You won't have to visit an Amazon-owned store to use the company's cashierless Just Walk Out tech in the UK. Bloomberg has learned Sainsbury's will be one of the first to license Amazon's camera-based shopping system in the country for a small grocery store in London's High Holborn district. A website for the upcoming SmartShop Pick & Go store only mentioned the technology coming from a "third-party supplier," but Bloomberg sources said Amazon was responsible.

Amazon declined to comment. A Sainsbury's spokesperson wouldn't confirm or deny Amazon's involvement, but did say it was testing an "upgraded version" of SmartShop with employees in a Holborn store. The shop is believed to be opening to the public on November 29th.

The hardware certainly appears to be Amazon's, if Bloomberg's visit to the store was any indication. Customers scan their phones on the way in, and ceiling-mounted cameras use AI to detect what they take from shelves. You're charged as soon as you leave the store.

Sainsbury's has a few incentives to adopt Just Walk Out. While the UK has relaxed many of its pandemic measures, this could be appealing to customers who still want to avoid contact with staff and often-touched self-checkout kiosks. The faster turnarounds could lead to more customers even without safety concerns. And then there's competition — Tesco recently opened a nearby Express store using rival technology from Trigo Vision. Sainsbury's risks losing business from time-conscious shoppers.

Fender's acoustic-electric hybrid guitars are technical marvels, but they're pricey for up-and-coming musicians (officially $2,000) and relatively complex. Thankfully, there's a somewhat more accessible option. The instrument brand has unveiled an Acoustic Player Telecaster with both a more affordable $1,200 price and a simpler design with a three-way voice selector (versus five on other models) and one blend knob. In theory, this is better-suited to younger, newer musicians who want two guitars in one — at least, if they can justify spending over a grand on new hardware.

The Fishman co-designed pickup helps you switch between acoustic and electric modes, and the N4 pickup promises "noiseless" electric playing. You'll find a total of six voicings you can play either by themselves or merged to create fresh sounds.

The Acoustasonic Player Telecaster is available worldwide in four familiar guitar colors (black, white, butterscotch and a graded "Shadow Burst"). There's still an incentive to splurge on the more expensive guitars if you want more control, but this might make sense if you need that $800 or just want something that saves space and time. This might be the ideal guitar if you need to play electric on stage, but acoustic in your apartment.

Don't despair if you want to stream a show at a Tesla Supercharger but aren't paying for Premium Connectivity — you might have an official alternative. According to Electrek, Tesla EV owners have spotted Starlink satellite internet dishes at Supercharger stations. It's not yet clear how many there are or if they're accessible to drivers, but the deployment at least includes Florida.

Tesla hasn't commented on the rollout and is believe to have disbanded its PR team.

There are multiple possible uses for Starlink broadband at Superchargers. At the least, it could replace or supplement the existing connections that handle basics like payments and charger status. That could help the company deploy Superchargers faster and in more remote areas. That's important when the brand hopes to allow charging for non-Tesla EVs and triple the size of its station network.

You don't need that much bandwidth (the median US Starlink connection is about 97Mbps) just to process transactions, though, and it wouldn't be surprising if Tesla used the satellite link to provide WiFi to Supercharger customers. You're typically parked at a charger for long enough to watch some TV episodes — you could stream shows without a Premium Connectivity subscription or using your phone as a hotspot. Network congestion could be a problem if the chargers are busy, but it would be convenient and potentially sell customers on Starlink service at home.

Bitcoin just received a significant upgrade. As The Blocknotes, the Bitcoin network rolled out a long-in-the-making "Taproot" code upgrade early today (November 14th). The update improves both privacy and security for complicated transactions through new signatures that make them look like any other exchange. Would-be thieves or snoops should have a harder time recognizing when an unusual transfer is taking place.

The Taproot update should also change the Bitcoin network's scaling by dropping the existing cryptographic system. It might be easier for the cryptocurrency to handle demand.

This is the first major refresh of the network code's since 2017, and it might be well-timed. While there are some objections to Bitcoin and other forms of digital money, it now has potential users ranging from AMC through to the country of El Salvador. An upgrade could help Bitcoin better accommodate any newcomers, not to mention reduce hassles for veteran crypto traders. 

The UK government apparently isn't satisfied with its initial probe of NVIDIA's ARM purchase. As Reutersreports, The Sunday Timeshas heard Digital and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries will order the country's Competition & Markets Authority to conduct a "phase two" investigation of NVIDIA's deal over national security issues. The announcement could come as soon as next week, The Times said.

A second investigation would reportedly last about six months. After that, officials could either block the deal, approve it as-is or require concessions.

The country's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment on the story. We've asked NVIDIA for comment. The tech firm has focused its energy so far on downplaying concerns about ARM's neutrality if the deal closes, promising an open licensing model that treats customers fairly.

Any second investigation wouldn't necessarily spell doom for NVIDIA's acquisition. It would suggest the government has some qualms, however, and that NVIDIA might have to make some sacrifices. At the least, the company would have to be patient — it wouldn't get UK approval until 2022 at the earliest, and it would still have to wait for other regulators before finalizing the merger.

Apple's digital ID card support in iOS 15 may be convenient, but it also comes with tight requirements for the governments that use them. CNBC has learned states using Apple's system are required to not only run the platforms for issuing and checking credentials, but hire managers to handle Apple's requests and meet the iPhone maker's performance reporting expectations. States also have to "prominently" market the feature and encourage other government agencies (both state and federal) to adopt the technology.

Contracts are nearly identical for Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma, some of the earliest adopters of the program. That suggests other states, including Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland and Utah, may have to honor similar terms.

Apple declined to comment. A representative for Arizona's Transportation Department told CNBC there were no payments to Apple or other "economic considerations," though the states would have to cover the costs.

The details raise a number of concerns. While it isn't surprising that states would have pay for at least some of the expenses, the contracts give a private company a significant amount of control over the use and promotion of government systems while asking governments to foot the bills. There's also the question of what happens when Android digital IDs become available — how do states juggle multiple platforms? Apple isn't preventing states from offering IDs on Android, but its requirements could give it a significant early advantage.

Google is finishing the week with more antitrust headaches. Reutersreports a group of Texas-led US states has filed an amended version of its lawsuit against Google over alleged abuses of power in the online ad business. The updated complaint provides more detail about Google's purported efforts to stifle competition, including the secret "Project Bernanke" ad buying program.

The states said Google used Project Bernanke in 2015 to drop the second-highest bids from publishers' ad auctions, pool money and pour those those funds into only those bids using Google Ads. That gave Google Ads bidders an unfair advantage and helped them win auctions they likely would have lost, according to the revised lawsuit.

We've asked Google for comment. It previously confirmed the existence of Project Bernanke, but maintained there was no wrongdoing and that the states' lawsuit "misrepresents" its ad business. The refreshed lawsuit may pose additional challenges to Google, though. At the least, the amendment underscores the states' attitude toward Google — they're determined to curb its behavior.

Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Max is already on sale two months after its debut. The company is selling its latest streaming adapter at a new low price of $35, a full $20 below its original sticker. That makes it a much easier choice if you were otherwise contemplating the regular Stick 4K — even with frequent sales, you're only paying a little bit more for a lot of futureproofing. The Fire TV Cube has also reached an all-time low of $80 (normally $120) if you'd prefer a hybrid smart speaker and media hub.

The regular Fire TV Stick 4K is also on sale for $25 (typically $50) if price is more important, or if you don't think you'll need the extras its Max counterpart offers.

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max may look much like its regular counterpart on the outside, but it's about 40 percent faster. That promises faster load times, a smoother interface, better gaming and headroom for new features like a live picture-in-picture view of your video doorbell. WiFi 6 support also delivers a more reliable connection for your 4K streams if you have a similarly modern router. While those aren't must-haves, the price gap is small enough ($10 as of this writing) to make them worth the money.

Fire TV's usual caveats apply regardless of the model you're buying. You'll have access to a wide range of apps and services, but there's no doubt Amazon favors its own. Likewise, these Alexa-centric devices won't be great fits if your smart home revolves around Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant. For most anyone else, though, these will be solid choices for living room streaming.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

The FBI appears to have been used as a pawn in a fight between hackers and security researchers. According to Bleeping Computer, the FBI has confirmed intruders compromised its email servers early today (November 13th) to send fake messages claiming recipients had fallen prone to data breaches. The emails tried to pin the non-existent attacks on Vinny Troia, the leader of dark web security firms NightLion and Shadowbyte.

The non-profit intelligence organization Spamhaus quickly shed light on the bogus messages. The attackers used legitimate FBI systems to conduct the attack, using email addresses scraped from a database for the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), among other sources. Over 100,000 addresses received the fake emails in at least two waves.

The FBI described the hack as an "ongoing situation" and didn't initially have more details to share. It asked email recipients to report messages like these to the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center or the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Troia told Bleeping Computer he believed the perpetrators might be linked to "Pompomourin," a persona that has attacked the researcher in the past.

Feuds between hackers and the security community aren't new. In March, attackers exploiting Microsoft Exchange servers tried to implicate security journalist Brian Krebs using a rogue domain. However, it's rare that they use real domains from a government agency like the FBI as part of their campaign. While that may be more effective than usual (the FBI was swamped with calls from anxious IT administrators), it might also prompt a particularly swift response — law enforcement won't take kindly to being a victim.

The COP26 climate conference has come to an end, but it probably won't satisfy some of its more outspoken critics. Reuters and The Washington Post report that the United Nations-helmed summit has reached a final deal on efforts to accelerate emissions reduction and otherwise keep to a Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. There are some areas where the new arrangement (billed by the UN as the Glasgow Climate Pact) may offer significant progress, but there are also concerns it doesn't hold countries to stricter standards — including a move away from coal energy.

In negotiations that extended roughly a day past the original November 12th deadline, representatives from China and India successfully changed language in the COP26 agreement that asked countries to "phase-down" unabated coal use rather than "phase-out." While COP26 president Alok Sharma and numerous countries' delegates wanted the tougher language, Sharma said it was "vital" to protect the deal. However, there are worries this will give coal-dependent countries like China and India an excuse to avoid firmer commitments to emissions reduction.

Previous critics blasted wealthier nations for failing to act on a promise of giving poorer countries $100 billion per year until 2023 to help them deal with climate change. The Glasgow deal only committed to making a new plan in the next three years.

The final pact does include some notable measures. It asks countries "revisit and strengthen" their climate change plans before the end of 2022, as New Scientistnoted. Similarly, there's a strategy to address long-running disputes over global carbon credit markets. Numerous countries promised to reduce methane emissions and stop deforestation, and the agreement called for reduced subsidies on fossil fuels. Separately, the US and China reached a deal to limit climate change in the 2020s, including a new recognition from China that methane had a significant impact on rising temperatures.

Nonetheless, there are fears the COP26 arrangement is generally too soft. It doesn't set many binding targets. The final language only "requests" that countries rethink their plans, for instance. The pact might prompt some countries to step up their environmental initiatives, but others may face relatively few consequences if they fall short.