Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series is scheduled to debut on Prime Video in September, which might just be far enough away to get used to the unwieldy title. The company revealed the full name of the show — The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — in a short video.
“This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics,” showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay said in a statement. “The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.”
The video shows what looks like a few valleys with wispy fog before we see what's actually going on. Molten metal fills in the grooves before it's cooled with water. The camera then zooms out to reveal the show's name. The clip was shot using practical effects instead of CGI.
The teaser doesn't feature any characters or provide plot details. There's plenty of time for that in future trailers. However, the narration underscores the fact the show will once again focus on the 20 rings at the heart of the LOTR saga — just in case the title didn't do enough to hammer that home.
The southern Pacific nation of Tonga is struggling following the eruption of a volcano, and that includes challenges getting online. According to Reuters and The Verge, the Tonga government has warned internet access is "down" following damage to the lone undersea fiber optic cable keeping the archipelago online. While the country didn't provide an initial estimate, the Southern Cross Cable Network's Craige Sloots told Reuters it might take as long as two weeks to repair the cable "all things going well."
It will take the repair ship up to nine days to travel from Papua New Guinea to Tonga, according to Sloots. The timing for the repair will also hinge on safety clearance and any lingering activity from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano. The 514-mile cable is secured through a Fiji relay.
Tonga has been somewhat prepared for incidents like this. It struck a 15-year agreement for satellite internet access with Kacific in 2019 after damage to the underwater cable. However, ZDNetlearned a contract dispute with Kacific kept that access from being activated. Officials said the country's two telecoms were "working on satellite options" to restore service, but didn't provide timelines.
The outage underscores the vulnerability of internet access for island nations and other remote communities. While many countries connect to the rest of the world through undersea cabling, these more distant areas are frequently dependent on either a very limited cable network or expensive satellite service that can degrade in bad weather. Until these places have more reliable cables or lower-cost satellite data, they can't depend on the internet for vital services to the degree other regions can.
FIRST OFFICIAL UPDATE FOLLOWING THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF TONGA 🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/fX3KPlKx2E
— Consulate of the Kingdom of Tonga (@ConsulateKoT) January 18, 2022
Those who subscribe to the higher tier of Nintendo Switch Online will be able to play another classic on January 20th. That's when Banjo-Kazooie comes to the service. Nintendo announced last month that the platformer would hit Expansion Pack — which offers Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games on top of NES and SNES titles — sometime in January.
Banjo-Kazooie, which was originally released in 1998, tasks players with finding musical notes and jigsaw pieces in 3D environments so they can progress and ultimately rescue Banjo's sister, Tooty. Here's hoping Nintendo has smoothed out the emulation issues that plagued several N64 titles when Expansion Pack arrived in October.
Banjo-Kazooie will return to a Nintendo system on a busy day for game releases, albeit mainly on non-Switch platforms. Windjammers 2 and Rainbow Six Extraction debut on Thursday and both will be available on all three versions of Game Pass. So too will the Hitman World of Assassination trilogy. Expeditions: Rome arrives on the same day and, perhaps most importantly of all, the adorable-looking dog photography game Pupperazzi comes to Xbox and PC.
Ever since Impossible Foodsstole the show at 2019 with its White-Castle-burger-that-wasn't, Engadget has been following the science of plant-based foods. Nowadays, it's not just patties that can do a convincing impersonation of animal products, and it's not just Impossible Foods. Between Impossible and its biggest competitor, Beyond Meat, we've also seen plant-based chicken nuggets, sausage, pork, "KFC" and even taco meat. But you don't often hear about attempts to mimic a different animal-based product: milk.
And when you do hear of plant-based milks, it's more likely to be dairy alternatives like almond milk, soy milk or oat milk. Even then, it's rare for a dairy-free version to taste like the real thing. That’s exactly the selling point of Silk’s new line of plant-based milk, Nextmilk. It will be available in both full fat and reduced fat versions (MSRP is $4.99 for a 59-ounce carton). It’s going on sale today in grocery stores like Target, Kroger, Publix and HEB, among others.
I tried a sample of Silk’s Nextmilk last week and while it’s tasty, I wasn’t fooled into thinking it tastes like cow's milk. It tastes more like a richer, fattier version of oat milk. It does have a similar creamy mouthfeel to regular milk and the taste is a little closer to dairy than other plant-based milks I’ve tried, but it doesn’t quite replace dairy for me.
The ingredients list reflect what I tasted: It consists primarily of oat milk, plus smaller proportions of coconut milk, coconut oil, soy protein isolate, chicory root extract, cane sugar, sunflower oil, a vitamin and mineral blend, sea salt, locust bean gum, gellan gum, sunflower lecithin, soy lecithin and “natural flavor.”
Still, it’s quite delicious, and it might be close enough to dairy for some people. When eaten with cereal or as an accompaniment to cookies, for example, I thought Nextmilk was a more than acceptable substitute. It also mixes well in coffee and tea. “Silk Nextmilk was specially formulated to meet dairy-lovers’ taste expectations through a remarkably delicious blend of plants that are designed to deliver on key attributes of dairy milk, like taste and texture,'' a Danone (Silk’s parent company) spokesperson told Engadget.
Additionally, Danone says that Nextmilk can be used as a one-to-one alternative to traditional dairy milk in recipes. At the same time, however, the company is also working on another product called So Delicious Wondermilk, which arrives next month and was specifically developed for culinary purposes.
“While Silk Nextmilk is meant for everyday dairy lovers and offers great versatility [...] Wondermilk beverages were developed with culinary-focused consumers in mind and taste great in recipes,” the spokesperson said. When it arrives, Wondermilk will only be available through natural food channels like Whole Foods and Sprouts.
Danone is not the first to attempt a dairy-free alternative that tastes closer to real milk. Impossible Foods, the company behind the Impossible Burger, is also working on this, with a product tentatively called Impossible Milk. However, its availability is still unknown.
Whether it’s Xbox Cloud gaming, Stadia, PlayStation Remote Play or just a very severe addiction to Apple Arcade, gamepads are a better way to play many games on your smartphone of choice. Normally that means using some kind of smartphone clip to attach your phone to your existing controller, propping up your phone and hoping for the best, or choosing from an increasing selection of controllers that snap directly onto your phone. Instead of demanding compatible phone cases or separate pieces that connect either side of the phone, the $100 Backbone One is a single-piece controller that extends to fit it.
Unlike the Razer Kishi, which we tested in detail here, the One is a single device with a telescopic backplate that fits around any iPhone. (With some help: the One isn’t compatible with the iPhone 13 Pro. Backbone has, however, started providing a soft rubberized adapter that slides into the controller, ensuring the latest, bigger iPhones fit snugly and securely.)
Engadget/Mat Smith
So why invest in another controller for your phone when most mainstream console gamepads you probably already own already do the job? There are a few reasons. Backbone One, with its direct Lightning connection, sidesteps the extra jeopardy that comes with Bluetooth-connected controllers, which introduce another latency bump in the road. The company has wisely included a charger pass-through (gaming can burn through your battery) so you can keep your phone plugged in as you play.
The device has a subtle matte black finish, with two collar buttons on each side, a four-button layout on the right side (X, Y, A, B), a slightly-too-spongy d-pad on the left and an analog stick on each side. The sticks feel a little looser than others I’ve used, but they’re accurate and comfortable.
Backbone struck a deal with Microsoft, offering a one-month trial of Xbox’s Game Pass Ultimate for new Backbone owners. It said so on the box, it says it in the app, and it’ll say it in an email if you register the controller. You will get the hint.
The button layout does lean more towards Xbox gamers, but my PlayStation muscle memory meant I didn’t have too many issues using the One to play my PS5 remotely – just the usual drawbacks of playing with a controller that isn’t a DualSense, with its unique tricks and features. Using the touchpad will mean reaching for a section of the iPhone screen, while you’re not going to get any haptic feedback from the triggers or controller itself.
There are a handful of buttons in addition to the stable gaming ones. The orange button launches Backbone’s own game portal (part of the BackBone iOS app), while others offer screen and video sharing shortcuts or what you’d expect when pressing start or menu on console controllers.
The controller’s namesake, the spring-loaded backplate, ensures that once your phone is in place, it all feels solid and unified. The controls aren’t going to pull away, nor is there a chance of your phone slipping out. The more I spent playing through Alan Wake, then Deathloop, as well as Apple Arcade titles like Fallen Knight andFantasian, the more it started to blur into a handheld – one with a high-resolution OLED screen. Unfortunately, you will have to remove any cases to ensure it fits inside the controller chassis.
The companion app has a few useful tricks. It can capture, edit and upload gaming content, and it’s pretty intuitive. I don’t usually capture gameplay unless it’s for work, but I’ve already used Backbone’s implementation to send short clips to friends. The company has also announced a Backbone+ subscription service that integrates Twitch streaming and even enables cable connections for keyboards and more. (You’ll get a free year of the service when buying the controller.) There’s also the ability to join chat groups and lobbies, populated with other Backbone gamers, but it’s not particularly vibrant in comparison to Discord, Reddit or other existing gamer spaces.
The app also serves as a games library, of sorts, of all the games you can play with the Backbone One, across Xbox, Stadia, Apple Arcade and individual games in Apple’s App Store. Unfortunately, it’s literally all the compatible games, including unremarkable game clones, and Xbox and Stadia titles you might not even have a subscription for. It’s a shame the app couldn’t interface with which games I’d already installed – which would be impossible for PlayStation Remote Play, admittedly. Tapping the Backbone button during a game will log the title into the library for more convenient access next time, at least. There’s deeper functionality here, but your mileage may vary. It will show recommendations of popular titles, but it’s the incredibly familiar sights of Among Us, Genshin Impact and Minecraft.
Engadget/Mat Smith
The Backbone One is a capable iPhone gamepad, so much in fact that sometimes I actively choose to play Stadia and even remote-play PlayStation when I’m in another room. It is, however, an expensive one. $100 can buy a couple of PS5 controllers, or an entire box of third-party Bluetooth gamepads and smartphone clips.
But for that price, you get a slick experience that marries well with your iPhone. Over the holidays, when I visited my family, I was able to effortlessly (aside from reading the tiny text) play Deathloop while being hundreds of miles away from my console. Like several existing split gamer pads for smartphones, it’s like a tiny Switch. The app also tries to pool together all your iOS gaming experiences in a single place, which is a nice idea, even if Backbone doesn’t quite nail the execution.
Netflix is still relatively new to mobile gaming, but that isn't stopping it from quickly releasing new titles. What's on Netflixnotes the streaming service has unveiled two new titles for subscribers. The headliner, Arcanium: Rise of Akhan, is an Android and iOS card battler reminiscent of Hearthstone. Supercombo's mobile adaptation of its Steam Early Access game may be single-player, but it adds open-world and roguelike elements you don't often see in titles like this.
The other release, Krispee Street, is billed as a "feel-good hidden object game" for Android and iOS. FrostyPop's newest project is effectively a Where's Waldo?-style character and item hunt based on the Krispee Street webcomic. It's decidedly more relaxed than Arcanium and offers both a daily puzzle and a future "Zen Mode" to help you unwind.
The Netflix game library is still relatively small (these latest additions bring it to nine), and likely won't be a draw by itself. The collection should become more substantial over time, though, and this might reduce the temptation to skip a month when you've run out of things to watch.
A robot vacuum can help you stick to that New Year's resolution you made to keep your home a bit more tidy — and it helps that you don't have to spend a fortune to get one of these gadgets anymore. There are many more budget-friendly robot vacuums available today than there were even just a couple of years ago, and iRobot's Roomba 694 is one of the better ones we've tried. Normally priced at $274, the affordable robo-vac is even cheaper right now on Amazon where it's $95 off and down to $179. That's the same price we saw during the Black Friday shopping season last year, so if you missed the gadget when it was previously on sale, you have another chance to grab it now.
This is one of iRobot's entry-level vacuums with a three-button design, mobile app connectivity and the ability to clean both hard and carpeted surfaces well. It earned a spot in our budget robot vacuum guide for those reasons — not only does it do a good job puttering around your home, sucking up dirt and debris along the way, but we also like that you can control it using the on-device buttons or the companion mobile app. iRobot's app is pretty straightforward, so even if you're a newbie to the world of autonomous cleaning robots, it shouldn't be difficult to figure out. The app also lets you set cleaning schedules, which tell the Roomba to automatically clean on certain days of the week and at specific times. The Roomba 694 is also compatible with Alexa and the Google Assistant, so you can control it with voice commands, too.
The Roomba 694 is a great option if you want to introduce a robo-vac into your home without dropping too much money. iRobot also has a number of more advanced machines if you're looking to invest in a vacuum with more power and smarts. The new Roomba j7+ is on sale for $599 right now, which is $250 off and the best price we've seen. It has 10x the suction power of the 694 plus Precision View Navigation with obstacle avoidance, the latter of which is the reason why iRobot dubbed the machine its "poop-detecting" robot. It also comes with a clean base, so the robo-vac will automatically empty its bin into that base after every job so you don't have to.
Similarly, the Roomba s9+ is also $250 off and down to $849. It has 40x the suction of a standard Roomba, a design that can more easily clean in room corners and an included clean base. While it's probably overkill for most people, it's the model to get if you want one of the highest-end robot vacuums around.
If you'd rather not mute certain Valorant players even though they occasionally make sketchy comments in chat, a new update could solve the problem. The latest Valorant patch 4.01 is introducing a muted words list, letting you enter words or phrases "that you, personally, would not like to appear in-game," developer Riot Games announced.
Currently, you can only completely mute a player's text chat. The new feature could help you avoid using that nuclear option, allowing for a more bespoke experience. It'll also let you protect yourself based on your own tastes instead of relying on Riot's global watchlists.
Riot plans to use player muted word lists to "make the chat less toxic by comparing them across regions, and using the data we collect to improve our own detections of bad words." It noted, for instance, that its own filters could catch "Riot" but not necessarily "R1ot" or "R!ot."
Early last year, Valorant rolled out new behavior detection and penalty updates that included measures for chat-based offenses. The rules allowed mods a bit more leeway to give warnings and comms bans, or issue game and extended game bans if required. By contrast, the muted words list feature gives the player control, even if it's just to mute words or phrases you find annoying or repetitive.
Along with the muted words list, the latest patch boosts the price for the Ares weapon while changing some characteristics. Riot also tweaked Melee to make aiming more reliable, while fixing some bugs around weapons, esports features and performance. Patch 4.01 is now rolling out globally.
Apple has closed a loophole in the US that allowed buyers to take advantage of its education pricing even if they're not actually a student or a teacher. As noticed by a Redditor, the US Apple Store now requires buyers to verify their status via UNiDAYS to be able to purchase MacBooks, iPads and other devices from its education portal. The tech giant's education discount typically knocks off 10 percent from a device's original retail price. It applies to currently enrolled and newly accepted college or university students, as well as teachers and faculty/staff at a school for any grade level.
The change happened sometime over the past few days, based on snapshots from the Wayback Machine, which don't show the UNiDAYS verification requirement even in its latest record for January 17th. Prior to this change, Apple doesn't require its customers in the US to verify their status unlike its stores for other locations such as the UK that have long required UNiDAYS authentication. It didn't even ask for a .edu email address. The company simply occasionally checks customers at random and then charge the difference to their credit card if it determines that they're not truly eligible for the education discount.
Now, when buyers go to the Apple Education website, they won't even be able to see the device listings. They'll have to click through to the UNiDAYS' partner page for Apple first, where they need to sign in or register for verification. Once they're in, they can buy what they want, so long as it's within the device limits for the promotion. Buyers can only avail of the discount for one desktop, one Mac mini, one laptop, two iPads and two accessories per year.
Microsoft’s been buying up studios for the last couple of years, adding notable developers and game series to the Xbox, righting the wrongs of previous generations of the company’s console — namely the lack of exclusive games. And while the purchase of Bethesda last year seemed the biggest deal made in modern gaming, Microsoft picking up Activision Blizzard blows it out of the water. There’s been a mixed response, however.
First off, the studio is mired in multiple investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the company, with calls for CEO Bobby Kotick to step down. Further, as Senior Editor Jessica Conditt lays out, this puts an incredible amount of industry power — and titles — in the hands of one gaming platform. (Two if you include PC.)
And what about exclusivity? In his blog post about the acquisition, Xbox’s Phil Spencer didn’t address Sony or Nintendo platforms specifically, but he alluded to the possibility of cross-platform support. “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms, and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward,” he said, without getting into specifics. Spencer said similar things regarding Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls VI at first, only for his comments to change later.
Nest speakers are now playing a different, shorter sound.
Multiple users noticed that Google recently changed its white noise on its Nest speakers series. A new ambient noise was repeating every 10 minutes, when it used to repeat every hour, with the previously crisp sound file now apparently "muffled" and quieter than before.
There were at least 100 complaints on Nest community forums, with many people saying they use the white noise to get their babies or toddlers to sleep. The feedback reached Google, which has reverted the feature back to how it was. Rest easy, angry toddlers.
You can request four tests per household, and the USPS will start deliveries later this month.
A little earlier than scheduled, folks in the US can now order free at-home COVID-19 tests from a United States Postal Service website. Households can each request one set of four rapid antigen tests. USPS will start shipping the kits later this month, usually within seven to 12 days of ordering.
Garmin’s new Fenix 7 line will now include touchscreens — a first for this series. The great outdoors, with sweat, dirt, gloves and the rest, can usually mess with the proper workings of a touch interface, so it’ll be intriguing to see how this works out. The new watches also include a new multi-LED flashlight, which can alternate between red and white as you run, matching your personal cadence.
Say hello to Klombos. They’re climbable monsters with blowholes ion their heads to launch you into the sky. They also offer up items if you feed them. Provoke them, however, and they will attack. The latest update also revives Tilted Towers, arguably Fortnite's best-known location. While there appear to be some cosmetic changes, you'll have the chance to revisit the sniper-friendly clock tower.
