Kalakshar US

China has sanctioned Skydio, America’s largest drone maker, for providing unmanned aerial vehicles to Taiwan’s national fire service. Skydio CEO Adam Bry publicly acknowledged the sanctions on Wednesday. “A few weeks ago, China announced sanctions on Skydio for selling drones to Taiwan, where our only customer today is the National Fire Agency,” Bry wrote in a blog post.

As first reported by the Financial Times, the ban has sent Skydio racing to find alternative battery suppliers. Although the company manufactures its drones in the US and sources many of the components that go inside of them from outside of China, Skydio had been wholly dependent on a single Chinese provider for batteries before October 11, when the country’s government imposed the embargo.

According to Bry, the company has a “substantial stock” of power cells on hand, but those supplies won’t be enough to prevent near-term rationing, and the alternate suppliers Skydio is working to engage won’t “come online until the spring of next year.” Subsequently, future shipments of the company’s flagship X10 drone (pictured above) will only come with one battery for the time being.

Among the customers Skydio has been contracted to provide X10 drones to was Ukraine’s military, which planned to use the UAV for reconnaissance missions. Before the sanctions, Ukraine had requested thousands of X10 units, according to the Financial Times.

Skydio’s relationship with Taiwan may have only been a pretext for the sanctions. “We suspect Skydio was targeted by Beijing because it is likely seen as a competitor to DJI,” a US official told the Financial Times. “If there is a silver lining, we can use this episode to accelerate our work to diversify drone supply chains away from … China.”

DJI, it should be mentioned, has long been in the crosshairs of the US government. In mid-October, the Chinese drone maker filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense over a decision the Pentagon made to designate it as a “Chinese military company.” Earlier in the year, DJI narrowly avoided a national ban when the US Senate released its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/china-sanctions-us-drone-maker-skydio-in-ongoing-trade-war-144507154.html?src=rss 

Be prepared, you might never read another article using the word “shorts” so many times again. Ready? A UK high court has ruled Google is free to use the word shorts (here we go!) for YouTube’s platform Shorts. A British short films television channel called Shorts International, sued Google last year, arguing the name Shorts infringed on its existing trademark for the word, you guessed it, shorts. 

The court disagreed. “None of Google’s uses of signs including the word “shorts” gives rise to a likelihood of confusion as to origin,” Judge Michael Tappin stated in his ruling. “While the similarities between Google’s signs and SIL’s trade marks will give rise to a link in the minds of the limited group of UK consumers amongst whom SIL’s trade marks have a reputation, Google’s uses of signs including the word “shorts” will not cause damage to the distinctive character or repute of SIL’s trade marks.” 

YouTube Shorts launched in 2020 in response to the popularity of other short video platforms like TikTok. It reached over 1.5 billion monthly users two years later and can now show videos up to three minutes long — still pretty short (that’s 12 short(s) for you).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-name-youtube-shorts-isnt-a-trademark-infringement-uk-court-rules-150258393.html?src=rss 

We’re racing toward the giving time of year and what better way to treat a loved one (or even yourself) than with the gift of time and convenience. Robot mops and vacuums can all but wipe out the time you spend on a chore that often has to be taken care of. An entry-level Roomba has dropped to a price that may make that proposition even more enticing for newcomers to the robot-cleaner world.

The Y011 Roomba Combo Robot Vacuum and Mop from iRobot has dropped to $160. That’s 42 percent off the regular price of $275 and a new record low.

This unit doesn’t have some of the funkier features of pricier models, such as self-emptying or advanced object detection. But it should do a solid job of keeping your floors clean.

The Y011 cleans your space in neat rows, vacuuming and mopping in one pass. It has a low-profile design to help it slink under beds and sofas, while an edge-sweeping brush helps it pick up debris from corners and edges. The Roomba uses sensors to move around furniture and avoid tumbling down stairs. If there’s a particularly dirty spot that needs extra attention, the spot cleaning feature enables the device to spin in place and keep cleaning that area for up to two minutes. On top of that, you can start an ad-hoc cleaning using Alexa or Google Assistant.

According to iRobot, this model will run for up to 120 minutes on a single charge and automatically return to its charging station when it needs more juice. The washable microfiber mop pad can be reused up to 30 times. 

Meanwhile, an entry-level vacuum-only Roomba has dropped to $140, down from $250. That’s a decent deal as well, but plunking down an extra $20 for iRobot to take care of mopping as well may be a more compelling option.

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/irobots-entry-level-roomba-vacuum-and-mop-combo-hits-a-new-record-low-151054307.html?src=rss 

Google is bringing its Gemini AI assistant into more of its software suite, announcing several new features for Google Maps. Users looking for ideas about places to go in Maps can now ask conversational questions about the type of location they want and receive answers from Gemini. Maps can also use AI to respond to deeper queries about a specific locale. When you’re looking at a location on Maps, Gemini can also provide a summary of reviews. These AI-powered features will roll out to the Maps app on Android and iOS beginning this week.

The Immersive View Maps feature introduced last year is growing. Google can now apply AI to show what locations will look like at the date and time a person will be present. Immersive View will be available in 150 cities internationally, including Brussels, Kyoto and Frankfurt. New place categories, such as college campuses, are also being added.

Driving directions are getting an update too. A button to add stops to driving directions will let users explore notable landmarks or stops along their route. Navigation has also been improved to show more exact details about potentially complicated areas of a route, such as clearer directions about what lane to be in or when to merge. The enhanced driving experience will be available on both Android and iOS, the rollout starts next month in more than 30 metro areas.

Waze is also receiving the Gemini treatment in today’s announcements. Conversational Reporting that will allow drivers to use natural language to alert the app to road hazards or delays. And why limit AI to Maps when it can be on the whole planet? Google Earth is also getting generative AI tools specifically targeting urban planners with fast access to data.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-adding-gemini-ai-powered-tools-to-maps-140045971.html?src=rss 

Music streamer Tidal will have its second big layoff in a year, and it might dwarf the last one, Fortune reports. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block (Tidal’s parent company since 2021) announced the organization will return to the style of a start-up, with fewer employees. “So we’re going to part ways with a number of folks on our team,” Dorsey told staff in a note. Block also owns Cash App, After Pay and BitKey, among others. 

“We’re going to lead with engineering and design, and remove the product management and product marketing functions entirely,” Dorsey’s note to Tidal employees continued. “We’re reducing the size of our design team and foundational roles supporting Tidal, and we will consider reducing engineering over the next few weeks as we have more clarity around leadership going forward.” Tidal previously laid off about 40 people across multiple departments in December 2023.

Dorsey didn’t announce the exact number of staff getting laid off, but sources within the company speculate it might be 100 individuals — one-fourth of the company’s employees. “We have made some internal changes to our Tidal team to focus on serving artists in the most meaningful way,” a Tidal spokesperson said in a statement. “This involved the elimination of some roles across our business and design teams. We are going to be smaller, focus on fewer things, and move with a relentless approach to product development.” Tidal notably removed its free tier for users in March. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/tidal-which-is-in-dire-need-of-some-good-marketing-lays-off-its-entire-product-marketing-team-143045120.html?src=rss 

Nintendo has launched its own music streaming service that caters to fans of its games, including Mario and Animal Crossing. Fans will be able to listen to their favorite game tracks on their phones through the new Nintendo Music app, which has a user interface that pretty much looks like Spotify. The tracks are organized by game, so people can play the whole OST for specific titles if they want, but they can also listen to character playlists like a selection of songs performed by Animal Crossing’s K.K. Slider. 

If they’re in the mood for certain songs, they can hit up one of the pre-made themed playlists, which put together tracks for themes like “boss battle” and “victory.” The app offers mood playlists, as well, that groups tracks with similar vibes, such as soft, relaxing songs for bedtime listening. One feature that’s probably unique to the service is spoiler prevention. If the listener adds a certain game to the setting, the app will hide the soundtracks that could give away a surprise ending or an unexpected final boss, among other potential spoilers. They can also extend a single track and keep it playing on repeat for up to an hour if that’s all they want to listen to. 

Fans can access the new Nintendo Music service with a Switch Online membership, though they can start listening to game tracks even if they’re still on free trial. Every member on a Switch Online Family membership can also access it, so they don’t need to pay for an individual subscription. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/nintendo-music-is-a-streaming-service-for-switch-online-subscribers-130035796.html?src=rss