YouTube’s rolling out a whole bunch of new features and design updates, three dozen in total. Some of these tools are for the web app, while others are for the smartphone app and smart TV software. These features aren’t game-changers by themselves, but they add up to an improved user experience. Let’s go over some of the more interesting ones.
It’s now easier to speed up videos for those who just can’t get enough of really fast podcast clips. Just hold your finger down on the video and it’ll automatically bump up the playback speed to 2x. This feature is also useful for searching through a video for a relevant portion, in addition to fast-paced playback. The tool’s available across web, tablets and mobile devices.
The app’s launching bigger preview thumbnails to help with navigation. There’s also a new haptic feedback component that vibrates when you hover over the original start point, so you never lose your place. This will help when perusing videos with your finger on a smartphone or tablet, as the current way to do this isn’t exactly accurate.
One of the more useful updates here is a new lock screen tool to avoid accidental interruptions while you watch stuff on your phone or tablet. This should be extremely handy for those who like to take walks or exercise while listening to YouTube, as the jostling typically interrupts whatever’s on-screen. In other words, your quiet meditation video won’t accidentally switch to some guy yelling about the end of masculinity as your phone sits in a pocket, purse or handbag.
Speaking of guys yelling about the end of masculinity, the company’s finally (finally) added a stable volume feature, which ensures that the relative loudness of videos don’t fluctuate too much. This tool’s automatically turned on once you snag the update.
Even the humble library tab has gotten a refresh. It’s now called “You” and relays a bit more data than before. You’ll have access to previously watched videos, playlists, downloads and purchase all from one place. Again, this change impacts the app on both web and mobile devices.
The rest of the updates are design related, with on-screen visual cues that appear when creators ask you to subscribe complete with dopamine-enhancing sparkles when you finally “smash that like button.” There’s even a new animation that follows the view count and like count throughout a video’s first 24 hours. Some design elements extend to the smart TV app, including a new vertical menu, video chapters, a scrollable description section and more.
YouTube’s latest update is a tiered release and the company says it could be a few weeks before it reaches every user throughout the globe. The popular streaming platform says more features are forthcoming, including a redesign of the YouTube Kids app.
YouTube’s constantly changing up its core features. The past year has seen an enhanced 1080p playback option for web users and the company’s even announced a spate of AI-enhanced creator tools, among other updates. Evolve or die right? The social media landscape, after all, is currently in the midst of something of a sea change.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-is-rolling-out-a-new-you-section-as-part-of-a-substantial-update-174512477.html?src=rss
Snapchat introduced two new features Tuesday for users to embed content on their profiles or stories into a website. The social media platform added web embeds for its Lenses, Spotlight videos, public stories and public profiles for users to share an article or website with their followers easily.
The Android ecosystem is hurtling toward a RISC-V future. The puzzle pieces for the up-and-coming CPU architecture started falling into place this past year when Google announced official RISC-V support in Android and plans to make it a “tier 1 platform” on equal footing with Arm. With the OS support underway, what we need now is hardware, and Qualcomm is stepping up to announce the first-ever mass-market RISC-V Android SoC.
It doesn’t have a name yet, but Qualcomm says it’s developing a “RISC-V Snapdragon Wear” chip in collaboration with Google. The company says it plans to “commercialize the RISC-V based wearables solution globally including the US.” For Google and Qualcomm, this chip represents everyone’s first swing at a commercial RISC-V Android project, and as far as we can tell, it’s the first announced mass-market RISC-V Android chip ever. Qualcomm says the groundwork it and Google lay out “will help pave the way for more products within the Android ecosystem to take advantage of custom CPUs that are low power and high performance.”
RISC-V represents a big threat to the Arm CPU architecture that currently dominates all mobile devices. RISC-V architecture is open source, which can make it cheaper and more flexible than Arm. If companies want to design their own chips, they can do that without paying a licensing fee to Arm. Since the architecture is open source, it’s possible to create a fully open source chip. If you’re a chip-design firm, you can make your own proprietary chip designs and license them, making you a competitor to Arm’s chip-design business.
If you have a pair of in-ear headphones, there’s a good chance they are using a technology that’s several decades old. Despite attempts to introduce different, exotic-sounding systems like planar magnetic, electrostatic and even bone conduction, most IEMs or in-ear headphones still use either balanced armature or dynamic drivers. But there’s another contender, promising high fidelity, low power consumption and a tiny physical footprint. The twist is, it’s a technology that’s been in your pocket for the last ten years already.
We’re talking about micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and it’s a technology that’s been used in almost every microphone in every cell phone since the 2010s. When applied to headphone drivers (the inverse of a microphone) the benefits are many. But until recently, the technology wasn’t mature enough for mainstream headphones. California-based xMEMS is one company pushing the technology and consumer products featuring its solid-state MEMS drivers are finally coming to market. We tested the high-end Oni from Singularity, but Creative has also confirmed a set of TWS headphones with xMEMS drivers will be available in time for the holidays.
Where conventional speakers and drivers typically use magnets and coils, MEMS uses piezos and silicon. The result, if the hype is to be believed, is something that’s more responsive, more durable and with consistent fidelity. And unlike balanced-armature or dynamic, MEMS drivers can be built on a production line with minimal-to-no need for calibration or driver matching, streamlining their production. xMEMS, for example, has partnered with TSMC, one of the largest producers of microprocessors for its manufacturing process.
xMEMS
Of course, MEMS drivers lend themselves to any wearable that produces sound from AR glasses to VR goggles and hearing aids. For most of us, though, it’s headphones where we’re going to see the biggest impact. Not least because the potential consistency and precision of MEMS should marry perfectly with related technologies such as spatial audio where fast response times and perfect phase matching (two headphones being perfectly calibrated to each other) is essential.
For now, MEMS is best suited to earbuds, IEMS and TWS-style headphones but xMEMS hopes to change that. “The North Star of the company was to reinvent loudspeakers,” Mike Householder, Marketing & Business Development at the company told Engadget. “But to generate that full bandwidth audio in free air is a little bit more of a development challenge that’s going to take some more time. The easier lift for us was to get into personal audio and that’s the product that we have today.”
To look at, the first IEM to feature xMEMS’ solid-state drivers, Singularity’s Oni, seem like regular, stylish high-end in-ear monitors. Once the music started to flow, though, there was a very clear difference. Electronic genres sounded crisp and impactful in a way that feld more . The MEMS drivers’ fast transient response evidenced in the sharp, punch percussion of RJD2’s “Ghostwriter” and the Chemical Brothers’ “Live Again.” The latter’s mid- and high-end sections in particular shone through with remarkable clarity. Bass response was good, especially in the lower-mids, but perhaps not the strong point of the experience.
Singularity
When I tried Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” I immediately noticed the hi-hats pushing through in a way I’d never heard before. The only way I can describe it is “splashy.” It didn’t sound weird, just noticeable. I asked Householder about this and he wasn’t as surprised. “Yeah, the hi-hats, cymbals and percussion, you’re gonna hear it with a new level of detail that you’re really not accustomed to.” He said, adding that some of this will be the tuning of the supplied headphone amplifier (made by iFi) so it’s partly the EQ of that, mixed with the improved clarity of high frequencies from the MEMS drivers.
There was another surprise with the supplied amp/DAC also — it had a specific “xMEMS” mode. I originally planned to use my own, but it turns out that I needed this specific DAC as the MEMS drivers require a 10-volt bias to work. I asked Householder if all headphones would require a DAC (effectively ending their chances of mainstream adoption), but apparently xMEMS has developed its own amp “chip” that can both drive the speakers and supply the 10-volt bias. The forthcoming True Wireless buds from Creative, for example, obviously won’t need any additional hardware.
This is where things get interesting. While we don’t know the price for Creative’s TWS buds with xMEMS drivers, we can be sure that they will be a lot cheaper than Singularity’s IEMs which retail for $1,500. “You know, they’re appealing to a certain consumer, but you could just very easily put that same speaker into a plastic shell, and retail it for 150 bucks,” Householder told Engadget. The idea that xMEMS can democratize personal audio at every price point is a bold one. Not least because most audiophiles aren’t used to seeing the exact same technology in their IEMs also in sub $200 wireless products. Until we have another set to test, though, we can’t comment on the individual character each manufacturer can imbue on them.
xMEMS
One possible differentiating factor for higher-end products (and competing MEMS-based products) is something xMEMS is calling “Skyline.” Householder described it as a dynamic “vent” that can be opened and closed depending on the listener’s needs. Similar to how open-back headphones are favored by some for their acoustic qualities, xMEMS-powered IEMs could include Skyline that would open and close to prevent occlusion, improve passive noise canceling and other acoustic qualities such as “transparency” mode where you want to temporarily let external, environmental noises come through.
For those who prefer on-ear or over-ear headphones, MEMS technology will likely be paired with legacy dynamic drivers, at least initially. “The first step that we’re taking into headphone is actually a two way approach,” Householder said. The idea being that a smaller dynamic driver can handle the low frequencies, while MEMS drivers currently don’t scale up so well. “It’s really the perfect pairing. The dynamic for the low end, let it do what it does best, and then we’ve got the far superior high frequency response [from MEMS],” he said. “But the long term vision is to eventually fully replace that dynamic driver.”
The ultimate goal would of course be a set of solid-state desktop speakers, but we’re a little way out on that it seems. For now though, there’s a tantalizing promise that MEMS-based in-ears could modernize and maybe even democratize consumer audio, at least around a certain price point. Not to mention that xMEMS isn’t the only company in the game. Austrian startup, Usound, already showed its own reference-design earphone last year and Sonic Edge has developed its own MEMS “speaker-in-chip” technology. With some competition in the market, there’s hope that the number of products featuring it will increase and improve steadily over the next year or so.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/could-mems-be-the-next-big-leap-in-headphone-technology-173034402.html?src=rss
The Biden administration is tightening restrictions on China’s ability to buy advanced semiconductors, fueling friction with U.S. businesses that sell to the vast Chinese market. From a report: The Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would significantly constrict exports of artificial-intelligence chips, making it tougher for U.S. companies Nvidia and Intel to sell existing products in China — or to introduce new chips to circumvent the rules.
The move aims to close perceived loopholes in export controls announced a year ago, which themselves had faced strong opposition from the global semiconductor industry and escalated tensions with Beijing.
The goal, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters, is to limit China’s “access to advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers.” The chips are critical to Chinese military applications, she said, a nod to concerns that the U.S. could fall behind China in key defense technologies. The updated rules significantly expand the U.S. government’s authority to determine what products U.S. companies can and can’t sell in the name of national security. Shipments of high-end AI chips, including those developed by Nvidia and Intel for the Chinese market, are banned without a license. And “gray zone” chips just below those thresholds will now require notification to the government, which can then deny their sales.
In a study from Oxford University, researchers found that by using a combination of wearable sensor data and machine learning algorithms the progression of Parkinson’s disease can be monitored more accurately than in traditional clinical observation. Monitoring movement data collected by sensor technology may not only improve predictions about disease progression but also allows for more precise diagnoses.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that affects motor control and movement. Although there is currently no cure, early intervention can help delay the progression of the disease in patients. Diagnosing and tracking the progression of Parkinson’s disease currently involves a neurologist using the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) to assess the patient’s motor symptoms by assigning scores to the performance of specific movements. However, because this is a subjective, human analysis, classification can be inaccurate.
In the Oxford study, 74 patients with Parkinson’s were monitored for disease progression over a period of 18 months. The participants wore wearables with sensors in different regions of the body: on the chest, at the base of the spine and on each wrist and foot. These sensors — which had gyroscopic and accelerometric capabilities — kept tabs on 122 different physiological measurements, and tracked the patients during walking and postural sway tests. Kinetic data was then analyzed by custom software programs using machine learning.
Oxford
The sensor data collected by the wearables were compared to standard MDS-UPDRS assessments, which are considered the gold standard in current practice. That traditional test, in this study’s patients “did not capture any change” while the sensor-based analysis “detected a statistically significant progression of the motor symptoms” according to the researchers.
Having more precise data on the progression of Parkinson’s isn’t a cure, of course. But the incorporation of metrics from wearables could help researchers confirm the efficacy of novel treatment options.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/study-wearable-sensors-more-accurately-track-parkinsons-disease-progression-than-traditional-observation-171132495.html?src=rss
The Biden administration laid out new restrictions on Tuesday to limit the primary and secondary sale of United States-made chips to China, according to a CNBC report. The move is an effort to limit the nation’s technological and military progress.
Intel’s new desktop processor generations haven’t always come with significant generational improvements in recent years, as the company has struggled with new manufacturing tech that enables big leaps in performance and power efficiency. For every major jump—the 12th-generation CPUs, codenamed Alder Lake, come to mind—you usually get several faster but less-than-thrilling iterations.
Intel is officially launching its 14th-generation desktop processors today, and they’re firmly in that iterative, non-thrilling group, even compared to last year’s 13th-generation chips. The good news for price-conscious PC builders is that they’ll continue to work in all current 600- and 700-series motherboards after a BIOS update, and Intel isn’t launching a series of new motherboards to accompany them—there aren’t many compelling reasons to upgrade from a 12th-gen setup to a 14th-gen one, but it’s an available option.
Even the branding Intel is using here signifies that the processors are a throwback—next-gen Meteor Lake chips for laptops and all of Intel’s other chips are losing the generational and i3/i5/i7/i9 branding in favor of “Core” and “Core Ultra.” By Intel’s admission, the last gasp of the 14th-generation branding here is a nod to how similar they are to the 13th-generation chips that preceded them (and, for that matter, the 12th-gen ones before that).
Like all big superheroes, Spider-Man has been played and voiced by a variety of different people over the decades. There’s a certain art to the wallcrawler that a number of voice actors have managed to perfect in recent years, and among those is longtime performer Yuri Lowenthal. Known for a number of roles during the…
Amazon has quietly rolled out support for passkeys as it becomes the latest tech giant to join the passwordless future. But you still might have to hold onto your Amazon password for a little while longer. From a report: The option to set up a passkey is now available on the e-commerce giant’s website, allowing users to log in using biometric authentication on their device, such as their fingerprint or face scan. Doing so makes it far more difficult for bad actors to remotely access users’ accounts, given that the attacker also needs physical access to the user’s device.
But Amazon’s implementation of passkeys isn’t without issues, as noted by Vincent Delitz, co-founder of German tech startup Corbado, who first documented the arrival of passkey support on Amazon. Delitz noted that there is currently no support for passkeys in Amazon’s native apps, such as Amazon’s shopping app or Prime Video, which TechCrunch has also checked, meaning you still have to use a password to sign-in (for now). What’s more, if you’ve set up a passkey but previously set up two-factor authentication (2FA), Amazon will still prompt you to enter a one-time verification code when logging in, a move Delitz said was “redundant,” since passkeys remove the need for 2FA as they are stored on your device.
Blue Origin revealed plans for a new spacecraft platform with the potential to reshape in-space logistics, offering unprecedented maneuverability and a host of advanced capabilities.
ERNIE, Baidu’s answer to ChatGPT, has “achieved a full upgrade,” company CEO Robin Li told the assembled crowd at the Baidu World 2023 showcase on Tuesday, “with drastically improved performance in understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory.”
During his keynote address, Li demonstrated improvements to those four core capabilities on-stage by having the AI create a multimodal car commercial in a few minutes based on a short text prompt , solve complex geometry problems and progressively iterate the plot for a short story on the spot. The fourth-gen generative AI system “is not inferior in any aspect to GPT-4,” he continued.
ERNIE 4.0 will offer an “improved” search experience resembling that of Google’s SGE, aggregating and summarizing information pulled from the wider web and distilled into a generated response.The system will be multimodal, providing answers as text, images or animated graphs through an “interactive chat interface for more complex searches, enabling users to iteratively refine their queries until reaching the optimal answer, all in one search interface,” per the company’s press. What’s more, the AI will be able to recommend “highly customized” content streams based on previous interactions with the user.
Similar to ChatGPT Enterprise, ERNIE’s new Generative Business Intelligence will offer a more finely-tuned and secure model trained on each client’s individual data silo. ERNIE 4.0 will also be capable of, “conducting academic research, summarizing key information, creating documents, and generating slideshow presentations” as well as enable users to search and retrieve files using text and voice prompts.
Baidu is following the example set by the rest of the industry and has announced plans to put its generative AI in every app and service it can manage. The company has already integrated some of the AI’s functions into Baidu Maps, including navigation, ride hailing and hotel bookings. It is also offering “ow-threshold access and productivity tools” to help individuals and enterprises develop API plugins for the Baidu Qianfan Foundation Model Platform.
Baidu’s partner startups also showed off new product series that will integrate the AI’s functionality during the event, including a domestic robot, an All-in-One learning machine and a smart home speaker.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baidus-ceo-says-its-ernie-ai-is-not-inferior-in-any-aspect-to-gpt-4-162333722.html?src=rss
The Netflix Cup will see four pairs of Formula 1 drivers and PGA Tour golfers pairing up in a match play tournament that will take place in Las Vegas. You’ll be able to watch the event starting at 6PM ET on Tuesday, November 14 — just a few days before F1’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.
As things stand, The Netflix Cup is set to feature F1 drivers Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. The golf pros who have lined up to take part are Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. The tournament will see the pro-am pairs play an eight-hole match. The top two teams will duke it out on a final hole to try and win the Netflix Cup.
“The continued success of Drive to Survive has played a significant role in the growth of Formula 1 in the US, which has ultimately led to the addition of a third American race,” Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer of Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc, said in a statement. “It’s only fitting that we kick off our inaugural race weekend with a fun event that can be streamed by F1 and PGA Tour fans around the globe.”
This is a logical way for Netflix to dip its toes into live sports streaming. It means that the company doesn’t have to immediately snap up expensive rights to high-profile leagues (many of which havedealswithrivalstreamingservices anyway) or to showcase lower-tier sports.
It’s also another example of Netflix’s cross-branding coming to the forefront. The company is placing more focus on its own properties with things like a Squid Game reality competition series and branded retail stores that will feature an obstacle course based on its biggest hit to date. Netflix is also said to be developing more video game adaptations of its shows and movies, such as Extraction and Black Mirror.
Netflix’s first livestreamed event was a Chris Rock standup special. However, the company ran into technical problems with its second planned livestream, a Love is Blind cast reunion. The company instead filmed the reunion and uploaded it to the platform as quickly as it could. Netflix will be hoping things go more smoothly this time around.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflixs-first-live-sports-event-is-a-golf-tournament-featuring-f1-drivers-and-pga-tour-pros-160042770.html?src=rss
A top Chinese AI developer punished scores of staff who took a longer lunch break than allowed, reviving memories of the relentless work culture that plagued the country’s tech sector years ago. From a report: IFlytek this week fired off a companywide memo upbraiding more than a hundred employees it accused of abandoning their workstations to line up for free chicken lunches at the campus cafeteria.
As a disciplinary measure, those who took more than the allotted hour will get a “C” review rating, according to a copy of the memo that was posted online and verified by a company representative. The post drew more than 66 million views on Chinese social media platform Weibo and highlighted the immense pressures on the country’s AI sector, now the hottest slice of a tech arena still struggling to regain its footing since Beijing cracked down on the industry in late 2020.
Canon has recently revealed its FPA-1200NZ2C, a nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing tool that can be used to make advanced chips. The device uses nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology as an alternative to photolithography, and can theoretically challenge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography tools when it comes to resolution.
Unlike traditional DUV and EUV photolithography equipment that transfers a circuit pattern onto a resist-coated wafer through projection, nanoimprint tool employs a different technique. It uses a mask, embossed with the circuit pattern, which directly presses against the resist on the wafer. This method eliminates the need for an optical mechanism in the pattern transfer process, which promises a more accurate reproduction of intricate circuit patterns from the mask to the wafer. In theory, NIL enables formation of complex two- or three-dimensional circuit patterns in a single step, which promises to lower costs. NIL itself is not a new technology, but it has remained in parallel development over the years, while the challenges involved in further improving photolithography have Canon believing that now is a good time for a second-look.
Canon says that its FPA-1200NZ2C enables patterning with a minimum linewidth (critical dimensions, CD) of 14 nm, which is good enough to ‘stamp’ a circa 26-nm minimum metal pitch, and therefore suitable for 5 nm-class process technologies. That would be in line with capabilities of ASML’s Twinscan NXE:3400C (and similar) EUV lithography scanners with a 0.33 numerical aperture (NA) optics.
Meanwhile, Canon says that further refinements of its technology, its tool can achieve finer resolutions that can enable 3 nm and even 2 nm-class production nodes.
Nanoimprint lithography offers several compelling advantages over photolithography. Primarily, NIL excels in resolution, enabling the creation of structures at the nanometer scale with remarkable precision without using photomasks. This technology bypasses the diffraction limits encountered in conventional photolithography, allowing for more intricate and smaller features. Additionally, NIL operates without the necessity of complex optics or high-energy radiation sources, leading to potentially lower operational costs and simpler equipment.
Another advantage of NIL is its direct patterning capability, enabling the reproduction of three-dimensional nanostructures effectively. Such functionality makes NIL a potent tool in the production of photonics and other applications where three-dimensional nano-patterns are essential. The technology also facilitates better pattern fidelity and uniformity.
However, NIL also presents certain challenges and limitations. One notable issue is its susceptibility to defects due to the direct contact involved in the imprinting process. Particles or contaminants present on the substrate or the mold can lead to defects, which may affect the overall yield and reliability of the manufacturing process. This necessitates impeccable process control and cleanliness to maintain consistent output quality.
Additionally, NIL, in its traditional form, is a serial process, which limits its throughput and production capacity. Unlike photolithography, which can process entire wafers or large areas in a parallel fashion, NIL often involves processing smaller areas sequentially. This poses great challenges in scaling the technology for high-volume manufacturing of chips, which limits its usage for chip manufacturing. Meanwhile, NIL can be used to create photomasks for EUV and DUV. Also, it can theoretically be used to create patterned media for hard disk drives.
Alan Wake is coming to Fortnite in a cross-promotional event ahead of the 2010 game’s long-awaited sequel. Alan Wake: Flashback “reimagines Remedy Entertainment’s iconic story in Fortnite” as Epic Games and Remedy Entertainment introduce younger players to a franchise that faded in and out of public consciousness before some of them were born.
The game within a game appears to provide a quick recap of the events of the first title within Fortnite. “Troubled author Alan Wake embarks on a desperate search for his missing wife, Alice,” Epic’s description reads. “Following her mysterious disappearance from the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls, he discovers pages of a horror story he has supposedly written, but has no memory of.”
The surreal pairing becomes more logical when you consider Epic and Alan Wake developer Remedy have a working relationship. Remedy signed a publishing agreement with Epic in 2020 in a program covering up to 100 percent of a title’s development costs, including paying for quality assurance, localization and marketing. Once a game recovers its development costs, the companies split their profits 50/50. So, the Fortnite tie-in is a win-win for both companies’ bottom lines.
Alan Wake will also be a playable character via an Alan Wake Outfit. It will launch in the “Waking Nightmare” set available on the Fortnite shop beginning on October 26. Meanwhile, Alan Wake 2launches for $50 on October 27 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Epic Store.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alan-wake-brings-his-flashlight-to-fortnite-155907947.html?src=rss
Nearly 60 years to the day that Doctor Who began airing, next month, the BBC will launch an unprecedented collection of over 800 episodes from the show’s distant and not-so-distant past on its streaming platform, iPlayer—the first of its kind from the corporation. But it turns out that the very first story that kicked…
Enlarge/ Moments like this are practically worth the price of admission. (credit: Insomniac / Sony)
When making a sequel to a successful game franchise, developers have to walk a tightrope between continuity and upgrades. Change too much, and you risk ruining the careful balance of elements that made the original game work so well. Change too little, and you risk players getting tired of a new title that feels like more of the same.
As much as we liked 2020’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the game provided only minor tweaks to the successful formula established by Insomniac’s original 2018 take on everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. Spider-Man 2 is a slightly meatier sequel, with a bigger version of New York City to explore and a few welcome improvements in presentation and gameplay. Even so, the game still fits quite comfortably into the “more of the same” side of the sequel equation.
But we can’t say we’re too upset about this state of affairs. The basic open-world superheroics of Insomniac’s Spider-Man are so strong that this sequel can get by quite capably with a bit of tinkering at the margins. After three full games, it turns out we’re still not tired of defending Insomniac’s take on New York City.
A strained team-up
Pretty much every piece of pre-release hype for Spider-Man 2 focused on how the pairing of two separate Spider-Men–Peter Parker and Miles Morales–would implicitly lead to twice as much fun. It’s unfortunate, then, that the long-promised team-up feels more than a little forced here.
Elgato’s Stream Deck MK.2 is on sale for $130, a discount of $20 from the MSRP of $150. That’s 13 percent off and actually beats the sale price from last week’s Amazon Prime Day event. If you’re a podcaster or a livestreamer, this is a pretty good time to snag this highly useful streaming device.
This is the latest and greatest Stream Deck, and we said it sets a new standard for the industry when we placed it in our list of the best game streaming gear. Not to be confused with Valve’s Steam Deck, this similarly-named device boasts a hub of 15 LCD hotkeys that you can customize to your liking to simplify livestreaming, podcasting and related activities.
For instance, one button press can turn on a connected accessory, instantly mute a microphone, adjust the lights, trigger on-screen effects or activate audio clips, to name a few examples. You have 15 of these keys, and each can be customized as you see fit. You can even set them to perform in-game actions, like any standard keyboard shortcut.
Additionally, many users have found these devices useful for programming, media editing and any other profession/hobby that could use a bit of hotkey simplification. The buttons are also really satisfying to press.
The main reason you’d get this, however, is right in the name. It’s for streamers that have to moderate a fast-moving chat all while gaming or performing some other task. Each button has a tiny display to let you know at a glance the end result of each press. Over time, you won’t even need these mini displays, instead relying on simple muscle memory, just like keyboard hotkeys. Each of the major streaming platforms, like Twitch and YouTube, offer their own plugins for the device complete with a set of commonly-used adjustment options.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-stream-deck-mk2-is-on-sale-for-just-130-152539642.html?src=rss
