If you use Firefox, and you’re lucky, then you might be getting a free VPN. Over the next few months, Mozilla says it will be testing a “free, browser-only VPN” for some users, but you’ll need to rely on the luck of the draw if you want to try it yourself.

That’s because Mozilla is only enabling the feature for randomly selected users, at least for now. The announcement technically came in June, but fortunate writers at a number of different tech sites are now reporting that they’re finally starting to see the feature pop up.

How Firefox’s free VPN compares

The VPN, once fully implemented, would put Firefox in competition with Opera and Microsoft’s own Edge browser, but ahead of other alternatives like Chrome and Safari, which do not offer free VPNs at time of writing.

The key selling point here, it seems, is that Firefox VPN will run on Mozilla’s VPN network, which likely means it will use the same respected Mullvad servers as Mozilla’s paid VPN service. Incidentally, Mullvad is currently Lifehacker’s favorite VPN for privacy.

That said, don’t expect the same functionality from the free offering as a full Mozilla VPN subscription. While Mozilla VPN can encrypt all web traffic from up to five devices at once, Firefox VPN only covers your browser. Also, while Mozilla VPN offers servers across 30 countries, allowing you to act as if you’re browsing in that country, Firefox VPN will instead automatically connect to the nearest available server, which is likely to be in the same country as you.

Still, the move is a boon for privacy, as the free VPN will hide your IP address and mask your traffic from your ISP. As for Mozilla itself, the company says it will collect “only the technical data needed to keep Firefox VPN reliable and secure,” and will automatically delete logs linked to your account after three months. Firefox VPN also purportedly “never logs the websites you visit or the content of your communications,” and there are no stated usage limits at this time.

All of that is great news, particularly as governments and websites start to ask for more personal data. Sadly, you likely won’t be able to use Firefox VPN to get around a website block in your state (unless it happens to direct your traffic through another state, if you’re lucky), but it’s always a good idea to let websites and ISPs collect as little personal information about you as possible.

How to check if you have the free Firefox VPN

Because the VPN is only going out to random testers at the moment, it could take a while until you’re actually able to access it. Check if you can try out Firefox VPN by opening the browser and seeing if there’s a VPN setup prompt in the top-right corner, next to the toolbar.

If it’s there, hit the Next button to begin. The setup process will guide you through turning it on, which will involve signing into (or creating) a Mozilla account and hitting a toggle. To turn Firefox VPN off after enabling it (useful if a website blocks VPN traffic), simply click the VPN icon in the Firefox toolbar and toggle it off.

EA employees involved with the Communications Workers of America union have issued a sternly-worded statement against the recently-proposed private acquisition of the company by Saudi-backed investors, according to a report by Eurogamer. The complaints don’t involve Saudi Arabia’s long history of human rights violations, but rather that workers weren’t represented in any negotiations for the $55 billion deal.

The employees worry that any jobs lost as a result of the purchase would “be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors’ pockets.” In addition to this formal response, unionized workers have issued a petition that urges regulators to scrutinize the deal.

“EA is not a struggling company,” the statement reads, going on to note that the company’s success has been driven by workers. “Yet we, the very people who will be jeopardized as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this buyout was negotiated or discussed.”

The statement calls out the huge number of layoffs that have impacted the industry in recent years. Unionized staffers note that “every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private, workers lose visibility, transparency and power.”

“We are calling on regulators and elected officials to scrutinize this deal and ensure that any path forward protects jobs, preserves creative freedom and keeps decision-making accountable to the workers who make EA successful,” the statement reads. “The value of video games is in their workers. As a unified voice, we, the members of the industry-wide video game workers’ union UVW-CWA, are standing together and refusing to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry.”

Eurogamer reached out to the FTC to inquire about the status of the proposed acquisition but the agency refused to comment on the grounds that it doesn’t speak about “pending mergers or acquisitions.” It’s worth noting that President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is involved with the purchase. The Financial Times recently suggested that the deal won’t face any real opposition, as “what regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?”

As previously noted, the proposed deal is valued at $55 billion. This would take the company private for the first time in its 35-year history. Various entities have partnered to make this deal, including the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake and Kushner’s Affinity Partners. US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have also voiced concerns about this acquisition. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/unionized-ea-staffers-are-not-happy-about-that-proposed-saudi-backed-acquisition-155559256.html?src=rss

The FCC is moving to expel Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) from US telecom networks, citing national security concerns. The agency sent HKT an “Order to Show Cause,” which directs the company to explain why the FCC should not begin revocation proceedings against it.

The 30-page order outlines the agency’s reasoning, including a focus on applying new certification and disclosure requirements to entities “owned by, controlled by or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.”

“Today’s Order continues the FCC’s work of ensuring that CCP-controlled entities that pose national security risks to our country cannot connect to our telecom networks,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in a statement announcing the move. HKT is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Hong Kong and is a subsidiary of communications giant PCCW. Roughly 18 percent of PCCW is owned by China Unicom, a state-owned telecommunications company.

HKT is not the only target of the agency’s ongoing effort to root out potential vulnerabilities. On October 28, the FCC will be voting on steps to further strengthen guardrails under its equipment authorization program to protect US networks and the communications supply chain against national security threats.

The past month has seen ramped-up regulatory activity from both China and the United States aimed at companies that operate in or generate revenues from one another’s markets. Chinese regulators have been investigating large tech acquisitions, telling local companies not to buy American AI chips and tightening export controls on rare earth minerals. Much of this comes against the backdrop of trade negotiations between the two countries.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-fcc-wants-to-expel-one-of-hong-kongs-biggest-telecom-operators-from-us-networks-155204605.html?src=rss

The Department of the Air Force has approved SpaceX’s plans to launch up to 100 missions per year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This would continue the tectonic turnaround at the spaceport on California’s Central Coast. Five years ago, Vandenberg hosted just a single orbital launch. This year’s number stands at 51 orbital flights, or 53 launches if you count a pair of Minuteman missile tests, the most in a single calendar year at Vandenberg since the early 1970s.

Vandenberg is used for missions launching into polar orbits, paths oriented north-south that, over time, cover most of the Earth’s surface area. These orbits are popular for Earth observation satellites.

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The California Broadband & Video Association has objected to legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 15 that allows apartment tenants to opt out of mandatory bulk billing for internet service. The cable industry group called the measure “an anti-affordability bill masked as consumer protection.”

The association said property owners would have to provide refunds to tenants who decline internet service provided through building contracts. The law “undermines the basis of the cost savings and will lead to bulk billing being phased out,” the group said. Assembly member Rhodesia Ransom, who authored the bill, said lobby groups for internet providers and real estate companies worked hard to defeat it.

The association told the Sacramento Bee it was disappointed Newsom signed the legislation because it would be “an impediment to utilizing an effective tool” that helped middle-class Californians get discounted rates. The law takes effect January 1. Tenants who are denied the right to opt out can deduct subscription costs from their rent.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard much about Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse. The studio revealed that project at The Game Awards back in 2021 and details have been scarce since then. As it turns out, the developer of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human had been working on a second game this whole time. It’s one that sees Quantic Dream venturing into entirely new territory, because the studio is making its first multiplayer game.

Spellcasters Chronicles is a 3 vs. 3 MOBA with a third-person perspective that’s akin to Marvel Rivals. Each round lasts 25 minutes, with teams summoning minions, battling to conquer territory and earning victory by destroying their opponents’ lifestones. So far, so typical MOBA. But Quantic Dream has a few tricks up its sleeve that it hopes will help make Spellcasters Chronicles stand out in a highly competitive live-service market.

It’s a magic-based MOBA with characters that have unique abilities, personalities and backstories. Every one of these mages has the ability to fly at any time and for as long as they want. So you can freely take to the skies to get a bird’s eye view of the battlefield and help you make decisions about what to do next. You can duke it out with enemies in the air too.

Along with attacks, support spells and summoning armies with hundreds of creatures, players can use their magic to plunk down buildings and shore up their defenses while altering the environment. There’s interplay between characters too, as you can infuse allies (including summoned creatures) with spells. One mage, for instance, might add fire to a tankier teammate’s hammer, so there are synergies to discover. “Something we wanted to push is the sense of creativity,” game director Greg Diaconu told reporters ahead of the reveal.

Quantic Dream

Eventually, you’ll be able to bring giant, game-changing titans into battles. Each player can summon one. Whenever a titan appears, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation for the opposing team, since these are powerful creatures that can completely change the course of a round.

“It was important for us to create a sense of spectacle,” Diaconu said. “Something that’s as fun to watch as it is to play.”

It all seems quite action-packed, but there’s a heavy strategic element to Spellcasters Chronicles as well. Before you go into a battle, you’ll select your spells and summons, including your titan — so this is a deckbuilder game too. In the thick of the action, your team will need to decide when to pressure the map and try to expand your territory while capturing altars of power, totems that will grant you resources. Speaking of which, each spell has a limited number of uses, so resource management is a factor too.

Spellcasters Chronicles is free-to-play, but there are no pay-to-win concerns here. In-game purchases will be purely cosmetic. Expect battle passes full of new looks for the characters. Lots of updates are in the pipeline too, including new mages, spells and creatures.

Seven years in the oven

Quantic Dream started making Spellcasters Chronicles seven years ago (so before Netease bought a stake of the company and eventually the whole shebang). Although the studio decided to keep making narrative-driven single-player games after Detroit: Become Human, it wanted to try something new as well. The idea was to take the team’s experience of working on interactive storytelling to a different genre by creating a multiplayer game with a stylized look. 

“Multiple teams are fully dedicated to crafting the next generation of great games, including something very different, a competitive multiplayer experience, born from the same spirit of curiosity and creativity that has always defined us,” Quantic Dream founder David Cage wrote in a blog post on Thursday. “This new title may surprise our fans as it is very different from what we have done so far. But taking risks, challenging ourselves, exploring new ways of playing and telling stories, and attempting what seems impossible, has always been part of our DNA.”

In the world of Spellcasters Chronicles, gods are no more and mages who are able to harness an energy called the Source will shape the future. Quantic Dream hasn’t shared too many details about the plot and characters of Spellcasters Chronicles just yet — the reveal focused on gameplay. That’s perhaps in part because the studio is leaning into a community-driven narrative approach. Victories and defeats will contribute “to the evolving Tapestry of Fate, where seasonal decisions will change gameplay, lore and map meta.”

We shouldn’t have to wait too long to see how all of that works in practice. Quantic Dream will run a closed beta for Spellcasters Chronicles on Steam later this year, and the game is set to hit consoles with cross-play support in 2026. Those who are attending TwitchCon San Diego this week can try out the MOBA there.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/for-its-next-trick-quantic-dream-is-trying-to-compete-with-league-of-legends-and-dota-150000283.html?src=rss

BrianFagioli writes: The United States Mint is honoring Steve Jobs and Apple with a new coin for 2026. Part of the American Innovation $1 Coin Program, California’s entry depicts a young Jobs seated before rolling northern California hills, accompanied by the words “Make Something Wonderful.” The reflective design, created by Elana Hagler and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, captures how Jobs’s surroundings and vision shaped Apple’s mission to make technology feel intuitive and human.

The 2026 series also celebrates Dr. Norman Borlaug for Iowa, the Cray-1 supercomputer for Wisconsin, and mobile refrigeration for Minnesota. The obverse of all coins features the Statue of Liberty and a special Liberty Bell mark commemorating the nation’s Semiquincentennial. The Steve Jobs coin stands out as one of the few times the U.S. Mint has recognized a modern tech innovator, and some collectors are already calling it one of the most exciting releases in years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Buried in the press release for the upgraded Vision Pro headset that Apple announced yesterday was the news that the dedicated Apple Vision Pro app is making its way to iPad via iPadOS 26.1 later this fall. This means iPad users can browse Vision Pro content like apps and games from their tablet and queue downloads for the headset without needing to put it on each time.

The Vision Pro app has been available on iPhone since the arrival of iOS 18.4 in April, and features a regularly updated selection of curated spatial content that Apple thinks Vision Pro users might want to try. Open it up today, for example, and it’ll point you towards the Lungy app’s audiovisual meditations, the travel show Elevated on (the recently and very confusingly rebranded) Apple TV, some recommended games and a list of education-focused apps available on Vision Pro. The Vision Pro app also includes news and tips for using the headset, as well product information and account settings. All of the same features will be offered in the iPad version of the app.

In case you missed yesterday’s announcement, Apple has introduced an improved Vision Pro headset powered by the same M5 chip housed in its new iPad Pro and MacBook Pro. This should represent a fairly significant jump up from the first-gen product’s M2 chip. Web-browsing will be faster, as will loading apps and just generally navigating menus on your headset.

The M5 chip also features a new 10-core GPU, which should significantly boost gaming performance, and without handing us any battery specs (which the company never likes to do), Apple says the upgraded Vision Pro should last a bit longer too. The M5 Vision Pro is now ready to pre-order now and still costs $3,499. Apple will start shipping the device on October 22.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-vision-pro-will-get-an-ipad-app-in-upcoming-ipados-update-142904090.html?src=rss

As recently as the 1990s, when the Greenland Ice Sheet and the rest of the Arctic region were measurably thawing under the climatic blowtorch of human-caused global warming, most of Antarctica’s vast ice cap still seemed securely frozen.

But not anymore. Physics is physics. As the planet heats up, more ice will melt at both poles, and recent research shows that Antarctica’s ice caps, glaciers, and floating ice shelves, as well as its sea ice, are just as vulnerable to warming as the Arctic.

Both satellite data and field observations in Antarctica reveal alarming signs of a Greenland-like meltdown, with increased surface melting of the ice fields, faster-moving glaciers, and dwindling sea ice. Some scientists are sounding the alarm, warning that the rapid “Greenlandification” of Antarctica will have serious consequences, including an accelerated rise in sea levels and significant shifts in rainfall and drought patterns.

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Microsoft is reshaping Windows around AI, introducing capabilities that let users control their computers through voice and allow Copilot to take autonomous actions on their behalf. The company is now rolling out a “Hey, Copilot!” wake word on Windows 11 machines, positioning voice as a “third input mechanism” to supplement the keyboard and mouse.

Copilot Vision, which streams what a user sees on their screen, is rolling out globally, enabling the system to troubleshoot PC problems, help with app usage, and provide task guidance. Microsoft is simultaneously testing Copilot Actions through a limited preview, allowing the AI to take autonomous actions on local machines like editing folders of photos. The company is also integrating Copilot into the Windows taskbar and launching advertisements promoting these features, coinciding with Windows 10’s end-of-support earlier this week.

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said the company wants users upgrading to Windows 11 to “experience what it means to have a PC that’s not just a tool, but a true partner.” Microsoft attempted to popularize Cortana, a voice assistant, on Windows 10 a decade ago. Last year, the company released Recall, a feature that automatically captured screenshots, drawing criticism over privacy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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The Arlo Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera (2-Pack) is currently down to $129.99 from its usual $329.99 on Amazon, marking its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. That’s a big drop for a wireless home security setup that doesn’t require drilling, wiring, or professional installation.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K Spotlight Camera – 2 Pack – Security Cameras Wireless Outdoor, Dual Band Wi-Fi, Color Night Vision, 2-Way Audio, Home Security Cameras, Home Improvement, White – VMC4260P

$129.99
at Amazon

$329.99
Save $200.00

$129.99
at Amazon

$329.99
Save $200.00

Each camera records in 2K resolution, detailed enough to capture faces, license plates, and small movements clearly. The footage stays sharp even when you zoom in digitally, which cheaper models often struggle with, notes this PCMag review. Both cameras come with built-in spotlights and color night vision, so you’ll see what’s happening even in low light. The motion-activated lighting adds visibility, and you also get two-way audio, so you can talk to delivery drivers or scare away a raccoon if needed.

These cameras are easy to place anywhere since they run on rechargeable batteries and don’t need cables. You can mount them indoors, outdoors, by the garage, or overlooking a backyard gate. Plus, these cameras can operate on dual-band wifi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), which means a stronger and more reliable signal no matter where you place them. When they detect motion, you’ll get instant notifications on your phone and can view a live feed through the Arlo app. As for battery life, Arlo says each charge lasts a few months, depending on how often the cameras record, and you can easily check battery levels in the app. 

There are a few catches, though. You don’t get local storage out of the box—you’ll either need to buy the Arlo Smart Hub ($99) or pay for an Arlo Secure subscription. The plans start at $7.99 per month for one camera and go up to $17.99 for unlimited ones, unlocking cloud storage, smart alerts, and object detection. Without a plan, you can still use live view and basic notifications. On the bright side, the Arlo Pro 5S 2K integrates well with Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT, so it fits into most smart home setups (and even Apple HomeKit if you pair it with the hub).

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Garmin watches are great for running, but are a bit tricky to work with when you’re trying to track strength training in the gym. (I have some tips here on how to make the most of that strange experience.) But an app called LiftTrack makes up for Garmin’s shortcomings, giving you the Garmin-based strength experience that maybe Garmin should have given you in the first place. 

Workout creation makes more sense with LiftTrack

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

LiftTrack is an app (available for iOS and Android) that helps you to create workouts, schedule workouts, and view your history of workouts and lifts. If you’ve used an app like Hevy or Strong to track strength training, you’ll be familiar with the idea. 

Create a workout in LiftTrack, and the experience is similar to those strength training apps: you’ll choose exercises, say how many sets and reps you plan to do, and arrange them into the order you’d like, supersetting pairs of them if you like. 

In Garmin’s own app, the process is backwards: you arrange blocks of work and rest, assigning exercises to them afterward. You can’t change weight or reps from one set to another unless you break the exercise out of its little repeat loop and create a new block. It’s an interface that makes sense for HIIT but not so much for a traditional gym workout of squats and curls. 

LiftTrack has some built-in strength programs (as does Garmin) and an AI routine builder (which Garmin does not). After creating a workout, you can sync it to your calendar for a given day, or set up a repeating schedule so that your bench press workout will appear every Monday. 

Your Garmin watch will pick up on the routine

LiftTrack’s underlying features, like the ability to sync a workout to your calendar, are features Garmin has had all along. Garmin just doesn’t connect them to each other well. For example, there’s no simple way to tell Garmin that you want to bench every Monday. But Garmin does have a calendar that will automatically offer you a bench press workout if you set it up that way. 

So to do the workout, you just show up to the gym, select Strength Training on your Garmin watch, and the day’s workout will pop up asking if you’re ready to start. As you go through the workout, your watch will record your reps and let you indicate the weight you used. Once the workout is finished, the data syncs back to LiftTrack. 

LiftTrack lets you view your history and progress

Viewing a strength workout after the fact has never been super easy in the Garmin app. You can view today’s workout, yes, but you can’t easily get a big-picture view of things like how the weight you can squat has trended up over time. 

LiftTrack, once again, provides what Garmin does not. I can see my strength training history on a calendar (without any runs or other workouts cluttering it up), view my most recent workouts, and see charts of my progress on each lift. 

Based on that history, LiftTrack can then update your next workout, recommending that you go a little heavier if you were able to lift more than expected last week. In short, it’s everything that Garmin should have included in their strength training feature, but didn’t. 

Paxos mistakenly minted $300 trillion of PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin on Wednesday during an internal transfer. Within minutes, the company identified the error and burned the excess tokens. The transaction appeared on Etherscan, then was quietly reversed before any funds moved or users were harmed.

Paxos said there was no security breach and customer funds were safe. The amount exceeded all US dollars in circulation and surpassed the entire cryptocurrency market combined. Stablecoin issuers possess the power to create or delete billions in synthetic dollars instantly — a capability that distinguishes them from Bitcoin transfers, which are irreversible. Tether mistakenly minted and burned $5 billion in USDT in 2019.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ever since since 2018, the United States Mint has issued special $1 coins every year to honor American innovation and the “pioneering efforts of individuals or groups.” The Mint has just revealed the designs for 2026 $1 Innovation coins, and one of them features Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs. It features a young Jobs sitting cross-legged in front of a quintessential California landscape with rolling hills and oak trees. “His posture and expression, as he is captured in a moment of reflection, show how this environment inspired his vision to transform complex technology into something as intuitive and organic as nature itself,” the announcement reads. 

Under the project, the US Mint showcases innovations and innovators from different states, the District of Columbia and the five US territories. It works with the governor and other officials of each state or region to determine the best design to represent the people and inventions being featured. Jobs, of course, represents California, where he was born and from where he ran Apple, which became one of the biggest companies in the world under his leadership. 

In addition to Jobs’ design, the Mint is also issuing $1 coins featuring Iowa’s Dr. Norman Borlaug, who led initiatives to develop more resilient crops, and an aerial view of the Cray-1 supercomputer in Wisconsin. Finally, the design honoring mobile refrigeration, which represents Minnesota, features a 1940s-era truck with an early front-mounted refrigeration unit. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-us-mint-is-honoring-steve-jobs-by-putting-him-on-a-1-innovation-coin-130033801.html?src=rss