If you were left cold by the PlayStation 5-themed sneakers that broke cover earlier this week, maybe you need Adidas' 3D-printed 4DFWD, the latest model from its running division. Created in partnership with 3D printing company Carbon, Adidas' 4D bowtie-lattice pattern is designed to turn the vertical forces of your feet into forward motion.
The company says it should generate "three times as much forward motion under vertical loading." Energy savings for you, and at least a little environmental savings in the process: The lattice is made of 39-percent bio-based material, while the fabric Primeknit upper is recycled polyester. It might not be as good as Adidas' Parley sneakers (with an upper made of 95 percent ocean plastic), but it's at least a little better.
The last Starship high-altitude test went to pieces before the vehicle started its return to the ground, but the SN15 prototype launched, flipped in the air and landed — all without exploding. It's the first of SpaceX's prototypes to clear that bar, and while there was a small fire visible after it landed, the fact that it is still standing is more than enough. Continue reading.
IBM says it has squeezed 50 billion transistors on a chip the size of your fingernail. The architecture can help processor makers deliver a 45 percent performance boost with the same amount of power as current 7nm-based chips — the same level of performance using 75 percent less energy, according to IBM. Continue reading.
But says the indefinite suspension was outside of Facebook's power.
Facebook's Oversight Board, formed to rule on issues around moderation policy, has decided to offer qualified support for the suspension handed down to former US President Donald Trump. In a statement, the board said it was "justified" in restricting access to his account, but the "indeterminate and standardless penalty" was not. It said Facebook can't simply decide to permanently ban a user without a policy explaining why.
The Oversight Board also called for Facebook to conduct a "comprehensive review" of its contribution to the narrative of electoral fraud. It added: "This should be an open reflection on the design and policy choices that Facebook has made that may allow its platform to be abused." Continue reading.
Peloton has agreed to voluntary recalls for the Tread and Tread+ treadmills in the US and Canada. The company reached the agreements with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) following injuries and a death.
The recall of Tread+ devices (Peloton's first treadmill) follows more than 70 incidents of people, pets and/or objects being pulled under Tread+, according to CPSC. Those include 29 reports of injuries to children, such as second- and third-degree abrasions and broken bones. The recall for the newer Tread machines has been issued because the touchscreen can detach and fall, possibly causing injury.
In a statement, Peloton CEO John Foley said "I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize." Continue reading.
Nintendo sold 4.73 million Switch consoles last quarter, almost doubling its own forecasts. It ended up shipping 28.83 million consoles over the last year, beating its own expectations by over 2 million. In short, the Switch is doing very, very well.
It has now outsold the lifetime sales of the Game Boy Advance and should surpass the Wii next year. Well, as long as supply chain wrinkles don't ruin its run. Nintendo says that semiconductor shortages could create "obstacles to the procurement of parts." And remember, there's that next-gen Switch approaching. Continue reading.
He estimated that 60 percent of employees will work onsite a few days a week.
In an expansion of a pilot that started in December, most Google employees will spend approximately three days working out of the office and the other two "wherever they work best." How that split works out in practice will depend on a worker's product focus and the team they're a part of.
Additionally, Google will offer more opportunities for employees to move around. By mid-June, it will introduce a process to allow staff to apply to work from a different office. What's more, all employees will have the chance to work up to four weeks away from their assigned office. Google also plans to develop more remote roles and even teams made entirely of people in different places.
In a blog post, Pichai also mentioned Google's work "testing new multi-purpose offices and private workspaces, and working with teams to develop advanced video technology that creates greater equity between employees in the office and those joining virtually." Continue reading.
It's amazing that the Star Wars juggernaut (enabled by the Disney industrial complex) has managed to ringfence one entire day each year to peddle new shows, movies, toys and the rest. If you survived yesterday without seeing Gandalf doing the Spock salute with some white text saying May The Fourth Be With You, you're living a better life than me.
Sneering aside, I got something out of May 4th — the briefest glimpse of a 'working' lightsaber that extends and retracts a blade of what looks like light. The device definitely looks far more expensive than my double-edged Dark Maul saber from 1999, and there doesn't appear to be a plastic tube in sight. Patents unearthed after Disney showed off the saber suggest the blade is composed of LED-illuminated plastic, bright enough to obscure the fact it isn't actually a laser that could cut a robot in half.
The saber will feature first in an immersive two-day hotel experience at the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser luxury hotel.
There are also Star Wars-themed Instant Pots on sale and our thoughts on the first episode of the new animated series, The Bad Batch. That should be enough until next year.
Apple has hired Google AI veteran Samy Bengio, who was among the company's most prominent employees to quit amid the fallout from its firing of two women researchers. Bengio will reportedly lead a new AI research unit at Apple. Bengio left Google last week after 14 years following the company's controversialdismissal of two ethical AI co-leads who reported to him. They had separately warned of the dangers of large language models and algorithmic bias. Bengio won't be alone as Google alumni: Apple has plucked several AI experts over the past few years, including John Giannandrea, who Bengio will report to. Continue reading.
The official Android Twitter account just revealed some previously unannounced new audio hardware, by tweeting (and then deleting) a post about the Pixel Buds A-Series. The post itself didn't say much about the new earbuds other than they include Google's new fast Bluetooth pairing experience, which first appeared on Fitbit's Luxe wearable. (Fitbit is now owned by Google.) The last generation of Pixel Buds weren't particularly sluggish at pairing, so hopefully there are some other improvements — or perhaps that 'A' designation will mean a cheaper price. Expect to hear more at Google I/O, which kicks off May 18th. Continue reading.
Mere hours before Facebook's Oversight Board announced its ruling on whether or not it will allow the former president back on to its platform, Trump seized the initiative and unveiled a brand new communications platform of his very own. Take that, Big Social Media!
Behold the awesome golden glory of From the Desk of Donald J. Trump, a whole entire web page dedicated to giving Trump what he so desperately desires: somewhere on the internet to complain about how the rest of the internet is so mean and unfair to him. If you don't feel like clicking through, then know it's just like every other blog you've seen for the last 20 years, filled with tweet-length posts that Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey can't delete even if they wanted to. Continue reading.
Following an Instagram leak in March, Paul George and Nike officially unveiled the white PlayStation 5 colorway of his PG 5 signature sneaker. Nike and Sony designers worked together to develop the shoe before the PS5 had been unveiled and without Nike actually seeing it.
As such, they relied on SIE Art Director Yujin Morisawa's "artistic vision and creative ethos" for the PS5 to inspire the shoes, which feature PlayStation shapes along the upper and references to the PS5's design on the upper and outsoles. In "select" global regions, you may be able to snag a pair starting on May 14th, and they'll be released in North America on May 27th. They will go on sale via Nike.com, the SNKRS app and at certain retail locations for $120. Continue reading.
After a lengthy four years of support for Android updates, Samsung's Galaxy S8 series (circa 2017) is being put out to pasture. What's notable is just how long Samsung has pumped out security updates for the phones, longer than even Google does for its own Pixel devices. If you're still carrying an S8 — and are cautious on security — it might be time to upgrade. Continue reading.
Will Smith will helm a new YouTube original series about how he got fit mid-life, facing all the relatable struggles of keeping in shape when you're a wealthy celebrity with lots of money, free time and connections. Hopefully, Smith's charm should help assuage some of our cynicism. But probably not all of it. Continue reading.
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After months of back and forth, the Apple vs. Epic battle over how an app store should work has reached an actual courtroom. Shenanigans on day one included Epic CEO Tim Sweeney identifying — under oath — the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch, but so far the most interesting parts are what we've learned about how the video-game industry works.
Between filings and testimony, we've heard information about how Sony charges developers of cross-play games if PlayStation players spend money on other platforms, about the nearly $12 million Epic spent to secure games for "free" giveaways and about the $146 million advance that locked in Borderlands 3 as an exclusive for the Epic Game Store on PC. Not enough has happened for us to have an idea of who will win, but if all you want is gossip and a unique perspective behind the scenes of industry dealings, then dive into the various filings right here and stay tuned — we're just getting started.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors that Apple plans to launch an 8-inch foldable iPhone by 2023. Kuo already noted the possibility of a folding iPhone in March, but his latest report has more detail on suppliers, suggesting a QHD+ flexible OLED will come from Samsung Display. The report is highly speculative, so don't start saving up for an iPhone Fold or whatever just yet. However, other details give it some extra credibility. And if you wanted more options, Kuo expects Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Honor to launch new foldable models in late 2021 or early 2022.Continue reading.
Verizon has agreed a deal to sell its Verizon Media unit — including Engadget — to the investment firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. Through the deal, Verizon Media, which was once called Oath, which was once called AOL, will be renamed once again, as... Yahoo.
It'll include not only media sites and brands like ourselves but also big Yahoo properties like Mail, Finance and Sport, with Verizon Media's ad tech assets also included. The deal is expected to conclude in the second half of 2021. Continue reading.
The Wild One Max is an 8/10th scale replica of the 1985 toy model built by The Little Car Company in partnership with its original manufacturer, Tamiya. The buggy measures about 138 inches long and 71 inches wide, which is roughly as long as a Fiat 500 and as wide as a Volkswagen Golf. It features a polycarbonate bathtub chassis and metal roll cage, as well as oil-filled shocks and a trailing-arm rear suspension.
It will have a top speed of 30MPH, with a modular battery pack that lasts about 25 miles in range and can be recharged by regenerative braking. The Little Car Company is also promising three packs to make the car road legal in the US and Europe. These will include brake lights, turn signals, reflectors and rear-view mirrors. The base unit will cost about $8,250, excluding tax, and is available for pre-order now. Continue reading.
Sony is partnering with Discord with the aim of "bringing the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together." How that will look, however, is anyone's guess. The wording references the PlayStation Network, which might mean it could integrate with any device with access to your profile, including phones and PCs. Continue reading.
The decision will come down on Wednesday, May 5th.
After a delay, partially to review the more than 9,000 public comments submitted to this case, the Oversight Board has announced it'll release its decision on Trump's ban this Wednesday, May 5th, at 9 AM ET. It's taken some time, but this should be the final word on Trump's future on the platform — both Facebook and the Oversight Board have made it clear the board's decisions are final, and Facebook is unable to overturn them. Continue reading.
Graduation season is here, and it was a peculiar last year of college for most. That means it's worth some extra celebration, right? Even if that doesn't quite extend to a new MacBook Air, we collected a selection of devices and services that might make the new world of adulting a little easier. My favorite item in this year's guide? Fellow's Stagg electric pour over kettle, pictured above. Continue reading.
