Late last year, Microsoft announced that it was "committed" to bringing Call of Duty (CoD) to Nintendo for 10 years if its Activision Blizzard acquisition was approved. Now, president Brad Smith has tweeted that the "binding" 10-year contract has been signed, and confirmed that Nintendo would get the same access to CoD as Xbox.
"Microsoft and Nintendo have now negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players — the same days as Xbox, with full feature and content parity," Microsoft wrote in a statement. "We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms."
Microsoft previously said that it offered Sony a similar deal for PlayStation consoles, and committed to offer the game on Steam at the same time as Xbox — provided the merger goes through, of course.
The deals are all part of Microsoft's efforts to convince regulators allow its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard to proceed. The deal is strongly in limbo right now, as the US Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the takeover, and the UK may require Activision to divest parts of its business for the merger to proceed.
On top of that, the European Union is reportedly set to join the UK in declaring that the proposed acquisition could reduce competition. To that end, Microsoft reportedly requested a hearing with EU regulators to defend the deal — and that meeting is set for today, according to Reuters.
The acquisition ran afoul of regulators from the start over concerns that it would cut off Sony's PS5 and other consoles from key games, particularly CoD. Sony vehemently opposes the deal, having called it a "game-changer that poses a threat to our industry." Microsoft has said that Sony's comments were "self-serving" and promised to support Call of Duty on PlayStation "forever."
Cheaters are why we can't have nice things. All the time, money and effort that could be going towards expanded DLCs and improved gameplay mechanics is instead spent staving off the legions of mediocre players who mistake aimbots for actual gaming prowess. The entire exercise is exhausting and Ubisoft isn't going to take it anymore, the company announced Monday. Come the game's next update release, any 'Rainbow Six Siege' player found cheating through the use of input spoofing — that is, using a third-party device to run a keyboard and mouse on their console instead of a controller — will see their lag times drastically extended. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
These devices — which include the XIM APEX, the Cronus Zen, or the ReaSnow S1 — allow players to leverage the heightened sensitivity and increased reactions that a keyboard and mouse offer over console controllers. They also incorporate aim assist, autoreload, and autoscope features which have long (and rightfully!) been scorned by the larger gaming community and banned from anything even loosely resembling official competition. But that hasn't stopped folks from increasingly relying on such devices to artificially boost their scores in online shooters from 'Destiny 2' to 'Overwatch.'
That will no longer be the case with 'Rainbow Six Siege.' The company revealed its Mousetrap system on Monday, a detection suite built specifically to sniff out accounts running these illicit hardware devices. Mousetrap is already live, has been for a few seasons now as the company honed the system's detection capabilities and built out a database of known cheats. Also, yes, they're very much onto you and your pedestrian FPS machinations.
“We know exactly which players are spoofing and when they were spoofing,” Jan Stahlhacke, gameplay programming team lead for 'Rainbow Six Siege,' announced in the Y8S1 reveal above. “We also know that at the highest ranks spoofers become much more common.”
Should the system spot one, that account will see a notable increase in its response times, more than enough to cancel out any ill-gained advantages. The user will have to unplug the device, then play a few more rounds with the "al-ping-tross" chained to their neck before the lag penalty will (eventually) dissipate. Activision took similar — and equally inventive — measures in 2022 against Call of Duty cheats with its Disarm measure.
The company does acknowledge that such devices are used legitimately by gamers with disabilities and Ubisoft urges those players to reach out with feedback about how these changes might impact them. Huh, seems like the sort of thing you'd want to get squared away before enacting a sweeping policy such as this but, then again, Ubisoft isn't exactly famous for its culture of inclusivity.
Ram pulled the wraps off its 1500 REV electric truck concept at CES, following that up with a proper unveiling earlier this month. Eager early adopters could reserve a 2024 model with a $100 deposit for the so-called Ram REV Insider+ membership. However, late last week, Stellantis shut down pre-orders as "membership max capacity" had been reached. Initial news of the closure was posted on a Ram 1500 REV forum early Friday and Jalopnik confirmed with the automaker that reservations were indeed sold out. No additional information on the number of memberships purchased or when they might re-open was made available to the outlet.
During the official debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Ram revealed an electric truck that looks more like its gas-powered siblings than the futuristic design we saw at CES. That's not uncommon as Ford's F-150 Lightning also closely resembles it's massively popular existing lineup. We still don't know much about the 1500 REV's specs yet, though Car and Driver reports it will have a battery pack that can quick charge at 350 kilowatts that's based on 800-volt architecture. Ram is targeting a driving range of up to 500 miles and towing capacity over 10,000 pounds.
The Ram concept featured an interior that can be reconfigured for three rows of seating thanks to a powered midgate. And with the midgate down, the 1500 REV can carry items up to 18 feet in length. It's unknown at this point if those storage and seating options will make it on the final production model. We also don't know exactly how much the truck will cost, but it will likely be comparable to the F-150 Lightning, which currently starts at just under $56,000.
When a microphone has been around for 30 years, it must be doing something right. The Rode NT1 is arguably the company's flagship studio mic and origin story for the brand's name. The mic was originally called the Rodent1, shortened to Rode NT1 and the rest is history. Today, the company is unveiling the fifth iteration and it comes with two key updates that should interest podcasters and vocalists alike. Those would be 32-bit float recording and the addition of USB connectivity.
The inclusion of USB might feel like something that should have been there all along, but typically "pro" studio microphones are XLR only, with USB being the reserve of desktop microphones. Times are changing though and more folks are seeking a classic microphone but without the need to use an audio interface. Now, with the NT1 you have both. The USB connection is tucked away right at the base of the existing XLR port. It's a clever solution, but you will need a USB cable with fairly slim connections else it won't fit.
With the new USB connectivity comes the option for tailoring the sound of the mic. Usually that part is offloaded to an interface or mixer, but now there's an onboard DSP that allows you do apply things like a noise gate or compressor to the mic directly (via Rode's Central or Connect apps). Not to mention this makes the microphone much more portable as you won't need to bring a separate, often clunky interface along with you.
Rode
Easily the biggest benefit of the MK5 (and that built-in DSP) is the introduction of 32-bit float recording. In a nutshell, 32-bit allows for an exponentially larger dynamic range than 16- and 24-bit (which is what most systems use). This means you can forget about clipping (when audio is too loud and distorts) as there's enough headroom for almost any sound that would be possible. Or, put another way, you can effectively forget about setting levels safe in the knowledge you can adjust them in post without any audio loss.
What this means for podcasters and vocalists is less time worrying about levels at the point of recording, knowing you can set things as you want in post. Of course, good levels at the point of recording is always adviseable if possible, but it at least means any sudden sounds won't ruin your take. It's also currently very rare to find 32-bit float on a microphone like this - typically you'd have to buy a pro-level audio recorder if you wanted this feature.
At $259 the NT1 sits in an interesting spot. Shure's MV7 also offers XLR and USB connectivity and retails for $250 without 32-bit float (it's also a dynamic mic which will be either a benefit or a disadvantage depending on your needs). Sennheiser's fantastic MK 4 condensor typically runs for around $300 and doesn't offer USB connectivity. Similarly, if you're using something like a Blue Yeti and looking for an upgrade, the NT1 makes a compelling option.
Over the 14 years since it debuted, Google Chrome has increasingly become a resource hog, vacuuming up more and more of your system's memory and battery life with seemingly reckless abandon. At long last, Google is doing something to make the browser less of a strain on your computer. As part of Chrome 110 for Windows, Mac and Chromebook desktops, the company is rolling out memory and energy saver modes.
The features, which Google announced in December, are both enabled by default. You can turn them off from the Performance section of the Chrome settings.
Memory Saver puts inactive tabs on ice to free up RAM for other pages and apps. When you click on a frozen tab, you'll be able to continue from where you left off. As Android Police notes, a speedometer icon in the address bar will show that the tab was inactive and now it's in use again. There's the option to exempt certain sites from Memory Saver too. Google claims that the feature reduces Chrome's memory usage by up to 30 percent. You know what else would help? Closing tabs you aren't using!
Energy Saver, meanwhile, can start limiting background activity, video frame rates and animated effects when you're using Chrome and your laptop or Chromebook's battery level drops below 20 percent. It's also possible to configure the feature to kick in as soon as you unplug the charger to improve efficiency. When Energy Saver is active, you'll see a leaf icon next to the address bar, not to mention fewer visual effects in the tab you're using.
It's perhaps not a huge surprise that Sonos has more speakers on the way, but a new report reveals what the company's next models probably look like, as well as some of the specs and approximate pricing. The Sonos Era 300 and 100 are slated to arrive in late March, according to The Verge. The latter is said to effectively be a replacement for the Sonos One, which has been around since 2017.
The Era 100 looks similar to the One, though it has a more spherical design. The physical controls, meanwhile, appear to be on an indented bar. The Era 100 could be a little more expensive than the $219 One (Sonos is said to have bandied around a price of $250), but it reportedly has extra features, such as Bluetooth audio and USB-C line-in support. It's believed that the Era 100 won't have upward-firing drivers, though it should build on the Sonos One's performance by including a second tweeter (to help deliver stereo audio) and larger mid-woofer for stronger bass.
Sonos
The drum-style Era 300, meanwhile, appears to have similarly indented controls and seems to be designed with spatial audio in mind. It reportedly has six drivers. The Verge indicated that, when a pair of the Era 300 speakers are combined with the Arc or Beam (Gen 2) soundbar — used as rear surround speakers in this case — they'll deliver Atmos surround sound with upward-firing audio. Like the Era 100, the 300 is said to support Bluetooth audio and USB-C line-in. It's anticipated that the Era 300 will cost around $450, which is less than the Sonos Five.
While the speaker reportedly supports spatial audio from Amazon Music Unlimited, it's believed that Sonos has not reached an agreement to stream Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos tracks directly on an Era 300. There are workarounds involving an Apple TV 4K and Sonos' soundbars, though for the time being, it seems that standalone Apple Music Dolby Atmos playback will remain an exclusive HomePod feature.
Both Era speakers are said to have WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and AirPlay 2 support. The report suggests they'll work with Trueplay calibration on Android phones. They'd be the first Sonos devices to do so.
Meanwhile, it's expected that Sonos will separately sell a line-in adaptor for USB-C audio. It's also understood that you'll need to buy a so-called combo adapter if you want to plug in an Ethernet cable as neither speaker has a built-in port. In any case, we should find out more details about both speakers in the coming weeks.
There's no such thing as having too much storage or too many backups, so it's never a bad idea to pick up storage while it's on sale. There are some good deals on Crucial solid state drives for President's Day, including on the 1TB MX500. That model is 48 percent off at $52, the lowest price we've seen for it to date.
The MX500 is a 2.5-inch drive that will fit into most desktops and laptops. It supports read speeds up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 510MB/s. There's AES 256-bit hardware encryption to protect your data too. On top of that, the MX500 has integrated power loss immunity — if there's a sudden power outage, the drive should still automatically save what you were working on. There are several MX500 options with storage capacities ranging from 250GB to 4TB, but you'll get the most bang for your buck with the 1TB configuration right now.
Some of Crucial's external SSDs are on sale too. The 1TB X6, which supports read speeds up to 800MB/s, is $65 ($45 off the regular price). The X8, on the other hand, currently costs $73.09 for 1TB of storage. That model supports read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. Both drives have drop, shock and vibration protection, according to Crucial.
TikTok is rolling out a new program in the US that's designed to help creators increase their earning potential and "unlock more exciting, real-world opportunities." The Creativity Program builds on initiatives like the Creator Fund. TikTok wrote in a blog post that it took feedback from previous efforts into account while building the program.
Details are relatively scant for now, but TikTok says the Creativity Program will be invite-only at the outset before opening up to all eligible creators in the US in the coming months. Participants need to be at least 18 years old; meet the minimum follower and video view counts; and have an account that's in good standing. TikTok hasn't said how many followers a user will need to take part, but a previous report suggested the floor is 100,000 followers, a significant jump from the 10,000 baseline for the Creator Fund.
In addition to meeting certain concrete metrics, TikTok says users need to post "high-quality, original content longer than one minute" to be able to earn through the Creativity Program. It added that creators will be able to track video eligibility on an updated dashboard and see their estimated revenue alongside video performance data.
Many creators have taken fire at TikTok, with some claiming that they've received payouts of just a few dollars for videos that were viewed millions of times. The TikTok Creator Fund was unveiled in 2020 with an initial commitment of $200 million. Soon after, the company said it would support hundreds of thousands of creators with over $2 billion in funding over the next three years. TikTok hasn't confirmed how much it plans to pay out through the Creativity Program, but confirmed to TechCrunch it will "provide a higher average gross revenue for qualified video views" under a revised formula.
TikTok is starting to roll out the Creativity Program in the US after testing it in France and Brazil over the last few months. The company has other monetization plans in the works, according to reports, such as a way for creators to paywall their videos. The Stateside debut of the Creativity Program comes soon after YouTube started sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators.
When it comes to making coffee at home, there are people who do it and there are people who are obsessed with it. For many of us, we can’t just grab a bag of pre-ground swill from the grocery store and slap it in an auto-drip machine each morning. We need an arsenal of gear capable of extracting the nuanced flavors out of your locally roasted beans. And, if you’re like me, you like having the option of at least seven brewing methods because you really never know what you’ll be in the mood for. For true coffee lovers, a versatile grinder is a crucial piece of the at-home setup.
Fellow has a proven track record for well-designed, sturdy coffee gear. The company makes everything from travel mugs to kettles, including a grinder primarily designed to prepare beans for pour-over. That first model, the Ode, houses flat burrs capable of 31 grind settings that can cover AeroPress, French press, cold brew and other brewing methods too. However, it’s not capable of producing the fine grounds you need for espresso, and it was a pricey $299 at launch (the company now sells it for $255).
Enter the Opus. Fellow’s second grinder is more versatile than the Ode and can be used to prep beans for 9-bar espresso in addition to pour-over, French press, cold brew and much more. It also has ten more grind settings than the previous model and employs conical burrs to achieve consistent results. Like the Ode, the Opus has a magnetically-aligned catch cup outfitted with a spouted ring that helps keep your counter clean, doing so with the assistance of Fellow’s anti-static technology. Also like its predecessor, the Opus doesn’t have a massive hopper to store beans on top: it’s meant to be a single-dose machine where you can grind up to 110 grams at a time. This saves space since the Opus is considerably shorter than a lot of the competition. Plus, that design choice gives the device a much more refined appearance than the typical coffee grinder.
Billy Steele/Engadget
I have been using the Baratza Encore since I compiled the first coffee buyer’s guide for Engadget in 2019. If you take a poll among professional baristas, I’d wager the majority of them would tell you that’s the gold standard for at-home coffee grinders. And it’s for good reason: the Encore is very versatile and has been producing consistent quality for years. It does have the big hopper up top, whether you want to store your beans there or not. It’s loud, and because it pushes ground coffee into the catch from the side, there’s a lot of mess that ends up on your counter.
The Opus quickly solved two of the issues I have with the Encore. First, it’s remarkably quiet. I can actually run the Opus at night or early in the morning while my two-year-old is still asleep in a room near the kitchen free from worry I’ll wake him. That’s not always the case with the Encore. Second, the Opus drops grounds straight down into the catch cup, leaving less room for debris to escape. Fellow’s new grinder doesn’t have a knocker to reduce grind retention like the Ode, but it doesn’t need one. When I put in 70 grams of whole beans, I get 70 grams of ground coffee every time. It’s been so consistent I no longer feel the need to reweigh grounds to make sure I have enough – an added step I undertook with the Encore. And when you’re grinding for espresso, Fellow has included an insert for the catch cup to make transferring small loads to a portafilter a much less messy affair.
Fellow has also made the Opus very easy to use. A rotating ring near the top spins to adjust to your desired coarseness. If you’re like me and forget which setting to use for French press or pour-over, Fellow has printed a guide inside the lid of the bean chamber. No more reaching for a notebook or your phone to Google, the details you need will be right there when you go to load whole beans.
Billy Steele/Engadget
Ease of use extends to the controls. There’s only a single button you press to operate the Opus: one press for 30 seconds, two for a minute and three for 90 seconds. You can also long press the button for the grinder to run a full two minutes. Unlike the Ode, the Opus doesn’t turn off when it senses all the beans are ground. Instead, it runs until the selected time runs out or you mosey back to and press the button one final time. The lack of auto-shutoff doesn’t bother me though, since the Encore runs until you turn it off with no set time options.
The Opus improves three things for my daily coffee routine. It runs quietly and it keeps my kitchen cleaner while producing consistently ground beans no matter which setting I put it on. It also looks a lot better than the two coffee grinders I’ve used for any length of time, mostly due to the fact that the lack of a large hopper makes it as much of a showpiece as a piece of brewing equipment. At $195, it’s significantly cheaper than the Ode but slightly more than the Encore. Those few extra dollars I’d gladly part with for clean counters, a toddler that sleeps a few more minutes and a dash of modern flair.
If you're looking to take the first step toward improving your home audio setup beyond your devices' built-in speakers, IKEA and Sonos' Symfonisk lineup is a solid way to get started. The range of WiFi speakers includes several products designed to blend into your home, including one designed to look like artwork. Even better, the Symfonisk picture frame is currently on sale for $195, which is $65 off the regular price, until February 26th. It's available in black and white.
The Symfonisk picture frame is part of the Sonos ecosystem, so it should play nicely with any other speakers you have from the company. It's compatible with AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, and you can use it to play audio from a host of streaming services. Moreover, you can pair two of the speakers together for stereo sound.
In addition to having the option to wall hang the Symfonisk picture frame, you'll be able to flip out its feet and rest it against a wall or other surface. In truth, the "picture frame" descriptor is a little misleading, since you can't simply drop in your favorite photo of your loved ones. However, you can swap the front panel for a different look or use third-party services to print custom covers.
