YouTube has boosted its features for gamers and live-streamers with three more features borrowed from Twitch, The Verge has reported. Going forward, all streamers will be able to limit chats to subscribers only, and create polls inside of chats. On top of that, streamers with 1,000 subscribers or more will be able to allow viewers to share clips.
Subscriber-only chat has been available to popular streamers since May, but has now come to all users. It can be useful for streamers (particularly smaller ones) as a way to moderate and control a chat, while providing some motivation for viewers to pay. And as with other platforms, polls provide a way to engage with and get input from users.
Google
Meanwhile, clips are a useful tool for discovery, allowing viewers to catch the gist of a streamer's content before tuning in. At the same time, it allows fans to share highlights to attract potential new viewers. While it's currently limited to streamers with 1,000+ followers, YouTube said it will eventually roll out to all streamers.
All of these features have been available for some time on Twitch, which has even experimented with subscriber-only streams. While that platform still dominates livestreaming with two thirds of all viewers, YouTube owned about a quarter of the market by the end of 2020, as The Verge noted.
Windows 365, announced today at the Microsoft Inspire conference, is a version of the OS that lives in the cloud. It's an easy-to-use virtual machine that lets you hop into your own Windows 10 (and eventually Windows 11) installation on any device, whether that’s a Mac, iPad, Linux device or Android tablet.
Microsoft
This isn’t an entirely new premise for Microsoft, with its Azure efforts offering virtual machines for businesses for a while. This, however, should make the entire process of managing a Windows installation on a far-off server far simpler. You just need to head to Windows365.com when it launches on August 2nd (it isn't yet live), choose a virtual machine configuration and you'll be up and running. That is, of course, once we know what it costs. Final pricing will be revealed the day before the service launches.
The latest macOS and iOS betas address a common complaint about the new Safari.
The third developer betas for iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey started rolling out today, and key among the changes is a set of updates to Apple's browser. One of the changes in the macOS Monterey beta we didn't like was the removal of the tabs bar, which made sorting through your tabs messy and tedious. With today's beta release, though, Apple's brought back the standalone tab bar, which will be enabled by default. Continue reading.
While Oculus has played to mainstream consumers, especially with last year’s Quest 2, HTC’s Vive targeted businesses and the tech-savvy. That strategy hasn't always worked in Vive's favor — see the disappointing Cosmos headset.
So here’s a $1,300 standalone headset that's really only meant for businesses. Because it costs $1,000 more than the Oculus Quest 2, the Focus 3 unsurprisingly offers better, well, almost everything. Apart from software. The Focus 3 has a far more limited software library than the Oculus Quest. While Oculus has pushed for high-profile exclusives and popular games, like Vader Immortal and Beat Saber, the HTC VivePort store feels rather empty and uninspired. It's almost as if it's not made for you. Continue reading.
It’s been a long time coming, but finally, LG has priced its fantastical rollable OLED for the US, and it hits six figures: $100,000 according to the company’s US website. In case you forgot — it was announced years ago — the set uses advanced OLED technology to roll itself up into a self-contained box. But hey, at least it makes LG’s very capable static OLEDs look affordable by comparison. The company’s 2021 lineup starts at a much more approachable $1,299. Continue reading.
Ready to up your iPad game? Or at least save that fancy Retina screen from scratches and disaster? Valentina Palladino walks through all the options, testing out keyboards, styli, cases and more. Continue reading.
The company says it's due to policy changes it made throughout last year.
Twitter says it’s getting better at moderating its platform. That’s one of the main takeaways from the company’s most recent transparency report, which it shared on Wednesday. Between July 1st and December 31st, 2020, Twitter says it took action against 964,459 accounts for abusive behavior. Compared to the first six months of 2020, that’s a 142 percent increase.
The company’s increased action is apparently due to policy changes enacted last year. Specifically, it says it began taking action on "content that incites fear and/or fearful stereotypes about protected categories." Continue reading.
A severely paralyzed man has been able to communicate using a new type of technology that translates signals from his brain to his vocal tract directly into words that appear on a screen. Developed by researchers at UC San Francisco, the technique is a more natural way for people with speech loss to communicate than other methods we've seen to date.
So far, neuroprosthetic technology has only allowed paralyzed users to type out just one letter at a time, a process that can be slow and laborious. It also tapped parts of the brain that control the arm or hand, a system that's not necessarily intuitive for the subject.
The USCF system, however, uses an implant that's placed directly on the part of the brain dedicated to speech. That way, the subject can mentally activate the brain patterns they would normally use to say a word, and the system can translate the entire word, rather than single letters, to the screen.
To make it work, patients with normal speech volunteered to have their brain recordings analyzed for speech related activities. Researchers were then able to analyze those patterns and develop new methods to decode them in real time, using statistical language models to improve accuracy.
However, the team still wasn't sure if brain signals controlling the vocal tract would still be intact in patients paralyzed for many years. To that end, they enlisted an anonymous participant (known as Bravo1) who worked with researchers to create a 50-word vocabulary that the team could decipher using advanced computer algorithms. That included words like "water," "family" and "good," enough to allow the patient to create hundreds of sentences applicable to their daily life. The team also used an "auto-correct" function similar to those found on consumer speech recognition apps.
To test the system, the team asked patient Bravo1 to reply to questions like "How are you today?" and "Would you like some water?" The patient's attempted speech then appeared on the screen as "I am very good," and "No, I am not thirsty."
The system was able to decode their speech at up to 18 words per minute with 93 percent accuracy, with a 75 percent median accuracy. That might not sound great compared to the 200 words per minute possible with normal speech, but it's much better than the speeds seen on previous neuroprosthetic systems.
“To our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of direct decoding of full words from the brain activity of someone who is paralyzed and cannot speak,” said Edward Chang, MD, Chair of Neurological Surgery at UCSF and senior author on the study. “It shows strong promise to restore communication by tapping into the brain's natural speech machinery.”
The team said the trial represents a proof of principal for this new type of "speech neuroprosthesis." Next up, they plan to expand the trial to include more participants, while also working to increase the number of words in the vocabulary and improve the rate of speech.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713, one of our more recent Chrome OS favorites, is on sale at Best Buy. The retailer has discounted the laptop by $80, marking one of the first times we’ve seen it on sale since it came out earlier in the year. With the discount, the Spin 713 is currently $619 instead of $699. The model that Best Buy is selling features an 11th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It also comes with plenty of ports, including two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 connections, a microSD slot, as well as HDMI and headphone jacks.
Engadget gave the Spin 713 a score of 85 when we reviewed it last month. Part of what makes it stand out in the crowded Chrome OS market is that it features a display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Most Chromebooks feature 16:9 displays, making them well-suited for watching video content but less than ideal if you need to do any work on them. The display on the Spin 713 is also bright and sharp with a pixel density of 200 pixels per inch. The taller screen also means you get a more generous trackpad than you’ll find on your average Chromebook. Combine that with a solid keyboard, a capable processor and just the right amount of RAM for Chrome OS and you have a device that’s solid. Aside from average battery life, one of the few complaints we had with the Spin 713 was the asking price. At $619, it's a better value.
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Huawei and Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) have settled their long-standing patent dispute. The disagreement dates back to 2019 when Huawei said it approached Verizon about licensing some of its technologies. After nearly a year of negotiations, talks between the two companies broke down on January 21st, 2020, and Huawei went on to file multiple lawsuits against the telecom in courts across Texas. At the center of the feud were 12 standards-relevant patents that Huawei said Verizon was using in its infrastructure. At the time, Verizon dismissed the lawsuits, claiming they were “nothing more than a PR stunt.”
It has since changed its tune. “Verizon is happy with the settlement reached with Huawei involving patent lawsuits. While terms of the settlement are not being disclosed, our team did an outstanding job bringing this protracted matter to a close,” Verizon spokesperson Rich Young said in a statement.
For Huawei, this is precisely the type of outcome the company had hoped for when it announced at the start of 2021 that it planned to monetize its patent portfolio more aggressively. While the US and other parts of the world have barred it from their national 5G networks, the Chinese company is ideally situated to make money on licensing fees. It has among the most 5G-related standards-relevant patents of any company in the world. To that end, it estimated the licensing strategy could help it generate as much as $1.3 billion in additional revenue between 2019 and the end of 2021.
Sony has revealed a cheaper model of its speaker that looks like a lamp. Style-conscious audiophiles will be able to order the LSPX-S3 glass sound speaker starting in August.
The Bluetooth-enabled device features an organic glass tweeter with three actuators that enable it to emit sound in all directions, according to Sony. The company claims the tweeter "produces clear and powerful high tones" and spreads sound evenly throughout a space. The LSPX-S3 has a 46mm speaker unit and you can adjust the levels via the Sony Music Center app. It also has LDAC support for high-resolution audio.
Sony
The speaker won't light up an entire room, but the flickering candlelight-style illumination should provide a cozy ambiance for nighttime reading. The LED can pulse in sync with music and there are several lighting modes and brightness levels.
You can take the LSPX-S3 outdoors, too. It weighs around 1.1kg and has a battery that Sony says can power the device for up to eight hours on a single charge. You can recharge it via the USB-C charging port.
There's also an option to link two units for stereo playback and it can form part of a multi-room audio system. In addition, the speaker has a built-in microphone for calls, a metal base and a fabric bottom.
Almost six years ago, Sony first showed off a prototype for the stylish product. The company released the LSPX-S2 in Japan in 2019 and brought it to the US the following year. The LSPX-S3 will cost $350/£315/€350, which is around $100 cheaper than the previous model. It's not yet clear when Sony will start shipping the speaker.
With Space Jam: A New Legacy coming out this week, LA Lakers small forward LeBron James is making his way to Fortnite. On July 14th, two days before the movie comes out in the US, Epic will start selling two different King James skins. The first draws inspiration from the star’s pregame style and sees him wearing a blazer, hoodie, shorts and shirt and tie.
The second outfit gives lets you dress up James either in his Tune Squad uniform or a Taco Tuesday-themed getup. Naturally, all of the skins feature LeBron wearing his latest signature Nikes — which, as you might have guessed, come out this month as well. As a third option, you can buy the skins together in a bundle that comes with extra in-game items, an emote and a special loading screen.
LeBron isn’t the first real-life star to make his way into Fortnite. Previously, Epic released skins of Travis Scott and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. Given that Epic frequently does crossover events with other brands, it’s not surprising to see James get that same treatment now. At this point, Fortnite is another channel companies can use to market their latest products.
For the second time in the span of less than a year, the price of ESPN+ is increasing. Starting on August 13th, an annual subscription will cost $69.99 per year, up from $59.99 previously. At the same time, the price of a monthly plan is going up as well. Come August 13th, ESPN+ will cost $6.99 per month, up from $5.99 as of last year. Opting for an annual subscription instead of a monthly one will save you about $13 over the span of a year. A Disney spokesperson told Engadget the company will start informing existing customers of the price increase as early as later today.
Since April 2019, Disney has allowed UFC fans to watch pay-per-view events through ESPN+. The price of that programming is not going up at the moment. The company is also not increasing the price of the Disney Bundle, which includes ESPN+, as well as Disney+ and Hulu. That package will continue to cost $13.99 per month, following a recent increase in March.
Microsoft is buying RiskIQ, a cybersecurity firm best known for working with organizations like Facebook and the US Postal Service to identify where and how they’re vulnerable to online attacks. The company didn’t disclose the terms of the deal, but according to Bloomberg, Microsoft agreed to pay approximately $500 million. Outside of its software, RiskIQ is known for publishing an annual report called the Evil Internet Minute that looks at just how much malicious activity can happen in 60 seconds or less.
Following last year’s SolarWinds data breach, which saw state-sponsored hackers access its source code, Microsoft has bought several companies to bolster its security offerings. Just last month, it acquired ReFirm Labs, a company that specializes in IoT resilience. The need for better enterprise security was highlighted (yet again) earlier this month with the Kaseya attack. While Kaseya has tried to downplay the severity of the event, security response firm Huntress has estimated that “thousands of small businesses” could be impacted by what happened.
Google is streamlining how Drive users backup and sync their files. The company is rolling out the new Drive for desktop app on Mac and Windows.
Drive for desktop will replace the Backup and Sync app (which supplanted the Google Drive desktop app in 2018) as well as Drive File Stream, which is for business users. Given that Google Workspace is now available to everyone, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have separate sync methods.
The new app combines the best parts of Backup and Sync and Drive File Stream, according to Google. You will be able to upload and sync your photos and videos across Google Photos as well as Drive. There's the option to sync external storage devices with the cloud as well. In addition, you'll be able to mirror Drive files on your computer, with locally stored versions of files for faster access.
On top of that, you can sync local folders such as your desktop and documents. There's also integration with Microsoft Outlook and Meet scheduling, and you'll be able to see who's editing Microsoft Office files in real time.
Drive File Stream users won't have to do much. Google renamed the app to Drive for desktop, and it will gain features from Backup and Sync in the coming months. Google will prompt Backup and Sync users to switch over to Drive for desktop. From October 1st, Backup and Sync will stop working, so you'll need to make the transition to keep backing up your files with Drive.
After a limited release in India late last year and a US beta at the start of 2021, YouTube is expanding the availability of Shorts, its TikTok competitor, to 100 countries. When the company first introduced the format, anyone could view a Short. However, only those in about two dozen countries could access the tools YouTube created for filming and editing Shorts. With today’s announcement, the company is making those tools widely available, meaning you’re likely to see more and more of the clips appear on the platform.
YouTube’s embrace of short-form videos comes just as TikTok itself becomes a bit more like YouTube. At the start of July, the company, following months of testing, gave all of its users the ability to record clips up to three minutes long. In dropping its 60-second limit, TikTok said its goal was to give creators more flexibility, especially for those making cooking and beauty tutorials.
Apple has signed a deal with producer Alexander Rodnyansky's company AR Content to make Russian-language and multilingual shows for Apple TV+. Rodnyansky told Variety that the agreement makes Apple "the very first of all the global streaming platforms to sign a strategic partnership with a company with Russian roots."
Rodnyansky's credits include Cloud Atlas, Sin City: A Dame to Kill for and Machete Kills, but he says it's his experience and production expertise in Russia that primarily led Apple to work with him. He produced Russian films Leviathan and Beanpole, which both won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and were Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominees.
The deal with Apple is for several shows, some of which will be set inside Russia. The shows will be overseen by Russian writers and directors as well as international creatives.
Rodnyansky notes streaming has helped shows made in a variety of languages and countries to become international hits. “This is an amazing time when you have Fauda in Hebrew and Arabic doing really well across multiple territories, when you have French-speaking shows like La Mante or Marianne, or German shows like Dark or Babylon Berlin crossing borders,” Rodnyansky said. “This is a time for Russian-speaking shows to do the same, or multilingual shows."
Apple has similar first-look deals in place with Ridley Scott and Ron Howard's production companies, but the AR Content pact hints at its international ambitions. Netflix, which has expanded to all but a few countries and territories, has found success in acquiring and making international content. Spanish crime drama Money Heist has been a massive hit, while French thriller Lupin is Netflix's most successful original series so far this year. Anime and Korean dramas are also growing in popularity among subscribers. Earlier this year, Netflix picked up a modern-day adaptation of Anna Karenina as its first original drama series in Russian.
It's not too surprising that Apple is looking at a similar approach to content. Apple TV+ only has a few non-English-language projects available to stream, including Tehran and Losing Alice, so there's a lot of scope for Apple to expand its library with Russian and multilingual shows.
You'd think that Elon Musk and Richard Branson would hold grudges against each other when they both have space tourism plans, but that's not true — if anything, they're surprisingly buddy-buddy. Virgin Galactic told the Wall Street Journal in a statement that Musk bought a ticket aboard the company's air-launched rockets. It's not certain just where the SpaceX founder is in the queue, but it's safe to say his ride will garner some attention.
The feeling is mutual. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Branson said Musk was a "friend" and suggested he might fly on a SpaceX ship "one day." He even went so far as to tweet a photo showing him and Musk together.
Just don't expect that kind of warmth and camaraderie from Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin was more than a little eager to trash-talk Virgin ahead of its first fully crewed spaceflight, claiming that Branson and team were merely brushing the edge of space. While the company later wished Branson a "great flight," we wouldn't expect Bezos and Branson to have heart-to-heart coffee chats any time soon.
It's not a complete shock that Branson and Musk would be so cozy. However well their personalities mesh, the two aren't quite direct competitors. Virgin Galactic is aimed primarily at space tourists content with suborbital flights, while Virgin Orbit is focused on launching satellites for outfits that can't justify expensive conventional rockets. SpaceX, meanwhile, has focused its tourism efforts on lunar flybys and usually carries costlier payloads into space. This isn't to say the two execs will start feuding if their businesses truly overlap — just don't count on the positive vibes lasting forever.
Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready.
The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have charged a man they claim sold insider trading tips on the dark web. Apostolos Trovias allegedly used anonymizing software, pseudonyms (he is said to have gone by the nickname "The Bull") and bitcoin to mask his identity.
According to the complaint, Trovias sold stock information individually and on a subscription basis on defunct black market AlphaBay and other sites on the dark web. He's said to have styled himself as a “hedge fund insider” who worked in a trading branch as an office clerk.
In 2017, not long before authorities seized and shut down AlphaBay, Trovias allegedly sold an undercover Internal Revenue Service agent pre-release earnings report information for at least one publicly traded company. He is facing one count of money laundering (which has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison) and one count of securities fraud, which could lead to a prison sentence of 25 years if Trovias is convicted.
The complaint was filed in February but kept sealed until after Trovias was apprehended. He was arrested in Peru in May, according to a filing spotted by PCMag, which notes the US Government was working on extraditing him.
Others have been charged or convicted in connection with AlphaBay activity. In February 2020, feds charged Larry Harmon for allegedly running a $300 million bitcoin money laundering scheme. Last September, Bryan Connor Herrell was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Herrell was a moderator for AlphaBay and resolved disputes between vendors and customers. He pled guilty to conspiring to engage in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization.
Spoofed scam calls are bad enough, but neighborhood spoofing is worse — it can all be too tempting to answer when you see a number eerily similar to your own. Verizon (currently Engadget's parent company) might have a solution. It's updating its free Call Filter app with a "Neighborhood Filter" that blocks calls from numbers that share your area code and prefix. Scammers who try to reach you will go straight to voicemail.
You can specify other neighborhood numbers if you know scam artists use them, provided you pay $3 per month for Call Filter Plus. And yes, you can make exceptions. Any number in your contact list or allowed numbers will still get through, and you can correct an accidental block by telling the app to ignore the filter for future calls.
The updated app is available now for Android and iOS. Neighborhood filtering isn't the most sophisticated defense against scam calls, but it's arguably overdue. This kind of spamming is frequent, to the point where you might get multiple calls per day. A simple filter could lead to far fewer annoyances, not to mention greater trust in those calls that do come in.