There’s some positive news for those who have been holding off from buying a new gaming console, as well as folks who had trouble finding a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X since the systems arrived in late 2020. Not only are both consoles more readily available these days after Sony and Microsoft resolved some of their supply issues, they're each available for $50 less than usual. That means the disk version of the PS5 has dropped from $500 to $450, which is the console's first discount in the US outside of bundles that include a game.
When the PS5 debuted, we gave it a score of 87 in our review, but Sony has improved the experience since then by rolling out many new features. For instance, in a new beta version of the PS5 firmware that just went live, Sony added support for Dolby Atmos, increased the additional M.2 SSD storage capacity up to 8TB and introduced a welcome controller accessibility feature.
The PS5’s DualSense controller is an excellent bit of kit. It deepens the feeling of immersion thanks to features like adaptive triggers (which add tension to things like pulling back a bow’s drawstring) and haptic feedback, which can replicate sensations like falling rain or footsteps through vibration tech.
None of this would matter without great games and the PS5 now has many of them, including Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring and many more. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is right around the corner as well. The PlayStation Plus program now includes an extensive library of games you can access for a monthly or annual fee on the Extra and Premium tiers, while all but a few PlayStation 4 games work on the system as well.
As for the Series X, that's compatible with hundreds of Xbox games going all the way back to Microsoft's original 2001 console. Xbox Game Pass is a major selling point for the system, as the subscription offers access to all of Microsoft's first-party games on the day of release (perhaps soon to include Activision Blizzard titles like the Call of Duty series), as well as a wide range of third-party games.
The Xbox Series X, which is also on sale for $50 off at $450, is the most powerful gaming console around (we initially gave it a review score of 87). It too has its fair share of quality console exclusives, from the Halo series and Microsoft Flight Simulator to Hi-Fi Rush and Forza Horizon 5. The hotly anticipated Starfieldis on the horizon too, while of course a host of major third-party games are available on the system, such as the afore-mentioned Elden Ring.
In truth, both are arguably the best gaming consoles out there. It’s worth considering whether the PS5 or Xbox Series X’s exclusives are more compelling to you, how invested you are in the PlayStation or Xbox ecosystems already and if the lure of PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass is compelling enough to pull you in either direction. Perhaps you already have one console and were waiting for a deal on the other. Nonetheless, these are solid discounts on two consoles that have actually become more expensive in many markets over the last year.
The next internet video summary you see might not have been written by a human. YouTube is testing AI-generated video summaries that appear on search and watch pages. The text is meant to provide a "quick overview" of a clip to help you decide if it's worth watching. The company is quick to stress that these don't replace creators' own video descriptions.
The test will only be visible with a "limited number" of English-language videos, and only for some viewers. YouTube hasn't said which countries, platforms or video types will get the AI-produced summaries. We've asked the company for comment and will let you know if we hear back.
YouTube has given users a few preview features in recent weeks, as Android Policeexplains. Premium subscribers could lock the screen during playback to prevent accidental commands. You've also had the option to turn Shorts comments into entirely new short-form clips.
The experiment comes nearly three years after YouTube started testing AI-produced video chapters, but it's part of a larger generative AI push at Google. The tech giant has introduced its Bard chatbot and is using the technology to produce everything from spreadsheet templates to whole news articles, if not always for public consumption.
The YouTube summary feature may be one of the more logical extensions, however. The service says over 500 hours of content are uploaded every minute — it would be impossible for humans to keep up. The question is whether or not the AI summaries are accurate enough. Google has warned that generative systems like Bard may be prone to inaccuracies and misinformation, and it's not yet clear how well the YouTube experiment works in practice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-tests-ai-generated-video-summaries-140259921.html?src=rss
The ongoing race to expand generative AI technology is reaching digital assistants — one of many people's first introductions to an AI companion. Such is the case with Google, which is working on a revamp for its Assistant that will include generative AI-powered technology, according in an internal email obtained by Axios.
Google Assistant's vice president Peeyush Ranjan and product director, Duke Dukellis, explained their rationale to staffers, stating: "As a team, we need to focus on delivering high-quality, critical product experiences for our users. We've also seen the profound potential of generative AI to transform people's lives and see a huge opportunity to explore what a supercharged Assistant, powered by the latest LLM technology, would look like."
Notably, the email revealed that Google is already working on doing this for mobile devices. There's no timeline set for when Google will integrate this technology into its smart home devices or, for that matter, exactly what these new updates will look like. The company might utilize Bard, its AI chatbot, to converse with Assistant users or try something completely original.
Whatever Google employees are working on, it's causing some internal reconfiguration, such as combining the Surfaces and Services teams into one. The company is also letting go of a "small" number of employees but didn't disclose the exact amount.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-looking-to-supercharge-assistant-with-ai-113516175.html?src=rss
German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies announced it’s making printed circuit boards (PCBs) that dissolve in water. Sourced from UK startup Jiva Materials, the plant-based Soluboard could provide a new way for the tech industry to reduce electronic waste.
Jiva’s biodegradable PCB is made of natural fibers and a halogen-free polymer with a much lower carbon footprint. A team at the University of Washington College of Engineering and Microsoft Research created a mouse using a Soluboard PCB as its core. The researchers found the Soluboard dissolved in hot water in under six minutes. The process also makes retrieving the valuable metals attached to it easier. “After [it dissolves], we’re left with the chips and circuit traces, which we can filter out,” said UW assistant professor Vikram Iyer, who worked on the mouse project.
It’s early days for the technology. And maybe I’m a Debby-downer (and clumsy), but it could increase the drama of me spilling coffee on my laptop.
– Mat Smith
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Last spring, Amazon launched its live audio-streaming platform, Amp. The pitch was reinventing radio with “an infinite dial of shows.” With no need to buy songs or flirt with the DMCA, users could make a playlist, go live, talk between tracks, follow the chat and even invite callers. It’s finally available on Android.
Unlike Clubhouse, which enjoyed an early surge of popularity, Amp has largely gone under the radar since launch. “The thing we're maniacally focused on every day is making sure that the product is right before stepping out in bigger and bigger fashion,” said Amp co-founder, Matt Sandler. Can it grow?
8BitDo announced a new mechanical keyboard inspired by Nintendo’s NES and Famicom consoles from the 1980s. The $100 Retro Mechanical Keyboard works in wired / wireless modes, supports custom key mapping and includes two giant red buttons, because why not? Pre-orders are open now, with the accessory costing $100, and should begin shipping on August 10th.
It accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate of a ‘scare campaign.’
X Corp (aka Twitter) has filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). It claimed the anti-hate group is illegally "scraping" its servers and cherry-picking hateful posts as part of "a scare campaign to drive away advertisers," according to documents filed in San Francisco federal court. The Center published a research article in June asserting X allowed explicitly racist and homophobic posts despite policies to the contrary, even after they'd been reported. However, X responded that the CCDH used poor methodology and failed to study all 500 million posts on the service each day.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-water-soluble-circuit-boards-could-have-a-huge-impact-on-e-waste-111536730.html?src=rss
After threatening to do so, X Corp (aka Twitter) has filed a lawsuit against The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), Bloomberg has reported. It claimed that the anti-hate group is illegally "scraping" its servers and cherry picking hateful posts as part of "a scare campaign to drive away advertisers," according to documents filed in San Francisco federal court. X Corp. is asking for unspecified monetary damages and an injunction barring the CCDH from accessing its data.
The Center published a research article in June asserting that X allowed explicitly racist and homophobic posts despite policies to the contrary, even after they'd been reported. However, X responded that the CCDH used poor methodology, and failed to study all 500 million posts on the service each day. It also maintained that the Center was taking funding from competitors or foreign governments as part of an "ulterior agenda," according to The New York Times.
In a new blog post called "Protecting the public’s right to free expression," Twitter/X explained its reasoning for filing a legal claim against CCDH. "X is a free public service funded largely by advertisers. Through the CCDH's scare campaign and its ongoing pressure on brands to prevent the public’s access to free expression, the CCDH is actively working to prevent public dialogue," the post states.
It went on to note that the CCDH scraped its data, accessing it without authorization from Brandwatch, a Twitter partner that provides "consumer & market insights," "brand monitoring" and more. It added that CCDH's "'research' cited in aBloomberg article 'contained metrics used out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about X (formerly Twitter).'"
"That’s why X has filed a legal claim against the CCDH and its backers," it stated. It also accused the CCDH of "targeting people on all platforms who speak about issues the CCDH doesn’t agree with," "attempting to coerce the deplatforming of users whose views do not conform to the CCDH's ideological agenda" and more.
In a letter published earlier today, the CCDH countered Twitter's earlier allegations. It noted that it never claimed to be conducting a comprehensive study, and documented the methodology it did use. It wrote that X didn't provide any specific examples, and said it doesn't accept funding from companies or governments. It further stated that it "will not be bullied," will continue publishing its research and that a lawsuit with "frivolous" claims could prove risky.
"The public has the right to know if and how @ElonMusk’s leadership has led to more hate speech on Twitter,” the nonprofit tweeted earlier. "By threatening us, Musk is trying to hide the truth about his own failures. Platforms must be held accountable for spreading hate & lies."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elon-musks-x-corp-sues-anti-hate-group-over-its-research-060156126.html?src=rss
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the upcoming game from Team Reptile with major Jet Set Radio vibes, is also heading to PlayStation and Xbox. It was initially announced for Switch and PC with a release date of August 18th. Now, the developer has revealed that PlayStation and Xbox gamers only have to wait a couple of weeks more, because the title will be released for their consoles two weeks later, on September 1st.
Team Reptile describes Bomb Rush Cyberfunk as a world wherein "self-styled graffiti crews equipped with personal boostpacks are battling each other for control of the streets." Its theme, gameplay and art style are all reminiscent of the Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio, which was released back in 2000. In the upcoming funkstyle game, players can explore the five main boroughs of New Amsterdam to spray graffiti, do dance battles and face off rival crews.
They can also expand their crew by finding new members around the city as they go around on inline skates, skateboards or bikes. (And yes, they can use the environment to do tricks.) Another layer of gameplay is that players have to evade militarized police as they move, which gets harder to do the longer they play because law enforcement scales up the more they vandalize the streets.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bomb-rush-cyberfunk-arrives-on-the-playstation-and-xbox-in-september-045525170.html?src=rss
The Uber safety driver at the wheel during the first known fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian has pleaded guilty to and been sentenced for an endangerment charge. Rafaela Vasquez will serve three years of probation for her role in the 2018 Tempe, Arizona collision that killed Elaine Herzberg while she was jaywalking at night. The sentence honors the prosecutors' demands and is stiffer than the six months the defense team requested.
The prosecution maintained that Vasquez was ultimately responsible. While an autonomous car was involved, Vasquez was supposed to concentrate on the road and take over if necessary. The modified Volvo XC90 in the crash was operating at Level 3 autonomy and could be hands-free in limited conditions, but required the driver to take over at a moment's notice. It noticed Herzberg but didn't respond to her presence.
The defense case hinged on partly blaming Uber. Executives at the company thought it was just a matter of time before a crash occurred, according to supposedly leaked conversations. The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) collision findings also noted that Uber had disabled the emergency braking system on the XC90, so the vehicle couldn't come to an abrupt stop.
Tempe police maintained that Vasquez had been watching a show on Hulu and wasn't paying attention during the crash. Defense attorneys have insisted that Vasquez was paying attention and had only been momentarily distracted.
The plea and sentencing could influence how other courts handle similar cases. There's long been a question of liability surrounding mostly driverless cars — is the human responsible for a crash, or is the manufacturer at fault? This suggests humans will still face penalties if they can take control, even if the punishment isn't as stiff for conventional situations.
Fatal crashes with autonomy involved aren't new. Tesla has been at least partly blamed for collisions while Full Self Driving was active. The pedestrian case is unique, though, and looms in the background of more recent Level 4 (fully driverless in limited situations) offerings and tests from Waymo and GM's Cruise.While the technology has evolved since 2018, there are still calls to freeze robotaxi rollouts over fears the machines could pose safety risks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-safety-driver-involved-in-fatal-self-driving-car-crash-pleads-guilty-212616187.html?src=rss
German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG announced that it’s producing a printed circuit board (PCB) that dissolves in water. Sourced from UK startup Jiva Materials, the plant-based Soluboard could provide a new avenue for the tech industry to reduce e-waste as companies scramble to meet climate goals by 2030.
Jiva’s biodegradable PCB is made from natural fibers and a halogen-free polymer with a much lower carbon footprint than traditional boards made with fiberglass composites. A 2022 study by the University of Washington College of Engineering and Microsoft Research saw the team create an Earth-friendly mouse using a Soluboard PCB as its core. The researchers found that the Soluboard dissolved in hot water in under six minutes. However, it can take several hours to break down at room temperature.
In addition to dissolving the PCB fibers, the process makes it easier to retrieve the valuable metals attached to it. “After [it dissolves], we’re left with the chips and circuit traces which we can filter out,” said UW assistant professor Vikram Iyer, who worked on the mouse project.
The video below shows the Soluboard dissolving in a frying pan with boiling water:
“Adopting a water-based recycling process could lead to higher yields in the recovery of valuable metals,” said Jonathan Swanston, CEO and co-founder of Jiva Materials. Jiva says the board has a 60 percent smaller carbon footprint than traditional PCBs — specifically, it can save 10.5 kg of carbon and 620 g of plastic per square meter of PCB.
Infineon has produced three different circuit board prototypes using the Soluboard framework. The company is currently only using the dissolvable PCB for demo and evaluation boards, and it says around 500 units are now in use. However, it’s “exploring the possibility of using the material for all boards” with an eye on expanding adoption over the next few years. Based on the results of stress tests, it also plans to “provide guidance on the reuse and recycling of power semiconductors removed from Soluboards” to lessen the chances of the salvageable parts from future production models going to waste.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/water-soluble-circuit-boards-could-cut-carbon-footprints-by-60-percent-201845709.html?src=rss
Last spring, Amazon launched its long-rumored live audio-streaming platform, Amp. The pitch was to reinvent radio with “an infinite dial of shows.” Amp offers users access to a vast, built-in music library to create their own DJ sets with. No need to buy songs or flirt with the DMCA, just make a playlist, go live, talk in between tracks, follow the chat and even invite callers. When I wrote about it a year ago, it showed promise, but it was iOS only, light on users and had a limited feature set.
A little over a year later and Amp is reaching an important milestone: It’s finally available on Android. Amp is Amazon’s first home-grown streaming platform and the year-plus stint as an Apple exclusive meant it enjoyed a level of technical predictability and a self-imposed restriction on growth and user numbers. But as the doors open to the other half of the mobile universe, it’s about to be exposed to the full reality of competing in an already busy social-creator landscape.
Growing beyond iOS is an important move for Amp, even if the platform technically remains in beta (and US-only). But the wider reach of Google’s operating system — from TVs to Chromebooks and beyond — will be a decisive step in the process of Amazon proving it can build a viable streaming platform from the ground up (rather than acquire an already successful one).
You can, of course, find DJ sessions and internet radio in myriad places online. Whether it’s big platforms like YouTube and TikTok or more direct rivals like Stationhead or Tidal (via its Live Sessions feature) and even Amazon Music’s own DJ Mode, there are several destinations for live curated music streams. Of course, let’s not forget Amazon-owned Twitch, which is teeming with tune spinners. Oh, and there’s obviously FM radio, too. This obviously begs the question: What makes Amp unique?
Amazon
“It's very much like Sirius meets YouTube,” Zach Sang, one of Amp’s contracted creators, and former broadcast DJ told Engadget. “It's real life, legacy career broadcasters mixed with the future of those broadcasters. It's everybody coming together, it's radio democratized. It's a way that radio genuinely should be programmed: for people and not for profit,” he added. From a user’s point of view, Amp’s main differentiator appears to be its focus on radio and radio-style shows specifically. Plus that built-in music library (Stationhead, for example, requires you to have either Apple Music or Spotify at your own cost).
I asked user Christina “Criti” Gonzalez, who hosts her own daily show, how she’d describe Amp. “[It’s] a very unique, weird place where you're able to listen to all the music you've forgotten about, didn't know about and crave to hear, again with personalities and so many people of all different walks of life that have one common interest - music.”
Amp Co-Founder, Matt Sandler - who used to work at LA’s KROQ FM – explained that he felt all of the existing options weren’t quite giving listeners or creators what they wanted. “If you posted a job for KROQ and an on air position, you'd get hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of submissions and people who wanted to curate music and talk to the community on air,” he told Engadget. “There have been lots of services built around live connection or music or community. One of the things that I think will drive the success of a business like this is really that balance between scale and connection.”
Amp signed deals with celebrities and established presenters such as Nicki Minaj, Joe Budden, Nick Cannon and the aforementioned Sang to give the platform some known-name appeal, and it’s done so without creating much of a barrier around them compared to regular creators. Your show can sit right next to Nicki Minaj’s in the listings. Although the roster covers large genres like hip-hop, sports, country and pop there’s not much in the way of alt/indie or electronic in that lineup right now.
Unlike Clubhouse, which enjoyed an early surge of popularity, Amp has largely gone under the radar since launch. “The thing we're maniacally focused on every day is making sure that the product is right before stepping out and bigger and bigger fashion,” Sandler said. But many people I’ve mentioned it to aren’t aware of it – and Amp’s not even included on the list of Amazon products/services Wikipedia page.
Amazon
The app is clearly a lot busier than when I wrote about it just after launch, but the average number of listeners for most shows remains frustratingly low for most shows (based on multiple user reports and other publicly visible data). But several users explained they weren’t discouraged. “The community that it has right now, it's a small enough space for people to feel like they're connected, even if they don't know each other.” Gonzalez said.
At the beginning, according to Sandler, even Amp's leadership was unsure in which direction the platform would unfold. There was the possibility that the big-name artists would dominate while regular users gravitated to being listeners. In reality, it’s the smaller, home-grown shows and the aforementioned community that has made Amp a nice place to hang out.
“The culture there is so inviting.” Gonzalez said. “I feel like other social media sites can turn negative quickly. I haven't had much experience with that on Amp and I appreciate that.” Adding, ”It's crazy what the experience on Amp has done, because I truly honestly say to anyone that's not an Amp to join it, because it really will change your perspective.”
One of the main complaints I had with Amp right after launch was that hosts needed at least one listener to be able to play a song and often that meant… waiting. There was also no way to communicate with any listeners you did have. Today the awkward waits are (mostly) gone and each stream has its own chat room which has switched it from a one-directional platform to the collection of friendly gatherings that it has become today.
Several creators and listeners have told me they’ve created genuine connections and friendships that have spilled over into real life. The chat rooms in shows are a rare mix of positivity, musical discourse and humor. Trolling and negativity is unusually rare and it’s obvious there’s a real sense of commitment to the app. But at some point it needs to expand to stop it becoming a circular economy where everyone is both a host and a listener.
Amp doesn’t share information about user numbers or demographics, but the typical host and listener right now, perhaps unsurprisingly, appears to mirror the generations that were brought up on mix tapes and burning albums to CD. Where sharing music was more tactile and a little bit slower. In the nicest possible way, the community energy often feels like the best bits of early internet chat rooms. Like many music-first spaces online, there’s little in the way of negativity, and while many creators may fall into a similar age group, a variety of backgrounds has been a defining factor since day one.
Amazon
The positive community is Amp’s to lose though. As it opens up to Android, the door to even more users opens, and with that the challenge of scaling up the platform while maintaining what keeps it special. And there’s also the matter of money. Right now, Amp pays out many of its hosts via an opaque creator fund. “One of the things that we're focused on is making sure that creators can earn through the service over time, not just through the fund, but through other mechanisms as well.” Sandler said. When I asked about subs, tipping and other Twitch-esque ways to earn money he added “Those are all things you could easily imagine in the service.”
For now, the creator fund is helping keep hosts motivated, but Amp will need to provide realistic alternative revenue streams to keep creators around (and, of course, lure in more). But perhaps the bigger investment Amp needs is in itself. It’s hard to find much in the way of outward promotion of the app and the best tool for promoting its best creators are its own social channels. If Amp can make itself more visible, it can grow the user base which in turn makes that creator economy, be it tipping, subs and beyond, more viable.
There are also occasional technical issues that remind you the app is still in beta, which an injection of new users, on a new operating system no less, might exacerbate. Mostly, it’s small annoyances like the chat swallowing your last message. Occasionally, it’s more dramatic like a stream crashing or a host being booted out of their own show.
“The glitchiness causes some frustration. And, sometimes that can change your experience doing the show and with others listening. So once those kinks get ironed out, I feel like the creators will feel more comfortable and less anxious while they're doing sets” Gonzalez said. Users have even coined the phrase “Amp be Ampin’” as a refrain to the inevitable quirkiness that happens every couple of weeks or after an update.
Where does the app go from here? “I think there's a big opportunity for amp specifically to move charts and culture around the world. And that means personalities, spinning music, having conversations and developing communities that exist in the app but that have social currency outside of the app as well.” Sandler said. Sang on the other hand thinks it’s a way to keep the spirit of radio going. “It's not like there's any major radio stars on the come up. So it's like, where are they going to come from? Let them come from Amp.”
Or, as Gonzalez was quick to point out, sometimes, it’s just about the music. “There are certain creators that talk through their experience or a memory or something like that. And it completely changes how I looked at the song to begin with” she said. “I love the community so much, but it's also just the variety, being exposed to certain genres. So I love that and ever since I've been really addicted.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-amp-is-trying-to-reinvent-radio-194634553.html?src=rss
Mazda's MX-30 is a strange EV, and it appears the company knows this. The automaker is pulling the small crossover from the US market after the 2023 model year. The company says it's currently focused on "large platform" plug-in hybrids like the CX-70 and CX-90, and also offers conventional hybrids like the CX-50.
The MX-30 is Mazda's first and only mass-produced EV to date, and it came to the country in fall 2021 as a California-only model. From the start, its prospects were limited by a number of unusual business decisions. On top of its small size, it had just a 35.5kWh battery with an estimated 100-mile range. This was supposed to make it feel more like a gas car and limit the car's CO2 footprint, but the net result was a car that was both less exciting to drive and less practical than competing EVs costing significantly less than Mazda's $35,385 sticker. The outgoing current-gen Chevy Bolt costs $9,000 less while delivering more performance and over twice the range.
Sales were accordingly poor. Mazda has sold just 571 MX-30 units in the US over three years. In some countries, the company has reworked the machine as a plug-in hybrid with a rotary gas engine and an estimated 53 miles of electric-only driving.
Mazda is rethinking its EV strategy. It plans to introduce cars based on both an existing platform as well as a new framework. There are claims the company might use a future Toyota platform expected to deliver over 600 miles on a charge. The MX-30 discontinuation isn't the end, in other words — rather, it's an acknowledgment that the company needs to be more competitive.
