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Back in 2021, a law took effect in New York City that requires businesses to post conspicuous signs if they're collecting customers' biometric information, such as their facial scans and fingerprints. Now, Amazon is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of failing to inform customers at its Go cashierless stores that it was collecting their biometrics. 

In the lawsuit (PDF), filed by Alfredo Alberto Rodriguez Perez, the plaintiff argues that Go stores constantly use customers' biometrics "by scanning [their palms] to identify them and by applying computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and sensor fusion that measure the shape and size of each customer’s body to identify customers, track where they move in the stores, and determine what they have purchased." It said the company only put up signs about its biometric tracking activities over a year after the law went into effect. 

Amazon's Go stores give shoppers the option to take whatever product they have off shelves and walk out without the need to check out. To be able to enter these stores, customers will need to scan a code from the Amazon app with a connected credit card. However, some locations offer Amazon One, the e-commerce giant's palm-based identity and payment service, as an entry option. The plaintiff's complaint said the sign informs customers that Amazon will not be collecting their biometrics unless they choose to sign up for Amazon One. However, "Amazon Go stores do collect biometric identifier information on every single customer, including information on the size and shape of every customers body," the complaint argues.

In a statement sent to NBC News, an Amazon spokesperson defended the company's practices and technologies. They explained that Amazon does not use facial recognition, and any system it uses to identify shoppers inside its Go stores don't constitute biometric tech. "Only shoppers who choose to enroll in Amazon One and choose to be identified by hovering their palm over the Amazon One device have their palm-biometric data securely collected," they insisted, "and these individuals are provided the appropriate privacy disclosures during the enrollment process."

The lawsuit's outcome could then depend on whether the court sees someone's body shape and size as biometric information. In the complaint, the plaintiff quotes NYC Admin Code 22-1201's definition of a biometric identifier in context of the law as "a physiological or biological characteristic that is used by or on behalf of a commercial establishment, singly or in combination, to identify, or assist in identifying, an individual, including, but not limited to: (i) a retina or iris scan, (ii) a fingerprint or voiceprint, (iii) a scan of hand or face geometry, or any other identifying characteristic."

Discord is finally giving you the power to customize your desktop app's interface with various themes for its latest beta test. The messaging app has introduced Themes — one of its most requested features — with 16 pre-made options to choose from. The not-so-good news? You'll only be able to apply them if you're paying for Nitro, its most expensive subscription option. 

Nitro does have other perks, including a bigger file-sharing limit, 4K and 60fps streaming, as well as the ability to send messages up to 4,000 characters in length. But if you don't really need any of them, it's a matter of deciding whether it's worth paying $10 a month or $100 a year for the subscription tier just to be able to access Discord's themes. 

In case you have been waiting for the feature to drop and do decide to pay for Nitro, you can choose from the available color schemes by going to Appearance under Settings. You'll now see a new Color section under the existing Light and Dark themes, where you can find the main 16 choices. There's apparently another hidden color scheme you can see when you click on the Preview Themes button to test out each option before applying one. Thankfully, Discord is allowing you to use the preview button even if you don't have an existing Nitro subscription, so you can at least check out what's available before you make a purchase. 

Trombone Champ is a blast to watch, but a beast to play even compared to some other rhythm games — you try nailing a slide during the "William Tell Overture." Thankfully, developer Holy Wow Studios is putting the game within reach of more players. It's introducing an "Autotoot" option that takes away the need to press buttons. If you have hand mobility issues, you'll have a better chance of squonking your way to an S rank. Your score is halved to prevent leaderboard cheating, but you can advance the story.

The update is also more streamer-friendly, with icons warning when a tune might be muted on services like Twitch. It's faster to restart a track when your performance goes askew, and you'll see your character in the points screen.

Trombone Champ quickly became a viral sensation after its debut last September. Anyone who's familiar with Guitar Hero or Rock Band will grasp the basic mechanics, but the laugh-'til-you-cry hilarity of playing trombone over classic pieces can't be overstated — this is one of those precious games where messing up is almost more entertaining than a perfect score. And that's before you throw in unofficial songs that put brass where it clearly doesn't belong.

Autotoot is also part of a larger trend of improving accessibility in games. Titles like The Last of Us now make accommodations for a wide range of mobility, hearing and vision abilities. Input devices like Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller and Sony's Project Leonardo are also making many games viable for people who can't use conventional gamepads.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, have developed a flexible 3D bioprinter that can layer organic material directly onto organs or tissue. Unlike other bioprinting approaches, this system would only be minimally invasive, perhaps helping to avoid major surgeries or the removal of organs. It sounds like the future — at least in theory — but the research team warns it’s still five to seven years away from human testing.

The printer, dubbed F3DB, has a soft robotic arm that can assemble biomaterials with living cells onto damaged internal organs or tissues. Its snake-like flexible body would enter the body through the mouth or anus, with a pilot / surgeon guiding it toward the injured area using hand gestures. In addition, it has jets that can spray water onto the target area, and its printing nozzle can double as an electric scalpel. The team hopes its multifunctional approach could someday be an all-in-one tool (incising, cleaning and printing) for minimally invasive operations.

The F3DB’s robotic arm uses three soft-fabric-bellow actuators using a hydraulic system composed of “DC-motor-driven syringes that pump water to the actuators,” as summarized by IEEE Spectrum. Its arm and flexible printing head can each move in three degrees of freedom (DOFs), similar to desktop 3D printers. In addition, it includes a flexible miniature camera to let the operator view the task in real time.

The research team ran its first lab tests on the device using non-biomaterials: chocolate and liquid silicone. They later tested it on a pig’s kidney before finally moving onto biomaterials printed onto a glass surface in an artificial colon. “We saw the cells grow every day and increase by four times on day seven, the last day of the experiment,” said Thanh Nho Do, co-leader of the team and Senior Lecturer at UNSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering. “The results show the F3DB has strong potential to be developed into an all-in-one endoscopic tool for endoscopic submucosal dissection procedures.”

The team believes the device is brimming with potential, but further testing will be necessary to bring it into the real world. The next steps would include studying its use on animals and, eventually, humans; Do believes that’s about five to seven years away. But, according to Ibrahim Ozbolat, professor of engineering science and mechanics at Pennsylvania State University, “commercialization can only be a matter of time.”

Bloober Team has provided an in-depth look at its reimagined Layers of Fear collection. It comprises the original Layers of Fear, Layers of Fear 2, all the expansions for both and a fresh chapter that promises to give fans "a new perspective" on the first game's story. All the series' events will be connected with the help of a new character called The Writer, who is the focus of the 11-minute gameplay video.

The footage shows The Writer exploring a gloomy lighthouse. It doesn't take too long before spooky things start to happen. Your lantern is an important defensive tool against things that go bump in the night. You'll also need it to solve puzzles and reveal secrets.

Bloober Team has reworked the Layers of Fear games in Unreal Engine 5. Based on this evidence, it seems the game has atmospheric visuals that are as pretty as they are eerie. The studio used tools such as the Lumen system, ray-tracing, HDR and volumetric lighting in an attempt to make the game look as lifelike as possible.

You'll be able to explore Layers of Fear and take in all its creepy visuals when it hits PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in June. Meanwhile, Bloober Team is also working on a Silent Hill 2 remake.

Standalone sequencers are something of a luxury in the modern music-making landscape. These days, even the cheapest synths and samplers have at least rudimentary sequencing capabilities. And while many MIDI controllers have on-board sequencers, they’re usually meant to back up live performance rather than replace it. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule (Arturia’s BeatStep Pro remains incredibly popular even eight years after it was introduced), but you have to start looking into the complex and often intimidating world of Eurorack and modular synths to regularly come across devices whose sole purpose is playing back strings of notes for you.

Eventide, best known for its high-end effects units like the H90 and TimeFactor, is not an obvious candidate to delve into the world of Eurorack. But that’s exactly what it decided to do with Misha, its first sequencer. Now, nobody would have blamed the company for playing it safe with its first foray into the space. Instead, it decided to chuck the usual conventions out the window and make something unique that is equal parts fun and confounding, especially if you’re deeply entrenched in traditional music theory and keyboard-based composition.

I am not an adept pianist. Nor do I have a particularly deep knowledge of Western music theory. And even still I initially struggled to wrap my head around Misha. That’s because the buttons on its face don’t play specific notes. Instead they play intervals related to the last note played within a scale.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The easiest way to explain this is through an example. Let’s say we’ve set the Misha to play a C Major scale. Below the screen, which shows you the key and scale, are nine colored buttons labeled -4 through +4. If you press 0, you get a C right off the bat, because that is the root note and it is zero intervals away from the start of the scale. If you press the +1, instead of getting a C#, you’ll get a D, the next note in the scale.

So far, so good, right? But if you press the +1 again, you won’t get a second D, and instead you’ll get an E, one interval higher in the scale. To get a second D note, you’d have to press 0. And if you wanted to go back to C, you’d have to press -1. It’s not complicated necessarily, but it breaks a basic expectation that any musician would understandably have – that if you do the same thing, you should get the same note. If I play the fifth fret on the low E of a guitar, I expect to get an A every time. If the notes continued to climb by five steps, without moving my hands, I would have a much harder time playing anything.

But this is the core concept of the Misha. It’s not built around absolute pitch and instead forces you to compose based purely on the relationships between notes in a scale. If that idea sends you running for the hills, then this probably isn’t the sequencer for you. If, however, you’re like me and intrigued by Misha’s unique approach, hang around and let’s dig a little deeper.

Hardware

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Before we go too far down the rabbit hole of scales, modes and sequencing, let’s take a step back and look at the hardware. While my unit came with a dedicated pod for housing the Misha, it’s ostensibly designed to live in a Eurorack setup. At 28hp wide, it’s a relatively large module, but it’s quite shallow at just 19mm deep, meaning it should fit in even the most portable skiffs. That width is kind of necessary, though. The 17 buttons, two knobs, microUSB port, microSD slot and and 16 ¼” jacks for MIDI, audio and control voltage would feel impossibly cramped on anything smaller.

The layout feels just spacious enough to be viable as a performance tool, without completely dominating a smaller Eurorack setup. The nine interval buttons are well-spaced, the screen is large enough to deliver all the necessary information and the knobs are sturdy. My only issue hardware-wise is that the shift buttons have a hollow spring to them that feels a bit cheap and they make an audible popping sound.

The 12 CV (control voltage) jacks are split across three tracks, with three pairs of gate and CV outputs as well as two inputs each. This gives you a decent amount of options for controlling multiple synth voices or modulating the Misha’s sequencer. There’s also MIDI in and out jacks, as well as stereo out and a clock in. The microUSB port can also be connected to a computer keyboard for use with custom keymappings. You’re not gonna be wanting for connectivity options here.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The screen in the dead center gives you all the info you need about navigating Misha’s interface, though it can take a bit to figure out how it all works. I highly recommend reading the manual. It’s not long and can save you lots of time and frustration. Once you come to grips with how the Misha works, it’s almost deceptively simple. In fact, I frequently felt like I had to be missing something. That, for sure, this module, with all its buttons and knobs and 1-inch screen, was hiding features from me.

Definitely take time to customize those four user buttons, though. While the default functions of up and down one octave (button one and two), and up and down one chromatic step (three and four) are useful enough, they can offer a lot of performance power when mapped to meet your specific needs. Personally I like swapping in “move pitch” for the chromatic steps, and setting it to a fifth. That adds a bit more spice than a simple octave, but generally still works well musically with whatever else is going on.

One last thing worth noting is that Misha has a built-in oscillator that you can turn on in the settings. But, beyond providing a simple sound source for auditioning melodies and generally getting a feel for the sequencer, it’s practically useless. In fact, it’s not even mentioned in the manual.

Composing

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Misha ships with 100 preloaded scales ranging from basic (Melodic Minor), to exotic (Enigmatic), to microtonal insanity (48 note equal-tempered). And, if somehow that’s not enough for you, there are 100 user slots for loading your own scala files. Between the various scales, modes and keys, the musical options baked into Misha are seemingly endless.

The most immediate way to start exploring them is to select a scale and then start pressing the interval buttons. This is actually a pretty satisfying way of playing an instrument, too. I don’t have a big rig to stick this in, but I paired it with Cre8Audio’s East Beast and West Pest, as well as the Moog Subharmonicon and Elektron Digitone all to wonderful effect.

This is not the sort of process you go to when you want to translate a melody you hear in your head to the real world. Perhaps someone could train themselves to think in intervals to use Misha that way, but it would take a lot of work. Instead this can create happy accidents. You just have to pay especially close attention to what you play to make sure you can recreate anything that catches your ear.

Now, yes, there are ways to lock a controller to a specific scale, similar to the Misha – basically making it impossible to play out of tune. But there’s something about playing intervals instead of notes that feels both intuitive and surprising, in a way a keyboard never could. Crafting melodies becomes a rewarding exploration where I’m basically forced to cede control, rather than a frustrating attempt to use my limited theory knowledge to turn ideas into reality.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

One of the few things I have to decide beforehand is how many octaves I want to play around in. Setting the note range to two octaves, for instance, means, once I climb beyond that cap, the intervals will swing back around to two octaves below my root note. It’s probably best to try and avoid going all the way around, though. Jumping down two octaves can sound a tad harsh.

The octave limits also apply when using Misha as a sequencer, so you can play a melody line spread out over four octaves worth of a scale before starting over. The sequencer, though, is where things get a little dicey. It’s built around the idea of a “tone row,” a device used in serial composition where all twelve notes in the chromatic scale are played, without repetition, to create a motif. The innovation here is that this concept of a tone row can be applied to any scale, not just a twelve-note, Western chromatic one.

This method of composition definitely falls on the experimental end of the spectrum and with certain scales it can come off a little awkward. This also means that the number of steps in a sequence is dependent on which scale you’re using. A single octave sequence in a minor pentatonic scale will only have five steps, while two octaves of the quarter tone scale will have 48 steps. While I appreciate the novel approach, part of me really wishes that the tone row was a mode you could turn on and off. I’d love to see Eventide add a more traditional sequencer through a firmware update where notes can be repeated.

There is also a chord mode that allows you to send three-notes out over MIDI or divided between the three CV outs. If you have a Eurorack setup with multiple synth voices, this is a great way to create some complexity and variation, especially if you have other utilities that can further modulate what the Misha puts out. For example, you can send the root note through a simple arpeggiator for the bass while using the other notes to play leads or pads. Unfortunately, there is no onboard way to sequence chord voicings. You can manually change it while performing, but it’s kind of a pain. Alternatively, you could use another sequencer to send MIDI CCs to Misha and change chord voicings, which seems like overkill.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Easily the best way to use the Misha is as a performance tool paired with an external MIDI controller. Here, the white keys give you an even broader range of interval jumps (nine in either direct) as well as quick access to the root note, while the black keys can repeat a note, play a random scale note or move chromatically up and down one step at a time. And, of course, you can still hit the four user programmable buttons on the front of the module or even map other notes on the keyboard to put more variables at your fingertips.

Wrap-up

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

At $599, Misha is not cheap. And that jumps to $699 if you need a Eurorack pod and power adapter. But it’s also truly unique. If the allure of interval based performance or tone row sequencing is what you’re after, well, this is the only game in town (at least that I’m aware of). I’m sure that there are ways of getting a similar effect using software, but when it comes to hardware, this is it.

I do wish that Eventide made a few more concessions to traditional composition, though. I want to be able to repeat notes or program passages that are an arbitrary length, rather than be limited to the number of notes in a scale. Maybe those will be added in a future firmware update, at which point it might be harder to come up with reasons not to buy one. For now, Misha is a pricey, niche tool that’s also undeniably playful and creative.

It's Friday, which means today we put together the best deals in tech we saw this week. It's also St. Patrick's day and we could make a dumb joke about "saving some green" — but we won't. Instead, we'll just note that the Apple Watch SE dropped to its lowest price yet and the Beats Fit Pro are getting a steep $55 discount at Woot. Wellbots is also taking $55 off of a pair of earbuds, dropping Google's Pixel Buds Pro down to $145 when you use the Engadget coupon. And speaking of vouchers, the 2022 iPad Air is $99 off at Amazon when you add click on the extra discount at checkout. Meanwhile, the very excellent (and previously tough to find) Steam Deck got its first discount ever, taking 10 percent off the portable gaming system. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Apple Watch SE

You can snag Apple's most affordable smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE, for its lowest price yet. It's on sale for $219, after a 12 percent discount, which matches the steepest discount we've seen since its debut. We gave it a review score of 89, calling it the best smartwatch $250 can buy. There's no always-on display and it doesn't have blood oxygen sensors, skin temperature readings or ECG monitoring like the Series 8. The screen isn't quite as robust either. But for $219 you'll get a fully featured smartwatch with excellent app integration and plenty of health-tracking features.

Beats Fit Pro

Beats Fit Pro are premium earbuds that usually come at a premium price, but right now Woot has them for 28 percent off. That brings them to $145, which is the lowest we've ever seen them go for. We gave them an 87 in our review, praising the excellent active noise cancellation, powerful sound and punchy bass. They also happen to fit a wide range of ear shapes thanks to the "fit wing" that's comfortable while keeping the buds securely in place. 

The Beats audio brand is owned by Apple, so they take on some of the more helpful iOS compatibility features like good Siri integration and support for spatial audio. Despite that, they'll also pair up with Android devices. Though if you're an Android person, you might check out the deal on Pixel Buds Pro, below.  

Google Pixel Buds Pro

If you use an Android phone, the Pixel Buds Pro are what we recommend. Right now, a discount code at Wellbots will knock $55 off the list price, bringing them down to just $145. Enter ENGTGOOGLE at checkout to get the deal. In our review of the Pixel Buds Pro, we appreciated the responsive touch controls, excellent bass and solid noise cancellation. They've got an excellent 11-hour battery life if you're not using active noise cancellation. Turn the feature off — and drop the buds in the charging case — and you'll get a full 20 hours on a charge. One of our complaints was a lack of quality in handling phone calls, but if you're more of a texter anyway, perhaps that won't matter as much. Our other concern was the price. But with $55 off, that's less of an issue.

The same code will also give you $55 off on the Google Pixel Watch. You can read our review of Google's latest wearable here.

Apple Watch Series 8

The Apple Watch 8 with GPS connectivity in the 41mm size usually goes for $399, but Amazon is selling it for $329 right now, which matches the lowest price we've seen it drop to a few times before. The sale only covers the Product Red and Midnight colorways, and doesn't extend to the larger 45mm case size. Still, it's a nice, $70 savings on a wearable we think is one of best smartwatches on the market right now.

It's got tons of health integrations including blood oxygen sensors, ECG abilities, temperature monitoring, crash detection and of course all of Apple's fitness tracking and coaching. It's only designed to work for iPhone users, so if you're an Android person, you might want to check out our other recommended smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 5, which is on sale for 21 percent off, or just $220.

Steam Deck

To celebrate a the one-year birthday of their very excellent Steam Deck, Valve is knocking ten percent off the list price of all there configurations of the gaming handheld. The sale brings the 64GB model to $359.10, and the 256GB variant to $476.10. The 512GB version, which includes premium anti-glare glass and a carrying case, is selling for $584.10. 

Delivery is expected to take one to two weeks, and in the meantime, you can stock up on games to play on your system once it arrives. Hundreds of titles are discounted, including many of the top 100 most-played. Discounts range from 10 to 75 percent off, making it a very good time to get started with a more portable way of accessing many of the best games in your Steam library.  

SAMSUNG T7 1TB SSD

Can you have too much storage? Probably not. Right now you can get a terabyte of portable SSD storage in Samsung's T7 drive for 20 percent off. That makes the SSD $80 instead of $100, which is its lowest price to date. It's our current pick for best portable SSD thanks to the fast reads speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. For those who need to store even more, the 2TB size is 53 percent off, but only in grey. If you need a red one, you'll save a little less, as that colorway is only 47 percent off.  

Smaller Samsung drives are on sale too, including the 128GB EVO Select card. It's going for the lowest price we've seen yet of just $12.49. 

Blink Video Doorbell

If you want to keep tabs on your front door, here's a chance to do it for an extremely low price. Amazon-owned Blink is already one of the most competitively priced brands in the smart home market, but a sale on some of their more popular devices are making them even more affordable. The Blink Video Doorbell is 30 percent off, or $35 dollars, which matches the product's all-time low price. Of course, you'll have to weigh the benefits of keeping an eye on your doorstep against privacy concerns surrounding these types of products from Amazon. 

You can add cameras to your exterior video coverage with a 43 percent discount on at two-pack of Blink Outdoor cams. If you'd rather go with a smart home brand that's not Amazon, Arlo's Essential Video Doorbell is our pick for best smart doorbell in our guide and it's 51 percent off right now, bringing the usually pricy device down to a more affordable $99. 

Apple 2022 iPad Air

The iPad we recommend for most people is currently $99 off at Amazon — after you apply the coupon at checkout. That makes 2022's M1 iPad Air in the 64GB configuration $500 instead of $599 and the 256GB model $650 instead of $749. The deal applies to the purple, pink and starlight colors — the space gray variants are only getting a standard seven or nine percent discount, depending on the size, and aren't currently offering the coupon.  

We gave the tablet a top-notch score of 90 in our review, calling it a future-proof iPad. The M1 chip makes it speedy enough for content creation and gaming while easily handling more intensive workflows. The battery life is great and the front camera is far improved over the previous model — though it's still on the top of the portrait edge, which can make you seem off-centered in video calls if you have it in landscape orientation. It also doesn't use that great camera to take advantage of Face ID, you'll still need to use a fingerprint on the button or tap in your unlock code. 

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

We keep a close eye on the price for Apple's AirPods Pro. They're undoubtedly great earbuds (I'm wearing some now as I type this) but they're not cheap (I'm indefinitely borrowing my set from my mother). They've once again dropped back to their lowest price, making them $250 instead of $200. We saw the same sale back in February, so if you missed that, now's your chance. 

They're our current favorite option for iPhone users, according to our guide to wireless earbuds. They've got Apple's new H2 chip to deliver better noise cancellation and an impressive transparency mode. The battery life isn't as long as some competitors — you'll only get about six hours on a charge, though the case delivers an extra three charges before you need to plug in again. Check out our full review here. 

JBL Flip 6

A few of our favorite Bluetooth speakers from JBL are up to 38 percent off at Amazon right now. That includes the Flip 6, which $30 off, bringing the waterproof speaker down to $100. We named the Flip 6 one of our favorite portable wireless speakers in our guide. It's got great sound quality for its relatively small size (just over a pound, and only seven inches long) and it's plenty durable. 

The biggest discount goes to the JBL GO2 with a 38 percent discount making it just $25. It's got five hours of battery life, a waterproof rating and is just three inches tall. That one didn't make it into our top picks, but a similarly diminutive speaker that did, the Tribit StormBox Micro 2, is also on sale with a 21 percent discount.  

The Charge 5, which we also recommend in our Bluetooth speaker guide is on sale for 22 percent off. That's not an all-time low, but takes $40 off the usual list price. JBL's Charge 4 is a little cheaper to begin with and has roughly the same specs, including a two-pound size and 20 hour battery life. It's on sale for 25 percent off, bringing it down to $113. And if you'd rather buy direct from JBL, many of the same deals can be found on their site as well. 

Echo Show 15

Falling between a home hub and a smart TV, Amazon's Echo Show 15 can control your smart home and play your favorite shows. It's seeing a $55 discount this week, bringing it down to $195. If you want to include a remote for a more TV-like experience, that bundle is $55 off too, or $225. After we reviewed the 15 when it first came out, Amazon added the Fire TV component, giving a little more utility to what could be seen as a niche display. It's wall-mountable so you could use it in the kitchen as a family bulletin board, one that's also capable of implementing all of your Alexa-based requests and playing a cooking show while you heat up leftovers.  

Fire TV Stick 4K

As part of a larger sale, Amazon is discounting the Fire TV Stick 4K to $30. That's a 40 percent discount and only $5 more than the all-time low it dropped to for the holidays last November. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which supports WiFi 6 and comes with a little more RAM, is 36 percent off, making it $35 instead of $55. If you don't have a TV that'll support 4K images anyway, you may as well save a little money and go with the standard Fire TV Stick. It's down to $27 after taking 33 percent off. All three will turn any set into a smart TV, letting you add and organize apps through Amazon's Fire TV OS, while also giving you control over your Alexa-enabled smart home devices. 

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Rivian is issuing a recall for airbag-related issues for the second time in the last few weeks. The EV automaker is notifying affected owners of the R1S SUV (2022-23) about potentially faulty side-curtain airbags.

The recall says one or more of the models’ side-curtain airbags (left or right side) may not have been properly fastened. A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the affected models were manufactured at the company’s Normal, IL plant between October 28th, 2022 and January 21st, 2023. Rivian began contacting customers on March 2nd to schedule an inspection and secure them properly. In addition, the company says it will reimburse any owners who already paid for the repair elsewhere.

Although the latest recall only affects 30 vehicles, it’s the second time the automaker has issued an airbag-related recall in less than a month. A March 1st one was much broader, affecting over 12,000 R1T pickups and R1S SUVs (2022) over an airbag deployment issue. In that case, a supplier’s faulty seatbelt sensors, which prevented the front passenger airbags from deploying, were the culprit. However, the vast majority in that group won’t likely have the flaw, as Rivian estimated only one percent of the recalled vehicles were affected.

Although the recalls won’t likely hurt Rivian’s finances significantly, it still isn’t a great look for the young automaker — especially when it recently laid off six percent of its workforce for the second time in less than a year.

Google is facing pushback from some of its 12,000 laid-off employees. CNBC has learned that over 100 ex-staffers have formed a "Laid off on Leave" group asking Google to pay for the full leaves they were approved to take before the January 20th layoff announcement, including parental, medical and caregiver leave. While the company said in early 2022 that it was extending all parental leave to 18 weeks for full-time staff (24 weeks for birth parents), it told terminated employees that they'd get 16 weeks of severance pay plus two weeks for every added year of employment, with paid time off included.

The group members say the approach has not only impacted their parenting plans (including those who had recently given birth), but has also disrupted healthcare. Some former workers tell CNBC they lost access to Google's in-house medical care the day they received their layoff notices, denying them access to ongoing in-person treatment. Google has offered virtual doctor's appointments, but has otherwise asked affected people to find alternatives.

We've asked Google for comment. In a statement to CNBC, Google repeated its 16-week severance pay plan and noted that outgoing employees would be eligible for regular salary and stocks for their "60+ day" notice window. Google claims its accommodations for people on leave compare "favorably" with those of other companies.

The affected people are demanding that CEO Sundar Pichai and other management quickly clarify the leave policy. Google is poised to finalize severance terms as soon as March 31st.

Google is far from alone in creating potential issues for workers laid off while on leave. Numerous tech giants have announced mass layoffs in the past several months as they grapple with a tough economy. However, the uproar at Google highlights one of the problems these companies face: they previously promised extensive benefits to attract would-be hires, but now have to reconsider those perks as they cut costs.

Meta's paid verification program is available in the US starting today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Instagram channel. Those who sign up for Meta Verified will get a blue verification badge on Facebook and Instagram, "proactive impersonation protection" and direct access to customer support, Zuckerberg said. It costs $12 per month via the web and $15 per month if you become a Meta Verified member through iOS or Android to account for those platform's cuts of in-app payments. You'll also get some stars, which you can use to tip Facebook creators, and extra stickers for Stories and Reels.

The company debuted the program in Australia and New Zealand last month. Verified differs from Twitter Blue, through which folks can pay for a blue check mark and other perks, as it requires Instagram and Facebook users to provide Meta with a piece of government ID that matches the name and photo on their account.

Meta Verified subscribers can't change their profile name or photo, username or date of birth unless they're willing to go through the verification process again. Any notable Instagram or Facebook account that was previously verified will keep their blue check.