Dating apps are a constant battle to find just one person that you might click with for more than a few meet ups. Unfortunately, so much of the experience focuses on physical appearance rather than learning much about the other person — a dynamic that is hard to overcome on an app. Bumble is making the latest attempt to do so by allowing users to search for matches based on their interests.
Users can access the new tool by clicking "narrow your search" and then "advanced filters." Then they can choose "filter by your interests." Each user can only include up to five interests on their profile, so there's a risk of someone not having picked a mutual interest even if they do like it — and Bumble just added over 30 new options. But, at the same time, people can't click all of them in hopes of connecting, rather than actually being interested in the same thing. Plus, there's an option to see other people if potential options run out.
In general, most topics are pretty light, like memes, tacos and traveling. There are some interests that shed a slightly deeper look on the other person, like mindfulness, slow living and therapy. Either way, they're not getting a full peak into the other person's soul, but at least it's more than just a pretty face?
Bumble is also expanding its Opening Moves feature, which launched in April of this year, and allows people to set a specific question every one of their matches can reply to, rather than thinking of a new first message each time. Now, people can add up to three Opening Moves for matches to respond to and they can be images with captions.
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Finally, a color Kindle. Amazon, the dominant force in ereaders, finally brought color eink to its series of devices — and we’ve reviewed it. The Kindle Colorsoft is a solid premium ereader, ideal for readers of comics and graphic novels. The company has upgraded page-turn speed and a handy pinch-to-zoom function makes it easier to fully enjoy detailed images.
But at $280, it’s expensive. More expensive, even, than rival color ereaders. However, it’s hard to argue against the convenience and ubiquity of the Kindle ecosystem. The library is seemingly endless (with regular discounts on books and titles you plan to read), supplemented by Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited. If you’re tempted, check out our detailed review and comparisons with other ereaders.
With the Action 5 Pro, DJI finally has a worthy rival to GoPro and Insta360 action cam. With excellent battery life and solid image quality, the only drawback is slightly less-sharp video. However, if low-light performance is key, head straight for the Action 5 Pro. DJI’s new action cam costs $350, while the Hero 13 Pro and Insta360’s Ace Pro 2 are $400. The DJI beats both in battery life and is on par with its rivals when it comes to stabilization.
They also feature slightly brighter screens and better webcams.
Following the 24-inch iMac, then the adorable new Mac mini, Apple is also bringing its M4 chips to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro too. And, in addition to the base M4 chip and the M4 Pro, they can also be configured with the newly announced M4 Max. Alongside the internal spec boost, the new MacBook Pros have slightly brighter screens, which can reach up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness (compared to 600 nits before), and there’s also a nano-texture display option, which drastically reduces glare for people working in very bright environments or direct sunlight.
Apple Intelligence, the company’s all-encompassing branding for its AI tools, features and curios, is finally here. Did you think Apple launched this ages ago? It was announced in June, and drip fed to beta testers, first in the developer preview, then the open preview.
It was even a big part of the iPhone 16 sales pitch at launch, but Apple’s newest phones lacked those AI features — until now. Arriving as part of Apple’s updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS, it’s not everything teased at WWDC (no making your own emojis for now), but it’s a tract of new features showing how the company is tackling AI in its software.
As well as new proofreading and rewriting tools, there’s live transcription for phone calls and Notes’ audio recordings. Apple Intelligence also adds text summaries for websites, emails and all those transcriptions. There’s also my personal favorite: notification summaries.
We’ll be taking a closer look at what Apple Intelligence is capable of, but broadly (and from our experience testing the preview builds), the additions won’t change your smartphone life. Some of them are very useful, while others, like photo editing, fall behind rivals like Google and Samsung.
In time for those new features, Apple’s new iMac includes new colorways and the latest Apple silicon. The new model has the same display and design as previous models, but there’s a new nano-texture glass screen option for a proper splurge. Apple says the M4 inside the new iMac makes the computer 1.7 times faster for daily productivity and up to 2.1 faster for more demanding tasks (i.e. gaming and photo editing) than the M1-powered iteration. The M4 iMac will be available on November 8, starting at the same $1,299 as its predecessor.
Netflix is rolling out a new feature called Moments, which lets you save, share and rewatch certain scenes from shows and movies. For now, it’s mobile only, starting on Netflix’s iOS app and coming to Android in the next few weeks. Netflix says episodes and films will start playing from bookmarked scenes when you rewatch them, with an array of share buttons for messaging and social media apps. It’s perfectly timed for my recent binging of Kath and Kim. All four series, done.
Google is selling refurbished Pixel 6, Pixel 6A and Pixel 7 handsets directly through the Google Store. Discounts are up to 40 percent compared to new models, but we are on Pixel 9 now, so there are no brand new Pixel 6s on sale, at least not from Google. Prices start at $339 for the Pixel 6.
TheOregon Trail, which is probably one of the most recognizable computer games for people who grew up in the 80s and 90s, is set to become a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple is developing a live-action film adaption for the game, with Will Speck and Josh Gordon attached to the project as directors and producers. Seeing as the collaborators are known for films like Blades of Glory,The Oregon Trail movie will likely be a comedy rather than a depressing drama about a 19th-century pioneer family dying off one by one due to dysentery and starvation.
The Hollywood Reporter's sources also said that the movie will feature a couple of musical numbers "in the vein of Barbie." Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen and who were recently nominated for an Emmy for a number Steve Martin performed in the past season of Only Murders in the Building, will reportedly produce original music for the film. Kenneth and Keith Lucas (Judas and the Black Messiah), along with Max Reisman, are writing the screenplay. It's still very early days for the production, though: There are no actors attached to the project yet, and Apple hasn't even formally announced it.
Originally created by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann and Paul Dillenberger, the original Oregon Trail game was first released in 1971. In the game, you're supposed to buy supplies, hunt for food and travel west at a reasonable pace while trying to keep your caravan your caravan alive.
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The next time you visit your local Apple Store, you might see Form’s Smart Swim 2 goggles in the accessory section. Starting November 5, Apple will begin stocking the $249 wearable at 20 of its retail locations across the US and Canada. That same day, the goggles will also go on sale on the company’s website, with availability there extending to the UK. In addition to home delivery, select Apple Store locations will offer in-store pickup.
"With Apple's knowledgeable staff, we know the experience presenting our goggles will be exceptional. As a must-have fitness tech product, we're excited to showcase Form at Apple,” said From founder and CEO Dan Eisenhardt.
From debuted Smart Swim 2 at the start of April. Building on its original smart goggles, the company integrated a heart rate sensor, and improved comfort and adjustability. It also managed to reduce the size of the “tech pack,” the component that houses all of the device’s electronics. The company continues to sell its original Smart Swim goggles for $179, and they remain a great bargain; they include From’s signature SwimStraight feature, which displays a digital compass inside the goggles to assist with open water navigation. However, if you want those, you’ll need to order them from the company’s website.
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If you’ve used Cash App in the last six years, you might be entitled to compensation as part of a class-action settlement. The company set up a $15 million fund after breaches enabled a trove of user personal data to leak. You can file a claim through a dedicated settlement website, and depending on what you can prove, you could receive up to $2,500. If there’s a downside beyond having your private financial data leaked, it’s that you’ve only got until November 19 to file.
Google is reportedly developing an AI agent for Chrome to act as a live assistant for your daily browsing. Codenamed Jarvis, because of course it is, it will help you with common tasks, like research, shopping and booking flights. Perhaps you could ask it to look at every price comparison website, collate the results and select the cheapest option. Maybe, in future, it could even buy, use and enjoy the thing you’re looking to purchase while you sit at your computer.
In an AMA this weekend, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared some insight into why some videos on the platform appear reduced in quality well after they’re posted, and it all boils down to performance. Responding to a question about old stories looking “blurry” in highlights, Mosseri said, “In general, we want to show the highest-quality video we can. But if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video.” If the video later spikes in popularity again, “then we will re-render the higher quality video,” he said in the response, which was reposted by a Threads user (spotted by The Verge).
Further elaborating in a follow-up reply, though, Mosseri added, “We bias to higher quality (more CPU intensive encoding and more expensive storage for bigger files) for creators who drive more views.” The comment has sparked concern from small creators in the replies who say it puts them at a disadvantage competing with others who have larger platforms. Meta has previously said it uses “different encoding configurations to process videos based on their popularity” as part of how it manages its computing resources.
The performance system “works at an aggregate level,” Mosseri said, “not an individual viewer level… It’s not a binary theshhold [sic], but rather a sliding scale.” In response to one user who questioned its fairness for smaller creators, Mosseri said the quality shift “doesn’t seem to matter much” in practice as it “isn’t huge” and viewers appear to care more about video content over quality. “Quality seems to be much more important to the original creator, who is more likely to delete the video if it looks poor, than to their viewers,” he said. Understandably, not everyone seems convinced.
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Apple’s rumored smart home display may look a lot like an old friend — the iMac G4 of the early 2000s. In the Power On newsletter this weekend, Mark Gurman reports that the countertop tablet will feature a square screen that’s “positioned at an angle on a small base, making it reminiscent of the circular bottom of the iMac G4.” That may be where the speakers are housed too. The device is expected to arrive sometime next year, followed later on by a higher-end version with a robotic limb that can change the position of the display.
The more affordable model, which will be released first, will have a relatively small screen, according to Gurman, being “about the size of two iPhones side by side.” It’s intended to be used for smart home controls, but will also run apps like FaceTime and Calendar, and display photos and videos. The more expensive model will boast a larger screen in addition to its robotic capabilities, according to Gurman. We likely won’t see that product until at least 2026, as he previously predicted, and it may run you almost $1,000. Both models are expected to come with Apple Intelligence.
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The long-promised Playdate Stereo Dock is officially dead, at least for now. After many months with the desktop accessory stuck in development limbo, Panic has updated the product page so it no longer says it's “coming soon,” but instead that it’s been put on pause indefinitely due to issues with the Bluetooth experience, the factory that handled it and the rising costs of resolving it all. The Stereo Dock, first announced in 2021, was meant to be a charging dock that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker (and pen holder), along with being a cute way to display your Playdate when it’s not in use. But, things didn’t quite work out as planned.
The Playdate team said it hit some unexpected hurdles in trying to bring the idea to life, and found that “making the Stereo Dock was almost more challenging than making the Playdate itself.” The statement explains:
What happened? Well, our first regret was assuming that our factory at that time — a factory that made lots of Bluetooth speakers — could easily design the electronics for us, saving us lots of time and money. That went pretty well at first. But they, in turn, outsourced the Bluetooth software and chipset to another company in another country.
As a result, the Stereo Dock would crash often — rapidly adjusting the volume would do it. The Bluetooth pairing/unpairing experience was rough. And when we played music, it just didn’t sound very good. The back-and-forth between three companies trying to fix bugs became a huge challenge. And worst of all: the cost of the Stereo Dock kept getting higher and higher.
It goes on to say that the team worked to improve the experience, even buying the Bluetooth chipset source code in hopes to fix the issues, to no avail. While there are “a number of beautiful finished prototypes,” Panic says “they weren’t very good to use.” The official update was foreshadowed in a social media exchange shared on Reddit earlier this month in which Panic’s Cabel Sasser, replying to a question about the Stereo Dock’s status, said it “turned out to be incredibly hard for lots of incredibly dumb reasons” and was put on pause.
The team says it’s now turning its focus wholly back to the continuing production of the Playdate. There may still be a chance that we see the Stereo Dock at some point down the line, but don’t hold your breath. “Will it arrive someday? We still hope so,” Panic said. “Will it arrive anytime soon? Unlikely.”
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Google may be close to unveiling an AI agent that can operate a web browser to help users automate everyday tasks. The Information reports that the company is working on a “computer-using agent” under the codename Project Jarvis, and it may be ready to be previewed as soon as December. According to sources that spoke to The Information, Jarvis “responds to a person’s commands by capturing frequent screenshots of what’s on their computer screen, and interpreting the shots before taking actions like clicking on a button or typing into a text field.”
Jarvis is reportedly made to work only with web browsers — particularly Chrome — to assist with common tasks like research, shopping and booking flights. It comes as Google continues to expand the capabilities of its Gemini AI, the next-gen model of which is expected to be revealed in December, as reported by The Verge. Gemini Live, Google’s AI chatbot, gained support for dozens of new languages this month, and Gemini integration has recently made it to Google Meet, Photos and other applications.
The news of Jarvis comes days after Anthropic introduced a similar but seemingly more expansive feature for its Claude AI, which it says has been equipped with computer skills so it can “use a wide range of standard tools and software programs designed for people.” That’s available now in a public beta.
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The legal battle between Apple and medical technology company Masimo rages on, with the bigger company — sorta, kinda — winning their latest face off. A federal jury has agreed with Apple that previous versions of Masimo's W1 and Freedom (pictured above) watches infringed on its design patents, according to Reuters. It only awarded Apple $250 in damages, which is the smallest amount that could be awarded for patent infringement, but the company's lawyers reportedly told the court that it wasn't after money anyway.
What Apple, which is worth $3.5 trillion, wanted was an injunction on the sales of Masimo's current smartwatch models. However, the jury determined that those newer models don't violate Apple's intellectual property. That is why Masimo is also treating the jury's decision as a win, telling the news organization that it's thankful for the verdict that's "in favor of Masimo and against Apple on nearly all issues." Apparently, the ruling only affects a "discontinued module and charger." As for Apple, it told Reuters that it was "glad the jury's decision today will protect the innovations [it advances] on behalf of [its] customers."
Masimo sued Apple in 2021, accusing it of infringing on several of its light-based blood-oxygen monitoring patents, while the tech giant countersued a year later. A court sided with Masimo in 2023, forcing Apple to pause sales on its latest smartwatch models, as the US International Trade Commission blocked all Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 imports into the country. The company appealed and was ultimately able to sell its watches in the country earlier this year by removing the technology from the units offered in the US.
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Lyft has agreed to to tell its drivers how much they can truly earn on the ride-hailing platform — and back it up with evidence — as part of its settlement for a lawsuit filed by the US Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. The lawsuit accused the company of making "numerous false and misleading claims" in the advertisements it released in 2021 and 2022, when the demand for rides recovered following COVID-19 lockdowns in the previous years. Lyft promised drivers up to $43 an hour in some locations, the FTC said, without revealing that those numbers were based on the earnings of its top drivers.
The rates it published allegedly didn't represent drivers' average earnings and inflated actual earnings by up to 30 percent. Further, the FTC said that Lyft "failed to disclose" that information, as well as the fact that the amounts it published included passengers' tips. The company also promised in its ads that drivers will get paid a set amount if they complete a certain number of rides within a specific timeframe. A driver is supposed to make $975, for instance, if they complete 45 rides over a weekend.
Lyft allegedly didn't clarify that it will only pay the difference between the what the drivers' earn and its promised guaranteed earnings. Drivers thought they were getting those guaranteed payments on top of their ride payments as a bonus for completing a specific number of rides. The FTC accused Lyft of continuing to make "deceptive earnings claims" even after it sent the company a notice of its concerns in October 2021, as well.
Earlier this month, the company launched an earnings dashboard that showed the estimated hourly rate for each ride, along with the driver's daily, weekly and yearly earnings. But under the settlement, Lyft will have to explicitly tell drivers how much their potential take-home pay is based on typical, instead of inflated, earnings. It has to take tips out of the equation, and it has to to clarify that it will only pay the difference between what the drivers get from rides and its guaranteed earnings promise. Finally, it will have to pay a $2.1 million civil penalty.
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It’s easy to assume we’ll see those models getting pushed from variants of the M3 to the M4. Given the M4’s focus on AI, expect plenty of attention on Apple Intelligence, which comes to users as part of iOS 18.1’s update at the same time. That each model is likely to be announced piecemeal across the week, rather than at one glitzy event, suggests we won’t see too many other big changes.
The rumor suggests only the Mac Mini will get a major hardware revision, shrinking its chassis to a far smaller footprint. If I’m honest, I’m secretly hoping the Mac Mini doesn’t become the same size as an Apple TV model, which has been hinted at. Especially if it means saddling us with a beefy power brick to clutter the floor instead.
Two weeks before the US presidential election, the Oversight Board says it has “serious concerns” about Meta’s content moderation systems in “electoral contexts,” and that the company risks the “excessive removal of political speech” when it over-enforces its rules. The admonishment came as the board weighed in on a case involving a satirical image of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Meta originally removed the post, shared on Facebook in August, that showed an edited version of a movie poster from Dumb and Dumber. The original 1994 movie poster shows the two main characters grabbing each other’s nipples through their shirts. In the altered version, the actors’ faces were replaced by Harris and Walz.
According to the Oversight Board, Meta cited its bullying and harassment rules, which includes a provision barring “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.” The social network later restored the post after it drew attention from the Oversight Board, and the company acknowledged the satirical image didn’t break its rules because it didn’t depict sexual activity.
Despite Meta’s reversal, the board says the case suggests larger issues in how Meta handles posts dealing with election-related content. “This post is nothing more than a commonplace satirical image of prominent politicians and is instantly recognizable as such,” the board wrote. “Nonetheless, the company’s failure to recognize the nature of this post and treat it accordingly raises serious concerns about the systems and resources Meta has in place to effectively make content determinations in such electoral contexts.”
It’s unusually direct criticism from the Oversight Board, which released its analysis of the case in a summary decision, which comes without the group’s typical laundry list of recommendations for the social media company. The board has previously pushed Meta to clarify its rules around satirical content.The latest case highlights another issue that many of the company’s users have also complained about: over-enforcing its rules.
“In this case, however, the Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment policy with respect to satire and political speech in the form of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures,” the board wrote. “It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political candidates, including in a sarcastic manner.”
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After offering its customers free NACS adapters for Tesla's Superchargers, Ford is telling its customers to stop using them, according to a service bulletin spotted by InsideEVs. The reason cited is a "potential issue" that could reduce charging speeds over time and even cause charging port damage, the company wrote.
The automaker will send a replacement adapter "in the coming weeks" and requires customers to send back the existing adapter, both at no cost. "It is imperative that we receive all adapters affected to reduce the risk of potential vehicle damage," it added.
After signing an EV-charging pact with Tesla in May 2023, Ford EV owners in Canada and the US got a green light to use Superchargers earlier this year. The original deadline for a free adapter was June 2024, but after multiple delays due to supplier issues, the deadline was extended until September 30, and may be further put off due to this latest issue.
The adapters convert North American standard CCS ports used on Ford EVs to Tesla's proprietary NACS cables. Other companies (Nissan, Rivian, GM, Subaru and many others) that cut deals with Tesla offered similar adapters, though many will permanently adopt the NACS standard for future vehicles. Ford itself plans to make the switch in 2025.
Creating a NACS adapter isn't just a matter of changing the pins around, as the latest V4 Superchargers are rated for 250 kW and 615 A — enough to power multiple homes. Earlier this year, Tesla sued the supplier of a cheap NACS adapter, saying it could lead to "catastrophic" injuries.
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If you’re after a high-resolution mirrorless camera, most folks in the know will point you to the Sony’s A1. Canon, annoyed at not being everyone’s first choice, is fighting back with its new EOS R5 Mark II, a 45-megapixel mirrorless with plenty of bells and whistles.
Engadget’s Steve Dent knows a thing or two about high-end cameras, and he’s spent the last few weeks using the $4,300 shooter. It isn’t perfect, but he was impressed by the faster shooting and better autofocus, especially given the A1 is a lot more expensive.
To learn all about the new R5 II and decide if it’s the camera to put at the top of your wish list, read our in-depth review.
First, records came back into fashion, and now it could be (*checks notes*) VHS tapes. The last major movie put on VHS was A History of Violence in 2006, but Alien: Romulus, this year's addition to the Alien franchise, is being released as a limited edition VHS tape on December 3rd, The Verge reports. Its director, Fede Alvarez, announced the news at a Beyond Fest-partnered viewing.
The Alien: Romulus VHS tape celebrates the 45th anniversary of Alien, a cultural icon infamously described as "a movie where nobody listens to the smart woman, and then they all die except for the smart woman and her cat." The tape will show viewers Alien: Romulus in a 4:3 aspect ratio and comes in a retro-looking case designed by artist Matt Ferguson.
Alien: Romulus premiered in August and has reportedly garnered $350 million worldwide — we were fans, calling it "a gorgeous and terrifying Alien tale for a new generation." We'll have to wait and see how much VHS sales add to this (seriously, does anyone own a VHS player anymore?), but it will simultaneously be released on 4K-UHD, DVD and Blu-Ray in December. There's no word yet on pricing or quantity for the limited edition VHS tape.
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The following article discusses the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks and older Treks.
There’s no such thing as “dead” in Star Trek, the sprawling, perpetual opus that has thrived in spite of itself for almost sixty years. What started as a cornball space-ships and punch-fights show for atomic-age kids and their parents has become (gestures around) all this. So I’m not writing too much of an obituary for Star Trek: Lower Decks despite its fifth season being its last. Given Paramount’s fluid leadership right now, I can easily imagine that decision being reversed in the future. So this isn’t so much of a goodbye as a farewell for now.
Lower Decks’ fifth season picks up not long after the fourth left off, with Tendi still repaying her debt to the Orions. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to suggest the status-quo reasserts itself soon after given, you know, all the other times this has happened. The crew of the Cerritos is then thrust into the usual sort of high-minded, lowbrow yet full of heart hijinks that we’ve come to expect. Naturally, I’m sworn to secrecy, but the fifth episode — where its title alone is a big spoiler — is a highlight.
I’ve seen the first five episodes of the season and as with any sitcom, there are a few misses in between the hits. One episode in particular is trying to reach for an old-school Frasier plotline, but it falls flat given the thinness of the characters in question. Thankfully, Lower Decks is able to carry a weak show on the back of its central cast’s charm. Sadly, as it tries to give everyone a grace note, some characters you’d expect would get more focus are instead shunted to the periphery.
You can feel Lower Decks straining against its own premise, too. A show about people on the lowest rung of the ladder can’t get too high. As a corrective, both Mariner and Boimler use this year as an opportunity to mature and grow. I won’t spoil the most glorious running gag of the season, but their growth comes in very different ways. If there’s a downside, it’s that the show still relies too much on energy-sapping action sequences to resolve its episodes.
But that’s a minor gripe for a show that grew from the would-be class clown of the Trek world to the most joyful interpretation of its ethos. I’ve always loved how, when the chips are down, Lower Decks delights in the bits plenty of newer Treks would rather ignore. The show is, and has been, a delight to watch and something for the rest of the franchise to aspire toward.
Paramount+
I’ve been looking for a way to describe Lower Decks’ target audience for years, but only now has it hit me. It’s a show written by, and for, the people who grew up watching Star Trek in the VHS era. Creator Mike McMahan is just four years older than me, barely a teenager when The Next Generation went off-air. So while he’d have encountered Deep Space Nine and Voyager as first-run, everything else would have been discovered through re-runs and tapes.
You can almost track that timeline of discovery as Lower Decks broadened its range of hat-tips each year it ran. Of course we got a parody of the first two Trek films in the first season — both were ever-present on Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid — but it’s not until the third that we get a nod to First Contact. As Enterprise ran out of gas, you can feel McMahan and co’s delving into the behind-the-scenes lore and convention gossip about those later series.
If you’ve seen the series five trailer, you’ll spot the gag about Harry Kim’s promotion, something the character never got on Voyager. If you’re fluent with Trek’s behind-the-scenes drama you’ll know the handful of reasons why, and why it’s funny to nod toward that now. But that’s not the only subtle gag that points a sharpened elbow into the ribs of major figures from the series creative team. I’m sure if you don’t spot them all, Reddit will have assembled a master list half an hour after each episode lands on Paramount+.
Paramount+
I won’t indulge in theorizing as to why a popular and successful show like Lower Decks is ending (it’s money, it’s always money). But, as we’ve seen countless times before, it’s not as if it’s hard to revive a successful animated show when wiser heads prevail. Hell, even McMahan told TrekMovie he’s prepared for that, and even has some spin-off ideas in the works. But for now, let’s raise a toast to Lower Decks, the animated sitcom that became the cornerstone of modern Star Trek.
The first two episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks season five will arrive on Paramount+, Thursday, October 24, with an additional episode landing each week for the successive eight weeks. The series and season finale will air on December 19.
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DJI has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense over its addition to the Pentagon list that designates it as a "Chinese military company." In its filing, shared by The Verge, the company said it's challenging the designation because it's "neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military." It described itself as the "largest privately owned seller of consumer and commercial drones," mostly used by first responders, fire and police departments, businesses and hobbyists.
The company claimed that because the Pentagon has officially proclaimed it as a national security threat, it has suffered "ongoing financial and reputational harm." It also said that it has lost business from both US and internal customers, which terminated contracts and refused to enter new ones, and it has been banned from signing contracts with multiple federal government agencies.
DJI explained that it tried to engage with the Department of Defense for over 16 months and submitted a "comprehensive delisting petition" on July 27, 2023 to get the agency to remove its designation. However, the agency allegedly refused to engage in a meaningful way and to explain its reasoning behind adding the company to the list. On January 31, 2024, the DoD redesignated the company without notice, DJI wrote in its complaint. DJI alleged that the DoD only shared its full rationale for its designation after it informed the agency that it was going to "seek judicial relief."
The company claimed that the DoD's reasoning wasn't adequate to support its designation, that the agency confused people with common Chinese names and that it relied on "stale alleged facts and attenuated connections." DJI is now asking the court to declare the DoD's actions as unconstitutional, describing the Pentagon's designation and failure to remove it from the "Chinese military company" list a violation of the law and of its due-process rights.
DJI has long been at the crosshairs of various US government agencies. The Department of Commerce added it to its entity list in 2020, which prevented US companies from supplying it with parts without a license. A year later, it was added to the Treasury department's "Chinese military-industrial complex companies" list for its alleged involvement in the surveillance of Uyghur Muslim people in China. And just a few days ago, DJI confirmed that its latest consumer drones are being held at the border by US customs, which cited the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The drone-maker denied that it has manufacturing facilities in Xinjiang, the region associated with forced Uyghur labor.
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from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/1mtIxef
Amazon finally did it: This week the company announced the Kindle Colorsoft, its first color E Ink e-reader. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss where this device sits in a world of cheap tablets, and they dive into the updated Kindle Paperwhite and the writable Kindle Scribe. Also, we've got final thoughts on the Meta Quest 3S, the updated iPad Mini and tons of news.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
YouTube is testing a new version of its Premium Lite subscription tier in Australia, Germany and Thailand, a Google rep confirmed. It would have limited ads, which the fine print describes as most videos being ad-free, “but you may see video ads on music content and Shorts, and non-interruptive ads when you search and browse.”
The original Premium Lite subscription began testing in Europe in 2021, but it only lasted a few years, being phased out in October 2023. It was very much “lite, lacking the offline or background viewing of the regular Premium subscription.
The pricing model for these early tests in Australia is $9 a month for Premium Lite, compared with $17 a month for full Premium access, roughly in line with the original Lite costs.
After the success of Fallout, Amazon wants its next Prime Video gaming adaptation to match that level — and it’s apparently willing to start afresh to do so. Deadline reported that the God of War showrunner and two executive producers have left the project as it shifts direction. The series is an adaptation of the 2018 franchise reboot.
It looks like the kind of kitchen purchase the antagonist millionaires of Ex Machina or Knives Out would be tempted by. The Moley Robotics’ X-AiR starts at $105,000. So far, Moley hasn’t installed a single robot but expects the process to begin in the next three to six months — people have bought into the arm already.
X-AiR has no built-in vision or sensing technology. Instead, the robot arm moves around its space from memory, knowing where all the ingredients, oils and tools should be. But while it can cook (with pans and everything), it can’t peel a carrot. Is this a robot that only does the fun part of cooking? We made Daniel Cooper eat tofu.
If you’ve got a Fire TV video streamer, you already know how great it can be to access all of the major streaming platforms and thousands of shows and movies in one centralized hub. And seeing all your favorites on a big-screen TV is way better than watching it on a smaller laptop or smartphone screen.
But what if you wanted to watch a show or movie and discovered it was unavailable in your country? Or what if you wanted to watch an award-winning BBC documentary but it was only available on the BBC’s iPlayer — and you don’t happen to live in the United Kingdom?
That’s where a VPN (virtual private network) comes in. Using a VPN can let you unlock geo-blocked content for streaming even if you’re outside of a given area. And here’s the best part: Unlike archrival Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV system offers VPN apps straight through its built-in app store. We’ll explain the details and tell you how it works.
Choose the right VPN for your Fire TV
For starters, we’re going to assume you have a Fire TV device. If you don’t, we have good news: If your TV doesn’t already have Fire TV streaming built-in, the add-on devices are frequently on sale at Amazon for as little as $25 or less. Grab the Fire Stick 4K Max if you want a good balance of price versus performance — just make sure it’s on sale for $40 or less. (See how the Fire TV streamers compare to rivals from Roku, Google, Apple and more by checking out our list of best streaming devices.)
Once you have your Fire TV hardware set up, it’s time to choose a VPN — and that’s where the Fire TV operating system shines. A long list of VPNs, including all of our current top picks for the best VPNs, are available on the platform and they’re as easy to download and install as any of the video apps.
The Engadget-approved VPNs currently available on Fire TV include:
We’ll leave it to you to research which VPN offers the best combination of features and value for you, but a word of warning: With the exception of the first two listed above, we don’t recommend using a free VPN, as they’re notorious for collecting and selling your data to advertising networks to fund shoddily-protected servers. Note you can install as many VPNs as you’d like on Fire TV, if you’d like to cross-test them at your leisure.
Installing the VPN
Installing it is easy once you know which Fire TV VPN you want to use. Head to Find > on the main menu and simply search the name of your preferred VPN – just type “VPN” if you’d like to scroll through all of the options available. There, you can find the service you want (or are already subscribed to) and start installing. The process shouldn’t take too long. Once it’s completed, you’re ready to start using it.
Using your Fire TV VPN
Once you’ve downloaded the app, navigate to it on your Fire TV dashboard. You’ll have to enter your username and password or sign up to create an account. Some VPNs might require you to create an account on your smartphone or computer beforehand.
Once logged in, you can either click the “Connect” button on your VPN or browse the server list to choose which country you want to tunnel to. Once connected, return to the Fire TV home screen and reload your streaming platform of choice to verify if the content is different. If it is, your VPN is working and you’re ready to stream.
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