Engadget

16.12.2024 14:12 The holidays are nearly here and you might be a little more behind on your shopping than you’d like to admit. We don’t blame you — between family gatherings and the final work rush before PTO kicks in, it’s hard to find the time to go to a store to pick out presents. And once you get there, you could find half-empty shelves and very few choices. But that’s why we have the internet: you still have time to buy holiday gifts online.USPS, UPS and FedEx have laid out their holiday shipping deadlines for 2024: Ship your items via the post office by December 18 to have them safely arrive before Christmas, while FedEx and UPS have deadlines of December 13 and December 20, respectively. At this point, we recommend picking up small, affordable gifts that will ship quickly from retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target so you have plenty of time to wrap them up nicely and make it look like you had everything well-planned from the start. Here are the best last-minute Christmas gifts you can get right now and still have in time before the holidays. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-last-minute-christmas-gifts-140037746.html?src=rss

16.12.2024 14:12 Social media platforms and other online services operating in the UK are facing new regulations. Ofcom, the UK's communication services regulator, has released over 40 safety measures that applicable organizations must carry out by mid-March 2025. The new guidance follows last year's passage of the Online Safety Act, which implements new protections for children and adults online. Ofcom's role includes providing compliance codes and guidance for relevant companies. Ofcom introduced new measures tackling areas such as fraud, moderation and child sexual abuse material . Online services must take steps like nominating a senior person who is accountable for complying to its duties for illegal content, complaints and reporting. Moderating teams must be "appropriately" trained and have enough resources to quickly remove illegal content. Plus, relevant companies, such as social media platforms, should improve their algorithms to limit the spread of illegal content. The regulator's required anti-CSAM safety practices include hiding children's profiles and locations, not allowing random accounts to message children and using hash-matching and URL detection to quickly find and shut down CSAM. Ofcom consulted with the tech industry, charities and parents, among other entities. It also heard from children about their horrifying experiences of receiving predatory messages online and opinions on new regulations. "As an evidence-based regulator, every response has been carefully considered, alongside cutting-edge research and analysis, and we have strengthened some areas of the codes since our initial consultation," Ofcom stated in its release. "The result is a set of measures — many of which are not currently being used by the largest and riskiest platforms — that will significantly improve safety for all users, especially children." The Online Safety Act includes "organizations big and small, from large and well-resourced companies to very small 'micro-businesses.' They also apply to individuals who run an online service," Ofcom states. It gets a bit vague, though, with Ofcom adding the business must have a "significant number" of UK users or have the UK as a target market. The Act covers "user-to-user services," such as social media, online gaming and dating sites. It also impacts "search services" and online businesses that show pornographic content. Ofcom has the power to fine non-compliant sites £18 million or 10 percent of their qualifying global revenue, if a higher number. In "very serious cases" Ofcom can seek a court order to block a site's UK presence. Ofcom plans to release further guidance across the first half of 2025. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uk-internet-watchdog-gives-social-media-companies-three-months-to-improve-safety-or-face-huge-fines-130018908.html?src=rss

16.12.2024 14:12 The current generation of consoles landed in roughly the same week in November 2020. At launch, the PS5 had seven new exclusive games to the Xbox Series’ two. Sony had a better showing too, with the likes of Demon Souls and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Four years on, the difference between the two consoles remains. We returned to the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X to see how the two approaches have fared. If you’ve been paying attention, you know the conclusion: estimates put PS5 console sales around double the latest Xboxes’. Microsoft had two consoles, the entry-level Series S and the powerful Series X, while Sony went for largely the same power PS5, but with a disc-less iteration. Engadget The Xbox Series X is a solid way to play Microsoft titles, popular third-party games and everything Microsoft has available on Game Pass. But if you had to choose between buying the Series X or PlayStation 5, the latter has better exclusive games, a bigger base of gamers and a better controller. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, and Astro Bot have all been platform exclusives, while long-running series like Final Fantasy appear first on Sony consoles. The strongest weapon in Xbox’s arsenal, Game Pass, has been neutered over time too. The Game Pass Ultimate plan also feels less, well, ultimate. The company increased the monthly price of its top plan to $20, including day-one access to new titles and a large library of games for Xbox and PC. The new $15 a month Standard plan doesn’t give day-one access but does include a library of hundreds of games. Things could change, however. Sony is now drip-feeding its games to PC, diminishing the draw of console exclusives, while Microsoft’s game developer spending spree has to bear fruit eventually. Right? Right?! That might be a discussion for the next wave of consoles. — Mat Smith Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Balatro is an almost perfect mobile port Google’s NotebookLM Audio Overviews now let you call in with a question The Game Awards 2024: The 15 biggest announcements and new trailers including The Witcher 4 and Elden Ring The best stocking stuffer gifts under $50 HDMI 2.2 could make its debut at CES next month Look out for an announcement January 6. Just in time to make your mid-cycle console seem under-specced, we may see the next HDMI standard, HDMI 2.2, in a matter of weeks. According to an email from the HDMI Forum, a new HDMI specification will be announced on Monday, January 6, in Las Vegas. It’s been seven years since HDMI 2.1 arrived. The new specs will bring higher bandwidth, according to the email. But that’s all we know, for now. Continue reading. A US Congressman tried to fake his Spotify Wrapped for political gain You can’t fake your love for the Boss! A curious-looking post on X from US Rep. Josh Gottheimer got the New Jersey congressman in some mild trouble. Spotted by 9to5Mac, he shared what appeared to be his Spotify Wrapped playlist for the year, with one list consisting of Springsteen’s classic tracks. However, it was filled with formatting mistakes. He’d faked it. He admitted to NJ Advance Media that he made a fake Spotify Wrapped list but says the tracks on each list are accurate. Gottheimer has since taken the post down and replaced it with a list of his most listened-to Springsteen tracks. He’s trying to save face because he’s in a heated race for New Jersey governor — and you know where Springsteen is a big deal? New Jersey. Continue reading. How to use Genmoji to make your own custom emojis You need an iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence. Apple Genmoji are custom emojis you can create if you’ve installed the iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2 update. They are the emojis of your imagination, made real with help from Apple Intelligence — you describe what emoji you want to see, like a sad cowboy or an octopus DJ. You’ll need a device compatible with Apple Intelligence. That includes every iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and iPad mini . Then, well, read on for a confusion-free guide. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/engadget-newsletter-playstation-vs-xbox-in-2024-121559189.html?src=rss

16.12.2024 04:00 CD Projekt Red took us by surprise when it dropped a cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4 at The Game Awards, revealing Ciri as the new protagonist. Amidst all the excitement, some observant fans also noticed that Geralt of Rivia’s adopted daughter seems to sound pretty different than before, and not just in a ‘several years have passed’ kind of way. In a statement to TheGamer, CD Projekt Red confirmed that Ciri has been recast. While she was previously voiced by Jo Wyatt, Ciara Berkeley has taken over the role. “Ciara Berkeley was cast as Ciri for The Witcher 4 Cinematic Reveal Trailer,” a spokesperson for CD Projekt Red told TheGamer, and later added that Berkeley voices Ciri in the full game too. “Ciara is a talented actress who impressed us with her enthusiasm and vocal acting skills, and in this trailer we believe she truly brought Ciri to life in a way that is both faithful to the character and exciting for fans of the series.” So there it is. The Game Awards brought a ton of announcements last week in addition to our first look at The Witcher 4. You can catch up on all the biggest news here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/cd-projekt-red-confirms-it-recast-ciris-voice-actor-for-the-witcher-4-001144689.html?src=rss

16.12.2024 04:00 With iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 now available, iPhone and iPad users have access to a slew of new features that make use of Apple Intelligence. That includes Genmoji, a new type of AI-generated emoji that was first introduced at WWDC 2024. What are Genmoji? Genmoji are custom emojis you can create if you’ve installed the iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2 update. They are the emojis of your imagination, made real with help from Apple Intelligence — you describe what emoji you want to see, like a sad cowboy or an octopus DJ, and Apple’s AI will do its best to generate it. You can even create custom emojis of people you know if you have a photo of them in your library. Once you’ve made Genmoji, they’ll be stored in your keyboard so you can use them in Apple apps that support emojis. They can be sent as part of messages, as standalone stickers or as Tapback reactions. How to create Genmoji To create a Genmoji, you’ll need a device that is up to date with iOS 18.2/iPadOS 18.2 or later and compatible with Apple Intelligence. That includes every iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and iPad mini . At the moment, you can only create Genmoji on iPhone and iPad, though Apple says the feature will be coming to Mac down the line. The steps to create a Genmoji are the same for iPhone and iPad. Apple First, open a conversation and tap the text field to bring up the keyboard. Then tap either the smiley icon or the globe icon, depending on which you have. After doing that, you should now see a multicolored smiley icon with a plus sign on it at the top right of the keyboard. Tap that and a text bar will appear prompting you to describe the emoji you’d like to create. Enter the description, then tap “Done.” If you’re making a Genmoji of a specific person, make sure you’ve already labeled them in your Photos app. Then, enter your description and tap the “Choose a Person” option above the text field. You’ll be shown who it has identified from your photos, and a few style options as a starting point. Click the one you like, and it'll create the Genmoji using that character. Apple The results might not be to your liking the first try, and if that’s the case, just try tweaking your description until you get better results. Once you’ve made Genmoji, you’ll be able to find them in your keyboard either by swiping right through all the emoji options or by tapping the sticker icon. You can also add them to Tapback by pressing and holding a message, and clicking the smiley with a plus sign icon to search the emoji keyboard. How to delete Genmoji If you made a Genmoji and later decide you aren’t into it anymore, you can always delete it after the fact. To do this, head back into the emoji keyboard and either swipe right through all the pages or just tap the sticker icon. From there, find the Genmoji you want to get rid of, press and hold it, then tap Remove once the option pops up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/how-to-use-genmoji-to-make-your-own-custom-emojis-225907928.html?src=rss

15.12.2024 23:30 Hackers behind a cyberattack that targeted Rhode Island’s public benefits system were able to get the sensitive data — including Social Security numbers and some banking information — of hundreds of thousands of people, and they have threatened to release it as soon as this week if they aren’t paid a ransom, Rhode Island governor Dan McKee said in a press conference on Saturday night. The Rhode Island government opened a toll-free hotline on Sunday to provide information on the breach and how residents can protect themselves, but you won’t be able to find out for sure if your data was stolen by calling in. People who may have been affected will be notified by mail. The attack targeted the RIBridges system, maintained by Deloitte, which is used to apply for Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , Temporary Assistance for Needy Families , Child Care Assistance Program , HealthSource RI healthcare coverage and other public benefits available to Rhode Islanders. A press release from McKee’s office notes that “any individual who has received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs or benefits could be impacted by this leak.” It’s thought the hackers were able to get information including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and “certain banking information.” Deloitte first detected the breach and notified state officials on December 5, and determined on the 11th that there was “a high probability that the implicated folders contain personal identifiable data from RIBridges.” It confirmed the presence of malicious code on December 13 and subsequently shut the system down, before officials announced the attack to the public the same day. The system is now offline while Deloitte works to secure it, which means that anyone who needs to apply for one of the affected programs will have to do so by mail, and people who are currently enrolled won’t be able to access the online portal or app. The state said it so far hasn’t detected any identity theft or fraud relating to the attack, but it will be offering free credit monitoring to anyone affected by the breach. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/hackers-may-have-accessed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-rhode-islanders-sensitive-info-in-ribridges-cyberattack-194621262.html?src=rss

15.12.2024 23:30 The Magic Mouse has gone a long time without any major changes to its design beyond things like dropping the AA batteries and gaining a USB-C port, but Apple is now reportedly planning an overhaul. In the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports that Apple has started working on prototypes for a more modern version of the Magic Mouse, which was first released way back in 2009. While some users have loved the Magic Mouse for its gesture controls, other aspects like its nonergonomic design and its underside charging port have been the subject of complaints for years. We don’t know what exactly the redesign will bring, but it’d be great to see those things finally addressed. And it sounds like we will. According to Gurman, “Apple is looking to create something that’s more relevant, while also fixing longstanding complaints — yes, including the charging port issue.” It could still be a while before we see the new Magic Mouse, though. Gurman notes that it could take another year to 18 months to get it ready for market. The newsletter also gives us a bit more info on the rumored new AirTag that Apple reportedly has in the works for release next year. Building on his previous reports about a next-gen AirTag with a better chip and more tamperproof design, Gurman now reports that the new tracker will have “a new ultrawide band chip on par with the one introduced in the iPhone 15,” which he says could triple its detectable range with Precision Finding.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/apples-magic-mouse-may-be-getting-a-big-makeover-in-the-next-year-or-so-174255032.html?src=rss

15.12.2024 17:51 We’ve been hearing rumors about the foldables Apple may or may not be making for years, from clamshell iPhone prototypes to plans for a foldable iPad, but the latest suggests we may also be in for something much bigger. According to Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter this weekend, Apple is developing a foldable device with a display that opens up to be nearly 20 inches. The plan is for “something akin to a giant iPad that unfolds into the size of two iPad Pros side-by-side,” with elements of both iPad and Mac functionality, according to Gurman. The company is reportedly targeting a 2028 release. Not only will the device be enormous, but Apple is also working to make it creaseless when opened, Gurman reports, which other companies have failed to do in their own foldables. Apple’s prototypes “have a nearly invisible crease,” he writes, but it’s not completely gone. The report comes about a week after a leak that described a similar device with an 18.8-inch display that’s allegedly due to be released between 2028 and 2030. Gurman predicts the foldable will run on “iPadOS or a variant of it.”. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/apple-is-reportedly-trying-to-make-a-giant-ipad-like-foldable-with-no-crease-160821177.html?src=rss

15.12.2024 02:30 We may see the next HDMI standard, HDMI 2.2, in only a matter of weeks. According to an email from the HDMI Forum sent around to press including Engadget this weekend, a new HDMI specification will be announced on Monday, January 6 in Las Vegas ahead of the official start to CES 2025. The details at this point are pretty scant — all we’re told is that the new spec “enables a wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates and will be supported with a new HDMI Cable.” It’s been seven years since the introduction of HDMI 2.1. It was most recently updated to version 2.1b in 2023, to support bandwidths of up to 48Gbps and resolutions up to 10K. The new specification with the next gen HDMI technology will bring higher bandwidth, according to the email. That’s about all we know now, but we’ll have a team on the ground at CES keeping you up to speed on this and all the other announcements as they come. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/hdmi-22-could-make-its-debut-at-ces-next-month-233627519.html?src=rss

15.12.2024 02:30 According to a report from Reuters, president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is trying to kill a rule set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that requires automakers to report crashes if advanced driver assistance technology or automated driving systems were in use within 30 seconds of the crash. The NHTSA issued the Standing General Order in 2021, stating that its goal is to gather data that could help it identify potential safety issues. The data has been used in investigations into crashes involving six companies so far, including Tesla and GM’s Cruise . Tesla “despises” the reporting requirement and believes the data could be misleading to consumers, Reuters reports, citing sources close to Tesla executives. In a document seen by Reuters, the transition team in charge of making a 100-day strategy for automotive policy reportedly recommended that the incoming administration repeal the requirement, saying it calls for “excessive” data collection. It’s unknown whether Elon Musk — who donated over $250 million to help Trump get elected and was chosen to lead the new “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside Vivek Ramaswamy — had any hand in the recommendation. Tesla has reported over 1,500 crashes, and accounted for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to the NHTSA, Reuters reports. But, according to University of South Carolina law professor Bryant Walker Smith, who spoke to Reuters, Tesla has more cars on the road with advanced driver assistance technology and collects more real-time crash data than other companies, which could make for a disproportionate number of incidents reported.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/trumps-team-reportedly-wants-to-end-nhtsa-reporting-requirement-for-car-crashes-involving-automated-systems-213720835.html?src=rss

14.12.2024 21:10 The holiday season has barely begun, but some of us are already getting ready for CES 2025. Shortly after New Year’s Day, many from the Engadget team will be packing our bags to fly to Las Vegas, where we’ll be covering tech’s biggest annual conference. As usual, our inboxes are already flooded with pitches from companies that are planning to be there, and our calendars are filling up with appointments for briefings and demos. Based on our experience, as well as observation of recent industry trends, it’s fairly easy to make educated predictions about what we might see in January. Over the years, the focus of the conference has spanned areas like TVs, cars, smart home products and personal health, with a smattering of laptops and accessories thrown in. At CES 2025, we expect to see AI get even more pervasive in all areas of the show floor. But we are also likely to get the usual slew of new processors and subsequent laptops, as well as all manner of wearables, trackers, bathroom appliances and massage chairs. Oh, the massage chairs. If you’re already looking ahead to 2025 and are studiously researching what might be coming in January, here’s a taste of what our team expects to see at the show. New video cards from AMD and NVIDIA There’s no doubt 2025 is going to be a momentous year for PC gamers. NVIDIA is expected to debut its long-awaited RTX 5000 video cards at CES, while AMD CEO Lisa Su has confirmed we’ll see next-generation RDNA 4 GPUs early next year. Of the two companies, AMD could use the upgrade more. Its last batch of Radeon 7000 cards were decent mid-range performers, but they lagged far behind NVIDIA’s hardware when it came to ray tracing, and AMD’s FSR 3 upscaling also couldn’t compete with NVIDIA’s AI-powered DLSS 3. "In addition to a strong increase in gaming performance, RDNA 4 delivers significantly higher ray-tracing performance and adds new AI capabilities,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said in an October earnings call. As for NVIDIA’s new hardware, a rumor from the leaker OneRaichu suggested that the RTX 5090 could be up to 70 percent faster than the RTX 4090. They also note that other “high level” cards could see 30 to 40 percent performance bumps. Those gains might be enough to tempt wealthy RTX 4090 owners to upgrade, but RTX 4070 and 4080 owners might want to skip this generation. For NVIDIA holdouts with RTX 3000 and earlier GPUs, though, next year may be the perfect time to upgrade. — Devindra Hardawar, senior reporter AI PCs round 2 Last year, I predicted that AI PCs would dominate CES, and that mostly turned out to be true. As 2024 rolled on, we saw even more powerful NPUs in chips from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Microsoft also doubled down on AI PCs with its Copilot+ initiative, which gave a big marketing push for artificial intelligence features and premium specifications . Expect more of the same going into CES 2025, alongside even more AI being stuffed into every category of product imaginable. This year, in particular, PC makers are likely to gear up to take advantage of Windows 10 support ending next year. Instead of just upgrading your old computer to Windows 11, the likes of Dell and HP would rather you buy a whole new AI PC with the new OS pre-installed. While 2024 was a year of endless AI PC hype, 2025 might end up being a year of reckoning. Microsoft’s long-delayed Recall feature is slowly trickling out to more users, but it’s already showing some glaring security holes, like failing to scrub social security and credit card numbers from screenshots. We’ve also been mostly underwhelmed with Apple Intelligence’s image generation capabilities. PC makers have been eager to talk up the potential of AI-powered features until now, but in 2025 they’ll have to actually prove they can live up to their fantastical claims. — D.H. Earbuds that follow Apple’s lead on hearing health I’m fully aware not every audio company has the ability to build out a clinical-grade hearing test and hearing aid features in their apps. However, Apple’s recent update for the AirPods Pro 2 should inspire the competition to offer some form of hearing health tools on their flagship products. Jabra was probably the best equipped to do this since parent company GN has extensive hearing aid experience. Sadly, the company announced earlier this year that it wouldn’t make earbuds anymore. Samsung and Google could probably integrate something like what Apple made for the AirPods, given both companies’ existing health platforms. If they did, those announcements are unlikely to be made at CES, as both companies prefer to host their own standalone hardware events throughout the year. That leaves Sennheiser as the biggest audio company that consistently launches earbuds and headphones at CES. Last year, it showcased multiple new models, including one with heart-rate tracking for workouts. Plus, it already offers hearing assistance with dedicated devices like the true wireless Conversation Clear Plus. Those earbuds are more hearing focused than for general content consumption, so it would be great to see Sennheiser bring some features from that product to its flagship Momentum line of earbuds. Perhaps a Momentum True Wireless 4 Pro or Plus is in the cards, but the current model is just nine months old. Of course, there’s plenty of room for other companies to innovate here, and there will be no shortage of new earbuds in Vegas next month. We also tend to see a ton of assistive devices and technology launch at CES, from major accessibility companies like OrCam and all manner of smaller brands. I just hope some of the new tech includes more general hearing tools on the models most people will want to use. — Billy Steele, senior editor Vehicle electrification goes sky high As the growth of electric cars nears 10 percent of new models sold in the US, it’s easy to forget that wheeled vehicles aren’t the only kind of transportation seeing the shift to battery-powered propulsion. Flying taxis have been a mainstay of CES for the past few years, with concept vehicles from brands as large as Hyundai dotting the show floor in Vegas. Granted, these contraptions look more like giant drones with cockpits than anything the Jetsons ever dreamed up. But with companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation pledging to actually launch eVTOL services in 2025, the era of air taxis may have landed for real this time. — Sam Rutherford, senior reporter Expanded dialog improvement features on soundbars When it comes to the main aspects of soundbars, there really isn’t a ton of innovation from year to year. Heck, Samsung’s biggest update last year was the addition of HDMI 2.1 support to its flagship model, which should’ve been there already. Companies have also been focused on the transition to cable-free everything, whether that’s wireless Dolby Atmos or wireless transmission boxes. Audio enhancement features are a place where companies can really rise above the fray, and tools like Sonos’ TV Audio Swap and Bose’s Personal Surround Sound are great examples of this. A key area nearly every company can improve is dialog boost, a feature that raises the volume or separates spoken word from background noise and music for better clarity. Sonos made a huge leap in this regard on the Arc Ultra, offering two additional settings for its so-called Speech Enhancement. Previously, this was just an all-or-nothing toggle, which is how most companies handle their versions of this tool. Not only is the Sonos update customizable to a degree, it’s also just better, thanks in part to the redesigned architecture of its new premium soundbar. This is an obvious area where other companies can improve. LG and Samsung typically announce new soundbars at CES, and there are plenty of smaller companies that will debut some too. I’d love to see all of them take dialog enhancements a step further and at the very least give multiple options for how it’s applied. LG has been using AI Sound Pro from its TVs since 2021 and Samsung offers something called Adaptive Sound on its home theater speakers. I would expect them both to generally improve the quality of their features, but I’m hoping they’ll expand the capabilities too. — B.S.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ces-2025-preview-the-new-technology-were-expecting-and-hoping-to-see-in-las-vegas-200052618.html?src=rss

14.12.2024 21:10 Meta sent a letter to California’s attorney general on Thursday urging him to stop OpenAI from converting to a for-profit company, a move that Meta says would be “wrong” and “could lead to a proliferation of similar start-up ventures that are notionally charitable until they are potentially profitable.” The letter from Meta Platforms to Attorney General Rob Bonta, first reported on by The Wall Street Journal, comes on the heels of an injunction filed by Elon Musk at the end of November that also asked for OpenAI's conversion to be blocked. Meta argues in its letter, which The Verge has published in full, that OpenAI was able to raise billions of dollars from investors under its original nonprofit mission and now “wants to change its status while retaining all of the benefits that enabled it to reach the point it has today.” It goes on to say, “OpenAI should not be allowed to flout the law by taking and reappropriating assets it built as a charity and using them for potentially enormous private gains.” The letter also calls upon the attorney general to look into OpenAI’s past practices as a nonprofit. Engadget has reached out to OpenAI for comment. Meta’s letter also voices support for Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis to represent public interests in Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, which was revived in August. On Friday, OpenAI published a timeline citing emails and other communications from Elon Musk to show how he previously pushed for OpenAI to become a for-profit with him at the helm. In a statement shared with The Verge in response to Meta's letter, OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor said, “While our work remains ongoing as we continue to consult independent financial and legal advisors, any potential restructuring would ensure the nonprofit continues to exist and thrive, and receives full value for its current stake in the OpenAI for-profit with an enhanced ability to pursue its mission.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/now-meta-is-trying-to-stop-openais-for-profit-conversion-too-181623327.html?src=rss

14.12.2024 21:10 The annual Game Awards came and went this week, bringing a ton of announcements and trailers for upcoming games, and crowning 2024’s game of the year: Astro Bot. Riding the excitement, The Game Awards has already announced the date for next year’s event. It’ll take place on December 11, 2025 at LA’s Peacock Theater. #TheGameAwards returns on Thursday, December 11, 2025 to @peacock_theater in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/vueA0jW3V0— The Game Awards December 13, 2024 As always, The Game Awards on Thursday treated us to an orchestra performance of music from the GOTY nominees, and it goes so hard. That includes music from Astro Bot, Balatro and Black Myth: Wukong. It’s definitely worth checking it out if you missed it during the stream. Among the trailers, we got a surprise look at The Witcher 4 from CD Projekt RED and an Elden Ring spinoff called Nightreign, a co-op action game coming out in 2025. We also saw previews for Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Split Fiction from Hazelight, a cute-but-spooky new co-op game called Stage Fright from the team behind Overcooked, and over a dozen other upcoming titles.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-game-awards-has-already-set-a-date-for-its-2025-show-155936829.html?src=rss

14.12.2024 02:10 A federal court has denied TikTok’s request for a temporary pause of a law that could result in a ban of the app next month. The ruling, which came in response to an emergency injunction filed by TikTok earlier this week, is the latest legal setback for the company as it tries to avoid a total ban of its app in the United States. In its request for a delay in the law taking effect, TikTok indicated that it planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. The company’s lawyers also cited the possibility that President-elect Donald Trump may want to take a different approach given some of Trump’s past comments about the app. But in a brief order, a panel of three judges denied that request, writing that such a pause was “unwarranted.” TikTok’s future now depends on the Supreme Court, though there’s no guarantee the court will agree to hear the case. "As we have previously stated, we plan on taking this case to the Supreme Court, which has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech,” the company said in a statement. “The voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world will be silenced on January 19th, 2025 unless the TikTok ban is halted."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-loses-its-bid-to-pause-the-law-that-could-ban-it-next-month-004200884.html?src=rss

14.12.2024 02:10 The Federal Trade Commission has seen an alarming rise in gamified job scams over the past year. The FTC says that reports of job scams have quadrupled each year since 2022 topping out at 20,000 reports at a cost of $41 million in total during the first six months of the year. Job or task scams often involve the scammer asking someone to do a relatively simple task online such as liking videos or rating product images in assigned sets using terms like “product boosting” or “app optimization,” according to the FTC. People are promised higher payments for completing a certain amount of sets that may pay out small amounts at first but they end up costing more than they pay out in the long run. Scammers will reach out to people via text messages or communication apps like Whatsapp offering them a task job. The most common type of this scam usually involves some kind of cryptocurrency. Then the scammer may ask their target to deposit some money or “charge up” their account through an app in order to start working on new and bigger sets of tasks. They may even try to convince their victims by hearing testimonials from fake recipients about how much money they made for completing relatively simple tasks. The victim will “charge up” their accounts with their own money in order to avoid losing what the app shows they’ve earned in the hopes they’ll get their deposited money and the fee they are owed. Instead, the money they’ve been paid isn’t real and any money they’ve deposited to “charge up” their account is lost for good. The FTC recommends ignoring offers from unknown text or WhatsApp messages and never paying someone for the promise of being paid at a later time or date. The commission also recommends steering clear of any job offers that involve rating or liking things online, a practice the FTC says is “illegal and no honest company will do it.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-ftc-warns-gamified-job-scams-are-on-the-rise-233029615.html?src=rss