Google has disabled live traffic updates for Israel and Gaza in Maps and Waze, a spokesperson has confirmed to Bloomberg. "As we have done previously in conflict situations and in response to the evolving situation in the region, we have temporarily disabled the ability to see live traffic conditions and busyness information out of consideration for the safety of local communities," the spokesperson said. Israeli blog GeekTime reports that Apple has switched off the same feature in its Maps app, as well.

Google told The Hill that people can still use Maps and Waze to get route and ETA information that "take current traffic conditions into account." They just won't be able to see real-time traffic data in the apps like they could in the past. It's unclear if Apple is also retaining some of its Maps' navigation capabilities. 

This move, made by both companies, comes just ahead of the Israeli military's anticipated ground invasion into Gaza, wherein it reportedly plans to deploy tens of thousands of soldiers to capture the city. One of Bloomberg's sources said Google disabled live traffic to comply with a request made by the Israel Defense Forces, likely because the feature could reveal its troops' movements and tip off Hamas, which the US and the EU recognize as a terrorist organization. The Hill says Apple also removed live traffic in the region to comply with the IDF's request. 

Prior to this development, one of the most recent examples of Google disabling the ability to see live traffic conditions "in conflict situations" happened in 2022. The company deactivated Maps' live traffic data in Ukraine back then, following Russia's invasion of the country. It explained at the time that it implemented the change to protect the safety of locals, and that it came to the decision to do so after consulting with Ukranian authorities. 

While Apple, Meta and others continue to work with full-on headsets for augmented reality (AR), Nreal has been selling much smaller AR glasses since 2021. Now the company, which has rebranded to Xreal, just released a new version called the Xreal Air 2 in Europe and the US, after launching it in China last month. It offers improved displays and more comfort, and the company also unveiled the Xreal Air 2 Pro with electrochromic dimming, letting you select the level of immersion from zero to 100 percent. 

Xreal (the X stands for extra, the company said) promises that the Air 2 glasses "turn whatever the wearer is viewing into a big screen experience, up to 330 inches." To that end, it uses Sony's latest 0.55-inch Micro-OLED display, up from the 0.68-inch Micro-OLED used before (Apple also uses Micro-OLED tech in its Vision Pro mixed reality headset). As before, it can display full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 per eye, with a refresh rate up to 120Hz. Along with the higher resolution, it features 500 nits of brightness, compared to 400 nits on the original Nreal Air. 

The Air 2 is also 10 percent thinner and 10 percent lighter (from 79 grams to 72 grams, which is actually 8.9 percent by my calculation), according to Xreal. It also comes with improved elastic temples, new "AirFit" nose pads and softer materials. All of that is designed to improve comfort and allowing for longer use when watching movies and other content, according to the company. As before, it connects to devices via USB-C with video (DisplayPort) output with no wireless option, so you're effectively tethered to a device.  

Xreal

Xreal also improved the audio speaker system by incorporating "spatial wrap-around auto delivery" via an open ear design targeted at the wearer. "This brings enhanced privacy and minimizes disruption to others when in public spaces," the company said. It also improves voice and video calls, since the Xreal Air 2 can let you take audio from a smartphone or tablet. 

The more desirable model is the Xreal Air 2 Pro. It introduces electrochromic dimming that lets you select three modes, including a transparent mode that blocks no light, letting you use the glasses while still seeing the outside world. "Productivity mode" blocks 35 percent of outside light, so you can focus better without shutting out your surroundings entirely, while immersive mode blocks all light for gaming, entertainment, etc.

Much like the original Nreal Air, the Xreal Air 2 seems mainly aimed at viewers for YouTube videos, light gaming, movies, etc. There are no cameras or motion sensors included, so it effectively acts as a personal projector, with the screen moving as you move your head (hello, nausea). However, you can buy an accessory called Xreal Beam ($119) which adds gyroscopic tracking and keeps the screen fixed in place when you move, while also allowing for additional wired connectivity options that apparently reduce latency. According to reviews on the device, it works in much the same way as the original Air, but is lighter and more comfortable. 

Considering what it can't do, the Xreal Air 2 is pretty expensive at $399 (in black or red), while the Air 2 Pro is $449. For full functionality, you need the Xreal Beam, which brings the price up to $518 and $568 respectively — more than the Meta Quest 3. Shipping is expected to start in the US and UK in November 2023, and elsewhere in Europe in December. 

Tinder’s new feature is a new nightmare to me. Tinder Matchmaker allows users’ family and friends to recommend potential matches. Wannabe matchmakers do not need a Tinder profile to view or suggest possible pairings, so anyone you know could help you find the one. Or at least... another one.

The Tinder user will need to launch a “Tinder Matchmaker session” either from a profile card or within the app’s settings. You can share a unique link with up to 15 individuals in a 24-hour period. Once a matchmaker gets a link, they can log into Tinder or continue as a guest to swipe away. Don’t worry: They can't send messages or actually swipe right on the profiles.

Both Hinge and Bumble have already tried matchmaking, although the former’s attempts didn’t last – the dedicated Hinge matchmaking app is no longer available.

– Mat Smith

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Watch Netflix's Squid Game: The Challenge trailer

The reality show will stream next month.

Netflix

Netflix has dropped a trailer for the upcoming reality series Squid Game: The Challenge. It all kicks off with 456 contestants competing for the $4.56 million prize in events and games repackaged (minus the blood-spraying violence) from the hit scripted series. A fictional critique of modern capitalism’s exploitation of the financially desperate made into a reality TV spectacle that exploits the financially desperate? Yes. But watch the trailer.

Continue reading.

Amazon’s Fallout series finally has a release date

It begins streaming on April 12, 2024.

Amazon Prime Video / Instagram

Amazon announced Monday that its Fallout TV series will premiere on April 12, 2024 on Prime Video. The short teaser video was even styled like a Pip-Boy interface from the storied game franchise. The live-action series, from Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, will have an original (canonical) story set in the Fallout gaming universe. It will take place in 2077, beginning in Vault 33 in Los Angeles. As fans of the game know, it’s set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland following the events of “The Great War” on October 23, 2077, making yesterday the perfect day to announce the show.

Continue reading.

Department of Justice expands its Tesla probe

It’s looking to include EV driving range figures.

The Department of Justice has expanded its investigation into Tesla. In an SEC filing, the company said the agency issued subpoenas for information related to "personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions." According to Reuters and Consumer Reports, Tesla vehicles didn't hit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) range estimates in road tests. Its vehicles have already been penalized in other countries for failing to disclose that its EVs have shorter ranges in low temperatures, and the company reportedly formed a special team that sought to quash complaints about the distance its cars can travel on a single charge.

Continue reading. 

From Hollywood strikes to digital portraits, AI's potential to steal creatives' work and how to stop it has dominated the tech conversation in 2023. The latest effort to protect artists and their creations is Nightshade, a tool allowing artists to add undetectable pixels into their work that could corrupt an AI's training data, the MIT Technology Review reports. Nightshade's creation comes as major companies like OpenAI and Meta face lawsuits for copyright infringement and stealing personal works without compensation.

University of Chicago professor Ben Zhao and his team created Nightshade, which is currently being peer reviewed, in an effort to put some of the power back in artists' hands. They tested it on recent Stable Diffusion models and an AI they personally built from scratch.

Nightshade essentially works as a poison, altering how a machine-learning model produces content and what that finished product looks like. For example, it could make an AI system interpret a prompt for a handbag as a toaster or show an image of a cat instead of the requested dog (the same goes for similar prompts like puppy or wolf).

Professor Ben Zhao | University of Chicago

Nightshade follows Zhao and his team's August release of a tool called Glaze, which also subtly alters a work of art's pixels but it makes AI systems detect the initial image as entirely different than it is. An artist who wants to protect their work can upload it to Glaze and opt in to using Nightshade. 

Damaging technology like Nightshade could go a long way towards encouraging AI's major players to request and compensate artists' work properly (it seems like a better alternative to having your system rewired). Companies looking to remove the poison would likely need to locate every piece of corrupt data, a challenging task. Zhao cautions that some individuals might attempt to use the tool for evil purposes but that any real damage would require thousands of corrupted works. 

GM has announced that it will pay $1,400 to owners of 2020-2022 Bolt EVs and EUVs who endured a recall that limited range to 80 percent for a significant period of time, Electrek has reported. It's effectively an upfront payment to customers as part of an expected class action settlement. 

"GM is announcing a compensation program for 2020-22 Bolt EV/EUV owners upon installation of the final advanced diagnostic software as part of the original battery recall," a spokesperson wrote in a statement. "Owners are eligible to receive a $1,400 Visa eReward card upon installation. This applies to Bolt EV/EUV owners in the US only. We’re grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding."

Owners must install a "software final remedy" by December 31, 2023 and sign a legal release — those who decline will have to wait for the class action lawsuit to play out. If the settlement ends up being more than $1,400, those who accept the payment will still receive the difference.

It seems like Chevy's Bolt EVs (and larger EUVs that came along in 2021) have never not had problems with their batteries. The 2017-2019 models had serious defects that could cause fires, forcing GM to recall them and install special software, reducing maximum charge levels to 90 percent. 

The 2020-2022 models affected by the lawsuit used new battery chemistry with a different issue that could also cause a fire when the car was fully, or nearly fully charged. GM issued a recall for those models as well, installing diagnostic software that would reduce maximum charging levels to 80 percent (cutting range from about 259 miles to 207 miles). The software will eventually either warn customers that their battery pack needs to be replaced, or automatically return the maximum charge to 100 percent. 

The problem is, the vehicles needed to reach 6,200 miles of use before the final assessment. That could be years for some buyers, and GM mandated that owners complete the diagnostic by March 2025 in order to qualify for an extended warranty or replacement battery, if needed. 

GM announced earlier this year that it was discontinuing the Bolt EV amid the company's shift to the Ultium platform, possibly because it felt the name had been sullied by the battery issues. Following an outcry, though, it backtracked and said that a next-gen Bolt was in the works — showing that people still liked what the Bolt stood for (a practical, cheap EV with decent range) despite the recalls. 

Presumably, any potential settlement would cover owners who effectively lost the full and expected use of their vehicle during the period. If you're part of the recall, you should receive a letter soon with more information and a unique PIN to access their site — more information is available here. 

NASA has revealed that it has already processed 70.3 grams of rocks and dust collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from asteroid Bennu. That means the mission has way exceeded its goal of bringing 60 grams of asteroid samples back to Earth — especially since NASA scientists have yet to open the primary sample container that made its way back to our planet in September. Apparently, they're struggling to open the mission's Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) and could not remove two of its 35 fasteners using the tools currently available to them. 

The scientists are processing the samples inside a specialized glovebox (pictured above) with a flow of nitrogen in order to keep them from being exposed to our atmosphere and any contaminants. They can't just use any implement to break the container's fasteners open either: The tool must fit inside the glovebox, and it also must not compromise the samples' integrity. NASA has sealed the primary container sample for now, while it's developing the procedure to be able to open it over the next few weeks. 

If you're wondering where the 70.3 grams of rocks and dust came from, well, NASA collected part of it from the external sample receptacle but outside TAGSAM itself. It also includes a small portion of the samples inside TAGSAM, taken by holding down its mylar flap and reaching inside with tweezers or a scoop. NASA's initial analysis of the material published earlier this month said it showed evidence of high carbon content and water, and further studies could help us understand how life on Earth began. The agency plans to continue analyzing and "characterizing" the rocks and dust it has already taken from the sample container, so we may hear more details about the samples even while TAGSAM remains sealed.

Amazon, the biggest e-commerce website in most countries, now supports passkeys. That gives users access to the new login solution that's considered more secure than passwords, allowing them to access their account using the biometrics or PIN they use to unlock their devices. The company started rolling out the capability a few days ago but has only just announced the feature, which is now available on browsers and is gradually making its way to all users accessing Amazon through its iOS app. Passkey support is also "coming soon" to Amazon's Android application. 

Passkeys are resistant to phishing, the effects of data leaks or social engineering, because there are no passwords to steal or give away. Instead, the technology uses cryptographic pairs, one of which is a public key saved on a particular service's servers, while the other one remains private and is securely saved to a user's device. These pairs are unique for every service, and they must match for someone to be able to log in. It's also a lot less involved than two-factor authentication, though for some reason, Amazon will not automatically switch it off for those who turn on passkey support. 

In its FAQs, Amazon says that those who have two-factor switched on will still need to verify their identities with a one-time code even after they activate the new login option. It's unclear if users will no longer have to key in two-factor codes after their initial login with a passkey, but upon trying it out, we weren't asked for one the next time we signed in. To switch on passkey login, users only need to go to Login & Security under Your Account on Amazon and then choose "Set up" next to the new Passkeys option. 

Nvidia is reportedly planning on making Arm-based chips for Windows PCs. According to Reuters, the company has “quietly begun” taking on Intel by designing processors compatible with Microsoft’s operating system. The report says Nvidia could begin selling the chips as early as 2025.

The move is part of Microsoft’s broader goal of challenging Apple with Arm-based processors for Windows PCs. According to preliminary Q3 data from research firm IDC, the iPhone maker has nearly doubled its market share since launching the Arm-based Apple Silicon three years ago. The company’s in-house Mac chips balance performance (including on-chip AI tasks) and battery life to a degree that Intel’s processors have yet to match.

When reached via email by Engadget, Nvidia spokesperson Hector Marinez said the company declined to comment.

Nvidia has recent experience with Arm-based chips, but they’re designed for data centers. Nvidia announced plans to buy Arm Holdings in 2020 for $40 billion. However, the company pulled the plug on the deal in early 2022. 

AMD is also reportedly preparing to launch Arm-based PC chips as early as 2025. The two companies will join Qualcomm, which has made Windows laptop processors since 2016. Reuters reports that Qualcomm’s exclusivity agreement with Microsoft for Arm-based Windows chip designs will expire in 2024, opening the door to new challengers soon after. Windows on Arm hasn’t exactly been a rousing success to date.

“Microsoft learned from the 90s that they don’t want to be dependent on Intel again, they don’t want to be dependent on a single vendor,” Jay Goldberg, chief executive of consulting firm D2D Advisory, told Reuters. “If Arm really took off in PC (chips), they were never going to let Qualcomm be the sole supplier.”

As Microsoft (along with much of the tech industry) bets its future on generative AI, the upcoming chips will unsurprisingly focus heavily on it. The company has reportedly urged chipmakers to bake advanced AI-powered capabilities into their silicon. Microsoft recently launched Windows Copilot, which provides an OpenAI-powered chatbot in a persistent sidebar to respond to contextual queries anywhere in Windows.

Meta is starting to ramp up its growth-hacking tactics for Threads in a bid to boost engagement on the Twitter competitor. The social network is promoting its newest app by cross-posting Threads posts to users’ Facebook feeds, the company confirmed Monday.

It’s a familiar move for Meta, which regularly uses the Facebook feed to promote new features, including those from its other apps. The company has inserted Instagram Reels into recommendations in Facebook’s feed for years, and also allows businesses on WhatsApp to buy ads that appear in Facebook feeds. But unlike those efforts, it seems that Threads promotions on Facebook are not optional.

“We’ve launched an update to make it easier for people to see the latest content from Threads directly on Facebook and Instagram,” the company wrote in response to a Threads user who asked how to keep their posts off of Facebook. “But we’re listening to feedback like yours as we continue to build on this.”

Meta began testing the promotion of Threads posts on Instagram in August, but the move to put posts on Facebook without providing an opt-out feature, seems to be more controversial. Some users are pointing out that they use Threads much differently than Facebook and may not want their Threads posts to be put in front of their Facebook friends. 

We’ve reached out to Meta for more information about how it recommends Threads posts and if it intends to allow users to opt out of that kind of sharing. But the company has previously hinted that it would one day use its much larger apps to try and boost Threads. When Threads reached 100 million sign-ups shortly after it launched, Mark Zuckerberg remarked that the growth had happened with “mostly organic demand” and that the company hadn’t “even turned on many promotions yet.” (Interestingly, that post has since been deleted.)

Threads’ initial explosive growth proved to be short lived, however, with engagement dropping considerably in the weeks that followed. Anecdotally, the service feels much more lively in recent weeks, and downloads have started to once again tick up, according to a recent report from Insider.

But a report from analytics firm SimilarWeb, which tracks web traffic, suggests the company still has a lot of ground to make up. “In the US, where Threads attracted the most attention, September Threads usage on Android was down 40% from where it was in July,” senior insights manager David Carr wrote in the report. Given those trends, and that Meta has been steadily adding new features like post editing and keyword search, it’s maybe not all that surprising the company would now be trying to juice Threads’ growth, even if its tactics for doing so are unpopular.

The Department of Justice has expanded its investigation into Tesla, the company has confirmed. In an SEC filing, Tesla said the agency has issued subpoenas for information related to "personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions." In January, Tesla confirmed that the DOJ sought details from the company regarding Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features for its electric vehicles.

According to Reuters and Consumer Reports, Tesla vehicles didn't hit Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) range estimates in road tests. The EPA tests vehicle ranges on rollers in a lab. The New York Times points out that all EVs have a lower range in colder temperatures, but even in warm weather, a Tesla Model Y ran out of juice at least 50 miles below its claimed range in Consumer Reports' tests.

Tesla, which has been penalized in other countries for failing to disclose that its EVs have shorter ranges in low temperatures, reportedly formed a special team that sought to quash complaints about the distance its cars can travel on a single charge. The team is said to have told customers who flagged such issues with their EVs that EPA range figures were merely predictions and that the range would be reduced due to battery degradation.

As the Times notes, when the term "related parties” is used in a regulatory filing, it often refers to senior management, company directors or major shareholders. Earlier this year, it was reported that Tesla opened an internal investigation to determine whether CEO Elon Musk dipped into company coffers to help fund a glass house he was building. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and SEC are said to have asked the company for information related to the house and other personal benefits afforded to Musk. 

In its filing, Tesla noted that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the SEC and other local, state, federal and international regulators have also sought information from the company related to a variety of investigations and inquiries. Tesla does not have a PR department that can be reached for comment.

"To our knowledge, no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred," Tesla said in its SEC filing. "We cannot predict the outcome or impact of any ongoing matters. Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows, financial position or brand."