Now might be a good time to shop if you're looking for a do-it-all media player. Amazon has dropped the price of the Fire TV Cube to $100 (down $20) as part of a larger sale, making it a tempting option if you'd rather not spring for a separate Alexa device. This isn't the lowest price we've ever seen, but it's still a steep discount for the multi-talented box.
You'll also find significant deals on Amazon's no-frills streamers. The Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $38 (normally $50), while the Fire TV Stick Lite has dipped to $25 (usually $30).
The Fire TV Cube has been around for a while, but still holds up as a well-rounded product. It boasts 4K HDR output, a wide range of streaming apps and brisk performance. Alexa, of course, is the real selling point — you can control media playback or your smart home without needing a separate remote or speaker. That might save you money if you'd rather not buy an Echo just to dim the lights for movie night.
There are some quirks. The Cube may prefer some apps for tasks over others, and voice search isn't always guaranteed to work for your service of choice. If you can live with those limitations, though, Amazon's gadget might fit the bill for a long time to come.
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The Department of Homeland Security might not rely solely on in-house systems to spot extremist threats on social media. Intelligence officer and initiative leader John Cohen told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that Homeland Security is looking at hiring companies to analyze social networks for signs of impending terrorism and other extremist violence. The department had been studying social media before, but the outside partners would help "dramatically" expand these efforts, Cohen said.
Murmurs of extensive social media scanning first surfaced in May, but there were few details about how it would work. The rumors suggested Homeland Security would focus on alarming trends rather than individual targets, such as brewing extremist movements or threats against specific communities. The aim is to catch the violent rhetoric behind events like the January 6th Capitol riot, which Homeland Security didn't anticipate despite mounting social media activity.
One of the companies involved in discussions is Logically, a firm that uses a mix of AI and human analysis to track online content at a large scale. It was previously involved in a government effort to fight voting misinformation, but here could use publicly accessible social media to spot trouble.
Whether or not Homeland Security can address privacy fears is another matter. Cohen said the department wouldn't use companies to acquire information it was restricted from seeing, and WSJ sources said officials were determined to protect civil liberties. Logically chief Lyric Jain said his company couldn't share personal data for Americans without court orders.
Even so, there are concerns Homeland Security could abuse this private analysis. It could theoretically hold on to content and use the data to pursue unrelated criminal cases or target peaceful political dissent. That could chill free speech by making people afraid to talk about certain subjects in public channels, even if there are no discussions of violent intentions.
NASA has edged one step closer to building Moon and Mars colonies using the celestial bodies' soil. Universe Todaynotes that NASA's latest International Space Station resupply mission included a machine meant to demonstrate 3D printing regolith (that is, loose soil or rock) on the Moon and similar extraterrestrial surfaces.
The Redwire Regolith Print (RRP) project will work in tandem with an existing printer system (ManD) to try 3D printing simulated regolith. If that succeeds, the ISS crew will gauge the strength of the resulting material to see if it can handle the harsh conditions beyond Earth.
If all goes well, RRP could lead to colonists printing at least some of their habitats on-demand. That, in turn, could reduce the volume of construction supplies NASA brings to the Moon and Mars. Scientists have envisioned soil-based habitats for years, but this test is relatively realistic — it's an attempt at 3D printing soil in lower gravity. While there will still be much work to do, the long-term goals for Artemis and future Mars missions may be that much more achievable.
You'd think EA would have released a Madden NFL soundtrack years ago given its penchant for licensed music, but no — it's only getting to that now. The publisher has teamed with Interscope Records to release its first album for the football game franchise, Madden NFL 22: The Soundtrack. The title unsurprisingly tries to walk the line between big names and indie cred with artists like Swae Lee, Tierra Whack and multiple up-and-comers.
The full game will include more than 50 extra tracks while you're playing the new Yard mode, including originals from artists like Killer Mike and hit-of-the-moment songs from the likes of Drake and Lil Baby.
You can stream or buy the soundtrack through common services like Apple Music, Spotify and Deezer. This probably won't convince you to buy Madden if you weren't already sold on the formula, but that's not really the point. Much like other game soundtracks, it's another way to capitalize on the game beyond the usual sales.
Apple will have to pay another company a handsome amount to keep using certain wireless tech. Bloomberg and The Register report that a Texas jury has determined that Apple must pay patent firm Optis $300 million for allegedly violating patents covering LTE cellular service in devices like the iPhone and iPad. A jury had awarded Optis just over $506 million in 2020, but the judge in the case ordered a damages-only trial over concerns the earlier jurors hadn't considered whether the demand was fair for standards-based patents.
Optis is also chasing Apple in the UK, where it hopes to set a global royalty rate that could net up to $7 billion. Its patents come from other companies, including LG, Panasonic and Samsung.
Apple still intends to fight back. The tech giant accused Optis of being a patent troll in a statement, noting that the firm exists solely to sue companies using purchased patents. Apple would keep resisting Optis' efforts to obtain "unreasonable payments" for patents, the iPhone maker said.
As The Register notes, the $300 million payout will barely make a mark on Apple's finances. The company made $21.7 billion in net income just in its latest quarter — the Optis payment will represent slightly over one day's profits. The concern, of course, is that Optis will succeed in getting regular payments that could add to Apple's costs and drive hardware prices upward.
The HBO Max smart TV apps have been less than reliable, to put it mildly, but WarnerMedia appears ready to turn things around. An anonymous WarnerMedia executive talking to Vulture claims the HBO Max team will replace all its smart TV apps with brand new versions inside of the "next four or five months." Roku and PlayStation owners would receive the overhauled apps first, followed by Apple TV users near the end of 2021. Mobile and web viewers would have to wait until early 2022.
The existing apps have suffered from a number of serious flaws, ranging from broken playback controls to forgotten settings and sluggishness. Roku users have faced more problems than most, with lockups and crashes sometimes making the HBO Max app unusable.
The problems reportedly stem from WarnerMedia's scramble to launch HBO Max in May. Where many rivals built their streaming apps from scratch, the current HBO Max app is a repurposed version of the software meant for HBO Go and HBO Now. It was built to handle high demand, but it wasn't meant to cope with an increasingly global audience streaming much more than Game of Thrones.
An HBO Max app revamp will supposedly provide both modern underpinnings and, importantly, room to grow. The unnamed executive said the new app won't look much different at first, but should allow for a more "sophisticated" interface update as well as new and upgraded features.
If accurate, this could be important to HBO Max's long-term future. The TV streaming space is increasingly crowded with rivals like Paramount+ and Peacock joining incumbents like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. You might easily lose interest in HBO Max if buggy apps sour the experience, no matter how alluring the content might be — and that will be particularly important once WarnerMedia stops releasing brand new movies on the service.
You'll have to wait a while longer for the Matter standard to usher in a (hopefully) more harmonious smart home. The Connectivity Standards Alliance has delayed Matter's rollout from late 2021 to the first half of 2022. Members need more time to ensure the development kit and other tools can match the "expectations of the market," according to the CSA.
A rough version of the Matter specification should be ready by the end of 2021, but the kit, first device certifications and a formal certification program will take a while longer. The longer timelines for those elements should not only boost quality, but ensure they're "deployable at scale," the CSA added.
The delay might be important. Matter is designed to not only ensure more consistent and reliable smart home networking, but to speed up development through open source tools. Amazon, Apple, Google and many smart home device makers (such as Nanoleaf and Signify) are already committed to Matter. If the standard is going to see widespread adoption, it needs to work well from the start — the extra time could help achieve that goal.
After a brief hiatus, ICYMI is back to give you a helpful summary of all the gadgets and gizmos we’ve put to the test recently. This week, Billy Steele lent his ears to Samsung’s new entry level Galaxy Buds 2 to check out their new design and features. A little while ago, Terrence O’Brien created beautiful music on the Novation Circuit Rhythm sampler and struggled with the controls on the SkulptSynth SE. Devindra Hardawar also experienced immersive VR courtesy of two professional headsets from HTC. Lastly, Daniel Cooper checked out Framework’s repairable laptop to see just how easy it is to customize and fix.
Affordable wireless earbuds often come with compromises, but Billy Steele feels that Samsung has found a winning combination with the Galaxy Buds 2. Redesigned to include wireless charging and ambient sound at an entry-level price of $150, the Galaxy Buds 2 are 15 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the Galaxy Buds+, which makes them comfortable to wear. Billy says that the sound quality, though improved, doesn’t have quite the same clarity and depth, but the dynamic range is comparable. Low-end tones lack punch and tracks that should sound big and bombastic are a bit flat and subdued.
That being said, he was still impressed by the inclusion of active noise-cancellation, which Samsung says can reduce 98 percent of background noise. Billy could still hear a bit of his box fans and white noise machine during testing, but the feature was definitely better than relying solely on passive isolation. He felt that Samsung delivered on the call quality improvements as well, via a combination of machine learning, three microphones per bud and a voice-pickup unit to maximize clarity. He managed to get around seven hours of battery life from “regular” use (which included some ANC), but was disappointed that the Buds 2 only have an IPX2 rating, which could produce issues during sweaty workout.
Devindra Hardawar liked HTC’s Vive Pro 2 VR headset so much he called it “an enthusiast’s dream.” However, he’s quick to point out that its $1,399 price tag makes it a tough sell. The Vive Pro 2 offers a 5K 120Hz display with 2,448 x 2,448 pixels per eye. Additionally, the LCDs have RGB sub-pixels that help to produce the sharpest desktop VR experience that he’s ever seen. It also has solid ergonomics — Devindra says the headset is comfortable to wear for extended sessions due to its weight distribution and its plush cushioning on the front and back.
But even if you’re prepared to shell out for the headset, Devindra admits it comes with some drawbacks. First, the controllers are the same archaic, oversized ones that came with the original 2016 Vive. He also felt that the on-ear headphones produced some heat during use, as did the displays. But the biggest issue is the graphics power necessary to experience the device in its full glory: Devindra says you can probably forget about getting anything truly usable out of the system’s minimum requirements, which means you’ll need a lot of desktop power to get the most out of the Vive Pro 2. Despite those hurdles, he’s quick to call the Vive Pro 2 the highest quality desktop VR available right now.
Framework’s laptop isn’t eye-catching or showy. The design of the 13-inch notebook resembles an older MacBook, but with one noteworthy difference: it’s intended to be modded and repaired via the included Torx T5 screwdriver and the expansion cards. While testing how easy it was to replace a keyboard, Daniel Cooper said he felt fully confident that he could make multiple repairs to the machine — something that can’t be said for most consumer laptops.
In addition to being easy to upgrade and fix, the Framework features a solid spec list: a 13.5-inch, 3:2, 2,256 x 1,504 display with a backlight capable of 400 nits; a variety of inputs via the expansion cards as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack; a chiclet keyboard with 1.5mm of travel and an impressive 1080p, 60fps webcam with an 80-degree field of view. During testing, the $1,399 Performance model handled undemanding games well and scored an average 4927 in PC Mark 10. The only thing Daniel didn’t enjoy about the machine were the side-firing speakers, which produced weak, tinny sound.
Much like the Vive Pro 2, HTC’s Vive Focus 3 isn’t intended for the casual consumer. The $1,300 price point alone puts it on another level, likely best for business users who should be pleased with the superior hardware, ergonomics and build quality. Devindra Hardawar says the system has just about everything you would want in a modern headset: a sturdy yet light build with a design that’s comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and even has support for large glasses.
With a 5K resolution, a 90Hz refresh rate and a 120-degree field of view, the Vive Pro 2 delivered one of the most immersive standalone VR experiences that Devindra has seen. He had a realistic sense of walking through meadows and beaches in a nature trek VR program, and said he was consistently impressed by how great everything looked. However, he was disappointed by the limited software library that required him to remove the headset to purchase apps and games. After his time with the Focus 3, Devindra heartily felt that it is an ideal set up for companies who can take advantage of the business-focused apps and the hardware quality without cringing at the price point.
As a follow up to the original Skulpt, the SkulptSynth SE makes some upgrades to the build quality but comes in more affordable at $199. Terrence O’Brien spent some time with the instrument and determined that it’s still as powerful, compelling and confusing as the previous version. The SE features a total of 32 oscillators stacked in four voices which produces a thick tone that Terrence called inviting. He says the SE shines when the stacked oscillators are given a chance to really flesh out the sound. He also approved of the various modulation options, which give the device a surprising amount of depth.
Despite the improvements in the hardware (specifically firmer knobs), Terrence said that the SE still felt pretty wobbly and cheap overall. And he was still frustrated by the cramped layout and the navigation of the controls — he recommends keeping the included cheat sheet at hand to help with the latter. Additionally, the touch keyboard wasn’t always super responsive. However, using the app solved a lot of his complaints and he was excited about the MPE support, which is unheard of at the SE’s price point.
Devindra Hardawar is quick to acknowledge that the new NUC 11 Extreme, aka “Beast Canyon,” is pretty sizable. However, he feels the trade-off is worth it because the design provides support for a full GPU — something that should attract gamers to the unit. It’s also a bit cheaper than the last model and more flexible due to the fast 11th-gen Intel CPU (which can be purchased separately as an upgrade for NUC 9 Extreme owners).
This NUC was clearly designed with gamers in mind with an LED skull on the black metal case, mesh air vents and three large fans on top. Devindra was pleased to report that the case cooling on the device was excellent: the GPU never went above 75 celsius and the CPU stayed under 80 celsius. Additionally, because of the thoughtful modular design, he had no trouble fitting in large GPUs like NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 Ti or the Radeon RX 6800. The system also performed well in benchmark testing: in PCMark 10 it outpaced every Windows PC we’ve seen this year. Still, the $1,150 to $1,350 price tag for the NUC 11 is high, especially because owners will need to pay up for additional hardware and software.
Though physically similar to its cousin the Circuit Tracks, Novation’s Circuit Rhythm uses the popular screen-free workflow of the Circuit with the full-featured sampler and performance effects of the SP-303 to produce a device that is ideal for lo-fi hip hop and house music. Terrence O’Brien particularly enjoyed this simple workflow as well as the sampling and slicing features that are fun to use.
The Circuit Rhythm has 32 RGB, velocity-sensitive pads, 28 buttons for switching views and tracks, eight endless encoders and two knobs for volume and master filter. Terrence says those eight monophonic sampler tracks are the core of the Rhythm, and he was also impressed with its portability and 3.5-hour battery life. Though he would like to see some additional features like more fine-grained temp control, overall he deemed the Circuit Rhythm a strong contender for best entry-level sampler, particularly for anyone interested in hip hop or house music creation.
Reddit is about to make video a cornerstone of its mobile app. The company told TechCrunch that it's rolling out a TikTok-like video feed to iOS app users through a dedicated section. Tap the button and you'll see a swipeable video collection from both the subreddits you've subscribed to as well as related communities. As usual, you can upvote, downvote, comment on or gift awards.
A basic version of this experience was available before, but only if you tapped on a video — and the first videos you'd see would come from the same subreddit. The new tab is meant to "bring community through video," according to a Reddit spokesperson, and that means creating a "unified" experience that matches what you expect from app-based video players.
Reddit didn't say when all iOS users could expect the feed, or when you'd see an Android version. The vido section first reached a handful of iOS devices sometime in July.
This isn't a shocking move. Reddit started toying with livestreams in 2019, and bought TikTok rival Dubsmash in December 2020. While that company's code isn't being used for the feed (that will come with future products), the acquisition signalled Reddit's intent — it wants to keep its social network relevant in an era when video is all-important. You might not see video take center stage, but it's now considerably more than a nice-to-have feature.
A few days ago, Twitter rolled out a number of design updates meant to make the website more accessible. It introduced a new proprietary typeface and increased contrast to make buttons and other visual elements like images stand out. Just because those changes make the website more accessible for some people, though, doesn't mean they work for everyone. As TechCrunch and CNET note, complaints started pouring in after the update went out, with people reporting eye strain and headaches caused by the changes. Now, the social network has announced that it's adjusting its buttons' contrast levels to make them easier on the eyes.
We've identified issues with the Chirp font for Windows users and are actively working on a fix. Thanks for your patience and please let us know if you have additional feedback.
Twitter said it made the adjustment after people sent in complaints that the "new look is uncomfortable for people with sensory sensitivities." The company's accessibility account started asking for feedback a day after the updates went out, promising to track it all. Sounds like it's stayed true to its word, though the Chirp font remains even if it's supposedly giving people headaches. Twitter also hasn't changed the new colors for the Follow button, which has caused quite the confusion: The button is now filled in with black for accounts you've yet to follow and shows up with a white background for accounts you're already following. It used to be the other way around.
The company may release more fixes to its accessibility update in the future, though. It told TechCrunch that "feedback was sought from people with disabilities throughout the process, from the beginning." However, it knows that "people have different preferences and needs and [it] will continue to track feedback and refine the experience." Twitter added: "We realize we could get more feedback in the future and we'll work to do that."
