Monument Valley 3 is out today for your puzzling pleasure

Monument Valley 3 is out today. As teased in the fall, the latest installment in the spatial puzzle series is available on Android and iOS today exclusively as part of Netflix Games, meaning you can play it for free with no advertisements or microtransactions as long as you have a subscription to the streaming service.

As with the previous two games, Monument Valley 3 is a lush, meditative experience about perspective. The levels have always taken their cues from mind-bending artists like M.C. Escher, where pathways don’t follow the laws of physics. There is a new layer with the addition of a sailboat for freely moving between the sections, but the puzzles are still the core of the game. So are the vibes. It’s got great ambient music and the art is as gorgeous as ever.

Monument Valley 3 will also be getting new content updates every season. In an interview, Ustwo Games lead designer Emily Brown called them “Monument Valley snacks,” bite-sized additions to the standalone game. It’s a very light nod toward being a live service game, although in practice this doesn’t seem too different from the studio’s past approach of releasing DLC for the Monument Valley titles.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/monument-valley-3-is-out-today-for-your-puzzling-pleasure-210407166.html?src=rss 

Did Donald Trump Jr. & Kimberly Guilfoyle Break Up?

It looks like Don Jr. and Kimberly may have called it quits sometime in 2024 based on a series of new pictures that were published of him and another woman named Bettina Anderson.

It looks like Don Jr. and Kimberly may have called it quits sometime in 2024 based on a series of new pictures that were published of him and another woman named Bettina Anderson. 

Yelp adds AI-powered scores to business pages

The crowd-sourced review site Yelp unveiled a new feature that uses AI and customer reviews to rate common facets of nightlife and food-related business. The new Review Insights feature is available now on the iOS version of the Yelp app, according to the company’s official blog.

Review Insights aggregates customer reviews and feeds them into a large language model (LLM), which will assign specific aspects — like the vibe or service time — a rating out of 100. Supposedly it will be able to infer customer sentiment about these parts of a business “even when a review doesn’t explicitly mention one of the topics.” Yelp will also be adding an AI-powered homepage in the coming weeks.

Yelp has been implementing new AI features over the past year. The business review site added an auto-generated summary feature in January and an AI-powered Yelp Assistant in April.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/yelp-adds-ai-powered-scores-to-business-pages-195131103.html?src=rss 

Kimberly Guilfoyle: 5 Things to Know About Donald Trump Jr.’s Rumored Ex-Fiancee

Kimberly Guilfoyle had been engaged to Donald Trump Jr since 2020, but four years later, he was photographed holding hands with Bettina Anderson.

Kimberly Guilfoyle had been engaged to Donald Trump Jr since 2020, but four years later, he was photographed holding hands with Bettina Anderson. 

Apple Music expands its live radio offerings with three new stations

Apple Music just announced that it’s expanding its live radio offerings and adding three new stations to the lineup. These channels are hosted by actual people and are available to everyone, even those without a paid Apple Music subscription.

First up, there’s Apple Música Uno, which celebrates the “wealth of stylistic diversity in Latin music around the world.” The station will play music from a wide variety of genres, including Música Mexicana, reggaetón, tropical, Latin pop and more. It’s being hosted by superstars like Becky G, Rauw Alejandro and Grupo Frontera, along with radio personalities Evelyn Sicairos and Lechero. It airs every weekday, though weekends will feature special programming.

Apple

Apple Music Club kicks things up a notch, with an emphasis on dance and electronic music. The show will be guided by Tim Sweeney, the host of WNYU’s Beats in Space and not the guy who runs Epic Games, along with DJ and artist NAINA. Apple says each playlist will be “thoughtfully curated into a set that is fully alive.” These playlists will be curated by a mix of luminaries, including Honey Dijon, Jamie xx and FKA twigs. Once aired, each broadcast will be available for revists via DJ Mixes on the platform.

Apple

Finally, there’s Apple Music Chill, which is described as “an escape, a refuge” and a “sanctuary in sound.” It’s something nice to have on in the background as you go about your day. This reads to me like it’s a version of the famous lo-fi girl playlists. Apple says that “programming will be a continuous flow of chill highlights across genres.” It all kicks off with a brand-new Beck song, a cover of the George Harrison classic “Be Here Now.” One of the hosts is Brian Eno, who is an absolute master of chill (among other things.)

All of these stations are available right now. They join pre-existing channels like Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/apple-music-expands-its-live-radio-offerings-with-three-new-stations-184912171.html?src=rss 

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones are back on sale for $100 off

The Thanksgiving holiday might have come and gone, but one of the best pair of wireless headphones you can buy right now are back to their Black Friday price. Amazon has discounted Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM5 headphones. All four colorways — black, midnight blue, silver and smoky pink — are currently $298, or 25 percent off their usual $400 price.

At this point, the WH-1000XM5 likely need no introduction, but for the uninitiated, they strike a nearly perfect balance between features, performance and price; in fact, they’re the Bluetooth headphones Billy Steele, Engadget’s resident audio guru, recommends for most people

With the Sony WH-1000XM5, Sony redesigned its already excellent 1000X line to make the new model more comfortable. The company also improved the XM4’s already superb active noise cancelation capabilities, adding four additional ANC mics. That enhancement makes the WH5 even better at blocking out background noise, including human voices.

Other notable features include 30-hour battery life, clear and crisp sound and a combination of handy physical and touch controls. The one downside of the XM5 are that they cost more than Sony’s previous flagship Bluetooth headphones. Thankfully, this sale addresses that fault nicely.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sonys-wh-1000xm5-headphones-are-back-on-sale-for-100-off-174551119.html?src=rss 

FTC paying out first round of Fortnite refunds

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending out 629,344 payments worth more than $72 million to Fortnite players as part of a settlement deal with Epic Games, according to an FTC announcement. The $72 million is intended to compensate Fortnite players who were “tricked” into making unauthorized purchases.

Epic Games was ordered to pay $520 million just under two years ago to settle allegations that the gamemaker “used design tactics known as dark patterns” to deceive customers into making unwanted purchases and allowed children to rack up charges without parental involvement. Epic Games was also accused of blocking users from their purchased content when they disputed the unauthorized charges. About half that money was paid as penalties to the FTC directly. The rest is earmarked for player refunds, and today’s $72 million covers a little under a third of the total amount, with the rest to be distributed “as a later date,” according to the announcement.

Fortnite players can still submit claims for unauthorized charges online at ftc.gov/fortnite.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ftc-paying-out-first-round-of-fortnite-refunds-181158920.html?src=rss 

Pepperdine University Cancels Classes Amid Franklin Fire: Campus Updates

The private research California university that overlooks the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu canceled classes for one day due to the Franklin Fire.

The private research California university that overlooks the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu canceled classes for one day due to the Franklin Fire. 

Still Wakes The Deep’s eldritch terrors are now available in a black-and-white mode

Still Wakes The Deep is one of this year’s standout horror games. It’s a narrative-heavy survival title that pits you — an electrician stuck on an oil rig — against eldritch terrors from the briny depths of the North Sea. Not only that, but because you’re off the coast of Scotland, there’s some harsh weather to contend with too. If that all sounds overly cheery for you, there’s a new option to add to the gloominess, thanks to a black-and-white mode.

After you’ve installed the game’s latest update, you can toggle this so-called Silver Screen filter at any time during your playthrough via the video section in the settings. Developer The Chinese Room (Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture) has also added a chapter select feature, so you can now relive your favorite moments from this dark tale in monochrome if you choose.

Engadget Senior Editor Jessica Conditt described Still Wakes The Deep as a modern horror classic in her review and called it one of this generation’s most beautiful games. It sounds great too — having actual Scottish actors voicing the characters certainly helps add authenticity.

Still Wakes The Deep is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s included in Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass for Console.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/still-wakes-the-deeps-eldritch-terrors-are-now-available-in-a-black-and-white-mode-173209350.html?src=rss 

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