Never mind crafting custom sodas at the restaurant — technology will soon help you customize your dips, too. Kraft Heinz has unveiled a Heinz Remix dispenser that lets you customize sauces through a touchscreen interface. You choose from base sauces and then add one or more "enhancers" at your choice of intensity. If you want 57 Sauce with a strong jalapeño accent and a hint of mango, you can make it happen.
The company plans to test Heinz Remix at unspecified restaurants in late 2023 to early 2024. There's no mention of pricing, although it's safe to presume this isn't intended for home use. Like it or not, you'll have to settle for off-the-shelf bottles at home.
The machine's existence isn't surprising. Custom drink dispensers like Coca-Cola's Freestyle have led to increased business at restaurants. Kraft Heinz could boost its profits by selling more expensive hardware to eateries on top of the usual sauces. That, in turn, could squeeze out competitors that still use one-sauce-at-a-time systems.
This could also influence the sauces you buy at the grocery store. Kraft Heinz sees the Remix as an "insights engine" that will help the firm understand customers' flavor preferences. You might see combinations that are the direct result of data from restaurant guests. This won't necessarily replace in-house inventions, but it might help the brand keep up with (or set) trends.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/heinz-remix-is-the-sauce-dispenser-of-our-dreams-143330062.html?src=rss
Human-computer interaction company Sightful is releasing its first product, Spacetop, a screen-less “augmented reality laptop” projecting tabs across a 100-inch virtual screen. The laptop — if you can call it that — is a hardware deck and full-size keyboard with a pair of tailored NReal glasses. The glasses project tabs directly in front of whatever the user is looking at while remaining invisible to anyone else.
Specs-wise, Spacetop is running a Snapdragon 865 paired with an Adreno 650 GPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, putting it in the same class as some of the smartphones that are already capable of driving AR glasses. It’s not smartphone-sized, however, measuring 1.57-inches high, 10.47-inches wide and 8.8-inches deep, and it weighs in at 3.3 pounds, the same as plenty of laptops we could choose to mention here.
Sightful is clearly gunning for a crossover hit in the the work-from-home-or-anywhere market. “Laptops are the centerpiece of our daily working lives, but the technology has not evolved with the modern, work from anywhere, privacy matters, ‘road warrior’ mentality. Meanwhile, augmented reality is full of potential and promise but is yet to find its daily use case,” said Tamir Berliner, Sightful co-founder who previously worked at both Leap Motion and Primesense. “We are at the perfect moment for a significant paradigm shift in a device we all know and love.”
For now, Spacetop is only available to buy for 1,000 early adopters through an application-based program. Right now, we don’t have word on how much this will cost you, or when you’ll be able to pick it up, but we’ll watch this project with interest to see if it’ll succeed where so many others have failed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacetop-is-an-augmented-reality-laptop-for-remote-working-on-the-go-140031973.html?src=rss
For the neutral NBA fan, game one of the Eastern Conference Finals last night was highly entertaining. If you were watching on YouTube TV though, the experience at the end of the game was highly frustrating. With just under five minutes left in the 4th quarter of a back-and-forth battle between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, the streaming service had a major issue that kept viewers in a sputtering commercial loop for several minutes. Restarting the app didn't help as users were greeted with the stuttering trailer for the upcoming reboot of The Little Mermaid.
When YouTube TV finally started to chug along again, it skipped ahead every few seconds (this was captured on DVR recordings too). Users were unable to just swipe to live television either, so they just had to contend with broken up bits of action for the rest of the game. The service quickly admitted on Twitter that it was having problems, specifically referencing users trying to watch the NBA playoff game. However, the issue impacted other channels on the service too, including Bravo where Watch What Happens Live was airing after the highly anticipated Vanderpump Rules finale.
Several hours later the service's support account tweeted that everything was back to normal. The same info was posted to a support thread about the issue, but no details about a specific cause were mentioned. We've reached out to YouTube TV for more information on the problem.
Live TV streaming wasn't the only headache for YouTube last night. While that issue was unfolding, creators were having trouble uploading videos to YouTube proper, including clips for Shorts. Some experienced unusually slow processing times while others were unable to upload at all. This issue was also resolved a few hours later.
For YouTube TV, being completely unwatchable during high-profile live events is sure to leave a sour taste in subscribers' mouths. The service just increased its price by $8 a month to a whopping $73 in March. That's a little more than double the $35 monthly fee the service commanded at its 2017 launch. Streaming services as a whole have been regularly raising rates, so this isn't unique to YouTube TV. But combined with the occasional contract disputes with networks that can leave some channels unavailable — either temporarily or permanently — any issues with streaming reliability could be a major problem for the service. There's no rest for YouTube TV either as the Lakers/Nuggets series resumes tonight and there's one NBA playoff game scheduled each day until both series wrap up.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-tv-had-major-issues-at-the-worst-possible-time-last-night-140003445.html?src=rss
The next Mortal Kombat game might not be what you expect. NetherRealm and WB Games have unveiledMortal Kombat 1, a "reborn" take on the series that promises new fighting mechanics and game modes. While most details are under wraps, you'll see many well-known characters as well as "Kameo Fighters" to help you mid-battle. And yes, the gore remains intact — as the teaser trailer below indicates, you can expect plenty of fatalities.
Mortal Kombat 1 arrives September 19th for PC (via Epic and Steam), PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X/S. Pre-order customers get access to a beta in August. A $110 digital Premium Edition will offer early access to the game (September 14th), a Johnny Cage skin made to resemble actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and early access to playable characters and Kameo Fighters when they arrive post-launch. If you're truly devoted, a $250 physical Kollector's Edition will include a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture as well as a matching in-game skin, art prints and a special case.
The reboot is in line with the ending of Mortal Kombat 11 and its Aftermath add-on. However, it's also clearly positioned as an opportunity to rethink the gameplay and story. It's just a question of how much has changed. Not that this reinvention comes as much of a shock given what rivals are doing — Capcom is also shaking up its formula with the World Tour mode in Street Fighter 6.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mortal-kombat-1-reboots-the-series-on-september-19th-132434266.html?src=rss
Earlier this year, Microsoft signed deals with a number of game streaming services to bring Xbox-exclusive titles to its rivals. Today we see the first fruits from the relationship ‘twixt Microsoft and NVIDIA as Gears 5 makes its bow on GeForce Now. The PC version of the title is available to play right now, with NVIDIA reminding users that it’s offering discounted signups between now and May 21st. And that higher-paying GeForce Now users can play the title in 1080p at 60fps, or in 4K 120fps if they’ve signed up to Ultimate. NVIDIA added that we should expect to see Deathloop, Grounded and Pentiment — three more Microsoft-owned titles — added to the service on May 25th.
All of this is part of Microsoft’s work to convince regulators to approve its mega-bucks purchase of Activision Blizzard. In order to convince officials that the vast trove of titles it’ll control should it be permitted to control the Call of Duty maker, it’s signed 10-year deals with rival platforms. That includes Nware, Boosteroid and NVIDIA, as well as a pledge to put Call of Duty on Nintendo’s consoles for a decade with a guarantee of full feature and content parity. That’s satisfied some bodies, like the EU, but not the UK, which feels that Microsoft’s potential control of the cloud gaming market could kill it before it flourishes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gears-5-is-the-first-xbox-exclusive-to-come-to-geforce-now-130020878.html?src=rss
Google’s attempt to snuff out third-party web tracking cookies is moving along. The company announced today that its Privacy Sandbox APIs will be available to all Chrome users in July. In addition, it laid out the next steps for web developers to start testing and integrating the new system later this year.
Anthony Chavez, Google’s VP of Product Management, recommends developers begin preparing for the new system soon after the July API release. Next, the company will let devs simulate Chrome third-party cookie deprecation “for a configurable percentage of their users” starting in Q4 2023, followed by one percent of Chrome users shifting to Privacy Sandbox in Q1 2024. Google is still targeting the second half of next year for the broader deprecation of third-party cookies in Chrome.
“With this milestone, developers can utilize these APIs to conduct scaled, live-traffic testing, as they prepare to operate without third-party cookies,” said Chavez.
Privacy Sandbox tries to strike a balance between user privacy and advertising revenue. When platforms block third-party cookies — in what Google has called “a blunt approach” — advertisers can resort to fingerprinting. This system gathers info like IP address, browser fingerprint and other details to profile users for targeted ads. It’s a highly intrusive workaround the ad biz uses when their old money-making avenues are blocked. But, of course, ads — despised as they are — are still the financial backbone of online media publications and other websites. Without pesky online ads, we’d likely see even more paywalls and an increased nosedive in the quality and availability of independent journalism.
The new system is built around the Topics API, which assigns users a list of a person’s interests based on recent activity. It then compares it to a database sourced from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Google’s own data. Publishers can use the API to match their interests with relevant ads — without the more invasive tracking tied to cookies and fingerprinting. Google promises that stored user interests will only be kept for three weeks, and it will delete old topics. The company also says the data and processing all occur on-device without external servers (including Google’s). It developed the plan “in consultation with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-details-its-next-steps-for-wiping-out-chrome-tracking-cookies-130005560.html?src=rss
Technics is updating its range of true wireless earbuds with two new models, one of which bears the weighty promise of carrying the company’s “greatest sound quality ever.” That’s the slogan tied to the flagship EAH-AZ80, which packs new 10mm, free-edge aluminum diaphragms. That kit, so we’re told, will extend its high and low-frequency response while, at the same time, cutting out unwanted resonance and distortion.
The new diaphragm is the one major difference between the new flagship AZ80 and its junior sibling, the romantically-named EAH-AZ60M2. Technics says that both units come with a unique “acoustic box design” optimizing airflow for more natural-sounding vocals, better bass and smoother trebles. You’ll also get three-point Bluetooth connectivity to save you the effort of unpairing your phone to listen to your laptop. Oh, and as usual for Technics' earbuds, you'll find support for both Bluetooth and LDAC to get your hi-res audio fill.
Both new models ship with ANC, ambient sound mode and a new, improved version of Technics’ JustMyVoice technology, which reduces background noise during calls. The Panasonic-owned company says the new version deals better with wind noise and the variable sound you get in, for instance, a busy coffee shop. In addition, the system will now adjust the volume levels of your voice to make sure you’re understandable by whoever you’re speaking to.
Naturally, all of those features will impact the buds’ battery life, with Technics saying there’s a maximum capacity of around 25 hours’ worth of playback in the buds and cradle. Expect to lose an hour from that time if you have ANC activated, and for that figure to slice in half if you’re using both ANC and JustMyVoice at the same time. Thankfully, both units now have Qi support for wireless charging, and you’ll get battery information inside the companion app, too.
Both units are available to buy today from Technics’ own website and Amazon, with the AZ80 costing you $299, and the AZ60M2 $250.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/technics-new-flagship-earbuds-have-larger-drivers-for-improved-sound-quality-130002534.html?src=rss
You no longer have to spend more than $500 to get a video card using NVIDIA's current Ada Lovelace architecture. The company is launching the GeForce RTX 4060 series, which will start at $299. The flagship RTX 4060 Ti will start at $399 with 8GB of RAM when it arrives on May 24th — a full $200 less than the base 4070. It's pitched as a direct successor to the similarly-priced RTX 3060 Ti and 2060 Super, and aimed at gamers who are more interested in high frame rates at 1080p than a high resolution.
The RTX 4060 Ti is a noticeable step down from the 4070 with 4,352 CUDA cores (versus 5,888) and a 128-bit memory interface (versus 192-bit). It's a mixed bag versus its predecessor. While the 3060 Ti has more cores and a much wider 256-bit interface, Ada, DLSS 3 upscaling and a clock speed boost (2.3GHz base compared to the old card's 1.4GHz) theoretically help the 4060 Ti deliver more actual computing power, particularly for ray tracing and tensor-based tasks. It uses less power, too, with an "average gaming power" of 140W instead of the 3060 Ti's 197W.
NVIDIA claims a roughly 15 percent average performance increase at 1080p over the 3060 Ti in games that don't use DLSS 3's frame generation, and 70 percent for those that do. You'll unsurprisingly get high 1080p frame rates in competitive titles like Counter-Strike 2 (330FPS) and Overwatch 2 (260FPS).
We're waiting on full specs for the starter RTX 4060 as we write this, but NVIDIA boasts a 20 percent average performance increase over the 3060 without DLSS 3 frame generation, and 70 percent when it kicks in.
You may want to wait a couple of months depending on your needs and budget. The standard $299 RTX 4060 won't arrive until July, while a $499 16GB RTX 4060 Ti will also land then for those who run into memory limits for some games and creative apps.
If you ask NVIDIA, the RTX 4060 line is the best option for most people. All but one of the most popular GPUs on Steam are NVIDIA xx60-series boards, and 77 percent of players are using 1080p or less. The 128-bit bus may make this less practical for 1440p or 4K gaming, though. There's also the question of competition. AMD is rumored to be introducing Radeon RX 7600, 7700 and 7800 desktop GPUs in June. They may be more enticing if AMD can deliver more value for your money.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-299-cheapest-40-series-gpu-130000067.html?src=rss
If you watch YouTube videos primarily on your TV, you may soon come across 30-second ads you won't be able to skip, just like commercials on traditional TV channels. The video platform has announced during its Brandcast event for advertisers that it's bringing 30-second unskippable ads to connected TVs. It will make the option available through YouTube Select, which is a targeting option open to eligible clients who want to reach the audiences of the website's most popular channels.
YouTube says 70 percent of Select impressions land on TVs, so the new format will give advertisers the chance to show more of their services or products in a way that allows "for richer storytelling." If you already regularly see two 15-second ads consecutively, then the new format wouldn't make that much of a difference for you — unless they show up more frequently, of course. The format is now generally available in the US and Canada and will expand worldwide later this year.
In addition to introducing longer non-skips, YouTube is also bringing "pause experiences" to connected TVs as an experiment. Pause experiences are ads that show up when you hit pause on what you're watching, similar to the promos Hulu launched in 2019. They're expected to be highly visual and even interactive, and they could include QR codes you can scan to perhaps visit the brands' website or social media channels. In the image below, for instance, you'll see an ad encouraging you to scan a QR code to get a 15 percent discount.
YouTube
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-is-bringing-30-second-unskippable-ads-to-its-tv-apps-121051897.html?src=rss
In a striking move of innovation, Uber is opening a toll-free phone line (1-833-USE-UBER, so 1-833-873-8237) for scheduling immediate or future ride in English or Spanish – just like a typical taxi. It’s part of several new features, including group grocery shopping for people living at the same address and upgraded Uber Eats gifts, with the ability to attach a video message to your present.
In addition, Uber announced teen accounts with safety features. Uber says that only screened drivers who are experienced and highly rated will carry out trips with teen Uber users. Drivers will be able to opt out of such rides. Teen accounts have a series of built-in safety features, including audio recordings, RideCheck (which checks in with riders if the vehicle has stopped for a while) and the option to use a PIN to ensure young users are getting in the right car.
– Mat Smith
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Nicolas Cage will soon appear in Dead by Daylight. The actor will bring his delightful eccentricity and Billy Mays-style beard to the multiplayer survival game. Cage says in the appropriately campy teaser, “It can shape the fabric of reality, transforming everything you may think you know.” Cage will play himself in the role of a Survivor, according to Eurogamer.
Logitech and iFixit announced a new partnership today to let customers repair their devices. iFixit will supply spare parts and out-of-warranty support for “select products” while developing guides for DIY repairs on Logitech gear. The program will kick off this summer in the US with support for two popular accessories: the Logitech MX Master and MX Anywhere mouse. iFixit says you can order parts a la carte or in kits with everything you need for a specific repair, including parts and tools.
News subscribers can access the app on an iOS device.
The New York Times has launched a dedicated app for its audio projects: NYT Audio. Only available on iOS for now, it includes long-form audio as well as podcasts from the Athletic and Serial Productions, under one roof. The NYT first previewed the app back in 2021. It billed the software as a way to give its journalists more freedom to experiment outside of the limits imposed by platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Beats has officially debuted its latest true wireless earbuds. That premature appearance was mostly accurate: The Studio Buds + have a familiar design with loads of improvements on the inside. Those upgrades include better battery life, retooled call performance and updated noise cancellation. There’s also a new transparent design option – in a blatant bid to get this Engadget newsletter editor to buy another pair of wireless buds. With the price increase, these have crept out of the midrange and are approaching premium status. They’re less obvious value than the original model, but that’s far from a dealbreaker. Check out the full review.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-you-can-now-call-an-uber-like-a-normal-taxi-111512793.html?src=rss
