Category: Tutorials

Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) is expanding the availability of its Fios app. In an announcement spotted by 9to5Mac, the carrier said starting tomorrow, July 22nd, Fios customers can download the software to their Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV devices. In the former case, that includes both the 4K and HD models.

You’ll still need a Fios TV One somewhere in your home before you can access the app on those devices, but it saves you the trouble of paying for additional hardware from the carrier if you want to use your TV bundle on more than one television.

"Parents can watch live sports events on the Fios box in the living room while kids watch cartoons and teens watch comedies on connected TVs in their bedrooms," said Verizon. "With Fios TV One enabling more flexibility, Fios TV users can more easily place TVs in the kitchen, on the back patio or other areas of the house."

The one limitation is that you can only watch two simultaneous streams per Fios TV box, but a Fios TV One device is now included with all of Verizon’s Mix and Match TV plans. Those currently start at $56 per month before taxes and equipment fees.

As expected, Verizon (Engadget's parent company) is working on an Alexa-powered device. Following an FCC sighting in June, the carrier announced the Verizon Smart Display today at Amazon's Alexa Live event, confirming in the process that the device will respond to both "Alexa" and "Hi, Verizon" wake words. 

In addition to an 8-inch 1,280 by 800 display, 4GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a privacy shutter, the device features 4G LTE connectivity, which Verizon told CNET it will use to provide troubleshooting support to customers during service outages and setup. You'll use the "Hi, Verizon" wake word to access that functionality. That same custom assistant will also field questions about recent bills and the carrier's Fios services. 

Alexa, on the other hand, will handle nearly everything else. The carrier said the device will work with various music and video streaming services. The smart display is one of the first smart home devices to come out of Amazon's Alexa Custom Assistant program. Verizon will beta test the smart display with a select group of Fios customers this fall, with greater availability to follow sometime next year. 

The scope of Serato’s creative audio ecosystem continues to grow with the latest update to its Serato Studio digital audio workstation (DAW). Serato Studio 1.6 rolls out to the public today and most notably adds the ability to record audio directly into the app, along with some changes to the audio track tools and the addition of a built-in Virtual Audio Driver. While the update isn’t flush with a litany of new features, these few changes make a world of difference for producers, musicians and DJs alike.

To record audio, you can use an external input or even just the internal microphone. This accommodates pros and entry level creators with little to no gear beyond the laptop. When recording, even in loop mode, your contiguous session is kept whole. This lets you try different versions of a guitar lick or vocals in a single take that you can trim down to the best segment later. You can edit the recordings into clips, use different pieces throughout your project or even layer them in different keys for effect.

Serato Studio 1.6 also keeps recordings in your library for use in other projects. You can sample vinyl directly into your project and by analyzing the file, it will instantly match them to your current BPM. There's key detection for the recordings too, which can help keep your vocals on point.

Those using third-party apps or live-streaming will be happy to know that you no longer need plug-ins to make the audio available to other apps. Serato now includes its own Virtual Audio Driver for input and output channels, and even works on Big Sur.

As always, Studio is great for those using Serato DJ and a controller, but now that audio recording has been added, it has the chops to stand on its own as a production tool. It's also very intuitive and opens up plenty of opportunities for creative expression without having to jump through hurdles in the process. New users can get tracks rolling in minutes (seriously) and pros can sketch out tracks or complete full projects quickly.

Serato Studio 1.6 is available to download today and, as always, there's a limited free version for you to test drive. To open up all the capabilities and access tons of sounds and samples, you can choose from a $10 monthly subscription or buy it outright for $199 (including all updates for Version 1).

The US Federal Trade Commission has voted unanimously to tackle unlawful repair restrictions. In a policy statement published on Wednesday, the agency said it plans to devote additional resources to enforcing existing laws, such as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, that protect small businesses and consumers from companies that would prevent them from fixing on their own products they purchased. In doing so, the FTC will take a five-part approach to the problem that will involve it collecting comments and complaints from the public, as well as working more closely with state law enforcement and policymakers to update existing regulations.     

"These types of restrictions can significantly raise costs for consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste, delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency," recently confirmed FTC Chair Lina Khan said. "The FTC has a range of tools it can use to root out unlawful repair restrictions, and today’s policy statement would commit us to move forward on this issue with new vigor." 

The policy statement follows a July 9th executive order in which President Biden directed the FTC to tackle "unfair anti-competitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items" imposed by "powerful manufacturers" in the farming and technology industries. With Wednesday's announcement, the FTC didn't name any specific companies it will target as part of any enforcement action. However, a company like Apple is likely to be top of mind for the agency. The tech giant has consistently lobbied against state-level right to repair legislation, claiming those laws would put consumers at risk.        

Right to repair advocates were quick to praise the announcement. "The FTC sets the tone for the nation’s commerce. For too long, manufacturers have been bullying consumers and driving local repair shops out of business," iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said in a blog post the company published following the policy announcement. "This landmark new policy changes that. There’s a new sheriff in town."

Sony and developer Sucker Punch have revealed some more details about what's next for Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, an expanded edition of the 2020 action-adventure game. They also released a gorgeous new trailer for the upcoming version, which hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on August 20th.

You'll be able to explore an entirely new island called Iki. Jin learns that a Mongol tribe led by a shaman named Ankhsar Khatun has taken residence there. Khatun is "not only a conqueror of nations, but a shepherd of souls. And the danger she presents to Jin and his people is unlike any they have faced," Sucker Punch senior writer Patrick Downs wrote on the PlayStation blog.

Iki is a "lawless land of raiders and criminals" which has been out of samurai control for decades. Jin will run into pirates, smugglers and "mad monks" on the island. He'll explore haunted caves and learn new techniques.

The expanded story will also delve deeper into Jin's painful past. "With everything that has happened this past year, it’s no accident we also wanted to tell a story of healing," Downs wrote. "And we felt this would pose a unique and compelling challenge for Jin."

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is a $20 upgrade for owners of the original game. It costs an extra $10 to upgrade the PS5 version of either the base game or the director's cut. Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut will also be available as a direct purchase for $60 on PS4 and $70 on PS5.

Zoom became indispensable during the pandemic, and now the company wants to ensure it stays that way when things return to some sense of normalcy. To that end, it’s adding third-party integrations, allowing you to use apps like Asana and Dropbox Spaces while in a Zoom call. As of today’s launch, there are more than 50 plugins you can add to your client, including games like Heads Up. Once you install the latest version of Zoom, a “Discover” tab under the new Apps side panel will allow you to see what’s available.

You can expand and collapse the panel as needed during a call to access the functionality of an app. As one example, the Asana plugin allows you to create, edit and assign tasks without leaving Zoom. Another way to see what’s available is through the Zoom Marketplace. If you use Zoom for work and you’re part of an organization, your admin can limit what you can install.

Zoom sees third-party integrations as a way to become a platform instead of a single-use app. Much like its new Events hub, which the company made widely available today, the idea here is to keep the service growing so it can continue on the trajectory it established during the pandemic. 

Valve is on the lookout for new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins, and it's hoping to entice creators to submit designs with a $1 million art contest. The company will select 10 original, dream-themed looks. The creators of the winning designs will each receive $100,000 and the skins will be added to the game.

You can send in as many designs as you like and create them either solo or as part of a team. You can also have multiple winning skins.

Artists will still own the rights to their creations — sending in an entry gives Valve a non-exclusive license to use it in CS:GO. You'll have until October 21st to submit your designs to the CS:GO Workshop. You'll need to use a Steam account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been limited in any way) which has made at least $5 of Steam purchases. Valve will contact the winners by November 21st.

This is a neat contest with potentially life-changing prizes. The Steam Workshop has been around for a decade. It allows players to upload mods, maps and items for a variety of games — including weapon skins for CS:GO. 

"Over five million content creators have submitted and published over 20 million new items for a variety of games on Steam, making them available for purchase to millions of gamers around the world," Valve said. "And, as everyone who plays these games knows — including CS players — many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more have been authored by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to help further support this community."

After sharing a short teaser earlier in the month, Netflix has released a full trailer for Nightmare of the Wolf, its upcoming animated Witcher movie, and shared details on the voice cast. Theo James, known best for his leading role in the Divergent series, voices protagonist Vesemir, years before the Witcher became the mentor of Geralt of Rivia. 

James also voiced the character in season one of The Witcher. “Vesemir grew up as a servant on a nobleman’s estate, working long days for too little coin,” Netflix writes of the charming monster hunter. “He yearns to break free of his social standing and to explore the Continent to find his destiny.”

On his adventure, he’ll meet a sorceress named Tetra, who we see throughout the trailer. If Tetra’s voice sounds familiar, it’s because she’s voiced by Dota: Dragon’s Blood actor Lara Pulver. Rounding out the main cast are Mary McDonnell as Lady Zerbst, a Kaedweni noblewoman, and Graham McTavish as Deglan, a Witcher from the Skellige Isles. Notably, McTavish will play Redanian spymaster Dijkstra in season two of The Witcher.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf debuts on Netflix on August 28th. It will give fans of the fantasy franchise something to watch before season two of The Witcher starts streaming on December 17th.

Folks who want to check out Clubhouse no longer need to join a waitlist. Sixteen months after it debuted, the audio discussion app is moving out of beta. It’s now open to everyone. To commemorate the big milestone, the company is also unveiling a new logo today, which you can see above.

Clubhouse says users can share links with others and invite them to join. The company claims there are half a million audio chat rooms on the app each day, and that 10 million people have signed up since the Android app arrived in May. Clubhouse added a direct message system last week and it says the community has already sent 90 million messages. Meanwhile, on average, users are spending over an hour a day on Clubhouse.

Clubhouse plans to keep things fresh by rolling out big updates every week or two, a cadence that's similar to how often other social media apps are updated.

While many Clubhouse users certainly seem to be hooked on the app, it’s facing stern competition from elsewhere. The likes of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord and Spotify have all moved into audio chat rooms in recent months. Opening up the app to everyone is an important step for Clubhouse as it looks to keep growing. 

Amazon's support for the Matter smart home platform is coming into focus. Previously known as Project Chip (Connected Home over IP), Matter comes from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, a group made up of device manufacturers like Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung. It's meant to standardize voice assistant support across multiple devices, as well as to make it easier to connect smart home gadgets to your home network. During its Alexa Live developer presentation, Amazon said that practically every plug-in Echo speaker will support Matter, save for the first-generation Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Tap, The Verge reports.

It's unclear when the Echo support will actually arrive, but at this point we're expecting Matter devices to launch later this year. Google has already declared strong commitment for the platform — so much so that we've speculated it could help unite the fragmented smart home ecosystem. Google devices supporting the Thread standard, like the Nest Wi-Fi and Nest Hub Max, will also work as Matter connection points (AKA hubs). But as The Verge notes, it's unclear if any Echo devices will work as Matter hubs.

“The Matter mark will serve as a seal of approval, taking the guesswork out of the purchasing process and allowing businesses and consumers alike to choose from a wider array of brands to create secure and connected homes and buildings,” the CSA said in May after the Matter rebrand. 

Tumblr is giving its bloggers a way to make money directly from their posts. They’ll be able to switch on paid subscriptions and paywall as much of their work as they want.

For now, only a few invited US creators have access to the Post+ feature during the limited beta. All bloggers have to do to restrict a post's visibility to subscribers is to check a box. Post+ memberships cost $4, $6 or $10 per month.

"Something profound is happening on Tumblr right now, with 60 percent of new user sign ups being Gen Z," a Tumblr spokesperson told Engadget. "We wondered how we could build Tumblr now that’s perfectly attuned for them and their creativity. Post+ is a first step towards building a Tumblr for Gen Z, and what better way to support them than by getting them paid."

Tumblr plans to roll out Post+ broadly in the fall. It will keep five percent of subscription payments, The Verge notes, with the rest going to bloggers. Creators will receive less if a reader signs up on iOS or Android, due to the 30 percent cut those platforms take from in-app payments.

Post+ appears to be Tumblr's answer to newsletter subscriptions from Substack, Twitter and Facebook. There's at least a chance that the move will entice new users to hop into Tumblr. Lapsed users who built a massive audience for their blogs back in the day might be tempted to return as well.

"Not reserved only for professionals, or those with 10K followers or higher, Tumblr’s Post+ will push the boundaries of what’s considered money-making content on the internet: Shitposters, memelords, artists, fan fiction writers, all of the above and everyone in between will be able to create content while building their community of supporters, and getting paid with Post+," Tumblr said. "With more than 48 percent of the platform being Gen Z we can't wait to see what they do with Post+."

Tumblr has endured some turbulence in recent years. Many users revolted after the platform banned nudity and sexual content in late 2018. It made the decision soon after the iOS app vanished from the App Store following the discovery of child exploitation on Tumblr.

Monthly page views dipped by almost a third in the months after the porn ban, according to TechCrunch. The number of daily posts has also dropped over the years from around 67.7 million in 2012 to 11.3 million today. Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) sold Tumblr to WordPress operator Automattic in 2019. The subscription model could help Automattic generate more revenue from the service.

Update 7/21 3:07PM ET: Added comments from Tumblr.

With the global popularity of Instagram, there’s a good chance you’ve run into Stories that haven’t been in English or any other language you might know. Until today, you had to go outside of the app to understand what those messages were communicating. Not any more. Instagram has introduced a new feature that will translate any foreign text you see in Stories, and that feature is now rolling out to users across the globe.

When the app detects you’re viewing a Story in another language, it will display a “See Translation” prompt toward the top left of the interface. All you have to do is tap the banner to see the text in your native tongue. With today’s launch, the feature can translate text between more than 90 languages — though it doesn’t work with audio at the moment. Inevitably that means they’ll be Stories where you might not understand what someone is saying. Still, it’s a step toward making Instagram as inclusive as possible. People can also take advantage of Instagram’s recently added auto-captioning feature to get around the current translation limitation.

Epic Games seems determined to give developers everything they need to make games in Unreal Engine without having to look elsewhere for parts. The company has bought Sketchfab, a 3D asset platform.

"By joining forces, Epic and Sketchfab will be able to make 3D, AR and VR content more accessible and grow the creator ecosystem, which are critical to an open and interconnected Metaverse," Epic wrote in a blog post. "Sketchfab will continue to operate as an independently branded service while collaborating closely with the Unreal Engine team."

Sketchfab hosts more than 4 million 3D assets. Users can edit, buy and sell content on the platform. Epic has dropped Sketchfab's store fees to 12 percent (which matches the Epic Games Store cut) so people making 3D assets receive a larger slice of sales revenue. Epic also says it will maintain Sketchfab's integrations with 3D creation and publishing platforms. The assets will still work elsewhere, including in rival game engines such as Unity.

The Sketchfab Plus plan — which allows users to upload more assets with larger file sizes — is now free to everyone. Current Plus subscribers are being bumped up to the Pro plan at no extra cost, and Sketchfab is increasing the monthly upload limit on the Pro tier from 30 to 50.

The Sketchfab deal follows Epic's acquisition of ArtStation, a hub where CGI- and game-focused artists can host their portfolios and sell work. Epic slashed that marketplace's fees from 30 percent to 12 percent as well.

Authorities are still cracking down on participants in the July 2020 Twitter celebrity hacks. Spanish National Police have arrested UK citizen Joseph O'Connor at the US' request over his alleged involvement in compromising over 130 Twitter accounts. Officials didn't detail how O'Connor contributed to the campaign, but O'Connor has also been charged with hijacking TikTok and Snapchat accounts as well as cyberstalking a "juvenile" victim.

O'Connor faces a total of ten charges, including six related to unauthorized computer access, two for cyberstalking and one each for extortion and threats.

The Twitter hacks compromised accounts for a wide range of companies and personalities, including Apple, Uber, Elon Musk and eventual US President Joe Biden. The attackers apparently used social engineering to gain access to internal Twitter tools and promote a Bitcoin scam. It didn't take long for police to arrest the claimed mastermind, teen hacker Graham Ivan Clark, who later pled guilty to 30 charges.

O'Connor's arrest won't topple a criminal organization as a result. However, it's evident that US authorities want to send a message to would-be social media hackers — those perpetrators are risking serious charges, even if they're not primarily responsible for the attacks.

Where, oh where, are the great SNES games for Nintendo's Switch Online service? That's what I'm wondering after seeing the company's next batch of titles: Claymates, Jelly Boy and Bombuzal, which are scheduled to arrive on July 28th. No offense to Interplay's Clay series (which includes the far more memorable Clayfighter), but these aren't titles I'm exactly hankering to dive into. While Nintendo has done a solid job of bringing some of the biggest first-party titles over to Switch Online's SNES library, we're still waiting for classics like Mario RPG and EarthBound to arrive. 

There's some value in letting younger generations see the sort of titles '90s kids had to suffer through, though. And while Jelly Boy isn't exactly a household name, this is the first time it's going to be available outside of Europe, which at least makes it an interesting curio for retro gamers.