We’ve seen Amazon discount its second-generation Echo Show 8 on a handful of occasions over the past few months. But for the first time since Black Friday, you can buy the smart display for $90. That’s a $40 savings over the device’s regular price of $130.

We gave the second-gen Echo Show 8 a score of 87 when we reviewed it last year. We praised Amazon’s smart display for its elegant minimalist design, vibrant 1,280 x 800 resolution display and handy video calling functionality. It has a digital pan-and-zoom face-tracking feature that can follow you while you move around, ensuring you’re always in frame. What’s more, that tool works with every video calling platform available for the device, including Skype and Zoom. Another thing we like about the Echo Show 8 is that it comes with stereo speakers, making it sound much better than the Echo Show 5 with its single mono speaker.

If you’re not in the market for a smart display, Amazon has discounted some of its other devices as well. You can currently pick up the company’s 4th-generation Echo speaker for $80, instead of $100 as it’s usually priced. The second-generation Echo Buds are also on sale. They’re currently $80, down from $120. Neither of those price tags represents an all-time low for their respective device, but they’re decent deals all the same. We’ll also note here Amazon has discounted the Kindle Paperwhite and Fire TV Cube in related sales.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

As part of the lead-up to the February 8th release of Sifu, developer Sloclap offered a digital deluxe version of the game through the PlayStation Store that included early access to the title. If you preordered the bundle, the studio said you would have two days to play Sifu before its official release date.

However, when the early access period began earlier today, PlayStation 4 and PS5 owners found out they couldn't download the game. In a tweet spotted by Eurogamer, developer Sloclap acknowledged the issue and said it was working with Sony to fix it quickly.

“We are aware that there are issues preventing the download of Sifu through the early access on the PlayStation Store, and are very sorry for the inconvenience,” the studio said. “We’re looking into it with PlayStation to fix it as soon as possible, and will update you on the situation very soon.”

A few hours later, Sloclap shared the promised update, noting Sony was actively investigating the issue. “We hope to have it resolved shortly,” the studio said at the time. As of the writing of this article, Sony and Sloclap have yet to fix things. It’s certainly not a good look for either party, but the studio at least promised to do what it could to make it up to its fans.

When Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro line last fall, it left the entry-level model alone. Since then, there have been rumors the company has been working on a new version of the computer that will feature its forthcoming M2 chip. Thanks to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, we now have a better idea of what to expect from the company.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says he expects the entry-level model will follow its siblings in dropping the much-maligned Touch Bar. He notes the computer is unlikely to include the ProMotion display technology found on the 2021 MacBook Pro, meaning it won’t support a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling. Mini-LED backlighting is apparently off the table as well, so don’t expect the base model’s display to get as bright as the screens on its counterparts. Internal storage is another area where you may have to compromise if you decide to buy the new model.

According to Gurman, Apple plans to release at least four M2-powered Macs in 2022. Outside of the aforementioned MacBook Pro, the company is reportedly preparing to refresh the MacBook Air, 24-inch iMac and entry-level Mac Mini to include the latest version of its in-house silicon. There are also reports the company is working on a 27-inch iMac Pro that will feature its M1 Pro and Max chips.

Gurman didn’t say when Apple fans should expect the company to release the new MacBook Pro model. We likely won’t see the computer at the company's next hardware event. In a separate report he published earlier this week, Gurman said Apple plans to host an event sometime on or around March 8th. The company will reportedly announce a new iPhone SE and iPad Air then.

Amazon’s Fire TV Cube has just hit its lowest price ever. The retailer has discounted the device to $70, making it $10 cheaper than it was during the holiday shopping season. Although it’s been a couple of years since Amazon released the Fire TV Cube, it’s still a compelling choice if you want the best possible streaming experience the company has to offer.

With built-in support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+, it can play 4K HDR video from virtually every streaming service out there, including Amazon's own Prime Video. It’s also no slouch in the audio department thanks to the fact it includes Dolby Vision support. Another reason to pick up the Fire TV Cube is that it doubles as an Alexa-capable speaker, allowing you to control your smart home devices with your voice. If you’ve already invested in Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem, that’s probably a less compelling reason to pick up the Fire TV Cube, but it’s still a nice feature to have in a pinch.

If your streaming needs are more modest, Amazon has also discounted the Fire TV Stick Lite. At its current $20 price, it’s only two dollars more than it was during the holiday shopping season. The Fire TV Stick Lite is a good option if you own an older TV as the stick is limited to Full HD streaming. It’s also considered the “Lite” version because you can’t use the included Alexa Voice Remote to control your TV.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple has shared the first trailer for its upcoming TV+ exclusive Shining Girls. Starring Elisabeth Moss of Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale fame as a Chicago reporter in search of the man who assaulted her, the series will debut on April 29th with the first three episodes of the series available to stream that same day. Subsequent episodes will follow every Friday for the next five weeks.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Shining Girls also stars Hamilton actor Phillipa Soo and Wagner Moura, best known for portraying Pablo Escobar in Netflix's Narcos, as the villain of the story. The story centers around a man named Harper Curtis, a Depression-era drifter who finds a house in Chicago with doors to other time periods. Curtis uses that power to kill young women with bright potential. The protagonist of the tale, Kirby Mazrachi, survives her encounter with Curtis and then turns the tables on him.

If you recently downloaded the latest Canary release of Google Chrome, you may have noticed the icon is different. The change marks the first time in eight years that Google has redesigned the symbol representing its iconic web browser. At first glance, it doesn’t look that different, but there’s more to the refresh than meets the eye. In a Twitter thread spotted by The Verge, Google designer Elvin Hu details the thought process that went into the redesign.

If you look carefully, you’ll notice Google removed the shadows that were part of the icon, opting for a more flat design that’s in line with the company’s other products. It also changed the proportions of the symbol while brightening up the individual colors that make it up. But the most impactful change the company introduced is that it added subtle gradients to the green and red segments of the icon. Hu says the company found that certain shades of those two colors produced an “unpleasant color vibration” when placed next to one another. You can see a more apparent example of the phenomenon Hu talks about on this website. Either way, the result of the change is an icon that is “more accessible.”

Depending on where you use Chrome, you’ll see additional subtle changes. That’s because Hu says Google spent time customizing the icon to make it more at home in every operating system where you can download Chrome. On macOS, for instance, the symbol will look more three-dimensional. On iOS, meanwhile, there will be a special blueprint version of the icon tied to the beta release of the software. According to Hu, we’ll see the refreshed icon roll out over the next few months.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but a North American automaker is about to temporarily reduce its manufacturing output due to the ongoing global chip shortage. A Ford spokesperson told Reuters on Friday the automaker would cut or suspend production at eight of its factories across the US, Mexico and Canada. The shutdown will start on February 7th. Among other facilities, the decision will affect the Kansas City plant where Ford produces the F-150, one of its most popular and profitable vehicles.

This isn’t the first time Ford has felt the chip crunch, nor has it been the only automaker affected by the situation. Last September, General Motors temporarily suspended production at all but four of its North American factories amid component shortages. At the start of the year, the US Commerce Department warned semiconductor-related supply constraints would last until at least the second of half of 2022. “We aren’t even close to being out of the woods,” Department Secretary Gina Raimondo said at the time. 

Companies like Ford have taken action to address the problem. In November, the company announced a strategic partnership with GlobalFoundries to boost US semiconductor production, but the automaker likely won’t benefit from that arrangement for a while. In the meantime, Ford told Reuters it expects its production volume to “improve significantly” in the second half of the year.

HBO Max is not bringing back The Boondocks for an additional two seasons. In 2019, before the streaming service was even available, WarnerMedia announced that it had greenlit a 24-episode revival of the beloved Adult Swim animated series that was supposed to debut in the fall of 2020. In the two years since that announcement, there’s been almost no news about the series. Until now.

In an interview with the Geekset Podcast spotted by Gizmodo, Tom DuBois voice actor Cedric Yarbrough said the reboot isn’t moving forward. “I hate to say this, but right now the show is not coming back,” Yarbrough told the podcast. “Sony [Pictures Animiation]… they decided they’re going to pull the plug.” Yarbrough didn’t say why the company made that decision but noted that recording sessions for the show had started. We’ve reached out to WarnerMedia for comment.

The fact we won’t get two more seasons of The Boondocks is interesting in light of all the money WarnerMedia has spent to establish HBOMax as a destination for adult animation. Shortly after announcing the show’s revival, the company paid a reported $500 million to secure exclusive US streaming rights to South Park. It’s also tapped people like J.J. Abrams to create a new animated Batman series for the platform. The Boondocks was supposed to be one of the first releases in that push.

On Friday, the US House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act of 2022 almost entirely along party lines. Among other measures, the sprawling 2,900-page bill allocates $52 billion in grants to subsidize semiconductor manufacturing. It also authorizes nearly $300 billion for research and development.

If enacted, the legislation would represent the most comprehensive attempt by the US to match China’s recent technological and industrial dominance. However, as The New York Times points out, it is unlikely to pass in its current iteration. Much of that comes down to ideological differences between how Democrats and Republicans think the federal government can best position the country to compete against China.

Republicans say the legislation includes too many extraneous provisions to address climate change. For instance, it earmarks $8 billion in contributions to the Green Climate Fund, an initiative created by Paris Agreement to help developing countries deal with the crisis. Republicans also say the bill doesn’t do enough to hold China accountable.

However, Democrats and Republicans broadly agree the federal government should spend more money to support local chip production. When Intel announced it was building a $20 billion semiconductor fabrication plant in Ohio last month, the company noted it could eventually invest as much as $100 billion in the facility over the next decade if Congress approves additional support for the industry. According to a recent report from Bloomberg, President Biden sees the lack of domestic chip production as a security issue. Global chip shortages have also played a significant part in fueling inflation in recent months.

With the bill’s passing, it’s now up to the House and Senate to negotiate a compromise. The legislation must pass both chambers before President Biden can sign it into law. The president urged Congress to move quickly. “I look forward to the House and Senate quickly coming together to find a path forward and putting a bill on my desk as soon as possible for my signature,” President Biden said in a statement. “America can’t afford to wait.”

In 2020, federal police used a geofence warrant to obtain location data from Google as part of an investigation into an attempted arson against a police union headquarters in Seattle, according to recently unsealed court documents posted by The Verge. The attempted arson took place on August 24th, one day after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin prompted a resurgence of racial justice protests across the US. Amid broader acts of civil disobedience in Seattle and parts of the country, two individuals threw makeshift firebombs at the rear entrance of the Seattle Police Officers Guild headquarters.

While the building itself wasn’t significantly damaged in the attack, the incident prompted a substantial police response. At one point, the FBI offered a $20,000 reward for any information related to the attempted arson. Court documents show the agency also pressed Google for information on the two suspects. The FBI used a geofence warrant to obtain location data from Android devices that were in the vicinity of the attempted arson before and after it occurred. Google complied with the request one day later.

“As with all law enforcement requests, we have a rigorous process that is designed to protect the privacy of our users while supporting the important work of law enforcement,” a Google spokesperson told the outlet. We've reached out to the company for more information.

As The Verge points out, the fact the FBI later made a public appeal for help in the case suggests any location data obtained from Google may have not helped it get any closer to finding the two suspects.

Police use of location data is nothing new, but there’s been a substantial increase in the number of geofence warrants issued in recent years. In 2019, The New York Times found Google was fielding “as many as 180 requests” per week. More recently, the company disclosed it received 11,033 geofence requests in 2020, up from 941 in 2018. At the time, Google noted geofence warrants made up 25 percent of all data requests it received from law enforcement. What’s more, often the information of innocent bystanders is shared with police when companies like Google comply with those warrants, as was the case of a cyclist who rode by the site of a 2022 burglary in Florida and again in a protest following the death of George Floyd