Despite a hiccup along the way, Rory and Erica’s marriage has stood the test of time. Look back on their past split, their reconciliation and more here.
Despite a hiccup along the way, Rory and Erica’s marriage has stood the test of time. Look back on their past split, their reconciliation and more here.
Roblox is preparing to roll out its biggest change since starting age verification late last year. While that program was initially focused on chat access, today’s news is about age-segregating the games on the massive platform.
Starting in mid-May, users will be pushed into one of three worlds: Roblox Kids, Roblox Select or Roblox. The exact age ranges of these groups will vary by territory, but in the US they are 5-8 for Kids, 9-15 for Select and 16+ for the regular account. These three account types then align with the platform’s current content maturity labels, which divide games into Minimal, Mild, Moderate and Restricted.
Kids accounts will be the most restricted, with chat off by default and only Minimal and Mild experiences available.
Ages 9-15 get to chat with kids in their age group and “trusted friends” that have passed the parent test, and will be able to access Moderate content as well as games for babies.
At 16, teens will automatically be moved to a full-fat Roblox account with all of its features, but not all of the games. Content marked as Restricted will only unlock once they turn 18.
Roblox says over half of its users are now age checked, whether through ID verification or face scans. With the new account types rolled out globally — which the company says should be done by June — it’ll start forcing users who haven’t completed an age check into a Kids-like experience, with no access to chat or games rated higher than Mild.
Once age verification is completed, Roblox still faces the task of ensuring that its vast collection of user-created content is actually age-appropriate. Its solution to this is, of course, ID verification, AI and upcharges.
Developers will have to verify their identity and pony up $5 a month for Roblox Plus to show “a long-term commitment to the platform.” The wisdom is that, with these hurdles cleared, a developer will surely apply the correct maturity label to their games. On the off-chance that an experience is mislabeled, Roblox’s AI moderation will keep tabs on game instances to make sure what’s happening on-screen and in-chat matches the maturity label. On the surface, this does leave a gap where a toddler could end up playing an incorrectly labeled mature game before the AI catches it. Don’t fret, though, as Roblox says users over 16 “play new games first,” which surely isn’t an overgeneralization and will ensure that no child ever plays a mature game.
Roblox also previewed a pair of new parental control features coming in June. First, parents will be able to block any game and manage direct chat access until a child turns 16. Previously, kids over 13 could unblock experiences by themselves. Second, parents will be able to approve games outside of their child’s age bracket on a case-by-case basis. Roblox gave an example of a younger child wanting to play a game with their older sibling for this feature’s utility.
Of course, the big blocky elephant in the room is the efficacy of automated age verification. Reporting from Wired in January suggested even enterprising toddlers might be able to get past the platform’s age checks, which somewhat undermines everything Roblox is trying to achieve. Speaking to press ahead of today’s announcement, Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said, “If we get it wrong … we offer users multiple ways to correct that.” He added that the platform is “constantly measuring users’ behavior and comparing that against what their age-check data says. If we see those things divert, then we will just ask people to run through the age process again.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/roblox-introduces-mandatory-age-gated-account-tiers-121535702.html?src=rss
Apple may be late to the smart glasses market, but it could be covering all its bases with up to four potential styles for its upcoming product. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple could launch some or all of the four styles it’s currently testing for its smart glasses.
Gurman reported Apple is testing out a large rectangular frame that’s comparable to Ray-Ban Wayfarers, a slimmer rectangular design like the glasses that Apple CEO Tim Cook wears, a larger oval or circular frame and a smaller oval or circle option. Apple is also working on a range of colors, including black, ocean blue and light brown, according to Bloomberg.
Internally code-named N50 for now, Apple’s upcoming smart glasses will compete directly with the second-gen Ray-Ban Meta model. While similar, Apple might be differentiating its design with “vertically oriented oval lenses with surrounding lights,” according to the report. Like Meta’s smart glasses, Apple’s upcoming product will capture photos and videos, but is meant to better sync with an iPhone, allowing users to take advantage of Apple’s ecosystem for editing, sharing, phone calls, notifications, music and even its voice assistant, according to Gurman. The release of Apple’s smart glasses could even coincide with the upcoming improved Siri that should arrive with iOS 27.
Gurman reported that Apple could reveal its smart glasses as soon as the end of 2026 or early 2027, followed by an official release sometime in 2027. As for the competition, Meta released its latest model that’s better suited for prescription lenses and offers a more customizable fit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apple-reportedly-testing-out-four-different-styles-for-its-smart-glasses-that-will-rival-meta-ray-bans-200550013.html?src=rss
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a certain Redditor in its crosshairs and it’s now strong-arming the social media platform to reveal who they are with a grand jury subpoena, according to a report from The Intercept. The nonprofit news outlet was able to obtain the subpoena that ordered Reddit to provide info on one of its users who’s been accused of criticizing ICE by April 14.
According to the report, ICE has been trying to identify this Redditor for a month without success. More specifically, Reddit is being asked to give up the user’s name, address, phone number and other personal data. The Intercept reported that the subpoena was issued by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. after a failed attempt from ICE to do the same through a federal court in Northern California, which has jurisdiction in San Francisco where Reddit is headquartered.
Reddit attorneys said their client’s posts and anonymity are protected under the First Amendment and described ICE’s use of a grand jury as “a disturbing escalation,” according to the report. Reddit didn’t state if it would challenge the government’s order or not, according to The Intercept, but it did provide a statement saying, “privacy is central to how Reddit operates and we take our commitment to protecting that seriously.” Reddit also said in the statement that it does “not voluntarily share information with any government, especially not on users exercising their rights to criticize the government or plan a protest.”
While this grand jury subpoena could set an alarming precedent, it’s not the first time a government agency has requested social media platforms reveal accounts that have spoke negatively about ICE. According to a New York Times report, the Department of Homeland Security has filed hundreds of subpoenas to Google, Discord, Meta and even Reddit again, for identifying details about its users.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/the-us-government-wants-reddit-to-snitch-on-one-of-its-users-through-a-grand-jury-190532844.html?src=rss
The feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI is getting even more contentious as the two sides get ready for trial later this month. The latest development in the legal back-and-forth saw OpenAI accuse Elon Musk and his latest proposals as a “legal ambush,” as first reported by Bloomberg. OpenAI filed its response on Friday, which detailed that Musk was “sandbagging the defendants and injecting chaos into the proceedings, while trying to recast his public narrative about his lawsuit.”
The lawsuit dates back to 2024 when Elon Musk sued both OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the AI giant of ditching its original mission of being a non-profit and instead converting into a for-profit business after receiving financial backing and forming a partnership with Microsoft. Prior to OpenAI’s latest filing, Musk amended his original complaint to instead award any damages received to OpenAI’s nonprofit arm instead. Musk’s amendment, which was filed earlier this month, also sought to oust Altman from his role as OpenAI’s CEO and board member. In OpenAI’s Friday filing, the AI company claimed that Musk’s last-minute changes were “legally improper and factually unsupported.”
There’s a lot at stake with this lawsuit since Musk is reportedly seeking anywhere between $79 billion and $134 billion in “wrongful gains.” With both OpenAI and Microsoft denying any wrongdoing, according to Bloomberg, the trial is still set to kick off on April 27.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-says-elon-musk-is-orchestrating-a-last-minute-legal-ambush-before-trial-163248345.html?src=rss
Karol G is set to close out one of Coachella 2026’s biggest nights as a headliner. Here’s when she takes the stage.
Karol G is set to close out one of Coachella 2026’s biggest nights as a headliner. Here’s when she takes the stage.
The ‘Love on the Spectrum’ pair’s love story began in season 1 of the reality TV series, and fans are heartbroken that their relationship has ended after nearly five years.
The ‘Love on the Spectrum’ pair’s love story began in season 1 of the reality TV series, and fans are heartbroken that their relationship has ended after nearly five years.
An experienced hacking group has claimed to have infiltrated Rockstar Games‘ cloud servers, while the game publisher has confirmed that there was a “third-party data breach.” ShinyHunters, a hacker group that’s been linked to data breaches targeting Microsoft, Google, Ticketmaster and others, posted a message on its website with a final warning to Rockstar to “pay or leak.” The hack was first spotted by Hackread and the Cybersec Guru.
ShinyHunters didn’t detail what Rockstar data it gained access to, only adding that the company had until April 14 to reach out or that the group would leak the compromised info that would lead to “several annoying (digital) problems.” Rockstar Games confirmed the breach to Kotaku, explaining that “a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach,” and that the incident had “no impact on our organization or our players.”
Previously, Rockstar had to deal with a major hack that led to a leak including plenty of gameplay footage and assets for Grand Theft Auto VI in 2022. Following the hack, one of the 18-year-old members of the Lapsus$ group responsible for the leak, was sentenced to an “indefinite hospitalization.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/rockstar-games-has-confirmed-it-was-hit-by-third-party-data-breach-175112621.html?src=rss
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is ready to make its European debut, and it’s starting with the Netherlands. According to Tesla Europe, the automaker’s driver assistance system was approved in the Netherlands and will start rolling out shortly. RDW, the country’s regulatory authority on vehicles, confirmed the news with a post on its website about Tesla receiving a type approval for its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system.
According to the RDW, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) “has been extensively examined and tested for more than one and a half years on our test track and on public roads,” and concluded that it was a “positive contribution” to road safety. However, RDW pointed out that a Tesla with FSD Supervised was not “self-driving,” adding that the “driver remains responsible and must always remain in control.”
With Dutch approvals, Tesla notched its first regulatory green light for FSD use in Europe. The RDW also added that Tesla’s FSD Supervised could get “possible later admittance in all member states of the European Union” thanks to its approvals. Tesla has been working on bringing its automated driving features to other regions, including Europe and China, as detailed in a roadmap posted in 2024. In the meantime, the automaker’s software has been mired in several safety investigations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The latest development comes from a probe that targets collisions when using FSD, including the supervised version, in reduced road visibility conditions.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/the-first-european-country-to-get-teslas-full-self-driving-supervised-will-be-the-netherlands-170157644.html?src=rss
Now that Artemis II has accomplished its mission, what can we expect from NASA’s next one? Here’s what we know so far about Artemis III.
Now that Artemis II has accomplished its mission, what can we expect from NASA’s next one? Here’s what we know so far about Artemis III.
