feature Tesla's proprietary NACS charging connector as Fisker just announced plans to switch to the Tesla connector for its North American vehicles — much as other manufacturers including Ford, Mercedes and Volvo have done. 

Whether you just splurged on a new Surface device or you’re still working with a trusted, older machine, learning the basics like taking a screenshot will be quick and easy. There are several ways to take a screenshot on your PC. The most versatile though is probably Microsoft’s Snipping Tool, which lets you save your entire screen or a free-form screenshot. Here’s how to take a screenshot on a PC, including instructions for Windows 11 machines and older, Windows 7 devices, too.

How to take a screenshot of the entire screen

There are two different ways to screenshot on Windows. The first option is the Print Screen button: to capture your entire screen, press the Windows key and the PrtScn key simultaneously. If your PC doesn’t have the PrtSc button, instead press Fn + Windows key + Spacebar. To locate the image, open File Explorer, and go to the Pictures folder and then the Screenshots subfolder.

For any device with the most recent versions of Windows 11, pressing the Print Screen key will open the Snipping Tool, which you can read more about below.

Photo by Julia Mercado / Engadget

How to take a screenshot of an active window

If you only want to save an image of the window you’re currently in, press the Alt and PrtScn keys together. This will put the image into your clipboard. While your PC will save screenshots into a designated folder, partial screenshots like these will go to your clipboard. You will need to move them from your clipboard to an image editor like Photoshop, Windows’ default Photos app or even a document editor like Microsoft Office to save it in the file format of your choice.

Photo by Julia Mercado / Engadget

How to use the Snipping Tool

You can use Windows’ Snipping Tool to customize your screenshot further. For any Windows 10 or 11 machine, press either Windows key + Shift + S together or the PrtScn key to open the Snipping Tool. For those using Windows 8.1 or 7, you will need to search for the app in your Start menu. Both options will give you a toolbar where you can customize your “snip.”

From here, you can take free-form or rectangular images of your screen. Any screenshots captured by the Snipping Tool will be sent to your clipboard. From the clipboard, so you can save the image to the Screenshots folder, as well as rename the file and change the file format. You can also annotate your screenshots using the pen or highlighter icons.

There are several keyboard shortcuts for the Snipping Tool that will help you customize your screenshot experience:

• Ctrl and +: Save the Snip

• Ctrl + C: Copy the Snip

• Alt + M: Select a Snipping Mode

• Alt + D: Set a timer to your screenshot by 1-5 seconds

• Alt + M: Create another snip but with the same mode. For example, if you took a rectangular snip, you could make another one quickly using this method.

• Shift + arrows: Move between different types of snips

Bonus for Microsoft Surface users

If you have a Microsoft Surface device in tablet mode, press the Power button and the Volume Up button at the same time to take a screenshot. If you have an attached keyboard, you can take the steps listed above, too. Similar to a desktop, the screenshot can be found by going to the Pictures folder and then Screenshots.

Have you ever gone to use an extension and suddenly been unable to access it without warning? Google is attempting to make this a little less of a surprise by notifying you when it removes an extension from the Chrome Web Store. Of course, this will only be for ones you currently have installed, not just anytime the store's offerings change.

With this new update, you should receive a notification if one of three things occurs: A developer unpublished an extension you use, if it's marked as malware or if it's removed from the Chrome Web Store due to policy violations — such as hate speech or spyware. You won't receive a notification if Google has given a developer time to fix or appeal a possible violation. Google already had steps in place to protect users if the company found an extension to be malware. As before, once marked as such, the extension should be automatically disabled and unable to cause harm.

These new notifications will appear in the "privacy and security" tab of Chrome's settings under a section called "safety check." You'll be told how many extensions Google removed from the store and have the option to review more details. The new feature will be available in Chrome 117, which is set to come out in early September. Other updates will accompany it, such as a tune icon replacing the current lock symbol next to the search bar.

Newly unsealed court filings reveal how much data Xwitter has handed over to the January 6 investigation. This includes all tweets sent, drafted, liked and retweeted – even if they were subsequently deleted – by Donald Trump’s official account. This cache also included DMs sent, received or stored in draft form, as well as linked accounts used on the same device. Even more interesting is the company handed over records of all searches made by the account, too.

We already knew Xwitter had fought the order tooth-and-nail, leading to a court battle and a hefty fine. But the list of what was available should also serve as a warning to everyone else that the platform stores a lot more data on its users than you might expect. The fact it could serve up location history, deleted DMs and a list of searches might make you wonder what else it has on you.

– Dan Cooper

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Scientists recreate an iconic Pink Floyd song by scanning listeners' brains

It could eventually help people with speech challenges.

Researchers claim to have found a way to extract a song from a person’s brain by analyzing their neural activity. A group of test subjects with drug-resistant epilepsy, who already have implants in their brains, were played Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1. Using the implants, the team monitored how the brains responded to the stimulus and used AI to recreate what they heard. The result is a bit like listening to a Pink Floyd cover band playing down the street while you’re swimming, but it’s recognizable enough. It’s hoped the discovery could be used as a jumping-off point to develop tech to help people with atrophied speech communicate.

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Intel walks away from its $5.4 billion takeover of Tower Semiconductor

Rumors suggest Chinese regulators were slow to agree to the deal.

Intel Corporation

Intel has withdrawn its $5.4 billion offer to buy Israeli chip fabricator Tower Semiconductor after failing to get regulatory approval. Tower is not a bleeding-edge manufacturer; it makes chips for industrial and automotive applications using older processes. Intel wanted it as part of its plan not to just make its own chips but to manufacture third-party designs in its facilities. It’s thought the major roadblock was China, which refused to give its blessing in a “timely manner.” It’s not clear if China’s inaction was part of the current geopolitical brouhaha over the future of chip making, but it probably hasn’t helped.

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GM’s latest investment could speed development of cheaper EV batteries

It is putting $60 million into a US-based battery company.

Karl Nielsen for General Motors

GM has a vested interest in making batteries both cheaper and more efficient, which is why it just dropped $60 million into Mitra Chem’s pocket. Mitra Chem is working on a US-made battery using cheaper, more common metals than are presently employed. It’s also looking to speed up research into new battery technologies using software that could eliminate much of the early gruntwork.

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Google is working to improve Bard's soulless life advice

But not everyone on the project thinks it’s a good idea.

A Google contractor developing Bard, the search giant’s AI chatbot, has enlisted a score of experts to improve the system’s ability to dole out life advice. It’s in response to users asking the platform for help with intimate issues, like how to back out of a destination wedding. The work has caused alarm in some parts of the company, where workers feel people shouldn’t be asking an AI those sorts of questions.

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Snapchat's My AI chatbot glitched so hard it started posting Stories

It shouldn’t be able to do that.

Snapchat’s in-app digital assistant experienced a malfunction so great it started posting its own stories. My AI is a chatbot you can access if you subscribe to Snapchat Plus for $3.99 a month, but it shouldn’t have access to your stories at all. In a statement, the company explained the system had a “temporary outage” and there’s nothing to worry about. For now, at least.

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Lenovo may soon release a gaming handheld to rival Windows models like the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally, while offering removable controls like a Switch, according to a leak from Windows Report. Called the Legion Go, it will reportedly run Windows 11 and pack AMD's new Phoenix processors, while offering features like a kickstand, microSD slot and a pair of USB-C ports. 

No specs were leaked, but the Legion Go shows back, shoulder and side triggers, plus a wheel hidden under the top right trigger. It also offers a headphone port, volume buttons and a large cooling vent at the back. Given the detachable controls (and extra touch-friendly Windows 11 OS), the display (said to be 8 inches in size) is likely touch sensitive as well. 

Windows Report

According to a previous rumor, Lenovo built a prototype gaming handheld called the Legion Play it never released. It does makes sense for the PC-oriented company to offer a handheld Windows gaming device, though, and the detachable Switch-like controls will help separate the Legion Go from the competition. Along with the aforementioned competition, it will go up against Ayaneo's many handhelds including its latest model, the 2S.