Amazon's Deal of the Day is all about storage products, with particularly good prices for SD cards. Do you need a giant boost in storage for your smartphone, drone other other device that uses a MicroSD memory card? Amazon is selling SanDisk's 1TB Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-1 cards with adapter at just $110 for today only. That's a hefty 52 percent discount compared to the regular $230 selling price. 

SanDisk pioneered 1TB MicroSD memory cards and was first to both launch and sell them. The model in question provides up to 120MB/s speeds, essentially the max available in the UHS-I format. With A1 application class performance, it delivers fewer IOPS (input-output access per second) than A2 class cards, but sustained sequential read speeds are the same. It has a high 4.8 out of 5 consumer rating on Amazon with 89,144 global reviews. 

Amazon

Amazon also has a great deal today on another type of memory card that's difficult to find discounted. It's offering the SanDisk Extreme Pro 256GB CFexpress Type B memory card at $260, which is $140 off the regular $400 price. These cards are used in cameras like Canon's EOS R5, Nikon's Z6 II, Z7 II, D6 and 1DX Mark III, Panasonic's S1, S1R and S1H models, and the Blackmagic Design BMPCC 6K and 6K Pro. (Note that Sony's A1 and A7S III use smaller CFexpress Type A cards.) 

Switching to SanDisk's CFexpress cards boosts speeds from 300 MB/s up to 1,700 MB/s max over UHS II. That will allow you to capture 8K video on Canon's R3, for example, or shoot sustained photo bursts more reliably and for a longer duration. Again, this SanDisk model is highly rated by users, but the deal ends today. 

Amazon is also offering other memory and storage deals on WD and SanDisk products, including NVMe drives, portable G-drives, USB keys and internal hard disks. For more, check out its Deal of the Day page. 

A new trojan called BloodyStealer is targeting gamer's accounts on EA Origin, Steam, Epic Games, GOG and other services, according to Kaspersky researchers. The malware can scrape session data and passwords, along with information like bank card details, device data, screen shots and uTorrent files. "What struck us was that most of the listed programs are game-related, which suggests that gamer accounts and their contents are in demand on the underground market," Kaspersky's Julia Glazova wrote in a blog post. 

BloodyStealer is relatively cheap at $10 per month or around $40 for a lifetime license. Apparently the primary attack target is logs, or databases containing info used to access accounts. Those can then be offered to buyers via Telegram or a malware panel. In one example, Kaspersky showed a screenshot of a seller with 65,600 logs broken down by region, available for $150. They can also be sold individually — accounts with plenty of games, add-ons and expensive items are particularly valuable. 

The trojan stood out to researchers for its clever construction, using anti-debugging tools that make it hard to reverse engineer. Information is sent as a ZIP archive to a command-and-control (C&C) server, protected against DDoS and other types of web attacks. 

Kaspersky noted that it's seeing the malware around the globe and provided tips to avoid falling victim. It recommends buying apps only from official sources (not torrents) to avoid malware. It also recommends protecting your account with a strong password and, preferably, two-factor authentication. At the bottom of the post, it also provides guides to maxing out each platform's security settings.

The Void, which created in-person VR experiences but was forced to shutter its business last year during the pandemic, may be coming back. A former investor may be planning to relaunch it with key employees after acquiring the IP and other assets, according to a report from Protocol. 

In its heyday, The Void counted investors like Disney and Comcast, and created high-profile VR titles like Avengers: Damage Control, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire and Ghostbusters: Dimension. It created theme park-type centers that allowed visitors to don VR headsets, backpacks and tactile vests to explore VR worlds complete with real-life touches like functioning doors and other props. 

Unfortunately, the company's choice to launch in high-end malls saddled it with debt, and the pandemic eventually forced it to close. After seeking protection from creditors, it transferred assets to a holding company which planned to resell them or relaunch after the pandemic. It ended up doing the former, selling its business to a company called Hyper Reality Partners (HRP) earlier this year.

HRP has reportedly signed key employees who previously worked for The Void, including its Chief Creative Officer Curtis Hickman and VPs of Content Jason Howard and Steve Shaiken. According to a placeholder page on the site, "The Void [and HRP] are now entering a period of rapid expansion and are looking for more talented team members to join us. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of VR and the entire entertainment industry." 

In its prior incarnation, The Void spent millions developing its own Oculus-based headset, VR backpacks and accessories. However, it supposedly plans to relaunch with new equipment, possibly because the old gear has been made obsolete by lighter devices and new standalone headsets. It's reportedly also looking to open its own, larger venues with non-VR attractions along with food and beverage services. There's no timeline for that yet, but its first new location will reportedly be in Las Vegas. 

Nintendo has confirmed that it will expand its Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Japan with a new Donkey Kong section. The new zone, which is reportedly already under construction, is set to open sometime in 2024 and will expand the park size by 70 percent, Nintendo said. 

"The area will feature a roller coaster, interactive experiences and themed merchandise and food," Nintendo wrote in a press release. "Guests will be able to take a walk on the wild side through the lush jungles where Donkey Kong and his friends live."

Super Nintendo World opened in March of 2021 after a delay due to COVID-19, with mask-wearing, temperature checks and hand sanitizer requirements in place. However, a surge in the pandemic prompted a temporary closure a month later. As it stands now, travel to Japan is banned for tourists and other travelers. 

Nintendo plans similar attractions at the Orlando, Hollywood and Singapore Universal Studios parks. Key attractions at the Japan park are the Mario Kart: Kuppa's Challenge rollercoaster and Yoshi Adventure. Guests also get a "Power-up Band" that lets them collect coins and have other interactive experiences. 

"I am very happy to be able to make the world of Donkey Kong a reality following the world of Mario," said Nintendo Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto. "I am looking forward to creating a thrilling Donkey Kong experience with the amazing team at Universal. It will take some time until it is completed, but it will be a unique area for not only people who are familiar with Donkey Kong games, but for all guests."

This time last year, ByteDance was trying to save its TikTok app in the US and elsewhere after Donald Trump's administration threatened to ban it. One potential savior was Microsoft, which had negotiated to acquire the app in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but lost its bid to Oracle. At the Code conference, CEO Satya Nadella offered new details on the negotiation, telling journalist Kara Swisher it was "the strangest thing I've ever worked on," Geekwire has reported.

It was a chaotic series of events that started when Trump threatened to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok to a US owner, citing privacy and security concerns. Microsoft stepped in as a potential buyer, though the company in the end struck a deal with Oracle and Walmart that was scrapped by President Joe Biden's administration in February 2021.

TikTok originally came to Microsoft, Nadella emphasized, seeking a cloud and security partner to help it pilot the delicate political landscape between China and the US. "That's kind of how it started," he said. "But I was pretty intrigued. I must say, it's a great property. Obviously, everyone has seen that growth and what have you, and I guess the rest is history."

In fact, just yesterday, TikTok reached a billion users and did so in less than four years. For perspective, it took Instagram almost eight years after its initial release and nearly six years after it was acquired by Facebook in 2012 to pass the 1 billion user threshold.

President Trump, I think had sort of a particular point of view on what he was trying to get done there, and then just dropped off,” he said. “I mean, it was interesting. There was a period of time when I felt that the [administration] had some particular set of requirements, and then they just disappeared.

Swisher persisted with the subject, asking Nadella about Microsoft's negotiations with Trump. “President Trump, I think had sort of a particular point of view on what he was trying to get done there, and then just dropped off,” he said. “I mean, it was interesting. There was a period of time when I felt that the [administration] had some particular set of requirements, and then they just disappeared.”

In fact, Microsoft was in the middle of negotiations with ByteDance when Trump dropped a bomb, telling reporters that he'd rather ban the app than allow it to be sold to a US company, according to a book by Microsoft President Brad Smith. That "threw into disarray the careful negotiations we had pursued with ByteDance” to buy TikTok’s business in the U.S. and the three other countries, he wrote. Trump only relented and allowed a deal to happen after Nadella called him personally.

After Oracle's winning bid, ByteDance said that Trump had "ghosted" the site, effectively going silent after ordering the company to divest its US TikTok assets.

Though it came away empty-handed, Microsoft did learn a few things about complex foreign negotiations around tech. "It’s possible to run a foreign technology service in a domestic data center with strict security, privacy, and digital safety controls in a manner that provides appropriate transparency to local government officials," said Smith.

Facebook has announced that it's "pausing" its Instagram Kids project in order to "work with parents, experts and policymakers to demonstrate the value and need for this product." The announcement follows criticism from 44 state attorneys general who asked Facebook to abandon the project, and a request from Democratic lawmakers for more detail about the project. 

The Instagram team said that it was building the app to get around the problem of kids accessing Instagram without parental permission. "We started this project to address an important problem seen across our industry: kids are getting phones younger and younger, misrepresenting their age, and downloading apps that are meant for those 13 or older," wrote Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri. 

At the same time, the company rejected the idea it was capitulating due to criticism. "Critics of 'Instagram Kids' will see this as an acknowledgement that the project is a bad idea. That’s not the case," Mosseri wrote. "The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today."

An important part of what we’ve been developing for 'Instagram Kids' is a way for parents to supervise their child’s use of Instagram. While we’re pausing our development of 'Instagram Kids,' we’ll continue our work to allow parents to oversee their children’s accounts by expanding these tools to teen accounts (aged 13 and over) on Instagram.

Some of the issues raised about the project revolve around Facebook's problems with privacy and particularly child safety. "Not only is social media an influential tool that can be detrimental to children who are not of appropriate age, but this plan could place children directly in the paths of predators," New York state attorney general Letitia James said when the project first came to light. 

Most recently, the WSJ published an article claiming that Facebook has knowingly ignored its own research showing that Instagram is toxic to the mental health of younger people. Yesterday, the social network refuted that article as well, saying its research said that young people had "both positive and negative experiences with social media." 

Facebook pointed out that both YouTube and TikTok have versions of their apps for kids under 13. It also said that Instagram Kids would not be the same as Instagram today, and was never meant for younger children, but tweens between 10 and 12 years old. "It will require parental permission to join, it won’t have ads, and it will have age-appropriate content and features," according to Mosseri. He also pointed out that Facebook has implemented several new measures on issues like body image, encouraging people to look at other topics or take a break if they're dwelling on negative content. 

However, lawmakers don't like even the idea of an app, regardless of intent. "The alternative approach that Facebook appears poised to take—specifically, pushing kids to sign up for a new platform that may itself pose threats to young users’ privacy and wellbeing—involves serious challenges and may do more harm than good," said a group of Democratic lawmakers. 

With features like WiFi support, Bluetooth, HomeKit and a closed-door sensor, August's 3rd-gen Smart Lock Pro is feature-rich but quite expensive at $230. Fortunately, if you've been coveting that model, you can now pick one up today only for much less — just $99 at Amazon (57 percent off) as its deal of the day. 

August has several Smart Lock versions, with the basic model lacking features like Apple HomeKit and Z-Wave Plus compatibility, along with several features (WiFi, Alexa and Google Assistant support and remote access) requiring the $80 August Connect WiFi bridge. That's all included with Smart Lock Pro since it comes with the Connect Hub. At 86mm compared to 72mm, it's larger than the basic version and requires four AA batteries, rather than two CR123 cells in the lower-end model. 

Other features include remote/guest access, August app support, auto-lock and unlock, DoorSense to confirm your door is properly closed and arguably a more attractive design. It also fits over your current lock and dispenses with the thumb turn, as you just turn the outside of the lock to open your door. 

If the size and configuration isn't an issue, then the Smart Lock Pro is clearly the one you want, so the $99 price tag makes it essentially a no brainer. At that price, it's cheaper than the basic model that's currently priced at around $130, or $154 with Connect. It's also a lot less than August's latest model, the 4th-generation Smart Lock WiFi (which doesn't require the Connect Hub), currently selling for $230.  

Researchers from UC San Diego, supported by LG Energy, have made a promising discovery that involves two popular types of battery tech. They created a solid-state battery with an all-silicon anode that could potentially deliver long life, high energy density and fast charging — potentially making EVs cheaper and more practical. 

Silicon is a highly desirable anode material as it has over ten times the energy density of current graphite anodes. The problem is that silicon anodes tend to expand and degrade quickly as a battery charges and discharges, particularly with the liquid electrolytes currently used in lithium-ion cells. That issue is mainly what has kept them out of commercial batteries. 

Meanwhile, the challenge with solid-state batteries (with solid instead of liquid electrolytes) is that they use metallic lithium anodes that must be kept at elevated temperatures (140 degrees F) during charging. That makes them less practical in cold weather, requiring heaters that consume valuable energy.

The solution to both these problems is a special type of silicon anode in a solid-state battery, according to the US San Diego team. They eliminated the carbon and binders typically used in silicon anodes and replaced the liquid electrolyte with a sulfide-based solid electrolyte. 

With those changes, they demonstrated that the all-silicon anodes were much more stable in the solid electrolyte, retaining 80 percent capacity after 500 charge and discharge cycles done at room temperature. It also allowed for faster charging rates than previous silicon anode batteries, the team said. 

The team has already licensed the tech to a company called Unigrid battery, and LG Energy Storage plans to expand the research. The work is particularly promising for grid storage, according to lead author Darren H.S. Tan. However, it's still in the experimental stages and "there is more work to do," the team acknowledged. And of course, a lot of batteries that work great in labs have failed to do so in the real world. The paper was published in the Science journal and also appeared earlier on Arxiv. 

NBC Universal has warned YouTube TV subscribers that 14 of its channels may be removed if the two parties can't resolve a dispute, 9to5Google has reported. YouTube has acknowledged the situation on its official blog, saying that it will drop its monthly price by $10 if the situation isn't resolved and the content goes offline. If you're a YouTube TV subscriber, you stand to lose NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, Bravo, CNBC, Telemundo and eight other channels. 

According to YouTube, the dispute revolves around how much money its paying NBC Universal (NBCU) for its content. "For the duration of our agreement, YouTube TV seeks the same rates that services of a similar size get from NBCU so we can continue offering YouTube TV to members at a competitive and fair price," the Google-owned service said. NBC said in a statement that it's seeking "fair rates" from Google, adding that YouTube TV is "just days away from letting their contract expire."

NBC Universal is trying to put some pressure on YouTube TV, asking users to tweet at or chat with YouTube TV, or even switch providers. However, YouTube is saying that it will only renew "if NBCU offers us equitable terms" and said it would drop monthly prices by $10 from $64.99 to $54.99 while the channels are off the platform. It even encouraged users to sign up for NBC's Peacock streaming service for $4.99 per month in order to retain NBCU content. 

Amazon is working on a number of new devices including an Echo with a 15-inch wall-mounted display, a soundbar, new Echo Auto technology and wearables. Some may appear fairly soon at the company's September 28th hardware event, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The splashiest-looking product would be an Alexa-enabled Echo with a display size around 15-inches. Codenamed Hoya, it could not only be placed on a stand like a regular Echo device, but mounted on a wall as well. It would serve as a smart-home center to control lights, cameras, locks and other devices, while showing weather, timers, appointments, photos and more. It's specifically designed to work in the kitchen, displaying recipes and YouTube cooking videos, while letting you stream Netflix and other apps. 

The company may also announce its own soundbar, codenamed Harmony, to accompany a rumored lineup of Amazon-branded TVs. Unlike third-party Alexa-enabled soundbars, it would have a front-facing camera and support video calls from TVs, much like Facebook's Portal TV. 

Finally, it's reportedly developing a new version of Echo Auto (codenamed Marion). The updated version will supposedly have a new design and allow for device charging via inductive technology. Amazon currently has a partnership with Ford to put Alexa in 700,000 vehicles, but it's apparently looking to team up with other automakers, too.

Other items in the works include new Echo speakers for 2022 and wearables for kids and seniors (the latter with fall detection). It's also reportedly building dedicated processors to improve artificial intelligence along with new technology to help its Fire TV, Echo and other devices work better together. 

The company has some other, somewhat more unusual products in the works as well, according to the report. It has been working on a home robot codenamed Vesta that would use the Alexa interface and also an Alexa-powered karaoke microphone — though the team working on the latter project was reportedly disbanded.