Tag: technews

A day after shedding its invite-only requirement, the X alternative saw its user count jump by 856,000 from just 62,000 a couple of days earlier.

The Far Cry series excels in placing you in exotic locations with compelling villains, but which are the best? We have ranked every Far Cry game to find out.

Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once is a hit on Netflix, and if you’re looking for more twisty mysteries to dive into, then watch these three shows right now.

Google’s latest mobile app is Gemini, which leverages generative AI tricks. But t the same time, it also aims to double as a Google Assistant replacement.

Foamstars is a visual assault that makes what fun there could be almost completely inaccessible to all players thanks to an insulting colorblind option.

The new G-Shock Rangeman takes on smartwatches like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 by excelling at being a smartwatch you don’t always have to wear. Let me explain.

After the debut of the 2024 Zephyrus G14 and G16 earlier this year, listings have gone live for the laptops, revealing two critical details.

Paramount+ has revealed a new trailer for Sonic spin-off series Knuckles. The six-episode show is set between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and its sequel, which will hit theaters this December.

Idris Elba once again voices the titular Echidna. This time around, Knuckles will be training human companion Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) to become a warrior, all the while fending off those who want to use his power for nefarious means.

The trailer is entertaining enough. There’s a decent gag about a dog’s mortal enemy and it sets up the premise of the show neatly. All episodes of Knuckles will hit Paramount+ in the US and Canada on April 26. The show will arrive on Paramount+ elsewhere the following day. Folks in Japan will need to wait until later this year to catch the show.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonic-spin-off-series-knuckles-will-hit-paramount-on-april-26-170506646.html?src=rss

A whole bunch of big tech companies, 200 in all, have joined a US-based effort to advance responsible AI practices. The US AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC) will count Meta, Google, Microsoft and Apple as members. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo just announced the group’s numerous new members and said that they’ll be tasked with carrying out actions indicated by President Biden’s sweeping executive order on artificial intelligence.

“The U.S. government has a significant role to play in setting the standards and developing the tools we need to mitigate the risks and harness the immense potential of artificial intelligence,” Raimondo said in a statement.

Biden’s October executive order was far-reaching, so this consortium will focus on developing guidelines for “red-teaming, capability evaluations, risk management, safety and security, and watermarking synthetic content.”

Red-teaming is a cybersecurity term that dates back to the Cold War. It refers to simulations in which the enemy was called the “red team.” In this case, the enemy would be an AI hellbent on behaving badly. Those engaged in this practice will try to trick the AI into doing bad things, like exposing credit card numbers, via prompt hacking. Once people know how to break the system, they can build better protections.

Watermarking synthetic content is another important aspect of Biden’s original order. Consortium members will develop guidelines and actions to ensure that users can easily identify AI-generated materials. This will hopefully decrease deepfake trickery and AI-enhanced misinformation. Digital watermarking has yet to be widely adopted, though this program will “facilitate and help standardize” underlying technical specifications behind the practice.

The consortium’s work is just beginning, though the Commerce Department says it represents the largest collection of testing and evaluation teams in the world. Biden’s executive order and this affiliated consortium are pretty much all we’ve got for now. Congress keeps failing to pass meaningful AI legislation of any kind.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-apple-meta-and-other-huge-tech-companies-join-us-consortium-to-advance-responsible-ai-164352301.html?src=rss

Most people do not need to pay the premium for a foldable smartphone. But if you’ve got some cash to burn and have been looking to take the plunge, the Google Pixel Fold is one of our favorites, and a recent deal has dropped it down to $1,399. That’s still far from “affordable,” but it ties the largest discount we’ve seen for the unlocked 256GB model, taking $400 off Google’s list price. The offer is available at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Google’s online store. If you need more storage space, Google has the 512GB model for $1,519, another $400 discount. The company says this deal will run through February 24.

The Pixel Fold is the runner-up pick in our guide to the best foldable phones, and Engadget Senior Writer Sam Rutherford gave it a score of 85 in his review last June. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, our top pick, it’s a “book-style” foldable, one that works like a traditional 5.8-inch smartphone when folded in half but offers a larger 7.6-inch display when unfurled. Next to Samsung’s phone (and the OnePlus Open), though, the Pixel’s displays are shorter and wider, which generally makes the device easier to use like a traditional phone. Your fingers have more room to breathe while texting when the phone is folded, while apps and videos will look more natural on the cover display. Samsung’s screens are brighter and more vibrant overall, but the 120Hz OLED panels here are still far from poor. You can see a crease in the middle of the internal display, however.

Beyond that, we’ve found the Pixel Fold’s cameras and image processing to deliver more accurate and dynamic photos than either the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the OnePlus Open, especially in low-light conditions. It’s thinner than Samsung’s phone as well, though it’s slightly thicker than the Open. Like other Pixel phones, the Fold runs on a relatively clean and streamlined version of Android. A decent number of Google’s own apps are tweaked to better fit the larger screen, and you can run two phone apps side-by-side. Google says it’ll provide OS updates through June 2026, with two additional years of security updates. That said, the Z Fold 5’s UI has more powerful tools for multitasking. And as with most Android tablets, it won’t take too long to find apps that aren’t optimized for large displays.

There are other caveats. The Pixel Fold is by no means slow, but its Tensor G2 chip is now a bit dated, so the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Open provide better raw performance. Battery life is worse by a few hours, too, plus it has larger bezels around the display. Then there’s the elephant in the room: All foldable phones carry a higher durability risk. The Fold has more ways to break despite costing more than the best “normal” phones, so you’ll have to be particularly careful with it. It’s also worth noting that Google is likely working on a Pixel Fold 2, though that isn’t expected anytime soon. All that said, the current Fold has plenty to like if you dead set on a foldable phone today, and this deal makes it at least a little more accessible.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-fold-is-400-off-right-now-163809557.html?src=rss