Blog

PETA wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil with an animatronic AI

[ad_1]

“Using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronics instead of live animals is more popular than ever,” wrote Newkirk. “We even have the technology to create an animatronic groundhog with artificial intelligence (AI) that could actually predict [PETA’s emphasis, not Engadget’s] the weather.”

The way the group sees it, not only would an AI be better at estimating when the winter will end, but it would also attract an entirely new generation of visitors to the western Pennsylvanian town. “Today’s young people are born into a world of terabytes, and to them, watching a nocturnal rodent being pulled from a fake hole isn’t even worthy of a text message,” Newkirk said. “Ignoring the nation’s fast-changing demographics might well prove the end of Groundhog Day.”

On the surface, Phil appears to live a pretty decent life. According to The Washington Post, he’s fed a “healthy but satisfying diet” of kale, bananas, carrots and the occasional granola bar to keep his front teeth becoming too sharp. But as PETA points out, the woodchuck would probably prefer to be in his natural habit, digging, burrowing and foraging with his friends instead of living in a climate-controlled habitat attached to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. At supposedly 137-years-old, the little guy is probably also over the novelty of being lifted by a strange, bearded man in a black suit and top hat.

However, Phil is unlikely to get a break anytime soon. Despite Newkirk’s comment about young people, Groundhog Day hasn’t gotten any less popular recently. On average, as many as 30,000 people have come each of the last several years to see Phil do his thing. For a town of approximately 6,000 people, that’s an influx of visitors that would be hard to give up. “There has to be something that’s bringing people to this community year after year,” Bill Deeley, the president of the Groundhog Club told The Washington Post. “I’ve never had a kid walk out or see a mother say, ‘That groundhog is terrible.'”

[ad_2]

Source link

‘Overwatch’ will test weekly hero bans in competitive matches

[ad_1]

Hero Pools will be in place for at least the next competitive season, which runs for two months starting in early March, and the design team will determine which heroes are available each week. Blizzard hopes Hero Pools will lead to players using a greater range of characters, though you’ll still be able to pick from the full roster in Quick Play and Arcade modes. It’ll also soon spell out how Hero Pools will affect the Overwatch League.

The system might not be a permanent addition — it won’t necessarily last beyond Season 21, depending on how things go. Blizzard might also switch up how frequently it changes which heroes are blocked, perhaps doing so daily or even on a per match basis.

While many will surely welcome the approach, some players might not be pleased Blizzard isn’t adopting a more typical hero ban system. Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan said last week that isn’t a “silver bullet solution” to shaking up the meta, the dominant team composition or playstyle at a given time.

Since it’s a player-versus-player game, he wrote in a forum post, “you don’t get to pick what the enemy team does. The challenge is overcoming the enemy team with teamwork, ingenuity and skill. It feels really off to me that the other team dictates how or what I play.”

Implementing a hero ban system would have required a “significant” time commitment from Overwatch developers, Kaplan noted — much of the team’s focus right now is on Overwatch 2. Because of the additional setup stage before a match starts, hero bans would also increase the time between games. Blizzard is hoping to reduce wait times, not increase them.

Elsewhere, Blizzard is promising more frequent and impactful balance changes with the aim of keeping the game fresh. It’s also adding a way for all players to try potential big changes before they hit the main game, similar to the way PC players have been able to do in the Public Test Realm for years. This so-called Experimental Card, which is coming soon, will let you try balance updates, game modes and rule changes that Blizzard’s looking into. In addition, the next major patch, which is scheduled for early February, will bolster the game’s anti-cheating efforts and add quality-of-life improvements to the Workshop.

[ad_2]

Source link

Facebook lets Gaming streamers pick and choose their community guidelines

[ad_1]

Those eight rules are:

  1. Be accepting
    Everyone is welcome, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or ability.
  2. Respect boundaries
    Don’t make advances or comments on appearance that might make someone uncomfortable.
  3. Don’t criticize
    We all have different styles — don’t judge someone’s gameplay or game choice.
  4. Don’t be rude
    Don’t intentionally provoke, threaten or insult anyone. We’re all here to have fun.
  5. Don’t flood the chat
    Keep the conversation going, but don’t repeatedly send the same comments.
  6. Don’t self promote
    We’re not here for a sales pitch. Stay focused on the stream.
  7. Keep it clean
    If it’s shocking, obscene, vulgar or inflammatory, leave it out.
  8. No profanity

Creators can set the tone for their streams and only choose the rules they want their viewers to follow. For instance, if they want women to feel safe in their streams, they can choose to enforce the “Respect boundaries” rule. If they want to make everyone feel welcome regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or ability, then they can add “Respect boundaries” to their stream’s rules.

They can set the rules they want from the Chat Rules section of the streamer dashboard before they go live. Fans will then have to accept those rules before they can leave a comment. In addition, a moderation dashboard will allow moderators to remove offending comments in real time, as well as to tell violators the exact rules they broke. That dashboard also comes with resources that can help prevent harassment, protect moderators’ privacy and ensure creators feel safe. Facebook is launching these tools today, January 30th, in hopes that it can help creators “promote inclusion and respect in their communities” and make people “feel safe to express their distinct voice.”

[ad_2]

Source link

How to watch the Super Bowl in 2020

[ad_1]

Where and when?

Super Bowl 54 will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 2nd. The kick-off time is set for 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT. It’ll be televised by Fox as well as Fox Deportes in Spanish.

If you have cable or satellite TV

Obviously, if you subscribe to either cable or satellite, you’ll have no problem watching the Super Bowl this Sunday on your TV. This is good news if you’d rather not bother with signing up for a service online, or if you have a spotty internet connection.

But if you insist on watching Super Bowl LIV in glorious 4K, well, not every provider will offer it. According to Fox Sports, the UHD broadcast will be available through DirecTV, Dish, Comcast Xfinity X1, Altice Optimum and Verizon FIOS. As you might expect, you’ll need a 4K set-top box for this, and you’ll have to tune into the appropriate 4K channel too.

If you have a streaming service

Cord-cutters have plenty of ways to watch the big game this Sunday. One of them is through a live TV streaming service, as long as it carries Fox. Thankfully, most of them do. YouTube TV ($50 a month), Hulu with Live TV ($55 a month), AT&T TV Now ($65 a month) and Fubo TV ($55-plus a month) all include Fox. Sling TV also has Fox in its Blue package ($30 a month). A nice bonus for Fubo TV subscribers, in particular, is that it’s the only live TV streaming service that will air the Super Bowl in 4K.

That said, not all of these TV services carry live local channels nationwide. Sling TV currently only has Fox in 17 markets, and you’ll have to check Fubo’s website to see if your local Fox affiliate is listed as well.

If you don’t currently subscribe to any of these services and want to watch the game for free, you can also easily sign up to one for a free trial period just to watch the game, and then cancel afterward.

NFC Championship - Green Bay Packers v San Francisco 49ers

If you don’t have pay-TV or a streaming service

What if you don’t feel like signing up for a streaming service either? You’re in luck: You, too, can watch the Super Bowl this Sunday online, thanks to livestreams from Fox. You can watch the game on FoxSports.com plus through the Fox Sports and Fox Now apps (which you can download to your streaming device or smart TV) for free. What’s more, the game will be broadcast there in 4K HDR. You won’t even have to sign up for an account to watch it.

Another way to watch the game is through Yahoo and Yahoo Sports apps as well as the NFL app, but they’re mobile-only, with no way to cast to your TV. Of course, you could also use an indoor antenna with your TV to simply watch the free over-the-air broadcast. (Yahoo is owned by Engadget’s parent company, Verizon.)

Last but not least, international viewers can use NFL’s international game pass streaming service, which has a seven-day free trial.

A word on 4K

We should note that the game will be produced in 1080p HDR and upconverted to 4K HDR, so it won’t be “true” 4K. It’ll still look better than regular HD, however. Obviously, the only way to watch a 4K broadcast is with a 4K TV and a 4K-compatible streaming device such as an Amazon Fire TV 4K and a Roku Ultra. Notably, the Apple TV 4K can stream in 4K but not in HDR, only in SDR (standard dynamic range).

Also, it’s worth a reminder that 4K streaming requires fast internet speeds. Fox recommends that in order to stream 4K HDR, you should have an internet connection of at least 25Mbps (which is what Netflix recommends for its Premium plan as well).

So not only has the NFL and Fox made it easier for you to watch the Super Bowl, it’s also made the experience for cord-cutters better than ever with 4K-quality streams without the need to sign up. There is truly no reason these days to be beholden to an unnecessary cable or satellite contract, even when it comes to watching one of the biggest sporting events in the country.

[ad_2]

Source link

Marlboro owner’s stake in Juul is worth a third of its original value

[ad_1]

Accordingly, Altria and Juul are scaling back and altering their relationship. They’re shifting attention to “pre-market tobacco applications,” and will limit Altria’s services to Juul to regulatory affairs by the end of March. They’re also restructuring the board of directors to give Altria just two directors’ seats, as well as committees to oversee both litigation and nominations. Also, Altria won’t be bound to its non-compete requirements under certain terms. The company will be free to offer its own e-cigs if the investment drops to less than 10 percent of its original value or Juul is banned from selling e-cigs for a least a year.

The companies aren’t about to earn much sympathy when they both sell products with addictive and harmful ingredients. Juul has also been accused of using the same tactics to recruit young users that Altria (as Philip Morris) used in the past. While the two have taken steps to curb teen e-cig use in recent months, regulators and critics still see Juul as playing a key role in the rise of underage smoking. In that regard, the lower investment value reflects a tarnished reputation that Juul is unlikely to shake.

[ad_2]

Source link

Avast is shutting down its subsidiary that sold user data

[ad_1]

Motherboard and PCMag found that Avast had been selling a whole host of sensitive user information, including Google searches, Google Maps queries and even LinkedIn and YouTube activity data to some of the world’s largest companies. The company obtained this data through its anti-virus software, which it then packaged and sold through Jumpshot. And while Avast required individuals to opt into its data sharing, the majority of its users were not aware the company was selling their data, nor the scope and scale of the operation. Jumpshot told customers one of its products, “All Clicks Feed,” could track every click users made across a variety of websites in “precise detail.”

“Avast’s core mission is to keep its users safe online and to give users control over their privacy,” said Ondrej Vlcek, CEO of Avast. “The bottom line is that any practices that jeopardize user trust are unacceptable to Avast. We are vigilant about our users’ privacy, and we took quick action to begin winding down Jumpshot’s operations after it became evident that some users questioned the alignment of data provision to Jumpshot with our mission and principles that define us as a company.”

The company added that the core functionality of its other products will continue to “perform as usual,” and that users “will see no change.” Despite positioning the move as part of its “commitment to user safety and privacy protection,” it’s unlikely Avast will be able to regain user trust so easily. The Jumpshot situation is just the latest example of the company’s data collection troubles. In December, Firefox pulled two of the company’s extensions for collecting more user data than was necessary.

[ad_2]

Source link

Peloton told it can’t countersue music publishers over high workout music prices

[ad_1]

The company then fired back with a countersuit, which accused the NMPA of seeking supracompetitive licensing prices — in other words, prices much higher than usual — that violate antitrust laws, as well as of sabotaging its negotiations with individual publishers. US District judge Denise Cote has just dismissed the case.

Cote explained that Peloton “plausibly alleged” that the NMPA and its publishers conspired to deny the company the right to use their songs. However, the company failed to sub in songs owned by others, especially since it previously said that it had reached agreements with all major publishers and with many independent outfits. The judge wrote in her ruling: “It is true that every copyrighted work has at least some modicum of originality. But recognition of that fundamental tenet of copyright law does not explain why songs not controlled by the music publishers cannot substitute in exercise programming for songs they do control.”

A Peloton spokesperson said the company “respectfully disagree[s] with this ruling regarding [its] counterclaims and [is] assessing [its] options for appeal.” He added “We will continue to vigorously contest the plaintiff publishers’ infringement claims, which were not addressed in this decision.”

Meanwhile, NMPA president David Israelite told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement:

“Today’s victory is a reminder that tech companies like Peloton cannot build businesses that are reliant on songwriters without asking their permission and paying them. Judge Cote has dismissed all of Peloton’s counterclaims which were only meant to distract from their failure to license 2,468 songs. We are pleased that Peloton’s attempts to divert attention from the heart of the issue — properly paying creators for the music on which its billion-dollar business was built — have been defeated.”

[ad_2]

Source link

The Morning After: MoviePass is bankrupt, and the Model Y ships in March

[ad_1]

The opposite of a delay?Tesla moves the Model Y release date up to ‘spring 2020’

Thanks to a quick turnaround in building its Shanghai Gigafactory, which was completed in just 10 months, Tesla can now focus on ramping up production of its new crossover SUV, the Model Y, at its existing production plant in Fremont, California. The Ys, which were expected to begin shipping in fall 2020 are now slated for delivery by the end of Q1 instead.

We’ll have to update the lyric.UPS deals increase its use of electric and self-driving trucks

Get ready for a couple of variants on the usual brown delivery vehicles. UPS is making an investment in UK technology company Arrival, which includes an order for 10,000 electric trucks. The plan is to deploy them across Europe and the US over the next four years. Separately, it also announced a pilot with Waymo to have that company’s self-driving Chrysler Pacifica vans shuttle cargo from UPS stores to its processing hub in the metro Phoenix area.

Fox’s upconverted 4K stream is a great excuse to upgrade.The best pre-Super Bowl deals for 4K TVs and streaming

If you’ve been holding off on the purchase of a(nother) 4K TV, then Fox’s plan to provide a 4K feed of Super Bowl LIV is a pretty strong argument for upgrading. Even if it’s really a 1080p HDR stream that’s upconverted, it will still be better than the standard 720p version you’d otherwise have to live with. You will need the right equipment, however, and I have some suggestions, with everything from a Fire TV 4K Stick to an 85-inch Sony TV that’s practically a bargain if you just think about the price per square inch.

Just add talent.What to buy if you want to start producing music at home

If you follow Terrence O’Brien’s instructions carefully, then you too can make a Grammy-winning album in your bedroom.

See everything.Google Earth adds views of outer space on mobile

Now, when you zoom all the way out on Google Earth’s app for mobile devices, you’ll see an accurate representation of the Milky Way. Google says adding stars to Earth is part of its efforts to make the program look as realistic as possible, which is why it also previously added animated clouds to show weather patterns around the world.

But wait, there’s more…

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t Subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.



[ad_2]

Source link

Robotic finger can sweat like a human to cool down

[ad_1]

The scientists developed hollow robotic fingers that could bend and flex to grasp objects. The back of each finger was made from a resin that expanded when heated above 30 degrees Celcius (86 F), while the body shrank when heated above 40 degrees Celcius (104 F).

The back of the finger was also drilled with microscopic “pore” holes that wouldn’t let water through below 30 Celcius. At temperatures warmer than that, however, the expanding resin opened the pores up to let water in each finger sweat out, aided at even higher temperatures by the contracting resin.

“The best part of this synthetic strategy is that the thermoregulatory performance is baked into the material itself,” said T.J. Walllin from Facebook’s Reality Labs. “We did not need to add sensors or other components to control the sweating rate.”

When exposed to a fan, evaporation helped the sweating fingers cool off about six times faster than dry versions, and even faster than humans or horses. The scientists tested them by grasping both regular- and irregular-shaped hot objects, showing the adaptability and cooling power of the soft robots.

While we’ve already seen a metal “brobot” that can sweat while doing pushups, this one of the first types of soft robots to get the tech. Scientists think that the tech could keep robots and other machines cooler than their surroundings in hot conditions. They also believe that the sweat pores could absorb liquids for analysis or coat the robots with protective chemicals.

There are still a few issues to hurdle, like how to make sweating fingers more mobile, dealing with the slipperiness and replenishing the water supply. For the latter, researchers might again take inspiration from humans. “The answer is right in front of me — I’m drinking some coffee right now,” said co-author Robert Shepherd. “I think in order for the robot to operate with the sweating we have created, it would also have to be able to drink.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Apple must pay $838 million for infringing CalTech’s WiFi patents

[ad_1]

Apple told Reuters that it plans to appeal, having previously said that it was merely a “downstream party” because it didn’t develop the chips, but merely purchased them from Broadcom. The technology is vital to the 802.11n and 802.11ac WiFi standards, though its inventor said that the patents (related to data transmission tech), weren’t originally designed for WiFi.

Broadcom remains a major Apple supplier, having recently signed a $15 billion agreement to furnish chips for upcoming iPhones and other products. It remains to be seen if CalTech will go after other device manufacturers, but told Reuters that it is “committed to protecting its intellectual property in furtherance of its mission to expand human knowledge.”

[ad_2]

Source link