As part of its years-long podcast push, Spotify has been constantly adding new features for users on top of steadily expanding its library of 3.2 million shows. Today, the service is debuting yet another tool for listeners to offer feedback on the podcasts they listen to: ratings. The company says the ability to offer 1-5 star ratings will roll out to users "over the coming days." The feature will be available in all markets where podcasts are available on the streaming service.
Spotify says features like its podcast charts have helped users find new shows, and the same goes for the service's personalized recommendations. However, until now, there was no real way for listeners to see what other people thought of a show in the company's apps. The star rating system will be familiar to podcast listeners as platforms like Apple Podcasts also use the scoring metric. Like Apple, Spotify will display the number of ratings in parenthesis beside the average score on each show's page. Of course, the system will also allow creators to see how their podcast is performing among listeners, directly from the people who are listening to the show.
Ransomware has been a recurring problem throughout 2021, and the latest attack could be particularly severe for some workers. NBC Newsreports workforce management heavyweight Kronos has suffered a ransomware attack that could affect its ability to handle hours and payroll at well-known companies like GameStop, Honda and Whole Foods. With many final pre-Christmas paychecks slated to arrive this week, there's a concern some employees might not get paid in a timely fashion when they need it most.
Kronos reported the attack on December 11th, but it wasn't until December 13th the company warned it might take "several weeks" to fully restore functionality. The company didn't identify the perpetrators. It also couldn't completely rule out a connection to the recent Log4j vulnerability, but went through "rapid patching" and supply chain checks to make sure its systems weren't susceptible.
It's not clear how soon hours and payroll functionality might come back. In the meantime, though, companies have had to scramble to find alternatives. Whole Foods told NBC it had found a way to pay staff this week, but Honda only said it was "taking steps" to mitigate any problems. One anonymous Whole Foods worker said teammates had been asked to rely on paper punch sheets and handwritten schedules.
The Kronos incident illustrates the sheer breadth of ransomware victims in recent months, including a meat supplier and a key oil pipeline operator. It also underscores the fragility of modern workplace technology. While a payroll company might not be considered critical infrastructure like food or fuel providers, a cyberattack against it can still deal significant economic damage.
Google researchers have described NSO Group's zero-click exploit used to hack Apple devices as "incredible and terrifying," Wired has reported. Project Zero researchers called it "one of the most technically sophisticated exploits we've ever seen" that's on par with attacks from elite nation-state spies.
The Project Zero team said it obtained one of NSO's Pegasus exploits from Citizen Lab, which managed to capture it via a targeted Saudi activist. It also worked with Apple's Security Engineering and Architecture (SEAR) group on the technical analysis.
NSO's original exploit required the user to click on a link, but the latest, most sophisticated exploits require no click at all. Called ForcedEntry, it takes advantage of the way iMessage interprets files like GIFs to open a malicious PDF file with no action required from the victim. It does so by using old code from the 1990s used to process text in scanner images.
Once inside a device, the malware can set up its own virtualized environment and run javascript-like code, with no need to connect to an outside server. From there, it gives an attacker access to a victim's passwords, microphone, audio and more. The exploit is extremely hard to detect and is "a weapon against which there is no defense," Project Zero researchers said.
Apple recently filed a lawsuit against the group to "hold it accountable" for governments using it to spy on iOS users. Apple alleged that targets are often activists, journalists and other critics of regimes that routinely suppress political dissent. It also accused NSO of "flagrant violations" of federal- and state-level laws in the US. Last month, the US Department of Commerce added NSO Group to its "entity list", essentially banning it for use in the US.
While the Mac Mini M1 on sale at Amazon continues to come in and out of stock, you can grab a version of the desktop with extra RAM for less at Adorama. The online retailer has the Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $799, or $100 off its normal price. That's double the RAM in the base model and a configuration that's not as readily available at third-party retailers.
You can still get the desktop with 512GB of storage for $750 at Amazon if you prefer to bulk up on storage. But extra RAM can be quite useful as it'll help make multitasking smoother. Base on our experience testing out other M1 machines like the MacBook Air, the Mac Mini M1 should already feel speedy and smooth thanks to the performance gains brought by Apple's updated chipset. It has an eight-core CPU and an eight-core GPU, plus a Neural Engine for handling machine-leaning tasks. Adding extra RAM into the mix will only improve the experience, especially when doing things like video editing, running dozens of browser tabs and more.
The latest Mac Mini is all about the performance enhancements, which is to say that it doesn't look all that different from previous models. It's designed to be compact so it should fit in even the most cramped work-from-home spaces, and it has a number of ports including two USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port and a headphone jack. It's a good option for those who don't have a lot of space but want to invest in an upgraded, all-purpose machine for their home.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
You now have another chance to grab Apple's third-gen AirPods for $140 on Amazon if you missed the sale last week. That's the lowest price we've seen for the wireless earbuds, which originally retailed for $179 and which Apple has been selling for $150 over the past few days. While the model is currently in stock, make sure to check your estimated delivery dates before you decide to buy it as a Christmas gift, because it may arrive after the holidays even if you purchase it right now.
If you don't mind the possibility that your order might arrive after the holidays and have been looking to buy a pair of AirPods in the first place, the third-gen model is a great buy. While it still doesn't come with the Pro's silicone buds, it represents a complete redesign for the product line. In our review, where we gave it a score of 88, we found it more comfortable than its predecessors due to its new "contoured design." It's shorter than previous models and can direct sounds better into your ear, leading to massive improvements to its audio quality.
Apple also paired a custom driver with a high-dynamic-range amplifier to produce "rich consistent bass" and "crisp, clean" sounds that improve audio quality even further, making it more immersive than before. And, thanks to the H1 chip, the third-gen AirPods feature Adaptive EQ, spatial audio, one-touch fast pairing and always-on Siri. Finally, we praised the model for its battery life: The earbuds themselves can last for six hours, and the case can extend your listening time for up to 30 hours total.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Going camping or hiking just got cuter thanks to a new Citroën concept car based on its micro Ami EV. The My Ami Buggy is based on the Ami we all know and love, but adds some practical and stylistic touches like wider knobby tires, an LED light bar and removable canvas doors.
The buggy is mainly a way for Citroën's designers to show off their chops by adding "stylish attributes to assert its intrepid and friendly backpacker personality," according to the company. As such, they drew inspiration from things like construction games, industrial design and fashion.
To be sure, it looks like your ten-year-old's idea of a buggy, assuming the kid had some design talent. The khaki, black and yellow color scheme is the first attention-grabbing feature, giving it an outdoorsy camouflage feel and yet high visibility.
Another key feature is the doors, or lack thereof. The regular ones have been replaced by removable canvas doors with zippers, bringing some much-needed air circulation and buggy allure. The knobbier and wider tires will let you take it onto rougher roads, though remember that ground clearance isn't amazing. It also has headlight protectors and a spare knobby tire mounted on the roof that "emphasize the concept's spirit of adventure" and ratchet up the cuteness factor.
Other additions include an LED lightbar, removable "nomadic speaker," a roof cap to protect against the sun and a graphics package that includes the words "Pilot" and "01" on the driver's seat and "Copilot" and "02" on the passenger seat. It also offers thicker memory foam in the seats, new storage bins on the dashboard and even a range of luggage designed to "fit perfectly into the vehicle's interior spaces," according to Citroën. Other features like smartphone clamps, bottle holders and more were all built using 3D printing so that they can be reproduced on demand.
As a reminder, the Ami can hit a top speed of 28 MPH and go 44 miles on its 5.5 kWh battery. It's also legal for teenagers 14 and older to drive in France and elsewhere in Europe. The company's designers must have had a lot of fun with the My Ami Buggy concept, but there's no word yet on whether Citroën will ever build and sell it — though the kid in all of us certainly hopes so.
Still not sold on foldable smartphones? I get it. But companies continue their efforts to make them happen, with Oppo the latest to reveal its first take on a foldable flagship. Somehow, for a fold-up widescreen phone, it’s kind of cute.
It has a different screen ratio to devices from Samsung and the rest, resulting in a more horizontal (possibly more useful) touchscreen. Unfortunately, it’s still pricey (although it’s cheaper than the Galaxy Fold) and, adding another barrier to entry, it’s only launching in China.
Engadget Chinese Editor-in-Chief Richard Lai is testing one out — expect to hear our full verdict soon.
US citizens will be barred from making any investments in the companies.
The US government is adding eight Chinese companies, including drone manufacturer DJI, to an investment blocklist for alleged involvement in the surveillance of Uyghur Muslims. The companies will be put on the treasury department's "Chinese military-industrial complex companies" list next week, meaning US citizens will be barred from making any investments.
The government said it was among companies that "enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance." However, unlike products from Huawei and others, DJI drones have not been banned for sale in the US.
NASA was hoping to send the James Webb telescope to space by December 22nd, but its launch has been delayed yet again. Yes, again. In an announcement posted on the project's official page, NASA said the James Webb team is working on a communication issue between the telescope and its Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
Watch 'Boba Fett' or 'Encanto' with 31 of your friends.
The latest Disney+ app update adds SharePlay group viewing to its iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, letting up to 32 people watch and chat together. To ensure it works, everyone in the call needs Disney+ to stream, and you need to ensure the title is available to everyone in your virtual gathering. You might also find that some titles don’t work across different regions and countries.
The US Department of Homeland Security is offering up to $5,000 in bug bounties under a new program called Hack DHS. Vetted security researchers invited by the agency will get access to select external DHS systems to identify vulnerabilities bad actors could exploit. Payments will vary between $500 and $5,000, depending on the severity of the bug. The DHS said attacks against it were up fourfold in 2021.
'The Washington Post' said it found PowerPoint slides that detail its surveillance technologies.
Huawei has long denied working with the Chinese government to spy on other countries and China's own citizens. But The Washington Post has reviewed 100 PowerPoint presentations from the company that, Post reporters say, can show Huawei’s links to China's surveillance projects. While many of the slides were marked confidential, they were reportedly posted on a public-facing Huawei website until they were removed in 2020. Many of them were created back in 2014 and edited as recently as last year.
Ubisoft is finally ready to make a new Splinter Cell game — in a manner of speaking. The game developer has revealed plans for a Splinter Cell remake that aims to recreate the stealth action of the early games while embracing modern technology.
The project will use the Snowdrop engine present in newer games like The Division 2 and the upcoming Avatar game, but you'll play in small linear environments, unlike most of Ubisoft’s AAA titles. Check out the announcement video at the link.
Square Enix is suspending the sales and delivery of Final Fantasy XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition, because it's doing too well and the company can't keep up. The decision applies to both physical and digital versions of the game and will be enforced in the coming weeks. It's a gradual process that will take some time and will require coordination with retail partners — at the moment, both versions are still available in digital game stores — but the company says it will be coordinating with those partners "as swiftly as possible."
FFXIV players have been struggling with lengthy queues ever since the Endwalker expansion came out in late November. They still have to wait hours to get into a server and be able to play the game. In its announcement, Square Enix explained it has to suspend FFXIV sales because the "dense concentration of play hours... far exceed [its] server capacity, especially during the peak times." The developer previously said that it's unable to add more Worlds or servers prior to Endwalker's release to ensure that it can accommodate all players due to the global semiconductor shortage.
FFXIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida issued an apology in early December for the ongoing issue and granted seven days of free game time to all players who own the full version of the game and have an active subscription. In his newest post, he said Square Enix is now giving those players an additional 14 days.
In addition to halting FFXIV sales, the company will prioritize the logins of people with an active subscription going forward. It will no longer accept free trial subscriptions, and current free trial players won't be able to log in outside of late night and early morning hours anymore.
Roku is looking to close out 2022 with a bang. Not only is it setting up a New Year’s Eve experience, it's offering 99-cent trials on a bunch of subscription services. Between December 23rd and January 1st, eligible users can sign up for the likes of Showtime, Starz, Epix, AMC+, BET+, BBC Select, AcornTV, Hallmark Movies Now and Lifetime Movie Club via The Roku Channel and pay less than a dollar for their first month.
The company has also revealed more details about the New Year’s Eve experience it announced earlier this month. Starting on December 27th, you can access the experience through the navigation menu on the left of the screen or by searching for "New Year."
Roku
Features include a countdown clock that starts at 11:55 PM local time on December 31st, six days of giveaways, daily trivia and music on The Roku Channel. A special called The Year in Streaming will highlight the top 10 shows of 2021, and some of the year's most memorable shows will be available to stream for free. In addition, you'll be able to deck out your device with New Year- and winter-themed wallpapers and screensavers from Roku.
Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020, Uber started a person-to-person package delivery service. Now, the company has expanded Uber Connect to more than 6,000 towns and cities (including all major metropolises) across the US and added a couple of extra features.
As with Uber Eats, couriers can now drop off or pick up the package from the customer's door. Previously, Uber Connect only officially had a curbside meeting option. Customers will be able to add delivery notes or instructions for their driver before pickup or delivery — it's probably worth letting them know about a fragile package, for instance.
New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego are among the cities in which Uber Connect is available. Uber initially tested Connect in 25 cities in the US, Australia and Mexico.
Other companies have offered similar services for years, such as TaskRabbit. Still, Uber Connect's expansion suggests the service has proven popular enough to make it part of the company's offerings on a much broader basis, helping families and friends in thousands of towns and cities to quickly send each other items.
