This is a golden moment to buy a console ahead of your summer vacation. Amazon is selling the standard Nintendo Switch with blue and red Joy-Cons at a new all-time low price of $260, or $40 below the official sticker. That's $20 better than a Woot deal from February, and a large-enough discount that you can easily use the savings to buy a microSD card for storing additional games.

The regular Switch might not have the eye-catching screen of the OLED model, but the fundamentals that make the system so enjoyable remain intact. This is a console you can use either handheld or at your TV, and without making too many compromises. The current revision offers plenty of battery life. And most importantly, the Switch now has a huge catalog of hits after five years, ranging from launch-era titles like Breath of the Wild through to recent successes like Metroid Dread. You won't run out of games to play on a long road trip.

You're likely already familiar with the limitations. The Switch isn't as powerful as dedicated TV consoles like the PS5 or the comparably-priced Xbox Series S, so you won't get 4K or some of the more visually demanding games on the market. And while you might not miss the Switch OLED's display, you'll also have to go without its improved stand and dock-based Ethernet jack. At this price, though, it's an easy choice if you want a two-in-one device or just don't want to pay a stiff premium to play current games.

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Nintendo will host its latest Indie World Showcase today at 10AM ET. On Tuesday, the company said the show would run approximately 20 minutes and showcase a handful of new indie games coming to the Switch. Will we finally get a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong? We don’t know. Team Cherry announced the sequel to its beloved Metrodvania in 2019, and fans have been waiting for a release date ever since.

Either way, you can watch the entire showcase unfold below and on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel. And if you miss the livestream, we’ll have you covered with all the major announcements following the event.

Apple's compact desktop is back down to the best sale price we've seen since its debut. Amazon has the 2020 Mac Mini M1 for $570 right now, thanks to a discounted price that's brought down even further by an automatically applied coupon. That's $130 off the desktop's regular rate, and the model on sale includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The Mac Mini is still the most cost effective way to get an M1 machine in your home — even the MacBook Air M1, which debuted at the same time, costs more starting at $1,000. The Mini comes with an eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU (one more than you'll find in the base Air M1) and 16-core Neural Engine, so you can expect speedy performance, high energy efficiency and nearly instant wake times. It should provide enough power for most users, even content creators, and it can even handle some gaming as well.

The exterior design of the Mac Mini has been left mostly unchanged, but that's not a bad thing. The small silver box will fit into nearly any desk setup without taking up too much space, and it has a number of ports including two Thunderbolt connectors, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet connector and a headphone jack. Our biggest gripe with the machine is its lack of upgradeability: you can't change the RAM and SSD, as they are soldered in place. But if you can live with that, the Mac Mini M1 remains a good option for anyone in need of an updated, powerful desktop.

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Digital rights non-profit Fight for the Future and 27 human rights organizations have written an open letter to Zoom, asking the company not to continue exploring the use of AI that can analyze emotions in its video conferencing platform. The groups wrote the letter in response to a Protocol report that said Zoom is actively researching how to incorporate emotion AI into its product in the future. It's part of a larger piece examining how companies have started using artificial intelligence to detect the emotional state of a potential client during sales calls. 

The pandemic made video conferences a lot more common around the world. Sales people have been finding it hard to gauge how receptive potential clients are to their products and services, though, without the capability to read their body language through the screen. Companies have started using technology that have the ability to analyze people's moods during calls as a result, and Protocol said Zoom has plans to provide the same service. 

Fight for the Future and the other human rights orgs are hoping their call would pressure Zoom to abandon its plans. They called the technology "discriminatory, manipulative, potentially dangerous and based on assumptions that all people use the same facial expressions, voice patterns, and body language." 

The groups also pointed out that the technology is inherently biased and racist, just like facial recognition. By incorporating the feature, Zoom would be discriminating against certain ethnicities and people with disabilities, they said. In addition, it could be used to punish students or workers if they displayed the wrong emotion. In 2021, a project led by University of Cambridge professor Alexa Hagerty showed the limits of emotion recognition AIs and how easy it is to fool them. Previous studies also showed that emotion recognition programs fail the racial bias test and struggle to read Black faces.

The group ended the letter by mentioning Zoom's decision to cancel the rollout of face-tracking features and calling this another opportunity to do what's right by its users. They're now asking Zoom to commit to not implementing emotion AI in its product by May 20th, 2022.

AT&T is launching location-based routing of wireless 911 calls to the appropriate call centers across the US, it announced. The company says it'll be the first US carrier to "quickly and more accurately identify where a wireless 911 call is coming from using device GPS and hybrid information." That'll allow it to route the call to the correct 911 call center (public safety answering point or PSAP) which can then "dispatch first responders to the right location faster," it wrote. 

So far, wireless 911 call routing has been based on the location of cell towers, with accuracy often no better than 10 miles. The new system will be able to locate a device within 50 meters of its location, potentially reducing delays, particularly when a call is made at PSAP border areas where state, county or city boundaries overlap, AT&T said. 

AT&T

AT&T collaborated with a company called Intrado to use its Locate Before Route location-based 911 routing feature. Intrado notes that currently, about 10 percent of wireless calls and up to 50 percent in border areas need to be transferred to a different emergency communications center (ECC), causing potential delays. The new system uses device-based hybrid data and dynamic routing to reduce the need for transfers, supposedly without sacrificing speed. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched an inquiry into the issue of more accurately transferring calls to the correct PSAPs back in 2018, so it's been ongoing for a while. The regulator also recently demanded that carriers start providing Z-axis location data (height), to help emergency services locate where 911 calls are coming from within multistory buildings. 

AT&T's nationwide rollout is now available in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Guam. It'll be available in other regions over the next several weeks, and the rollout is scheduled to be completed by the end of June, 2022. 

It's the end of an era. Apple introduced the first iPod back in October 2001, when the company was highly dependent on its Mac computer sales and still on shaky financial ground. While the Mac requirement limited interest at the start, sales exploded after Windows users joined the fray — back when you needed to tether your iPod to your PC to sync music and, later, podcasts.

Apple

Now, in 2022, the company is finally discontinuing the iPod touch, which will only be available in stores "while supplies last." It’s the final death knell for the iconic gadget: Apple dropped the iPod classic in 2014, and both the iPod nano and iPod shuffle were discontinued in 2017.

The iPhone, ironically, was what killed the iPod, combining MP3 (not to mention video) playback with cellular networks, WiFi, apps, cameras and everything else.

— Mat Smith

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EA announces the end of 'FIFA'

Starting in 2023, the soccer series will be ‘EA Sports FC’

Don’t panic. The beautiful game will go on. Electronic Arts is calling it quits with FIFA after nearly 30 years of using the soccer governing body's name in the titles of its games. Starting in 2023, it’s renaming the series EA Sports FC. Which is rather (well, very) janky.

Other than the rebranding, the EA Sports FC games may not be vastly different. EA still holds licenses for more than 300 soccer partners and has exclusive agreements with the likes of the Premier League, MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.

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DJI Mini 3 Pro review

The most capable lightweight drone yet.

Engadget

The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a small, lightweight drone loaded with features found on bigger models, like the Mavic 3. It has some of the best image quality specs on a lightweight drone, including 4K 60p, 1080 120p and 48-megapixel photos, as well as advanced features like ActiveTrack, QuickShots and more. The Mini 3 Pro is a bit expensive at $910 with the new RC remote, though, and image quality might not be good enough for some pros. Check out our gorgeous review video from Steve Dent. And consider whether you’d like a new toy. I am.

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What to expect at Google I/O 2022

Android 13, the Pixel 6a and Pixel Watch could all take the spotlight.

Google's I/O developer conference is finally returning as an in-person keynote for 2022, but that's not the biggest story likely to emerge from the event. This year, in addition to the customary Android update (we’re up to 13, now), it’s probably going to include the debut of the first Pixel smartwatch, and possibly at least one new Pixel phone and more. We break down everything we're expecting to see later today.

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Microsoft’s Adaptive Mouse is inclusively designed

And infinitely customizable.

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The Xbox Adaptive Controller was Microsoft’s first real attempt at making accessible hardware. And while it was very well received, it didn’t really impact non-gamers. Today, the company is launching an Adaptive Mouse kit.

The mouse core is a tiny square, approximately two inches (50mm) wide, and about as thick as a finger. This packs in the usual mousey parts: scroll wheel, left and right buttons, optical sensor and triggers for Bluetooth. The intriguing part comes from the Button, which you can program to perform any task you want. The Button can even handle sequential tasks, so you can have the first push open an app, have the second tap of the same button enter a phrase and a third send an email, for example. We’ve taken a deep dive and even toured Microsoft’s inclusive tech lab.

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Musk says he would ‘reverse’ Donald Trump’s Twitter ban

He called the ban a ‘morally bad decision.’

In an interview with The Financial Times, Elon Musk said he would reinstate Trump when his deal to acquire Twitter closes. “I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permaban,” Musk said in response to a question about whether he would allow the former president back on the platform. “Obviously, I don't own Twitter yet. So this is not a thing that will definitely happen because what if I don't own Twitter.”

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Google has inked agreements with over 300 news publications in Germany, Hungary, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland that would allow it to publish snippets of their stories on Search. The tech giant has announced the development in a blog post, where it has also launched new tool that would make it easier for a lot more news publishers in Europe to get paid for their content. 

Publishers can find the new tool that offers an Extended News Preview (ENP) agreement with Google within the Search console. It will include information on what the offer is for exactly, how they can sign up for it and how to provide feedback. Google says all offers under the program are consistent with the rules for licensing content under the European Copyright Directive. Participants will have full control over what will appear on Search and how their content will be previewed. They can also change their preferences anytime. 

The European Union passed its controversial copyright law back in 2019, requiring news aggregators to pay news publishers for snippets of content that go beyond "individual words or very short extracts." A year later, Australia created a mandatory code of conduct that would also require companies to pay news outlets when they use their content. Google initially responded by removing news previews in France when the country started implementing the EU law. The tech giant eventually changed its tune, though, and started inking deals to pay publishers for their content across Europe and Australia, including News Corp. It also launched the News Showcase experience that offers some paywalled articles for free.

Anker's Eufy brand offers some very affordable robot vacuums that just got even cheaper thanks to a sale on at Amazon. The most interesting model is the Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Max that's available for just $160, for a savings of $90 (36 percent) off the regular price. That's very inexpensive for a model that earned a spot in our budget robot vacuum guide thanks to its attractive looks and super solid design.

The RoboVac 11S Max is missing certain features like WiFi connectivity, which isn't surprising given the price. However, it's still easy to control using the physical remote that allows you to set things like cleaning schedules or change the suction power using BoostIQ or Max modes. It cleans both hard and carpeted floors with up to 2,000 Pa of suction power, and is pretty decent at avoiding collisions considering the price. It's only three inches high so it fits under a lot of furniture, and if it does hit something, it's quite sturdy. 

If you do want WiFi or other more advanced features, the Eufy G30 Hybrid is on sale for $220, for a savings of 41 percent off — the cheapest price we've seen on it so far. It's effectively an updated version of the 11S with WiFi connectivity, giving you smartphone control via the Eufy app. It can map out your home using the Smart Dynamic Navigation 2.0 system, allowing for more logical route planning instead of random paths. It also offers up to 2,000 Pa suction and boundary strips to block off specific areas. The sale finishes in less than 24 hours, so it's best to act soon.

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Sony has heavily leveraged its camera expertise to create its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 IV, it announced. It offers a slew of innovative, image-oriented features including what it calls the "world's first true optical 85-125mm zoom lens, true 4K at 120fps, livestreaming and external monitor capabilities and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform chip. 

The key feature of the Xperia 1 IV is the telephoto zoom that offers an 85-125mm equivalent zoom range, enough for sports, wildlife and more. Sony didn't say how it achieved that, but other companies like Huawei have used 90-degree periscope style systems to create optical zooms on smartphones.

Sony

On top of the telephoto zoom, has 16mm and 24mm lenses (35mm equivalent), along with a time-of-flight sensor, and all cameras use a 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with readout speeds of up to 120 fps. That allows the phone to record 4K 120 fps video, or the equivalent of 5x slow-motion at 4K. 

Other camera features include real-time Eye AF and real-time tracking with every lens, along with an Optical SteadyShot system. All the lenses use Zeiss optics with a Zeiss T* coating designed to boost contrast and sharpness while reducing reflections. The front camera uses a new 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor that's larger than on previous models, allowing you to shoot selfies with less light. 

Sony also added some apps and software features to add video content makers. Much like on the Xperia 1 Pro, that allows users to manually adjust settings like focus, exposure and white balance, even while recording. It also features 4K HDR multi-frame shooting, allowing for videos with wider dynamic range without any loss of resolution. 

Sony is also promising "the ultimate mobile gaming experience" with the Xperia 1 IV, thanks to a 120Hz HDR display with 240Hz motion blur and a 240Hz touch-scanning rate. It's powered by a Snapdragon Gen 1 Mobile Platform and uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite Gaming to improve performance. It also has what Sony calls "Heat Suppression power control" that automatically reduces performance at high temperatures, "even during gameplay when connected to a charger." 

It's designed to simplify livestreaming as well, as you'll have access to the Eye AF and object tracking features when using the Videography Pro mode. It can also be used as an external monitor if you're livestreaming from any compatible Alpha camera and when paired with Sony's Vlog Monitor, "users can livestream content by using the rear cameras," Sony said. 

Other features include 5G with sub6/mmWave, WiFi 6E, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with a microSD card and a 5,000 mAh battery. The price, as you'd expect from all that, will not be cheap. It's arriving on September 1, 2022 for "approximately" $1,600 to Sony dealers around the US, with the purple color available exclusively at Sony's website. 

Meta, Facebook's parent company, is facing another lawsuit filed by one of is former content moderators. According to The Washington Post, this one is filed by Daniel Motaung, who's accusing the company and San Francisco subcontractor Sama of human trafficking Africans to work in exploitative and unsafe working conditions in Kenya. The lawsuit alleges that Sama targets poor people across the region, including those from Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda, with misleading job ads. They were reportedly never told that they'd be working as Facebook moderators and would have to view disturbing content as part of the job. 

Motaung said the first video he watched was of someone being beheaded and that he was fired after six months on the job for trying to spearhead workers' unionization efforts. A Time report looking into the working conditions of the office where Motaung worked revealed that several employees suffered from mental trauma due to to their jobs. Sama, which positions itself as an "ethical AI" company providing "dignified digital work" to people in places like Nairobi, has on-site counselors. Workers generally distrusted the counselors, though, and Sama reportedly rejected counselors' advice to let workers take wellness breaks throughout the day anyway. 

As for Motaung, he said in the lawsuit that his job was traumatizing and that he now has a fear of death. "I had potential. When I went to Kenya, I went to Kenya because I wanted to change my life. I wanted to change the life of my family. I came out a different person, a person who has been destroyed," he noted. The lawsuit also mentioned how Motaung was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement and how he was paid less than promised — 40,000 Kenyan shillings or around $350. The report by Time said employees left in droves due to the poor pay and working conditions. 

Harrowing stories of Facebook moderators having to watch traumatizing videos and working in poor conditions aren't new and come from all over the world, including the US. In fact, the company agreed to pay its US content moderators part of a class action lawsuit $52 million back in 2020. Those who were diagnosed with psychological conditions related to their work got a payout of up to $50,000.

Meta's Nairobi office told The Post that it requires its "partners to provide industry-leading pay, benefits and support." It added: "We also encourage content reviewers to raise issues when they become aware of them and regularly conduct independent audits to ensure our partners are meeting the high standards we expect of them."