Category: Technology

California became just the third state in the nation to pass a “right to repair” consumer protection law on Tuesday, following Minnesota and New York, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 244. The California Right to Repair bill had originally been introduced in 2019. It passed, nearly unanimously, through the state legislature in September. 

“This is a victory for consumers and the planet, and it just makes sense,” Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG, told iFixit (which was also one of SB244’s co-sponsors). “Right now, we mine the planet’s precious minerals, use them to make amazing phones and other electronics, ship these products across the world, and then toss them away after just a few years’ use … We should make stuff that lasts and be able to fix our stuff when it breaks, and now thanks to years of advocacy, Californians will finally be able to, with the Right to Repair.”

Turns out Google isn’t offering seven years of replacement parts and software updates to the Pixel 8 out of the goodness of its un-beating corporate heart. The new law directly stipulates that all electronics and appliances costing $50 or more, and sold within the state after July 1, 2021 (yup, two years ago), will be covered under the legislation once it goes into effect next year, on July 1, 2024. 

For gear and gadgets that cost between $50 and $99, device makers will have to stock replacement parts and tools, and maintain documentation for three years. Anything over $100 in value gets covered for the full seven-year term. Companies that fail to do so will be fined $1,000 per day on the first violation, $2,000 a day for the second and $5,000 per day per violation thereafter.

There are, of course, carve outs and exceptions to the rules. No, your PS5 is not covered. Not even that new skinny one. None of the game consoles are, neither are alarm systems or heavy industrial equipment that “vitally affects the general economy of the state, the public interest, and the public welfare.” 

“I’m thrilled that the Governor has signed the Right to Repair Act into law,” State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said. “As I’ve said all along, I’m so grateful to the advocates fueling this movement with us for the past six years, and the manufacturers that have come along to support Californians’ Right to Repair. This is a common sense bill that will help small repair shops, give choice to consumers, and protect the environment.”

The bill even received support from Apple, of all companies. The tech giant famous for its “walled garden” product ecosystem had railed against the idea when it was previously proposed in Nebraska, claiming the state would become “a mecca for hackers.” However, the company changed its tune when SB 244 was being debated, writing a letter of support reportedly stating, “We support ‘SB 244′ because it includes requirements that protect individual users’ safety and security as well as product manufacturers’ intellectual property.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/californias-right-to-repair-bill-is-now-californias-right-to-repair-law-232526782.html?src=rss 

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into how Twitter (now X) handled a security issue in 2018 that led to users’ personal information being exposed. The bug allowed people to view email addresses when passwords were reset, potentially exposing user identities, according to Bloomberg. The report notes that the SEC has been investigating whether those in charge of the company at the time properly disclosed the flaws to shareholders and put proper controls in place.

Attention was drawn to the flaw last year while Elon Musk was trying to wriggle out of his commitment to buy Twitter. Musk asserted that Twitter had long been contending with operational issues (it has had to deal with multiple security incidents over the last five years) and that it hadn’t properly protected user data. 

Just as Musk was attempting to wash his hands of his takeover bid, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, flagged a number of concerns about the company to the SEC, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission last August in a whistleblower complaint. He claimed Twitter had “extreme, egregious deficiencies” when it came to protecting the platform against attacks. 

Zatko accused Twitter of violating the agreement it made with the FTC in 2011 to settle a previous privacy case. Of note, Twitter last year agreed to pay $150 million to settle FTC charges that it violated said consent decree by misusing user phone numbers and email addresses for ad targeting.

Jack Dorsey was CEO of Twitter at the time of the incident that the SEC is said to be looking into. His successor, Parag Agrawal, was then chief technology officer. None of Twitter’s executives at the time have been accused of wrongdoing, according to Bloomberg. The outlet notes that it’s not clear when the SEC will wrap up its probe or if any enforcement action is expected as a result.

Meanwhile, the SEC has sued Musk for refusing to testify in a separate case. That one concerns Musk’s delay in disclosing his purchase of over five percent of Twitter stock in early 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-sec-is-said-to-be-investigating-a-twitter-security-flaw-from-the-pre-musk-era-205459647.html?src=rss 

A top European Union official is warning Elon Musk about the spread of misinformation on X amid the Israel-Hamas war. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton sent Musk an “urgent” letter about the company’s handling of misinformation and its responsibilities under the Digital Services Act.

The letter comes as researchers and fact checkers have warned about a wave of misinformation on X in the wake of the Hamas attacks in Israel. While Musk’s recent move to strip headlines from links shared on the platform has made it more difficult to find news, verified users have also been sharing viral clips of completely unrelated content purporting to be scenes from the unfolding conflict.

“Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” Breton wrote in the letter to Musk. “Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation.”

In particular, Breton called out the spread of “fake and manipulated images and facts circulating on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or military footage that actually originated from video games.” He also flagged the company’s newly-changed public interest policy, saying that the change “left many European users uncertain” about what type of content the platform allows.

Breton also suggested X was not responding appropriately to requests to deal with “potentially illegal content,” on its platform. “When you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must be timely, diligent and objective in taking action and removing the relevant content when warranted,” Breton wrote. “We have, from qualified sources, reports about potentially illegal content circulating on your service despite flags from relevant authorities.”

X didn’t respond to a request for comment, but Musk issued a brief reply on X. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports,” Musk wrote. “Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that [sic] the public can see them.”

The company, which recently removed its misinformation-reporting tool and cut safety teams tasked with handling disinformation, has pointed to its crowd-sourced fact-checking tool, Community Notes, as its primary way of addressing misinformation.

In an update posted shortly after Breton shared the letter, the company said that “more than 500 unique notes” had been created over the last three days, including notes addressing “fake videos made with game simulators” and other “out of context” and “unrelated” footage. X added that it’s “actively working on” changes “that will help automatically show notes on even more posts with matching video and images” and that it’s “scaling up” notifications for people who previously engaged with content later fact-checked with a note. The company didn’t say how many users have received such notifications.

It’s not the first time European Union officials have raised concerns about the amount of disinformation on X. An EU report last month found that X had the highest prevalence of misinformation and disinformation. Under the Digital Services Act, companies like X are required to disclose details about their handling of disinformation.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-official-warns-elon-musk-about-xs-handling-of-disinformation-amid-israel-hamas-war-210909999.html?src=rss 

Amazon’s second Prime Day sale event for 2023 kicked off in the wee hours this morning, and it’s turning out to be a great opportunity to shop for your holiday gifts early — or get something for yourself. And if you missed out on any of the deals from Prime Day in July, this year’s “Prime Big Deal Days” will let you make up for that. The sale has brought back many of the same low prices we saw a few months ago in summer, but we’re also seeing new sales as well — including deals on brand new devices. We’ve also put together category roundups for deals on headphones, tablets, TVs, video games and other gadgets. If you’ve got your gift list handy, now’s a good time to start checking it off so you won’t be pressed for time or funds when Black Friday comes around next month. A few deals are just for Prime members, but many are open to anyone looking to save. If you want to take advantage of some great tech deals, here’s best of what we found for October Prime Day. 

Apple AirPods Pro

The second-generation AirPods Pro have dropped to $189 for Prime Day. Apple made a ton of small but noticeable improvements to these models, so now they have better sound quality, noise cancelation and Transparency Mode. There remains no competition if you have an iPhone and live within the Apple ecosystem — these are the best earbuds to get if you fall into that category.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is on sale for $199 right now. It’s the best smartwatch to get if you’re new to the wearable world, or you just want a basic, relatively affordable watch that has all of the basic features you’d need. On top of comprehensive health and fitness tracking, iPhone notifications and dozens of fun watch faces, you’ll get features like crash and fall detection, noise monitoring and Emergency SOS.

Apple 10.2-inch iPad

Apple’s most affordable tablet, the 10.2-inch iPad, is on sale for $249 right now. It may have an old-school design, but it’s certainly the best iPad for people on a budget and it has most crucial features you’d expect in an Apple tablet. It earned a score of 86 from us for its solid performance, sharp screen, TouchID-capable Home button and good battery life. The only major downside to this model right now is that it still sports Apple’s old Lightning port rather than USB-C.

Apple iPad Air

The iPad Air is on sale for $500, which is $99 off the MSRP. Apple may refresh the Air at some point soon, but for now, we think the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a review score of 90 last year. And it’s our top overall iPad pick for most people 

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is down to $270 for October Prime Day, which is the lowest price we’ve seen since it came out a few months ago. You can’t get a better smartwatch than this one if you have an Android phone (bonus points if you have a Samsung phone), and it’s smaller and lighter than previous versions. Samsung brought back the spinning bezel on the Classic version, which is which makes the software’s UI easier to navigate, plus it has improved performance and updated health and fitness tracking tools.

Apple iPad mini

The Apple iPad mini has dropped to $400 for October Prime Day. It’s the best small tablet on the market right now and really your only option if you want a true one-hand-friendly iPad. It’s powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic chip and sports a Touch ID-toting power button, solid cameras, a good battery life and a USB-C port for charging.

Sony WF-1000XM5

Sony’s WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds are on sale for $278 for Prime Day, which is their best price yet. These are the best wireless earbuds on the market right now, and Sony improved upon it’s already remarkable buds with a more comfortable fit, better sound quality and features likes adaptive sound and Speak-to-Chat.

Anker Soundcore Space A40

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is on sale for $54, which matches its all-time low and comes in $25 less than usual. The Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds, as it includes a host of features that belie its price: adaptive ANC, multi-device pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode and up to 10 hours of battery life. Its audio quality and ANC aren’t quite as powerful as more expensive pairs, but both are more than effective enough for the money. Unlike many budget wireless headphones, its default sound doesn’t completely blow out the bass. Just note that its call quality is mediocre, and it lacks wear detection, so it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud.

Bose QuietComfort 45

The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones have dropped to $230 for October Prime Day, which is about $80 cheaper than their usual selling price. These cans earned a spot in our best wireless headphone guide thanks to their comfortable, if a little dated, design, excellent ANC and balanced audio.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have dropped to $120 for Prime Day. The company got a lot of things right after years of making pretty standard earbuds; the Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s best wireless earbuds yet. These will be great for Android users who want buds with punchy bass, good ANC, reliable touch controls and wireless charging.

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon has knocked the price of the latest Echo Dot down to $23 right now. It’s one of the best smart speakers you can get thanks to its orb-like design, surprisingly good sound quality for its size and handy Alexa integration. The Dots can also act as Eero WiFi boosters, adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero system.

Amazon Echo Show 5

The latest Echo Show 5 is on sale for a record low of $40. The Show 5 has been one of the best smart displays available for quite some time, and it’ll be particularly good for anyone who wants an Alexa-capable smart display that won’t take up a lot of space. It also makes for a good alarm clock thanks to its sunrise alarm and tap-to-snooze features.

Amazon Kindle

The standard Kindle has dropped to $75 for October Prime Day. This model saw a lot of improvements when it was updated in 2022. Capacity was doubled to 16GB and the screen resolution jumped up to 300 ppi for much clearer text. We named it the best budget option in our ereader guide because its perfect entry point to reading and borrowing ebooks and audiobooks.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

The Kindle Paperwhite, meanwhile, is down to $95 for an 8GB model. That’s $5 more than it went for during July’s Prime Day event but still $45 off its MSRP. The Paperwhite gets you a few extra perks over the standard Kindle, including a larger 6.8-inch screen, a more comprehensive front light and IPX8-rated waterproofing. This deal applies to the ad-supported version (which displays ads for Kindle books and services on your lock screen); it you want no ads on your device, you’ll need to pay $20 more.

$100 PlayStation Store Gift Card + $10 Amazon credit

Here’s a simple one: If you buy a $100 PlayStation Store digital gift card and use the code PSN100 at checkout, you can get an extra $10 Amazon credit to use on future purchases. If you often use Amazon and plan on picking up new PS5 games, renewing a PlayStation Plus subscription or buying any other content through the PlayStation Store anyway, it’s effectively a bit of free money.

Blink Mini (2-pack)

A two-pack of Blink Mini security cameras has dropped to $40 for Prime Day. That’s about $10 more than they went for last Prime Day, but still a decent 38 percent discount. While these cameras are wired, they have most of the same features as the standard wireless Blink cameras including 1080p video recordings and support for two-way talk and motion alerts.

Google Indoor Nest Security Cam

A slew of Google Nest home security devices are on sale, including the battery-powered Nest Cam that can go inside or outside your home. Typically priced at $180, the security cam is down to $120 for Amazon’s October Prime Day event. The Nest Cam works with smart speakers and displays enabled with Alexa or the Google Assistant and can last up to seven months depending on how much activity it picks up. Its weather-resistant build and magnetic mount should make it easy to install on most surfaces. It sends live alerts to your phone and will even allow for on-demand check-ins without a subscription, though it only stores the last three hours for free. For six months of stored footage, you’ll need a Nest Aware membership.

Amazon Fire HD 8

Amazon’s Fire HD 8 is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the 64GB version is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the Fire HD 10 and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.

Amazon Fire 11 Max

The Fire Max 11 is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it’s a big upgrade over the Fire HD 8 — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.

Google Pixel Tablet

The 128GB Google Pixel Tablet is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The 256GB model is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 works better purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy Tensor G2 chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a score of 85 in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)

Google Pixel 7a

The Google Pixel 7a is down to a new low of $399 for this sale event. It’s the best midrange phone you can get right now thanks to its speedy Tensor G2 chip, smooth 90Hz display and support for wireless charging. The 7a also has solid cameras and an IP67 water-resistant design.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The entire Samsung Galaxy S23 series is on sale for Prime Day, including the S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra. These are some of the best Android phones you can buy right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you want all of the latest features from Samsung. The Ultra runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and has a big, bold 120Hz display, built-in S Pen and an excellent main camera.

Bose Quiet Comfort

The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II have dropped to $199 for October Prime Day, which is the best price we’ve ever seen, though you’ll need to be a Prime member to get the deal. They’re currently the best wireless earbuds you can get if you want as much noise cancelation as possible. On top of that, these buds have a smaller, more comfortable fit and good audio quality.

Sony SRS-XB13 Extra Bass

The four-inch tall SRS-XB13 is back to $35 for October Prime, which matches its sale price for July’s Prime sale. You’ll need a Prime membership to get the deal, however. This is an older model of the tiny portable. Sony replaced it with the SRS-XB100 earlier this year, which is currently seeing a 20 percent discount. They’re both rated for water and dust resistance and you can pair two for stereo sound.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Our favorite streaming stick, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, has dropped to $38 for this sale. It packs a ton of features into an affordable package, including 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision, AirPlay 2 and private listening when you have a pair of headphones. And since it’s so small, it makes a great travel entertainment device, too.

LG B2

The LG B2 OLED TV is down to $847 for a 55-inch model. That’s a new low and roughly $150 off its average street price in recent months. The B2 is the step-down model from the C2 — which is also on sale at $1,097 for a 55-inch set — as it’s not as bright or color-rich with HDR content, it runs on a slower processor and it has two fewer HDMI 2.1 ports. That said, its contrast, colors and motion performance will still be a significant upgrade if you’re upgrading from a more basic LED TV. LG’s new B3 TV promises a cleaner webOS interface, but it’s priced a good way higher as of this writing. If you want an OLED TV for less than $1,000, the B2 should be a better value.

Hisense U6K

If you want a more affordable TV, the Hisense U6K is also on sale, with the 55- and 65-inch models down to $400 and $548, respectively. We’ve seen these deals before, but each matches an all-time low. The U6K is has received generally positive reviews around the web, as it’s one of the few budget-level sets with quantum dots, full-array local dimming and a mini-LED backlight. All of that should help it deliver better contrast and color volume than most TVs in its price range. It’s not ideal for gaming though, as it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 ports. In general, it can’t match the brightness or viewing angles of a more expensive set, but it looks to be a good buy if you’re on a tighter budget.

For a well-reviewed mid-range model, the Hisense U8K provides much better contrast and peak brightness, and it comes with more gaming-friendly features like the ability to play 4K content at up to a 144Hz refresh rate. That one is down to $748 for a 55-inch model and $998 for a 65-inch set.

iRobot Roomba 694

iRobot’s Roomba 694 has dropped to $199 for Prime Day. It’s our favorite cheap robot vacuum thanks to its strong suction power, attractive design and easy to use app. It’ll be a good option for robo-vac novices, or anyone that doesn’t want to fuss too much with an automatic dirt sucker. It clears hard and carpeted floors well, and it automatically returns to its base once a cleaning job is finished so it can recharge.

Razer Basilisk V3

The Razer Basilisk V3 is down to $44, which is a few bucks more than its all-time low but still $6 less than its usual street price. This is the “best for most” pick in our guide to the best gaming mouse, as its sturdy shape should be comfortable for each grip type and all but the smallest hands. (Provided you’re a righty.) It has 11 customizable buttons, including a “sensitivity clutch” for more precise aiming, and its thumb wheel supports both left-right tilt and a faster free-spin mode. That wheel is somewhat noisy, and the whole thing is too heavy for competitive-minded players, but it still tracks accurately and glides smoothly.

Samsung Pro Plus microSD

The Samsung Pro Plus microSD card is on sale for $20 right now. It’s our top pick in our best microSD card guide because it was the most consistent of the ones we tested, with some of the best overall speeds and all of the important ratings that a good card should have: U3, V30 and A2. It’ll be a great pick for your tablet, smartphone or Nintendo Switch, and it comes with a full-sized adapter in case you need to use it with a camera or connect it to your computer.

Backbone One

The Backbone One is a well-built gamepad that snaps around the sides of your phone and works immediately with just about any game that supports controller input. It’s also convenient for cloud streaming games from a console or PC. Right now both its USB-C and Lightning models are down to $70, which is $30 off. That’s not an all-time low, but discounts on the device are relatively uncommon. We gave the One a positive review last year, and we currently highlight it in our guide to the best handheld gaming systems. Backbone says the USB-C models will work with Apple’s new iPhone 15 lineup as well.

Crucial MX500

The Crucial MX500 internal drive is on sale for $46 right now. It’s been an Engadget favorite for a while thanks to its sequential read speeds of 560MB/s and a standard 2.5-inch design that should make it easy to swap in for your desktop’s or laptop’s used-up drive.

Here are all the deals we’ve rounded up so far:

The best lightning deals to shop right now

The best Prime Day laptop deals

The best Prime Day Apple Watch deals

The best Amazon Prime Day Apple deals

The best Prime Day deals for AirPods

The best Prime Day deals under $50

The best Prime Day TV deals

The best Prime Day Kindle deals

Best iPad and tablet deals from Prime Day

The best Prime Day gaming deals

The best camera deals from Prime Day

Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Fall Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-32-best-amazon-prime-day-deals-to-shop-for-right-now-200557484.html?src=rss 

Rocket League’s player-to-player trading is going away. Developer Psyonix announced Tuesday that peer transactions will be removed from the title on December 5 at 4PM PST. The beloved feature added a game-outside-the-game element as players sought trade partners, often using third-party websites to find suitable swaps. Psyonix says it will consider those sites “fraudulent” moving forward.

Psyonix wrote that the decision was based on parent company Epic Games’ cosmetics policies, which ban sales and only allow in-game trades. “We’re making this change to align with Epic’s overall approach to game cosmetics and item shop policies, where items aren’t tradable, transferrable, or sellable,” the announcement blog post reads. However, Psyonix hints at the game’s automobiles appearing in other titles. “This opens up future plans for some Rocket League vehicles to come to other Epic games over time, supporting cross-game ownership.”

The fan response on social media was swift and fierce. “They really want this game to die, huh,” wrote u/DshadoW10 on Reddit. “This is absolute bs,” added u/MuskratAtWork. “Still z e r o communication or care for the community at all. Just a cash grab at this point. All [they] care about is selling product and items and no care at all for the health of gameplay or the community.”

Users on X (formerly Twitter) weren’t exactly thrilled either:

Psyonix removed loot boxes from Rocket League in 2019 after many of gaming’s most prominent companies agreed to disclose the odds of receiving rare items. The (not quite) loot boxes returned later that year with a more transparent design. At the time, Psyonix and Epic said items from post-game drops were still tradable.

Epic Games, which bought Psyonix in 2019, recently laid off 16 percent of its workforce. “This was a survival move that was necessary,” CEO Tim Sweeney said of the company’s “financial problems,” which began over the summer. In response, the Fortnite creator tweaked pricing for Unreal Engine for non-gaming uses. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rocket-league-will-remove-player-to-player-item-trades-in-december-200951688.html?src=rss 

1010music’s colorful and portable Nanobox line just gave birth to a brand-new sampler, the Tangerine. This may be an ultra-portable device, but it boasts powerful sampling features, alongside a pleasingly bright orange colorway. The Tangerine can trigger one shots, play time-synced loops and record live loops, among other tasks.

The maximum sample size is 4GB, so when we say “trigger one shots” we really mean you can trigger multi-sample pieces that act as a backbone to a beat or melodic composition, in addition to simple snare hits and the like. This being a modern device, you can also slice up clips and resample playback. There’s also “musically intelligent” looping that should keep everything in time without any obvious air-filled gaps.

As for the hardware itself, you get a touchscreen interface for making adjustments and a 32GB microSD card slot for storage, though there’s a small amount (64MB) of internal storage. The Tangerine connects to other instruments via MIDI for capturing additional samples, which is always nice.

Each file boasts a 4GB storage cap, which the company says is enough for up to four hours of continuous streaming. There’s a 500 multi-sample bank limit and a total wav capacity of 1,500. You can save multi-sample banks to nearly 80 presets for later use, complete with 16 velocity layers and eight stereo sample pads. There are plenty of adjustment options to change up the sound of these presets via granular synthesis, pitch, gain, filters, quantization and more. MIDI-mapped parameter controls also transfer over, so you can fiddle with those for even more sonic diversity. This is a real-deal sampler that approaches groovebox territory. Not bad for a ridiculously tiny device that 1010music calls “nearly indestructible.”

There’s one caveat, and it’s the same one that accompanies other Nanobox devices, like the impressively powerful Lemondrop and Fireball synthesizers. Despite weighing just 0.25 pounds and shipping with a pocket-friendly form factor, the Tangerine sampler is not battery-powered and must be plugged in via USB-C to function. For true portability, you’d need an external power bank.

1010music’s Tangerine sampler is available now and costs $400. In addition to the device, you also get a USB-C cable, the aforementioned microSD card and a type B TRS MIDI to MIDI 5-pin DIN adapter.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/1010musics-tangerine-is-a-charmingly-orange-and-ridiculously-tiny-sampler-172544831.html?src=rss 

When Gmail launched for Wear OS last week, folks wondered how long it would be before the companion Google Calendar app would arrive. Well, it’s here. Google Calendar has officially shipped for Wear OS, giving smartwatch-wearers all kinds of access to their day-to-day schedules, as originally spotted by 9to5Google.

You’ll see it on the launcher as Calendar once installed. It’s basically a beefed-up version of the Schedule view found on phones. When you open up the app, you’ll find a daily calendar complete with precise location details for events, notes, notifications and more. You can adjust whether or not you’ll be attending any saved event, in addition to deleting the event entirely.

If you’re tired of staring at a teensy smartwatch screen, you can also use the Calendar app to open up any date or event on your smartphone. Certain events, like holidays and birthdays, can appear as background images in the main feed of the app. There’s even some Google Tasks integration here, so you can mark events as complete.

Like many smartwatch apps, Google Calendar is for consumption and not creation. You cannot use the app to make new events or tasks. There are, however, two new Wear OS tiles that let you quickly glance at upcoming events and tasks without opening up the full app.

Google Calendar for Wear OS is now available to download on the Play Store. Just search for Calendar in the wearable version of the Play Store or remotely install it via the app listing.

As Wear OS 3 and Wear OS 4 continue to gain new features, the company’s older smartwatch operating systems are losing tools. Google recently announced that its proprietary voice assistant would no longer work on watches running anything before Wear OS 3.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-calendar-finally-lands-on-wearos-154535767.html?src=rss 

Few tech companies have embraced generative AI as wholeheartedly as Adobe. At Adobe Max, its annual creativity conference, it unveiled a new version of the Firefly GAI model. Not only that, the company announced more GAI features for Adobe Express, just weeks after making Firefly more broadly available in the app.

Adobe Express now includes features such as Generative Fill. This enables users to add, remove or replace items, people and other aspects of images using text prompts. On a similar note, the Text to Template function can help users generate editable templates for things like graphics and social media posts based on text descriptions. Text to Template is powered by the new Firefly Design Model, which Adobe says will generate content that’s safe for commercial use.

On top of that, Express now offers a GAI-powered translation tool. Translate can localize content between 45 languages, Adobe says. Meanwhile, new Drawing and Painting functions enable more than 50 multicolor paint and decorative brushes. These can mimic things like charcoal, pencil and watercolor textures. The company also noted student-friendly drawing templates that are available in Express for Education can make it easy to create effects like flowers and hearts.

A handy resize tool will make it a cinch for folks to automatically get multiple versions of a design to fit all social channels, Adobe said. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to use the app to directly schedule and share videos to the likes of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and X.

Adobe isn’t exactly stopping with Express. At Max, it announced more than 100 new features across its main Adobe Creative Cloud applications. These include additional Firefly-powered tools for Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as new editing capabilities in Lightroom.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobe-brings-more-generative-ai-features-to-express-160018288.html?src=rss