NASA previously announced that it would create a panel to study "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP), aka UFOs — while saying it doesn't believe they're "extraterrestrial in origin." (Sure, NASA.)

Now, the space agency has unveiled the 16-member panel that will focus on these unclassified sightings, chaired by David Spergel, former head of astrophysics at Princeton University. Other members include Anamaria Berea, a research affiliate at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) Institute in California; retired NASA astronaut and test pilot Scott Kelly; and astrophysicists, science journalists and more.

NASA

The US government is effectively running two tracks of UFO probes. There’s also a Pentagon group looking into UAPs reported by military pilots and investigated by US defense and intelligence officials.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

• The Age of Empires series is finally coming to Xbox consoles and cloud gaming

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• WhatsApp briefly went down for users worldwide

• A store that sells Nothing will open in London this year

• Amazon now lets you pay using Venmo

• Google finally lets you view its latest Nest cameras on the web

Apple SVP confirms a USB-C iPhone is coming

But is it only coming to Europe?

When the European Parliament voted in favor of making USB-C the common charging standard in the region, it was obvious Apple was going to be the company most affected by the mandate. While the tech giant already has iPad models with USB-C ports, its iPhones still require a lightning connector. Now, in an interview at The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live event, Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak has confirmed that the tech giant will be transitioning to USB-C connectors to comply with the EU's regulation. "We have no choice as we do around the world but to comply to local laws," Joswiak said. However, he didn't say whether Apple is only making a different variant for the European market while continuing to sell phones with lightning connectors elsewhere.

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Future ‘Doctor Who’ seasons will air on Disney+

It’ll remain on BBC in the UK and Ireland.

The BBC and Disney have announced future seasons of Doctor Who will stream on Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland. Back in July, Bloomberg reported that Disney was looking for “established” brands to bolster its streaming platform. Now it has the world’s longest-running science-fantasy series.

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‘Bayonetta 3’ turns witchy weirdness into an art form

It’s still weird, it’s still chaotic.

Platinum Games

Bayonetta 3 is full of classic Bayonetta madness, all of it amped up by one degree. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, the enemies are absolutely massive, Bayonetta’s magic is incredibly powerful, her outfits are outstanding and the fights don’t stop coming. She’s still a witch with gun shoes, but new abilities mean she can transform into demon hybrids, adding even more dimensions to the epic fights. It’s still all very silly, very meme-able and for now, it’s a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Read on for our full review.

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Watch Ken Block's first electric Gymkhana featuring a one-of-a-kind Audi EV

The S1 Hoonitron is kind(er) to the planet.

Gymkhana

Rally driver Ken Block has released his first Gymkhana video with an electric car — and this time, the vehicle is almost as important as the hooning. The "Electrikhana" sees Block drift around Las Vegas landmarks in a one-of-a-kind Audi S1 Hoonitron. It borrows design cues from the well-known Sport Quattro S1 while using a dual-motor system. Think of it as a souped-up cousin of the E-tron GT. With drifting and tire smoke, it’s a different kind of sales pitch for electric cars. Initially associated with eco-conscious drivers, they're becoming the machines of choice for performance-minded enthusiasts thanks to their instant torque and supercar-beating low-end acceleration.

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Shutterstock and OpenAI will team up to sell AI-generated stock images

DALL-E artwork could soon be widespread online.

Shutterstock has widened its deal with OpenAI, and will start selling stock images built using the DALL-E 2 AI generator. The approach will offer "direct access" to DALL-E through the Shutterstock website, and compensate creators whose pictures played a role in developing the technology through a new Contributor Fund. The company also plans to pay royalties to artists when the AI uses their work. The deal represents one of the first practical uses of the tech.

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Sony made some wireless earbuds using recycled water bottles

The new Earth Blue variant is available now.

Sony

Sony's original LinkBuds S were already being made with recycled plastics from automobile parts, but the company has now announced an Earth Blue variant made from even more reclaimed materials. The company says the body and case for this version of the LinkBuds S are made from "factory-recovered plastic and reclaimed water bottles." The recycled materials are what give the exterior surfaces a marble pattern. The new Earth Blue variant will be available at the end of October.

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Gaming creators and streamers will already be familiar with Rode. The company’s microphones and podcastingproducts make good options for those plugging into OBS, YouTube, Twitch and anywhere else you might “go live.” But as of today, there’s a whole new sub brand specifically catering to their needs: Rode X.

The first three products under the new mark include two microphones and a comprehensive desktop app for stream routing and mixing. The mics will look eerily familiar to fans of Rode products, but the company assures us they have been “redesigned internally for optimal performance for streaming and gaming.”

The new mics are the XDM-100 ($249) and XCM-50 ($150). The clue to the difference between them is in the name - D for dynamic, C for condenser (you can read about the difference here). The XDM-100, at least physically, looks like Rode’s Podcaster with a dash of red at the top. The XCM-50 is a condenser microphone that appears to be built on the same platform as the NT-USB Mini and features a distinct red button on the front.

James Trew / Engadget

Both microphones are USB only (no XLR), which means you won’t need an audio interface to use them, and they have built-in headphone ports for latency-free monitoring. Which of the two might interest you most will depend on both your preferences and the room where you stream from.

The XCM-50 has a bright sound that will work well for those in acoustically treated, or “softer” rooms. When tested side by side with its NT-USB Mini doppelganger, they do sound incredibly close, but to my ears the XCM-50 is a tiny bit brighter sounding. The NT-USB Mini sounds a shade “closer” by comparison.

The XDM-100 has a more classic “dynamic” microphone sound. While perhaps not quite as well rounded as something like the Shure SM7B or even Rode’s own Podmic, it feels cleaner than the Podcaster that it shares its physical appearance with. If you want a good USB dynamic option, this feels like a competitive choice for the price. Especially once coupled with the new Unify software.

The one thing that a lot of gamers and streamers really need isn’t so much a microphone – there are many options for that – it’s a reliable tool to route all the sounds in your stream, usually some mix of game sounds, chat, music and effects. With Unify, you have a simple software solution that is similar to the routing matrices you find with the GoXLR, the BEACN Mix Create or Elgato’s Wave Link.

Rode

Unify creates a couple of virtual audio interfaces on your PC and you can then control which app uses what, and where that sound goes. For example, you probably want your intro music to go out on the stream, but maybe you don’t want it in your headphones? Or maybe you want your audience to hear a YouTube video you’re playing, but not the music you’re streaming. With Unify, you can pipe most things to most places, and then change the levels, or “mix” for each destination also.

Rode has added the ability to record all your audio directly within the app, too. This makes it appealing to more than just streamers. For example, you could use it to record both sides of a Zoom call and be able to feed audio into that call that would otherwise be tricky. The fact that Unify has sound pads for intros and effects means it also works quite well as a software “Rodecaster Pro.”

Unify looks most similar to Wave Link but offers much more fine-grained control. The app isn’t quite as simple as BEACN’s, which lets you access each mix matrix at all times and has a slightly clearer UI. BEACN also benefits from the hardware mixer, too, but there’s no option to record within that app or trigger sound effects.

Where Unify differs from most of its rivals is that you don’t have to buy the company’s hardware to use it. If you just wanted the software features you can pay $5 a month or $45 a year for the app alone. This means you can easily use it with any microphone you have, you’re not beholden to using a Rode (unlike, Wave Link that requires an Elgato mic). If you do buy a Rode X mic, then the software is free. Sadly, if you already own a Rode USB mic, it won’t unlock the software, you'll be paying like everybody else.

Welcome back, gentle reader, to the second installment of Hitting the Books Quarterly. This time around we’ve got a seven-layer dip of delicious literature for you, starting with a harrowing investigation into the heart of California’s firestorms, followed by some sage advice for best burning your Facebook bridges, and then a chance to wave goodbye to Earth’s billionaire class as they race off for the stars, hopefully never to return. But that’s not all, we’ve got some stellar sci-fi titles to share too, as well as The Dawn of Everything which Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar describes as “dense, but worth a read for sure.”

California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid - Katherine Blunt (Amazon)

California wildfires caused an estimated $80 billion in property damage in 2021 alone, they’re only getting worse, and the state’s utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric, seems to be doing anything but helping. Following years of neglected maintenance, PG&E’s infrastructure has started numerous deadly blazes in recent years, exacerbating an already existential climate crisis. In California Burning, Pulitzer-nominated WSJ journalist Katherine Blunt dives into the utility’s sordid history of putting profits over public safety. Decades of mismanagement have led California to this point, Blunt’s deeply researched narrative explains why. I had originally looked at this title for the regular excerpt column but the dang thing reads like a Grisham novel. Make sure you block off an afternoon because you won’t be able to put this one down.

James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media - James Acaster (Amazon)

With the general level of suck in the world today, we could all probably do with a laugh and to get off the internet for a while — touching grass and whatnot. Comedian James Acaster’s newest book, James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media, Being the Best You You Can Be and Saving Yourself from Loneliness Vol 1, does both. You will laugh (probably) and get off the internet because you will be reading a book about how he quit social media in 2019 and how you can do the same while still saving yourself from loneliness. Brilliant.

Everything I Need I Get from You - Kaitlyn Tiffany (Amazon)

Fans, stans, and boybands, oh my. Everything I Need I Get from You is a fascinating look at the superfan subculture surrounding modern pop music acts from Atlantic staff writer Kaitlyn Tiffany. Fanclubs have been around since the Roman era but the advent of social media has enabled fandom to a startlingly granular degree. Today’s superfans know what foods the Jonas brothers are allergic to, have lore and inside jokes that only other members of the BTS ARMY will understand, and routinely engage in light subterfuge to game play charts into featuring their favorite stars. Tiffany also explores the influence that these hyper-connected cadres of vivaciously like-minded people have on internet culture as a whole, like why we spent weeks looking for Becky with the good hair.

Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires - Douglas Rushkoff (Amazon)

Let’s not kid ourselves. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk aren’t developing space flight for the good of humanity, Mark Zuckerberg isn’t pushing his vision of a metaverse for anything resembling altruistic intent. They just want a bolt hole for when things really start going downhill, argues theorist Douglas Rushkoff. In his new book, Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff examines what he dubs “the Mindset,” wherein the world’s ultra-wealthy believe that they and theirs will somehow be able to spend their way out of the coming climate crisis — we plebes be damned — as well as discusses what the rest of us can do while the people with the power to avert it are busy eying the exits.

You Sexy Thing - Cat Rambo (Amazon)

I believe in miracles and you will too with this raucous space opera from sci-fi luminary Cat Rambo. Billed as “Farscape meets The Great British Bake Off,” You Sexy Thing follows the exploits of Niko Larson, the Holy Hive Mind’s disgraced “10-Minute Admiral” as she scrambles to keep her crew of retired-soldiers-turned-kitchen-and-wait-staff safe, together, alive and out of the Hive Mind’s brain jar collective, even as space stations explode around them, sentient bio-ships kidnap them, and vicious space pirates from Larson’s past seek their revenge. Easily some of the best sci-fi I’ve read this year — tightly written with characters you can identify with and a pilot that immediately grabs you by the shorthairs and doesn’t let up. Plus, there are werelions.

Azura Ghost - Essa Hansen (Amazon)

Emma Hansen just won’t stop writing absolute bangers. Following her phenomenal 2020 debut, the heart-wrenching space opera, Nophek Gloss (which was shortlisted for a Stabby that year), Hansen returns to the Graven multiverse with Azura Ghost. Her sophomore effort catches up a decade after the events of the first book where our protagonist Caiden finds himself, and his sentient starship, still hunted across the stars by the Threi — as is wont to happen when one imprisons the the group’s leadership in an impenetrable pocket universe for 10 years. As the plot unfolds and events push his two greatest enemies into possible alliance, Caiden must reunite with family of his own, and a long-lost friend who probably shouldn’t be trusted, to make his escape.

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity - David Graeber and David Wengrow (Amazon)

Long-held views of early civilizations as either gullible hippies or hulking brutes offer only a monochromatic and shallow understanding of history — one which arose out of an 18th century conservative backlash against brown people asking questions, no less — argue David Graeber and David Wengrow in The Dawn of Everything. They then apparently spend the next 700 or so pages laying out their exhaustive list of evidence drawn from their respective fields of archaeology and anthropology in support of this position.

For decades, whatever you drove off the showroom floor was what you were stuck with. But now, thanks to over-the-air updates, your car can evolve on your driveway in myriad ways. Tesla has been doing it for years, and now Lucid and other automakers are joining in.

We’ve said it before: Lucid did an exquisite job with the Air, its first ever car. But like all automakers, the company found that developing good software is tougher than it looks. While the Air's driving dynamics are top-notch and the design has been praised, there have been reports of laggy elements plaguing the infotainment system.

With Lucid UX 2.0, the automaker is hoping to squelch those issues with nearly a complete rewrite of the vehicle’s software. Lucid invited us down to its headquarters to check out the latest software update that will be deployed to all Lucid Airs over the next few weeks.

Rolls-Royce has officially begun its transition to electric cars. The luxury British manufacturer has unveiled its first ground-up EV, the Spectre coupe. The "spiritual successor" to the Phantom looks much like its stately gas-powered counterparts (apart from a low 0.25 drag coefficient), but promises to be even quieter and smoother thanks to its powerplant. The brand is still finalizing specifications. However, it expects the all-wheel drive machine to make a 0-60MPH dash in 4.4 seconds and achieve an EPA range of 260 miles. Those aren't exceptional figures, but the emphasis here is on a pampered ride, not absolute performance.

That decision is reflected in the interior. The design includes the now-obligatory instrument and infotainment displays, plus a digital fascia for the passenger. In keeping with Rolls-Royce's bespoke design philosophy, you can even have the company customize the color of the on-screen dials. An "Eleanor" assistant can handle in-car tasks, and a Whispers app can both send curated location recommendations (such as restaurants) as well as remotely control basic car functions like the locks and heating.

This isn't just a reworked version of the company's existing designs, either. The Spectre uses a new aluminum platform (the "Architecture of Luxury") tuned for EVs, and boasts "starlight" doors with 4,796 points of light. It's very large for a coupe at 16ft long and 6.6ft wide, and even required the company's first 23-inch wheels in over a century. This is for leisurely soirées and trips to the golf club, not all-out blasts down country roads.

The Spectre is available to order now, with first deliveries expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. Pricing starts at $413,500 in the US, but that's before the customization process — expect to pay considerably more to get the design just so, right down to the colors of the signature in-door umbrella. Even more so than rival ultra-luxury EVs like the Cadillac Celestiq and expected Mercedes-Maybach EQS, this is aimed at customers who will spend whatever it takes to get their dream car.

Google has made Family Link's most used tools easier to find and use in the new interface it designed for the parental controls application. The new experience's Controls tab contains the tools parents can use to set screen time for each device and app, set content restrictions and to manage app data permissions. Google has also added a "Today Only" option, which lets parents set a screen time limit for one day without having to change the general setting. That way, they can easily allow kids to spend more time online if they're still doing their homework or are just a few minutes away from finishing the show they're watching. 

In the Location tab, they'll see their children's linked devices on a map and those devices' battery life. They can ring their kids' phones from there, as well, in case they get misplaced. And as a new feature, the app will now notify guardians when their kids arrive at or leave a specific location, such as their school, sports field or swimming pool. If they want to know how their kids have been using their apps and to see their current screen time usage or their latest app downloads, parents only need to navigate to the Highlights tab. 

Finally, tapping on the notification bell at the top of the app will show parents not just the latest updates, but also all the requests they get from their kids for app downloads and purchases. That's also where they can find their kids' request for access to websites they'd previously blocked. And to make Family Link more accessible, Google has made it available on the web, allowing guardians to use all those features even if they don't have their phone with them.

Google

The tech giant has also rolled out parent-managed watchlists for kid profiles on Google TV, which guardians can use to create a list for their kids right from their own profiles. Young viewers will now also get Google-powered recommendations when they're done with what they're watching. Parents worried that Google's algorithm would recommend titles they don't approve of can use the new "hide" button to hide anything they want in the Popular movies or TV shows lists. They simply have to hold the Select button on their remote and choose "hide." As for families with older kids, Google TV now has a supervised experience on the YouTube app that offers content settings for pre-teens and older children. All these features are coming to Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV-powered devices over the coming weeks.

Days after hosting a major hardware launch, Amazon is apparently having a sale on its older Echo devices. Among the deals, we noticed that both the Echo Show 5 and the larger Echo Show 8 have hit new record lows. The Echo Show 5, which went on sale last year for $85, is now down to $35, a 59 percent discount. The 8-inch model, meanwhile, is down to $70 after having debuted at $100.

Both devices, but especially the Echo Show 8, were designed to be used as a possible alarm clock, with a sunrise alarm feature that gently wakes you up by slowly brightening the display. And, as you might expect, both devices offer the same suite of Alexa voice commands and integration with Ring smart home devices. Where the two devices differ most, obviously, is in size — and what rooms of the house where they were meant to live. 

The Echo Show 5 is primarily pitched as a bedside device, and in our review last year we praised its surprisingly decent audio quality (beyond just the ability to scare you awake). With the Echo Show 8, you get a modest 2-megapixel camera and 960 x 480 display, which we praised in our review for its overall quality and in particular the video calling experience. You might use it in the bedroom, sure, but we can also see it working in the kitchen or living room.

In the case of both devices, we said in our review that competing devices from the likes of Google offered an easier-to-navigate user interface. That might still be true, but it might be even less of a dealbreaker at such bargain-basement prices.

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Amazon isn't done updating its Eero router lineup this year, if not quite in the way you'd expect. The brand's new Echo Dot speakers now double as Eero WiFi extenders. Plug one in and you'll get as much as 1,000 square feet of additional coverage. That speaker on your nightstand could improve the internet connection in your office, in other words.

The base Echo Dot is available for pre-order today at $50, while the Echo Dot with Clock and colorful Echo Dot Kids will sell for $60.

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Amazon's event right here!

Last year, I tried the Freewrite Smart Typewriter — an expensive, single-purpose E Ink typewriter that does one thing very well. It lets you draft text with an excellent keyboard and zero distractions. If you're a serious writer, there's a lot to like about it, but it is most definitely not cheap; Astrohaus, the company behind the Freewrite, even raised the prices of its products, including the full-size model and the portable laptop-style Freewrite Traveler, earlier this year. 

Today, though Astrohaus is unveiling a third device that they've been teasing for a few weeks now, the Freewrite Alpha. The most important thing to know is that the Alpha will be priced at $349, or $249 if you purchase via the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that starts today. That's still not cheap, but it's half the price of the Freewrite Traveler while still offering the same core features as the other products in the lineup.

The Freewrite Alpha is a small two-pound slate with a pop-out kickstand that probably isn't quite as portable as the Traveler, but should still be quite easy to carry with you just about anywhere. Despite the small size, it nevertheless has a full-size mechanical keyboard with Kailh Choc V2 low-profile switches. My guess is that they'll have a lot more travel than the laptop-style keyboard on the Traveler, though they probably won't be quite as satisfying a typing experience as you'll get with the Kailh Box Brown keyboard on the full-size Smart Typewriter. 

Alan Burns

It's also the first Freewrite to use an LCD display rather than the E Ink screens on the other models. It's a smaller screen than the already-small displays on other Freewrite models; it can display between two and six lines of text, depending on the font size you use. Given that Freewrite devices are meant specifically for drafting rather than editing, this shouldn't be too much of a concern, but you will see less copy on this device than other ones. You can scroll back up and see what you've written and used the WASD keys to move your cursor around, but I've found that, for the most part, I just plow ahead and write. 

Astrohaus says that the LCD display is reflective and uses ambient light, so it's not quite the same as looking at a glowing rectangle like your phone or iPad. But it likely won't be quite as easy on the eyes as the E Ink screen on other Freewrites. But on the other hand, the refresh rate should be much quicker. As for battery life the Alpha should last about 100 hours. Past Freewrites haven't had specific battery estimates; Astrohaus just say they last weeks between charges. 

Alan Burns

There are a lot of things the Alpha has in common with other Freewrite models. Everything you write is automatically saved to the device locally, and — assuming you connect it to WiFi — everything is also backed up to the cloud and available in the Freewrite Postbox web app. You also don't have to use this proprietary service, as the Alpha can also back up to Evernote, Dropbox or Google Drive. For the old school among us, you can also connect the Alpha to a computer and pull the local files off via its USB-C port (this is also used for charging). 

If you're interested, the aforementioned Indiegogo campaign is live now, but devices aren't expected to ship until July of 2023. That's a long wait for this product, but the current $249 price point is a lot more affordable than any previous Freewrite — so if this device catches your eye, it might be worth checking out on Indiegogo. While Freewrite devices are expensive, I can say from experience that they really can help you focus on writing, provided you can keep away from your phone, of course.

TikTok isn't just facing financial penalties in the US over claimed child privacy breaches. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has warned TikTok that it might face a £27 million (about $29.2 million) fine after the watchdog determined that the social network may have broken data protection law by "failing to protect" kids' privacy between May 2018 and July 2020. The company may have handled the data of children under 13 without parental consent, processed "special category" data (such as ethnicity, sexual orientation or health) without a legal foundation and didn't offer necessary information to users in a "concise, transparent and easily understood" fashion.

ICO began investigating TikTok in February 2019, soon after the US' Federal Trade Commission fined the social media heavyweight $5.7 million over reported child privacy infringements. At the time, the UK overseer was concerned about both TikTok's "completely open" direct messaging as well as its transparency tools. Sexual predators were found messaging users as young as eight years old, and it was relatively easy for kids to bypass the app's age gate.

The office stressed that these were preliminary findings, and that there was no definitive conclusion that TikTok broke the law or will pay a fine. ICO added it would "carefully consider" TikTok's stance before making a final decision. We've asked the company for comment, and will let you know if we hear back.

There's mounting pressure on TikTok to protect kids. In the US, members of Congress and state attorneys general are grilling TikTok over possible harms to child users, including attempts to keep them riveted to using the app. A UK fine might not be the end of the company's troubles, at least until politicians and regulators are satisfied it's keeping young people safe.