One of the enormous changes coming to us that has accelerated significantly of late is drone delivery, which promises to provide more speedy fulfillment of online orders. First for small items like meals and medicines, and eventually for larger items -- and even people. Still, drone delivery has some challenges to overcome.
Summer Stats Show a Frenzy of Sales and a Flurry of Fraud
Despite the struggles the pandemic imposes on the economy, consumer activity gives both retailers and e-tailers hope for continued growth as the recovery persists. Though fraud continues to escalate as criminals take advantage of card-not-present payment methods, including buy online pick-up in store (BOPIS), or click-and-collect.
With hurricane season in full bloom and the additional prospect of natural disasters, the importance for companies to have disaster data plans in place is paramount. TechNewsWorld discussed disaster preparedness with a panel of IT experts. Check out their recommendations -- and make sure that you have not forgotten that one key thing that many companies forget to protect but regret afterward.
Return of Remote Workers Brings New Challenges to IT Heads
For those business that got it right reopening their workplaces the first time around, they should be in pretty good shape for round two. But others that struggled to get a handle on operations will likely find themselves again in chaos -- especially where IT is concerned for the transplanted work-from-home employees.
The pandemic has exposed one fundamental, seemingly contradictory reality: people like to shop online, but they also crave in-person experiences. This era has also made clear that there's an answer to this conundrum: to provide shopping experiences that combine both physical and digital elements. Also known as "phygital" experiences, these strive to give customers the best of both the online and in-person worlds.
To be sure, there are specialized circles that make regular explicit use of PGP. My aim in treating PGP here is twofold. The first is to shed some light on it for the uninitiated. The second, and more importantly, is to teach the daring among you how to wield this powerful tool.
Health and Fitness App Exercises AI for Competitive Advantage
The use of artificial intelligence is not yet a common feature in fitness apps, but it is a main component in a popular India-based app now focused on growing users in the U.S. and Canada.
Once upon a time, it seemed no organization had its finger on the pulse of technology more than research consulting firm Gartner. Global corporations, technology companies, and the investment community have trusted Gartner for insights and...
Amazon Eyeing Mall Anchor Stores as Fulfillment Centers
Amazon is huddling with the largest mall owner in the United States to turn anchor stores into fulfillment centers, and possibly retail outlets. The deal with Simons Property Group would give Amazon access to space formerly occupied by Sears and...
The IDC CRM market share numbers are in for 2019. For the seventh consecutive year Salesforce leads the pack, this time with 18.4 percent of the market. Other big vendors trailing the leader include, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and Adobe.
Like with any industry, the information security industry, more commonly referred to as "cybersecurity," for all its raging debates, has rallied around a small corpus of best practices.
Verifying Global Identities at Scale: August 25 Webinar
With so much identity data flying around online these days, fraudsters can easily impersonate your customers or create fake identities to exploit your business. Learn how Ekata helps organizations with their fraud risk assessments.
Women in Tech: 20 Trailblazers Share Their Journeys
Successful women in the tech trenches share their insights and tackle subjects ranging from how to search out a strong mentor to how to be one -- from how to advance in a large company to how to start your own firm.
This book is an excellent guide for students considering STEM courses, graduates pondering job choices, and career changers at any stage in life. It's also a useful tool for school and career counselors, recruiters, and HR pros eager to diversify their workplaces.
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Now we're done being drip-fed the Pixel 4a (oh, and it arrived), we move on to the Pixel 5 and a 5G variant. A briefly visible Reddit photo, spotted by 9to5Google, appeared to show both Pixel phones in the wild, along with specifications.
Reddit
It suggests that the Pixel 4a 5G (on the right) would have an extra camera over the standard Pixel 4a, not to mention an even larger screen — the Pixel 4a wasn't petite to begin with. It looks like it'll be notably bigger than the flagship Pixel 5, which is rather unusual. Following on from Samsung's Note 20, big phones aren't going anywhere.
—Mat
BTS racks up 101 million YouTube views in 24 hours
The K-pop stars smashed the existing viewing record.
Another K-Pop release, another smashed internet record. BTS, last seen on Engadget hawking Samsung wares for a few seconds during the Galaxy Note press event, racked up 101.1 million views in 24 hours for its new "Dynamite" music video, not only breaking Blackpink's record (86.3 million) but making it the first to cross 100 million views in such a short time frame. Continue reading.
Windows 10 can run apps from your Samsung phone
Android–Windows multitasking, of sorts.
Samsung
Microsoft is rolling out a Windows 10 Your Phone update with support for running mobile apps on your desktop, as promised when Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 20. Apps run in separate windows to allow for multitasking, and you can pin them to your Start menu or Taskbar if you use them often enough. You can even use a mouse, keyboard and touch to interact.
As well as demanding the latest iteration of the Your Phone software on Windows 10, it needs a phone with the latest Link to Windows integration — and for now, that means a Samsung running Android 9.0 or later. The computer and phone need to be on the same WiFi network, so this won't be an option for checking the device you forgot at home. Continue reading.
Rocksteady's new 'Suicide Squad' game is all about killing Superman
Everyone likes a challenge.
Warner Bros.
Most of DC Fandome's big reveals over the weekend focused on movies, but there was still time to squeeze in a video game announcement or two. And we got a look at Warner Bros. Montreal's Gotham Knights.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a continuation of Rocksteady's previous trilogy of Batman games: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight. But a larger cast of playable characters means more powers and abilities to toy with. Oh and less Batman, presumably. You'll be able to swap between characters, and each will have different skills and abilities to traverse Gotham itself. Intrigued? Check out the trailer here.
Tesla thwarts performance hacks for its electric cars
You might want to think twice about using unofficial mods.
Tesla is quashing unsanctioned performance hacks. The latest software for Tesla's Model 3 thwarts a third-party Ingenext mod that unlocks features like an extra 50HP and Drive Mode. In the future, if you have the requisite device plugged in, you'll get an "incompatible vehicle modification detected" warning that stays while you're driving.
These features typically cost thousands of dollars to unlock through Tesla (such as a $2,000 Acceleration Boost), so there's a strong incentive for buyers willing to take the risk. Ingenext is planning to counter the update in a week or two with a solution that allows its mod to run unimpeded. Continue reading.
It's Apple vs. Epic, Wordpress and everyone else these days. But however things shake out, the battle over Fortnite profits will have an effect on game makers who don't have a billion-dollar battle royale juggernaut to use as leverage. Jessica Conditt spoke to some of the developers watching this play out from the sidelines, and it's worth your time to find out what they're saying.
'Crysis Remastered' can run in 8K, if your PC can handle it
The $30 game is coming to the Epic Games Store, PS4 and Xbox One on September 18th.
Crytek
Along with a release date, Crytek and co-developer Saber Interactive unleashed a trailer that shows off the remaster's technical capabilities. It will include textures up to 8K, HDR support, motion blur, more light settings and updated particle effects to name a few. Crytek says its CryEngine tech can support software-based ray tracing on Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro. Crysis Remastered can also tap into Nvidia's RTX graphics cards for hardware-based ray tracing on PC. Continue reading.
The Engadget Podcast
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review and Fortnite v. Apple
Engadget
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat about what it's like to live with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Samsung's biggest new phone. Plus, they dive into Epic's war with Apple over the App Store, as well as how Facebook is still trying (and failing) to make Instagram a Tiktok killer.
This week's best deals: Amazon Echo devices, iPad mini and more
And Razer Blade laptops are available for $200 off.
Amazon discounted a bunch of its Echo and Fire TV devices and you can get Apple's latest iPad mini for $50 off. A few TCL 8-series Roku TVs are half off, too, and you can stock up on some digital Nintendo Switch games in the company's latest eShop sale.
Here are all the best deals from the week that you can still snag today, and follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for more updates. Continue reading.
The 5G BlackBerry could be 'the most American-made phone out there'
BlackBerry phones are back, baby.
BlackBerry OnMobile
OnwardMobility was incorporated in Austin as Onward88 in late 2018 by CEO Peter Franklin, and the startup has spent the years since piecing together an executive team and a strategy for making BlackBerry phones relevant in a 5G age. Engadget senior mobile editor Chris Velazco spoke to Franklin to get some answers about BlackBerry's big comeback next year. Continue reading.
LG's transparent OLED displays are on subway windows in China
Not just a concept.
LG
The 55-inch, see-through displays show real-time info about subway schedules, locations and transfers on train windows. They also provide info on flights, weather and the news.
Riders will see the tech first on Line 6 in Beijing and Line 10 in Shenzhen. LG plans to expand the OLED displays to other subway lines, which will require working with railroad companies and train glass manufacturers. Continue reading.
Both companies claimed they would need to shut down operations in the state entirely if they are forced to comply with the law, but now they will continue to do business while they fight it out in the courts — or at least until it goes before voters during the November election.
— Richard
A typo created a 212-story monolith in 'Microsoft Flight Simulator'
Meet the monolith of Melbourne.
Ei Ito / Engadget
Making a small error while editing the OpenStreetMap database isn't normally a significant issue. But if you're nathanwright120, and you tagged a two-story building in Melbourne as being 212 stories, and you did that at the same time Microsoft decided to scrape the data for its new flight sim… then you get this, and it's glorious. Continue reading.
An AI pilot just beat a human in a simulated dogfight
Game over, man, game over.
DARPA
DARPA's AlphaDogfight Trials have ended, and Heron Systems saw its synthetic pilot come out on top, besting AI from Lockheed in the final round. After the AI vs. AI competition, its simulated F-16 went up against a human pilot and shot him down five times in five rounds. Are we doomed? We're doomed. Continue reading.
Razer made a dull keyboard and mouse for working from home
You could still play 'Microsoft Flight Simulator' with them, though.
Razer
If you thought Razer couldn't make PC hardware without a moody black base and technicolor lights, you were ri.. wrong. Its new series of mouse and keyboard peripherals have the color palette of a mid-00s office, all grays and whites. So they will blend in but still pack ergonomic shapes, mechanical switches and the rest of the tech you'd expect from Razer.
The $140 keyboard has wireless and Bluetooth connectivity for up to four devices, along with programmable keys that offer macro recording. As for the Pro Click mouse, it will cost $100 with eight programmable buttons.
Both are available from Razer's website today, and you can buy them through authorized resellers starting August 27th. Continue reading.
I went through hell to make an HDR YouTube video so you don't have to
Until Microsoft and Google get it together, HDR will remain a niche on YouTube.
Engadget
Read along as Associate Editor Steve Dent battles with HDR settings, YouTube compatibility and every other video editing gremlin. In the process, he'll give you everything you'd need to make your own high-contrast HDR content. It is not for the faint of heart. Continue reading.
Panasonic made a $835 cubicle for your WFH future
I like it?
Panasonic
Panasonic, known best for its TVs and white appliances, is launching a work-from-home cubicle during this work-from-home boom. For 88,000 yen ($835 dollars), you can sit behind two wooden peg boards, and well, not all that much tech. I'm not really sure what you're paying a premium for here, but I like the aesthetic. I apologize for nothing. For now, sadly, it appears to be a Japan-only arrangement. Continue reading.
For some reason, BlackBerry refuses to go quietly into the night, still trading on the goodwill of smartphone early adopters from a decade ago. The last thing we heard was that TCL had halted production of BlackBerry-badged Android phones.
But no, the story doesn't end there, he says, unable to comprehend the affection someone must still hold for BlackBerry.
BlackBerry OnMobile
On Wednesday, security tech startup OnwardMobility announced it'll release a new 5G BlackBerry smartphone, with a physical keyboard, which could arrive in the West as soon as early 2021. Like the TCL episode, it sounds like a similar branding exercise, but if you want the keyboard, this could be your only choice.
— Mat
Google services ran into some trouble overnight
Everything from Gmail to YouTube tossed up error messages.
Google
Starting around midnight ET, many people reported issues connecting to the G Suite services, but especially Gmail. Twitter and DownDetector immediately spiked with reports, and eventually Google's status page revealed they are investigating the problem. The most recent update said all users should have their issues resolved soon, so things may be back to normal by the time you wake up and start reading this. Continue reading.
Zoom calls are coming to Amazon, Google and Facebook smart displays
The Zoom domination continues.
Google
In 2020, Zoom has taken over as an essential part of work, home and social life. Pretty soon, it's moving beyond laptops, phones and tablets as it gets support on smart displays from Amazon, Google and Facebook. Facebook's Portal devices are getting some other key work-from-home tweaks, too, but, right now, it's all about Zoom. Continue reading.
A quick read that you'll finish before your first cup of coffee.
Recent damage to the Arecibo telescope could keep it offline for months
Crews are still assessing the damage.
UCSF
During a NASA meeting earlier this week, Lindley Johnson, director of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, said the massive radio telescope could be sidelined for months. Johnson revealed that a broken cable did not snap, as previously reported, but came out of a socket in a nearby support tower, causing a nearly 100-foot-long gash, which has disabled the dish. Continue reading.
Facebook removes hundreds of QAnon groups
The company isn't banning the conspiracy theory outright, but is trying to limit its spread.
After weeks of pressure, Facebook says it has removed hundreds of groups and pages and blocked thousands of ads tied to the far-right conspiracy theory. The move is the social network's biggest effort to take on the movement, which the FBI warned could pose a domestic terror threat.
Facebook isn't banning QAnon or its supporters entirely but is cracking down on those that "discuss potential violence," and it is taking steps to make other QAnon accounts and content less visible. Further, Facebook will block QAnon accounts from running ads, selling products or using other monetization features. Continue reading.
