Microsoft is making a handful of changes to AltspaceVR to combat harassment within the virtual reality app. As of today, the company has removed the Campfire, News and Entertainment Commons social spaces. Those were hubs where AltspaceVR users could freely gather and talk to one another. But that same freedom also meant harassment was an ongoing issue.
By default, AltspaceVR’s Safety Bubble feature is now turned on for all users. It creates a barrier to prevent other people from entering your avatar’s personal space. Last but not least, Microsoft says the app will automatically mute new attendees when they first join an event. The company has also promised to increase moderation and improve event content ratings to supplement those changes.
In the coming weeks, Microsoft said it would require people to use a Microsoft Account to access AltspaceVR. As a result of that requirement, parents will have the option to use the company’s Family Safety feature to limit how much time their kids can spend within the app.
“As platforms like AltspaceVR evolve, it is important that we look at existing experiences and evaluate whether they’re adequately serving the needs of customers today and in the future,” said Alex Kipman, the head of Microsoft’s mixed reality division. “This includes helping people better connect with those who have shared common interests while also ensuring the spaces they access are safe from inappropriate behavior and harassment.”
The changes come as other VR platforms grapple with their own harassment issues. At the start of February, Meta rolled out a feature called Personal Boundary to Horizon Worlds. Like AltspaceVR’s Safety Bubble, it’s there to prevent people from entering your personal space. More broadly, the changes appear to indicate Microsoft is committed to working on some version of the metaverse despite recent reports suggesting the company’s mixed reality division had lost a significant number of employees to competitors like Meta.
As much as we like Bose's QuietComfort 45 headphones, they haven't been a tuner's delight — you had to trust the automatic EQ adjustments would deliver a pleasing sound. You'll have more control from now on, though. Bose told Engadget it has updated the QC45 firmware with an Adjustable EQ feature that, as the name implies, lets you tweak the output to your liking. You can customize the bass, mid-range and treble to suit your tastes, or pick from presets if you're in a hurry.
The new firmware (2.0.4) is available by launching the Bose Music app and choosing "Install Update" from the QC45 control screen.
You might not be in a rush to use Adjustable EQ. The QC45s already provided balanced audio in our experience, and it might involve more effort than it's worth if you listen to a wide variety of music genres. With that in mind, the update might be just what you need if you regularly listen to a particular genre (such as bass-heavy electronic music) or otherwise want to consistently override Bose's judgment.
For years, Alienware eschewed thin-and-light gaming laptops, opting instead to make slightly bulkier systems with more affordable pricing. But all that changed last year with the introduction of its X-series notebooks. And now, Alienware is pushing its quest for sleekness even further with the new x14, the company's thinnest and lightest gaming laptop yet. To add even more rum to the punch, the x14 is also one of the first gaming laptops available featuring Intel's latest 12th-gen mobile CPUs. And while the x14 isn’t without its quirks, the result is a machine that makes me wish Alienware had gotten into portable gaming rigs years ago.
Design
Sporting Alienware's Legend 2.0 design language, the x14 is without a doubt a striking system, though ultimately you'll need to decide how much you fancy its sci-fi aesthetics. What's not in question is the laptop's thinness, which stands at just 0.57 inches thick while weighing barely more than four pounds. That’s even thinner and almost a pound lighter than the x15 (0.63 inches and 5 pounds), while making Alienware’s more mainstream M15 R7 seem almost bloated (0.8 inches and 5.3 pounds).
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Now I'm not normally the type to lust after a few ounces or tenths of an inch getting shaved off a device, but on the x14, every little reduction matters. That's because while most gaming laptops don't even come close to fitting in my everyday messenger bag that’s not meant to stash anything larger than a 13-inch ultraportable, the x14 actually fits, if just barely.
That means I'm much more likely to bring this thing with me on trips, which is kind of the whole point of a thin-and-light gaming notebook. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate beastly 17-inch gaming rigs, but when my back starts to hurt at the mere thought of carrying one around, in practice those systems often function more like mobile desktops than any sort of travel-friendly gaming machine.
Sam rutherford/Engadget
The main innovation on the x14 is Alienware's new dual-torque which adds strength and stability to the laptop's display, while once again reducing weight and thickness compared to previous X-series machines. And, as you'd expect from Alienware, the x14 comes with customizable RGB lighting on its lid and keyboard. That said, compared to its larger siblings you do lose the extra RGB light ring that would normally outline the system's rear ports. (Fun fact: That pill-like shape is actually called a stadium.) Inside, there's a lovely soft-touch finish on x14's wrist rest, which may feel a bit cramped for people with larger hands.
Display and sound
On the x14 there's only one display option, and it's a good one. The 144Hz 1,920 x 1,080 screen is plenty sharp, while support for NVIDIA's G-Sync helps prevent screen tearing while gaming. But the thing that impressed me most is the way colors pop. At first, I almost mistook the x14's display for an OLED panel. And while its black levels aren't quite deep enough for that, thanks in part to support for Dolby Vision HDR, colors look rich and vibrant regardless of whether you're gaming or watching a movie. And with a tested brightness of just under 400 nits, the x14's screen looks good in both dim and sun-filled rooms (though trying to game outside in direct sunlight is still a challenge).
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Dolby tech is also available on the x14's speakers thanks to support for Dolby Atmos, which adds an extra dimension to audio through the use of extra height channels. Unfortunately, I felt like the x14's audio sounded a bit distant, despite its upward-firing speakers being located right behind the laptop's keyboard. And even though the x14 had no issues turning up the volume, it's almost too much of a good thing, because in certain situations you can hear the x14's chassis rattle when the speakers are set above 80 percent.
Performance
While the x14 isn't quite as powerful as its larger siblings and doesn't have the space to accommodate beefier GPUs, Alienware's thinnest gaming laptop still punches well above its weight. I was able to easily hit 60 fps on high settings in a number of AAA games like Halo Infinite, and you can push things even higher if you don't mind fiddling with a game's graphics settings. And for people more focused on getting a competitive advantage, maxing out the x14's 144Hz display is a cinch in titles like CS:GO on lower settings (which is what you'd probably use anyway).
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the highest settings, the x14 averaged 102 frames per second, with similar results in Far Cry 5 of 96 fps on Ultra. And while the x14 posted a slightly lower average frame rate of 55 fps in Metro Exodus on ultra, lowering the game's texture settings a touch was more than enough to boost frame rates firmly back above 60 fps.
Remarkably, despite limited space inside for cooling, Alienware's proprietary Element 31 thermal paste and vapor chamber (which only come on systems with RTX 3060 graphics) did a good job of preventing throttling from becoming a major issue. The downside is that the x14's fans are quite aggressive, often spinning up the instant you launch a game, while producing a somewhat high-pitched whine that you can't really escape unless you put on some headphones. Thankfully, Alienware's Command Center app supports a number of thermal profiles including a Quiet setting to help reduce fan noise, though depending on the game, that might cause your frame rate to dip a bit.
Keyboard, touchpad and ports
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Trying to cram a full-size keyboard with media controls on a 14-inch laptop is always a bit of a challenge, and while the x14 generally makes good use of space, it ain't perfect. The function keys are half-sized, and even the x14's keycaps are a touch smaller than what you'd get on Dell's non-gaming systems like an XPS 15.
It's a similar situation for things like the Windows key, the Function button, and the Shift key, all of which are smaller than normal. And for those who use the Delete key a lot, watch out, because it's a little too close to the laptop's power button for my liking. On the flip side, I do appreciate the extra row of media control keys on the right, which includes an always useful mic mute button. In short, I wouldn't go as far to say the x14's keyboard is a dealbreaker, it just requires more adjustment time than usual.
As for the touchpad, at 4.5 x 2.15 inches it's definitely on the small side. Though on gaming laptops, having a less roomy touchpad is a bit more forgivable as the vast majority of gamers typically prefer to use an external mouse, even when they're using the laptop's built-in keyboard.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Meanwhile, when it comes to connectivity, Alienware definitely didn't skimp on ports. The x14 features three USB-C connections (two of which support Thunderbolt 4), one USB 3.2 Type-A socket, HDMI 2.1, a combo audio jack, and even a microSD card slot. While I would have liked to see an Ethernet jack too, my only real gripe with the x14's ports is that they are located around back. Putting all the ports in the rear of the system helps cut down on clutter, but when you just want to quickly insert something like a thumb drive, spinning the laptop around to do so feels clunky (especially if you have any other peripherals plugged in).
Note: Just don't expect much from the x14's 720p webcam. It's fine in a pinch, but the fairly low resolution combined with mediocre image quality means you'll likely want to use an external camera if you plan to show your face while livestreaming.
Battery life and charging
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The x14's battery life varies a ton depending on how you use it. If you're just browsing the web or streaming video, the x14's battery life won't quite last through a full workday, but it's more than serviceable. On our local video rundown test, the x14 lasted just short of eight hours. The bigger issue is that if you have any dreams of gaming without plugging in, you might want to squash those now. I found that while playing Teamfight Tactics (which isn't a demanding game), the x14 conked out after about an hour and 15 minutes.
Battery life
Alienware x14
7:57
Hp Spectre x360 16
10:55
Surface Laptop Studio (120Hz)
12:24
Asus ROG Strix G15
7:50
That said, I do want to credit Alienware for equipping the x14 with a 130-watt USB-C power cable instead of a proprietary charger like so many gaming laptops. Because the x14's power cable is USB-C, you can use it to charge other USB-C devices like a phone or tablet, potentially reducing the number of cords you need to carry around while traveling, Alternatively, you could use a universal USB-PD charger instead, though you'll want to make sure that charger has the required power output and an appropriate cable to properly juice up the x14, as many of Dell's systems can be picky about USB-C charging if you're using old or out of spec accessories.
Configurations
The x14 starts at $1,650 for an Intel Core i7-12700 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of NVMe storage and an NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU, with fully loaded systems like our review unit topping out at around $2,300 with 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage and an NVIDIA RTX 3060. In my opinion, the sweet spot is around $1,800, which gets you 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and an RTX 3060. Though I should mention that while you can upgrade storage post-purchase, you won't be able to upgrade your RAM as it's soldered onto the laptop's motherboard.
Wrap-up
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The x14 might not be quite as powerful as its bigger siblings, but given its even more portable dimensions, there's a lot to like. When compared to a $1,800 x14 with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an RTX 3060, a similarly equipped x15 costs just $50 less. The main trade-offs being a little less thermal headroom, a more cramped keyboard and a slightly slower 144Hz screen (instead of 165Hz on the x15). That's not a lot to sacrifice for an even more travel-friendly thin-and-light design.
However, if you don't need a new gaming laptop right now, the smart move would be to wait a month or two for some of Alienware's competitors to release updated systems for 2022. Both Razer and ASUS are coming out with refreshed versions of their 14-inch gaming laptops later this spring, and once those become available, we'll have a much better idea of how the x14 fares against its biggest rivals. But if you like the x14’s combination of style and sleekness, this is a slick gaming laptop that’s made to move.
The existing Privacy Sandbox is itself a set of proposals that would eventually grow into a set of open standards Google hopes the industry will adopt. Last year, one of the primary approaches Google was putting forward was FLoC (or Federated Learning of Cohorts) that would group people with thousands of other users with similar browsing histories. That was replaced last month by Topics API, which let Chrome use your browsing history to serve publishers a list of five subjects it determines you're interested in, again based on your browsing history.
What that demonstrates is the current fluidity of Privacy Sandbox, which is a collection of ideas at the moment. In today's announcement, vice president of product management for Android security and privacy Anthony Chavez wrote that "these solutions will limit sharing of user data with third parties and operate without cross-app identifiers." That would include advertising IDs. Chavez said "we're also exploring technologies that reduce the potential for covert data collection, including safer ways for apps to integrate with advertising SDKs."
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
But there are no real concrete methods actually being executed right now, and Google is in the design and testing stage. Starting today, the company said developers can "review our initial design proposals and share feedback on the Android developer site." It is planning to "release developer previews over the course of the year, with a beta release by the end of the year." Google also promised "regular updates on designs and timelines."
In the meantime, the company said it will continue to "support existing ads platform features for at least two years, and we intend to provide substantial notice ahead of any future changes."
Google also referenced Apple's approach on iOS today (without naming the iPhone maker), acknowledging that "other platforms have taken a different approach to ads privacy." But Chavez described that approach as "bluntly restricting existing technologies used by developers and advertisers." The company believes it still needs to provide a way for businesses to serve targeted ads to users and to make sure those ads are relevant.
Chavez added that "we know this initiative needs input from across the industry in order to succeed," and the company included statements from many partners in its news post today. These include Snap, Duolingo, Rovio, Activision Blizzard and seven other app makers, who each expressed similar sentiments about respecting the privacy needs of Android app users. Google's Privacy Sandbox has already faced regulatory scrutiny from the EU and the UK, with the latter's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) having accepted Google's latest proposals last week.
Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done while the internet's giants and the ad industry figure out how best to balance personalized ads with user privacy, and Google's inclusion of Android in its considerations is happening not a moment too soon.
The explosion of true wireless earbuds has finally settled down in recent years. However, this has also meant they’re all starting to look and behave pretty similarly.
Sony’s latest experiment — its new Linkbuds — shakes that up with an open-ear design made for ambient sound. The company has attempted to nail open-design buds since 2017, and rival Samsung, to its credit, also tried something similar with its beanish Buds Live.
The LinkBuds, according to Engadget’s Billy Steele, almost nail the concept. There are a lot of cool features built into these tiny things. The Linkbuds will mute audio when they detect you’re talking, and motion sensors mean you don’t have to tap the device to manually pause or skip tracks, which is nice to see – I hate whacking something inside my ear to adjust other in-ear buds. “Wide-area tap” covers the area in front of your ear. Sadly, there’s no noise cancellation (and even if there was, this open design would inevitably let noises through), but Sony’s design seems built for background listening. Check out our full verdict here.
Netflix says it's teaming up with 2K and Take-Two Interactive for a film adaptation of the BioShock series. No other details are available as yet, but based on the image Netflix shared in its announcement, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it tackling the first game.
2007’s BioShock may translate well to the big screen. The original game has a striking Art Deco/underwater setting and an unforgettable story. No spoilers, promise.
A multi-camera miracle that falls short of greatness.
I’ve been playing with Logitech’s multi-camera Mevo Start pack. It consists of three wireless cameras you can network together to create a livestream studio. You can transition between cameras or get the companion app to do it for you. For streamers looking to elevate their broadcasts, there’s a lot of potential here. The learning curve is steep, however, and connectivity can be a little temperamental.
Last summer, Microsoft teased Clippy would return to Office and a handful of other apps as part of a broader update to more than 1,800 emoji. The new characters reflect the company’s Fluent design language, and you can now check them out in Microsoft Teams.
To enable the emoji, navigate to the app’s settings menu, then head over to the About section and click Public Preview. Microsoft’s goal, it said, was to design characters that better reflect how people work in the 21st century. That means dinosaur emoji.
It can output 4K 10-bit or external ProRes RAW video at up to 60 fps.
OM Digital Solutions has unveiled the Micro Four Thirds OM-1, its first mirrorless camera since purchasing Olympus. It packs a new sensor and technology that gives it a big leap in performance over the last flagship Olympus models. This could, however, be the last Olympus-branded model.
The vehicle body and battery platform are assembled as one.
The Polestar 5 will be cut from a different cloth than its predecessors when it launches at the end of 2024. Polestar announced on Tuesday its upcoming electric performance sedan will ride atop an entirely new, lightweight bonded aluminum platform. This time-saving design has already borne results, enabling the company to produce and deliver an early series of prototypes, just 18 months after the start of development.
White Castle has announced it’ll be bringing Flippy 2, a robot chef that can essentially perform the same tasks as a team of fry cooks, to 100 more locations this year. This amounts to roughly a third of White Castle restaurants nationwide. It’s unlikely the average White Castle patron will notice the new robots. Since Flippy 2 is designed to perform “back-of-the-house” kitchen functions, that’s where you’ll find it. This might just be the start: Miso Robotics has come out with a wing-making version of Flippy. Buffalo Wild Wings is currently testing it out.
Snapchat on Wednesday unveiled a new partnership with Ticketmaster that will make staying updated on shows and inviting friends a little bit easier. The in-app Mini — a sort of micro-app inside the Snapchat app — functions a little bit like a dating service and can curate a selection of local shows tailored to individual users' interests.
Users are first asked to take a small survey, which allows the app to compile a list of artists and events they might like. They can then swipe right or left depending on if the show sparks an interest, and see if any of their Snapchat friends also liked the event. Snap Maps will also display upcoming concerts and events that are nearby.
Snapchat’s popularity with the under-25 demographic gives it a unique advantage in the live music space. Snap Inc. had a recent boost in popularity, gaining 13 million new users in the last quarter of 2021. The platform has already gotten its feet wet in the music space, partnering with Universal Music Group last year to launch a music discovery tool. Snapchat rivals only TikTok as the Gen Z app of choice, but the latter has stood out with its ability to make both new and old songs go viral. Given that Snapchat’s strength lies in connecting people in more intimate networks, a tool that matches users to shows and allows them to invite friends makes more sense.
The 3DS and Wii U shops' days are numbers. In a new support page, Nintendo has revealed that it's shutting down the eShops for the Wii U system and the 3DS family of consoles in late March 2023. That means after that date, you won't be able to purchase any content from the shops anymore, download demos and redeem download codes. The shutdown process will start much earlier than March next year, though: You won't be able to use a credit card to add funds to your eShop account starting on May 23rd, 2022.
Further, while retailers will sell Nintendo eShop Card cards until supplies last, you can't use them to add funds to your account anymore starting on August 29th, 2022. You can add as much funds as you want until those dates, however, and you can redeem download codes until late March 2023. After the eShops officially shut down, you can only use them to redownload any content you already own and to install software updates.
Nintendo wrote in the FAQ section of the page that the the move "is part of the natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." Both systems are getting up there in years, and Nintendo stopped manufacturing the 3DS back in 2020. Meanwhile, the Switch has become Nintendo's best-selling home console last year after selling a total of 103.54 million units since it launched in 2017.
As Kotaku notes, Nintendo is also removing the only way to buy some classic games for older platforms by shutting down the shops. Apparently, the gaming giant deleted a section in its FAQ talking about how the Nintendo Switch Online "is an effective way to make classic content easily available to a broad range of players." It added: "We currently have no plans to offer classic content in other ways." Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service, though, and you can only access its library of classic games as long as your membership is active.
You can count burger-flipping robots as one pandemic innovation that’s here to stay. White Castle announced today that it will be bringing Flippy 2, a robot chef that can essentially perform the same tasks as a team of fry cooks, to 100 more locations this year. This amounts to roughly a third of White Castle restaurants nationwide, so it’s likely Flippy may become a permanent addition to this burger chain’s workforce.
Last fall the burger chain first teamed up with Miso Robotics, the makers of Flippy, to launch a pilot program in its Chicagoland location. The company then unveiled Flippy 2, the latest iteration of the chef robot, back in November. Now it appears that the robot chef is ready for prime-time.
It’s unlikely the average White Castle patron will notice the new robots when they first arrive. Since Flippy 2 is designed to perform “back-of-the-house” kitchen functions, that’s where you’ll find them. The robot uses AI to identify the type of food (such as burgers, chicken fingers, or fries), picks it up, cooks it, puts it in its own fry basket and finally puts it in a hot holding area.
But it’s possible your White Castle order may come out slightly faster than usual. Flippy 2 can dole out 60 baskets of food an hour, according to Miso Robotics’ website, or roughly 300 burgers a day. Unlike the earlier model, Flippy 2 can operate entirely without human intervention.
Miso Robotics is primarily crowdfunded; the company raised more than $50 million with more than 15,000 investors and is currently in its Series E funding round.
It’s no secret we’re in the middle of an AI-enabled cooking revolution. Miso Robotics has come out with a wing-making version of Flippy which Buffalo Wild Wings is currently testing, according to CNBC. Since robots also minimize human contact in the kitchen, they’re also used as a pandemic safety measure. Beijing is even using robot chefs to feed athletes and guests in its closed Winter Olympics bubble. It’s likely we’ll see more robotic innovations popping up in the restaurant industry, especially given recent labor shortages.
Universal Audio, which has long been known for its premium audio interfaces and plugins, is moving into a new market as it has revealed its first microphones. As with the company's other gear, expect to pay a pretty penny to get your hands on these.
Universal Audio
The SD-1 Dynamic is on the lower end of the initial lineup. Universal Audio says it's a broadcast-style mic geared toward capturing speech, vocals and instruments. It includes a "cardioid polar pattern and selectable low cut and articulation boost switches." It seems to be Universal Audio's attempt to cut into the market share of Shure's SM7B, a favorite among podcasters. You can pick up the SD-1 Dynamic starting today for $379.
Like the SD-1 Dynamic, the SP-1 Condenser has Apollo interface presets designed to help users attain professional-sounding audio quickly. The SP-1 comprises a pair of pencil microphones that Universal Audio designed to record drums, acoustic instruments and live performances.
Universal Audio
The company says the SP-1 is designed to block out background noise and off-axis audio. The SP-1 Condenser will be available this summer and cost $499.
At the higher end of the scale is the Sphere L22 Modeling microphone. Universal Audio says that, when paired with the UAD Sphere L22 plugin, the device will be able to replicate 34 classic ribbon, condenser and dynamic mics.
Universal Audio
It's a "large-diaphragm modeling condenser that pairs a dual-capsule design for stereo or blended mono recording with award-winning mic modeling technology," according to the company. With the ability to mimic many other "sought-after" microphones, it's not too surprising that the Sphere L22 Modeling microphone doesn't come cheap. It's available now for $1,499.
Looking further ahead, Universal Audio plans to release a series of tube and solid-state condenser microphones. The very pretty Bock Series mics are designed by David Bock and should arrive this fall.
Universal Audio
These products aren't really designed for creators who are just starting out (unless they plan to splurge on a high-end setup out of the gate). However, these mics should at least give experienced podcasters, streamers and musicians who want to improve the sound quality of their output more options to consider.
It took several months after launch, but Microsoft is finally making Android apps available to most Windows 11 users. As promised in January, the company is rolling out its first major Windows 11 update with an Amazon Appstore "preview" for American users. The preliminary release offers roughly 1,000 apps, including Amazon's own Audible and Kindle apps as well as third-party titles like Lords Mobile and Khan Academy Kids. The selection won't compare to the Google Play Store, but it should create some harmony between your PC and phone.
The upgrade offers OS improvements beyond Android support. The Windows 11 taskbar now lets Teams users quickly mute calls or share any window. The date and time now show on a second monitor, too, while the weather widget's taskbar component shows live information. Microsoft has also revamped Media Player with a focus on a "full-featured" music library, while Notepad offers a reworked interface with a dark mode, simpler menus and features like multi-level undos.
These updates probably won't sway you to install Windows 11 if you weren't before. They do help Microsoft fulfill promises made when it unveiled the software last year, though, and they might provide an incentive to step up before the free upgrade period is over.
