Technology - Kalakshar US

Lazarus review: Wildly stylish, but it’s no Cowboy Bebop

You could call Shinichiro Watanabe’s Lazarus a retread of his masterpiece, Cowboy Bebop. That’s not to say the show is bad — based on the five episodes I’ve seen so far, Lazarus is still an entertaining and stylish ride. But I’ve just come to expect more from a legendary creator like Watanabe.

It’s set in the year 2052, a near-future when a renowned neuroscientist released Hapna, a drug that can erase all pain. If that sounds too good to be true, it is: Hapna’s creator Dr. Skinner reveals to the world that everyone who took the drug will eventually die. And then he disappears. Like an evil Willy Wonka, he announces one hope for survival: Find him in 30 days, or humanity is doomed.

To help find Skinner, the government sets up a covert group named Lazarus made up of convicted criminals. And that’s where the similarities come in. There’s the lead, Axel Gilberto, a parkour junkie who resembles Bebop’s reckless and carefree Spike Spiegel. Rounding out the team is Christine, a gorgeous femme fatale; Eleina, a bright young hacker; and Doug, a gruff investigator who has little patience for Axel’s shit. Those are all clear analogs to the Bebop crew of Faye, Ed and Jet. The one new element of the team is Leland, a cute college student who takes on various roles during the show (perhaps he’s just an anthropomorphized version of Bebop’s adorable pup Ein).

There’s a bit of Suicide Squad in the idea of using criminals to find humanity’s greatest villain, but Lazarus doesn’t really justify why that’s the case (that may be answered later in the show’s 13-episode run). And you’d think there would be more government efforts beyond a group of misfits to accomplish a humanity-saving mission. The Lazarus crew get a few chances to bond throughout each episode, but their interpersonal dynamics feel less organic than the Bebop characters, whose relationships were enriched by the pressure-cooker environment of an interplanetery spaceship, ever-present economic struggle and compelling backstories. By episode five of Lazarus, I didn’t have any real understanding of these characters, whereas Bebop delivered the seminal episode Ballad of the Fallen Angels by then.

Like Watanabe’s Samurai Champloo, Lazarus is best enjoyed if you don’t look too closely at its plot holes or contrivances (Axel’s inhuman parkour abilities make Spike Spiegel’s antics seem tame in comparison). It’s better to sit back and enjoy the incredibly stylish vibes. That includes wonderfully fluid animation by Mappa; a catchy soundtrack by Kamasi Washington, Floating Points and Bonobo (with a great ending theme, “Lazarus” by The Boo Radleys); and bone-crunching action choreography by John Wick director Chad Stahelski. It’s hard not to appreciate all of the talent involved.

Adult Swim

But again, I just wish the whole project felt more original. Lazarus’s premise isn’t far off from Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, which involved a terrorist plot to deploy nanomachines that would kill everyone on Mars. It’s also funny to see the show arrive alongside a more inventive show like Max’s Common Side Effects, which deals with the real-world consequences of miracle drugs that could heal any illness or injury. That show’s characters are more grounded and relatable, and it explores why pharmaceutical companies would stop at nothing to kill such a miracle drug.

“The story began with Dr. Skinner… Is he a saint or a devil?” Watanabe said on the Engadget podcast via a translator (while he relaxed in shades with a mountain of records behind him, like the absolute boss he is). “Exactly what does he want to do? That was a big initial driving part of the story. … What you initially thought of Skinner at [the] start may change throughout the 13 episodes.”

Adult Swim

It’s not a huge spoiler to say that Dr. Skinner isn’t always portrayed as a villain in the show. Before the release of Hapna, he was a famous neuroscientist who pushed humanity to respond to the climate crisis. But instead of listening to him, the world’s countries chose to pursue profit over the future of humanity. With that in mind, it’s no shock Watanabe says the inspiration for Hapna was, in part, the opioid crisis.

Throughout flashbacks and short opening monologues, Lazarus gives us glimpses into Hapna’s effect on our main characters, all of which is more compelling than the actual quest to find Dr. Skinner. Did the pill really heal everyone’s pain, or did it just close off their ability to feel true emotions?

I’m sure newcomers to Watanabe’s work won’t have the same reservations with Lazarus as I do, I just wish the show had the same distinctive identity as his other series. Cowboy Bebop is a jazz-soaked noir; Space Dandy is a hilarious riff on the space opera genre; and Carol and Tuesday is a touching story of two young girls pursuing a pop music career. Lazarus is basically another action thriller, but this time it’s scored to modern jazz and electronic music.

I’m holding out hope that Lazarus matures into a more thoughtful show in its second half. But even if it doesn’t, it’s still worth celebrating anything new from Shinichiro Watanabe. There aren’t many anime directors and writers with his sense of style and excellent taste in music and action cinema. Even if it’s a lesser Watanabe project, it’s still more entertaining and creative than the vast majority of shows bombarding us in the streaming TV era, anime or otherwise.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/lazarus-review-wildly-stylish-but-its-no-cowboy-bebop-170300198.html?src=rss

TikTok’s ban deadline is coming. What happens next?

TikTok’s deadline to sell off or cede its US operations is once again approaching. The 75-day extension delaying the enforcement of a nationwide TikTok ban is set to run out Saturday, April 5, unless the company finally reaches an agreement to find a new owner. Who might buy it, and what happens if no deal is reached? Here’s the shape of things right now:

Potential buyers

President Donald Trump has suggested that “a deal” is imminent and could be reached before that deadline. What such an agreement will look like is still extremely unclear. A number of interested buyers have come forward, including YouTuber MrBeast, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and Perplexity AI. Oracle, which almost bought TikTok in 2020 and was a key part of TikTok’s earlier negotiations to address national security concerns, is also in the running.

Depending on which bid wins out, TikTok could end up looking very different. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, won’t allow another company to take control of the app’s coveted recommendation algorithm. That means a new owner would have to rebuild TikTok’s central feature. Perplexity AI, for example, has said it would take on this task of reverse-engineering the app’s “For You” feed, making it open source and implementing some kind of Community Notes-style fact checking feature. Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who joined a group of investors known as “Project Liberty,” has hinted at a vision for TikTok that somehow ties in with blockchain technology.

Option 2

There’s also another, potentially less disruptive option on the table. The White House is also considering a deal that would allow TikTok’s existing US investors to “roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company,” according to The New York Times. Under this arrangement, Oracle could also end up overseeing TikTok’s US data while ByteDance hangs onto its algorithm, as the Financial Times reported in March.

This would likely be a smoother transition than a full-on sale that would require a new owner to rebuild a significant part of the app. Aspects of it are also very similar to terms TikTok already agreed to under a previous agreement with Oracle known as Project Texas. However, this sort of deal may also not be entirely legal, as Politico recently pointed out. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the law passed by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden last year, calls for a divestment of TikTok and its algorithm.

It’s also not clear whether Chinese officials would be willing to sign off on such an arrangement, though Trump has suggested he could use the threat of tariffs as negotiating leverage. “We’re dealing with China also on it because they may have something to do with it. And we’ll see how that goes,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.

No deal

So what happens if Trump’s “deal” isn’t finalized by Saturday? The answer, it seems, is… probably nothing. Trump has said he would likely extend the deadline again if the clock runs out on the current extension. (Once again, it’s not entirely clear if another extension is legal, but CNN reports that a second extension might be an uphill battle if challenged in court.) In the meantime, TikTok is unlikely to go dark like it (briefly) did in January when the ban law first went into effect.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktoks-ban-deadline-is-coming-what-happens-next-162420478.html?src=rss

Amazon’s new cinema plan is perfect… for the ‘80s

If you ever needed a definitive example of how money doesn’t necessarily buy you success or taste, take a look at Amazon’s studio arm. The mega-retailer’s production division, now known as Amazon-MGM, has been making movies for more than a decade. Very few of the entries in its lineup have been world-beaters, but that hasn’t deterred the outfit from persisting. The New York Times is today reporting that under its new head, Courtney Valenti, Amazon’s movie division has plans to own the in-person cinema experience.

Amazon is apparently gearing up to release “up to 14 big, broad commercial films a year to theaters nationwide and around the world.” Each film would spend 45 days in the theaters before heading to pay-per-view and then to Prime Video at some point after. The move comes in the face of shrinking box office receipts and fewer people heading to the cinema in general. Not to mention it’s also planning to produce an equal number of films that’ll go direct to Prime, which seems counter-intuitive given the desire to push people toward theaters.

That doesn’t recognize the shift in viewing habits, especially among younger people, who’d much rather sit and watch YouTube for hours at a time. Or that the box office took a hit because of COVID-19 that it never really bounced back from. Or that a lot of people would rather wait for a film to become available “for free” on a service they already pay for.

It also doesn’t take into account the fact cinemas are becoming increasingly unaffordable, and not that nice a place to sit for multiple hours. Last year, the cinema industry said it would spend $2.2 billion renovating their facilities to lure wary customers back. The planned additions included renovations for chairs and carpets, as well as the construction of ziplines and pickleball courts. Nowhere on the list was mentioned “make cinema tickets cheaper” or “don’t make viewers sit through half an hour of TV adverts before the trailers.”

At the risk of sounding obvious, that’s one hell of a lot of material for one company to put out in a year. Especially when so many competitors with better track records are putting out far fewer films and seeing success. On paper, 14 movies a year feels like the sort of strategy you could last get away with in the 1980s. After all, people had fewer options, cinemas were busier and studios could rely on the triple-whammy of the box office, rental and VHS markets.

It doesn’t help Amazon isn’t pledging to make quality movies, just lots of them, which suggests a mindset that doesn’t value scarcity. After all, there are many instances of things made and sold in small, limited quantities that garner far more attention than something mass-produced. Think about how hard it is for one of those latter-day Marvel movies to stick in the consciousness when you know there’ll be another one along in a month or two.

It calls to mind Amazon’s battles with the Broccolis, until recently the custodians of the James Bond franchise. Let’s not overthink this, they are just silly spy movies — but ones made with a level of craft and attention rarely seen in the modern era. The fact there can be a multi year gap between entries in the series means each film gets far more attention. That was in conflict with Amazon’s apparent desire to use the Bond name to push out a thousand different streaming series, game shows and movies on a regular basis.

And, at the risk of sounding uncharitable, it’s not as if Amazon’s movie slate has been a hit parade thus far. Many of the studios’ buzzier hits were picked up at film festivals rather than coming from inside, while its homegrown fare has floundered. That’s not to say its rivals are doing any better on this front — just read the reviews of The Electric State to show you how badly Netflix is throwing mad money at C+-tier projects.

I often wonder if people look at the success of Disney’s big Marvel tentpoles and assume that it’s easy to replicate. A film like Avengers: Endgame was the payoff to a decade-long plan built from the ground-up on the backs of less successful films. Across 2024, Disney put 15 films into cinemas, but even a mega-behemoth like Disney does it across its seven or eight different divisions.

In terms of attractive pitches, 14 films a year from the people who spent more than $200 million on Red One isn’t particularly compelling. Amazon’s going to have to give people a reason to get out to the theaters, but that’s going to be a challenge if the emphasis is on putting more raw material into the pipeline rather than making anything halfway considered or compelling.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/amazons-new-cinema-plan-is-perfect-for-the-80s-150653674.html?src=rss

Apple’s Find My has finally launched in South Korea

Apple’s Find My feature has finally been enabled in South Korea, according to a company announcement translated by Apple Insider. This comes after years of public demand in which the finding network tool was absent from the country. The omission was especially odd when you consider that Apple sold AirTags throughout the region. Without Find My, they are basically just puck-shaped paperweights.

The company never explicitly stated why it limited access to Find My in South Korea, but it appeared to be related to local laws that could have allowed the government access to the location data. The service first appeared during a beta test of iOS 18.4, but the official software update makes it available to everyone in the country. Find My has long been functional in South Korea’s outlying territories like Baengnyeongdo and Ulleungdo.

“Find My is an important tool that allows users to grasp the location of the most precious things to them, such as friends, family and personal items, and I am very happy to be able to introduce this function to Korea,” said David Dorn, senior director of Apple’s service products, in a statement on the company’s local website.

The modern iteration of Find My launched in the US in 2019 as part of iOS 13. However, the tool actually dates back to a service called Find My iPhone that started in 2010. Apple recently expanded functionality to let users share the location of a lost item with other people on the network. This is helpful when negotiating the return of a lost item with a stranger.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/apples-find-my-has-finally-launched-in-south-korea-151437244.html?src=rss

iPhone 16 Pro longterm review: While Apple Intelligence underwhelms, Camera Control fits right in

When we reviewed the iPhone 16 Pro last year, Apple Intelligence was barely available. Since then, the iPhone 16 series has benefitted from several new features, apps and improvements. Some (or most) of them were Apple Intelligence features that were teased back at WWDC 2024, months before the iPhone 16 Pro launched.

AI features weren’t the only changes this time around, with the iPhone 16 getting an entirely new button. The so-called Camera Control wasn’t just a simple app shortcut, but an elaborate multifunction button that offered a haptic half-press and the ability to swipe across to adjust camera settings and options.

Managing Editor Cherlynn Low said we were still ”waiting on Apple Intelligence” in our initial review. Now, as we hit iOS 18.4, was it worth the wait?

iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence so far

Mat Smith for Engadget

Apple Intelligence was late, arriving as part of iOS 18.1 back in October 2024. Initial generative AI features included writing tools like proofreading and rewriting, as well as text summaries and live transcription for phone calls and voice notes in the Notes app. A few months later, iOS 18.2 gave us the Apple Intelligence features that made most of the headlines when first announced at WWDC. That included ChatGPT integration, AI image generation in Image Playgrounds and Genmoji.

Starting with iOS 18.1, one of the most controversial Apple Intelligence features is actually my favorite: Notification Summaries. It’s a good attempt at taming the wild west of countless group chats across multiple messaging apps, calendar reminders, Substack pings and everything else.

You don’t need to update every individual app for Notification Summaries to kick in. As soon as iOS 18.1 landed, my messy WhatsApp chats were streamlined. I thought it cute when my iPhone told me a friend had laughed at my comment, and suggested where we could meet and a date. That was distilled from a ten-message barrage they’d sent.

Mat Smith for Engadget

It’s not perfect, though. Apple had to clarify that notification summaries are AI-generated, and make that clearer beyond a small Apple Intelligence icon. This was after the BBC complained about multiple summaries that twisted the content of some of its headlines. I’ve also had notification summaries that incorrectly guessed the subject of a sentence or entire topic of a thread, but on the whole, it’s a useful utilization of AI smarts.

There are more natural language hooks across most of iOS 18, too. You can now search for images in the Photos app with descriptions, dates, location and more. Those natural-language smarts take on a different function with writing tools, courtesy of Apple Intelligence. Even though I’m not a particularly clean writer (hey, Cher), these writing tools are not all that useful. I haven’t used them much beyond quick email responses to work requests and events, but the ability to proofread, rewrite or check tone may prove useful to some.

The writing tools also work inside the Voice Memos app, which can now transcribe conversations, meetings and more. Here, it helps make things more concise, with options to turn transcripts into summaries, key points, lists and even tables. If the recording is clear enough and they’re not too long, iOS 18 does well on these transcriptions. Several times, the iPhone 16 Pro straight-up declined to summarize a transcript. Why? All I got was a notification that the tools “aren’t designed to work with this type of content.”

Elsewhere, Apple struggles to catch up with AI innovations on rival devices. Like Google Pixel’s Magic Eraser (and all the other Android riffs), Clean Up now allows you to scrub out distracting elements and photo bombers from your pics. However, the results aren’t quite up to the standard of the competition. Sometimes, however, it nails it.

Some Apple Intelligence features have faded into the background after an initial buzz. Image Playground offers the ability to AI-generate your own images and had plenty of users itching to get off the beta waitlist to play around with the app. After a bit of testing, however, I haven’t used it in the months since it launched.

There might be a future for Playgrounds within iOS, though. For instance, Apple’s Invites app lets you embed Image Playground results within your events, which is helpful if you don’t have a photo to illustrate the invitation. As a standalone app, however, it doesn’t quite deliver enough to live on my home screen. It’s gone the way of GarageBand, Pages and Apple Maps on my iPhone.

Genmoji, on the other hand, is easier to use, and I use it often. With it, you can create your own emoji reactions with specific people, objects and backgrounds. I already have several established favorites, like me eating cereal and a chronically late friend with clocks in the background, and I’ll probably continue to make emoji as life demands it. For example, a passenger behind me on a flight to Barcelona last month had three cats with her. So, I made a cats-on-a-plane Genmoji. Exactly what Tim Cook intended.

Mat Smith for Engadget

Some software features are also specific to the iPhone 16 Pro series (and the 15 Pro). Camera Control aside, the new button also offers access to Visual Intelligence with a long press. Visual Intelligence is Apple’s take on Google Lens, tapping visual AI smarts to analyze what your iPhone is pointing at. It can recognize text, like words on menus, and even translate for you. If you get lucky, it’ll even identify the outside of a restaurant and (with some ChatGPT power) tell you the opening hours and what kind of cuisine it offers. It’s particularly effective in identifying landmarks, but busy scenes can quickly derail it. Unfortunately, you can’t tap on a particular object in the frame to clarify specifics. However, the ability to create calendar events from a poster is pretty cool — even if I usually forget to use it.

That’s Apple Intelligence, for now. There are a lot of smart touches, but so far, it isn’t remarkable. I credit Apple’s attempts to make most of its AI features either processed on device, or connected to the company’s Private Cloud Compute, which uses larger server-based models. Apple has reiterated that your data is never stored during these requests. Even with ChatGPT integration, if you don’t use an account with OpenAI, only your request and attachments are sent to ChatGPT. Your Apple Account and IP address are not shared with OpenAI. Apple’s deal with OpenAI means the latter can’t use your request to improve or train its models, either.

The patchy arrival of iOS features, especially Apple Intelligence, isn’t a good look for the company.

However, the rest of iOS 18 continues to deliver valuable new features and upgrades to the iPhone experience, like the aforementioned Invites app, additional content (and games) for News+ subscribers and my favorite feature since the AirPods introduced noise-cancellation, the ability to nod or shake your head to halt Siri announcements, Fitness prompts and even decline calls. I’m a busy guy!

Cameras and Camera Control

Mat Smith for Engadget

With Camera Control, Apple has introduced its most intriguing interface change since the short-lived 3D Touch.” That tech, if you forgot, offered haptic feedback on your screen tapping during the iPhone 6 era. Camera Control acts like a proper manual camera button, even when I know it combines a physical button with elaborate touch sensors. This enables deeper controls by swiping across it or semi-pressing.

Instantly, it works as a basic camera app launcher, just like the iPhone’s Action button has done in recent years. Already, it’s better placed, though, lower on the right edge of the phone, ready for your thumb if held vertically, or index finger when held horizontally. It goes beyond being a launcher, though. Swiping across it lets you adjust zoom, exposure and even toggle the new Photographic Style options. Then, a half-press works as a way to confirm your settings.

Depending on how you use the iPhone’s camera, a lot of the settings might not deserve their place within the Camera Control’s menus. While I often tinkered with Exposure and Zoom, Photographic styles are easier to adjust from the iPhone in the normal touchscreen way. I’m also not going to meddle with simulated f-stops when taking candid shots of my friends and family.

Like Apple Intelligence, Camera Control launched incomplete. When the iPhone 16 Pro first went on sale, it lacked a half-press focus like ye olde traditional cameras, and it took till January 2025 for an AF-AE lock to arrive through iOS 18.3. The feature, however, remains buried in settings and has to be toggled on.

It works well though. You tap on an object you’d like the iPhone to focus on, hold the button halfway, and it’ll lock exposure and focus for as long as you keep your finger down – like a camera. It’s frustrating that we had to wait this long for what seems like a core function of Camera Control.

To be devil’s advocate – and it’s an argument regularly leveled at AI features, both Apple Intelligence and elsewhere – did you need Camera Control? Given how much I use my phone’s cameras, I’d argue that a camera launcher is worth factoring into the hardware. But the Action Button covered that.

Camera Control also seemed like a ‘pro’ iPhone feature, so it’s surprising to see it across the entire device lineup, barring the more recent iPhone 16e.

Another change worth noting is that the iPhone 16 Pro got camera parity with the larger Pro Max this year, with a 5x optical zoom I use most of the time. Of course, this isn’t a remarkable feature if you were already using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. But if you prefer the smaller of the two Pro options, aside from battery life, there’s no reason to stop you getting the cheaper iPhone 16 Pro.

Repairability and longevity

I haven’t had to repair my iPhone 16 Pro so far, and there are no pronounced scratches on the 6.3-inch screen or body. While I am also a case dweeb, I don’t use screen protectors — I haven’t needed to. The latest iPhones do come with even more repair-friendly hardware and policies if the worst were to happen. Anecdotally, according to my experience the titanium body and Apple’s Ceramic Shield treatment on the display do seem to make this generation of ‘pro’ iPhones tougher than its predecessors

Apple’s new Repair Assistant, designed to address parts pairing issues, lets both you and repair professionals configure new and used Apple parts directly on the device, with no need to contact Apple personnel on the phone to ensure iOS plays with new parts.

Another improvement, while not part of the 16 Pro, is battery removal. On both the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, the battery can be released from its enclosure by running a low-voltage current through the iPhone’s battery adhesive. However, the iPhone 16 Pro’s battery is now encased in aluminum, making repairs less fraught, and protecting the battery more when exposed to repair tools. I haven’t had to put it to use yet, but the company’s increased willingness to embrace right-to-repair is headed in the right direction, especially after its sluggish response in the past.

Six months on, the 16 Pro’s slightly bigger battery is holding up, with the one I have still showing it’s at full health. I am a heavy phone user, and 256 charge cycles later, iOS says it’s still at 100 percent capacity, which I found impressive. If I need to replace the battery, I’m heartened that it’s easier than ever on an iPhone.

Wrap-up

Mat Smith for Engadget

The iPhone 16 Pro is one of the best smartphones available. But if there’s a particular area where Apple’s phones are lacking compared to the flagship competition, it might be the messaging and the marketing. It took too long for Apple Intelligence to land on devices. If Apple Intelligence hadn’t been so key to Apple’s presentation both at WWDC and the iPhone 16 launch event, the delay wouldn’t look so bad.

Intriguingly, we’re at a time when the likes of the Galaxy and Pixel series have never felt more like iPhones. Or do iPhones feel like Android phones? I’m not sure anymore. Either way, we haven’t seen rival devices mimic the Camera Control button.

I appreciate that a lot of the new features and additions don’t seem to clog up the iPhone experience. Don’t care for camera filters? You’ll rarely see them. Want to swap the Camera Control button for another function? Go ahead. Want to prioritize Messages notifications, but not WhatsApp messages? Go wild.

With a light, strong titanium build, there’s still a tangible premium feel to the iPhone 16 Pro, compared to the aluminum iPhone 16. The same can be said about the cameras, with a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor and 5x optical zoom, which the base iPhone cannot match. Functionality-twise, the base iPhone 16 now delivers the Dynamic Island and Camera Control, which makes a ‘pro’ iPhone a little harder to define. For the iPhone 16 series, it boils down to more premium materials and a powerful zoom camera.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/iphone-16-pro-longterm-review-apple-intelligence-134517480.html?src=rss

Pick up the Beats Pill speaker while it’s on sale for a record-low price

The Amazon Spring Sale might be over, but there are still lots of great deals to shop. For instance, there’s a 33 percent discount on one of our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers for 2025. The Beats Pill is down to $100 from $150 — a record-low price for the speaker.

Let’s be honest, that first glimpse of warm weather is here and it’s making us dream of sitting by the beach or picnics with friends. The Beats Pill is a solid option to provide the soundtrack to your summer. We gave it in 83 in our review thanks, in part, to its durability. The speaker has an IP67 waterproof rating, so you shouldn’t have to worry at all if it gets a bit wet.

The Beats Pill also offers 24-hour battery life and improved sound quality from its predecessor. However, we have found that the audio does hurt a bit when at loud volumes and it can have an inconsistent bass tone.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-the-beats-pill-speaker-while-its-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-140306981.html?src=rss

SpaceX launches Fram2, the first crewed spaceflight to explore Earth’s polar regions

SpaceX has successfully launched the Fram2 private crewed mission on March 31 at 9:46 PM Eastern time on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. Fram2 is the first human spaceflight to explore the Earth’s polar regions, which are not visible to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The crew will observe the Earth’s poles through a panoramic cupola attachment from an altitude of 430 km (267 miles). SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule can fly from the North to the South Pole in around 46 minutes and Fram2 is a three-to-five day mission, so it’s expected to provide scientists with a healthy amount of footage capturing the polar regions. In fact, SpaceX has already released the mission’s first views of the Earth’s poles from space.

First views of Earth’s polar regions from Dragon pic.twitter.com/3taP34zCeN

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2025

The crew will observe unusual light emissions resembling auroras in the regions, including STEVEs, which appear as purple and green light ribbons in the night sky. They will also conduct 22 experiments designed to better understand human health in space for the sake of long-duration missions in the future. The crew will capture the first human X-rays in space, study exercises meant to preserve muscle and bone mass, explore sleep and stress patterns using wearable tech, monitor their glucose and observe the female crew members’ hormonal health. They also won’t get the typical medical and mobility assistance upon landing to see how they re-acclimate to gravity on their own, and they will get an MRI immediately after they arrive. NASA called Fram2’s launch a “significant step” in humanity’s understanding of how our bodies will fare in outer space.

pic.twitter.com/SYngaLWghI

— NASA (@NASA) April 1, 2025

Chun Wang, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency investor who now lives in Norway, paid for the trip and is one of the astronauts currently on board. Jannicke Mikkelsen, a filmmaker working on technology for movies shot in remote and hazardous environments, serves as the mission’s vehicle commander. Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Norway, is the pilot. Finally, Eric Philips, a professional polar adventurer and guide, is the mission’s medical officer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/spacex-launches-fram2-the-first-crewed-spaceflight-to-explore-earths-polar-regions-130006166.html?src=rss

British authors want Meta to answer for alleged copyright infringement

Creatives in the UK are once again speaking out against AI developers accessing copyrighted material. The Society of Authors have published an open letter calling for UK Secretary of State Lisa Nandy to hold Meta accountable for possible copyright infringement regarding its LLM, Llama 3. Signatories of the letter include successful British authors Richard Osman, Kazuo Ishiguro, Val McDermid and Sarah Waters.

A March 20 article in The Atlantic served as the letter’s impetus. It reported that Meta had used LibGen, a pirated collection of over 7.5 million books, to train its AI models. Anyone on the internet over the last few weeks has likely seen videos of distraught authors learning that their work is available on the database (and potentially used by Meta without their permission). A lawsuit in the US alleges Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg approved the use of LibGen’s data to train its AI. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include writers Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

“These cases are shining a light on the unscrupulous behaviour exhibited by global tech companies which seemingly exploit copyright-protected material, safe in the knowledge that they will not be held to account,” the Society of Authors’ letter stated. “This must change, and global tech companies must now be held accountable and pay for the use they make of authors’ works.”

The authors implore Nandy to bring Meta senior executives before Parliament and make them commit to respecting copyrights and compensating authors for any previous infringements.

“Authors are almost powerless given the enormous cost and complexities of pursuing litigation against corporate defendants with such deep pockets,” the letter continued. “We call upon you and the UK Government to take all action available to ensure that the rights, interests and livelihoods of authors are adequately protected. Failure to act without further delay will unquestionably have a catastrophic and irreversible impact on all UK authors given that from development through to output, creators’ rights are being systematically and repeatedly ignored.”

Artists across the creative industries have also recently protested the UK government’s December 2024 proposal to change copyright law. The shift would provide AI developers with a copyright exemption and require creatives to “opt out” or allow access to their materials.

In February, over 1,000 musicians released an album called Is This What We Want?, with 12 songs spelling out, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.” It coincided with the UK News Media Association’s Make It Fair campaign calling on the government to support creative industries and compensate those individuals if allowing AI to train on their work.

That same week creatives, from Paul McCartney to Helen Fielding, also shared an open letter against the proposal. Published in The Times, it stated, “There is no moral or economic argument for stealing our copyright. Taking it away will devastate the industry and steal the future of the next generation.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/british-authors-want-meta-to-answer-for-alleged-copyright-infringement-114501800.html?src=rss

OpenAI’s built-in image generator for ChatGPT is now available to free users

ChatGPT’s built-in image generation feature is now available to everyone. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last week that the company is delaying its rollout to free tier “for a while,” because the tool was way more popular than they had expected. But the company made the feature available to free users over the weekend, allowing them to generate images from within ChatGPT and without having to switch to OpenAI’s DALL-E generator. Prior to its rollout to the free tier, the tool was only available to Plus, Pro and Team subscribers.

Altman previously said that free users will get a limit of three images per day. Based on our experience trying it out, some accounts are limited to just one a day. Those who find themselves able to generate more than one will still have to wait anywhere between a few minutes and a few hours. One of the tool’s most popular uses that we’ve seen so far is the creation of Ghibli-style images using real-life photos. Users simply have to upload the photo they want to use and then instruct ChatGPT in natural language to create a Ghibli-style version of it. The trend had raised concerns, yet again, about the legality of using copyrighted work as training data for artificial intelligence. It also resurfaced the reaction of Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli’s founder, upon being shown AI-generated animation years ago. “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself,” the director said.

In a tweet, Altman said that the tool could still exhibit erratic behavior and could refuse some generations that should be allowed. OpenAI is still fixing the issue. The company also told TechCrunch that it “takes action” if a generated image violates company guidelines, though it didn’t exactly detail about what those actions are.

Creating and customizing images is as simple as chatting using GPT‑4o—just describe what you need, including any specifics like aspect ratio, exact colors using hex codes, or a transparent background. pic.twitter.com/fnen1aDjNZ

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 25, 2025

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-built-in-image-generator-for-chatgpt-is-now-available-to-free-users-120003146.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Get ready for Nintendo’s big Switch 2 reveal

I’m sidestepping the desperate attempts at April 1 shenanigans and focusing on the imminent Nintendo Direct broadcast, which is likely to confirm rumors and sink others.

The last few Switch 1 games have been revealed, meaning tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct: Switch 2 presentation, kicking off at 9AM ET / 6AM PT will be all about the new console — no distractions. (Although, I’d be cool with a Silksong release date, finally.)

We already know the Switch 2 will be a bigger console, with a bigger screen and Joy-Cons. There also may be some sort-of-mouse functionality baked into the controllers this time, but Nintendo’s focus is on tech specs — and the games. What does the company have cooking?

— Mat Smith

The biggest tech stories you missed

Google’s new experimental AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, is now available to free users too

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Apple is reportedly on track to launch the M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro later this year

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The Light Phone III doesn’t have apps or internet, but still costs $799

$599 if you pre-order.

Light Phone

The company behind several minimalist handsets has just released the Light Phone III. It may be the perfect device for folks who brag about giving up smartphones and have the money to experiment with stripped-down phones that are the ultimate step back from modern convenience. Whoops, sorry, I let my mask slip there. Hey, at least there’s no AI nonsense.

There is a cool, crisp B&W OLED display, new for this third iteration, instead of e-ink paper. There’s still no internet, no apps, no email. There is, however, a place for your podcasts and a simple camera with a physical button. There’s also a Maps app, powered by Here, but it’s private, so there’s no info shared on where you’re trying to get to. Privacy like that, however, costs a heady $799, unless you can get the pre-order price of $599 at launch, with estimated delivery in July.

Continue reading.

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk’s social media company

Confused? You should be.

Yes, xAI has purchased X, according to a post shared by Musk. Besides their owner and similar names, the companies are already connected through xAI’s chatbot, Grok, so it makes some sense. The biggest surprise may be that X is still valued at $33 billion — according to Musk and his companies, at least. X, once Twitter, was acquired by Musk in 2022 for $43 billion. xAI, like many leading AI companies, has been raising money as often and as quickly as possible. Combining the two companies may ease some of the debt Musk took on.

The companies’ futures are “intertwined,” according to Musk. Financially, now, that’s very true.

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iOS 18.4 is available now

It adds new emoji, Apple News+ Food and priority notifications.

iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 include a new Apple News+ Food section in the News app that collects recipes and food-oriented articles, including exclusive recipes for Apple News+ subscribers. The updates also introduce new emoji, AI-sorted Priority Notifications in the Notification Center and a new Ambient Music tool in the Control Center.

After a bit of a delay, Apple Intelligence will be available in the European Union for the first time on iPhone and iPad. The suite of AI features will now also work in several new languages “including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (simplified) — as well as localized English for Singapore and India.”

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111414827.html?src=rss