Drive to Survive — the F1 documentary that has changed a sport

Matt Slater, The Athletic

An F1 season concluded last weekend with more drama than Netflix producers could dream of, and neither the service nor the racing series will be complaining. The documentary-style series Formula 1: Drive to Survive has massively expanded the F1 fan base since its debut in 2019, thanks to cinematic behind-the-scenes access to drivers, teams and tactics from the previous season. "Nowhere has that effect been more obvious than in America," Slater writes.

How Shein beat Amazon at its own game — and reinvented fast fashion

Louise Matsakis, Meaghan Tobin and Wency Chen, Rest of World

When an influencer posts a thrift store find, it becomes the latest fashion trend. Fast fashion companies seize quickly on what's popular on social media and Shein has created a billion-dollar business doing just that. 

Robert Downey Jr.: Here’s how to accelerate discoveries to help the planet

Robert Downey Jr and David Lang, Fast Company

Ironman has some ideas on how to fix science funding, arguing that the rapid response to the pandemic needs to be applied to saving the planet. 

Apple has rolled out the macOS 12.2 beta update to public testers in its beta program, just a day after it became available to developers. As 9to5Mac notes, the OS comes with a new Music app that Apple had rebuilt as a full native application. Apple introduced macOS' dedicated Music app back in 2019, but it kept some iTunes elements for some parts of it, which means it still displays web content within the app.

Based on what 9to5Mac has seen, macOS 12.2 beta uses AppKit, the framework needed to give applications a native interface. There won't be a big difference in looks, but the new app will apparently work faster. Searching for songs within Music, for instance, will appear more quickly because the results will be displayed on a native interface, while scrolling will feel smoother and trackpad gestures will feel more responsive. 

In addition to a brand new Music app, macOS 12.2 will also make scrolling in Safari smoother for the 14-and-16-inch MacBook Pro models that support refresh rates of up to 120Hz. To test out macOS 12.2, you'll have to download and install the macOS Developer Beta Access Utility. You'll then be able to access the latest beta update in the Software Update section of System Preferences.

Google has failed to strike a deal that would allow it to continue offering YouTube TV subscribers access to Disney's channels. The tech giant warned customers a few days ago that Disney channels, including ABC, ESPN and FX, might disappear before midnight of December 17th if they can't come to terms with carriage fees. Back then, it was optimistic that it could get the outcome it wanted. But now, Google has told customers that the companies were unable to reach an agreement before their existing one expired despite holding negotiations for several months.

The company said negotiations fell through despite its best efforts but that it "will continue conversations with Disney to advocate on [viewers'] behalf." Disney, however, told The Streamable in a statement that YouTube TV has "declined to reach a fair deal with [the company] based on market terms and conditions." 

The company added: "As a result, their subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of networks including live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from ABC, the ESPN networks, the Disney channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. We stand ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as quickly as possible in order to minimize the inconvenience to YouTube TV viewers by restoring our networks. We hope Google will join us in that effort."

Here's the list of Disney-owned channels no longer available on YouTube TV:

• Your local ABC channel

• ABC News Live

• Disney Channel

• Disney Junior

• Disney XD

• Freeform

• FX

• FXX

• FXM

• National Geographic

• National Geographic Wild

• ESPN

• ESPN2

• ESPN3 (by authentication to the ESPN app)

• ESPNU

• ESPNEWS

• SEC Network

• ACC Network

Google has lowered YouTube TV's price by $15 a month (from $65 to $50 for Basic tier) while Disney channels aren't available on the platform. For now, it's advising viewers to sign up for The Disney Bundle at $14 a month if they want continued access to the channels that were removed from YouTube TV.  

An Amazon dispatcher in Illinois told a driver to continue delivering packages even after tornado sirens warned of incoming danger. That’s according to screenshots shared this week by Bloomberg that document an exchange that reportedly happened last Friday shortly before a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, leading to a structural collapse and six deaths. “Just keep driving,” the dispatcher said in a message sent at 7:08PM that evening. “We can’t just call people back for a warning unless Amazon tells us to do so.”

After being told to “keep delivering” a second time about half an hour later, the driver said she wanted to turn back for her safety. “If you look at the radar, the worst of the storm is going to be right on top of me in 30 minutes.” To this, she was told she would lose her job if she drove back.

“If you decide to return with your packages, it will be viewed as you refusing your route, which will ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning,” the dispatcher said. “I’m literally stuck in this damn van without a safe place to go with a tornado on the ground,” the driver messaged back before being told to shelter in place.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Amazon said the dispatcher didn’t follow safety guidelines. The company also said it’s investigating the incident and that the driver is safe. Here’s the full text of the statement it shared with the outlet:

This was a developing situation across a broad geographic area, and unfortunately the delivery service partner’s dispatcher didn’t follow the standard safety practice. This dispatcher should have immediately directed the driver to seek shelter when the driver reported hearing tornado sirens. While this text exchange was going on, the local Amazon team was ensuring each delivery service partner had directed their drivers to shelter in place or seek shelter and advised them to stop delivering for the evening. We’re glad the driver is safe and we’re using the learnings from this incident to improve our policies and guidance for delivery service partners and drivers. Under no circumstance should the dispatcher have threatened the driver’s employment, and we’re investigating the full details of this incident and will take any necessary action.

Amazon’s policies have led to several incidents where workers were expected to clock in even during extreme weather. In September, as tropical depression Ida caused widespread flooding throughout New York City, the retailer kept its warehouses open. In 2017, drivers told Engadget’s Bryan Menegus, then writing for Gizmodo, they delivered packages in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Irma. The company is also known for keeping its facilities open even in extreme heat. During the historic heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest this past summer, employees had to work even as temperatures inside one of the company’s facilities neared 90 degrees.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse of the warehouse in Illinois. According to employees who spoke to Bloomberg, the facility didn’t conduct any drills before the tornado that would have prepared them for the emergency.

Amazon has addressed the issue that had left those with Android 12 phones unable to use apps they had downloaded from the company's Appstore. “We have released a fix for an issue impacting app launches for Amazon Appstore customers that have upgraded to Android 12 on their mobile devices," a spokesperson for the company told Engadget on Friday. "We are contacting customers with steps to update their Appstore experience. We are sorry for any disruption this has caused.”

Reports of applications from the Appstore not working on Android 12 started to surface online in late October. Those with devices like the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 found they couldn't run any of the software they had previously downloaded from the Appstore. There were also reports of no apps showing up in the marketplace. While the issue didn't affect many people, it took about a month for Amazon to acknowledge it officially. On Friday, the company didn't say what had caused the problem. When it first surfaced, there was speculation it stemmed from an incompatibility between Amazon's built-in DRM and Android 12.  

Following backlash from fans, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 developer GSC Game World has walked back on plans it had to include non-fungible tokens in its new game. The announcement came a day after the studio said S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 would include NFTs.

On Thursday, GSC Game World posted and then deleted an explanation for the decision where it said it would use the money it earned from the tokens to fund the development of the sequel. Fans were quick to criticize both the initial Wednesday announcement and the statement the studio later shared. The response was such that GSC Game World deleted its appeal about an hour after posting it.

“We hear you,” its latest statement reads. “Based on the feedback we received, we’ve made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2.” The studio added it would make the game at “whatever the cost is” to itself.

GSC Game World’s about-face comes in the same week Ubisoft pushed forward with its highly-criticized plan to include NFTs in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. While video game fans have been almost universally united in their distaste for the technology, at this point it seems likely we’ll see more, not fewer, publishers try to include NFTs in their games with people like EA CEO Andrew Wilson saying the technology represents the “future of our industry.”

Adobe is testing out a new web-based tool that uses AI to simplify audio recording. The software is called Project Shasta, and it could make recording and editing podcasts and other projects a lot easier and more approachable.

The project started off in Adobe Labs as an experiment to find "new ways to help people edit audio on the web,” Mark Webster, Adobe’s head of audio products, wrote in a post on Product Hunt. “But then it became clear that the pandemic made recording difficult too, even for audio professionals. Our vision became empowering everyone with the tools they needed to create professional sounding audio."

The result is a browser-based tool — it requires Google Chrome — for creating and editing audio recordings in a visual interface without the need for professional equipment or other advanced tools. 

Users record their audio in clips and Shasta automatically transcribes the recordings. From there, editing is as simple as deleting text from the transcription. There are also AI-based filters that can improve the audio quality or automatically remove filler words like “um.” Project Shasta also supports remote recording, so guest speakers can easily join in for recordings. The software will handle syncing up the clips even if one person has a shoddy internet connection. 

While the most obvious use case for Shasta is recording podcasts, Webster notes it could also be used for voiceovers, videos and other projects with an audio component. 

For now, it’s unclear exactly what Adobe has planned for Project Shasta. Webster said that the software is in an “early Alpha” stage, and that the company is sharing it now to get feedback from testers, but didn’t share when it might be available more widely. Project Shasta is “free for now” to those who request access via Adobe's website.

Chipotle will open its first "digital kitchen" later this month in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the company announced on Friday. The "Chipotlane" location will be smaller than a traditional Chipotle restaurant. It won't have a dining room (though there will still be patio seating) and will only serve digital orders made through the restaurant's website, mobile app and platforms like DoorDash. You can pick up your food either through the drive-thru or walk-up windows.

The opening is the culmination of a process that started in 2019. At the time, the company said it would redesign its restaurants to better serve online and mobile orders. That year, Chipotle's digital business had grown to $1 billion. The pandemic greatly accelerated that trend. Last year, digital sales accounted for more than half of all of Chipotle's sales. That's a trend likely to continue as the company opens more online-only locations.

A decade ago today saw the Japanese release of Sony's last dedicated gaming handheld, the PlayStation Vita. It wasn't quite as popular as its predecessor the PlayStation Portable (or its main rival the Nintendo 3DS), and Sony is still trying to bring its gaming experience to mobile, but the Vita still holds a special place in the hearts of those who owned one. At Engadget, that's Nathan Ingraham and Devindra Hardawar, who have both extolled the virtues of the system in our internal Slack many times over the years (yes, I checked). So on the Vita's 10th birthday we've asked our resident experts what their favorite games for the system were, and inspired them to dig the shiny little handheld out of their closets for another go-around. — Kris Naudus, Buyer's Guide Editor

Gravity Rush

The freedom of Gravity Rush’s acrobatic gameplay, which lets you fall through the air in every direction, as well as walk along the sides and bottoms of buildings, went hand-in-hand with the Vita’s portability. That made it a game I couldn’t help but love despite its frustrations. Gravity Rush took full advantage of the system’s motion controls — you had to tilt the Vita to control your flying momentum — and its watercolor anime aesthetic looked incredible on the Vita’s screen. Few games captured the magic of the system’s hardware that well.

Sure, the combat was simplistic and the story didn’t make much sense. But the visceral feeling of flying was hard to match, especially on a portable console. I never got around to playing the PlayStation 4 Gravity Rush remaster, mostly because my memories of the game are so intimately tied to the Vita. I suppose it’s time to finally get over that hangup, though. The Vita is well and truly dead, and if I wanted to play the sequel, I have no choice but to move over to my PS4. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor

Lumines: Electric Symphony

Every portable console needs a good puzzle game. For the PS Vita, it was Lumines: Electric Symphony. The first Lumines game was a launch title for the Vita’s predecessor, the PlayStation Portable, and Electric Symphony arrived when the Vita went on sale. The basic gameplay remained the same: you manipulate 2-by-2 squares of varying colors together and match those colors to clear things out. If your screen gets overloaded, that’s that.

What makes Lumines: Electric Symphony so engrossing is the way the gameplay is matched up to the beat of a lengthy selection of classic electronic tunes from artists like LCD Soundsystem, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and about 30 more. Each song has a different speed, and that speed is reflected in the gameplay; it’s not like Tetris where things progressively get faster and faster. It’s actually more like Tetris Effect, which was the first Tetris game to make music and sound a crucial part of the gameplay experience.

Lumines: Electric Symphony doesn’t reach the lofty heights of Tetris as a puzzle game, but that’s not a huge knock. It’s hard to compete with one of the most popular video games of all time, but Electric Symphony is still a great way to kill some time, either through a short session or a long play-through of the more than 30 tracks the game has to offer. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor

Modnation Racers: Road Trip

Ever since Super Mario Kart arrived in 1992, game developers have tried to emulate its appeal with little success. For my money, Modnation Racers: Road Trip came pretty damn close. The PS Vita title was a new version of a PS3 game that came out in 2010. Both installments follow the Mario Kart script pretty closely: crazy tracks with weapons and items that let you even the odds against your competition.

What the Modnation Racers games did differently was offer endless customization — of your kart, racer and, most crucially, the courses themselves. Even on the somewhat scaled-back Vita game, you could download all manner of creations from the Modnation community, something that gave the game life for years until Sony inevitably shut down the servers.

Even without all the community content, though, Modnation Racers: Road Trip is still a blast to play. The 30 tracks in its career mode are extremely well designed, and the driving mechanics simply feel great. After almost 10 years, this game is showing its age, but it’s a great example of Sony’s promise to bring console-quality games to the Vita. The graphics don’t look quite as sharp as they used to, but the racing experience remains a blast. — N.I.

OlliOlli

Sony initially pitched the PS Vita as a way to play console-quality games on the go, but its legacy is just as much about the smaller, indie games that hit the handheld. OlliOlli and its sequel OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood are two games that I played for hours on end, even though they weren’t as flashy and high-profile as games from bigger studios.

OlliOlli is a masterful side-scrolling skateboarding game that combines lo-fi music and graphics with gameplay that was simple to learn, but maddening to master. And let me be clear, “maddening” is a complement. Once I figured out how to do more advanced moves and pull off longer combos to juice my score, I got addicted to the challenge of mastering every level.

And there’s a ton to master here; both games had five worlds to conquer, each with five “amateur” and “pro” levels. And, each level has five objectives to nail if you really want to be a completist. Usually, I don’t try to hit 100 percent of all the goals in a game, but here I was compelled to keep on pushing myself to beat as many challenges as I possibly could.

Both games have held up over the years, with the sequel adding crucial new mechanics like manuals, so you can skate through entire levels without stopping your combo. I recently replayed both, and still really enjoy trying to do a level as cleanly as possible — if you like chasing high scores, OlliOlli is a great option. And if you never tried these games, I’ve got some good news: both are available for current PlayStation consoles, and a new game, OlliOlli World, is coming out on February 8th. — N.I.

Persona 4 Golden

I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the world of Persona than this title on the Vita. Persona 4 Golden’s bold and colorful aesthetic practically popped off of the system’s OLED display. (I can’t say if the later LCD Vita handled it worse.) It also featured one of the most memorable JRPG soundtracks I’ve ever encountered. Best of all, the Vita’s portability was perfectly suited to P4G’s grind. Being able to bring the game outdoors, on the subway and all over my apartment made leveling up feel more like a genuine adventure, rather than a typical JRPG chore.

For me, someone who grew up with every iteration of Game Boy, Persona 4 Golden also proved that portable systems could finally deliver a premium experience similar to home consoles. Sure, there were limitations around battery life and screen size, but in 2012 playing a deep and visually rich RPG on the Vita felt like a miracle. And honestly, it still does. Time to dig up my Vita. — D.H.

Xenogears

I know this is a bit of a cheat. But the Vita is one of the last systems I own that can still run Xenogears, Square’s brilliant and enigmatic Neon Genesis Evangelion-esque RPG. As someone who was fundamentally shaped by both Chrono Trigger and Evangelion in the ‘90s, Xenogears is that rare bit of culture that has always felt specifically made for geeks like me. I love it all: the unique combat, the eclectic Yasunori Mitsuda score and the giant mech battles. Hell, I even dig the exposition-heavy final act. Once the Vita arrived, being able to play Xenogears on the go made me fall for it all over again. — D.H.

The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel to Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Anderzej Sapkowski’s dark fantasy novel series, will debut in 2022, and you can watch the first trailer now. In a surprise move, Netflix shared footage from the show as part of season two of The Witcher. The trailer is attached to the final episode of the season as a post-credits scene. And as of the writing of this article, Netflix has yet to upload the clip to YouTube.

Per Gizmodo, the trailer doesn’t provide many story hints, but what it does do is offer a look at Michelle Yeoh as Scian, one of the protagonists of the tale. Blood Origin will center on the Conjunction of the Spheres, the moment in the Witcher universe where humans, elves and monsters all came to inhabit the fantasy world of the series.

Blood Origin is just one of several Witcher-related projects Netflix has in the production pipeline following the success of the first season of its live action adaptation. The company recently greenlit a third season of the show, in addition to a second animated movie (following Nightmare of the Wolf) and a kids and family series.