Over the last decade, Meta has done all it can to establish each part of its business as a separate but equal contributor to its bottom line. After all, that’s why part of Facebook’s brand identity is little icons denoting Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Plus, you know, it helps to deflect from any suggestion it’s operating a sprawling digital monopoly owning a big chunk of the internet.
But now, nine years after Facebook cleaved its Messenger product into a standalone mobile app, the pair are to be reunited. Facebook head Tom Alison said in a blog post the company is testing the ability to access Messenger from within the Facebook app. This is, of course, all part of its attempts to claw back relevancy from TikTok, with Alison saying the big blue app is pivoting to become a platform for entertainment and discovery.
– Dan Cooper
The Morning After isn’t just anewsletter– it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, bysubscribing right here.
A few years after launching an updated version of its e-paper writing slate, reMarkable is adding a keyboard folio. It’s a pricey add-on to the device but one, I think, makes the right compromises. I found it pretty easy to use as a distraction-free writing machine. But given reMarkable’s intentionally limited writing slate is already a niche proposition, this can only ever appeal to a niche inside a niche.
Sonos has unveiled the most dramatic update to its speaker line in some time, replacing both the One and Five with the Era 100 and Era 300. It’s the latter that’s more interesting, since it’s designed to support spatial audio, offering more nuance to your music. And, shortly after the pair arrived, Apple let it be known the Era 300 would support spatial audio from Apple Music, giving would-be purchasers one big reason to try it out.
Hyundai’s Kona was a popular and well-reviewed EV, offering a heady mix of affordability, decent range and equipment. Now, the company has shown off its replacement, a clean sheet redesign with a WLTP-rated range of 304 miles. It’s also more spacious and has a lot more kit, and while the company hasn’t yet announced US pricing, it’s likely to be cheaper than the Ioniq 5.
Now you can do a naughty word in the opening moments of a video.
YouTube’s interesting approach to colorful metaphors, the sort you’d never see used in a respectable technology newsletter, is changing. Last November, the company said any shocking utterances in the initial moments of a clip would render it ineligible for monetization. Now, officials have walked that back slightly, saying only strong profanity will see a clip marked for limited adverts, while milder, sub-f-and-s-word utterances will probably be OK.
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My conversations with friends have devolved to the point where we barely communicate. Rather than express our love or commiserate about the suffering that is the human experience, our daily interactions are a tit-for-tat over for who can make the best joke, or spot the best meme. The meme wars are fierce, and when all…
NASA's Perseverance rover might be out there on Mars since 2021, collecting rock samples and finding hints of water, but that doesn't mean its predecessor has already retired from its explorations. In fact, the Curiosity rover has been observing Martian clouds during twilight to build upon its previous survey on night-shining clouds. And on February 2nd, Curiosity captured a rare sight on camera, making it the first time we've seen crepuscular rays (or "sun rays") this clearly from the Martian surface.
The clouds in the photo above are located at a higher altitude than most Martian clouds, which sit around 37 miles above the ground and are made of water ice. Since the clouds in the photo are higher up where it's especially cold, NASA thinks they're made of frozen carbon dioxide — or dry ice, as we call it — instead. They agency says that observing clouds on Mars can help scientists learn more about the planet's atmospheric conditions, temperatures and winds.
For this particular survey, which started in January and will conclude mid-March, Curiosity mostly uses its colored Mast Camera or Mastcam. The equipment allows the rover to take images that would show scientists how cloud particles glow over time. To create the panorama you see above, NASA stitched together 28 images taken by the Mastcam. In 2021, though, Curiosity mostly relied on its black-and-white navigation cameras that provided us a detailed look at clouds' structure as they move.
In addition to our first clear view of the Martian sun rays, the rover has also taken photos of other interesting cloud formations since the current survey began. One image from January 27th (below) shows an iridescent cloud that's shaped like a feather. Apparently, the color transitions brought about by iridescence tell scientists how the cloud is evolving and about how its particle size is changing across the structure.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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Many more Meta workers may be clearing off their desks very soon. Early on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Meta plans to lay off “thousands” of employees, and the first round of staff cuts could be finalized as early as this week, based on anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Your Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive might look quite different in the coming days. The tech giant has started rolling out the updated look and feel it promised for them last month based on its Material Design 3 language. In Docs, Sheets and Slides, Google is making it easier to find frequently used actions with a simplified user interface. The company is also moving some elements around to reduce clutter, including putting the edit and version history under a single clock icon at the top right corner of the app. Plus, Google is improving Docs' commenting experience — even adding emoji reactions that can be used to emphasize, upvote or disagree with responses — and updating its rulers and gridlines.
As for Drive, the tech giant is introducing the ability to select multiple items at once to enable batch actions. It's adding new search categories, such as type (PDF, documents, videos and zips), owner and last modified, as well, to make sorting and finding files a lot easier. Those two combined could cut the time you need to do frequent tasks involving several files of the same type. Within individual files, Google will now start surfacing key actions inline "for quick access and increased productivity."
These features are now making their way to users, but it could take up to 15 days before they reach your apps. When Google announced its Workspace redesign in February, it also launched other features that included adding a stopwatch directly inside Docs that you could use to boost productivity. For Sheets, it added the capability to put Maps links directly in the app to aid in event or logistics planning. The app also got new shortcuts that let you quickly add relevant dates to a sheet simply by typing in @ with the appropriate keyword, like @today.
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Hailing a ride from the airport is often a headache — ask anyone who's navigated a maze-like terminal just to get to the pickup area. The journey may soon be less daunting, however. Uber is introducing a few updates that can streamline trips to and from airports. Most notably, you'll get walking directions for the pickup location, and ETAs for baggage claim. You can hustle if you need a ride quickly, or take your time collecting your bags.
Uber Reserve will also be more useful for scheduling your ground travel. The company now allows booking rides up to 90 days in advance instead of 30, making it easier to plan every step of your vacation. Reserve will also be available in many more North American cities (over 7,300), and New York City customers can book UberX, XL and Comfort rides in addition to Black and Black SUV. A Business Comfort tier, meanwhile, will provide a "unique" experience for work travellers.
The pickup directions are available at just over 30 airports around the world, including the NYC area's big three (JFK, LaGuardia and Newark) as well as hubs like Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta. More are due in the months ahead, Uber says. Walking ETAs will "soon" be available in over 400 airports. The Business Comfort option will be available sometime in the near future.
The motivation behind the upgrades is clear. Airport rides play a major role in Uber's business, and it's competing with Lyft, taxis and even car rental agencies. You may be more likely to use Uber if it can guide you every step of the way.
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After being written off as a “circus” by mainstream soccer officials, Gerard Piqué’s new Kings League continues to prove that, actually, there are hundreds of thousands of people completely hooked on this specific type of wacky, free-for-all sport. As they say in showbiz, the show must go on.
Hogwarts Legacy won't be making its way to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One until May 5th, so you'll have two more months of waiting to do if you have an older console. That is, if Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software don't push back its release date yet again. They had postponed the game's launch several times over the past few years, and they were supposed to release it for all consoles on February 10th. Less than a couple of months before that, though, they revealed that Hogwarts Legacy will only be available for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in February, while the PS4 and Xbox One are getting it on April 4th.
Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing game with an open world you can explore and a character builder you can use to choose your own name, gender, voice and appearance. It takes place within the Harry Potter universe you're familiar with, but way before The Boy Who Lived was born.
In the developers' announcement, they said they're "working hard to deliver the best possible experience on all platforms" but that they "need more time to do this." They didn't expound on what they meant by that, and it basically echoes what they said when they announced that the game won't be released for older consoles in February. The developers didn't mention anything about the Switch, though, so that version is still likely scheduled for release on July 25th.
We’re overwhelmed with gratitude for the response to Hogwarts Legacy from fans around the globe. The team is working hard to deliver the best possible experience on all platforms and we need more time to do this. Hogwarts Legacy will launch for PS4 and Xbox One May 5, 2023. pic.twitter.com/UjEIPXDZj2
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John Wick faces down the High Table in a new clip from Chapter 4. Candice Patton confirms she has finished filming The Flash. Plus, what’s coming on Superman & Lois, and a new look at Shadow and Bone season 2. To me, my spoilers!
WhatsApp has come to an agreement with the European Union following the controversy over its early 2021 privacy policy change. After discussions with the European Commission and EU consumer protection regulators, WhatsApp will make it easier for users to reject updates to the terms of service. The Meta-owned brand will also "clearly explain" when rejecting those terms will limit use of services, the Commission says. People can also dismiss notifications about these updates, and delay reviewing those updates.
The company further confirmed that it's not sharing personal data with other Meta brands, including Facebook, for the sake of advertising. It also isn't sharing that data with third-parties, the Commission says.
WhatsApp sparked an outcry at the start of 2021 when it asked users to share data like connection info and transactions with sibling brands like Facebook as part of its new privacy policy. While little changed for users, some interpreted this as a sign WhatsApp was sharing messages and calls with Facebook. That prompted a mass exodus to competing secure messaging services like Signal and Telegram. WhatsApp tried to reassure users that it couldn't access the end-to-end encrypted conversations, but the backlash led the company to pause the policy rollout. When it did reintroduce the new terms, it added clarifications but warned that the service would gradually stop working unless users agreed to the terms.
The European Commission got involved in January last year, when it responded to unfair practice allegations by asking WhatsApp to better explain how it uses people's data. Last June, it also asked WhatsApp to more clearly explain its business model and whether or not it profited from personal data.
We've asked Meta for comment. The Commission's Consumer Protection Cooperation Network plans to "actively monitor" WhatsApp's application of these promises with future policy updates. Any violations could prompt fines and other penalties. The chat giant also isn't the only one facing scrutiny. The Commission says it's continuing to look for "dark patterns," or attempts to unfairly push users into accepting subscriptions, policy changes or other unwanted features. Don't be surprised if there are more agreements like WhatsApp's in the near future.
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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a healthy life recently thanks to the comics and recent shows, but one area where they’ve been absent as of late is film. It’s been long enough since those live-action movies that a new cinematic crack at the franchise is more than welcome, and Paramount is ready to try again…
Back in 2021 following a pandemic-forced delay, the video game movie Free Guy released in theaters. In it, Ryan Reynolds played an NPC in a fictional who became aware of his existence and helped a player fight back against his game’s developer. Joined by Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, and Lil Rel Howrey, it was generally…
Just before the weekend started, news broke that beloved character actor Clancy Brown would be joining The Penguin, WB’s TV spinoff of the now one-year-old The Batman. Brown’s been a part of the DC universe for years, having most famously voiced Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe that still partially defines the…
There is too much internet and our attempts to keep up with the breakneck pace of, well, everything these days — it is breaking our brains. Parsing through the deluge of inundating information hoisted up by algorithmic systems built to maximize engagement has trained us as slavering Pavlovian dogs to rely on snap judgements and gut feelings in our decision making and opinion formation rather than deliberation and introspection. Which is fine when you're deciding between Italian and Indian for dinner or are waffling on a new paint color for the hallway, but not when we're out here basing existential life choices on friggin' vibes.
In his latest book, I, HUMAN: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique, professor of business psychology and Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic explores the myriad ways that AI systems now govern our daily lives and interactions. From finding love to finding gainful employment to finding out the score of yesterday's game, AI has streamlined the information gathering process. But, as Chamorro-Premuzic argues in the excerpt below, that information revolution is actively changing our behavior, and not always for the better.
If the AI age requires our brains to be always alert to minor changes and react quickly, optimizing for speed rather than accuracy and functioning on what behavioral economists have labeled System 1 mode (impulsive, intuitive, automatic, and unconscious decision-making), then it shouldn’t surprise us that we are turning into a less patient version of ourselves.
Of course, sometimes it’s optimal to react quickly or trust our guts. The real problem comes when fast mindlessness is our primary mode of decision-making. It causes us to make mistakes and impairs our ability to detect mistakes. More often than not, speedy decisions are borne out of ignorance.
Intuition can be great, but it ought to be hard-earned. Experts, for example, are able to think on their feet because they’ve invested thousands of hours in learning and practice: their intuition has become data-driven. Only then are they able to act quickly in accordance with their internalized expertise and evidence-based experience. Alas, most people are not experts, though they often think they are. Most of us, especially when we interact with others on Twitter, act with expert-like speed, assertiveness, and conviction, offering a wide range of opinions on epidemiology and global crises, without the substance of knowledge that underpins it. And thanks to AI, which ensures that our messages are delivered to an audience more prone to believing it, our delusions of expertise can be reinforced by our personal filter bubble. We have an interesting tendency to find people more open-minded, rational, and sensible when they think just like us. Our digital impulsivity and general impatience impair our ability to grow intellectually, develop expertise, and acquire knowledge.
Consider the little perseverance and meticulousness with which we consume actual information. And I say consume rather than inspect, analyze, or vet. One academic study estimated that the top-10 percent digital rumors (many of them fake news) account for up to 36 percent of retweets, and that this effect is best explained in terms of the so-called echo chamber, whereby retweets are based on clickbait that matches the retweeter’s views, beliefs, and ideology, to the point that any discrepancy between those beliefs and the actual content of the underlying article may go unnoticed. Patience would mean spending time determining whether something is real or fake news, or whether there are any serious reasons to believe in someone’s point of view, especially when we agree with it. It’s not the absence of fact-checking algorithms during presidential debates that deters us from voting for incompetent or dishonest politicians, but rather our intuition. Two factors mainly predict whether someone will win a presidential candidacy in the United States—the candidate’s height and whether we would want to have a beer with them.
While AI-based internet platforms are a relatively recent type of technology, their impact on human behavior is consistent with previous evidence about the impact of other forms of mass media, such as TV or video games, which show a tendency to fuel ADHD-like symptoms, like impulsivity, attention deficits, and restless hyperactivity. As the world increases in complexity and access to knowledge widens, we avoid slowing down to pause, think, and reflect, behaving like mindless automatons instead. Research indicates that faster information gathering online, for example, through instant Googling of pressing questions, impairs long-term knowledge acquisition as well as the ability to recall where our facts and information came from.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to fight against our impulsive behavior or keep our impatience in check. The brain is a highly malleable organ, with an ability to become intertwined with the objects and tools it utilizes. Some of these adaptations may seem pathological in certain contexts or cultures, but they are essential survival tools in others: restless impatience and fast-paced impulsivity are no exception.
Although we have the power to shape our habits and default patterns of behaviors to adjust to our habitat, if pace rather than patience is rewarded, then our impulsivity will be rewarded more than our patience. And if any adaptation is overly rewarded, it becomes a commoditized and overused strength, making us more rigid, less flexible, and a slave to our own habits, as well as less capable of displaying the reverse type of behavior. The downside of our adaptive nature is that we quickly become an exaggerated version of ourselves: we mold ourselves into the very objects of our experience, amplifying the patterns that ensure fit. When that’s the case, then our behaviors become harder to move or change.
When I first returned to my hometown in Argentina after having spent a full year in London, my childhood friends wondered why my pace was so unnecessarily accelerated—“Why are you in such a hurry?” Fifteen years later, I experienced the same disconnect in speed when returning to London from New York City, where the pace is significantly faster. Yet most New Yorkers seem slow by the relative standards of Hong Kong, a place where the button to close the elevator doors (two inward-looking arrows facing each other) is usually worn out, and the automatic doors of the taxis open and close while the taxis are still moving. Snooze, and you truly lose.
There may be limited advantages to boosting our patience when the world moves faster and faster. The right level of patience is always that which aligns with environmental demands and best suits the problems you need to solve. Patience is not always a virtue. If you are waiting longer than you should, then you are wasting your time. When patience breeds complacency or a false sense of optimism, or when it nurtures inaction and passivity, then it may not be the most desirable state of mind and more of a character liability than a mental muscle. In a similar vein, it is easy to think of real-life problems that arise from having too much patience or, if you prefer, would benefit from a bit of impatience: for example, asking for a promotion is usually a quicker way of getting it than patiently waiting for one; refraining from giving someone (e.g., a date, colleague, client, or past employer) a second chance can help you avoid predictable disappointments; and waiting patiently for an important email that never arrives can harm your ability to make better, alternative choices. In short, a strategic sense of urgency—which is the reverse of patience—can be rather advantageous.
There are also many moments when patience, and its deeper psychological enabler of self-control, may be an indispensable adaptation. If the AI age seems disinterested in our capacity to wait and delay gratification, and patience becomes somewhat of a lost virtue, we risk becoming a narrower and shallower version of ourselves.
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In less than a year, Ukraine’s military has emerged as a modern, effective fighting force in large part due to an abundance of technology provided by the United States and its NATO allies.
Apple makes sleek, fast, easy-to-use products. They’re cross compatible, which makes moving from your iPhone to your Macbook simple and easy, whether you’re copying text or going from podcasts on your phone to Youtube on your computer. Apple also makes your life more annoying, more expensive, and less secure in a…
BARCELONA, Spain — Getting to the Cupra Arena, home of Gerard Piqué’s Kings League, to see a face-off between a Twitch streamer and a former Real Madrid goalkeeper requires patience and a prayer. Patience because there’s a chance you’ll end up driving in circles in the middle of nowhere, and a prayer that your taxi…
Since late last year, Robert Eggers has been gradually adding stars to the incoming remake ofNosferatuthat he’ll be writing and directing. Bill Skarsgård and Lily Rose-Depp were the first to join his film, followed by Nicholas Hoult and more recently Willem Dafoe, who previously worked with Eggers on last year’s The…
Chipmakers hoping to tap into the Biden administration’s $39 billion semiconductor manufacturing subsidy program will need to sign agreements promising they won’t expand production capacity in China. The requirement was among a handful of funding conditions the US Commerce Department outlined this week after announcing it would begin accepting applications for money from the CHIPS Act in late June. Congress passed the $280 billion measure last July in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation and set aside $52 billion in tax credits and funding for US semiconductor firms to expand domestic production.
“Recipients will be required to enter into an agreement restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern for a period of 10 years after taking the money,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters, per the Financial Times. Raimondo did not name China by name. However, the superpower is among the nations the US government considers a “foreign country of concern.”
Additionally, Raimondo said CHIPS Act recipients cannot “knowingly engage in any joint research or technology licensing effort with a foreign entity of concern that involves sensitive technologies or products,” a requirement likely designed to discourage domestic firms from signing agreements like the one Ford recently announced with China’s CATL.
“I also want to be clear that no CHIPS dollars can be spent on stock buybacks,” Raimondo said. “This is about investing in our national security, not enabling these companies to use our money to increase their profits.” The Commerce Department will also require companies applying for more than $150 million to outline how they plan to provide affordable childcare to workers, a funding condition Raimondo said reflects the current labor market. In some instances, the agency may require those same recipients to return some of the money they receive from the CHIPS Act to the government if they generate excess profits.
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On Saturday, Crunchyroll held its 2023 Anime Awards ceremony. The event honored the best anime shows, films, and performances of 2022 and for the coveted Anime of the Year award, Studio Trigger’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners took home the gold.
Last year, NASA's DART spacecraft successfully completed its mission: To collide with an asteroid called Dimorphos to see if it was possible to change the trajectory of any potentially planet-killing space rock. Scientists from the DART team have been analyzing the data collected from the mission since then, and they've now published five papers in Nature explaining the details of DART's results. They've also decided that, yes, the method can be used to defend Earth if ever an asteroid big enough to kill us all heads our way.
Apparently, one of DART's solar panels hit Dimosphos first before its body fully collided with the rock at 6km per second (3.7 miles per second). The spacecraft smashed into the asteroid around 25 meters (85 feet) from its center, which was a huge factor in the mission's success, since it maximized the force of the impact. According to the studies, the collision had managed to eject 1 million kilograms or 1,100 tons of rock from Dimorphos. That spray of rubble flew outwards away from the asteroid, generating four times the momentum of DART's impact and changing Dimorphos' trajectory even further.
While NASA has only tested the mission on one space rock, scientists have concluded that for asteroids as big as Dimorphos (around 560 feet across), we don't even need to send an advance reconnaissance mission. As long as we get at least few years of warning time, though a few decades would be preferable, then we will be able to intercept future asteroid threads. Franck Marchis at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, told Nature: "[W]e can quickly design a mission to deflect an asteroid if there is a threat, and we know that this has a very high chance of being effective."
We're bound to get an even better look at the mission's effect on the asteroid after European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft arrives at Dimorphos in 2026. The mission will study the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos to further validate DART's kinetic impact method or future use.
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Nothing quite screams “foremost authority on generative article intelligence” like a 99 year-old-German man who nearly ushered in a global nuclear war over a game of geopolitical chicken.
Amazon is closing down two cashierless Go stores in New York City, two in Seattle and four in San Francisco on April 1st, according to GeekWire. The e-retail giant made the announcement on the same day it admitted that it's pausing construction on its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia as it reassesses its office needs in the face of more and more people preferring to work remotely. As Bloomberg notes, these are but Amazon's latest cost-cutting moves amidst slowing sales growth. In January, the company expanded its planned job cuts from 10,000 to 18,000 roles, with the layoffs since then mostly impacting personnel from its retail and recruiting divisions.
Company spokesperson Jessica Martin told the publications in a statement: "Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way. We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the US and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers."
The internet retail titan's Go stores were designed to be high-tech shops equipped with cameras and sensors that can detect when products are taken and returned to shelves. Customers can grab any item they want, which will be added to their virtual cart for online payment, and then walk out of the store without having to pass by a cashier.
While Amazon still has over 20 Go stores in the country, it has long struggled to conquer the physical retail space and has been changing up strategies every so often. It used to have 87 retail pop-up kiosks across the US, but the company shut them down before the pandemic hit. And in 2022, Amazon closed down all 68 of its physical bookstores, pop-up locations and 4-star shops in the US and UK. Just this February, though, CEO Andy Jassy said the company plans to go big on its brick-and-mortar grocery store business. He told the Financial Times: "We're hopeful that in 2023, we have a format that we want to go big on, on the physical side."
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A Federal Reserve Zoom event was canceled only moments after it was scheduled to start Thursday night following an outburst of pornographic images that took over the screen. The video conference was held by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, but he was unable to deliver his opening remarks as the images…
Eargo’s approach to hearing aids is more inline with tech brands like Apple and GoPro than its industry peers. While the hearing industry is busy trying to shake off its dowdy medical product image, Eargo’s out there releasing yearly models with ever new features rolling over stereotypes as it does so. This year’s model, the Eargo 7, doesn’t offer a huge leap over its predecessors, but like the latest aforementioned phone or rugged camera, it’s still the best model to date. But with continued improvements comes a narrower focus on the areas for improvement.
Most of these areas are minor software details. For example, the hearing test in the app initially left me unsure whether it had worked properly or not. On my first pass, not all the tones seemed to play (there’s a “replay” button, and pressing that sometimes the tone was unmissable). On a second pass, after speaking with an Eargo representative, I had a more reliable experience, but it was enough to give me some doubt about its efficacy until I was told my results were as expected on both tries.
After the first test, the app told me to place the hearing aids into their case to update them with the new settings – at which point it remained stuck on “connecting” until I restarted it.
To be clear, the above is the biggest wrinkle I’ve experienced with the Eargo 7, and if anything it’s a testament to the all round experience. One other minor annoyance is that the charging case seems to go into a deep sleep when it’s low on battery, which means it won’t wake the hearing aids when you remove them - even if they themselves have charge. A quick connection to a power cord is all you need to fix, but if you were out and about at the time, you might be out of luck.
James Trew / Engadget
The above aside, the experience from there on out has been smooth sailing. Eargo positions itself as a more affordable option for “invisible” hearing aids aimed at those with mild to moderate hearing loss. At $2,650, it might seem expensive compared to other OTC options, but most of the alternatives are not the tiny in-canal (CIC) type. Nor do they always offer other quality of life features like a slick charging case, personalized hearing profiles and other features you typically only find on conventional models your audiologist would supply.
The Eargo 7 adds a new enhanced version of the company’s “Sound Adjust” program that adapts the settings depending on your environment - this is what you need to take the hearing test for. This iteration includes a new “clarity” option which puts a focus on conversation. The new hearing aids are also IPX7 rated meaning you can wear them during a vigorous workout or even in the shower without worrying about damaging them. (They are not marketed as fully waterproof.)
Eargo’s other selling point is its ongoing customer support. The company urges new users to schedule a “welcome” call with one of its personal hearing professionals (PHP). There are a total of four ways to speak with a PHP depending on your needs (email, phone, chat, or video call). Scheduling a call is a trivial task in the app and there’s no cost at all. It’s this combination of modern technology and enhanced user experience that puts Eargo in a fairly unique spot in the growing pile of assistive hearing devices.
Of course, a well thought out app experience, sleek technology and good customer service are really important parts of the experience, but none of that matters if the hearing assistance isn’t up to scratch. For me, my unilateral hearing loss is certainly helped by the Eargo and there’s very little feedback unless you cover your ear canal completely. If you have mild to moderate hearing loss these are effective, but as always, you should probably consult your audiologist if you’re not sure what you need.
James Trew / Engadget
What I do appreciate is the way the assistive sound doesn’t emphasize sharp noises like jangling keys or enthusiastic typing and the general lack of feedback, which is a common issue for devices of this size. They definitely amplify sound adequately if I wear both, but with that comes a slight discomfort from having augmented hearing even in my “good” ear, which is a unique problem for unilateral hearing loss that obviously doesn’t apply to those with problems on both sides.
As before, battery life is plenty enough for all day use and the charging case offers two full re-charges. All day use is pretty comfortable, but for me, the first hour or two I am definitely aware I have something inside my ears before I gradually adapt. In general the built-in rechargeable battery adds to the convenience, though it also means a risk of degrading over time compared to using disposables.
In short, with the Eargo 7, the company once again makes a good case for how OTC hearing aids don’t have to mean scrimping on features and performance. But with the company’s tech-forward “start-up” approach do come some small challenges, such as the quirks in the app I mentioned right at the open. Fortunately, these are far easier to address and iron out than poor hardware of inadequate performance, which isn’t an issue here.
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Neuralink’s efforts to bring a brain-computer interface still have a way to go. According to a new report from Reuters, Elon Musk’s startup was apparently denied authorization by the FDA in 2022 to conduct human trials using the same devices that, well, killed 1,500 animals. Those tests, according to internal reports, lead to needless suffering and death of test subjects.
Current and former Neuralink employees told Reuters: "The agency’s major safety concerns involved the device’s lithium battery; the potential for the implant’s tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain; and questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue."
The FDA is concerned that, because of the minuscule size of the electrical leads, they are at risk of breaking off during removal (or even during use). At Neuralink's open house last November, Musk claimed the company would secure FDA approval "within six months," basically by this spring. That’s looking increasingly unlikely.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just anewsletter– it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, bysubscribing right here.
I'm sick of winter, but I love pizza, okay? Ooni is one of the biggest names in the pizza oven game. The company has a full line of models that use wood, charcoal or gas to give you the hot-and-fast pizzeria experience in minutes. Ooni promises high-heat cooking for Neapolitan-style pizza, plus the ability to bake other styles, bread and even sear steaks with its ovens. Until now, all of the company's products have been made for outdoor use, but today it's debuting its first indoor model: the $999 Volt 12. Taking design cues from the high-end Karu 16, the Volt 12 is also Ooni's first all-electric pizza oven. The company says you can use it indoors or outside thanks to "advanced" insulation and powder-coated carbon steel exterior that retains heat and withstands the weather.
You can make the chatbot more entertaining or direct.
Microsoft’s web services chief Mikhail Parakhin has revealed that 90 percent of Bing preview testers should see a toggle that changes the chatbot's responses. A Creative option allows for more "original and imaginative" answers, while a Precise switch emphasizes shorter, to-the-point replies. There's also a Balanced setting, somewhere between the two. The company reined in the Bing AI's responses after early users noticed strange behavior during long chats and 'entertainment' sessions. As The Verge noted, the restrictions irked some users as the chatbot would simply decline to answer some questions.
It paused work after a battery issue caused one of the electric trucks to catch fire.
Ford says it’s aiming to restart production of the F-150 Lightning on March 13th, several weeks after it put the EV on hold. It paused production and sent a stop-shipment order to dealers after a battery issue caused a truck to catch fire in a holding lot on February 4th. It’s unclear what exactly led to the fire or how Ford has resolved the problem, though the company has said there's no indication a charging fault was to blame. Since it initially started F-150 Lightning production last April, Ford has sold fewer than 20,000 of the EV. But it’s very much in demand: Ford initially capped reservations at 200,000 in 2021 before reopening them last August. And a reminder: The F-Series has been America’s best-selling vehicle for 41 years.
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One of the best features of Apple’s wireless earbuds—their sleek and compact charging case that’s one of the smallest on the market—unfortunately also makes the AirPods and AirPods Pro easy to lose. And while Apple provides several electronic ways to find a lost pair of buds, an easier solution might just be to make…
The White House is relying on more than an executive order to bolster online security. The Biden administration has issued a National Cybersecurity Strategy meant to "rebalance" responsibilities toward the larger companies and organizations best-equipped to handle threats. The initiative will most notably expand the use of minimum security standards for critical infrastructure, and establish a common set of regulations to make it easier to comply with that baseline.
Accordingly, the administration also wants improved public-private alliances that can more effectively defend infrastructure. The federal government would also modernize its networks and response policies to safeguard against threats.
Companies may also be on the hook for sloppy behavior. The strategy would shift some liability for software and services to developers that ignore recommended cybersecurity practices or ship products with known vulnerabilities. The White House hopes to work with Congress and companies on legislation that bars total liability and sets tougher standards for "specific high-risk scenarios." A safe harbor provision would protect companies that make a sincere effort to develop secure products.
The plan would also invest more in cybersecurity research and workforces. The administration hopes to cut back on "systemic" vulnerabilities at the internet's core, and to adapt to emerging technologies such as postquantum encryption (that is, protection against quantum-based hacks) and digital IDs. Some policies will be largely unchanged. The government will proactively "disrupt and dismantle" threats, including international cooperation on fighting ransomware.
The implementation has already begun, the administration says. As Cyberscooppoints out, though, there's no certainty the strategy will work as promised. The outline largely delegates responsibilities to individual agencies, Congress and in some cases state regulators. The result may not be as harmonious as hoped. It's also unclear if developers will welcome laws that make them liable for security holes. Still, the approach sets expectations for how federal officials will tackle digital threats going forward.
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Netflix teases its new Chupacabra movie. Scream 6 dives into making the deadliest Ghostface yet. Amazon wants to take a crack at Day of the Triffids. Plus, what’s to come in the season finale of The Winchesters. Spoilers now!
Joe Biden gave federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from government devices earlier this week. Until now, most politicians intent on punishing TikTok have focused solely on banning the app itself, but, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters, federal agencies must also “prohibit internet traffic from reaching the…
A lot of users were obsessed with keeping up Snapstreaks after they launched, even maintaining streaks in the hundreds with several friends. Their popularity may have waned a little, because life can get in the way, but Snap has launched an experimental feature that could make it easier to keep things on track if you miss a day. Now, you can simply tap Restore to pretend that painful experience never happened.
The catch is that, users will only get one free Snap Restore. As TechCrunch notes, if they want to prevent more Snapstreaks from going to waste, they'd have to buy more Restores from the app for $1 each in the US. In its announcement, the company also said that it's introducing a new way for Snapchat+ subscribers to freeze their Streaks for long periods "soon." While it didn't expound on how the feature will work, Snap said it will allow users to put "things on pause when they know they’re going off the grid."
These feature announcements come shortly after Snap added an OpenAI chatbot similar to ChatGPT to its app. The chatbot shows up as a regular user profile, probably to make it look more like a virtual friend, though Snap admits it could "be tricked into saying just about anything" and has even apologized for its "many deficiencies" in advance. At the moment, the chatbot is exclusively available to Snapchat+ users paying $4 a month for the service, but the company has plans to make it more widely available.
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Back at CES, most of the big TV makers like LG and Samsung announced their upcoming high end TVs. But one major company was missing: Sony. Now it’s finally ready to show off its latest flagship sets, and after getting a chance to see them in person, I can say it was worth the wait.
Sony’s 2023 line of Bravia XR TVs, are all powered by the company’s Cognitive Processor XR. That means they share the same underlying tech and processing including support for stuff like Sony’s XR Clear Image tech, which allows for adaptive noise reduction, auto HDR tone mapping and more.
For 2023, Sony is trying to take as much of the guesswork out of setup as possible by making its TVs look great right out of the box in the standard video or cinematic modes. That means you shouldn’t have to fuss around with various settings or need to get your TV professionally calibrated. Granted calibration is still the way to go if you want to get the very best image quality, but for people who don’t have a colorimeter at home or don’t want to pay someone else to do it – which I think is pretty much everyone – this is a welcome upgrade.
Sony has also made a few design tweaks including new tweeters that are built into the frame of select models. While you can’t really see them, they help deliver richer and more expansive audio, particularly when paired with one of the company’s high-end soundbars with center sync audio. Sony is also introducing an updated stand for most of its new sets, which allows for a bit more flexibility when trying to accommodate external speakers and soundbars.
The new Eco dashboard in Sony's 2023 Bravia XR TVs makes it easy to turn on and adjust power-saving settings like brightness, idle power-off times and more.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Finally, Sony also added new Gaming and Eco dashboards, so it’s easier to find and adjust various settings. For gaming, you have options like VRR, motion blur reduction and more. And for FPS fanatics, there’s even a setting for adding a permanent crosshair to the middle of the screen, complete with various reticle choices. Alternatively, the Eco Dashboard includes a simple walkthrough to help you choose power-saving settings, including a happy little tree that grows when you do things like reduce the brightness or enable shorter idle power-off times.
While Sony hasn’t released exact pricing just yet, the X90L will likely be the most affordable of the bunch, as it’s positioned as the entry-level option in the Bravia XR family. It’s the replacement to last year’s X90K, and sports a full-array LED panel with improved Clear Image upscaling and significantly reduced blooming. And while Sony doesn’t publicly disclose the exact number of dimming zones, the company says the X90L has up to 60 percent more dimming zones while also being up to 30 percent brighter than before.
While it's a mid-range TV overall, the new X90L is poised to be the entry model in Sony's high-end Bravia XR TV family. And with the largest model going up to 98 inches, it's also the biggest.
Sam Rutherford
This model is also getting a new aluminum bezel instead of the plastic one on the X90K, and with the addition of a massive new 98-inch model, the X90L is the biggest TV in Sony’s 2023 Bravia XR lineup.
Next, when it comes to OLEDs, we have the A80L and A95L. Not only do both models boast improved contrast, when viewed side-by-side with rivals like the LG C2, I noticed Sony’s OLEDs definitely did a better job at preserving details in shadows. The A95L was particularly impressive thanks to its QD-OLED panel and Cognitive Processor, with Sony claiming brightness that's now two times higher than last year's model. This is big because for a long time, the brightness of OLED TVs has generally lagged behind that of more traditional LED sets. But now, Sony says the A95L is brighter than basically all but the most high-end LED rivals. And as someone who loves the super vibrant colors you get from OLED displays, the A95L might be my favorite of the entire line.
Thanks to a new QD-OLED panel, Sony claims the A95L is two times brighter than last year's model.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Speaking of high-end, Sony’s X93L and X95L are the company’s two super premium flagship options. Both sets feature Mini LED displays with the main difference being that the X93L doesn’t come with Sony’s XR Clear Image tech. Meanwhile, the X95L offers similar peak brightness with 30 percent more local dimming zones. The downside is that the X95L is only available as an 85-inch model, so if you need something smaller, you’ll have to go with the X93L.
That said, when I compared the X93L and X95L to one of Sony’s super expensive reference monitors in a room with typical lighting, both did a great job of preserving details while also delivering extremely accurate colors. In certain scenes, Sony’s TV’s almost made rivals like Samsung’s QN90B look washed out. Admittedly, things like film grain were a bit more noticeable on the X93L because it doesn’t have Clear Image tech, but for film aficionados who really care about watching movies that look as close as possible to what the director intended, these are the sets to get.
The X95L is the new flagship set for Sony's entire Bravia XR TV family.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
After seeing the new TVs, regardless of what type of panel you prefer, all of Sony’s upcoming Bravia XR sets look fantastic. You get way more local dimming zones on the X90L line, while the two times higher brightness on the A95L is absolutely stunning. And with Sony adding larger screen options to basically all of its models, it should be even easier to find the right-size display for your room.
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A new study suggests that a popular artificial sweetener may not be as harmless as thought. The researchers say they found evidence in both animals and humans that the sugar alcohol erythritol, commonly included in keto diets, can raise certain people’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Importantly, however, the study…
There's been a resurgence of interest in the moon, now that we're getting closer to re-establishing a foothold on the celestial body. Space agencies and private companies around the world have been scheduling their own lunar missions to take place over the coming years, and it will be quite complicated having to coordinate with each other when they use different time zones. During a meeting at the European Space Agency's ESTEC technology center in the Netherlands last year, space organizations talked about the "importance and urgency of defining a common lunar reference time." In a new announcement, ESA navigation system engineer Pietro Giordano said a "joint international effort is now being launched towards achieving this."
At the moment, different space organizations still use their own time zones for their onboard chronometers and their two-way communications systems. The ESA said doing so "will not be sustainable" in the new era of lunar exploration. Missions from different countries will be doing joint observations, and they may have to communicate with each other even if they're not directly working together if they're on the moon at the same time.
Deciding on and keeping lunar time won't be easy, though, and they will come with a unique set of challenges. As the ESA notes, "accurate navigation demands rigorous timekeeping," which is why one of the topics the international group of space organizations will have to discuss is if there should be a single organization responsible for maintaining the moon's time zone. Further, they'll have to decide whether to keep lunar time synchronized with Earth's or not, because clocks on the moon run faster based on the satellite's position. While they have a lot of factors to consider, whatever they come up with will have to practical for astronauts orbiting or stepping on the lunar surface in the end.
Bernhard Hufenbach, a member of the ESA's Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration's Moonlight Management Team, said: "This will be quite a challenge on a planetary surface where in the equatorial region each day is 29.5 days long, including freezing fortnight-long lunar nights, with the whole of Earth just a small blue circle in the dark sky. But having established a working time system for the moon, we can go on to do the same for other planetary destinations."
🕝How do we tell the time on the Moon? 🤔
A new era of space exploration needs a shared clock.
We are working with @NASA & other international partners towards a common timing system, allowing lunar missions to synch up, interoperate & self-navigate.
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TikTok is introducing new settings that are meant to reduce how much time teens are spending in the app. In an update, the company says it will automatically default teens under the age of 18 to a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes.
With the change, teens will still be able to bypass the daily limit, but they’ll be required to enter a passcode, “requiring them to make an active decision to extend that time,” the company says. Additionally, if teens opt to turn off the screen time limit altogether, TikTok will further prompt them to set a limit if they spend more than 100 minutes in the app.
The company is also adding new parental control features via the app’s “Family Pairing” feature, which allows parents to monitor their children’s activity on TikTok. Parents will be able to set their own custom screen time limits, and view a dashboard that details stats about their child’s time in the app, like how often they open it and what times of the day they use it most. Parents can also set a schedule for when their children can receive notifications, and choose to filter topics they don’t want to appear in their For You feeds.
The update comes as lawmakers in the United States have renewed their efforts to ban TikTok entirely. In addition to national security concerns, Congress has also criticized the company for not doing enough to protect its youngest users.
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Twitter is down for thousands of users this morning. When users log in, they see a message that says “Welcome to Twitter!” but are unable to see new posts or post tweets.
The threat actors who infiltrated News Corp., the company that owns The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets, apparently had access to its network for two full years. In February last year, News Corp. admitted that it had discovered a security breach a month earlier and that hackers broke into a third-party cloud service that contained employees' information. Now, according to Ars Technica, the company has sent a breach notification letter (PDF) to at least one affected personnel. In it, the company has admitted that "an unauthorized party" gained access to business documents and emails in some employees' accounts between February 2020 and January 2022.
When News Corp. announced the breach, the security firm (Mandiant) that investigated the intrusion said it believes the threat actor was connected to the Chinese government. Further, it said the company was most likely attacked to gather intelligence for the country. In an email to Ars, a representative said News Corp. continues to believe "that this was an intelligence collection," but didn't respond to a question asking if investigators still think the hackers were linked to China.
The company has revealed in the letter, though, that the bad actors may have gotten a hold of employees' names, birth dates, Social Security number, driver's license and passport numbers, as well as their financial, medical and heath insurance information. "Not all of this information was impacted for each affected individual," it added. News Corp. said that it hasn't heard any incidents of identity theft or fraud resulting from the security breach so far, but it's offering affected employees two years of identity protection and credit monitoring.
"Our investigation indicates that this activity does not appear to be focused on exploiting personal information," News Corp. wrote in its letter. However, it didn't reveal that details of the documents and emails the threat actors were able to access, and it didn't say if they were specifically looking for information connected to the company's reporting.
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