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E3 may be dead, but Summer Game Fest kicks off today with an opening-night livestream from the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.

The show is expected to run for two hours, featuring game announcements and updates from many of the industry’s most prominent studios and indie publishers. Nearly every big hitter is a partner, including PlayStation, Xbox, EA, Activision and Square Enix. Notable absentees from the show’s promotional materials include Nintendo and Ubisoft. Nintendo participated in E3 when that show was still a thing, but it’s not terribly surprising to see the company skip Summer Game Fest, considering it just dropped The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Ubisoft has its own event on Monday, but it isn’t officially tied to Summer Game Fest — Ubisoft’s name was on the show’s website until this week, but it’s been scrubbed from the schedule and partner list.

Organized by the team behind The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest’s live event is the first of 10 streams taking place between June 7th and June 12th (plus a bonus Ubisoft event). The opening show will be followed immediately by a Day of the Devs stream from Double Fine and iam8bit, highlighting a number of games from independent developers. You can see the full Summer Game Fest schedule, including what to expect from each show, here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/watch-summer-game-fest-2023-here-at-3pm-et-170045929.html?src=rss 

If a single point of access for your wireless connections just isn’t cutting it, a mesh WiFi system might be what you need. A few different routers, including Google’s Nest WiFi Pro 6E routers are currently on sale at Amazon and at Google’s own store. A three-pack of the Pro routers is down to $320, which is a 20 percent discount and a record low. The deal is part of a larger sale at Amazon, that also includes deals on other Nest smart home devices like doorbells, cameras and thermostats.

The Nest WiFi Pro routers use the latest WiFi 6E technology, covering up to 6,600 square feet and granting access to the newly opened 6 GHz band, which gives compatible devices faster throughput and more reliable connections, particularly in densely populated areas. The routers are Matter-compatible and act as Thread border routers — something that may come in handy as you expand your connected smart home with new deices like smart plugs and lights. And unlike some routers, the rounded design looks nice enough to display on a shelf and won’t make you feel like you need to hide it away.  

The sale further includes the Nest Thermostat, which is down to $99. That’s about $10 higher than its lowest price this year, but is still a decent 23 percent discount. The smart thermostat can help you save energy by setting schedules and not unnecessarily heating or cooling your space when you’re not home. It also grants control via the app or thought your smart assistant of choice (unless you choose Siri). Before diving in, you may want to make sure your system is compatible.   

A battery version of the Nest Doorbell is on sale as well. It’s down to $130 after a 28 percent discount off its $180 price tag. That’s also about $10 more than its lowest price ever, which we saw during the shopping holidays last November. The video doorbell will send alerts and footage to your smart phone or compatible smart display and allows you to see, hear and talk to whomever comes to the door.  

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/nest-wifi-pro-routers-are-down-to-record-low-prices-in-a-google-smart-home-sale-171544829.html?src=rss 

The spotted lanternfly may look innocent, but these ravenous creatures have been known to decimate crops, causing more than $500 million in damages to various fruit trees since being accidentally introduced to this country nearly a decade ago. The big idea right now is to introduce several species of wasps into the mid-atlantic ecosystem to hunt and eat the lanternflies, but students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have developed an alternative plan in the form of a robot death machine.

It’s called TartanPest and uses a combination of technologies and components to autonomously hunt down and destroy lanternfly egg masses. It starts with an electric tractor for movement and a suite of cameras for traversal. This computer vision is also constantly on the hunt for egg masses, containing up to 50 lanternfly eggs. Once it finds a mass on a tree, rock or even a rust metal surface, a robot arm with a spinning brush attachment goes in for the kill, scrubbing the eggs away like so much trash.

“Currently, spotted lanternflies are concentrated in the eastern portion of the nation, but they are predicted to spread to the whole country,” said Carolyn Alex, an undergraduate researcher on the TartanPest team. “By investing in this issue now, we will be saving higher costs in the future.”

There’s some deep-learning algorithms at work here to locate the egg masses, trained using a large image data set. The robot does work autonomously but requires a human on-hand to fix any issues as they arise. So it’s probably not the most efficient way to eradicate spotted lanternflies. Still, it’s pretty darned cool and everybody loves a good killer robot.

This is just a prototype design for now, as the team designed the construct as part of Farm-ng’s 2023 Farm Robotics Challenge. In other words, if lanternflies are getting you down, you have a while to wait before you can unleash an army of killer robots. In the meantime, you can always try an army of killer wasps instead.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/students-create-robot-death-machine-for-invasive-spotted-lanternflies-173438368.html?src=rss 

Google Password Manager is having a mini overhaul with a bunch of new security and convenience features rolling out on desktop and iOS devices. One of them is even designed to get you using it properly in the first place, by allowing you to upload a .csv file from a rival service.

The storage system also now has a dedicated space in Chrome that you can access through “Password Manager” in Chrome’s menu or “Manage passwords” when asked if you want to save a new credential. It’s accessible through a new desktop shortcut option as well. Once on the landing page, you can click on specific websites to view saved information or reconfigure your settings. If you’re an iOS user accessing Google Password Manager, you’ll also now have a larger pop-up for auto-filling passwords and be able to see your accounts for a specific website all in one place. 

The last big Google Password Manager convenience update is the addition of notes to your saved login details. If there’s an extra pin or security question you need to remember the answer to, that information can now live right with that account’s password. All you need to do is select the password, click “note,” and then “edit.” Once you’ve added the information, just hit save, and it will be securely stored. At login, click the key icon to access what you wrote. 

On the security side of things, Google is adding more biometric authentication options on your desktop. This measure enables you to require a fingerprint or facial recognition before your password auto-fills. It’s certainly a good option if you share a computer and want to keep your accounts private. On iOS, Google Password Manager will flag reused and weak passwords in the “Password Checkup” tab — where compromised password alerts live. The additional flags will roll out in the coming months, while biometric authentication for desktop should be available “soon.” You can access all of the convenience updates now. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-password-manager-gets-new-security-and-usability-features-035347775.html?src=rss 

The video game industry is larger than it’s ever been. The biggest companies are worth trillions of dollars and dozens more operate in the billions. In terms of social impact, video games are an established, powerful segment of the art and entertainment landscape. In 2023, the state of the video game market is, “big and getting bigger.” So why, from a player perspective, does it feel like the industry is shrinking?

It’s been four years since the last big video game showcase in the US. E3 2019 marked the last time the industry met in Los Angeles for a week of game and hardware announcements, and it’s finally happening again this year, just under new management. Summer Game Fest kicks off today, June 8th, and it’s organized by the team behind The Game Awards, rather than the Entertainment Software Association. There’s going to be a main live show at 3PM ET and multiple follow-up streams focused on indie games, plus events from Xbox, Ubisoft and Capcom running through June 12th.

The format of Summer Game Fest certainly looks familiar, but the industry itself has changed drastically since the last big summer showcase. The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have been on the market for more than two years, subscription-based cloud services are actually viable, and the indie and AA space has found its footing again. Meanwhile, the largest companies in the room have been on an acquisition spree, with Microsoft and Sony buying talented studios in a bid to pad their new platforms with exclusive games. 

For the full story, watch the video below. 

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/summer-game-fest-2023-and-the-stagnant-state-of-the-industry-163019962.html?src=rss 

Fitbit makes some of the best fitness trackers around and a couple of our favorite models are currently on sale. The Inspire 3 has dropped to $80, which is $20 off the usual price. It’s only $10 more than the record low price of $70, which we saw the fitness tracker fall to during last year’s holiday season. This sale also marks the Inspire 3’s best price of 2023 thus far.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is our pick for the best budget fitness tracker. Along with a color touchscreen, it has connected GPS functionality, which means it can track the pace and distance of your running and cycling sessions even if you leave your phone behind. Other features include automatic workout detection, while Fitbit says you’ll get up to 10 days of use out of a single charge.

Those looking for a tracker with more bells and whistles may want to opt for the Fitbit Charge 5 instead. It’s our overall favorite fitness tracker. It has built-in GPS tracking, so it can map your runs and other activities. We found that this feature was fast and accurate.

In addition, the Charge 5 supports Fitbit Pay, giving you another excuse to keep your phone at home when you’re out jogging. You can also take an electrocardiogram reading with this tracker. Moreover, the Charge 5 can track your sleep and it has a full-color AMOLED display. The Charge 4 had a smaller grayscale screen and it a thicker profile, so the more recent model is more refined.

Best of all, the Fitbit Charge 5 is on sale too. It has dropped from $150 to $120.

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/fitbits-inspire-3-fitness-tracker-is-20-percent-off-right-now-144652301.html?src=rss