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Chrome may shame slow-loading sites with ‘speed badging’

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One of the key focuses of the Chrome Developer Summit this year is speeding up the web, and that includes offering developers tools to help their sites and web apps load quicker. Labeling sluggish sites might prompt developers to take advantage of such tools.

Google Chrome speed badging

The idea is to flag when sites are designed in a way that tends to make them slow, taking into account historical loading times. Eventually, Google might let you know if a page might take a while to display properly because of your device or connection, too. On the other hand, it might reward fast-loading sites with positive so-called “speed badging.”

Google is exploring several options for how to make it clear when sites are notably fast or slow. Among the ideas it’s experimenting with are changing the color of the progress bar (i.e. green for quick-loading sites) or displaying a loading message for sites that crawl onto your screen.

It’s not clear when Google will roll out speed badging or even if it’ll actually do so (the Chromium blog post on the idea doesn’t firmly commit to bringing the feature to Chrome). Still, it’s clear Google hopes to make the web faster for everyone — even if it might have to embarrass some developers to make it happen.

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Via now provides veterans with free rides in the DC area

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VetRides is being offered in partnership with the DC Mayor’s Office for Veterans Affairs (MOVA) and the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV). Veterans can register for the service through MOVA, and they’ll be able to book rides through the Via mobile app or a call center. Via will offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“All of DC veterans deserve a pathway to the middle class and access to their federal benefits, VetsRide provides that capability through transport to their medical appointments, employment opportunities, education and housing appointments,” MOVA Director Elliot Tommingo said in a press release.

Via’s vans are available in a handful of cities, and the company has been experimenting with new models. Last year, Arlington, Texas, dropped its public bus service in favor of Via’s ride-sharing vans. It has shuttled passengers to and from metro stations, and it has shared its technology with NYC’s public schools in an attempt to improve current school bus systems. It’s unclear if or when Via will bring VetRides to other cities.

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8BitDo turns the NES gamepad into a mouse

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I actually came across this 8BitDo N30 2.4GHz Wireless Mouse at, of all places, TechCrunch Shenzhen earlier today, where the device made its public debut. This is very much like any regular dual-button mouse, except the scroll wheel is replaced by a stealthy touch strip, and the D-pad on the side lets you toggle Page Up, Page Down, Forward and Upward. The N30 packs the common 1,000 dpi optical resolution along with Windows and macOS compatibility. A single AA battery will last between 100 and 120 hours of usage, and there’s a power switch to help save battery juice.

8BitDo N30 Wireless Mouse

While I wasn’t able to try the wireless connectivity (using the USB dongle stored in the battery bay), the buttons felt like the real deal. These should bring back memories for those who grew up with a NES. That said, I’m still not sure if I can ever get used to the mouse’s bold shape. I have a feeling that most people would be buying this more for novelty value than to replace their existing mice.

According to an 8BitDo rep, it was her company who reached out to Jansson in the hopes of licensing his mouse design, to which he happily accepted, apparently. “He was just glad that someone could finally do the manufacturing after all these years,” the rep told Engadget.

It’s worth mentioning that while Nintendo never made a mouse for the NES, it did make one for the SNES. The peripheral was originally designed for a game called Mario Paint, then dozens of games joined the party. Nintendo never made another mouse after that.

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Google is reportedly gathering health data on millions of Americans

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The effort has been dubbed “Project Nightingale,” and a person familiar with the matter told WSJ that at least 150 Google employees have access to data on tens of millions of patients. Google is reportedly using the data to design new, AI-driven software.

While this may feel like an invasion of privacy, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) typically allows hospitals to share data with business partners, without telling patients, if that info is used to help the hospital provide healthcare. As companies like Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft try to make themselves relevant in the healthcare space, we’ll likely see more of this. Let’s hope they can at least keep patient records secure.

Engadget has reached out to Google for comment.

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Amazon lets you connect Fire TV and Echo devices to create a home theater

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Amazon has been focussing more and more on audio quality lately, so using the Echo devices as a wireless audio solution for your TV seems like a smart move. Customers who have the current generation Echo and Echo Plus will receive a stereo down mix of a Dolby signal, while the Echo Studio can stream Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos formats. Of course, it only works with content you play through a compatible Fire TV device, and since this works in stereo configuration, it may not meet some people’s definition of home theater.

If you want to try this at home, connect your Fire TV device and Echo devices to the same network and Amazon account. Use the Alexa app to select your audio preferences, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

You’ll need a Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV (third generation), Fire TV Cube (first generation and US only) or Fire TV Cube (second generation). And at least one of the compatible Echo devices: Echo Dot (third generation), Echo (second or third generation), Echo Plus (first or second generation), Echo Dot with clock, Echo Studio.

Update, 7:35PM ET: Updated this post to clarify what formats different Echo speakers support when using the Fire TV / Echo home theater feature.

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Chrome web apps will soon tout desktop-like speed

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Web Bundles are available now through an experimental flag in Chrome, while background syncing and content indexing are only available as “origin trials.”

Other updates are more about offering native-like features. An SMS Receiver allows text-base two-factor authentication for secure sign-ins, while a contact picker and a native file system framework respectively help you share and save data more like you’d expect.

It’s up to developers to make use of these technologies, so don’t expect the web to change overnight. That’s particularly true when many website creators may want software-agnostic web apps that work equally well on Firefox, Opera, Safari and other common browsers. If enough web app writers do embrace this, though, Chromebooks may be more viable for people used to the performance and convenience of apps on other platforms.

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Katamari creator’s friend-making game ‘Wattam’ arrives December 17th

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Ready to once again dive into the weird-but-welcoming mind of Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi? You won’t have to wait too much longer. Funomena and Annapurna Interactive have finally nailed down a release date for the friendship-focused Wattam, and now expect to release it on PS4 and PC (through the Epic Games Store) on December 17th. It’s available for pre-order on Epic’s store now for a discounted $17, and you should see a similar discount for the PS4 when it reaches the PlayStation Store. The game is eventually coming to Steam, although there’s no date for that just yet.



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Amazon says it’ll roll out a new grocery store format next year

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The company told CNET it’s “opening a grocery store in Woodland Hills [a suburban Los Angeles neighborhood] in 2020.” It posted four job listings for the outlet, which it described as “Amazon’s first grocery store.” It’s hiring two grocery associates who’ll replenish stock and handle points of sale, a food service associate who’ll work food counters and a team lead.

Amazon has reportedly signed a lease for a 35,000 square-foot space in Woodland Hills. The location was previously home to a Toys ‘R’ Us.

The grocery store will differ from Whole Foods and it won’t use the cashierless tech of Amazon Go stores, instead opting for traditional checkouts. Amazon hasn’t revealed what the store will be called yet, whether it’ll open more locations or what the item selection and pricing will look like. Engadget has contacted Amazon for comment.

The Wall Street Journal, which initially reported on Amazon expanding its array of grocery options, said last month the retailer was planning stores in Los Angeles (having signed more than a dozen leases in the area), Chicago and Philadelphia, and was considering spaces in the New York area, New Jersey and Connecticut. According to the publication, Amazon’s new stores will offer prepared foods and “mainstream groceries such as soda and Oreos.”

Along with the upcoming store, Whole Foods and Amazon Go, Amazon has made other forays into physical retail locations with Amazon Books and Amazon 4-Star. The company also offers grocery delivery through Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and its core website. However, it shut down its pop-up kiosks at Whole Foods, Kohl’s locations and malls this year.

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Surface Laptop 3 review (15-inch): Bigger, but not always better 

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Clearly, AMD was able to craft a chip that can do more than what you’d find on a Typical ultraportable. Intel’s latest 10th Gen CPUs feature more powerful integrated graphics than ever before, but they still can’t compare to these custom Ryzens that borrow components from the Radeon RX Vega 11 dedicated GPU. Mission accomplished, Microsoft.

What’s more impressive is that the company didn’t have to change the design of the Surface Laptop much. Honestly, it’s easy to mistake it for the smaller version unless they’re side by side. The 15″ model is bigger, but it’s still very thin and an elegant. It also keeps the air of simplicity we’ve seen from the Surface Laptop line so far. There aren’t any extra media keys or distracting lights, it’s just keyboard, trackpad and an impressively large screen.

Speaking of those input devices, Microsoft has delivered one of the best laptop keyboards we’ve ever seen here. Typing felt almost as fulfilling as a desktop keyboard, thanks to a luxurious amount of key travel and plenty of spacing between the keys. The trackpad is enormous, smooth and a dream to use. Microsoft is basically putting every PC maker who can’t seem to get these basics right to shame.

Surface Laptop 3 15"

But even though the 15″ Laptop 3 is being positioned as more of a workhorse than the 13″, it’s not really equipped to handle many accessories. There’s just one USB Type A and USB-C connection (which thankfully can be used to charge the laptop), as well as Microsoft’s proprietary Surface power port. But there’s no SD card reader, and no Thunderbolt 3 ports for high-speed accessories like external GPU docks. I didn’t really expect Microsoft to make the Laptop 3 as port-laden as the Surface Book 3, but a few more options would have been nice. It also lasted us just seven hours and 50 minutes during our battery test, which sounds decent, except we saw nearly 16 hours of uptime with the Surface Laptop 2.

The 15″ Surface Laptop 3 tries to straddle the line between being an ultraportable and a more powerful laptop, but that leads to compromises in both respects. It’s not the lightest 15″ notebook around, and it’s not as capable as larger workstations. You’ll also pay quite a bit for the privilege of owning one: the 15″ Laptop 3 starts at $1,199, but if you want the high end version that we reviewed, you’d have to shell out $2,099. At that point, you’re better off just getting the slightly heavier XPS 15 with a much faster six core CPU and true dedicated NVIDIA graphics for $1,500.

Surface Laptop 3 15"

Basically, it seems like the 15″ Surface Laptop 3 is for someone who loves the design of Microsoft’s ultraportable, but just wants a slightly bigger screen. In that respect, it delivers. I just wish Microsoft pushed a bit harder to make it more capable for power users.

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Apple’s AR headset might not arrive until 2022

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The design would superficially resemble an Oculus Quest, but it would have “high-resolution” eyepieces (possibly the previously rumored 8K displays) that would let you read “small type.” And while the presence of cameras on the outside is practically expected for headsets at this point, Apple would promise a relatively seamless experience that would let people stand both in front of and behind digital objects.

The glasses, meanwhile, aren’t as well-defined. Existing prototypes reportedly resemble “high-priced sunglasses” that have “thick frames” to house the processors and battery. Apple has explored the prospect of lenses that darken whenever you’re using AR and alert people nearby (it recently applied for a patent for this), although it’s far from certain this will see use. The company is apparently confident in the technology, at least. Senior managers supposedly told employees that later versions of the glasses could obviate the need for iPhones in “roughly a decade,” an Information source said.

Apple has unsurprisingly declined to comment, and it’s important to stress that a lot can happen in the space of two-plus years. It wouldn’t be surprising if the designs were changed, delayed or even cancelled outright. If they’re real, though, they suggest that Apple is playing a very long game when it comes to AR and VR — it’s willing to wait years to release headwear it likes rather than rushing something to compete with the likes of HTC and Oculus.

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