Kalakshar US

I know there are bigger fish to fry, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t draw your attention to this travesty of a commercial Verizon just released. It’s only 30 seconds long but may go down as one of the worst ads I’ve ever seen.  

What’s so offensive, you ask? Well, the carrier (and one-time parent company of Engadget) wants to promote the fact that it will give AT&T and T-Mobile customers a better deal on their wireless plan if they bring in their monthly cellular bill. That’s all well and good, but we need to talk about the cathode-ray tube TV that’s at the center of the commercial.   

The ad opens with a woman walking into a Best Buy-coded store and handing over a 27-inch CRT TV to a nearby sales associate. “Hi, I got this old thing and the bill from the store where I got it,” she tells the young salesperson while casually tossing the TV to him. “Figured you could beat it with a better deal on one of these big boys,” she adds, pointing to, let’s be honest, an objectively worse flat panel TV. 

Now, I need to know: did anyone who worked on this commercial try to lift a CRT? Look, I know it’s 2025, and even the newest sets are now close to two decades old, but even if you’ve never seen one in real-life, surely you’ve heard how heavy they are? If I had to guess, the TV we see in the commercial, which looks like an RCA 27R411T, weighs close to 75 pounds. There’s a reason so many Facebook Marketplace listings recommend you bring a friend with you when you come pick up the CRT they’re selling; most people can’t lift even a mid-sized set on their own. 

I hate to think how Verizon made this commercial. CRTs are a dead technology. No company is making new consumer sets anymore, and any working CRTs left out in the world are on borrowed time. If the company gutted a working set to make this commercial, it means there’s one less CRT in an ever-dwindling pool. Someone could have enjoyed that TV and stopped it from entering a landfill.

But as for the rest of the commercial, it’s equally as bad. No big box retailer is accepting trade-ins for a CRT TV, and even if they were, trying to get rid of one that way would be a rookie move. CRTs, both TVs and monitors, are highly sought after by retro gamers. Even a relatively unknown set like the 27R411T can catch a few hundred dollars, especially if it’s in pristine condition. In fact, a quick eBay search returns a seller looking for $350 for their 27R411T unit. 

But you know what our dear Verizon booster does? She just walks away without the CRT after the salesperson tells her the shop won’t give her a better deal on a new TV. “Guess you’re not as cool as Verizon” she says, uttering a thing no one in the history has ever said. Sorry, joke’s on you, lady. Not only is that TV impossibly light, it’s way cooler than anything Verizon has ever done.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/verizons-latest-ad-defies-crt-physics-202441012.html?src=rss 

When you’re trying to keep Leica’s digital camera lineups straight, the M-System was always the one with optical rangefinder display (and high price tag). However. the company just upended that precedent with the M EV1, a 60MP mirrorless camera with a classic M design but an electronic viewfinder (EVF) in place of the rangefinder. 

It may upset purists, but it’s a move that makes sense from a sales point of view. Leica’s old-school film cameras used its M mount lens system and, in order to keep the bodies compact, didn’t have reflex mirrors like SLRs. Instead, they used an optical rangefinder, which provides a weird, offset and inaccurate view of the scene. Leica kept the rangefinders when it launched its digital M cameras, even though it could have switched to an EVF. 

In 2014, Leica launched a more modern mirrorless camera lineup with the new SL mount that did use electronic viewfinders. However, they have always lacked the cachet, compact size and gorgeous looks of the M-System, so don’t appeal as much to well-heeled buyers that want the full Leica experience. 

Enter the M EV1, which looks exactly like you want a Leica to look but boots the rangefinder in favor of an EVF. “Designed for both devoted Leica enthusiasts and those new to the M System, it makes capturing beautiful, intentional photographs easier than ever,” the company wrote. Leica probably noticed buyers who wanted a pretty camera were drawn to the M series, but then put off by the wonky rangefinders.

Handmade in Germany, the M EV1 is definitely beautiful, with the classic rounded rectangular M shape and a new diamond-patterned leatherette to give it a distinctive look compared to the rangefinder models. Leica also eliminated the dedicated ISO dial (the setting is now done via another control), which helped make it 1.62 ounces lighter than the M11-P. It has a new custom function lever that lets you activate focusing aids and digital zoom options while looking through the viewfinder.

That viewfinder is definitely a good one, with 5.76 million dots of resolution for a sharp view. The rear screen has a sharp 2.32-million-dot display, but is fixed in place and doesn’t tilt. 

Otherwise, the M EV1 has similar specs to the M11-P. It has a high resolution 60MP sensor with support for 14-bit RAW images processed using Leica’s excellent color science and burst speeds up to 4.5 fps. You can shoot with the mechanical shutter at up to 1/4000th and 1/16,000th in silent mode (flash sync is 1/180th). Focusing is strictly manual, with magnification and focus peaking assist functions. Naturally, it uses Leica’s famous and tremendously expensive compact M mount lenses. There’s no support for video.

Though some features are old school, the M EV1 lets you connect to Leica’s Fotos app via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a cable for quick sharing on social media and elsewhere. It also supports Leica’s Content Credentials system that enables the origin and history of an image to be clearly traced to avoid copyright theft or AI spoofing. Other features include 64GB of built-in storage along with UHS-II SD card support, and a meager 237 shots on a battery charge when using the EVF.

Seeing the price is always a fun experience with a new Leica camera, and the M EV1 doesn’t disappoint. It’s now on pre-order for $8,995 (black, body only) with shipping set for later this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/leicas-latest-m-camera-drops-the-rangefinder-in-favor-of-an-electronic-viewfinder-190547479.html?src=rss 

Meta is bringing more of its generative AI-powered photo and video editing tools directly to Instagram Stories. With the changes, you can now use text prompts to remove or change objects in your photos or “restyle” the image completely.

The new tools live in a new “restyle” menu at the top of the Stories composer. You can select “add,” “remove” or “change” to tweak specific elements of your images. These features work a lot like either AI-based image editing tools; you can do things like remove stray objects from the backgrounds of photos or change up a person’s outfit. You can also make more dramatic edits, like in the photo below, when I asked Meta AI to “change the background to make it look like the cat is in space.” 

I asked Meta AI to “make it look like the cat is in space.”

The prompt bar can also be used to iterate on images without the “add, change, remove” constraints. It still takes a couple seconds for Meta AI to come up with its creations, but it’s an overall much faster and smoother experience than the company’s first “imagine” image generator from nearly two years ago.

Meta has also added some preset effects that change the style of an entire image (e.g. anime, watercolor, 8-bit) without a prompt. There are also some presets specifically for “short videos,” according to Meta, though I’m only seeing restyle options for photos for now.

You can prompt Meta AI to edit your photos in Stories,

Meta is also testing some “restyle” effects for text within Stories posts. This will allow people to mix things up from the same few font styles Instagram typically has available. Like with the image edits, you can ask Meta to customize the look of your words (e.g “make it look like toy blocks”).

The changes will make Meta AI’s image and video editing features much more prominent to Instagram users, Meta AI has had the ability to change and restyle images for some time, but those features have been confined to chats with the Meta AI assistant. By now adding text-based prompts directly to Stories, these tools are a lot more accessible. Instagram is further encouraging users to share their new AI-inspired creations with a new “add yours” sticker that lets people share prompts others can iterate on. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-stories-is-getting-new-ai-powered-editing-tools-175500693.html?src=rss 

If Amazon’s new lineup of Kindle Scribes didn’t pique your interest, Boox, a long-time player in the E Ink gadget space, might have what you’re looking for. The company’s recently announced Boox Palma 2 Pro and Note Air5 C offer color E Ink displays in two distinct sizes, and unlike the Scribe or reMarkable Paper Pro Move, let you run any Android app you want.

The Palma 2 Pro is the more notable of the two devices. It’s a premium sequel to the Boox Palma, a phone-shaped E Ink device that originally became popular as a “healthy” and less distracting alternative to scrolling on a smartphone. The Palma 2 Pro improves on the original with a 6.3-inch color E Ink screen (a Kaleido display, the same one used on the Kobo Libra Colour) and support for 5G data through a new SIM card slot. The new Palma also runs Android 15, supports Boox’s InkSense Plus stylus for taking notes and includes A-GPS for basic navigation. In other words, it’s a much better smartphone replacement than before.

A Boox Note Air5 C tablet in a keyboard cover.

The Note Air5 C is a bit more familiar. The 10.3-inch E Ink Android tablet is basically a larger version of the Boox Go 7 and Go 7 Color devices Boox announced earlier this year, and an update to the Note Air4 C that’s graced Engadget’s list of best E Ink tablets. The main changes Boox has made to this new model are that it runs Android 15 and supports a keyboard cover through the addition of pogo pins on the back. This makes it easier to type up documents on the device, and theoretically lets it support other accessories down the road. Alongside the keyboard, Boox says the new Note Air’s Pen3 stylus is more comfortable to hold, and includes a removable cap for storing extra tips. Using an E Ink Kaleido display means the Note Air5 C might not offer quite the same experience as an iPad Pro with iPadOS 26, but a newer version of Android and a keyboard gets it a lot closer.

Both of Boox’s new devices are available to order now, and should ship in November. The Boox Palma 2 Pro costs $400, while the Boox Note Air5 C costs $530, or $607 in a bundle with a keyboard cover.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/boox-updates-popular-palma-e-ink-device-with-color-and-5g-connectivity-180000230.html?src=rss 

OpenAI’s relentless push for growth took another turn on Thursday when the company said it had bought Software Applications Incorporated. The company is perhaps best known for making Workflows. Apple bought that iOS automation app in 2017 and turned it into Shortcuts.

This year, though, Software Applications Incorporated unveiled Sky, a new automation app for Mac. Given its focus on agentic AI — artificial intelligence systems that carry out actions on your behalf — it’s easy to see why OpenAI would be interested in scooping that up.

“Whether you’re chatting, writing, planning, or coding, Sky understands what’s on your screen and can take action using your apps,” Software Applications said. “Now, we’re joining OpenAI to bring these capabilities to even more people. We can’t wait to share more.”

OpenAI plans to incorporate “Sky’s deep macOS integration and product craft” into ChatGPT. All of the Software Applications team will join the company.

Apple has been working on integrating similar features into a new version of Siri. The company first demoed those in 2024, but the overhauled Siri is not expected to arrive until spring 2026. Reports suggest that Apple wants the new Siri to carry out actions in third-party apps. OpenAI recently announced third-party app integration for ChatGPT.

News of the acquisition comes just days after OpenAI released ChatGPT Atlas, its first web browser. The app is available on macOS now, and it’s coming to iOS, Android and Windows soon. OpenAI also bought AI-powered personal investing app Roi earlier this month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-buys-the-maker-of-mac-automation-app-sky-182624253.html?src=rss