Category: Technology

US law enforcement isn’t just interested in shutting down video pirates. The feds have charged two Russian nationals, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, for allegedly running the pirate e-book repository Z-Library. The site was billed as the “world’s largest library” and held over 11 million titles, many of which were bootleg versions stripped of copyright protections.

The pair was arrested in Cordoba, Argentina at the US’ request on November 3rd. The American government disabled and seized the public Z-Library site at the same time. Napolsky and Ermakova each face charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and wire fraud.

As TorrentFreakexplains, it’s not clear how central Ermakova and Napolsky were to Z-Library. While the indictments only cover activity starting in January 2018, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said the two had been running a pirate site for “over a decade.” Z-Library is still accessible on the dark web and responding to email.

The pirate bookshelf’s social media presence contributed to its undoing. Ars Technicanotes The Authors Guild complained to the Office of the United States Trade Representative after a “#zlibrary” hashtag started trending on TikTok, with over 19 million views. Students and other users were touting Z-Library as a way to get textbooks and other course material for free.

As with many pirate site shutdowns, this isn’t likely to be a permanent blow. The Authors Guild pointed to alternatives like Libgen when it filed its complaint, and Z-Library itself is carrying on in a limited form. It’s a high-profile victory for the anti-piracy camp, however, and suggests that other digital book pirates could face similar legal action.

 

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Dead Island 2 will arrive later than expected. The zombie-smashing game re-emerged in August with a trailer, gameplay video and a firm release date of February 3rd. As it turns out, that release date was actually malleable. Publisher Deep Silver and developer Dambuster Studios have pushed Dead Island 2 back to April 28th.

“The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are,” a note on the game’s Twitter account reads. “The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now. We’re going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we’re proud to launch.”

Dead Island 2 was announced all the way back in 2014. The project has twice moved to a different studio, with Dambuster taking over in 2019, and it’s finally coming to fruition.

The sequel to 2011’s Dead Island will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and the Epic Games Store, and it will be the first game to use an Alexa-powered voice command feature. You’ll be able to find out some more details about the game during a showcase on December 6th. The livestream will be available on YouTube, Twitch and the Dead Island website.

 

In the latest example of what seems like daily Big Tech job cuts, Roku announced plans today to lay off around 200 employees, nearly seven percent of its workforce. The streaming company wrote in an SEC filing that it plans to cut the jobs in the US due to “economic conditions.” The company estimates it will pay between $28 and $31 million for the reductions, primarily because of severance payments, notice pay (where applicable), employee benefits contributions and related costs.

Roku says most of the layoffs will happen in Q4, with the remaining cuts expected to be “substantially complete” by the end of Q1 2023. In a statement released today, Roku said, “Taking these actions now will allow us to focus our investments on key strategic priorities to drive future growth and enhance our leadership position.”

These layoffs follow a warning from Roku in its latest quarterly results that it anticipates a year-over-year revenue decline for Q4. The company’s shares dropped almost three percent today in trading before the bell.

Big Tech job cuts have become an unfortunate trend in recent months. Roku’s layoffs follow downsizing from Meta, which laid off 11,000 employees last week; Twitter, which cut approximately 3,800 jobs earlier this month; plus Amazon and Microsoft. Although Apple has so far remained an exception, it imposed a hiring freeze expected to continue into late 2023. Likewise, Disney is reportedly freezing hiring and anticipating cuts, while Netflix laid off around 300 people back in June. Streaming-focused companies — Roku included — have faced the dual challenges of an uncertain economy and a revenue decline following a boom during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Your Facebook page will say less about you in a few weeks. After an early sighting by consultant Matt Navarra, Meta has confirmed that it’s removing addresses, “interested in” (read: sexual orientation), political views and religion from Facebook profiles as of December 1st. The move is meant to make Facebook “easier to navigate and use,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. If you’ve filled out any of these fields, you’ll get a notification about the change.

Other details you provide, such as your contact information and relationship status, will persist. You can download a copy of your Facebook data before December 1st if you’re determined to preserve it, and you still have control over who can see the remaining profile content.

The move won’t have much practical impact on usability beyond reducing scrolling in the “contact and basic info” section. It may reflect changing attitudes toward privacy, however. Facebook included these sections in the early days of social networking, when users more readily shared their more sensitive details (MySpace, anyone?). Now, however, privacy is a major concern — Meta itself has been more interested in privacy in recent years, focusing on private chats and greater security. People may be less inclined to share info on profiles in an era when online stalking and harassment are all too common.

 

If you’re looking for an iPad for a loved one this holiday season and don’t want to break your budget, it might be worth considering the 2021 version of the tablet. That was already the most affordable iPad on the market and now you can snap it up for a steal ahead of Black Friday. The 10.2-inch tablet usually starts at $329, but you can pick it up from Amazon for $269 — a discount of 18 percent.

This price is for the WiFi-only model with 64GB of storage. Naturally, this iPad isn’t quite as tricked out as Apple’s higher-end models, but it’s still a very capable device. It has an A13 Bionic chipset, instead of an Apple Silicon chip or the A14 one the company slotted into the 2022 iPad. The tablet has a 12MP ultra-wide selfie camera with support for Center Stage (a feature designed to keep you in the middle of the frame as you move around) and an 8MP wide-lens camera on the back. The device has Touch ID, stereo speakers and first-gen Apple Pencil support too. Apple claims that you’ll be able to use this iPad for up to 10 hours on a single charge.

We gave the 2021 iPad a score of 86 in our review, crediting it for improved performance from the 2020 model, larger base storage capacity, a better front-facing camera and solid battery life. The screen doesn’t quite match up to the ones found in other iPads, though, and the design feels a bit outdated. If you can live with those downsides, however, you’ll be getting a great tablet at a hard-to-beat price.

As for the 2022 iPad, that’s on sale too. Along with the A14 chip, landscape-oriented front-facing camera and USB-C charging port, the more recent model boasts an iPad Air-esque redesign (the Home button is no more, for one thing). We gave it a score of 85, citing drawbacks like having to use a dongle to charge the first-gen Apple Pencil. Until November 20th, you can pick up the WiFi-only 2022 iPad with 64GB of storage for $399 at B&H. That’s $50 off the regular price.

Buy Apple’s 10.9-inch iPad (2022) at B&H – $399

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If you’re gifting an Xbox Series S or X this year, or even grabbing one for yourself, here’s a chance to get an extra Xbox Core controller for just $40. We saw the Xbox Core controllers get a more a more modest 26 percent discount back in September, but this sale matches the lowest prices we’ve seen yet. Right now the black and white versions of the official joypads are 35 percent off, and the lime green (aka electric volt) colorway is seeing a decent, 31 percent discount. Some of the special edition Core controllers are on sale too, like the shimmery lunar shift, which is $20 off. 

New Xbox consoles are going to be a popular gift this year, and an extra controller is great for local multiplayer sessions, or if you just want to have a backup on hand. The Core controllers have textured trigger buttons, custom button mapping and a 3.5 mm headset jack. They run on two AA batteries, with your first set included, and get around 40 hours of play on a charge.  

If you want a little more comfort and customization, plus a rechargeable battery, you might try one of Xbox’s Elite controllers. They’re only seeing an eight percent discount off their usual $180, but that still saves you a tidy $15. Or to shave off that pesky Bluetooth lag, Amazon also has wireless adapter Xbox controllers on sale. The controller connects via Bluetooth to any Xbox console or Windows PC, or plug in the dongle to your PC to help eliminate the latency some people experience with Bluetooth connections. The adapter also lets you connect up to eight controllers for local multiplayer gaming. 

Shop the Xbox controller sale at Amazon

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

You’ll soon have the chance to watch the 2022 World Cup with vibrant image quality — so long as you have the right cable provider, anyway. Comcast has announced that it will be the only company in the US to air the Qatar-based World Cup in Dolby Vision HDR. You’ll need an eligible Xfinity X1 set-top box and a Dolby Vision-capable TV (sorry, Samsung fans), and you’ll have to tune into Fox’s coverage. If all the ingredients are in place, though, the players’ colorful uniforms are that much more likely to pop.

Comcast also has a familiar World Cup hub for X1 users that lets you follow favorite teams, track the tournament bracket and watch AI-selected highlights from recorded matches. And no, you don’t always need conventional TV service to watch. Peacock is streaming live and on-demand games in Spanish, and Tubi will offer English replays of every game at no charge.

HDR isn’t necessarily a make-or-break feature. You may be content to stream through Fox Sports or watch plainer-looking footage on traditional TV. With that said, the Dolby Vision support might give you an incentive to watch on cable if you live in a Comcast-supported region and are determined to make the most of your World Cup experience.

 

If you’ve been on the fence about Apple’s latest 11-inch iPad Pro, now is a good time to consider taking the plunge. Amazon currently has the entry-level 128GB model with WiFi for $729. Although that’s still a steep price, this model was only released a few weeks ago. Also, keep in mind the deal only applies to the Silver model.

Buy 11-inch iPad Pro at Amazon – $729

This new iPad Pro is a minor update over its 2021 predecessor. Powering it is Apple’s updated M2 chip — the same silicon inside the latest MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The new chip makes the tablet a bit zippier than the last model, powering through heavy multitasking, media editing and the most demanding games.

The 2022 iPad Pro also adds a new hover feature that lets you hold the second-gen Apple Pencil over the screen to preview inputs and effects. Although that alone isn’t reason enough to upgrade, it’s a fun detail that could become integral as software developers tailor their apps for it. The high-end tablet also supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 networking.

If you own the 2021 iPad Pro, this probably isn’t the generation to upgrade. The M2 chip and hover feature are welcome additions, but everything else is unchanged from last year’s model. That includes the screen, chassis, cameras and battery — it’s a minor update to a tablet that was already overkill for most people’s iPad workflows.

Still, this model is the company’s best 11-inch model and an impressive hybrid device when you add the Magic Keyboard. In addition, the M2 chip runs smoothly with Stage Manager, Apple’s answer to persistent criticisms about iPadOS software not keeping up with cutting-edge iPad hardware. Stage Manager lets you keep up to four apps open in a single group with resizable, overlapping windows. Although the multitasking feature still feels like a work in progress, we expect Apple to keep tweaking and refining it in future software updates.

If you consider upgrading to this model from an older iPad Pro, this will also be your introduction to Center Stage. The feature uses machine learning to track your (and others’) faces during a video call in apps like FaceTime and Zoom. The frame follows you if you move to the side or go from sitting to standing. And if someone else enters the frame, it also pans out to bring them into the shot.

Should you prefer a bigger screen, Amazon also has the 12.9-inch model for $1,069, which is $30 off what you’d pay at Apple. Although that’s less of a price cut, that model’s screen is bigger and more vibrant with mini-LED tech.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Many people use WhatsApp to shop, and now they might not have to leave the app to find a store. WhatsApp now lets you search for businesses (those using the service’s Business Platform, that is) by category or name. The feature is initially available in the UK, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico, while Brazil will get an expanded version that also indexes small businesses.

WhatsApp also wants to handle the purchases. After a launch in India this August, the messaging app is now testing in-chat payments in Brazil. You can use your credit or debit card to check out directly instead of visiting the web, using another app or making a face-to-face transaction.

WhatsApp didn’t say when it expected these search and payment options to reach the US and other parts of the world. In a statement, WhatsApp only said it would expand access “in the future.” However, the debut is clearly focused on countries where WhatsApp is popular, such as Brazil. The South American nation is frequently one of the first to get new features, such as sending and receiving money.

It won’t be surprising if the technology spreads to other regions. WhatsApp owner Meta has made a point of building shopping features into its core products, including Facebook and Instagram. These latest additions could help Meta provide a more consistent commerce experience across its apps — and, of course, make some extra profit.

 

Meta is apparently cracking down on employees who abuse their behind-the-scenes access. The Wall Street Journalsources claim Meta has fired or punished over two dozen workers for hijacking Facebook and Instagram accounts over the past year. Some of the offenders reportedly used Meta’s account recovery tool, “Oops,” and even took “thousands of dollars” in bribes from outsiders seeking access.

The perpetrators included Allied Universal’s contracted security guards at Meta locations, according to the sources. The Journal has also interviewed companies that say they charge social media users for access to insiders willing to retrieve accounts despite company policy.

The Oops tool lets workers file reports about inaccessible accounts with the community support them, which then restores control. It’s meant to be used only in rare situations, such as for public personalities and family members, and asks questions about the source of the request. Its use has supposedly climbed in recent years, The Journal says, jumping from 22,000 “tasks” in 2017 to 50,270 in 2020.

We’ve asked Meta for comment. In a statement, spokesperson Andy Stone said the company would continue to take “appropriate action” against anyone selling fraudulent services. Allied Universal said it always “seriously” responds to conduct violation reports.

The firings are small compared to Meta’s overall (if now greatly reduced) headcount. However, they might produce mixed results for the social networking giant’s reputation. While it gets rid of employees who misused their powers, it comes roughly a year after allegations that Meta let VIPs break the rules, and three years after the company discovered that employees had access to exposed user passwords. Simply put, it hasn’t always been clear that accounts have been secure and treated equally.