In its first update in the better part of a year, Samsung is rolling out a new Good Lock app with an updated design that’s ready for One UI 7’s rollout, and a major improvement over what was available before.
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Google might be working on a Find My Device app for Wear OS as revealed months ago in the Pixel Watch 3’s intro video.
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YouTube already has a 2x speed multiplier for videos that seem to go on a little too long. The company is furthering that with an experimental 4x speed multiplier, available only to YouTube Premium subscribers for the time being.
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Months after bringing the update to iPhone and iPad hardware, Blackmagic Camera 2.0 is now available for Android phones and, for the first time, selected Android tablets.
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Perplexity, the venture-backed startup building AI-powered search products, has been sued in federal court for allegedly violating another company’s trademark. In a complaint filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, attorneys representing a company called Perplexity Solved Solutions accuse Perplexity of infringing on its trademark rights by using the […]
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Apple wants to ensure it has a voice in the remedies trial for the Justice Department’s search monopolization case against Google, and filed an emergency motion to stay the proceedings while it appeals the district court’s denial of its request to be more directly heard in the case.
The remedies phase of the trial is set to begin in April, since US District Court Judge Amit Mehta already found Google liable for illegal monopolization in the general search market. Even though Apple is not technically a party in the case, it has played a significant role in it — the billions of dollars Google pays Apple each year for default placement on iOS helped convinced Mehta of Google’s monopoly power.
Mehta denied Apple’s request to take a limited role in the remedies phase of the case in an order earlier this week, saying it didn’t file fast enough. Instead, he said, Apple could file post-hearing briefs explaining its views. The DOJ and state plaintiffs had opposed Apple taking part in the proceedings, while Google did not take a position.
Apple believes it now needs to take a role in the case because unlike in the earlier stage, its interests may no longer be sufficiently represented by Google. The government’s proposals to end lucrative deals for Apple — where Google pays for default positioning — “implicates concerns unique to Apple,” it says. Apple worries that Google will need to decide which arguments to focus on most — including the government’s request that the Chrome browser business be spun out — and the ones that concern Apple might not be adequately covered.
Apple writes that if its appeal isn’t handled until after the remedies trial has begun and it’s unable to participate, “Apple may well be forced to stand mute at trial, as a mere spectator, while the government pursues an extreme remedy that targets Apple by name and would prohibit any commercial arrangement between Apple and Google for a decade. This would leave Apple without the ability to defend its right to reach other arrangements with Google that could benefit millions of users and Apple’s entitlement to compensation for distributing Google search to its users.”
While Mehta hopes to resolve the case by August, Apple says that “the concern about a short delay is outweighed by the need for a fully developed record that includes information that only Apple can develop,” like how the DOJ’s proposals to eliminate Google’s monopoly power would impact Apple, and why they might not work. Apple said in its initial motion to intervene that it would offer evidence that despite the government’s suggestions, it would not create a general search engine were it not bound by its default agreement with Google.
If Mehta doesn’t grant the stay pending appeal, Apple requested at the very least that it gain access to discovery and depositions as a non-party while the Circuit Court considers its appeal. “Absent a stay,” the company writes, “Apple will suffer irreparable harm.”
DeepSeek startled everyone last month with the claim that its AI model uses roughly one-tenth the amount of computing power as Meta’s Llama 3.1 model, upending an entire worldview of how much energy and resources itâll take to develop artificial intelligence.Â
Taken at face value, that claim could have tremendous implications for the environmental impact of AI. Tech giants are rushing to build out massive AI data centers, with plans for some to use as much electricity as small cities. Generating that much electricity creates pollution, raising fears about how the physical infrastructure undergirding new generative AI tools could exacerbate climate change and worsen air quality.
Reducing how much energy it takes to train and run generative AI models could alleviate much of that stress. But itâs still too early to gauge whether DeepSeek will be a game-changer when it comes to AIâs environmental footprint. Much will depend on how other major players respond to the Chinese startupâs breakthroughs, especially considering plans to build new data centers.
âThere’s a choice in the matter.â
âIt just shows that AI doesn’t have to be an energy hog,â says Madalsa Singh, …
Blackmagic Design has announced that it’s finally bringing several advanced features already available for the iOS version of its free camera app to Android. The Blackmagic Camera for Android 2.0 update released this week allows several smartphones running the app to be monitored and controlled from a single device, including, for the first time, a small selection of Android tablets.
The new multicam remote functionality, which was introduced on the iOS and iPadOS versions of the app last August, allows a single Android smartphone or tablet to be connected to up to nine other phones running the camera app over a Wi-Fi or wired network. The controller device can be used to monitor the live video feeds from all the connected phones in a multi-view layout, start or stop recordings, and adjust settings such as focus, zoom, frame rate, white balance, and shutter angle individually or on all the phones at once.
Although the Blackmagic Camera app was originally released in September 2023 for iOS devices, the rollout for Android has been much slower and staggered. When the app finally launched on Android last June, it was only compatible with a handful of Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel smartphones. Blackmagic Design has been slowly expanding the app’s compatibility to other Android devices, and this week’s update adds support for the Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra. The newly added support for Android tablets is limited to the Xiaomi Pad 6 and Samsung Tab S9.
Other features introduced in the Blackmagic Camera for Android 2.0 update include support for Tilta’s USB lens control system, a UI update allowing users to “drag-select multiple media clips,” German language support, and the ability to capture video at 120 and 240fps on Sony Xperia smartphones that support that feature.
DAYTONA BEACH—Last week, ahead of the annual Rolex 24 at Daytona and the start of the North American road racing season, IMSA (the sport's organizers) held a tech symposium across the road from the vast speedway at Embry-Riddle University. Last year, panelists, including Crowdstrike's CSO, explained the draw of racing to their employers; this time, organizations represented included NASA, Michelin, AMD, and Microsoft. And while they were all there to talk about racing, it seems everyone was also there to talk about simulation and AI.
I've long maintained that endurance racing, where grids of prototypes and road car-based racers compete over long durations—24 hours, for example—is the most relevant form of motorsport, the one that makes road cars better. Formula 1 has budgets and an audience to dwarf all others, and there's no doubt about the level of talent and commitment required to triumph in that arena. The Indy 500 might have more history. And rallying looks like the hardest challenge for both humans and machines.
But your car owes its disc brakes to endurance racing, plus its dual-clutch transmission, if it's one of the increasing number of cars fitted with such. But let's not overblow it. Over the years, budgets have had to be reined in for the health of the sport. That—plus a desire for parity among the teams so that no one clever idea runs away with the series—means there are plenty of spec or controlled components on a current endurance racer. Direct technology transfer, then, happens less and less often—at least in terms of new mechanical bits or bobs you might find inside your next car.
© Aurich Lawson | Getty Images | NASA
If it's your turn to host a Super Bowl party this year, you might be looking to beef up your sound system before all of your guests turn up. Perhaps with something like that in mind, Sonos is running a sale on its speakers and soundbars on both Amazon and its own website. One of its products, the Era 100, has dropped to an all-time-low price of $199. The speaker will typically run you $249.
The Era 100 is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker and we gave it a score of 88 in our review. It delivers great audio and can reach loud volumes, while Bluetooth and line-in support are certainly welcome. With the Era 100, Sonos has simplified its Trueplay tuning feature by making use of built-in microphones to optimize audio output for the room the speaker is in. On the downside, while the Era 100 works with Alexa and Sonos' own voice assistant, it doesn't support Google Assistant.
Like other Sonos speakers, the Era 100 can be used as part of a whole home audio system. So you'll be able to set up units in other rooms so that even when they're away from the TV, your guests can still hear all of the action at the same time as everyone else.
It's also possible to set up two Era 100 units as rear speakers in a home theater setup. If that's the route you wish to go down, you might want to have a soundbar in place too. As it happens, several of Sonos' models are on sale.
The original Arc soundbar is down to $649, which is $250 off. As for the Beam Gen 2, that can be yours for $100 less than usual at $399. We reckon the Beam is the best midrange soundbar. However, the Arc Ultra, our recommendation for the best premium soundbar, isn't on sale this time, unfortunately.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/sonos-speakers-and-soundbars-are-up-to-250-off-right-now-155920350.html?src=rss©
© Sonos
The rumors were true: Warner Bros.'s platform fighting game MultiVersus will shut down online services after Season 5 ends on May 30. The upcoming season, which begins February 4, promises two new characters: Aquaman and Lola Bunny. Real money can no longer be used for microtransactions as of today, but players with premium currency in-game can use it until the shutdown.
The game had 20 million players less than a month after the open beta began in July 2022, but the developing studio Player First Games also took it offline for 10 months in March 2023, only fully launching on May 28, 2024. Despite the strong start, the player count dropped sharply in 2023, and the hype died instantly, as seen on Steam Charts. The open beta’s promise was seemingly undermined by predatory microtransactions and a long grind to unlock content.
MultiVersus will remain playable offline after Season 5 ends, though the game will be removed from Steam and other stores. While disheartening to see a once-promising platform fighter head to the landfill, Brawlhalla, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 and Fraymakers remain viable alternatives, as does the obvious poster child for the genre, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/season-5-of-multiversus-will-be-its-last-154839513.html?src=rss©
© Warner Bros. Games
Hackers are increasingly abusing bugs in popular enterprise software to target big companies in mass-hacking campaigns
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A group of men who sold Anom devices, the encrypted phone secretly backdoored by the FBI which led to the largest sting operation in history, pleaded guilty this month in San Diego. The defendants had been set to go to trial, in which the government was preparing to reveal the real identity of the confidential human source who provided the FBI with the Anom company in the first place. Now, that trial most likely won’t happen.
The court records released as part of the plea deals also provide new insight into how some of the phone sellers discussed drug trafficking on their Anom devices as well.
“If you really want to be secure there is only one word. ANOM,” one of the defendants wrote in messages collected from a backdoored phone.
In 2018, the FBI shut down an encrypted phone company called Phantom Secure. Companies in this underground industry typically take ordinary mobile handsets, then load them with custom encrypted messaging software and sometimes make modifications to the hardware too, such as removing the microphone or camera. Their customer bases are often disproportionately serious organized criminals, including drug traffickers, hitmen, and money launderers.
After shuttering Phantom Secure, a seller of the devices who used the moniker “Afgoo” approached the FBI with a staggering proposition: would the agency like to take the new encrypted phone company they had started, called Anom, and run it themselves? This meant the FBI could secretly backdoor Anom’s phones, and if criminals started using them, read all of their messages.
That would only work if criminals bought the phones, and if people in the encrypted phone industry sold them. That’s where the defendants Aurangzeb Ayub, Shane Ngakuru, Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, and Alexander Dmintrienko. Prosecutors allege they became part of Anom and sold Anom devices to criminals around the world.
Anom became a popular tool for serious criminals in Australia, Europe, South America, and South East Asia. Customers used the phones to coordinate massive, multi-ton shipments of drugs. In June 2021, authorities launched a global relay race of raids, with more than nine thousand law enforcement officials acting across a single day.
In a twist, even though the FBI secretly managed the Anom company, deciding which features should be included and those which shouldn’t, authorities also decided to charge what they saw as some of Anom’s most significant sellers. That indictment named seventeen people, including Hakan Ayik, who was Australia’s most wanted man and a key reason why Anom went global. Associates called him the “encryption king.”
The new plea agreements point to the defendants’ communications with criminal users of the phones. “Defendant assured his criminal customers that Anom would be safe from law enforcement and that Anom was more secure than other hardened encrypted device companies that had recently been infiltrated by law enforcement,” Ayub’s plea agreement reads.
In March 2021, authorities shut down Sky, one of the largest encrypted phone companies. Ayub then told Anom higher ups he was ready to sell 100 Anom devices and another 600 devices down the line, the record adds. “Defendant recognized that the criminal market for hardened encrypted device brands were overlapping and that the fall of a competitor provider presented opportunities for the growth of the Anom Enterprise,” it reads.
Hosseini’s agreement mentions a conversation where some of the men discussed keeping Anom underground. “Remeber. Word of mouth only. No social media nothing We don’t exist xx,” one called Edwin Harmendra Kumar wrote (Kumar previously pleaded guilty). “Yes we don’t advertize [sic],” Dmitrienko added. Hosseini then wrote “This one of the policies of ANOM no advertising!! I know you guys are aware of it.. Just a minder… 😉.” The irony, of course, was that all of these messages were being collected and then read by the FBI.
Some of the phone sellers also discussed drug sales in their messages, according to the plea agreements. Ngakuru coordinated a shipment of methamphetamine to New Zealand; Ayub spoke about the sale of kilograms of cocaine; and Hosseini discussed cocaine trafficking, according to the documents. Those three men have entered their pleas, but Dmintrienko’s hearing has been delayed to February, according to the court docket. Hosseini’s plea agreement mentions Dmintrienko in the cocaine discussion.
The guilty pleas close those cases, but some of the people charged by the U.S. remain overseas, including “encryption king” Ayik and Maximilian Rivkin, a Serbia-born drug trafficker who was also crucial to Anom’s aggressive expansion.
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Tired of hearing about DeepSeek yet? The China-based LLM chatbot beached itself onto the scene this week, dominating the tech news cycle and even taking #1 on the App Store, where it still sits as of writing. However, its rapid popularity has led to a wave of new phishing campaigns, investment scams, and macOS malware disguised as real DeepSeek applications. Here’s the latest.
You’re reading 9to5Mac Security Bite, where each week, I share insights on data privacy, discuss the latest vulnerabilities, and shed light on emerging threats within Apple’s vast ecosystem of over 2 billion active devices.
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The holidays are over, a new year is here, and along with all the various upheavals that we are facing (including some possible changes in tax law), most of us have to deal with our annual income taxes. Sorry about that.
Tax day this year falls, for most of us, on the traditional April 15th. There are exceptions: for example, if you live in California and in an area thatâs been affected by wildfires, you are eligible for tax relief and an extended deadline of October 15th.
Despite the stress that many of us feel at the thought of tackling our yearly taxes, try not to worry â weâre going to list some resources that are available so that you can prepare your taxes. As always, it might not be a bad idea to start working on those taxes as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute panic. And whether youâre a full-time worker dealing with a single W-2 or a freelancer / gig worker getting a series of 1099s, the fastest way to pay the piper these days is to do it online.
On the positive side of the ledger, if you live and work in one of 25 states, thereâs now a new way to figure out your taxes: via the IRSâs own Direct File program. Weâll get to that in a moment.
To begi …
