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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