Logitech has unveiled two new products aimed at creators, including one designed to help them look their best while streaming or recording videos. Litra Beam is a key light that has a three-way adjustable desktop stand, which should help you find the right height, tilt and rotation for your needs. Logitech notes that, by adding one or more of the lights to their setup, creators can employ various lighting techniques, such as Front, Split, Butterfly or Rembrandt.
The key light employs TrueSoft tech. According to Logitech, that helps to provide "balanced, full-spectrum LED light with cinematic color accuracy for a natural, radiant look across all skin tones." The company also claims the Litra Beam can do away with harsh shadows thanks to its frameless diffuser. Since it can run on either USB or AC power, you'll have more flexibility over where to place the device.
There are buttons on the rear, which provide a way to quickly switch between five brightness and five color temperature settings. Alternatively, you can control the Litra Beam via the Logitech G Hub desktop app. From here, you can tweak brightness by percentage value, adjust the color temperature by Kelvins, control multiple key lights at the same time and manage presets.
Logitech
You might want your streams, videos and calls to sound good too. Logitech also announced a Blue Sona XLR broadcast mic. It has a built-in preamp that offers a +25dB gain boost, a dual-diaphragm capsule and supercardioid pickup pattern (designed to reduce or eliminate background noise) and a 290-degree swivel mount. It's available in graphite and off-white finishes with swappable red and graphite windscreens.
The Litra Beam, which follows the $60 Litra Glow light Logitech announced earlier this year, won't break the bank. It costs $100/£99/€119, so it's perhaps a more budget-friendly alternative to Elgato's lights. As for the Blue Sona, that will run you $350/£329/€349. Both products are available starting today in the US, Canada and some European countries.
Ted Lasso is coming to FIFA 23 and he's bringing AFC Richmond with him. EA teamed up with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to include the stars of Ted Lasso in the game — Warner Bros. is one of the producers and distributors of the Apple TV+ hit. You'll be able to play as Roy Kent et al in several modes, including Career Mode, Kickoff, Online Friendlies and Online Seasons.
FIFA 23will make Richmond kits, tifos, manager items (including Coach Beard ones) and other content available to unlock through FIFA Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs. Richmond's Nelson Road stadium will be in the game too. Hopefully, we'll hear a Roy Kent chant or two from the crowd.
As for Ted Lasso himself, you'll be able to select him as the manager of Richmond or any other team in Career Mode. Alternatively, any other manager, including a created one, can take control of Richmond. You can also have your own created player take to the pitch alongside the likes of Jamie Tartt, Sam Obisanya and Dani Rojas. EA released a trailer that features Wayne Rooney, Jack Grealish and Trent Crimm (formerly of The Independent):
“It is so f***ing cool to be in FIFA. I’m not sure this is going to help dispel the CGI rumors but f*** it, totally worth it,” Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent, said in a statement. “I look forward to beating my nephew in a game with me as Roy Kent and him as Jamie Tartt. He’s gonna be furious.”
FIFA 23 is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (where it will have EA's new anti-cheat tech) and Stadia on September 30th. It might not be Ted Lasso's only appearance in a video game, though. Leaks have suggested he'll be a playable character in Warner Bros' crossover fighting game MultiVersus at some point.
Don't expect to see stock photos from DALL-E and other AI image creation tools. Getty Images chief Craig Peters told The Verge in a statement that his company has banned AI-generated art over the potential for copyright disputes. There are "unaddressed rights issues" with the technology, the CEO said, and this would help customers minimize the risk to their finances and reputations.
Peters didn't say if Getty had already encountered legal trouble with AI-generated content. He noted there was an "extremely limited" amount of that material on the platform. The company is teaming with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity to create filters for AI-produced material, and is asking users to flag anything that slips through. Rivals like Shutterstock are already screening at least some imagery.
The move isn't shocking. While using AI to create an image isn't necessarily illegal, generators frequently sample images that may be copyrighted. Getty and its customers could face legal repercussions for effectively stealing art and profiting from it. There's also the chance governments could enact laws and regulations limiting use of the technology.
There's no certainty the ban will work well in practice. As The Verge notes, it's not hard to find AI-made pictures on Getty at the moment. However, we wouldn't the company to change its tune unless it finds AI systems guaranteed to generate completely legal pictures.
Framework, the company spearheading a new generation of modular, repairable products, has made a Chromebook. It teamed up with Google to produce a ChromeOS-friendly version of the standard Framework machine with the same promise of modularity and repairability.
Internally, the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition comes with a 3:2, 2,256 x 1,504 display, a 12th-generation Core i5-1240, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. You can order up to 64GB RAM and 1TB SSD, although you’re also at liberty to upgrade those components yourself at a later date.
You’ll also, as before, be able to spec the machine how you want, including USB-C, USB-A, MicroSD, HDMI, DisplayPort and Ethernet. Plus, if you're looking to bolster the storage beyond the SSD, you can buy dedicated storage expansion cards, blanked-out port modules that can hold a 250GB or 1TB of additional solid-state storage.
The one major change really is the fact that this model comes with the Titan C security chip baked into its chassis. It’s not clear yet if that’ll have any noticeable impact upon your ability to swap out the mainboard when it’s time to upgrade.
The Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition is available to pre-order in the US and Canada from today, with the base model priced at $999. Would-be buyers can expect their shipment in late November or early December, and folks are required to put down a $100 refundable deposit to hold their place in the shipment line.
Logitech is hosting a event today, during which it’s expected to reveal some new products for gamers and streamers. One of those may be the company’s handheld device for cloud gaming. A preorder page for the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld is live on Amazon Canada, seemingly a little earlier than planned (though it's listed as out of stock at the time of writing).
According to the listing, which was spotted by Lbabinz on Twitter, the device will arrive on October 18th and cost $400 CAD. That's around $300 USD. The Amazon US page for the Cloud Gaming Handheld isn't live yet. We'll update this story with US pricing once Logitech announces it.
The page includes some specs for the device, which align with leaked details from late August. You'll be able to stream games in 1080p at up to 60 frames per second on the seven-inch touchscreen. The handheld, which appears to be an Android tablet housed inside a controller unit, offers haptic feedback, gyroscope controls and remappable buttons. The page suggests the battery will run for up to 12 hours on a single charge.
Because games run from the cloud, the Cloud Gaming Handheld doesn't require a ton of processing power. That's one likely reason why Logitech has been able to limit the weight to 463g, or just over a pound. For comparison, the Nintendo Switch weighs 0.88 pounds (398g) when the Joy-Cons are attached and the Steam Deck weighs around 1.5 pounds (669g).
Logitech and Tencent (which worked with the former on the device) collaborated with Microsoft and NVIDIA to ensure there's support for Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now. You'll be able to use the Steam Link app to play games from your PC remotely. The Xbox app also supports remote play from consoles. Logitech notes that users will be able to download apps from the Google Play Store. So, you should be able to access the likes of Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, as well as social media apps and streaming video services such as YouTube and Netflix.
We should get some more details about the Cloud Gaming Handheld and the rest of what the company has up its sleeve during the Logi Play event, which starts at noon ET. You'll be able to watch the stream on Twitch or below:
British micromobility startup Bo has already realized that its e-scooter of the future needs an equally futuristic charging dock. The company has today announced bo E, a parking spot that combines a small solar panel and battery to help you re-juice your ride for free. Bo E is a dock measuring 1.5 meters (4.9ft) tall by 0.5 meters (1.6ft) wide, and is designed to be anchored to the sunny corner of your home.
The idea is that the dock will, while you’re at work, gently soak up all of the available solar energy and charge its internal battery. Then, when you return home, you can connect up your Bo M scooter and let the electrons flow from one to the other overnight. Bo E also has its own 4G setup, enabling you to keep an eye on your power status when you’re not guarding over the dock itself. The company says that the scooter is sufficiently energy-efficient that such a small charge will be enough to top up its 2kWh battery, but we'll wait until we can test both in the real world before making any judgment.
Naturally, the biggest concern anyone can have about leaving their $2,400 e-scooter outdoors is security. Bo says that the E lodges high-tensile steel pins into the body of the scooter, making it difficult to remove easily, and anyone who tries will set off a screamy audio alarm. There’s also talk of an insurance product that might help go some way to assuage wary buyers about the risks inherent in leaving a scooter out of doors.
The Bo M is expected to start reaching customers by the end of 2022, and there's a tentative launch date of Q3 2023 pencilled in for Bo E both in the UK and US. There is, however, no word on price, but you can imagine it'll be similarly premium
Amazon is revamping its 8-inch tablets for the first time in two years, but their biggest improvement might rest in the software. The company has introduced new Fire HD 8 models that introduce a "Tap to Alexa" feature. You can not only control the assistant exclusively using touch, but pair with a supporting Bluetooth switch or use text-to-speech to have commands spoken for you. This is particularly helpful for people with speech and mobility disabilities, but could also be useful if you just don't want to speak (say, to avoid waking your baby).
There are some meaningful hardware upgrades. Amazon claims 30 percent faster performance through a new six-core processor, and the design is billed as thinner, lighter and more durable than its predecessor. You can also expect a slightly longer 13-hour battery life. You're limited to 2GB of RAM and wired charging on the base model , but an uprated Fire HD 8 Plus (pictured above) bumps up to 3GB of RAM while adding wireless charging, faster wired charging and a higher-quality five-megapixel camera.
Don't expect dramatic improvements in other areas. The 2022 Fire HD 8 starts at $100 with the same 32GB of (thankfully expandable) storage, and tops out at 64GB. You'll pay $120 for the 32GB Plus model, which also has a 64GB option. You don't need to buy one to get Tap to Alexa, at least. Amazon is making the feature available today for 8th-generation or newer Fire tablets in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.
Amazon
Parents may appreciate the expanded child-friendly selection, though. The Fire HD 8 Kids includes the familiar two-year "worry-free" warranty, year-long Kids+ subscription and rugged case for $150, but there's now Disney Princess- and Mickey Mouse-themed variants for $160. You can also buy a $150 Kids Pro tablet (shown at middle) for ages 6-12 that provides parent-controlled store access in addition to the other Kids edition perks. As in the past, these may represent the best values — you can give young ones a tablet that will hopefully survive years of rough-and-tumble use.
LG was supposed to release another phone with an unusual form factor after The Wing as an answer to Samsung's foldables. At CES 2021, the company confirmed that it was working on a phone with a rollable display and that it was going to be available later that year. It never got to launch the device before shutting down its mobile business after its newest models, which included the Wing, failed to gain traction. But now, a hands-on video by Korean tech reviewer 뻘짓연구소 (BullsLab) shows just how close LG got to launching the phone that would've simply gone by the name "Rollable."
While the Wing featured a rotatable display on top of a smaller one underneath, the Rollable was designed to have a screen that stretches out until the phone becomes a small tablet. In the video, you'll see how responsive the device is and how quickly it starts expanding after the YouTuber swipes at the screen with three fingers. Whatever's displayed on screen — even the animated wallpapers — automatically adjusts itself. At one point, the reviewer places three books beside the phone to show that its motor is strong enough to move the pile as it stretches out.
In addition to the stretchable main display, the phone's back panel also functions as an extra screen that can house a handful of widgets, including ones for the camera, calendar and music. If you fire up the camera app from that extra screen, you'll be able to take selfies without powering on the main phone.
Based on the device BullsLab reviewed, the Rollable would've launched with a Snapdragon 888 CPU, up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Those were top-level specs that would've put the Rollable in the same category as flagships, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Since LG's mobile business no longer exists, there's little to no chance for the Rollable to, well, roll out. It's worth noting that Oppo also showed off a rollable phone back in 2021, but it was just a prototype, and we haven't heard anything about it since then.
TikTok is adding new rules for accounts belonging to politicians, government officials and political parties ahead of the midterm elections. The company says it will require these accounts to go through a “mandatory” verification process, and will restrict them from accessing advertising and other revenue generating features.
Up until now, verification for politicians and other officials was entirely optional. But that’s now changing, at least in the United States, as TikTok gears up for the midterm elections this fall. In a blog post, the company says the update is meant to help it enforce its rules, which bar political advertising of any kind, more consistently.
By verifying their accounts, TikTok will be able to block politicians and political parties from accessing the platform’s advertising tools or other revenue generating features like tipping. Accounts will also be barred from payouts from the company’s creator fund, and from in-app shopping features.
TikTok says it also plans to add further restrictions that will prevent politicians and political parties from using the platform to solicit campaign contributions or other donations, even on outside websites. That policy, which will take effect “in the coming weeks,” will bar videos that direct viewers to third-party fundraising sites. It also means that politicians will not be allowed to post videos asking for donations.
The new policies are the latest piece of TikTok’s strategy to prepare for the midterm elections. The company already began rolling out an in-app Elections Center to highlight voting resources and details about local races. But enforcing its ban on political ads has proved to be challenging for TikTok, which has had to contend with undisclosed branded content from creators. The new rules don’t address that issue specifically, but the added restrictions for campaigns and politicians will make it more difficult for candidates and other officials to evade its rules.
After all the rumors and teasers, Peloton’s $3,195 rowing machine is finally official. It packs a 24-inch HD display and electronically-controlled resistance. That kind of resistance, which typically feels different to Concept2 rowers in your local gym, doesn’t mean it’s particularly small, however – you might want to check you have the space in your home. Peloton claims the Row can offer on-screen feedback on your form as you work out.
That will have to be some incredible coaching, given that its price tag is far higher than its rivals. The aforementioned (and benchmark) Concept2 rowing machine doesn’t have a screen, Bluetooth or any digital tricks, but it’s also under $1,000. Hydrow’s cheapest rower, the Wave, is priced at $1,495, while the premium model is still hundreds of dollars less than the Peloton Row. It’s an expensive gambit for a company still getting its house in order, adjusting its prices and reconsidering its approach.
Preorders for the Row start today in the US. The company expects to ship the machines in December – just in time for those 2023 fitness resolutions.
NVIDIA's 40 series GPUs are finally here. The company unveiled the GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080 today at its GTC 2022 keynote. Taking full advantage of its new "Ada Lovelace" architecture, NVIDIA says the two GPUs offer significantly better ray tracing performance – and generally a lot of power for a lot of money. The first of the new GPUs will arrive next month when the GeForce RTX 4090 goes on for sale for $1,599 on October 12th. There will be two different variants of the RTX 4080. The base model will start at $899 and features 12GB of GDDR6X memory and 7,680 cores, while a 16GB version with 9,728 cores will set you back a cool $1,199. Both configurations will arrive sometime in November.
With iOS 16, Apple has focused on modernizing the iPhone lock screen, making it a more useful part of how you interact with your phone. These changes also make it easier to use the iPhone’s Focus modes, which remain a little complicated to set up. Overall, the company has made lots of minor changes that add up to a better iPhone experience. Apple’s Messages app continues to improve, and the increasingly useful Visual Lookup feature is something an Android device can’t quite replicate — yet. These iOS updates are usually followed by a few extra tweaks – and Apple has already fixed its weird battery percentage indicator. Was it my review? (It wasn’t.)
Spotify has officially added audiobooks as yet another listening option in its app – for when you run out of podcasts, right? Starting today, US users will see a dedicated section for the format that allows standalone purchases via a web link. The company says its library will contain over 300,000 titles at launch. As well as their own section alongside music and podcasts, audiobooks will show up in your recommendations on the main page.
That’s according to a new study on recommendations.
If you’ve ever felt like it’s difficult to “un-train” YouTube’s algorithm, you’re not alone. One major issue, according to new research conducted by Mozilla, is that YouTube’s in-app controls such as the “dislike” button, “prevent less than half of unwanted algorithmic recommendations.” Of the controls available on YouTube, the most effective was “don’t recommend from channel,” which prevented 43 percent of unwanted recommendations, while “not interested” was the least effective and only prevented about 11 percent of unwanted suggestions.
It’s already been a year since Windows 11 launched. Somehow. It’s a good time for an update, then. Much like the improved Windows Update experience, the vast majority of new features in this 2022 update are under the hood. Those include a slew of accessibility upgrades including system-wide live captions and a preview of improved voice commands for using your PC and transcription.
As recently as last year, TikTok used a two-tier moderation system that gave preferential treatment to its most popular users, according to Forbes. The publication obtained an audio recording of a September 2021 meeting where the company detailed an internal feature called “creator labels” that was reserved for accounts with more than 5 million followers.
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