Technology - Kalakshar US

The Morning After: Our verdict on Apple’s $600 Macbook Neo

Apple’s new family of laptops might have a cringeworthy name, but don’t let it fool you. Despite the MacBook Neo running on a built-for-iPhone A-series processor and being limited to 8GB of RAM, it delivers on what Macs do best. It has a capable screen, keyboardand trackpadand its overall build quality should embarrass other laptop-making rivals that have compromised on those areas with their $600 laptops.

Engadget

Don’t expect a gaming rig – it struggled predictably to run Lies of P, but for most of the things you need a laptop for – especially for students and desk workers – it handles them with aplomb. Yeah, I said aplomb.

Check out our full Neo review by Devindra Hardawar – surely you’re intrigued by the idea of a $600 MacBook?

— Mat Smith

The other big stories (and deals) this morning

Bumble is the latest dating app to add an AI assistant

Alexa+ can now swear

I g uess this wasn’t an Xbox after all

RAMaggedon is not expected to ease this year as IDC cuts 2026 PC market forecast again.

Rabbit teases its modern take on the netbook, built for vibe coders

I don’t have to like the Cyberdeck name.

Rabbit

Project Cyberdeck is Rabbit’s attempt to make a PC tailored for vibe coding. The company began working on Project Cyberdeck after its CEO, Jesse Lyu, saw how extensively his software engineers were using Claude Code. Unfortunately, existing cheap, lightweight machines had bad keyboards and other limitations. So Rabbit is making its ownand it’s taking a big serving of inspiration from the tiny, almost pocket-sized laptops that VAIO made back in the late ’00s and early 2010s.

Continue reading.

Microsoft’s Project Helix consoles will head to game studios in 2027

Xbox wants a do-over.

In a bid to distract from corporate reshuffles, fears of generative AI game slop and a pretty poor showing against the PS5, Microsoft is getting ahead of its rival. At GDC 2026, the company said that it planned to get Project Helix dev consoles in the hands of game devs as soon as 2027.

Jason Ronald, vice-president of next generation for Xbox, reiterated that the new system would be capable of playing both Xbox console games and PC games. (Sony’s decision to halt porting its games across to PC makes more sense. ) Ronald said it would incorporate a custom AMD-made system-on-a-chip, offering “a magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability”.

Continue reading.

Meta bought another social network

Filled with bots, but on purpose.

The owners of Facebook are buying Moltbook, the hyped Reddit-like social network for AI agents that has only been around since January. The company hasn’t disclosed the terms of the deal, but Moltbook and its creators will be joining Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) when the deal closes.

And that definitely doesn’t sound like a cabal of comic book villains that fights the Justice League.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-120553713.html?src=rss

Apple says F1 streaming already exceeds everyone’s expectations

Apple’s exclusive deal for US broadcast rights of Formula 1 was a big shift to streaming from ESPN’s cable coverage of the past, but after the first race (the Australian Grand Prix), it seems to be going well. “The 2026 Formula 1 season on Apple TV is off to a strong start, with fans responding positively and viewership up year over year for the first weekend, exceeding both F1 and Apple expectations,” Apple VP Eddy Cue told The Hollywood Reporter.

Apple didn’t give any ratings or other details, but we can glean some clues from previous data. Last year, ESPN said the Australian GP averaged 1.1 million viewers, way up from the previous record of 659,000 in 2019. If Cue’s comments were accurate, that means Apple TV’s audience was above that, which would be impressive considering that it’s a streaming-only service.

When Apple’s Formula streaming deal was first announced, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was bullish on the deal. “It will allow us to enter in the houses of other people in a different way, in great quality that is very important for us,” he told Racer. Indeed, Apple is pouring resources into it in a way that ESPN never did. That includes advanced tech that offers multiple ways for fans to watch, including Multiview, Podium Viewer, driver cams and 4K Dolby Vision coverage, Cue noted.

Apple has jumped into Formula 1 racing in other other ways as well, taking advantage of a surge in the sport’s popularity aided by Netflix’s series Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The streaming service’s F1 movie starring Brad Pitt did huge box office numbers and is likely to see a sequel. Apple also struck a deal with Netflix on the aforementioned Drive to Survive series to share streaming of the current season eight (which details the F1 2025 championship). That agreement will also allow Netflix to stream the F1 Canadian Grand Prix live, along with Apple TV.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-says-f1-streaming-already-exceeds-everyones-expectations-111028328.html?src=rss

Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes arrives in April

Bandai Namco has announced a new Little Nightmares game, this time for virtual reality. Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes is developed by Iconik and not by Tarsier Studios, but it’s still connected to the beloved titles Little Nightmares I and II. Remember Dark Six, the protagonist Six’s dark doppelganger from the previous games? Well, in this installment, you will control her as she goes on a journey to reunite with the actual Six in order to reunited with her and become whole.

The adventure horror puzzle game promises an “eerie, atmospheric universe” with an immersive first-person perspective. It features new locations within Nowhere, a nightmarish world only accessible through dreams filled with dangerous creatures, such as the human-like Residents. The Thin Man, the antagonist of the franchise’s second installment, is also back.

Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes is optimized for the PSVR2, the Meta Quest 2, 3 and 3s, the Oculus Rift and Rift S, the Pico 4, the Valve Index and the HTC Vive. However, it also works with other PC VR headsets. It will be available on April 24, 2026, and you can add it to your Wishlist right now on the PlayStation, Steam and Meta stores.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/little-nightmares-vr-altered-echoes-arrives-in-april-101626370.html?src=rss

Teamsters urge DOJ to block Paramount’s Warner Bros. merger

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union that covers warehouse workers, drivers and a diverse collection of other laborers, has come out against Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. In a press release, the Teamsters announced that it has submitted a report to the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division outlining its concerns about the impact of the deal, and is urging the DOJ to intervene in the merger.

“This merger threatens the livelihoods of the very workers who built these studios into industry giants,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “We’ve seen what happens when corporations consolidate power: jobs disappear, production leaves American communities and workers pay the price. The DOJ has a responsibility to stop deals that eliminate competition and harm working families. Unless Paramount and Warner Bros. can guarantee enforceable protections for domestic production and labor standards, this merger can’t be allowed to move forward.”

The Teamsters are primarily concerned with how merging the two companies will consolidate power, and eliminate jobs in the process. “Previous mergers have a well-documented track record of harming workers — Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox resulted in eliminated production units, significant job losses and canceled projects,” the union says. Motion Picture Teamsters, the division of the union concentrated in Hollywood that transports the equipment, props and crew members that make productions possible, stand to be most impacted.

The high likelihood the merger impacts competition in the market is why the Teamsters expect the DOJ to step in, or in the case Paramount and Warner Bros. aren’t able to provide “enforceable commitments to increasing and maintaining domestic production, strong labor standards and guarantees against layoffs and erosion of union jobs,” block the deal entirely.

Engadget has asked the Teamsters union what it plans to do if the Department of Justice doesn’t intervene. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

If it’s allowed to eat Warner Bros., Paramount Skydance has committed to producing 30 theatrical films annually, evenly split across the two studios’ slates. The larger issue is that the company’s offer to acquire the studio is predicated on the idea it will quickly pass the muster of government regulators. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who’s known to have close ties with President Donald Trump, and has already benefited from favorable treatment from the administration. There’s a real possibility that Paramount’s new merger could similarly sail through, regardless of the Teamsters’ concerns.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/teamsters-urge-doj-to-block-paramounts-warner-bros-merger-215115721.html?src=rss

This web app lets you ‘channel surf’ YouTube like a ’90s kid watching cable

Many of us remember the halcyon days of being a kid in the ‘90s, spending a weekend afternoon with remote control in hand and a seemingly endless well of stuff to watch on TV. Now you can relive the experience thanks to the appropriately named Channel Surfer web app. It’s essentially a YouTube discovery tool that surfaces interesting videos, but presented in a retro homage to the cable channel screen.

Channel Surfer is the work of developer Steven Irby. He has 40 channels on the app right now, mostly grouping content by theme. There are channels for typical cable fare like news and sports, but also music, movies and a number of more tailored tech subjects like AI, gaming, gadgets and space.

“I built Channel Surfer because I’m tired of the algorithms and indecision fatigue,” he told TechCrunch, which is where we discovered the app. “I miss channel surfing and not having to decide what to watch. I want to just sit and tune into what’s on and not think about what to watch next.”

It seems Irby isn’t alone, because he posted on X that the number of views he’s getting for Channel Surfer already broke 10,000 on its first day.

OMG this blew up overnight! I got over 10,000 views on day 1. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fY20ZVB3Xl

— Steven Irby (@StevenIrby) March 12, 2026

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/this-web-app-lets-you-channel-surf-youtube-like-a-90s-kid-watching-cable-220651107.html?src=rss

NASA will try its Artemis II launch again in early April

NASA will soon give it another go on April Fools’ Day. On Thursday, NASA said it’s targeting April 1 at 6:24 PM ET for the Artemis II mission’s next launch attempt.

In case that date doesn’t pan out, NASA added April 2 at 7:22 PM as a secondary launch opportunity. If necessary, the agency foresees several more openings between April 1 and 6 to get the Orion rocket into space. “Within those six days between the first and the sixth, we can’t always turn around every day for an attempt,” NASA acting associate administrator Lori Glaze said at a press conference. “We would anticipate […] about four opportunities within that six-day period.”

In preparation, NASA is targeting March 19 (a week from today) to roll Artemis II back out to the launch pad. However, it warned that further setbacks could occur. “While I am comfortable and the agency is comfortable with targeting April 1 as our first opportunity, just keep in mind we still have work to go,” Glaze said. “There are still things that need to be done within the [Vehicle Assembly Building] and out at the pad. As always, we’ll be guided by what the hardware is telling us, and we will launch when we’re ready.”

Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, and John Honeycutt, Artemis II Mission Management Team chair (Photo by Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images)

GREGG NEWTON via Getty Images

Artemis II is set to be NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since the early 1970s. The 10-day mission will carry four astronauts around the Moon and back to the Earth. It’s set to be the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft, and an important step toward the ultimate goal of a Moon landing.

Initially targeted for early February, the launch was pushed back to March after several issues arose during a wet dress rehearsal. Then, 18 days later, it was delayed again (and moved off the launch pad) when NASA discovered a helium flow blockage in the rocket’s upper stage. And it’s all happening against the backdrop of Administrator Jared Isaacman’s overhaul of the Artemis program, which includes postponing a scheduled Moon landing until 2028.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-will-try-its-artemis-ii-launch-again-in-early-april-205714288.html?src=rss

X could be breaching US sanctions on Iran, watchdog warns

The newly verified X account for Iran’s supreme leader could be putting the company on the wrong side of US sanctions, according to a watchdog group. The Tech Transparency Project, which last month published a report on X granting premium perks to sanctioned officials in Iran, now says that the verified account for the country’s new leader raises fresh questions about the issue.

The TTP notes that the X account for Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, appears to be paying for an X premium subscription despite being on the US government’s list of sanctioned individuals since 2019. As the group points out, the Iran-based account was created this month and currently bears a blue checkmark, which typically indicates the account holder is paying for a subscription.

Last month, TTP found that X was providing premium subscriptions to Iranian officials sanctioned by @USTreasury, a transaction that may violate sanctions.

It didn’t end there.

An account for Iran’s new supreme leader created this month also carries the blue premium checkmark.🧵 pic.twitter.com/5K9Ss1Sex8

— Tech Transparency Project (@TTP_updates) March 12, 2026

The account belonging to Mojtaba Khamenei has been boosted by other state-linked accounts in Iran, including the one that previously belonged to Khamenei’s father. That account has had a gray checkmark, which indicates it belongs to a verified government official. Verified accounts on X are rewarded with extra visibility on the platform, along with other perks. The younger Khamenei’s verified account has already gained more than 20,000 new followers in the hours since TTP first posted about it.

“The new Supreme Leader’s account is just the latest account for a sanctioned entity apparently paying X for premium services,” TTP director Katie Paul said in a statement to Engadget. “TTP has identified dozens of accounts, many linked to designated terrorists, that subscribed to X premium over the past three years. What’s more concerning than the blatant disregard for U.S. sanctions law is the fact that Musk’s companies have a contract with the Pentagon while X is actively profiting from U.S. adversaries.”

As Paul notes, this isn’t the first time TTP has raised questions about whether X is running afoul of US sanctions via its premium service. In 2024, the group published a report noting that X was accepting paid verification from more than two dozen sanctioned individuals and groups. The company said at the time that it had a “a robust and secure approach in place for our monetization features.”

X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company removed blue checks from a handful of Iran-based accounts flagged by TTP last month following reporting from Wired.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-could-be-breaching-us-sanctions-on-iran-watchdog-warns-213550284.html?src=rss

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen plans to step down after 18 years

Adobe’s long-time CEO has shared that he plans to step down. Shantanu Narayen has been the chief exec at the tech company for 18 years, a tenure where he led Adobe in the major shift to become a software-as-a-service provider. The exact timeline for his exit is still up in the air, as Narayen will depart when the board of directors names his successor. He will remain on the board as its chair after leaving the CEO post.

While Adobe was not the first to take the SaaS route, it was one of the first major tech operations to do so. Software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and Lightroom from the brand have been mainstays in creative fields for years, so the launch of the Creative Suite subscription, which is now called Creative Cloud, was a pretty revolutionary change for its customers.

In an memo to employees, Narayen reflected on his nearly two decades at the helm. Adobe has grown from about 3,000 employees to more than 30,000, while its financial performance has leapt, revenue skyrocketing from less than $1 billion to more than $25 billion. He also looked toward the future and the seemingly-inevitable presence of artificial intelligence.

“The next era of creativity is being written right now — shaped by AI, by new workflows and by entirely new forms of expression,” he wrote. “Adobe has never waited for the future to arrive. We’ve anticipated it. We’ve built it. And we’ve led it. What gives me the greatest confidence isn’t just our technology — it’s our people. Your ingenuity, resilience and commitment to customers are what will define this moment.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/adobe-ceo-shantanu-narayen-plans-to-step-down-after-18-years-212705623.html?src=rss

KPop Demon Hunters is officially getting a sequel

KPop Demon Hunters is getting a sequel, Netflix and Sony have announced. Sony Pictures Animation handed the rights to the film to Netflix in 2021 as part of a larger licensing deal, but neither company could have expected how much of a hit it would ultimately become. Besides being Netflix’s “most-watched movie of all time,” KPop Demon Hunters is also nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 98th Academy Awards, and stands a good chance of winning.

Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the directors of the first film, are returning to direct the sequel. The project will be the first in the duo’s new “exclusive multiyear writing and directing partnership” with Netflix, which is focused on animation. “I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Kang said in a statement. “There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”

IT’S OFFICIAL HUNTERS 💫 KPOP DEMON HUNTERS will return for a sequel written and directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans.

“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters. There’s so much more to this… pic.twitter.com/QjxD9CV4Hw

— Netflix (@netflix) March 12, 2026

“These characters are like family to us, their world has become our second home,” Appelhans said. “We’re excited to write their next chapter, challenge them, and watch them evolve — and continue pushing the boundaries of how music, animation, and story can come together.”

To put KPop Demon Hunters popularity into perspective, the film had such a wide reach that Netflix was willing to set aside its aversion to theatrical releases and put it in theaters after it premiered on streaming. KPop Demon Hunters reportedly made over $19 million during its initial two-day theatrical run in August 2025, and Netflix has brought it back to theaters multiple times since then. That’s on top of the more than 500 million views the film racked up on Netflix itself. Not making a sequel would essentially be leaving money on the table.

According to Puck, the structure of Netflix’s deal with Sony means it will likely be the only company directly profiting off a KPop Demon Hunters follow-up, however. “While Sony has the contractual right to produce any sequels or spinoffs,” Puck reports, “it will make no additional money from the runaway success of the first film.” Sweetening that deal could be one reason Netflix and Sony Pictures expanded their film licensing partnership in January, a deal that reportedly cost the streaming service over $7 billion to secure.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/kpop-demon-hunters-is-officially-getting-a-sequel-195038954.html?src=rss

RAMaggedon not expected to ease this year as IDC cuts 2026 PC market forecast again

We’ve been seeing all sorts of warnings about how RAMaggedon is nigh. The latest horseman signalling a disaster is the International Data Corporation, which had already cautioned that things were looking bad at the end of 2025. Today, the organization further cut its forecasts for the PC market in 2026, anticipating that global shipments would fall 11.6 percent. The previous report projected that this year would see a falloff of up to 8.9 percent due to ongoing memory shortages. And the new figure was set before the escalation of conflicts in Iran and across the Middle East, which could further deflate computing and other industries.

“Memory shortages will persist well into 2027,” Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said in the latest forecast. “While we anticipate some easing of prices beginning in 2028, the market is unlikely to return to the pricing levels seen in 2025.”

This market report echoes price changes and official statements from all corners of the tech and computing sector. So far this year, we’ve already seen surging memory costs impacting HP, Samsung, Valve and Framework. Don’t be surprised if many other major players follow suit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/ramaggedon-not-expected-to-ease-this-year-as-idc-cuts-2026-pc-market-forecast-again-200000498.html?src=rss