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Apple might not wait long to unveil its first products of 2023. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and Front Page Tech (aka Jon Prosser) all claim Apple will have a product announcement tomorrow. While most aren’t clear on details, Gurman hints these may be the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro M2 models he discussed last fall.

At the time, Gurman said these systems would share the same design as the M1 variants released in late 2021. They would center around new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips that would feature up to 12 CPU cores and 38 GPU cores in the Max. There wouldn’t be a touchscreen or other major revisions, in other words. You’d mainly buy one to get the best performance possible from a Mac laptop.

However, they might be the first Macs to include WiFi 6E. Twitter user Wade Penner spotted an unreleased MacBook Pro in a Canadian wireless database with support for the newer WiFi standard’s 6GHz band. So long as you have a supporting router, you should see higher maximum speeds, lower latency and less congestion on a busy local network. Apple’s iPad Pro M2 is already compatible with WiFi 6E.

There haven’t been mentions of other products debuting in the same time frame, so you might not want to count on a Mac mini M2 or other revisions. If the rumors are accurate, though, this could be good news for anyone who’s been holding off on a MacBook Pro to ensure they get the absolute latest hardware.

 

Lightning rods have been used to safely guide strikes into the ground since Benjamin Franklin’s day, but their short range (roughly the same radius as the height) and fixed-in-place design makes them ineffective for protecting large areas. The technology may finally be here to replace them in some situations. European researchers have successfully tested a system that uses terawatt-level laser pulses to steer lighting toward a 26-foot rod. It’s not limited by its physical height, and can cover much wider areas — in this case, 590 feet — while penetrating clouds and fog.

The design ionizes nitrogen and oxygen molecules, releasing electrons and creating a plasma that conducts electricity. As the laser fires at a very quick 1,000 pulses per second, it’s considerably more likely to intercept lightning as it forms. In the test, conducted between June and September 2021, lightning followed the beam for nearly 197 feet before hitting the rod.

Researchers have been exploring laser lightning guides for years. However, experiments have typically been limited to much shorter distances and relatively slow pulses that were more likely to miss lighting as it formed. Dr. Aurélien Houard, who helped lead the project, told the Wall Street Journal that this laser shot 100 times more pulses per second than in previous attempts.

It could be a long while before lasers are used beyond experiments. The University of Glasgow’s Matteo Clerici, who didn’t work on the project, noted to The Journal that the laser in the experiment costs about $2.17 billion dollars. The discoverers also plan to significantly extend the range, to the point where a 33-foot rod would have an effective coverage of 1,640 feet.

If the scientists succeed, the breakthrough could make lightning protection viable across large areas. This would be particularly useful for safeguarding rocket launchpads, where lightning strikes can force mission delays if they’re too close to the flight path. They could also be helpful for protecting airports, power plants, forests and other sprawling locations where a strike could prove catastrophic.

 

Now is a good moment to expand the storage for your PC — or console, or phone. Amazon is running a sale on Samsung SSDs and memory cards, with discounts as steep as 63 percent off. High-end models are particularly good values. The 2TB version of the 980 Pro SSD is down to just $180 (53 percent off), making it a solid bargain for a PC drive or console drive. You can get a 256GB Evo Select microSD card for $20 (52 percent off) to upgrade your mobile device, while the 256GB Pro Endurance microSD card is down to $30 (45 percent off) if you need long-lasting memory for your dash or security cameras.

The 980 Pro is one of our top picks for a PlayStation 5 SSD upgrade, and for good reasons. It’s a fast PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive with read speeds up to 7,000MB/s, but it also has a reputation for reliability. You can slip this into your PS5 or PC knowing that it should be useful for the practical lifespan of your system. At $180, the 2TB variant is a better deal than its (similarly discounted) 1TB and 500GB counterparts. You only have to pay a relatively small premium to get ample headroom for more games, apps and media files.

The microSD cards, meanwhile, are easy picks if you need more space while you’re on the move. The Evo Select is well-suited to expandable Android phones and tablets, as well as all models of the Nintendo Switch. Spring for the Pro Endurance, meanwhile, and you’ll get a card that can record video around the clock for up to 16 years. You might replace your camera before you need new memory.

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

 

As many in the accessibility community will tell you, inclusive design isn’t an endeavor that’s “one and done.” It’s a continuous, ongoing effort to ensure that as new products and services are made, people with different needs or disabilities aren’t left out. Over the last three years, Engadget has produced a report, in addition to our regular coverage, that looks back on the developments in the tech industry that impact the accessibility community, focusing on the largest companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta. Of course, there are plenty of other big companies to consider, like Uber, Airbnb, Netflix and more. But the six we’ve selected have an outsized impact and influence on the industry..

Last year, we saw significant developments that could pave the way for more accessible designs in future, such as the opening of Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab. In October, the University of Illinois (UIUC) partnered with Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft on a Speech Accessibility Project to improve voice recognition for those with atypical speech patterns that AI algorithms rarely consider. But there were also major setbacks, such as Elon Musk dismantling the accessibility team at Twitter, amid everything else that happened in that hellhole.

All around the industry, we saw pieces of news that showed greater interest overall in accessible products and design. According to LinkedIn’s vice president of engineering, Erran Berger, there has been a 33 percent increase in the last year in “people sharing insights, ideas and problem solving together related to accessibility”. Berger said this corresponded with a “significant uptick in the total annual number of U.S. job postings with the word ’accessibility’ in the job title.” LinkedIn data shows that these postings have “spiked 171 [percent] since September 2019.”

This increased interest permeated all of tech. Comcast debuted its Xfinity large button voice remote last year, for example, while popular chat app Discord updated its Windows app to support high contrast mode, as well as enable alt-text for image in iOS. There were also plenty of startups and smaller device makers that are creating products like wearables and hearing aids to help those with disabilities better interact with the world.

As we continue to call for a more inclusive design process that follows the accessibility community’s mantra of “nothing about us without us,” it’s worth taking the time to see which companies have fared well and which have failed to consider people with different needs.

Amazon

Like most companies on this list, Amazon updated a number of its products across various categories to offer better accessibility. For example, it added gesture support to Echo Shows, allowing users to dismiss timers by waving or holding up an open palm, so those who don’t want to or can’t use their voice to silence alarms can do so without touching the device. It also added support for audio streaming for hearing aids to its Fire TV platform, and brought the Tap To Speech (or Tap To Alexa) feature from its Fire tablets to the Echo Show displays.

Amazon also teamed up with a selection of organizations to bring its products to communities that could benefit from them. It donates products like Echos, Ring home security devices and more to Home For Our Troops and the Gary Sinise Foundation, which help get these to veterans. The company also works with the National Association of the Blind in India by giving local school districts Echo devices so they can be used as teaching aids for kids with vision disabilities.

Many new Alexa features also have accessibility benefits. The Person and Package announcements, for example, let you know through the Alexa mobile app, Echo Show, Fire TV or Fire Tablet when your compatible Ring camera or video doorbell detects a… you guessed it, person or package. This way, you can choose to be alerted by visual or audio cues. On the latest Echo Dot, an onboard accelerometer allows you to tap the top of the speaker to pause and resume media playback, snooze alarms or end timers and calls. This offers those with speech impairments an alternative means of interacting with the device.

It’s also worth noting that Amazon’s remote caregiving service Alexa Together also received updates that allow users to add more family members to care for aging loved ones, and enabled primary caregivers to remotely set up Routines for their wards.

In October, the company released a new campaign that included videos featuring an Amazon employee and people with disabilities using accessibility features across Alexa, Fire TV and more. It also redesigned its accessibility home page to make its tools easier to discover. And, as we’ve mentioned in previous editions of this report, the company’s venture capital arm — the Alexa Fund — invests in startups, some of which work on products to improve accessibility.

Apple

As an established leader in making accessible products, Apple continued to do well lastyear despite not doing a lot. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 19th, it announced a new door detection feature for iPhones that would help those who are blind or have low vision by identifying entryways and reading any signs or words on them.

At the same time, the company unveiled Apple Watch Mirroring, which lets people with motor and physical disabilities control their smartwatch using the iPhone’s assistive features. These include Voice Control, Switch Control, head tracking, sound actions and external Made For iPhone inputs.

Apple also brought Live Captions to iPhone, iPad and Mac, which would transcribe all content playing through the device, as well as the speech of people in the real world. Those using Live Captions for calls on Mac can also type a response and have that spoken aloud to their callers. It also added 20 new languages to its VoiceOver screen reader, as well as voices and locales.

Other features include Buddy Controller, which lets users ask another person to co-control a game character with them and Siri Pause Time to adjust how long the assistant waits before responding. The company also updated Sound Recognition so it will now identify custom noises like a unique doorbell or alarm and added new themes, font and line customizations to the Apple Books app for improved readability. A slew of other small updates were also announced on GAAD, which would be too much to exhaustively detail here, but a complete list can be found on the company’s website.

On Dec. 3rd, the International Day of the Person with Disabilities, Apple released a short film that showcases its assistive features. The video was well-received and not only helped highlight the ways people with disabilities can use their i-devices to live their lives, but also introduced some lesser known features to a wider audience.

Google

Google is basically the internet, so its contribution to accessibility is of particular importance. Because its product portfolio is so diverse, spanning smartphones, speakers, displays, browsers, apps, email, search and more, the company’s reach is immense. That also means that Google typically has a lot more updates than any other name on this list. Across Android, Pixel, Chrome, Search and more, the company rolled out improvements to its screen readers, captioning and alt-text support, among others. A lot of its work in 2022 was around expanding existing features to cover more platforms and languages. For example, in December, the company announced its Project Relate non-standard speech-recognition pilot would expand to include Hindi.

On Global Accessibility Awareness Day in May, Google also said it was building out-of-the-box support for braille displays into Android’s Talkback screen reader, eliminating the need to install a separate app. It also announced new education-related updates like support for alt-text in gmail and tweaks to the Docs experience for those using Braille readers. Chrome OS also got a little easier to use, with improved voice control and dictation, while Meet now allows users to pin multiple people on their calls, allowing those who use ASL to be able to see their sign language interpreters and other speakers at the same time. The company even looked at making fonts that were easier to read.

Notably, Google also introduced Guided Frames, a tool to help blind or low vision users take selfies, when it launched the Pixel 7. Instead of being relegated to a separate day or buried in a press release, it was nice to see such a feature share the stage with other highlights during a flagship phone reveal.

Google continues to engage the disability community, and appears to be reaching out via its Accessibility account on Twitter. As of August, it was looking to work with students with dyslexia for a research study on the Chrome browser. In December, it opened its first Accessibility Discovery Center in the UK. With this pattern of outreach and engagement, Google appears to have a meaningful approach to accessibility that adheres to the principle of “nothing about us without us.”

Microsoft

In 2022, Microsoft continued to display a thoughtful, holistic approach to accessibility. Not only did it launch its Inclusive Tech Lab this year to welcome and involve the disability community in design and ideation, but it also released a new Adaptive Mouse kit that offers ways for people with motor limitations to more easily use their computers and phones.

But where Microsoft tends to excel, at least compared to its peers on this list, is in considering a broader spectrum of disabilities and needs. This April, the company launched a Neurodiversity Career Connector (NDCC) in collaboration with the nonprofit Disability:IN. The NDCC is intended as a jobs portal “dedicated to neurodivergent career seekers,” Microsoft said. It will feature listings by US employers looking for applicants who are neurodivergent, including those who have autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette Syndrome. The program will connect neurodivergent people with “companies already committed to neurodiversity hiring programs”, and companies backing the NDCC include Microsoft, Dell Technologies, Google, HP, Dell Technologies, SAP, CAI, EY and Spectrum Designs Foundation.

Speaking of careers, LinkedIn also announced updates around helping people with disabilities “voluntarily self-identify on disability and other demographic features.” For example, it added “Dyslexic Thinking” as a recognized skill that people can add to their profiles. “This example showcases that disability can also be viewed as a strength and meaningful differentiator,” Berger wrote in a blog post announcing the updates.

Microsoft also rolled out automatically generated captions for videos on LinkedIn (English, for now) and enabled alt-text for images on the platform’s ads. Last year, it also updated its Seeing AI app, which lets the people who are visually impaired use their cameras to identify currency, read text and see faces. In October, in collaboration with healthcare company Haleon, Microsoft added the ability to scan the barcodes of products like Centrum, Emergen-C and Sensodyne. The app will then read out instruction, ingredients and other critical information.

Meta

Since the company’s rebranding, there are two main ways to think about Meta — Facebook (and apps like Instagram and WhatsApp) and VR. In March, Instagram rolled out auto-generated captions for videos on the iOS and Android apps, and they’re enabled by default. In May, the company brought alt-text for stickers on Facebook and Messenger, while hosting an accessibility summit where it demonstrated a host of its existing assistive features.

On the VR side, Meta brought better disability representation to avatars, and otherwise had a very bad first year. The VR workout app it owns, Supernatural, did launch a new One Controller Mode in October that’s designed to help those who can only use a single device.

Meta also released a “guide on designing inclusive policies in programs” in February, with accessibility being the top consideration on a list of recommendations to consider. While these aren’t rules that the company will enforce when approving content that would exist on its various platforms, it’s a helpful resource for creators and developers who may not know where to start.

This year, the company was also named the best place to work for disability inclusion by the Disability Equality Index, marking the fifth year in a row it’s received the honor. Overall, it seems like Meta was distracted by the issues that plagued its Metaverse ambitions and launched few actual assistive tools.

Twitter

Amid the chaos that happened to Twitter late last year, Elon Musk gutting the small in-house accessibility team might have dealt an outsized blow to the community. Formed in 2020 in response to very embarrassing blunders that left out the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, Twitter’s accessibility team worked to address the platform’s shortcomings. In 2022 alone, Twitter introduced new icons for better readability, added reminders for users to fill in image descriptions and updated its emoji library to better represent people with disabilities.

It was also nice to see clear and consistent communication from the Twitter A11y account, with monthly updates on its feature roadmap and timeline. As of November, its final #TwitterA11yStatus post indicated that it was working on a setting to disable keyboard shortcuts on its web platform and toggles for closed captions. Unfortunately, that was the last check-in from the team since, and the future of accessibility at and on Twitter is currently uncertain.

Because of its reach, Twitter helped boost the voices of members of the disability community, helping spread awareness and education to the mainstream audience. With the elimination of A11y, improvements to make the platform more inclusive and accessible have come to a halt, and there may be no one around to address issues that break the service for people with disabilities. The outlook for Twitter users with disabilities (and the rest of the platform) is depressingly bleak.

 

Smartphones may mean never having to ask for directions, but it can still be tricky to relay exactly where you are at any given moment to friends and family trying to find you. iPhone users can share their current location using Messages, Apple Maps, Google Maps and Apple’s Find My app. While Apple makes it easiest to share locations with other iPhone users, there are a number of ways to send your position to someone who uses an Android device as well. We covered four different methods in the steps below, along with a way to share from your Mac and how to stop sharing your location when you need to.

How to share your location using Messages

This might be the easiest method, as you’re probably already texting the person with which you want to share your location. To text someone exactly where you are, follow these steps:

1. Open a conversation in Messages and tap the recipient’s name/image at the top of the screen.

2. Tap Send My Current Location.

3. A map thumbnail of your location will immediately appear in your conversation.

If your recipient has an iPhone and they tap the map, an info screen will open with an option to get directions via Apple Maps. If your recipient does not have an iPhone, they will receive an Apple Maps link that will open in their browser.

If you want to share your location for a longer period of time:

1. Tap on your recipient’s name/image in your Messages conversation.

2. Tap on Share My Location.

3. Choose Share for One Hour, Share Until End of Day or Share Indefinitely (which remains active until you turn sharing off).

4. They will receive a notification that you are sharing your location with them and you will be added to their Find My app.

Just keep in mind that this only works with other iPhone users.

How to quickly share your home address in Messages

If you have your address saved under your own contact, you can send your home address via Messages by typing the words “my address is” Messages will auto-suggest your home address to fill in. This also sends your address as a link your recipient can tap on to open their default map app.

How to share your location using the Find My app

Find My lets you locate your Apple devices as well as other iPhone users. The app is a combination of two former Apple offerings, Find My iPhone and Find My Friends. As you may expect, this also only works with other iPhone users.

Tap on the Find My app from your home screen.

Tap on People on the bottom left.

Tap the + symbol at the top of the list of contacts.

Select Share My Location from the pop-up box.

Type the name of the person you want to share your location with. Note that only your contacts with iPhones or email addresses will appear.

6. Tap the name of the contact and tap send. Select whether you want to share for an hour, the rest of the day or indefinitely until you turn location sharing off.

7. You’ll receive a pop up box that says you’ve started sharing your location and your recipient will receive a notification that you’ve shared your location with them and your information will appear in their Find My app.

A note about satellite location sharing

Currently, all iPhone 14 models have the ability to both message with emergency services and share your location when you are outside of cellular coverage areas. That means you can send your location via the Find My app even when you are off the grid. You can read more about the limitations and other factors in Apple’s press release.

How to Share your location using Family Sharing

Family Sharing is an Apple service that allows you to share things like subscriptions, media purchases and photo albums with up to five people in your family. This is also another way to let your family know where you are.

Go to Settings then tap your Apple ID, iCloud+, Media & Purchases button at the top.

Tap on Family Sharing.

Choose the friends or family members you want to use Family Sharing with from the list (note that Family sharing only works with other iPhones).

Tap the blue arrow to send. Your recipients will receive a text invitation to join Family Sharing.

5. Once you are sharing with someone, you can enable Location Sharing at the bottom of the Family Sharing menu (Settings > Apple ID > Family Sharing).

6. Tap on Location Sharing at the bottom of the screen. 

7. You’ll see an information panel about Family Sharing and your location. Tap Share Location. 

8. The next time you tap Location Sharing from the Family Sharing menu, you’ll be directed to a screen that allows you to toggle location sharing on and off.

9. People who are connected with you through Family Sharing (provided you have location sharing toggled on) will be able to see you in the Find My app and in your profile panel in Messages.

How to share your location using Google Maps

You can also share your whereabouts directly from the apps that many people use for navigation. To send a location via Google Maps, you’ll need to be logged in with your Google account within the Maps app. Once you’ve logged in, follow these steps to start location sharing:

Open the Google Maps app on your iPhone.

Tap on your account image in the upper right corner.

Tap Location sharing.

You’ll see a location sharing information panel. Tap the Share Location button.

5. From here, you can choose to share with your contacts from within Google by selecting a duration and the icon of the person you want to share with. Your recipient will receive a Google Maps notification (provided they have Google Maps installed and notifications turned on for that app). They will also receive an email with a link to view your location on Google Maps.

6. Alternatively, you can tap More Options below your contacts to share your location with a link.

7. You’ll see a pop-up window asking if you want to share with a link. Tap Share. 

8. Select from the suggested contacts (the small icon at the lower right of each contact’s image indicates which method will be used to send the link). Or select an app, such as Messages or Gmail to open those apps and enter your contact’s information.

9. Your contact will receive a link via the method you chose. When they tap the link it will take them to the Google Maps app (if they have it installed) or to Google Maps within the browser.

How to share your location using Apple Maps

If you prefer using Apple Maps for navigation, here’s how to use the app to send your location details:

Open Apple Maps

Tap the arrowhead icon to center the map on your current location.

Drag up on the panel at the lower half of the screen.

Scroll down to Share My Location and tap.

Choose the person you want to share your location with from the suggestions menu or choose an app, such as Messages or Mail. You can add a comment if you want, and press the blue send arrow.

6. If you choose to send via Messages, your recipient will receive a map thumbnail of your location. If they tap that, it will open their Apple Maps app. If they don’t have Apple Maps, your location will open using Apple Maps in their browser.

How to share your location using a Mac

Click Launchpad from the Dock.

Open the Find My app.

Click on Share My Location in the lower left corner.

Type in the name of the person you want to share with. Similarly to the Find My app on an iPhone, the Find My app on a Mac can only share your location with other Apple devices.

5. Your recipient will receive a notification that you’ve shared your location with them and your information will appear in their Find My app.

Troubleshooting location sharing

If you’re having trouble sharing your location, make sure Location Services is on for the app you want to use.

Go to Settings.

Tap on Privacy & Security.

Tap on Location Services.

Make sure Location Services is toggled on.

Ensure the app you want to use is set to While Using.

How to stop sharing your location

If you’ve shared your location for a duration of time through Find My, Family Sharing or Google Maps, you can stop sharing at any point. If you’ve shared using a one time link to your location, via Messages, Apple Maps or the link option in Google Maps, you can’t undo that action, just as you can’t unsend a text or an email.

Via Find My: Open the Find My app and tap the name of the person you want to stop sharing with. Drag up on their info panel and tap Stop Sharing My Location.

Via Family Sharing: Open Family Sharing by opening Settings and tapping your Apple ID panel at the top of the Settings menu. Tap Family Sharing then Location Sharing and toggle off Automatically Share Location.

Via Google Maps: Open the Google Maps app and tap on your profile image at the top right. Tap Location sharing. You’ll see a list of people you’ve shared with. Tap the person you want to stop sharing with, then tap the Stop button at the bottom of the screen.

 

Twitter appears to have deliberately cut off third-party clients from accessing its API. Since Thursday evening, many of the most popular apps that scroll Twitter without going through the company’s own software, including Tweetbot and Twitterrific, haven’t worked, with no official communication from Twitter. On Sunday, a report from The Information featured messages from Twitter’s internal Slack channels that suggested the company is aware of the outage – and is likely the cause of it. “Third-party app suspensions are intentional,” reads one message in a channel the company’s engineers use to fix service disruptions.

In the last 24 hours, Tweetbot briefly came back online, but then fizzled out again. Does Twitter really want us to reinstall its app or use it in our web browsers? Will this work, or will more of us just turn off Twitter entirely?

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Leaked Galaxy S23 Ultra and Plus images reveal design details

Samsung will make the phones official on February 1st.

Nieuwe Mobile posted leaked images of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and S23 Plus. The alleged renders show the camera placement, colors and design of the new flagships, which Samsung is set to announce next month. There are, once again, lots of camera sensors. The Ultra’s back appears flatter than its predecessor’s and has five camera sensors. Additionally, three of the S23 Ultra’s lenses (likely the primary, ultra-wide and 10x telephoto cameras) are bigger than the others. According to rumors, the Ultra will have a 200-megapixel main camera, a first for the Galaxy lineup. (Standard and Plus models should have 50-megapixel cameras.)

Continue reading.

NVIDIA Broadcast will maintain eye contact even if you’re looking away from the camera

The livestreaming tool lets you read your chat without looking distracted.

NVIDIA has updated its Broadcast software with a beta Eye Contact feature that, like Apple’s FaceTime, fixes your gaze to keep it focused on your camera. It preserves your blinks and eye color and will even transition between digital and real eyes when you look far enough off-center. It’s not perfect: The developers caution there are “millions” of potential eye-color and lighting scenarios they can’t test. It could, however, reduce the awkwardness of your first scripted video.

Continue reading.

England is banning the sale of some single-use plastics

The legislation targets plates, cutlery, trays and polystyrene cups, among other items.

England will ban businesses from selling and offering a variety of single-use plastics, including plates and cutlery, by the end of the year, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced on Saturday. In addition to some plastics, the ban will cover single-use trays and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers but will exempt plates, trays and bowls included with supermarket ready-meals – the government intends to target those through a separate plan. The government will begin enforcing the legislation in October 2023.

Continue reading.

 

Amazon is having an January sale on its 8- and 10-inch Fire HD tablets with some of the lowest prices we’ve seen. The all-new Fire HD 8 with a 30 percent faster processor is available for just $60 for a savings of 40 percent, and the 2022 Fire HD 8 Plus is on sale for $80 (33 percent off). The biggest discounts can be found on the 10-inch tablets though, with the Fire HD10 on sale for $85 (43 percent off) and the Fire HD Plus available for $105 (42 percent off). 

Shop Fire HD tablets at Amazon

The 2022 Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus come with hexa-core processors that are 30 percent faster than the previous model, making them more responsive and better for streaming and other activities. At the same time, you get up to 13 hours of battery life for reading, web browsing, and music/video streaming. Both come with 32GB of storage (expandable via a microSD port), Alexa support, a 2-megapixel front camera and more. 

The Fire HD 8 Plus adds a bit more, including wireless charging, a 9W power adapter for faster charging, 3GB of RAM and a 5-megapixel rear camera with 1080p (it’s 2-megapixels and 720p on the Fire HD 8). Otherwise, though, the specs are identical. As mentioned, the Fire HD 8 is on sale for $60, and you can grab the Fire HD 8 Plus for $80. 

If you need something bigger than 8 inches, a pair of 10-inch tablets are on sale as well. The Fire HD 10 gives you a lot of tablet for the money, including a 1080p display, 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, an octa-core battery, 2-MP front and 5-MP rear cameras and fast USB-C charging. It’s on sale for $85, or 43 percent off the regular price — the second lowest we’ve seen. And finally, the Fire HD 10 Plus boosts those specs to 4GB of RAM, along with wireless charging and a fast 9W charger. It’s on sale for $105, or $75 off the regular price.

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

 

What could become only the second lithium mine in the US received backing from the Biden administration this week. In an announcement spotted by Bloomberg, the Department of Energy said it would provide mining company Ioneer with a conditional loan valued at up to $700 million to develop the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada’s Esmeralda County. Once operational, the mine is expected to produce enough lithium for about 370,000 electric vehicles annually. Ioneer already has supply agreements with automakers like Ford and Toyota, though the project likely won’t start producing lithium until 2026.

The Biden administration made the funding available through the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. To secure the money, Ioneer must obtain all the necessary permits from relevant state and federal agencies. The Center for Biological Diversity has come out against the project due to the risks it poses to a species of endangered wildflower in the area known as Tiehm’s buckwheat. The US Interior Department has yet to bless the project for that same reason. The Department of Energy said Ioneer revised its plans for the site to avoid direct impacts on the plant. However, it’s worth noting lithium mining requires a lot of water to carry out.

Still, the mineral is essential to many technologies needed to transition the world to a zero-emissions future. What’s more, lithium supply is expected to fall short of global demand by 2030. That gap will make it difficult for the Biden administration to meet its goal of ensuring half of all cars sold in the US by the end of the decade are electric vehicles.

 

With its first event of 2023 in the books, GDQ’s Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) has raised more than $2.6 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Following more than a week of some of the world’s best speedrunners showing off their skills, AGDQ 2023 saw 21,527 donors give an average of $66.35. While the event fell short of the record-breaking $3.4 million AGDQ 2022 collected for charity almost exactly a year ago, AGDQ 2023 saw one $100,000 donation. In one of the marathon’s more memorable moments, one also player set a new world record in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

For the third year in a row, AGDQ took place entirely online. The event was initially scheduled to take place in Flordia in front of a live audience. However, organizers eventually decided against that plan due to the state’s COVID-19 policies and “increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals.”

AGDQ 2023 also marked the final event for Games Done Quick founder Mike Uyama. “I realized that I need to take care of my health and kind of focus on different activities,” he told The Verge before the start of this month’s marathon. During Uyama’s 13 years at GDQ, the organization raised more than $41 million for charity. Pretty good for an event that started in a basement. You can watch all the speedruns from AGDQ 2023 on GDQ’s YouTube channel. The organization’s next major event will take place in the spring when Summer Games Done Quick kicks off on May 28th. Last year, the event raised more than $3 million for Doctors Without Borders.

 

While jurisdictions like California and New York move toward banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars, one US state wants to go in the opposite direction. Wyoming’s legislature is considering a resolution that calls for a phaseout of new electric vehicle sales by 2035. Introduced on Friday, Senate Joint Resolution 4 has support from members of the state’s House of Representatives and Senate.

In the proposed resolution, a group of lawmakers led by Senator Jim Anderson says Wyoming’s “proud and valued” oil and gas industry has created “countless” jobs and contributed revenue to the state’s coffers. They add that a lack of charging infrastructure within Wyoming would make the widespread use of EVs “impracticable” and that the state would need to build “massive amounts of new power generation” to “sustain the misadventure of electric vehicles.”

SJ4 calls for residents and businesses to limit the sale and purchase of EVs voluntarily, with the goal of phasing them out entirely by 2035. If passed, the resolution would be entirely symbolic. In fact, it’s more about sending a message to EV advocates than banning the vehicles altogether. To that point, the final section of SJ4 calls for Wyoming’s Secretary of State to send President Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom copies of the resolution.

“One might even say tongue-in-cheek, but obviously it’s a very serious issue that deserves some public discussion,” Senator Boner, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told the Cowboy State Daily. “I’m interested in making sure that the solutions that some folks want to the so-called climate crisis are actually practical in real life. I just don’t appreciate when other states try to force technology that isn’t ready,” 

While the resolution has the markings of a political stunt, it does allude to genuine economic anxiety. Wyoming produced 85.43 million barrels of oil in 2021, making it the country’s eighth-largest crude oil producer that year. The state’s Carbon County is also home to one of the largest wind farms in the US. Something that’s not talked about enough when it comes to climate change is how the world transitions to a zero-emissions economy in an equitable way. People in many rural US states are rightfully mistrustful of so-called green technologies because they haven’t benefited from more recent technological shifts as much as their urban counterparts. Take the advent of the internet, for instance. In 2018, Microsoft found that many rural communities don’t have access to broadband internet. That’s something that has contributed to diminishing economic opportunities in those places.