Category: Technology

Elon Musk’s new AI company, xAI, will release its chatbot to subscribers of X’s $16 per month Premium+ plan once it exits beta. The system, called Grok, is positioned to be a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and started rolling out to a select group of users this weekend.

Musk shared a few screenshots of the conversational AI on X, and confirmed its responses will unfortunately be laden with Musk-type humor. The CEO also further touted its capabilities compared to the competition, tweeting, “Grok has real-time access to info via the X platform, which is a massive advantage over other models.” There’s no public timeline yet for when it will be out of beta, but Musk said it “will be available to all X Premium+ subscribers” when it is.

The comments coincide with the timing of the first developer conference from rival company OpenAI — which Musk co-founded and remained on the board for until 2018 — on November 6. OpenAI’s ChatGPT costs $20 per month to use.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xais-grok-chatbot-will-be-available-to-x-premium-subscribers-202127713.html?src=rss 

X has been trying to find buyers for user handles it reclaimed from inactive accounts, even going so far as to send out solicitation emails asking for “a flat fee of $50,000 to initiate a purchase,” according to Forbes. Elon Musk announced back in May that X, formerly Twitter, would start purging accounts that have gone dormant, and has alluded to plans for recycling disused handles.

According to emails seen by Forbes, X now has a task force called the “@Handle Team” that’s working on creating a marketplace for buying handles tied to inactive accounts. X changed its policy this year to stipulate that users must log in every 30 days to remain active, and risk having their accounts suspended or permanently removed if they go long enough without signing on. It’s unclear how long a user would have to remain inactive for to actually be booted from the platform. After NPR quit the site this past spring, Musk began threatening to reassign its handle just a few weeks later.

As of now, obtaining another user’s inactive handle doesn’t seem to be something just anybody can do. X’s website still says it cannot release inactive usernames. But, the Forbes report suggests the company is looking at the possibility of a handle marketplace as yet another way to pull in money from its users. The company just recently introduced two new subscription tiers for paid users — a $16 per month Premium+ tier and a more pared-down $3 per month “basic” tier.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-is-reportedly-soliciting-people-to-buy-recycled-user-handles-for-50000-174504242.html?src=rss 

Blizzard is planning an MCU-style future for the World of Warcraft. Chris Metzen, who only recently returned to the company as the executive creative director of Warcraft, has announced that the game’s next three expansions will make up a three-part interconnected saga. Since Blizzard typically releases expansions within two years of each other, “The Worldsoul Saga’s” story will take years to unfold. The first installment called World of Warcraft: The War Within is slated for release sometime in 2024, followed by World of Warcraft: Midnight and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan in the years after that. 

Warcraft general manager John Hight said the trilogy encompasses “one of the most ambitious creative endeavors ever attempted for World of Warcraft.” Each one is a standalone narrative, but they’re connected by an overall story arc, he explained. “Alongside these epic adventures, the ongoing quality-of-life feature updates players have come to expect from us since Dragonflight will continue in The War Within, further setting us up for the next 20 years and beyond,” Hight added. 

While Blizzard has yet to released an in-depth summary for The War Within, it did share a few pertinent details about the expansion. It will feature an ancient civilization underneath the surface of the planet as it rises in power, while Alliance and Horde heroes experience visions of possible futures, both good and bad. Players can grind until they reach the expansion’s level cap of 80, and they can explore a new continent called Khaz Algar. There’s also a new unlockable and playable Titan-forged race called the Earthen, new bite-size adventures that can support one to five players called Delves, as well as a new feature dubbed Warbands, which allows players to share banks, reputations and transmogs across characters. 

Fans can already pre-purchase The War Within for $50, and it will also give them instant access to the Dragonflight expansion. The War Within: Heroic Edition, which comes with extras, is available for $70, while the The War Within: Epic Edition that includes beta access to the expansion, along with even more extras, will set them back $90. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzards-next-world-of-warcraft-expansions-make-up-a-three-part-saga-154521763.html?src=rss 

Revel is leaving behind its roots and ending its (at times controversial) electric moped service New York City and San Francisco. Company CEO and co-founder Frank Reig has sent a company-wide email, viewed by TechCrunch, telling staff that “the service has been strained and ridership isn’t what it used to be.” Revel has also sent out emails to its passengers, notifying them that the service will shut down on November 18 and encouraging them to use their account credits before then. 

As the publication notes, Revel pulled the service out of its other markets in 2022, and only has around 3,000 mopeds operational in NYC and San Francisco. A spokesperson from the company told TechCrunch that ridership has dropped by 30 percent in both remaining cities year-over-year and that it’s no longer sustainable to keep that segment of its business running. 

Revel temporarily paused its moped service a few times over the years due to safety concerns. In 2020, it suspended the ridesharing solution following an accident wherein two customers were killed while riding its vehicles. It brought back the service after implementing a mandatory in-app safety test and requiring riders to take a selfie of themselves wearing a helmet. Revel also pulled its mopeds from the Bronx for over a year due to a string of battery thefts.

Going forward, Revel will focus on its EV ride-hailing service operated by employee drivers across the five boroughs of New York. It also plans to expand its EV fast-charging stations in New York and the Bay Area.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/revel-is-shutting-down-its-shared-electric-moped-service-113046594.html?src=rss 

Lucid is selling several of its electric vehicle models at a discount until November 30, and as Reuters notes, it’s another sign that the EV market is going through period of slow demand in the midst of tougher competition. The automaker is now selling the 2023 Air Pure All Wheel Drive (AWD) for $74,900, down from $82,400. Meanwhile, the Air Touring now costs $87,500 instead of $95,000, and the Air Grand Touring will set buyers back $10,000 less at $115,600 instead of $125,600. Lucid is offering these discounts as “Air Credits,” which the company launched during an earlier round of price cuts. 

“We think our customers still deserve a $7,500 credit for choosing an EV,” Zak Edson, Lucid’s Vice President of Sales and Service, said back in February. Buyers can get federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for electric vehicles within certain price ranges, but Lucid’s luxury sedans are too expensive and don’t qualify for the incentive. 

To note, customers can only avail of Lucid’s discounts if they can take delivery within seven days of their order being ready. One of the company’s main reasons for cutting prices seems to be to sell its current inventory, because the limited-time offers only apply to “cars for immediate delivery.” Upon checking its available vehicles, Lucid has dozens of the aforementioned models available for buyers within the next two weeks. 

Lucid isn’t the only EV-maker to cut its prices more than once over the past year. Tesla notably lowered its prices several times since 2022, the latest of which was announced after it revealed that it fell short of market estimates for deliveries in the third quarter of 2023. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lucid-cuts-prices-on-air-luxury-evs-by-up-to-10000-091529627.html?src=rss 

It’s BlizzCon time, which means Blizzard is revealing some of the many things it has lined up for its stable of games. At the opening ceremony, there was a look at the future of Diablo IV, including the game’s first expansion.

Vessel of Hatred, which is slated to arrive in 2024, will build on the story of the main game. You’ll find out the fate of the villain Mephisto and learn about his evil plans for Sanctuary. The DLC will feature the return of the Nahantu jungle area from Diablo II. The expansion will also introduce a brand-new character class. Blizzard is promising “new ways to play” and “new evils to vanquish” too. You can find out more details about Vessel of Hatred next summer.

Before then, Diablo IV‘s third season will feature a new kind of challenge dungeon called The Gauntlet. Here, you’ll fight against other players from around the world for your class ranking.

The first Diablo IV seasonal event is called Midwinter Blight. It starts on December 12 and lasts for three weeks. There’s more to come over the next month or two, including a six-week Season of Blood endgame event called Abattoir of Zir that starts on December 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/diablo-ivs-first-expansion-will-introduce-a-brand-new-class-in-late-2024-200121982.html?src=rss 

The city of Washington D.C. will distribute free Apple AirTags to residents in certain neighborhoods, mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Wednesday. The aim: to make stolen cars easier for police to track down.

“We are equipping residents with technology that will allow the [Metropolitan Police Department] to address these crimes, recover vehicles, and hold people accountable,” Bowser said in a statement, “we will continue to use all the tools we have, and add new tools, to keep our city safe.” Local publication DCist first reported the story.

D.C. residents in neighborhoods with the highest numbers of vehicle theft will be eligible to get free AirTags at three different events in the city over the next few months, starting next week. It’s not clear how many AirTags, which cost $29 a pop, will be given away.

Police officers will help residents put the AirTags in their cars and register them on their iPhones. If a car is stolen, residents will need to report the location of the car as it appears in Apple’s FindMy app to law enforcement.

D.C. is the second city to hand out free AirTags to make finding car thieves easier. Earlier this year, New York City mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would give away 500 AirTags to make finding car thieves easier. Since then the NYPD has held several AirTag and Tile tracker giveaways, focusing on Kia and Hyundai owners, though it’s unclear if these come from the same supply announced by the mayor.

AirTags, which Apple released in 2021, have often sparked controversy. Critics have said that they let stalkers track victims silently without their knowledge — a safety issue Apple eventually addressed. But the devices have also been useful, letting people keep track of pets, checked baggage and stolen campaign signs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/live-in-washington-dc-you-might-be-able-to-get-free-airtags-for-your-car-202616642.html?src=rss 

Another former Facebook employee is going public with allegations that the company failed to act on its own research showing that young Instagram users were having harmful experiences on the platform. Arturo Bejar, a former Facebook employee and consultant for Instagram, is scheduled to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, November, 7.

Bejar, who detailed his efforts to raise the alarm internally about Instagram safety issues to The Wall Street Journal, was a Facebook employee between 2009 and 2015 and returned to the company in 2019 to advise Instagram’s well-being team. He told The Journal that internal research showed that more than 20 percent of users younger than 16 “felt worse about themselves after viewing others’ posts” and that 13 percent “experienced unwanted sexual advances in the past seven days.”

Bejar’s disclosures come two years after another former Facebook employee, Frances Huagen, came forward with internal research about Instagram’s harmful effects on teen mental health, along with other disclosures about controversial decisions within the company. Soon after, Instagram paused work on a dedicated app for kids, and dozens of states opened an investigation into the company.

Last week, 41 state attorneys general sued Meta for “harmful and psychologically manipulative product features” that harmed the mental health of its youngest users. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bejar consulted with state officials on their case. Now, he’s set to publicly air his experiences in front of Congress,

“From Arturo’s disclosures, we now know that Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, and other Meta executives were personally warned that millions of teens face bullying, eating disorder material, illicit drugs, and sexual exploitation, often within minutes of opening the app,” Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal, both of whom sit on the judiciary committee, said in a statement. “Rather than address these deadly harms, Facebook continued to hide this information from the public and Congressional oversight, ignored recommendations to protect teens, rolled back safety tools, and dismantled teams responsible for kids’ safety.”

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company told The Wall Street Journal it disagreed with Bejar’s claims that well-being research wasn’t addressed, and said the company had introduced several safety updates as a result of the work of Bejar and his team.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/another-former-facebook-employee-will-testify-at-congress-about-safety-issues-at-instagram-185339860.html?src=rss 

BlizzCon is upon us, which means Blizzard had a ton of announcements for fans of its games duing the opening ceremony. The next Overwatch 2 hero was among the reveals and, as expected, the new tank is Baptiste’s old running buddy, Mauga. A leak on the Nintendo Switch eShop’s news tab gave the game away a few hours early.

Mauga wields a pair of chainguns and he has an unstoppable charge ability that can knock enemies off of maps. Another ability reduces damage sustained by nearby allies and allows them to heal when they attack enemies. Mauga’s ultimate ability looks fun, if terrifying for the other team. He traps nearby opponents into a cage match and has unlimited ammo for a short period of time. 

Best of all, you’ll have a chance to try Mauga before he officially joins the roster when Overwatch 2‘s eighth season goes live in December. He’ll be available in most game modes on all platforms this weekend. BlizzCon attendees are able to try out Mauga on site too.

Fans have been awaiting Mauga’s arrival in the game for several years. Blizzard had long intended to make him a playable character. The latest Overwatch 2 map, Samoa, included several references to the newcomer as well.

Meanwhile, game director Aaron Keller touched on some of the things that are coming to Overwatch 2 in 2024. The next competitive game mode is called Clash, which has five points lined up in a row. The first team to capture all five points or reach a maximum score wins. The first map will be a new take on Hanamura, an old favorite of many (including yours truly). 

Early next year, there will be a major rework of the competitive system with new rewards. Upcoming seasons will be themed around things like eldritch horror, Egyptian mythology and witches. Fans will also enter a mirror universe in which heroes and villains trade places. 

In addition, three more heroes will arrive in 2024. A damage hero named Venture will arrive in season 10 (which is likely to start in April) while a support codenamed Space Ranger will debut in season 12 i.e. around August. Some more details about what’s ahead will be revealed during a BlizzCon panel on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-try-new-overwatch-2-hero-mauga-this-weekend-190042655.html?src=rss 

Apple’s extended return policy has kicked in, which means the holiday season is officially upon us. Apple typically offers a standard 14-day return window. But under the newly revised policy, products purchased between November 3, 2023 and December 25, 2023, will be returnable until January 8, 2024. Apple’s holiday grace period gives you more than enough time to return those AirPods from your grandmother because she didn’t know you were firmly planted in Samsung’s ecosystem.

You can return most products in Apple’s lineup, but there are a few exceptions. The return policy may not cover phones that are purchased with wireless carrier financing plans, so double-check that before you commit. Additionally, Apple doesn’t allow the return of digital software downloads, products from the Software Update Program like software upgrades and Apple Gift Cards.

The extended return policy is open for those in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Singapore and many other countries. However, some countries, including Italy, Spain, Mexico and Japan, have a slightly longer return window. Products purchased between November 3, 2023 and January 6, 2024, may be returned through January 20, 2024 in these countries.

It’s worth noting that this seasonal revision doesn’t negate the terms and conditions of the standard return policy. Apple says all other terms and conditions provided in the Apple Online Store Sales and Refunds Policy are still applicable — so make sure you keep things in like-new condition if you want to make an exchange. 

Of course, the holiday policy doesn’t just apply to gifts. You can totally use this time to buy one of those new colorful M3 iMacs and then exchange for a new color if you change your mind.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-extended-holiday-return-policy-is-now-in-effect-192054672.html?src=rss