Sony has rolled out the latest PlayStation 5 system update globally with a much-requested feature: 1440p video output. The feature, first previewed in beta last July, will finally provide an option between less-sharp 1080p and demanding 4K that can reduce framerates. It will be especially beneficial to users with PC monitors that natively support 1440p QHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution. 

Your monitor or TV will need to support 1440p/60Hz or 1440p/120Hz, Sony said. You can select the setting from the "Screen and Video" menu in the settings, and a "Test 1440p Output" button lets you check to see if your monitor is supported. However, using 1440p will disable variable refresh rates (VRR) that sync game and monitor framerates. That means you may see screen tearing and other issues that reduce smoothness.

The update also includes Gamelists, essentially folders to store games. You can have up to 15 Gamelists with 100 games each that include a mix of digital and disc games. Other new features include the ability to request a Share Screen from a fellow party member, view new friends' profiles and receive notifications to help you join a friend's game from a party chat. A new feature in preview in the UK and US, meanwhile, lets you do YouTube searches using Voice Command from anywhere on PS5, including during gameplay.

Nextdoor is gearing up for a potentially contentious election season. Ahead of the midterms, the company says it will label election-related posts with information about how to vote, and will use in-app alerts to remind users to not let political conversations get overly “heated.”

In a blog post, the company says it will use “pop-up reminders” to encourage “civil political discourse” on election-related posts. “Nextdoor will use pop-up reminders when hurtful or harmful language is detected or anticipated via predictive technology,” the company writes.

Nextdoor

It’s not the first time the company has used these kinds of reminders to discourage nastiness between neighbors. The company previously introduced in-app alerts to remind people to be “empathetic” and keep conversations “constructive.” The latest notifications mirror that language. “Conversations about the election can get heated,” it says. “Check to make sure you’ve phrased it in a constructive way.”

Besides the reminders, the company is also partnering with vote.org and other organizations on in-app messages to encourage turnout and provide resources on how to register to vote.

The Tarantula Nebula has been photographed by several observatories in the past, but new images captured by the James Webb Telescope give us a clearer, sharper view of the star-forming region. Also known as 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula is the largest and brightest star-forming region among the galaxies near our own, making it a favorite subject for scientists studying star formation. 

Astronomers used three of Webb's infrared instruments to image the Tarantula Nebula. When viewed using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), you'll see the silky filaments that earned the nebula its name surrounding a cluster of massive young stars sparkling blue in the center of the image above. According to NASA, tens of thousands of these young stars have never been seen before as they were concealed by cosmic dust. Stellar winds and radiation from these young stars had hollowed out the center of the nebula, which is bound to keep shifting and changing shape. The filaments that surround them are hiding even more protostars, after all, and they'll emerge to join the other stars at the center as they blow away the gas and dust obscuring them from our view. 

In fact, Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph has observed one such star that has started emerging from behind its dusty veil. NASA says the star's activity wouldn't have been revealed without Webb's high-resolution spectra at infrared wavelengths. The astronomers also used Webb's Mid-infrared Instrument (MIRI) to view the nebula in longer infrared wavelengths and captured an image quite different from the one captured by NIRCam. This time, the young stars at the center of the nebula fade in the background, while the cooler gas and dust surrounding them glow and take the spotlight, as you can see below.

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

As NASA explains, the Tarantula Nebula is of special interest to scientists studying star formation, because it has a chemical composition similar to the star forming regions during the universe's "cosmic noon." That's the period in time when the universe was only a couple of billion years old and when star formation was at its peak. In our own galaxy, there are no regions producing new stars at a similarly furious pace. Also, star forming regions in the Milky Way have a different composition. By focusing the Webb Telescope on the Tarantula Nebula, scientists now have images to compare against deep observations of much distant galaxies from the actual cosmic noon, which could help them better understand the early years of the universe.

Privacy-focused messaging app Signal has hired former Google manager and tech critic Meredith Whittaker as its first president, it announced in a blog post. She's already on the board of directors, along with WhatsApp founder, interim CEO and Facebook critic Brian Acton and former CEO/encryption evangelist Moxie Marlinspike. Her focus, she said, will be on strategy, communication and the foundation's long-term financial health.

"I will be working with Signal’s CEO and leadership, with a particular focus on guiding Signal’s strategy, ensuring our financial sustainability, sharpening and broadening Signal’s public communications, and whatever else is needed to strengthen the app and the org," she said. Whittaker will also aid in the search for a permanent CEO to replace Acton.

Whittaker rose to prominence as the founder of Google's Open Research Group and organizer of a walkout after it emerged that Google had paid off executives accused of sexual harassment, including Andy Rubin. She left the search giant in 2019, and went on to form the AI Now Institute at NYU, aiming to "ensure that AI systems are accountable to the communities and contexts in which they’re applied," according to its mission statement. She's also a senior adviser on AI to the Federal Trade Commission and joined the Signal Foundation's board in 2020.

Signal currently counts over 140 million users after receiving a significant boost following a backlash against WhatsApp's privacy policy changes last year. Along with Firefox, Signal is one of the few apps committed to privacy rather than revenue via data collection. To that end, Whittaker plans to focus on maintaining the company's health via small donations from millions of users who "kick in a little bit," she told The Washington Post. "We do have growth goals, but they are driven by our mission, not by a desire for profit," she added.

Sony has unveiled an unusual mirrorless camera that essentially marries the FX6 cinema camera's tech with remote-controlled robotics. Called the FR7, it's the "world's first" pan-tilt-zoom full-frame interchangeable-lens camera with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) robotic technology, according to the company. 

Priced at nearly $10,000 without a lens, it's designed for professional productions including reality shows, concerts, dramas, music videos and more. For instance, it could be mounted on dolly tracks, a crane or a tripod and remotely follow subjects around without getting in the way. It could also be fixed to a vehicle, with the pan-tilt-zoom capabilities giving the director more interesting angles and shots.

Sony

The large sensor allows for a more cinematic image than typical robotic TV cameras, too. "The cinematic look and feel is rapidly becoming the norm in broadcasting and live production as it opens up new ways to tell a narrative," said Sony Electronics VP Yang Chen. "In parallel, over the last 2 years, we’ve seen a steep rise in content created remotely or in small locations where access is difficult."

The FR7 looks a bit like Sony cut the back off an FX6, leaving the mount and small body fixed to a compact motorized system. It's designed to smoothly pan and tilt at speeds ranging from .02 to a rapid 60 degrees per second, while moving from plus or minus 170 degrees (pan) and -30 to 195 degrees (tilt). You can store up to 100 camera presents and control it using a web app or the optional $2,625 RM-IP500 remote controller. 

The 10.3-megapixel sensor is an unusual choice, as it may not be suitable for some high-end productions due to the 4K resolution limit. However, it does offer 4K recording at up to 120 fps or 1080p at 240fps. On top of that, it has a native ISO range up to 409,600 with 15+ stops of dynamic range, making it suitable for shooting in low light. It also comes with S-Log3 gamma, wide S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3.Cine color spaces for HDR and enhanced color grading capabilities.

Sony

It offers the same autofocus capabilities as the FX6, including Fast Hybrid AF, Real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking, with touch focus available via the web app. Sony promises fast and accurate eye-detect AF, which will be key for things like reality shows or live streaming with no physical operator. It also comes with a built-in electronic variable ND filter, dual SD/CFexpress Type A slots, an ethernet port for remote control (and power) and SDI/HDMI video outputs. 

The FR7 costs $9,700 without a lens, or $12,200 with Sony's FE PZ 28-135mm f/4 cinema lens. It's set to go on preorder in the US on September 7th and Sony will show it off at IBC 2022 in Amsterdam later this week. 

Brazil's Ministry of Justice has issued an order banning Apple from selling iPhones that don't come with chargers in the country. It has also slapped the tech giant with a fine of 12.275 million Brazilian reals ($2.38 million) and has ordered the cancelation of the iPhone 12's registration with the country's national telecoms agency Anatel. Apple stopped bundling chargers with its mobile devices back in 2020 with the release of the iPhone 12, citing environmental concerns.

The company said that it was shipping devices without power adapters to reduce the manufacturing processes needed for each unit. In its 2021 Environmental Progress Report, Apple claimed the decision to stop bundling chargers will save 861,000 tons of copper, zinc and tin. Plus, the ability to ship devices more efficiently — shipping pallets were able to carry up to 70 percent more iPhone 12 boxes — would help reduce the company's carbon dioxide emissions. 

Brazilian authorities didn't buy Apple's explanations and argued that the tech giant could have taken other measures to help the environment, such as adding USB-C charging support to its iPhones. Selling devices without a power adapter is a "deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers," authorities have decided. 

This decision comes after the ministry wrapped up its investigation that started in December. The Brazilian state of São Paulo also previously fined Apple 10.55 million reals ($1.92 million at the time) for selling iPhones without a charger. 

Apple has yet to pull its newer iPhones from its Brazilian online store, but it told Reuters that it would continue to work with authorities to "resolve their concerns." A spokesperson also told the news organization that Apple will appeal the ministry's decision. "We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices," they said. It's worth noting that Samsung worked with São Paulo authorities to bundle Samsung Galaxy S21 pre-orders with a gift charger. Whether the tech giant will do the same for its next iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled later today, remains to be seen.

Last October, Google added new, eco-friendly driving directions to Maps. In the US, you could pull up a driving route that would take into account things like congestion and incline to find you the directions that are best for your fuel economy. As part of a handful of Maps announcements today, Google says the feature will be available in "nearly 40" European countries, though we didn't get a list of everywhere it'll be available. Google had previously added the feature to maps in Canada and Germany.

Just like in the US, these routes are often times not the fastest, so you'll have to pick between whether speed is your ultimate priority. It'll show you both routes, and will default to the more eco-friendly option when the difference in time is small. But if you want to always default to the fastest route, you can do so in the Google Maps settings. 

Google

Regardless of whether you use this feature in the US, Canada or Europe, Google is also including a new preference setting that lets you tell the app what time of vehicle you drive. You'll be able to specify whether your car runs on gas (or diesel), is a hybrid or a full electric vehicle. That'll affect the specific directions, although we can't say yet just how different they will be. As is often the case with Google updates, the company says this new feature will be rolling out over the coming weeks. 

The whistleblower complaint from Twitter’s former head of security is already complicating the company’s legal battle with Elon Musk. Lawyers representing Musk and Twitter met in court Tuesday for a hearing that will determine whether the claims made by Pieter “Mudge” Zatko can be added to Elon Musk’s legal case to get out of his $44 billion commitment to buy Twitter.

Notably, the hearing was one of the first times any Twitter representative has publicly addressed Zatko’s complaint. In the two weeks since Zatko went public, Twitter has largely stayed silent on the substance of the claims.

During the hearing, Twitter’s lawyers portrayed Zatko as a disgruntled employee, saying that he had a “huge ax to grind” with the company and that he “was not in charge of spam at Twitter.” They accused him of “structuring his whistleblower complaint, to tie it to the merger agreement.” (Zatko’s lawyers previously said he didn’t go public in order to “benefit Musk.”) Notably, Twitter’s lawyers didn’t address claims that the company’s lax security practices may have harmed national security or that CEO Parag Agrawal told Zatko to lie to the company board.

Twitter’s lawyers did suggest that Musk was looking for reasons to kill the deal before Zatko’s complaint was public. At one point, Twitter’s lawyer quoted from a May 3rd text message Musk sent to his banker at Morgan Stanley:

“Let’s slow down just a few days … it won’t make sense to buy Twitter if we’re headed into World War 3,” Twitter’s lawyer read aloud, quoting Musk. “This is why Mr. Musk didn’t want to buy Twitter, this stuff about the bots, mDAU [monetizable daily active users] and Zatko is all pretext.”

On the other side, Musk’s lawyers touted Zatko’s credentials as a “decorated” executive who had once been offered a position as a US government official. They said Musk had “nothing to do with” Zatko’s whistleblower complaint and that Twitter had purposely hidden damaging information. Whether it will be enough to sway the judge in the case though, is unclear. In one exchange the judge pointedly remarked on Musk’s decision to waive due diligence before agreeing to the acquisition.

“Why didn’t we discover this in diligence,” Musk’s lawyer said, referencing Zatko’s whistleblower complaint. “They hid it, that’s why.” “We’ll never know, right,” the judge responded. “Because the diligence didn’t happen.”

Musk’s lawyers, pushing for the October trial to be delayed, closed out the more than three-hour long hearing by arguing that “it’s not us causing this chaos or this delay.”

“Nobody at Twitter is having all hands on meetings today over the poop emoji from two months ago,” he said, in an apparent — and unprompted — reference to a May 16th tweet from Musk directed at Agrawal. “The reason that they're having all-hands-on meetings today at Twitter is because a senior decorated executive said that the company was committing fraud. That’s our fault? That’s our chaos? That’s their chaos.”

AT&T is suing T-Mobile. On Tuesday, the carrier filed a complaint with a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, accusing its rival of false advertising. T-Mobile’s recently launched “Verizon and AT&T Ban Senior Discounts” campaign is at the center of the lawsuit. The activation includes a website that claims “92 percent of seniors in the US can’t get a wireless discount from Verizon and AT&T because they don’t live in Florida.”

The campaign aims to draw attention to a promotion that dates back to John Legere’s tenure as CEO of T-Mobile. Since 2017, the carrier has offered Unlimited 55+ plans that give people 55 and older discounted access to its network. For instance, the current base level package starts at $40 per month with autopay and includes “unlimited” talk, text and smartphone data.

In early 2020, AT&T began piloting its own Unlimited 55+ plan. At the moment, however, it’s only available in Florida. “Until Verizon and AT&T offer senior discounts outside of Florida, we’re helping their customers get access to the wireless discounts they deserve as part of our Carrier Callout,” T-Mobile says.

T-Mobile

AT&T contends T-Mobile’s campaign is “intentionally designed to deceive senior citizens.” The carrier says T-Mobile’s website includes claims that are “literally false.” Moreover, it notes that “AT&T has not ‘banned’ seniors from getting discounted services outside the state of Florida.” The company points to a program it has had in place since March 2015. AT&T offers members of AARP, a nonprofit organization that represents more than 38 million seniors in the US, a $10 discount off its Unlimited Premium plan, among other perks. That promotion is available in all 50 US states. 

“T-Mobile’s claims are outright dishonest and completely false. It is not the first time they have spread misleading information,” an AT&T spokesperson said. “AT&T offers wireless discounts to people of all ages, including seniors in all 50 states. The only way to stop the un-truthful carrier is apparently in a court of law, and that’s where we are.”

T-Mobile did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. AT&T is seeking damages and an injunction against the campaign. The Unlimited 55 promotion isn’t the first time T-Mobile has gotten in trouble for its advertising. In 2020, the carrier said it would stop claiming its 5G network was more reliable than that of its competitors after Verizon filed a complaint with National Advertising Review Board.

Finding a PlayStation 5 may be as difficult as ever, but that’s not stopping Sony from adding more customization options for those who already own the console. This fall, the company will release the Gray Camouflage collection. It consists of a new set of plates for the console, as well as a matching DualSense controller and Pulse headset.

“The PlayStation design team reimagined our camouflage pattern to reflect a fresher, more contemporary feel. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the iconic PlayStation Shapes have been subtly incorporated into the pattern,” Sony says of the new design.

Preorders for collection open on September 15th. The plates and DualSense controller will arrive on October 14th, with the Pulse headset heading to store shelves sometime in December. Sony did not announce pricing for the new accessories. They come after the company recently said it was increasing the price of the PS5 across much of the globe.