Apple's AirTag 4-pack falls to $87

If you've been looking to get a bunch of new Apple AirTags, now's a good time to buy them: The Bluetooth tracker's four-pack bundle is currently on sale for $87. That's not quite an all-time low, but it's still 12 percent less than what the pack typically costs. It's also certainly one of the best prices we've seen for the bundle on Amazon. While a single AirTag only costs $28, this is a great chance to get your hands on a few so you could track several items — like bags, valuables or even pets — at once through the Find My app. 

The Apple AirTag can easily pair with your iPhone or iPad with one tap. Once it's paired, you can use your device to look up where it's currently located and to play a sound through its built-in speaker to help you find what you're looking for. If you have a newer iPhone that supports Ultra Wideband technology, you can even use precision finding to lead you right to each specific AirTag. In case you do lose something that you're keeping track of, you can put AirTag in "lost mode" to be notified when the Find My network of Apple devices detects it. 

Since the AirTag is water and dust resistant, it won't easily break if it gets lost. And while it's not rechargeable, the CR2032 coin battery that powers it is removable and can last for a year before you'd need to replace it. These four-pack AirTags don't come with any accessories, but you can check out some of the best products for the tracker that you can buy right here

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airtag-4-pack-falls-to-87-091304049.html?src=rss

Researchers Unveil World's First Wearable Ultrasound System for Deep Tissue Imaging

Researchers Unveil World's First Wearable Ultrasound System for Deep Tissue Imaging

Researchers from the University of California San Diego, MIT, Yale University, and Stanford University have developed the world's first fully integrated wearable ultrasound system. This innovative device captures deep tissue images while the user is engaged in activities like walking, running, or cycling. Unlike previous systems, this wireless and wearable ultrasound technology allows continuous monitoring for up to 12 hours on a single charge.

Staff Thu, 05/25/2023 - 13:38
Circuit Digest 25 May 09:08

Tatas To Play An Important Role to Boost India’s Electronics, Semiconductor Industry

Tatas To Play An Important Role to Boost India’s Electronics, Semiconductor Industry

The  ambitions are directly or indirectly cleared by Tata to focus in key areas of end-to-end electronics and semiconductor industry

Staff Thu, 05/25/2023 - 11:33
Circuit Digest 25 May 07:03

Automatic Coin Sorter Brings Order to Your Coin Jar

Few things hold as much promise as the old coin jar. Unfortunately, what’s generally promised is tedium, as one faces the prospect of manually sorting, counting, and rolling the accumulated change of cash transactions past. Unless, of course, you’ve got a fancy automatic coin sorter like this one.

True, many banks have automatic coin sorters, but you generally have to be a paying customer to use one. And there’s always Coinstar and similar kiosks, but they always find a way to extract a fee, one way or another. [Fraens] decided not to fall for either of those traps and roll his own machine, largely from 3D-printed parts. The basic mechanism is similar to that used in commercial coin counters, with an angled bowl rotating over an array of holes sized to fit various coins. Holes in the bottom of the feed bowl accept coins fed from a hopper and transport them up to the coin holes. The smallest coins fall out of the bowl first, followed by the bigger coins; each coin drops into a separate bin after passing through an optical sensor to count the number of each on an Arduino. Subtotals and a grand total of the haul are displayed on a small LCD screen. The video below shows the build and the sorter in operation.

[Fraens] built this sorter specifically for Euro coins, but it should be easy enough to modify the sorting slots for different currencies. It’s not the first coin sorter we’ve seen, of course, and while we applaud its design simplicity and efficient operation, it can’t hold a candle to the style of this decidedly less practical approach.

Hack a Day 25 May 00:00

Ron DeSantis can't announce he's running for president because Twitter's servers are 'kind of melting'

Ron DeSantis was supposed to take to Twitter Spaces today to officially announce his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Unfortunately, for the governor of Florida, it appears Twitter was not prepared for the influx of people who were waiting to listen to the announcement. Shortly after the Space went live, the call dropped and DeSantis has yet to say he's running to become the president of the United States of America. "We've got so many people here that I think we are kind of melting the servers, which is a good sign," said Republican megadonor and Elon Musk confidant David Sacks said during a moment when the Space briefly returned before dropping again.  

Musk’s decision to personally give DeSantis a platform should put to bed any questions about his politics. Since his takeover of the platform last October, the billionaire has repeatedly engaged with and enabled fringe far-right voices. At the start of December, Twitter reinstated the account of Andrew Anglin, the creator of the white supremacist website The Daily Stormer. Before that, Musk elevated conspiracy theories about the attack on Paul Pelosi. More recently, he has publicly attacked Anthony Fauci and George Soros. In helping DeSantis announce his presidential bid, Musk is aligning himself with a politician who has signed legislation that has restricted access to abortion and banned transition care for minors.

Before today, Twitter, under its previous leadership, had never so directly engaged with a presidential candidate. At most, the platform's user-facing political outreach involved an election hub that pointed people to information on how to vote and livestreams devoted to debates between presidential candidates. Now the company plans to give former Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson a platform.

During Donald Trump's years as president, the public got used to seeing a US leader use Twitter as a personal megaphone. The former president was banned from the website in 2021 in the aftermath of the January 6th US Capitol riot. Last November, Musk appeared to make the decision to reinstate Trump’s account on the results of a Twitter poll. The company reinstated Trump’s account on November 19th, 2022, but even with some attempted public coaxing from Musk, the former president has not tweeted since before his ban.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ron-desantis-cant-announce-hes-running-for-president-because-twitters-servers-are-kind-of-melting-222437047.html?src=rss

New Microsoft Surface Pro X bug causes camera to stop working

Not a great look for the Surface Pro X. The camera for the tablet has reportedly stopped working entirely for some users. It’s unclear at the time of writing what’s causing the issue and how long it will be before an update will be issued to fix it.

The Verge reports that the camera on the Surface Pro X have stopped working starting this week. The publication was able to independently confirm the issue, and claims that this bug affects “everyone”. Dozens of users on Reddit, Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4) and Microsoft’s support forums are also saying that their cameras aren’t working and claim that reinstalling the camera’s drivers won’t fix the problem. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Owners of the tablet say that rolling the device’s date back to May 22nd in system settings makes the camera work again, indicating that this may possibly be an expired certificate issue. And while that may be a functional workaround, rolling back the date on any device causes a whole mountain of issues. This includes authentication on websites, potential calendar and scheduling mayhem and (somewhat ironically) could cause Windows update to not work properly. If you’re okay with that, feel free but proceed at your own risk. We highly suggest that you wait for an official update from Microsoft if you can.

The Surface Pro X, which was originally released in 2019, was a 2-in-1 tablet-laptop fusion device that offered excellent hardware for the time and a comfortable typing experience. Unfortunately, buggy software and limited app compatibility were the device’s ultimate demise, even after Microsoft lowered the price in late 2021. Regardless, we hope that an update comes soon to resolve the issue for Surface Pro X owners.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-microsoft-surface-pro-x-bug-causes-camera-to-stop-working-220001254.html?src=rss

'Ghostrunner 2' will bring together cyberpunk ninjas and motorbikes this year

One of the best surprises of 2020 is about to get a sequel. On Wednesday, Sony revealed Ghostrunner 2 during its latest PlayStation showcase. The company showed a brief trailer highlighting the game's cyberpunk setting. According to the PlayStation Blog, Ghostrunner 2 is set one year after the events of the first game. Players will once again play as Jack, but by the sounds of it, they can expect a vastly more expansive experience this time around. Publisher 505 Games says the game will feature more challenging combat and platformer sections, with levels that allow for more player freedom. You will also get dialogue choices that will allow you to get a better sense of the game's world. Oh, and did I mention you'll get to drive a motorbike in Ghostrunner 2? The game will arrive on PlayStation 5 later this year.       

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ghostrunner-2-will-bring-together-cyberpunk-ninjas-and-motorbikes-this-year-213153418.html?src=rss

First look at 'Spider-Man 2' gameplay shows Spidey in the Venom suit

At the end of Sony's PlayStation Showcase today, the company gave us our first extended look at Spider-Man 2, including a fair bit of gameplay showing off both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Perhaps most significant, though, Parker is wearing the iconic black Venom suit — for those less familiar with Spider-Man lore, the Venom suit gives Parker a ton of wild additional powers. But, it's also an alien symbiote that quite possibly could be affecting Peter's best judgement. How he ends up with the suit remains a mystery, but I wager it'll be a big part of the new game.

The preview also showed an extended action sequence where gameplay seamlessly flips between controlling Parker and Morales. A lot of the gameplay feels familiar, particularly in the hand-to-hand fighting area, but the new suit clearly offers a ton of new moves, while a wild chase through Queens gives a good sense of the kind of action we can expect outside taking down hordes of bad guys. We also got to see a new trick for Miles, as he now has a sort of "wingsuit" glider that lets him float over extended distance. This trick wasn't part of the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game from 2020 where we first got to control the younger Spidey. 

It also looks like the game's map will be bigger than ever before — the first game covered most of Manhattan, but from this preview we've also seen Queens, and a huge portion of the chase sequence took place on the water, as well. The original Spider-Man already put together a convincing and massive version of New York City, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this one expands on it. We'll get the chance this fall, though there's still no official release date. Insomniac Games did say they hoped to share a final date "soon." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/first-look-at-spider-man-2-gameplay-shows-spidey-in-the-venom-suit-212740681.html?src=rss

Bungie revives 'Marathon' as a multiplayer shooter

What do you think Bungie would do for its first non-Destiny game in over a decade? A return to the franchise that helped make it a gaming giant, of course. The developer has unveiledMarathon, a follow-up to the classic first-person shooter series for Macs. This isn't a sequel or remake, mind you. Instead, it's a multiplayer "extraction shooter" that has mercenary Runners exploring a lost colony.

While there's no single-player component, game director Chris Barrett says this will still "feel" like a Bungie game between the mechanics and rich universe. Player actions will also influence the plot — you might find an artifact that unlocks an area for all players. There are persistent zones and seasons, although we wouldn't expect a repeat of similar elements in Destiny.

Marathon is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. While there isn't much more to share at this point, Bungie says the next update will be "much closer to launch" and include gameplay. It's safe to say there's a lot riding on this title. It's proof that Bungie isn't content to iterate on Destiny forever, and will show what the company can do with a multiplayer-only experience. And for old-time fans, this is a chance to return to a beloved franchise 27 years later.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bungie-revives-marathon-as-a-multiplayer-shooter-212630605.html?src=rss

'Project Q' is a dedicated PS5 streaming device due later this year

It's not a handheld console, but Sony is preparing to release a device that will allow PlayStation 5 users to stream their favorite games to a portable display. Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan shared the existence of "Project Q" on Wednesday during the company's PlayStation Showcase. He said the device would allow PlayStation gamers to stream any PS5 game, excluding PlayStation VR2 titles, over WiFi and the company's Remote Play protocol. The device features an 8-inch "HD display" and "all the buttons and features" found on a DualSense controller. Ryan did not say how much the device would cost but promised Sony would share more information about Project Q soon. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/project-q-is-a-dedicated-ps5-streaming-device-due-later-this-year-211814445.html?src=rss