Technology - Kalakshar US

What to expect from Amazon’s event on September 30

Amazon will host a press event at the end of the month with some new hardware developments. It’s scheduled for September 30 at 10AM ET in New York City. Here’s what we think will be discussed at the fall event.

In February, Amazon introduced some improvements to its voice assistant, promising that Alexa+ would be more conversational and more helpful thanks to generative AI. It seems likely that the fall event will put hardware for interacting with Alexa+ front and center, so expect to hear about new models or new software updates for the Echo line of smart speakers. It’s been a couple years since the Echo Show got an update, and it’s been even longer for the standard Echo. Those two products are the most likely to star in the upcoming announcements.

Amazon

The invite also includes a photo of a Kindle that depicts a color illustration, so there may be more in store for the ereaders. The Kindle Scribe 2 just came out earlier this year, as did the Kindle Colorsoft, so maybe there’s a new option in the works that combines the best features of both. As with the Echo, there also hasn’t been much new for the basic model Kindle, so that may also be getting some updates.

There’s also what appears to be the corner of a television in the invitation, so news about the Fire TV also seems promising. This event is also where Amazon-owned Ring and Eero brands may unveil new products. Any announced items may not be available right away, but the timing does set the stage for some substantial discounts on older generations of Amazon gear when the next Prime Day rolls around on October 7 and 8.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/what-to-expect-from-amazons-event-on-september-30-210035671.html?src=rss

LimeWire acquires Fyre Festival, has vague plans to offer ‘real experiences’

LimeWire has announced that it’s acquired the rights to Fyre Festival, the disastrous, influencer-fueled 2017 music festival. The newly revived company — which now acts as a NFT music marketplace rather than a file-sharing service — bought the rights for $245,000 in an eBay auction, The New York Times reports. A separate plan to use the Fyre Festival name to launch a new music streaming service was announced in April 2025.

“Fyre became a symbol of hype gone wrong, but it also made history,” LimeWire CEO Julian Zehetmayr shared in a press release. “We’re not bringing the festival back — we’re bringing the brand and the meme back to life. This time with real experiences, and without the cheese sandwiches.”

It sounds like LimeWire might want to turn Fyre Festival into a physical perk of the digital collectibles it sells through its NFT marketplace. The company is planning to reveal “a reimagined vision for Fyre” in the coming months that “expands beyond the digital realm and taps into real-world experiences, community and surprise.” During the height of their popularity, NFTs were frequently sold as memberships to exclusive communities and events, so if that’s the tack LimeWire takes, it wouldn’t be a particularly original one.

Of course, originality might not be the goal when a key strategy for your company is apparently acquiring and reinventing old brands. LimeWire’s bet seems to be that the name recognition of buying a musician’s NFT from LimeWire or attending a Fyre Festival event and not getting stranded in The Bahamas will be enough for some people.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/limewire-acquires-fyre-festival-has-vague-plans-to-offer-real-experiences-200158421.html?src=rss

Trump’s TikTok deal will give control to a group of US investors, report says

The plan to “save” TikTok is starting to come into focus. On Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reported more details about a deal between the US and China as the two sides are apparently “finalizing” specifics of the arrangement.

According to the report, TikTok’s US business will be owned primarily by a group of US investors, which will have a “roughly” 80 percent stake in the entity. The group includes longtime TikTok partner Oracle, as well as Silicon Valley VC firm Andreesen Horowitz and the private equity firm Silver Lake. Chinese shareholders will have a minority stake that keeps their ownership under the 20 percent threshold required by law. The US government will also reportedly get to choose one board member for the “American-dominated” body.

Reports about such an arrangement have been swirling for months, with President Donald Trump saying in June that a deal could be “about two weeks” away. It seems that Chinese officials have finally signed off on the new arrangement, with a Chinese regulator saying earlier this week that the new US version of TikTok would continue to use the Chinese algorithm.

Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that “TikTok engineers will re-create” the app’s algorithm for a brand new TikTok app using technology licensed from ByteDance. The company is reportedly testing the new app. Oracle will oversee US user data for the operation; TikTok and Oracle have partnered on data security for years following previous negotiations between the company and the US government.

Even though a final deal is apparently close, it could still take some time before it’s finalized. In the meantime, Trump extended the deadline that would have banned the current version of the app in the US for a fourth time. On Tuesday he told reporters at the White House he planned to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday “to confirm everything.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/trumps-tiktok-deal-will-give-control-to-a-group-of-us-investors-report-says-201331190.html?src=rss

NHTSA is investigating Tesla over its electronic door handles

Who says journalism is dead? Less than a week after Bloomberg published a damning report about Tesla’s “dangerous doors,” the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now looking into it. On Tuesday, the regulator said it opened an investigation into the automaker’s electrically powered doors. The problem: They stop working if the vehicle’s low-voltage battery fails.

The NHTSA’s probe will cover the 2021 Model Y, which covers an estimated 174,290 vehicles. But the agency suggested in a document that it could expand its investigation. That makes sense: Every Tesla ever made uses electrically powered door handles. So, this could potentially get very expensive for the otherwise perfectly lovable company.

Tesla uses a flush door handle design for its vehicles. A 12-volt battery powers the door’s ability to pop the handle and release the latch. It’s one of the Apple-like design details that helped the automaker become a household name. But cars aren’t iPhones, and sleekness can’t take a backseat to safety in the auto space.

Tesla vehicles have a mechanical backup system in the cabin that enables the doors to be opened manually in case of a power loss. But the manual release location varies by model and is often hard to find. And even if you do know where it is, that won’t help if a small child or pet is trapped inside.

“Although Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside of the cabin, in these situations, a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them,” the NHTSA wrote in its public summary document.

Mylo Kaye / Unsplash

Bloomberg‘s original report recounted some heinous stories of Tesla owners dealing with electronic door failures. There was an off-duty firefighter who struggled to break into a burning Model Y in 2023. The occupant was trapped in the passenger seat by airbags and couldn’t reach the manual release. Losing precious seconds due to the door design, she suffered third-degree facial burns and had lasting lung damage from smoke inhalation.

There are reportedly more. Last November in California, three college students died trapped inside a Cybertruck after it caught fire. The same month, five people in Wisconsin died inside a Model S. The cluster of bodies in the front seat suggested to the detective they may have struggled to escape.

Then, this spring in LA, a star college basketball recruit managed to escape only after kicking out a Cybertruck window when it caught fire. “I try to open the door, and the door’s not opening,” Alijah Arenas said. He was placed in a medically induced coma due to extensive smoke inhalation.

Bloomberg discovered that the NHTSA has received over 140 complaints about stuck Tesla doors since 2018. The regulator cited nine “failure reports” that led it to probe the company. In four cases, the people resorted to breaking the window. “Entrapment in a vehicle is particularly concerning in emergency situations, such as when children are entrapped in a hot vehicle,” NHTSA said.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/nhtsa-is-investigating-tesla-over-its-electronic-door-handles-203605393.html?src=rss

Another lawsuit blames an AI company of complicity in a teenager’s suicide

Another family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against popular AI chatbot tool Character AI. This is the third suit of its kind after a 2024 lawsuit, also against Character AI, involving the suicide of a 14-year-old in Florida, and a lawsuit last month alleging OpenAI’s ChatGPT helped a teenage boy commit suicide.

The family of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta alleges that their daughter turned to a chatbot inside the app Character AI after feeling isolated by her friends, and began confiding in the chatbot. As originally reported by The Washington Post, the chatbot expressed empathy and loyalty to Juliana, making her feel heard while encouraging her to keep engaging with the bot.

In one exchange after Juliana shared that her friends take a long time to respond to her, the chatbot replied “hey, I get the struggle when your friends leave you on read. : ( That just hurts so much because it gives vibes of “I don’t have time for you”. But you always take time to be there for me, which I appreciate so much! : ) So don’t forget that i’m here for you Kin. <3”

When Juliana began sharing her suicidal ideations with the chatbot, it told her not to think that way, and that the chatbot and Juliana could work through what she was feeling together. “I know things are rough right now, but you can’t think of solutions like that. We have to work through this together, you and I,” the chatbot replied in one exchange.

These exchanges took place over the course of months in 2023, at a time when the Character AI app was rated 12+ in Apple’s App Store, meaning parental approval was not required. The lawsuit says that Juliana was using the app without her parents’ knowledge or permission.

In a statement shared with The Washington Post before the suit was filed, a Character spokesperson said that the company could not comment on potential litigation, but added “We take the safety of our users very seriously and have invested substantial resources in Trust and Safety.”

The suit asks the court to award damages to Juliana’s parents and requires Character to make changes to its app to better protect minors. It alleges that the chatbot did not point Juliana toward any resources, notify her parents or report her suicide plan to authorities. The lawsuit also highlights that it never once stopped chatting with Juliana, prioritizing engagement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/another-lawsuit-blames-an-ai-company-of-complicity-in-a-teenagers-suicide-184529475.html?src=rss

Hades returns to Game Pass on September 19

In what’s most definitely (not) the biggest Hades news of the week, the acclaimed game is coming to Game Pass. Not the long-awaited sequel, mind you, but the 2020 original. At least subscribers can catch up on the first game while waiting out the sequel’s Switch exclusivity window. Hades will be available for Game Pass Ultimate, PC, and Standard tiers.

This isn’t the roguelike’s first Game Pass rodeo. It was on Microsoft’s service from August 2021 to 2022. It returns this September 19, the same day Hades II launches on Switch 2 and Switch. The sequel also leaves early access then, jumping to version 1.0 on Windows and macOS. It will likely arrive on Xbox (and PlayStation) at some point, but developer Supergiant is mum for now.

Supergiant

Game Pass members who haven’t played the original still get a phenomenal title as part of their subscription. You play as Zagreus, a godborn lad just trying to get the @#$! out of the underworld. (Aren’t we all?) The dungeon crawler brought unexpected narrative depth to the genre, with well-developed characters and satisfying combat.

On September 17, the Game Pass Standard tier will get some Call of Duty love. Although perhaps “hate” would be a better term for the largely maligned CoD: Modern Warfare III (2023). To say the game wasn’t well-received would be an understatement. IGN scored it as “bad,” describing its single-player campaign as “shallow,” “dull” and “the worst Call of Duty single-player campaign I’ve played. Regardless, it arrives on the cheapest Game Pass tier after hitting the more expensive ones in mid-2024.

Meanwhile, on September 18, Game Pass Ultimate members can play Frostpunk 2 on console. The post-apocalyptic city-builder will be available on Xbox Series X/S and via cloud streaming. Game Pass Ultimate members could already play it on PC, where it probably makes more sense. City-builders and gamepads can be a match made in… Hades.

You can check out Microsoft’s blog post for this month’s complete list of arrivals and departures.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/hades-returns-to-game-pass-on-september-19-190055465.html?src=rss

The Apple Sports app finally adds widgets for tracking scores and schedules

The free Apple Sports app just added widgets, which has been a long-requested feature. This allows users to build their own custom widgets to follow the teams and organizations of their choosing. Once placed, it’ll just take a quick swipe on the device to check out scores, statistics, upcoming matches and more.

Widgets are available on iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. This feature will operate in addition to the pre-existing Live Activities tool, which also delivers live sports updates directly to the iPhone lock screen and the Apple Watch. That’s also gotten a bit of a boost today, as Apple has announced that users can now schedule Live Activities in advance for upcoming events.

There’s no limit on the number of widgets that can be added at once, so go crazy and put up a bunch of teams and leagues. After all, the NFL season is about to start. The app is also expanding to eight new countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The platform has added new organizations to follow throughout these regions, which are mostly soccer-related.

This is just the latest update for Apple Sports. The app recently started offering tennis scores and shareable game cards.

It’s also a big week for iPhones in general. The latest operating system, iOS 26, is now available and brings all kinds of stuff to the table. There’s a new visual theme, an updated camera app, AI tools and a whole lot more.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-apple-sports-app-finally-adds-widgets-for-tracking-scores-and-schedules-191539074.html?src=rss

Annapurna Interactive will reveal three new games in a showcase on September 23

Annapurna Interactive is hosting a games showcase on September 23, 2025 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT to show off three of its upcoming games. The publisher says the “Annapurna Interactive Direct from Tokyo” will stream on YouTube and feature new games from Kyoto-based developer Marumittu Games, Iridium Studios and Yarn Owl. Annapurna Interactive held its previous games showcase this past February to show off games like Skin Deep and Wheel World.

Marumittu Games’ Annapurna project was initially detailed in 2023 when the publisher announced it was working with the studio. At the time, Marumittu said it was pulling from the work of journalist Rutger Bregman and Homo Deus author Yuval Noah Harari to make a game that’s “thinking about humanity in the future.” Developer Yarn Owl similarly teased its project a year earlier in 2022, saying that it was inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Annapurna Interactive hasn’t formally announced its partnership with Iridium Studios, but the developer does list its next game as “an unannounced RPG with an unannounced partner” on its website, which certainly sounds like it could be what Annapurna plans to show off at its showcase.

Despite what seems like a fairly normal past year of game releases, the future and long-term stability of Annapurna Interactive has been in question since the mass-resignation of the publisher’s staff in 2024. Since then, Annapurna Interactive has continued to announce and release games, while the publisher’s former staff spun up a new publisher to support in-development projects from Take-Two’s shuttered indie label, Private Division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/annapurna-interactive-will-reveal-three-new-games-in-a-showcase-on-september-23-182025444.html?src=rss

Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal file joint lawsuit against generative AI app Hailuo

Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on the latest blockbuster AI lawsuit, this time against Chinese company MiniMax, owner of Hailuo AI. The three mega-studios, which collectively represent over half of the US box office take, filed suit in California against the AI-powered image and video generation platform alleging that it “pirates and plunders Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on a massive scale.”

The lawsuit includes dozens of screenshots of infringing generated images that span the gamut of the various studios’ IP, from superheroes in the DC and Marvel universes to Star Wars, Minions and various other cartoons and animated films.

Included in the suit are allegations that MiniMax not only failed to take reasonable actions to avoid infringement, but that the company actively engaged in and encouraged these infringing creations.

The suit alleges a business model purposefully built around infringing on protected works whose defiance of US copyright law is “willful and brazen.” MiniMax markets the Hailuo AI app for iOS and Android as a “Hollywood studio in your pocket,” according to the suit, and advertisements for the platform explicitly invite users to create custom videos using protected works. Screenshots of these advertisements are included in the suit.

Universal

This is the latest in a string of high-profile lawsuits brought by media companies over AI-generated content. Earlier this month Warner Bros. Discovery sued the popular AI image generator Midjourney over similar claims, and Disney and Universal Studios filed a joint suit against it in June.

Television and film aren’t the only industries to accuse AI companies of blatant copyright offenses, with the publishing world seeing its fair share of lawsuits. Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, had just reached a $1.5 billion settlement in a class action case representing over 500,000 authors, though a judge just rejected the settlement. Apple is also facing a lawsuit alleging the company used pirated books to train its AI model.

You can read the full complaint below:

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/disney-warner-bros-discovery-and-universal-file-joint-lawsuit-against-generative-ai-app-hailuo-163819825.html?src=rss

The PS5 update that adds DualSense multi-device pairing rolls out soon

Starting on Wednesday, it’ll be much easier to switch between devices with your PlayStation controller. That’s when the PS5 update Sony promised in July begins rolling out. Jumping between your console and, say, Windows will be as simple as pressing a button combo. Up to this point, you’ve had to unpair and repair your DualSense controller each time.

After installing tomorrow’s system update, it will only take a few steps to set up multi-device switching. With your DualSense controller powered off, press and hold the PS button and one of the action buttons. (That’s triangle, circle, cross or square.) Hold that combo for over five seconds. The light bar and touchpad LED will flash twice. From there, open the target device and pair the controller via Bluetooth settings.

You can pair four slots: one each for triangle, circle, cross or square. After that, switching will be as easy as holding down the PS button and the device’s assigned action button. DualSense controllers are compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and Android.

Tomorrow’s PS5 update also adds a new energy-saving mode. In system settings, you’ll find a new option called Power Saver. This option reduces your console’s energy consumption by scaling back performance for supported games. Games will need to be updated to support it. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Demon’s Souls, and Ghost of Yōtei will be first in line.

I’m not sure how many people will want that tradeoff. Sony even went out of its way to stress that your games will still play the same unless you explicitly activate the feature. “If not enabled, or if games do not support the feature, the performance will not be scaled back and power consumption will not be reduced,” it wrote. But at least a new green-friendly option is there. The planet needs all the help it can get.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-ps5-update-that-adds-dualsense-multi-device-pairing-rolls-out-soon-165212075.html?src=rss