ArduinoMania

Hate sitting in rush hour traffic? Ford knows you do — and the company is doubling down on developing automated driving technology to help make traffic a little more tolerable. Today, Ford announced the creation of Latitude AI, a wholly owned subsidiary that aims to make driving less stressful, specifically in "bumper-to-bumper traffic or on long stretches of highway."

The idea seems to be to develop a more advanced version of Ford BlueCruise — but without sensors that warn drivers to pay attention if their eyes wander from the road. Ford's announcement instead imagines the system giving drivers an "eyes-off-the-road" experience that can give them "some of their day back."

This isn't the first time Ford has spun off part of its company to focus on automation. Back in 2018, it founded Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC to focus on developing self-driving car technology. Later, that group was placed under the umbrella of Ford Next, a unit formed in 2021 to help Ford manage startups, new mobility services and manage the company's stake in Argo AI. This new company seems to be a way to continue Argo AI's work following its closure last year: Ford says 550 of Latitude AI's new employees are former Argo AI workers.

Ford previously promised to invest $29 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025. Forming Latitude AI shows that the company is still serious about the investment, despite Argo AI's closure in 2022. “We believe automated driving technology will help improve safety while unlocking all-new customer experiences that reduce stress and in the future will help free up a driver’s time to focus on what they choose," Latitude AI CEO Sammy Omari said in a company statement. 

A Dead by Daylight movie is on the way. Production studios Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are teaming up with gaming studio Behaviour Interactive to oversee the film adaptation of the multiplayer horror title. In addition, the companies are beginning their search for a director and screenwriter as Hollywood (perhaps naively) hopes HBO’s excellentThe Last of Us ushers in a new era of video game adaptations worth watching.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Jason Blum and James Wan, two giants of the horror film industry, to further expand the Dead by Daylight universe,” said Stephen Mulrooney, Behaviour Interactive’s executive vice president. “At Behaviour, our motto is to create unique moments, together, forever. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft Dead by Daylight’s killer entrance onto the big screen.”

The game has been a horror / survival staple since its 2016 launch. The one vs. four multiplayer title splits teams into either survivors or the killer; the survivors aim to activate generators and escape while the killer seeks to hunt them down. It’s added DLC monsters through the years, including Freddy Kreuger, Pinhead, Leatherface, Evil Dead’s Ash Williams and a surveillance-happy tech executive. Strangely, it even has a dating-sim spinoff arriving later this year.

Mulrooney will co-produce with Atomic Monster CEO James Wan (who also directed The Conjuring and Insidious) and Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum. Blumhouse, which made Paranormal Activity and The Black Phone, is set to merge with Atomic Monster; the deal was announced last year and is expected close this summer.

The Federal Trade Commission has moved to block online counseling company BetterHelp from sharing health data, including mental health information, with the likes of Facebook and Snapchat for advertising. As part of a proposed order, BetterHelp has agreed to pay $7.8 million to consumers to settle charges that it shared sensitive data for advertising purposes after promising to keep the information private.

This marks the first time the agency has reached an agreement with a company to return money to consumers after their health data was allegedly compromised. The order will be subject to public comment for 30 days before the agency decides whether to finalize it.

If the order comes into effect, it will ban BetterHelp from sharing data from users (including those who accessed the company's website or app without signing up for its services) with select third parties for ad targeting. The FTC alleges that BetterHelp shared users' email addresses, IPs and health questionnaire responses with Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest. The agency said this allowed Facebook, for instance, to target similar users with BetterHelp ads, which helped to drive tens of thousands of paid users and millions of dollars in revenue to the counseling company.

The FTC claims BetterHelp didn't receive explicit consent from users before sharing their health data, which it pledged to keep private except for limited uses, such as counseling purposes. In its complaint (PDF), the agency also accused BetterHelp of not limiting the scope of how third-party companies could use the health data it shared with them.

"When a person struggling with mental health issues reaches out for help, they do so in a moment of vulnerability and with an expectation that professional counseling services will protect their privacy,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said in a statement. "Instead, BetterHelp betrayed consumers’ most personal health information for profit. Let this proposed order be a stout reminder that the FTC will prioritize defending Americans’ sensitive data from illegal exploitation."

The proposed order, which FTC commissioners approved unanimously, will require BetterHelp to, among other things, obtain explicit consent from users before sharing their data with some third parties for any reason. The company will need to establish privacy protocols to protect user data and delete personal and health information after a certain period of time. Moreover, BetterHelp will have to instruct the companies it allegedly shared user health and personal data with to wipe such information from their servers.

Movies Anywhere announced Wednesday that it’s soon shutting down Screen Pass, its movie-sharing feature launched during COVID-19 lockdowns. The Disney-owned platform didn’t provide a reason for the closure.

“As the experience continues to evolve, we want to notify you that effective May 1 users will no longer be able to use the Screen Pass feature to send a Screen Pass,” the announcement reads. “For Screen Passes sent prior to May 1, recipients will still be able to accept and finish watching the movie before their passes expire. As of June 1, the Screen Pass feature will no longer be supported.”

Screen Pass lets users send three movie passes monthly to friends or family without sharing login info. As long as you’ve redeemed a code with the service in the past six months, it lets you send a link through text, email or instant message that gives the recipient seven days to accept and 14 days to begin watching; once the movie starts, they have 72 hours to finish.

Movies Anywhere, launched in 2014, syncs digital film and television purchases across platforms like the Apple TV app, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu and Microsoft. Fortunately, the platform’s core service remains intact, but sharing your purchases with friends will soon require you to be in the same space (or explore alternate methods).

Even 3D modelling software is using AI art generators. Stability AI has introduced a Stability for Blender tool that, as the name implies, brings Stable Diffusion's image creation tech to the open-source 3D tool. You can create AI-based textures, effects and animations, whether using source material from your renders or nothing more than a text description. You may not need to be (or hire) a skilled 2D artist to put the finishing touches on a project.

Stability for Blender requires an API (programming interface) key and an internet connection, but it's free to use. It doesn't require any software dependencies or a dedicated GPU. This might help if you need to complete some texture or video work on a laptop that isn't as robust as your main workstation.

The addition theoretically saves time and money, and might help streamline your work. It can also help you make truly custom content, Stability says. It's safe to say this may be useful if you were already planning to use AI-generated art, as it could save you jumping between apps and services.

This isn't likely to give Stable Diffusion a major advantage over rivals like OpenAI's DALL-E. It also won't create 3D objects from scratch. You'll need a tool like POINT-E for that. However, it does hint at a way AI image generation can help creatives without as much risk of copyright issues. Stability for Blender can rely on your own content for source material — you shouldn't have to worry about legal trouble.

Microsoft has reportedly cleared a major regulatory hurdle as it tries to move toward finalizing its Activision Blizzard purchase. The company’s licensing offers to competitors are expected to appease European Union (EU) antitrust concerns about the $69 billion acquisition, according to Reuters. The EU previously said it believed the deal could “significantly reduce competition” in PC, console and cloud gaming.

The EU isn’t expected to demand asset sales to approve the deal. However, the potential sale of Call of Duty has been a point of contention; Microsoft wants to hang onto the property while using the licensing agreements to quell regulators. The company has pledged to keep the franchise on competing platforms for at least 10 years if the purchase closes; it’s even bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo’s consoles.

Microsoft says it’s “committed to offering effective  and  easily  enforceable solutions  that address the European Commission’s concerns.” “Our commitment to grant long-term 100% equal access to  Call of Duty to Sony, Steam,  NVIDIA and others preserves the deal’s benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.

The company announced the deal in January 2022 to help it compete against industry leaders Tencent and Sony while developing its take on the metaverse. “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the time.

Microsoft will still need to appease the US Federal Trade Commission and UK regulators before the deal can be finalized. The company only has until July to sort out the antitrust concerns, or it will need to renegotiate or abandon the purchase (which would mean paying a breakup fee of up to $3 billion).

Pizza ovens are all the rage in outdoor tech, and one of the biggest names in the game is Ooni. The company has a full line of models that use wood, charcoal or gas to give you the hot-and-fast pizzeria experience in minutes. Ooni promises high-heat cooking for Neapolitan-style pizza, plus the ability to bake other styles, bread and even sear steaks with its ovens. Until now, all of the company's products have been made for outdoor use, but today it's debuting its first indoor model: the Volt 12.

Taking design cues from the high-end Karu 16, the Volt 12 is also Ooni's first all-electric pizza oven. The company says you can use it indoors or outside thanks to a powder-coated carbon steel exterior and "advanced" insulation that retain heat and withstand the weather. A front-mounted control panel offers temperature, time and balance controls to help you dial-in your cooks. That balance dial allows you to adjust the Volt 12 for different styles, according to Ooni. What's more, an optional boost function returns the baking stone to ideal temp between pies so you're not waiting to launch the next one. 

Interior lighting for the 13-inch surface and an insulated glass door let you keep an eye on things. The company explains that the oven can get hot enough for Neapolitan-style pizza in 90 seconds and is capable of hitting 850 degrees Fahrenheit in 20 minutes. Compare that to the multi-fuel Karu 16 which takes 15 minutes to hit 950 degrees. Ooni says the Volt 12 will turn off after 45 minutes if it detects that nothing is being cooked. The company also touts built-in handles for portability, but the oven does weigh nearly 40 pounds, so it's not so easily tossed in the back of the car on a whim. The Volt 12 also costs $999, on par with Breville's Pizzaiolo, which that company says was the first countertop oven capable of hitting 750 degrees and offers a variety of presets for different styles. 

Ooni

In addition to the Volt 12, Ooni is also revealing the outdoor Karu 12G. A more compact version of the Karu 16, this 12-inch model also offers the ability to use wood or gas to bake pizzas (gas burner sold separately). Design wise, it looks a lot like its predecessor, with the key difference being an analog thermometer on the 12G replacing the digital temperature gauge on the 16. The new 12G also keeps the wide-leg design from the Karu 16 with a locking rear leg for extra stability. 

Ooni says the Karu 12G stays hotter for longer versus the Karu 12 thanks to better heat retention and insulation. There's also a hinged door that helps keep the heat inside, and it's built with a glass panel for baking views. The company explains that better airflow on the Karu 12G leads to more even cooking on the oven that's capable of hitting 950 degrees Fahrenheit. Ooni says this model can hit 850 degrees 29-percent faster than its previous models and it uses 46-percent less gas. The Karu 12G will be available for $429, which is more expensive than the $300 Karu 12, but a little more than half the cost of the $799 Karu 16.

If you've been looking to pick up a new docking station for your computer or a multi-device charger for your mobile gear, a new Amazon sale has brought a few noteworthy accessories from Satechi and Plugable down to the lowest prices we've seen. 

Among the highlights, Satechi's Dock 5 Charging Station is down to $48, which is a $12 discount and matches the device's all-time low. We've recommended this charger in past gift guides; it includes two 20W USB-C ports, two 12W USB-A ports and an integrated 10W Qi charging pad, allowing it to charge five devices at once. While those speeds aren't enough to charge various iPhones, iPads and Android devices at their maximum rates, this should still be an elegant solution for folks who often need to refill several devices at once on a given day. Just note that there are no charging cables in the box.

If you're looking to add more ports to your laptop, meanwhile, a handful of docking stations are also on sale. Satechi's Thunderbolt 4 Dock, for instance, is down to a new low of $200, which is a $100 discount. This gets you three Thunderbolt 4 ports that can supply data transfer speeds up to 40Gbps, 15W of charging and dual 4K video output for external monitors (at 60Hz total), plus three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a slower USB-A 2.0 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD card slot and a combo mic/headphone jack. It can supply a 96W charge to keep your laptop topped up, though there's no HDMI or DisplayPort connectors. Something like CalDigit's TS4 Dock is a more versatile option, but this still adds a fair amount of inputs at a lower cost.

For those who just want to hook up a bunch of USB-A peripherals, Plugable's Dual Display Docking Station might work, as it adds five USB 3.0 ports alongside SD and microSD slots, multiple DisplayPort and HDMI connectors (albeit HDMI 1.4) for 4K/60Hz video and a 100W Power Delivery port. It's down to $159, which is a $40 discount and ties the dock's all-time low. Elsewhere, a similar 10-in-1 Plugable dock is about $30 off at $119, though that one can't supply a charge to your laptop. 

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Nintendo has pulled back the curtain on the next batch of Booster Course Pass tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The fourth slate of added courses will arrive on March 9th — 24 hours before Mario Day (i.e. Mar10).

Along with remastered courses from other Mario Kart games, there's another brand new track this time around. Yoshi’s Island takes inspiration from the SNES classic Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. It will be part of the Fruit Cup along with the windmill- and tulip-laden Tour Amsterdam Drift (from Mario Kart Tour), GBA Riverside Park (Mario Kart: Super Circuit) and Wii DK Summit (Mario Kart Wii). Coming to the Boomerang Cup are Mario Kart Tour tracks Tour Bangkok Rush and Tour Singapore Speedway, along with DS Mario Circuit (Mario Kart DS) and GCN Waluigi Stadium (Mario Kart: Double-Dash!).

Meanwhile, there are a bunch more playable characters coming to the game. Birdo is the first of them and will return to the series when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe gains the next wave of tracks.

There are two more bundles of eight courses on the way to the Booster Course Pass. You can buy the DLC outright for $25. It's also available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, which is $50 per year or $80 per year for the family plan. You'll need to own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to access the DLC, of course. If you're one of the 20 people who don't already have the game on Switch, you'll be able to pick it up at a discount when it goes on sale at some retailers between March 5th and 11th.

Two senators have urged Mark Zuckerberg not to open up Meta's Horizon Worlds to younger teenagers. In early February, reports suggested the company could allow those aged 13 to 17 to use the app as soon as this month in a bid to bolster the userbase and perhaps help justify the billions of dollars Meta has plowed into its metaverse efforts. Horizon Worlds is currently only officially available to adults.

Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal urged Zuckerberg to halt plans to bring the app to under-18s. “In light of your company’s record of failure to protect children and teens and a growing body of evidence pointing to threats to young users in the metaverse, we urge you to halt this plan immediately,” their letter reads, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The senators are said to have highlighted a number of concerns regarding Meta's track record on protecting younger users, as well as research on possible dangers of the metaverse. They noted previous issues such as a Messenger Kids bug that allowed children aged between six and 12 to bypass age restrictions and talk to strangers in some cases.

The duo cited reports from 2021 regarding Meta's internal research, which indicated that Instagram was a harmful platform for many teens, especially girls. Meta responded to the reports by claiming the research also showed that some girls felt positive effects of using Instagram and that the app's team had done a lot of work on issues like bullying and self-harm to make it a safer space. Nevertheless, Meta put plans for an Instagram Kids app on hold following a backlash.

The senators additionally cited research from Common Sense Media in noting that using virtual reality headsets to access metaverse experiences can induce nausea and eye strain, and also impact users' privacy. The letter pointed to Center for Countering Digital Hate research suggesting that users of VRChat, a popular social platform available on Quest headsets, can expose users to abusive behavior every seven minutes.

Following the reports about it bringing Horizon Worlds to younger users, Meta noted that its Quest headsets are designed for users aged 13 and older. As such, a spokesperson indicated that it made sense to offer Horizon Worlds experiences to younger teens with "age-appropriate tools and protections in place."

Horizon's monthly active user figures are said to have hovered just north of 200,000 as of January. Meta reportedly hopes to increase that number to half a million by the end of June and a million by the end of the year. An internal memo indicated that the company sees younger users as the key to helping it reach those goals. Meta also plans to release mobile and web versions of Horizon soon.