AAelectronics Launches Versatile and Energy-Efficient ESP-360 Remote for Easy Device Control
AAelectronics has released a new remote control called the ESP-360 Remote. It is very easy to use and it works with various devices such as TVs, game consoles, and streaming media players. This remote is designed to be energy-efficient and uses Bluetooth to communicate with devices, which helps to prolong its battery life.
This week, Devindra chats with Sam Rutherford about his recent experiences with ASUS’s ROG Ally, a powerful new Steam Deck competitor, and Nintendo’s long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The ROG Ally sounds like one of the best portable gaming systems yet, though we’re still waiting for pricing details. And Zelda was apparently a blast to play, but of course it was. Also, Devindra and Podcast Producer Ben Ellman dive into the latest news, including the FAA grounding SpaceX’s Starship and Grimes’ decision to let people run free with her AI voice.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
UK regulator blocks Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision/Blizzard – 34:04
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny features 25 mins of de-aged Harrison Ford – 39:54
This week in AI: Snapchat users revolt against AI assistant, Grimes offers 50/50 credit to songs with her AI voice – 43:19
Working on – 50:21
Pop culture picks – 52:07
Livestream
Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artist: Luke Brooks and Joel Chokkattu
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-asus-rog-ally-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-123035085.html?src=rss
Russia has formally agreed to remain aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028, NASA has announced. Yuri Borisov, the Director General of Roscosmos, previously said that the country was pulling out of the ISS after 2024 so it can focus on building its own space station. "After 2024" is pretty vague, though, and even Roscosmos official Sergei Krikalev said it could mean 2025, 2028 or 2030. Now, we have a more solid idea of until when Russia intends to remain a partner. To note, the United States, Japan, Canada and the participating countries of the ESA (European Space Agency) have previously agreed to keep the ISS running until 2030.
After the United States and other countries imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, former Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin spoke up and threatened to stop working with his agency's western counterparts. "I believe that the restoration of normal relations between the partners at the International Space Station and other projects is possible only with full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions," Rogozin said at the time.
While Roscosmos has now agreed to continue cooperating with its fellow ISS partners, the increasing tension between Russia and the US even before the invasion of Ukraine began prompted NASA to prepare for the possibility of the former leaving the space station. NASA and the White House reportedly drew plans to pull astronauts out of the station if Russia leaves abruptly, as well as to keep the ISS running without the Russian thrusters keeping the flying lab in orbit.
Private space companies had reportedly been called in to help out, and a previous report said Boeing already formed a team of engineers to figure out how to control the ISS without Russia's thrusters. It's unclear if the remaining ISS partners will use any of those contingencies after 2028 and if a private space corp will step in to keep the space station running. It's worth noting, however, that NASA and other space agencies are already preparing to leave Low Earth Orbit to explore the moon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/russia-will-continue-supporting-the-international-space-station-until-2028-121505126.html?src=rss
Reddit has announced a new feature for subreddits: chat channels. The launch comes with a disclaimer from the company that previous Chat launches were not done "in the best ways" and that this approach focuses on small communities and mod tools to, ideally, be better.
Chat channels do differ in a few ways from the Live Chat feature, for example, existing as a permanent space in the subreddit, rather than a fleeting post. They're also operated by the mods, who can choose to block responses, pin messages and to chat in a private channel. Mods also control who's allowed in the channel, ranging from open participation all the way to only trusted members.
Reddit
Reddit claims to be building chat channels with space for additional updates, depending on testing results. The company specifically calls out features like automod rules, slow mode and the ability to build custom channel roles as potential developments.
The chat channels announcement came alongside two other small Reddit updates. The company has rolled out an new subreddit header that shrinks the space between the header and posts, makes the search bar into one button and shows tabs like "menu" and "about" by clicking anywhere across the header. Reddit claims these updates increased community subscriptions and actions in tests. It also announced May 9th as an official shutdown date for its Predictions polling game. Users will no longer be able to create or join an active tournament and old tournaments will become inaccessible.
For now, chat channels are still at the pilot program stage with only 25 subreddits testing them out at the moment — totalling less than 100,000 users. Mods interested in trying it out can add their subreddit to a participation waiting list.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-trials-permanent-chat-channels-in-subreddits-114548682.html?src=rss
Since smartphones obliterated the casual photography market, camera manufacturers are focusing on building models designed for very specific uses. Mirrorless cameras continue to improve in autofocus, video and more, while lens ranges expand year on year. Action cams provide sharp, fluid video, compact cameras target both tourists and vloggers and DSLRs are available at some of the best prices we’ve seen. We walk you through 2023’s highlights so far, including full-frame marvels, like Sony's ZV-E1, the Canon EOS R6 II and the Panasonic S5 II. (I am on the precipice of ordering the ZV-E1, myself.)
If you’re considering a camera upgrade, this is a very good time to do so. Engadget’s Steve Dent walks you through the options.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.
Ayaneo has confirmed its upcoming Ayaneo 2S Steam Deck-like handheld console will be powered by an AMD chip identical to the one in the ASUS ROG Ally. The AMD Ryzen 7000 chip is likely the Ryzen 7 7840U, a chip supposed to be nigh on the same as the Ally’s AMD Z1 Extreme. The Ayaneo 2S will also come with a three-pipe cooler and other improvements. The Ayaneo 2S looks identical to the Ayaneo 2 we reviewed earlier this year but has improvements that address some of our key complaints. Namely, the new 7000 series processor with Radeon 780M graphics offers "substantial performance gains.”
It has a detachable visor that stretches across your face.
If Zyou hate breathing in pollutants and don't mind being stared at, then your time might have come: The Dyson Zone headphones are finally available to buy in the US. They're available on Dyson Direct in prussian blue and bright copper, with case, soft pouch, two filters and an in-flight adapter kit, all for the low, low price at $949. Here’s what we thought of the Zone.
Teenage Engineering has long made music gadgets with slick design and features, and now it’s dabbling in microphones. The CM-15 is described as the world’s “first all-in-1 mic offering.” There is a built-in battery that gets ten hours of use per charge, or you can plug it into any USB-C port to get some juice. As for connections, there’s a 3.5mm line output, a mini XLR and the aforementioned USB-C port. The microphone includes a built-in preamp, too. However, it’ll cost over $1,200 to bring this stylish microphone home. It starts shipping in June.
It’s been exclusive to the Direct sales platform since launch.
The well-reviewed yet pricey PlayStation VR2 headset is making its way to retailers after a two-month stint of exclusivity at Sony’s own website. The company shared the news on Twitter but has not set an official date or even announced what lucky retailers would get their mitts on the PS5-adjacent headset. Sony tells customers to check with local retailers for availability information.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-theres-never-been-a-better-time-to-be-a-camera-nerd-111437803.html?src=rss
Everyone loves a good to-do list, and now they're spreading into PC games. Along with a slew of other new features, Steam's latest update includes an integrated Notes app as part of a re-vamped in-game overlay tool. It lets you write thoughts and tasks down about the game you're playing then runs on top of the game while you play, which you can access across any PC you log into and when playing offline.
Valve
At any time you can pin the to-do list right to your gaming screen, adjusting its opacity based on your preferences. Guides, discussions and whatever is on your browser (even the show you're watching) can also be clipped to the game.
Steam's other updates to the in-game overlay include a revamped toolbar and overview. The new toolbar has everything from chat to guides, customizable depending on fields you want to see and in either icon or list mode. The game overview will fill you in on information like accomplishment progress, friends' game play and news about that title.
Notifications have also cleaned up a bit with less interruptions of things unrelated to you. The tray will only display newest notifications, but you can still view all if you want. The last in-game Steam update is for screenshots, allowing you to choose between large and small thumbnails, while also sorting screenshots by most recent, instead of per game.
These features are only available through the Steam Client Beta at the moment, but if you’ve never opted into the Beta version before, it’s pretty simple. All you need to do is go to settings (it will be called preferences if you're on a Mac), click the change button where it says Beta Participation in the Accounts tab and choose Steam Beta Update. Once you restart Steam, the Beta features will become visible.
Valve asserts that a lot of its recent work has gone towards improving code sharing between Steam Desktop Client, Deck and Big Picture mode. The company claims this should allow future features to roll out quicker across the different platforms.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-now-lets-you-pin-to-do-lists-in-each-game-102547041.html?src=rss
The USS Enterprise has gone through several iterations across TV shows and movies, and now Star Trek fans can explore them as much as they want to online. As Deadline reports, the latest update to the Roddenberry Archive adds 360-degree virtual recreations of the famous Starship Enterprise bridge as depicted in various Star Trek properties. It has the bridge from Star Trek: The Original Series, Picard, Discovery and Strange New Worlds, arranged according to timeline in the new web portal. Fans can click on the version of the Enterprise they want to see and then expand the virtual bridge, which they can drag around and explore to see its beeping panels and displays.
The Roddenberry Archive is a multi-decade collaboration between the estate of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and cloud graphics company OTOY. This is their largest set of digital archive works to date, and it was launched with accompanying videos, including a William Shatner interview with a holographic version of the 1979 USS Enterprise bridge as a background. John de Lancie, who has portrayed Q since 1987’s Star Trek: The Next Generation, also narrates the history of the Starship Enterprise bridge across decades of shows and movies.
The Roddenberry Archive team is working to add more virtual set recreations fans can explore in the future aside from the ones already available. One of the projects they're working on is a 1:1 scale recreation of the entire Starship Enterprise from the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/star-trek-experience-lets-you-virtually-walk-around-every-starship-enterprise-bridge-093257021.html?src=rss
Now that it's solved its supply shortages, Sony is seeing a lot of pent-up demand for PlayStation 5 consoles. The company just announced its second consecutive blockbuster quarter, selling 6.3 million PS5s — an impressive figure in a non-holiday period — compared to 2 million last year. That brings its total for fiscal year 2022 to 19.1 million, handily beating its own forecast of 18 million. The company has now sold 38.4 million PS5s since the console was released in late 2020.
The news wasn't quite as good on the software side. Game sales were down to 68 million from 70.5 million a year ago, and lower for the fiscal year (264.2 million compared to 303.2 million in fiscal 2021). PlayStation Network users dropped to 108 million from 112 million the quarter before, though PS Plus subs were up very slightly.
All of that added up to a fairly large boost in revenue in the Gaming & Network Services division, up to 1.073 trillion yen ($7.9 billion) compared to 665 billion yen ($4.9 billion) the year before. Operating profit was down, though, due to a hit in foreign exchange rates. For the year, Sony hit 3.9 trillion yen in sales ($29 billion), up from 2.7 trillion yen ($19.9 billion) the year prior.
The company is confident that trajectory will continue into next year, forecasting a 7 percent boost in revenue for fiscal 2023. It's predicting increased hardware sales, including peripherals, though it didn't say anything about results for the PlayStation VR2 to date.
Sony's gaming segment still dominates its other divisions, though its chip/sensor and entertainment technologies (TVs, cameras, etc.) were also bright spots. Overall, Sony set a new fiscal year sales record with 11.5 trillion yen in sales ($84.8 billion) and 1.21 trillion yen ($8.9 billion) in profits.
Sony, of course, just scored a major win over its biggest rival as well. Yesterday, the UK blocked Microsoft's merger with Activision over cloud gaming concerns, though Microsoft has vowed to contest the decision.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-has-sold-over-384-million-ps5s-following-a-record-breaking-year-080509020.html?src=rss
Canada has passed its controversial streaming bill that requires Netflix, Spotify and other companies to pay to support Canadian series, music and other content, the CBC has reported. After clearing a final hurdle in the Senate on Thursday, Bill C-11 imposes the same content laws on streamers as it does on traditional broadcasters. The government has promised that the bill only applies to companies and not individual content creators on YouTube or other platforms.
The new rules give the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulator broad powers over streaming companies, which could face fines or other penalties if they don't comply with the new laws. "Online streaming has changed how we create, discover, and consume our culture, and it's time we updated our system to reflect that," a Canadian government press release states.
Critics have said that the bill could cause over-regulation online. "Under this archaic system of censorship, government gatekeepers will now have the power to control which videos, posts and other content Canadians can see online," Canada's Conservative opposition wrote on a web page dedicated to C-11. Streaming companies like YouTube and TikTok opposed the bill as well.
The law has also been criticized for being overly broad, with a lack of clarity on how it will apply in some cases. "The bill sets out a revised broadcasting policy for Canada, which includes an expanded list of things the Canadian broadcasting system 'should' do," a Senate page states. "But precisely what this would mean in concrete terms for broadcasters is not yet known."
Canada is far from the first country to enact local content rules for streaming companies, though. The EU requires a minimum of 30 percent locally produced content for member nations, most of which easily exceed that. Australia also recently announced that content quotas will be placed on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and the other international streamers by July of 2024.
Some notable Canadian series include Schitt's Creek, Letterkenny and M'entends-tu. Numerous US and international shows are also shot in "Hollywood North" in cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, including The Handmaid's Tale, The Boys, Riverdale and others.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/canadas-controversal-streaming-bill-just-became-law-065036243.html?src=rss
