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Why Some Startups Choose Alternative PR Models Over Traditional Retainers

Startup founders often face decisions when seeking media coverage. Traditional public relations firms typically charge monthly retainers with variable outcomes. Meanwhile, some newer agencies offer publication-based pricing models. Baden Bower, which reports serving clients globally, represents an approach focused on results-based models. The difference between these approaches reflects broader changes across professional services. Companies increasingly…

Can AI Detectors Help Keep Online Writing Honest?

Most online life now runs on text. A teacher opens a late-night essay submission that sounds nothing like a student’s past work. A hiring manager reads a cover letter in which every sentence feels polished in a slightly uncanny way. Or maybe a shopper scrolls through pages of reviews that all repeat the same phrases….

Android is getting a slew of new accessibility features

Google has announced a slew of new accessibility features coming to Android ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday. Advanced voice dictation, expanded support for an external mouse and improved expressive captions are just some of the features aiming to make Android a more accessible mobile experience.

A more advanced dark theme is now available for devices running Android 16 that will automatically darken most apps even when those apps lack their own native dark modes. Exclusive to Android 16, users can now select between “Standard” and “Expanded” when setting up Dark theme.

For those using a connected mouse with an Android device but who might find the action of clicking difficult, AutoClick now has an improved dwell cursor experience. This feature means the cursor will automatically click after it has paused over something for a certain amount of time, as set by the user. The type of click itself can also be customized, with a user’s choice of left-click, right-click, double-click, long press, scroll or drag.

Hands-free use is a cornerstone of accessibility for mobile devices, and now Gemini-powered voice dictation within TalkBack will enable typing and text editing using natural commands. Users can start dictating in Gboard with a two-finger double-tap, after which Smart Dictation with Gemini empowers users to say things like “replace Monday with Tuesday” to fix a mistake or even ask Gemini to make their message shorter. Google says TalkBack is “launching soon.”

Google has also added new functionality to Guided Frame, which helps blind or low-vision users take photos in the Pixel camera app. The tool can now describe the scene to the user as well as let them know when there’s a face in frame.

Voice Access has also been made easier to use in a totally hands-free way. Instead of having to physically tap the phone’s screen to start using the feature, users can now say “Hey Google, start Voice Access” to gain hands-free control. The feature does need to be enabled first for this to work.

Android devices can now pair to Bluetooth LE Audio-enabled hearing aids with a single tap. This expanded use of Fast Pair is compatible with Demant hearing aids and support for Starkey products is coming in early 2026.

Finally, Google is also building on expressive captions, the AI powered tool released last year that tries to imbue more feeling into captions. On Android, expressive captions can now “detect and display the emotional tone of speech” from the audio playing on your device. Captions will be tagged with emotions like joy or sadness. The feature is also coming to YouTube where captions will now convey the intensity of speech by using all caps, and writing out sounds like sighs and gasps. This will be live for all videos in English uploaded after October.

With the exception of TalkBack, which is launching soon, these new accessibility features are live now. As with most Google updates, it may take some time for the updates to hit every device.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/android-is-getting-a-slew-of-new-accessibility-features-190016358.html?src=rss

Android 16 updates include AI-powered notification summaries and built-in parental controls

Android 16 first came out in June but, in a change from its usual yearly update schedule, a second iteration is now on the way. Android has announced new features ranging from AI-powered notification summaries to built-in parental controls. As usual, the update will roll out to eligible Pixel devices first.

Anyone who has used Apple Intelligence, will find some of these Android 16 features familiar. Such is the case for new notification tools, like AI-powered message summaries and a notification organizer. Other updates also align with existing Apple tools like built-in parental controls, for things like screen time and app usage.

Android 16’s second release has additional new features, including custom icon shapes, themed icons and an expanded dark theme. The company claims the latter should improve battery life.

Outside of Android 16’s second go around, the company is also rolling out a series of general updates. There’s Circle To Search, which uses an AI Overview to find out if a message is likely to be spam — and gives advice on next steps. Similarly, Google Messages will now send an alert any time an unknown number sends a group invite. It will offer a one-tap option to leave, block and report.

In what could be helpful or get annoying really fast, Android is beta testing something titled Call Reason. It allows Android users to mark their call as “urgent” when calling a saved contact. It will not only show as urgent on the call screen, but keeps the note if they miss the call. Pinned Tabs are also now available on Chrome for Android, staying saved and upfront, just like in Chrome on desktop. Plus, a feature called Expressive Captions is coming that should shine a light on a person’s emotion in a video, despite the sound being turned off.

These Expressive Captions are also coming to YouTube as part of Android’s new accessibility updates. Additional features include Fast Pair for hearing aids and Guided Frame with Gemini, which gives a description of what’s in view on the Pixel camera app. Learn more about all of Android’s accessibility updates here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/android-16-updates-include-ai-powered-notification-summaries-and-built-in-parental-controls-190057208.html?src=rss

Raspberry Pi raises prices, thanks to AI

Raspberry Pi is raising prices on many single-board computers, with increases going into effect immediately. The Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 modules are shooting up by $5 to $25, depending on the model and the included amount of RAM. The 16GB memory variants of the Compute Module 5 are going up by $20 and now start at $140.

This is a bummer and we know who to thank. It’s the ultimate memory hog of all time, the AI industry.

“The current pressure on memory prices, driven by competition from the AI infrastructure roll-out, is painful but ultimately temporary,” CEO Eben Upton wrote in a blog post. He also said that the company looks forward to “unwinding these price increases once it abates.” Once a price shoots up it doesn’t typically go down again, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Raspberry Pi

There is a spot of good news here. The company also announced a new 1GB variant of the Raspberry Pi 5 that costs just $45. This one includes a quad-core 2.4GHz Arm Cortex-A76 processor, dual-band Wi-Fi and a PCI Express slot.

AI companies hoover up RAM like a vacuum over kitty litter and Raspberry Pi is just the latest organization to face consequences. The skyrocketing price of RAM has impacted businesses like CyberPower PC, which recently announced that there would be no holiday sales on memory products.

Of course, AI companies also gobble up GPUs, which has placed a strain on the entire industry. But can you really put a price on an AI-created video of Pikachu getting cooked in a stew or a fake livestream? This is serious stuff that requires every iota of our water, electricity, attention and money.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/raspberry-pi-raises-prices-thanks-to-ai-190618469.html?src=rss

Ball x Pit is evolving with a string of free updates in 2026

Ball x Pit is a fiendishly good time. The frenetic blend of Breakout and Vampire Survivors is easily one of the best games of the year. It’s immensely replayable. However, one reaches a point (after 36 hours in my case) where there isn’t much left to do other than run through New Game+ modes and so it becomes time to step away.

But this darned game is about to dig its hooks into me again in 2026, as developer Kenny Sun and his collaborators have lined up three free updates for Ball x Pit. The updates will drop in January, April and July and each will add fresh balls, evolutions, buildings, characters and “more” — which hopefully includes new levels and lore.

The trailer didn’t reveal too many specifics for each update, though more info on the first one is coming soon. I’m excited to discover more killer combos of characters and balls, and to unleash extra chaos. I’m glad there will be more buildings as well, because there’s a lot of empty space to fill in my version of New Ballbylon.

Publisher Devolver Digital said the game has now sold more than 1 million copies (Ball x Pit is on Game Pass too). According to the narrator of a video announcing that milestone and the updates, “if we want to keep this ball rolling, we need more people to buy Ball x Pit, so it sells another ‘balljillion’ copies, so Kenny has to make more Ball x Pit, so more people buy Ball x Pit, so he has to make more more more Ball x Pit.” Be right back, I’m gonna go buy Ball x Pit on the platforms where I don’t already have it so I can have even more Ball x Pit in the future. Ball x Pit is available on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, the Xbox PC app, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ball-x-pit-is-evolving-with-a-string-of-free-updates-in-2026-181947946.html?src=rss

What Theaters Is the ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Playing? See Locations, Tickets & More

The finale of ‘Stranger Things’ will also be available to stream on Netflix for any fans who don’t plan on going to the select theaters.

Fast & Furious director Justin Lin is making the Helldivers movie

We’ve known there was a film adaptation of Helldivers coming for a while, but we now have a director and writer. Justin Lin will helm the movie and Gary Dauberman is writing the script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Justin Lin is a great choice here. He directed many of the more beloved Fast & Furious entries and helmed the criminally underrated Star Trek Beyond. Helldivers is kind of a mix of both. It has outer space stuff, but also stylish action that occasionally borders on satire. Lin hasn’t made that many movies in recent years, but did sign on to adapt the Keanu Reeves comic BRZRKR for Netflix.

However, he’s been all over TV screens. Lin has become a prolific TV producer, with credits on shows like S.W.A.T., Scorpion, Magnum P.I. and Warrior.

As for the script, Dauberman penned both It and It Chapter Two. He also wrote Annabelle and both of its follow-ups, along with The Nun and a recent adaptation of Salem’s Lot. He’s mostly a horror guy, so we’ll have to see how he does with over-the-top action.

For the uninitiated, Helldivers is a co-op shooter franchise that’s heavily inspired by the movie Starship Troopers. The games are set in a hyper-patriotic dystopia called Super Earth. Helldivers 2 dropped in 2024, but just came out for Xbox earlier this year. Sony has yet to announce a release date for the film adaptation, so it might be a while.

As an aside, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios just dropped a nifty update for the PC build. It brings the file size down to 23GB from 154GB. That’s a massive reduction of 131GB. We aren’t sure what kind of compression wizardry went into that.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/fast–furious-director-justin-lin-is-making-the-helldivers-movie-173429140.html?src=rss

December Game Pass additions include Mortal Kombat 1 and Dome Keeper

It’s that time of the month again. Xbox just announced some new games that are heading to Game Pass in December. Let’s take a look.

The most renowned of the bunch is absolutely Mortal Kombat 1, which drops on December 10 for Ultimate and Premium subscribers. This is the latest game in the long-running fighting franchise that cut its teeth in darkened arcades throughout the 1990s.

Mortal Kombat 1 boasts an updated fighting system and plenty of new game modes. However, it’s still basically the same gorefest we grew up with. Players can still access bloodsoaked fatalities and turn their opponents into cute little babies.

The long-gestating sci-fi horror game Routine is finally coming out on December 4, and it’s a Game Pass day one release for Ultimate subscribers. This was first announced all the way back in 2012. It looks pretty fun, with a distinctly retro vibe.

Dome Keeper drops on December 9 for Premium and Ultimate Subscribers. This is a fun little roguelike that I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time on. It’s a fast-paced mining simulator with some light tower defense mechanics. You’ll be saying “just one more run” long into the night with this one.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is available right now for Premium and Ultimate subscribers. This is the latest narrative adventure from the folks behind Life is Strange. It’s set in the 1990s, so throw on some plaid or whatever.

A bunch of cool games are also spreading their wings and becoming available for Premium subscribers after being Ultimate exclusives. There are some real blockbusters here, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Monster Train 2, 33 Immortals and Spray Paint Simulator.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/december-game-pass-additions-include-mortal-kombat-1-and-dome-keeper-161232292.html?src=rss

A ‘Sonic universe’ movie will hit theaters in 2028

The Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been a success for Paramount and Sega, and the pair are looking to build on that with a spin-off movie. An expansion of the Sonic cinematic universe, if you will. The companies haven’t revealed more details about this “Sonic universe feature,” as Deadline described it, but the flick is set to hit theaters on December 22, 2028.

There have been rumors for a while that a film focused on Shadow the Hedgehog is in development, so that might be the direction Paramount and Sega take here. Keanu Reeves voices Shadow in the film series. There have also been suggestions that a movie starring Amy Rose is in the pipeline. I’m hoping there’s one centered on my fave, Tails, in the works too, even though it took me decades to realize that his full name, Miles Prower, is a pun on “miles per hour”.

This Sonic universe film will arrive after Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 19, 2027. A Knuckles spin-off series arrived on Paramount+ last year. Meanwhile, just before the Sonic spin-off movie, Paramount will bring a hybrid live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film to theaters on November 17, 2028.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a-sonic-universe-movie-will-hit-theaters-in-2028-163424265.html?src=rss