Category: Technology

You won’t have much trouble paying with your palm at the grocery store in the near future. Amazon now says it’s bringing its One palm recognition technology to all Whole Foods Market stores in the US by the end of the year. As before, you can hover your palm over a reader to pay for your shopping or make use of your Prime perks. You won’t have to pull out your phone or wallet if you’ve already signed up online.

Amazon One is already available in 200-plus stores in states like California, New York and Texas. The expansion will bring it to over 500 shops. The tech is also available in some third-party locations. You can buy beer at the Colorado Rockies’ stadium, or get breakfast at a Panera cafe.

The palm recognition system is billed as an advantage over tap-to-pay and other contactless systems that still require some kind of physical item, including Amazon’s computer vision-based Just Walk Out tech.It’s also potentially helpful for businesses. It makes sure that alcohol buyers are of legal age, and the deeper nature of the scans (which look at both the palm and veins) create a distinctive vector “signature” that supposedly can’t be copied.

The approach has its critics, however. Activists have called on music venues and other locations to drop Amazon One over privacy and human rights concerns. While Amazon touts secure cloud storage for palm signatures as well as anti-tampering protections, opponents are concerned governments could use the data to track protesters and marginalized people. Objectors are also worried hackers could still take and abuse data.

The company is already facing legal trouble over its practices. A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges Amazon broke New York City law by failing to clearly notify Go store shoppers that it was collecting biometric data, including palms. Amazon maintains that One users are explicitly consenting to data collection, but it’s not clear that’s enough to honor the legislation.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-bringing-its-palm-based-payments-to-all-whole-foods-market-stores-132413042.html?src=rss 

Apple lovers who constantly lose their keys got a new way to keep track of them with the launch of AirTags. But despite how easy they are to set up, Apple’s tiny Bluetooth trackers have one critical flaw: no built-in keychain hole. That means anyone who buys AirTags will have to buy holders or cases to attach them to their stuff.

Despite how backwards this seems, it’s a very Apple move since many will simply buy the company’s own AirTag holders to make things easy for themselves. But those aren’t the only options available as plenty of accessory companies have hopped on the AirTag train with their own cases, holders, straps and more. If you already bought an AirTag or two, you probably know where you want to put it – and that placement will dictate the type of case you should get for it. These are some of our picks for the best AirTag holders that will work for a variety of items.

Spigen Valentinus

Spigen’s Valentinus AirTag cover is one of the best alternatives I’ve found to Apple’s own leather key rings. It has a very similar design to the first-party accessory (albeit made with pleather) , but it comes in much cheaper at only $8. Your AirTag nestles into the perfectly-shaped leather circle and snaps shut, and since the leather extends slightly over both sides of the tracker, there’s very little chance it will pop out unexpectedly. I also appreciate that it comes with a carabiner-style key ring, which makes it easier to secure to your belongings.

Orbitkey Leather Holder

Orbitkey’s Leather Holder for AirTag is a more elegant version of Apple’s accessory. It’s a genuine leather sleeve that opens just wide enough for you to slide your AirTag into its pocket. Attached to it is a quick-release ring that takes some getting used to, but once you know how to open it up, it’s easy to secure onto your keys. You essentially just have to push in one direction on the holder’s ring to unlock it, which then allows you to secure the AirTag to a lanyard, your car keys and the like. It’s a good option if you prefer that your accessories have a more polished look.

Caseology Vault

Caseology’s Vault has a more utilitarian design, made with tough, textured TPU. The oval-shaped holder has an opening on one side into which you pop your AirTag. The other side has a smaller opening that attaches to the included carabiner, which is one of the best clips I came across in my testing. It’s pretty basic as far as carabiners go, but it’s better than a standard key ring — especially if you want to easily attach your AirTag to something other than your keys like straps on a backpack, or even a pet collar. Overall, the Caseology Vault is one of the most attractive holders I tested and it will be a solid choice for anyone who doesn’t need leather.

Incase Woolenex AirTag Key Clip

Incase’s Woolenex AirTag holder is one that is just as attractive as it is durable. The company’s Woolenex fabric is made of a woven blend of polyester fibers that make the accessory lightweight, water repellant and fade- and tear-resistant. Incase makes a bunch of accessories out of this material, and those who like premium fabrics that can also handle a bit of wear-and-tear will gravitate to it. The holder has a TPU snap closure and circular cutout so it won’t interrupt the AirTag’s signal — plus, it lets you see any cute engraving you may have on your tracker.

Belkin Secure Holder with Strap

AirTags can also help you keep track of larger bags and luggage, and you could easily slip one into an interior pocket and call it a day. But if you’d rather hook the tracker to the outside, you’ll need something a bit larger and more flexible than a standard key ring. Belkin’s Secure Holder with Strap is a good option, and it’s budget friendly at only $13. The case opens up into two pieces, allowing you to sit the AirTag inside the circle and twist and snap the two halves together to lock it in. You can then attach the AirTag to your luggage handle, water bottle or other item with the strap, which feels quite strong.

I appreciate the unique design of Belkin’s Secure Holder, although it was hard to twist open when the AirTag was inside of it. But that’s a good thing for daily use; your AirTag isn’t going anywhere when in the Secure Holder. I also liked its slightly raised edges, which provide extra protection against impacts and bumps.

Elago silicone cases

Whether you’re attaching an AirTag to your house keys or clipping one to your kid’s backpack, you don’t need to settle for a boring holder. There are a number of fun AirTag cases available now and some of our favorites come from Elago. The accessory company makes a bunch of minimalist AirTag holders – which are good options if you’re looking for something simple and cheap – but it also has cases in the shapes of avocados, ice cream bars, floppy disks and even retro game controllers. The best part is that, unlike other brands that can quickly raise prices when you want a fancily-shaped case or a holder with your favorite character on it, Elago’s playful cases will run you no more than $15 apiece.

Pelican Protector Sticker Mount

Keyrings and straps aren’t the best way to attach an AirTag to anything and everything. Things like bikes, coolers, luggage and other items would be better served by an adhesive mount. Pelican makes one of the most protective ones available at the moment – the Protector Sticker Mount case has a two-piece design that you pop open to insert your AirTag inside. It basically acts as a little box in which your AirTag lives while it’s tracking your stuff. You can stick it to your items using the strong adhesive panel on the back of the case, and Pelican even includes an extra adhesive pad in the package as well, just in case you need another one. While the case itself is a bit tough to get open at first, that just shows how hard it would be for your AirTag to accidentally pop out of it.

Moment Stretch Fabric Mount

Similar to Pelican’s Protector, Moment’s Stretch Fabric Mount for AirTag sticks to surfaces – in this case, any fabric – and keeps your tracker enveloped in its double-hemmed, powermesh design. It’s a good alternative if you don’t want your AirTag sliding around inside the interior pocket of your backpack, or worse, the less-secure pockets of your coat. And since Moment’s wrap is quite thin, it blends into the lining of bags, jackets and other things better than bulkier options.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-apple-airtag-cases-holders-accessories-123036404.html?src=rss 

Google has quietly increased the price of YouTube Premium by a significant $2 from $12 to $14, according to the updated signup page spotted by 9to5Google. The annual price jumped to $20, from $120 to $140 per month, a savings of about $28 over paying month-by-month. YouTube also increased the price of Music Premium from $10 to $11 per month, matching similar increases by Apple and Amazon. The price increases weren’t accompanied by any kind of official announcement.

On top of eliminating ads, YouTube Premium offers features like offline viewing and background playback (without it, your video will stop playing when the app is minimized or your phone screen is off). It also allows higher-quality 1080p streaming on some platforms. 

Last year, Google hiked the family Premium plan to $23 per month, and charged existing month-by-month subscribers the new fee the following month. Previously, the company was more generous — when it rebranded YouTube Red to Premium in 2018, it kept the former’s $10 price for subscribers and is still honoring it for some users, according to 9to5Google. 

At the same time that it’s boosting prices, YouTube has been cracking down on ad-blockers that lets you view videos without ads. Some users have seen a pop-up indicating YouTube will block their ability to play videos unless they disable their ad blocker or whitelist the site. “Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide,” it reads. To go ad-free, the company tells users to get a YouTube Premium subscription so “creators can still get paid.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-premium-quietly-goes-up-in-price-to-14-per-month-100531473.html?src=rss 

Kevin Mitnick, who was once one of the world’s most wanted computer hackers, has passed away at 59 on July 16th. According to his obituary, Mitnick battled pancreatic cancer for more than a year and was undergoing treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “[M]uch of his life reads like a fiction story,” his obituary reads, and that’s perhaps the perfect way to describe his tale. The first time Mitnick infiltrated a computer system was way back in 1979, but it wasn’t until 1988 that he was convicted and sentenced to 12 months in prison for copying a company’s software.

He broke into Pacific Bell’s voicemail computers when he was under supervised release and then continued to hack into cell networks, as well as company and government websites, as a fugitive in the 90s. Mitnick was also involved in the theft of thousands of files and credit card numbers, but his obituary says he “never took one dime from any of his ‘victims.'” He was eventually caught in 1995 and charged with illegal use of a telephone access device and computer fraud. Apparently, authorities believed he had access to corporate trade secrets worth millions of dollars at the time.

Mitnick spent five years in prison, which he described as a “vacation” by the time he was freed. From there, he changed the course of his career and chose to become a White Hat hacker and cybersecurity consultant. In 2011, he became part owner and chief hacking officer of KnowBe4, which provides security awareness training and a simulated phishing platform to clients. Before all these happened, Mitnick figured out how to game LA’s public transportation system at 12 years old by memorizing bus schedules and punch cards and then obtaining his own punch tool systems so he could ride buses all day. Mitnick is survived by his wife, Kimberley Mitnick, and their unborn child.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/kevin-mitnick-formerly-the-worlds-most-wanted-hacker-has-passed-away-084912966.html?src=rss 

Every app has one flaw that is baffling in how unnecessarily complicated it is. For WhatsApp, that has always been the fact that you can only message people after first saving their contact. But the frustrating extra step is finally gone: A WhatsApp update is rolling out that lets you reach out to whoever you want without saving their information, WABetaInfo reported.

That’s right, no more contacts saved with “Lisa library” or “Paul apartment on South 4th” for people you communicate with over WhatsApp once and never speak to again. You can try out this new feature much in the same way you would start any message. Click on the new message button on your home screen (top right for Apple devices, bottom right for Android ones) and then type the number into the search bar. The number will appear under the category “Not in your contacts.” To the right of the person’s number and profile photo is the option to click “chat,” which brings you right into a conversation with them.

Until now, one of the only exceptions — if you can even call it that — has been responding to unsaved numbers in group chats. But, this still required you to enter one through a QR code or link or for a person with your contact saved to invite you into it. WhatsApp’s latest update is rolling out to all users, so you should see it in the next few days or maybe weeks. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-makes-it-easier-to-send-messages-to-unsaved-numbers-093511724.html?src=rss 

Google is testing a new AI technology codenamed “Genesis” that can generate news articles, according to The New York Times. The tech giant has reportedly demonstrated the tool not just for The Times, but also for executives at The Washington Post and News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal. Based on reports from people who witnessed the pitch, Genesis can whip up copy from the data fed to it, whether it’s current events or other types of information. Apparently, Google believes journalists could use it as some sort of an assistant to automate tasks and free them up for other things. 

Some of the people who saw the demonstration described it as “unsettling.” They also said that it seemed to disregard the kind of work that goes into writing accurate, digestible pieces. Jeff Jarvis, a journalist professor at the City University of New York, told The Times that journalists should use the tool “[i]f this technology can deliver factual information reliably.” Since Google has yet to launch Genesis, we can’t say if it actually can, or if it could easily lead to the dissemination of misinformation. As The Times notes, Google has been moving quickly to deploy AI technology in an effort to catch up with the Microsoft-backed company OpenAI. Its generative AI tech, Bard, was caught spouting misinformation as soon as it debuted on Twitter.

Recent attempts by some publications to use AI tools hadn’t ended up well. CNEThad to issue corrections after being made aware of substantial errors in most of 77 machine-written articles it published under the CNET Money byline. And just earlier this month, Gizmodo’s io9published a Star Wars piece full of errors attributed to the “Gizmodo Bot.” io9 deputy editor James Whitbrook said the website’s editorial team played no part in its publishing, and hence was given no chance to edit it for corrections before it went out. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-reportedly-testing-an-ai-tool-that-can-generate-news-articles-054602544.html?src=rss 

Netflix’s attempts to crack down on password sharing is starting to pay off. The company reported substantial growth in subscribers in the months following its push to stop users from sharing accounts with people outside of their household.

The streaming company added nearly 6 million paying subscribers, an increase of 8 percent, during the second quarter of 2023. The results confirm earlier reports from third-party data that suggested the tightened restrictions were working.

In a letter to shareholders, the company said that its push to stop password sharing hasn’t resulted in mass cancellations and has instead encouraged more people to sign up for their own account. “The cancel reaction was low and while we’re still in the early stages of monetization, we’re seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature,” the company wrote.

In addition to restricting account sharing, the company has started offering “paid sharing,” which allows subscribers to pay to add an “extra member” to their account for $8 a month. That option is now available in more than 100 countries, according to Netflix. The company has also been streamlining its plans, confirming that it canceled its $10 “basic” plan in the United States and UK after first axing the plan in Canada.

Now, Netflix says it will continue to restrict password sharing in the few remaining countries where it hasn’t already done so, including India, Indonesia, Kenya and Croatia. The company notes it won’t be offering its “extra member” option in these regions as it’s already slashed prices in many of these countries. Instead, the company says people can use its tool to transfer their profile to a fresh account.

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-added-nearly-6-million-new-subscribers-amid-password-sharing-crackdown-204411234.html?src=rss 

Tesla remains the top US EV producer with a new internal record internal record with 479,700 vehicles built and 466,140 of them delivered in Q2, up ~87 percent YoY. During the call, CEO Elon Musk noted that during Q1, the Model Y became the best selling vehicle “of any kind… surpassing the likes of Corolla.”

The company made headlines in Q2 after opening its previously-proprietary charging port design to the rest of the industry. Mercedes, Volvo, Rivian, and GM vehicles will use the design for their North American models beginning in the 2024 model year. Texas went so far as to require its state-funded EV charging stations accommodate the standard. Tesla’s charging network station capacity has grown by a third from this time last year, with 48,082 chargers in total spread across 5,265 stations, globally.

The first production Cybertruck rolled off the assembly line this quarter as well, though you couldn’t see much of the vehicle from its official release photo. The Cybertruck line has entered tooling, according to the company, and is expected to begin steady production sometime next year.

“We are now testing Cybertruck vehicles around the world for final certification and validation,” the company wrote in its Q2 investors deck. “This might be the most unique vehicle product in decades; with that comes trialing and testing new technologies.”

This past quarter has seen a number of scandals at the company including its executives accused of being overpaid by a cool $735 million dollars since 2017 as well as Elon being suspected of misappropriating company funds to build a glass house. Not a fancy aboratorium, not a metaphor for Twitter, a literal “glass house.”

Wednesday’s investor deck specifically noted Tesla’s “commitment to being at the forefront of AI development” with the start of production for its Dojo training computers, which will be used to help Autopilot developers iterate future designs and features. Details were sparse but we do expect company executives to further discuss this initiative during the Q2 investors call which begins at 5:30pm ET.

Stay tuned to Engadget for up to the minute breaking news from that call, as well as whatever wacky and problematic-for-Legal statements Musk shares.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-built-and-delivered-a-nearly-half-a-million-evs-in-q2-205948639.html?src=rss 

Microsoft is taking another turn at testing its HoloLens-based combat goggles with the US military. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it’s delivering improved IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) 1.2 devices to the Army before the end of July. These updated augmented reality models are “slimmer, lighter and more balanced” than before, Microsoft says. That, in turn, should make them more comfortable and improve soldiers’ performance.

The Army tellsBloomberg two squads will test 20 prototype IVAS goggles in late August. They’ll gauge low-light functionality, reliability and whether or not they make soldiers feel ill. Some testers complained last year of nausea, headaches and eye strain, while others weren’t happy with the bulk, narrow field of view and a display glow that could give away a soldier’s presence at night. Key features also failed relatively frequently.

The HoloLens tech is meant to improve battlefield awareness. Infantry can see each other’s positions, get vital health stats and use night vision that’s less conspicuous. They can better coordinate assaults and warn if there are signs of injury or fatigue. The technology might reach the field within a few years if the August test is successful. The Army would award a contract between July and September 2024 for a second field study, and could move to an operational combat test as soon as April 2025. The Army could deploy IVAS months afterward.

Much is riding on this test, however. While the Army could spend as much as $21.9 billion in ten years for up to 121,000 IVAS units, Congress blocked further orders of the earlier goggles in January following reports of problems. Politicians instead gave Microsoft $40 million to rework the hardware. If there are still issues, the Army could cancel the program. It would not only cost Microsoft a lucrative contract, but would cast further doubt on HoloLens itself. The team lost lead developer Alex Kipman last year following misconduct allegations, and layoffs early this year dealt a serious blow to the mixed reality division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-deliver-improved-hololens-combat-goggles-to-army-testers-this-month-211521914.html?src=rss