It’s an exciting day if you’re a fan of the BBC and the Google TV Streamer. BBC iPlayer is finally available on the streaming platform almost six months after Google launched it, 9to5Google reports. Google certified its TV Streamer for use with BBC iPlayer back in November 2024. 

BBC One and BBC Two are now under the TV streamer’s Channels tab, while BBC iPlayer appears on the Google Play Store with a new download option. BBC iPlayer allows anyone to pays for a TV license in the UK to watch their favorite shows and movies live, on-demand or downloaded to their device. It has already been available for use on Google TV and Android TV.

Google launched its TV Streamer in September as a replacement for the Chromecast line. It retails for $100 and features a smart home panel that allows users to see and control devices like lights, thermostats and doorbell cameras. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/bbc-iplayer-is-now-available-on-googles-tv-streamer-110029855.html?src=rss

Recently, we saw all the ways reused passwords can harm your security posture. The 23andMe attack comes to mind, but generally credential stuffing has been on the rise. Hackers can buy or find your reused passwords to access some of your most sensitive accounts. To prevent yourself from falling victim, password managers can help. They encourage you to have a unique, strong password for each account by removing the burden of memorizing all sorts of different login combinations.

But there are dozens of password managers available now — that’s why we tested out nine of the best services available now to help you choose the right one for your needs. 1Password remains our top pick for the best password manager, thanks to its zero-knowledge policy, numerous security features and general ease of use, but there are other top password managers out there to consider as well.

Table of contents

• Best password managers for 2025

• Are password managers safe?

• Are password managers worth it?

• How we tested password managers

• Other password managers we tested

• Password manager FAQs

Best password managers for 2025

Are password managers safe?

It seems counterintuitive to store all your sensitive information in one place. One hack could mean you lose it all to an attacker and struggle for months or even years to rebuild your online presence, not to mention you may have to cancel credit cards and other accounts. But most experts in the field agree that password managers are a generally secure and safe way to keep track of your personal data, and the benefits of strong, complex passwords outweigh the possible risks.

The mechanics of keeping those passwords safe differs slightly from provider to provider. Generally, you have a lengthy, complex “master password” that safeguards the rest of your information. In some cases, you might also get a “security key” to enter when you log in to new devices. This is a random string of letters, numbers and symbols that the company will send you at sign up. Only you know this key, and because it’s stored locally on your device or printed out on paper, it’s harder for hackers to find.

These multiple layers of security make it difficult for an attacker to get into your vault even if your password manager provider experiences a breach. But the company should also follow a few security basics. A “zero-knowledge” policy means that the company keeps none of your data on file, so in the event of an attack, there’s nothing for hackers to find. Regular health reports like pentests and security audits are essential for keeping companies up to par on best practices, and other efforts like bug bounty programs or hosting on an open source website encourage constant vigilance for security flaws. Most password managers now also offer some level of encryption falling under the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES 256-bit is the strongest, because there are the most number of possible combinations, but AES 128-bit or 192-bit are still good.

Are password managers worth it?

You likely already use a password manager, even if you wouldn’t think to call it that. Most phones and web browsers include a log of saved credentials on the device, like the “passwords” keychain in the settings of an iPhone. That means you’ve probably seen the benefits of not having to memorize a large number of passwords or even type them out already.

While that’s a great way in, the downfall of these built-in options are that they tend to be device specific. If you rely on an Apple password manager, for example, that works if you’re totally in the Apple ecosystem — but you become limited once you get an Android tablet, Lujo Bauer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and of computer science, at Carnegie Mellon University, said. If you use different devices for work and personal use and want a secure option for sharing passwords with others, or just don’t want to be tied to one brand forever, a third-party password manager is usually worth it.

How we tested password managers

We tested password managers by downloading the apps for each of the nine contenders on iPhone, Android, Safari, Chrome and Firefox. That helped us better understand what platforms each manager was available on, and see how support differs across operating systems and browsers.

As we got set up with each, we took note of ease of use and how they iterated on the basic features of autofill and password generators. Nearly all password managers have these features, but some place limits on how much you can store while others give more control over creating easy-to-type yet complex passwords. From there, we looked at extra features like data-breach monitoring to understand which managers offered the most for your money.

Finally, we reviewed publicly available information about security specs for each. This includes LastPass, which more experts are shying away from recommending after the recent breach. For the sake of this review, we’ve decided not to recommend LastPass at this time as fallout from the breach still comes to light (The company disclosed a second incident earlier in 2024 where an unauthorized attack accessed the company’s cloud storage, including sensitive data. Since then, hackers have stolen more than $4.4 million in cryptocurrency using private keys and other information stored in LastPass vaults.)

These are the password managers we tested:

• 1Password

• LastPass

• Bitwarden

• Dashlane

• Keeper

• NordPass

• Enpass

• Norton password manager

• LogMeOnce

Other password managers we tested

LastPass

For a while, security experts considered LastPass a solid choice for a password manager. It’s easy to use, has a slew of helpful extra features and its free version gives you a lot. But we decided not to include LastPass in our top picks because of the high profile data breaches it has experienced over the past couple of years.

Keeper

Keeper met a lot of the basic criteria we tested for, like autofill options and cross-platform availability. We liked its family plan options, too, that can keep your whole household secure. There’s even a self-destruct feature that deletes local data after five incorrect login attempts, should your device be lost or stolen (the cloud-based data remains untouched). But we didn’t think its extra features, like the encrypted messaging app, added much value.

Enpass

Enpass works well as an affordable password manager. That includes an inflation-beating “lifetime” access pass instead of a monthly payment for users really committed to the service. Still, it was confusing to set up across devices and because Enpass stores data locally, as opposed to in the cloud, we struggled to get started with it on mobile.

Norton

A familiar name in security, we were excited to test out Norton’s password manager. While it’s free, its features seem underdeveloped. It lacked password sharing, account recovery and complex form-filing tools that come standard in many of the other password managers we tested.

LogMeOnce

LogMeOnce comes with a wide range of premium tiers, from professional to family, that include different levels of storage and features. But when we tested, it lacked some basic cross-platform availability that other password managers had already, like compatibility with Mac and Safari.

Password manager FAQs

Why use a password manager?

Using a password manager can enhance your online security. They store all of your complex passwords and autofill them as needed, so that you can have unique, good passwords across the web without remembering each of them yourself. In many cases, unique passwords are your first defense against attack, and a reliable manager makes it easier to keep track of them all.

Are password managers 100 percent safe?

Password managers are a secure way to store your credentials. Experts in the field generally agree that the benefits of accessibility when storing complex passwords outweigh the possibility of attack, like what happened with LastPass. But with any service, it can vary from provider to provider. You should look out for zero-knowledge policies, regular security audits, pentests, bug bounty programs and encryption when choosing the right secure password manager for you.

How do password managers work?

Think of password managers like virtual safe deposit boxes. They hold your valuables, in this case usually online credentials, in a section of the vault only accessible to you by security key or a master password. Most of these services have autofill features that make it convenient to log in to any site without needing to remember every password you have, and they keep your credit card information close for impulse purchases.

But given that passwords are one of the top ways to keep your online identity secure, the real value of password managers is staying safe online. “It’s just not possible without a password manager to have unique, long and hard-to-guess passwords,” Florian Schaub, an associate professor of information and of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, said.

Common guidance states that secure passwords should be unique, with the longest number of characters allowed and uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. This is the exact opposite of using one password everywhere, with minor variations depending on a site’s requirements. Think of how many online accounts and sites you have credentials for — it’s an impossible task to remember it all without somewhere to store passwords safely (especially in instances when you need to create a new password for any given account). Password managers are more readily accessible and offer the benefit of filling in those long passwords for you.

Who are password managers for?

Given their universal benefit, pretty much everyone could use a password manager. They’re not just for the tech-savvy people or businesses anymore because so much sensitive information ends up online behind passwords, from our bank accounts to our Netflix watch history.

That’s the other perk of password managers: safe password sharing. Families, friends or roommates can use them to safely access joint accounts. Texting a password to someone isn’t secure, and you can help your family break the habit by starting to use one yourself, Lisa Plaggemier, executive director at National Cyber Security Alliance, said. Streaming is the obvious use case, but consider the shared bills, file storage and other sites you share access with the people around you as well.

What if I forget my master password?

Forgetting a master password won’t necessarily lock you out for good, but the recovery process varies from provider to provider. Some services give you a “security key” at sign up to enter when you log into new devices. It can also be used to securely recover your account because it’s a random string of keys stored locally that only you have access to. Other services, however, have no way to recover your vault. So creating a master password that you won’t forget is important.

How can I make a good master password?

A good master password should be unique, with the longest number of characters allowed and uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Experts often recommended thinking of it like a “passphrase” instead of a “password” to make it easier to remember. For example, you can take a sentence like “My name is Bob Smith” and change it to “Myn@m3isB0b5m!th” to turn it into a secure master password that you won’t forget.

What are passkeys?

A passkey is a sort of digital identification that’s interlocked to your account on a given app or website. While that sounds like a password, there’s an important distinction: Passkeys are bilateral authenticators that have two separate components: a private key stored locally on your device and a public key belonging to the website or application. When logging in with a passkey, these two keys pair and give you access to your account. You can read more about passwords versus passkeys here.

Update, October 28 2024, 5:15PM ET: This story has been updated to note that Keeper’s “self-destruct” security feature only deletes local content when engaged, but maintains data on a subscriber’s cloud-based account. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/best-password-manager-134639599.html?src=rss

We’ve tested over a dozen air purifiers that range from $150 to $1,200 — but the most effective method for getting the green light from our air quality monitors is completely free: opening the windows. Of course, seasonal allergies, frightful weather and wildfires mean letting the outside air in is not always possible. That makes air purifiers your second best option. With fans and multi-layered filters, these simple machines can clear up odors, cooking emissions, dust particles, smoke, pet dander and more. We performed simple at-home tests to compare different models and compared the features and design of well-reviewed models to help you find the best air purifier for your home.

Table of contents

• Best air purifiers for 2025

• Other air purifiers we tested

• What an air purifier can and can’t do

• What to look for in an air purifier

• How we test air purifiers

Best air purifiers for 2025

Other air purifiers we tested

IQAir HealthPro Plus SE

The IQAir HealthPro Plus SE is a formidable piece of equipment. The boxy tower looks like something you’d see in a hospital and weighs 35 pounds, making me appreciate the included wheels when I needed to move it around. It’s designed and made in Sweden and each unit comes with an impressive certificate of performance. I’m certain the testing processes IQAir employs are more scientific than my tests — after all, the company is probably best known for its air quality monitors — but I found the filtration efficiency to be on par with and, in one test, worse than that of other models I tested.

I was also disappointed that a $1,000-plus air purifier from an air monitor device company was only capable of measuring particulate matter — and not VOCs — to trigger the auto-clean function. That said, setup was simple and the app can integrate data from public air quality sources as well as other AQ monitors you may have set up.

Coway’s Airmega Icon S

Coway’s Airmega Icon S was our previous pick for best design. It looks more like a tiny mid-century-modern credenza than an air purifier and the little shelf up top doubles as a wireless phone charger. The PM2.5 sensor reliably kicked in the auto mode as I used it and the three-speed fan is quiet, even on high, yet powerful. I had a little trouble getting the app to connect, but the onboard touch controls worked better anyway. It’s expensive at $699, too, but it does have a washable pre-filter.

Sensibo Pure

At $229, and nearly always on sale for $130, I had the Sensibo Pure pegged as a contender for a budget pick. Unfortunately, replacement filters are $99 unless you subscribe to automatic shipments and many of the app features are behind a paywall as well. It’s not certified by CARB and underperformed many of the other units in the burn test, though it did return the air back to a “good” rating according to the air monitors after 30 minutes. The design is inoffensive, it’s not overly loud and it does integrate with Sensibo’s smart AC devices, so if you’re already happy with one of those, this may be a decent option.

Dyson Purifier Cool

Like all Dyson products, this air purifier is dripping with design. It looks like no other unit on the market and it’s up to you to decide whether you like that or not. I was indifferent to the looks, but appreciated the slick and informative app, which not only displays indoor air quality, it also shows what conditions are like outside, using a clever house graphic to differentiate the two sets of numbers. I also like that it detects VOCs as well as particulates and the auto mode seemed to read the room accurately. The air coming out of the fan did indeed feel cool, though at first had a strong plastic odor. Unfortunately, it was the lowest performing unit during two separate burn tests and had repeated connectivity issues.

Molekule Air Pro

The Molekule Air Pro comes from a brand that pays keen attention to aesthetics. It and the app have that Instagrammable, muted-modern look that countless clothing and bedsheet brands emulate these days. That style doesn’t come cheap as the Air Pro costs over $1,000 and requires $140 filters. The company came under fire for and had to stop making many of its claims about its filtration system, which may have led to it filing for bankruptcy in 2023. Molekule is still able to tout its patented photoelectrochemical oxidation, which the company says destroys pollutants at a “molecular level.” In my tests, it performed almost as well as the others in improving VOC and PM2.5 levels. But it’s also very loud: When auto mode kicked the fan into high gear, it would make me tense. Also, I found the unit often indicated “bad” or “very bad” levels when my two monitors indicated the air quality was actually pretty good.

What an air purifier can and can’t do

There are three key categories of air pollution that adversely affect the quality of the air you breathe: volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and carbon dioxide. VOCs are emitted gasses that can come from cleaners, off-gassing plastics, paint, solvents, fragrances, cooking food and, ironically, air fresheners. VOCs are most closely related to odors you can smell. High levels can irritate your breathing passages, cause headaches and may become cancer-causing over time. Air purifiers with activated charcoal components can help clean VOCs from the air.

Particulate matter is usually discussed as PM2.5 and PM10, with the numbers indicating particle size in microns. This is dust, dirt, mold, smoke and, again, emissions from cooking food. Higher levels of PM can lead to respiratory irritation, allergy symptoms, respiratory infections and potentially lung cancer. Air purifiers that include a HEPA or particle filter can help remove airborne particles from your space.

Carbon dioxide is what humans and pets breathe out. Elevated levels can cause dizziness and lethargy. But no air purifier can reduce CO2 levels because the molecules are so small. Plants can help to some extent, but really the only solution is opening a window or otherwise ventilating the space.

There are no federal standards for air purifiers, but the state of California does require all air cleaners sold in the state to be certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). All of our top picks here have met that certification.

What to look for in an air purifier

HEPA filters and other filter types

An air purifier isn’t an overly complicated device. Smart modes and app connectivity aside, they’re not much more than a filter and a fan. The latter pulls air through the former to capture particulate matter and other unhealthy elements so you don’t breathe them in. The type of fan can make some difference — it should be powerful enough to pull in air quickly, but also quiet enough on its low speed so it can unobtrusively clean all day long.

Filters, on the other hand, are more varied. Most have two or more layers, typically a pre-filter, an activated carbon component and sometimes a particle or even a true HEPA filter. The pre-filter is made from a fine mesh that captures big stuff like pet hair and larger chunks of dust. Sometimes this part is separate from the more technical filters — which means you can remove and clean it without needing to swap out the whole thing. For all-in-one filters, you can vacuum the outside of it to remove larger particles.

An activated carbon or activated charcoal layer is extremely porous, tightly packed coal that presents a vast amount of microscopic surface area to the passing air. Gaseous chemicals, VOCs and other molecules become lodged in the crannys and stick. This is the layer that gets rid of odors.

Nearly all types of air purifiers include a particle filter. Some of those can be called “true HEPA” (high-efficiency particulate air) filters — meaning they conform to the standards set out by the DOE. Particle filters are made up of pleated masses of ultrafine fibers that force air to take a convoluted path in order to pass through. This traps and absorbs tiny molecules of smoke and dust, allergens like dander and pollen, and some viruses and bacteria.

Since all of these air filters physically trap particulates, they’ll eventually fill up and become less effective. Most manufacturers recommend replacing the filter every six months, while others claim a year-long life span. Most smart air purifiers will let you know in the app when it’s time to replace. When you’re considering a unit’s cost, be sure to factor in the expense of replacement filters, which you may end up buying twice a year.

Room size

Air purifiers list their cleaning capabilities in terms of room size and frequency of air exchanges, sometimes listed as clean air delivery rate (CADR). For example, a smaller one might say it can exchange the air in a 500-square-foot room twice per hour. So that model should be able to pass all of the air in a 250-square-foot room through the filter every 15 minutes, but a 1,000-square-foot room would probably be outside its effective range. Of course, there’s no standard for manufacturers to adhere to when it comes to these calculations, but typically, larger air purifiers can handle large rooms.

Where you put the machine makes a difference, too. Since it requires airflow to effectively clean air, somewhere close to the middle of the room and at least a foot away from furniture, walls and other potential blockages is ideal. That’s not always practical, so aim for getting it as close as you can to the center of your space while maintaining a one-foot clearance all around.

Controls

In our testing, we focused on Wi-Fi-connected “smart” air purifiers with companion apps that can monitor air quality and adjust the fan settings as needed. Within the apps, you can control auto-clean settings, set timers and schedules and check the health of the filter as well. Most will remind you when it’s time to get a replacement, and let you order one directly from the manufacturer through the app. You can also see the current and historical readings from the internal air quality (AQ) sensor. Most determine air quality through an optical particle meter, though some brands like Dyson and Molekule also include chemical sensors for VOC measurements. When levels of particulates become elevated, the fans switch up to high speed to move more air through until the quality improves.

Most smart purifiers also work with voice assistants, so if asking Alexa to turn on your air purifier makes your life easier in some way, you can do so. If you don’t want to talk to an AI or grab your phone to control your purifier, getting a unit with simple on-board controls is a good idea. These can be as basic as buttons with indicator lights or as elaborate as a touchscreen panel. At minimum, it’s good to have a way to control the fan speed and turn on or off auto mode on the device itself.

Design

As we mentioned, sticking the device as close to the middle of the room is helpful for getting the best performance. That means you’ll be looking at it a lot, so design considerations matter. Most purifiers are cylindrical towers with fan vents up top. Units meant for larger rooms are not small, weighing between 12 and 20 pounds and reaching two feet tall (or in the case of the Dyson Purifier Cool, three and a half feet). Some, like Coway’s Airmega IconS, take on more furniture-like designs to blend in. Others, like Dyson’s, are conspicuously designed to stand out.

When an air purifier just isn’t enough

The most striking bit of knowledge I picked up from testing air purifiers is how effective opening windows can be on indoor air quality. What took an air purifier a half hour to clear out took mere minutes when I opened my front door and a few windows. Every variable measured by the air quality sensors, including VOCs, PM, and particularly CO2 levels (which air purifiers can’t alleviate), improved dramatically after exposure to fresh air — significantly faster and better than any machine we tested. Even on very cold or very hot days, it might be worth it, even if your doors and windows are only open for a few minutes. True, my HVAC system had to work a little overtime afterwards, but venting a room was the most surefire way of getting air quality quickly back in the green. Of course, if the air outside is unhealthy from wildfire smoke or run-of-the-mill pollution, or if you’re dealing with seasonal allergies, throwing open the windows won’t work and an air purifier might be the best way to consistently clean things up.

How we test air purifiers

My living room is not a science lab; there’s far too much pet hair for that to be the case. Still, I went beyond just turning stuff on and sniffing the air by acquiring two consumer-grade indoor air quality monitors that performed well in laboratory assessments, the Element from Element from Awair and the uHoo Smart Air Monitor. I conducted burn tests in this medium-sized room by measuring the ambient air quality, then burned a brick of piñon incense for twenty minutes and measured the air again. Then I ran one purifier at its highest speed for thirty minutes and recorded levels, then ran the unit on the lowest setting for a half hour and remeasured. I made note of the sound levels using a simple iPhone app to compare one machine’s noise level to the next.

Over the course of a month, I used each unit in different scenarios (such as in the basements where the cat litter boxes are) and tried out each device’s smart features, controls and auto modes. I also just lived with them and evaluated how they fit into everyday life. As new purifiers came on the market we continued to acquire units that seemed worthy of inclusion. Most recently, we tested purifiers from Blueair, IQAir, Windmill and others, adding our findings to this guide.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-air-purifier-120040002.html?src=rss

It’s the second anniversary of the Playdate’s Catalog game store and to celebrate, you can get a bunch of great Playdate games and apps at a healthy discount — in many cases for 50 percent off or more.

The sale starts today, March 6, and ends on March 10 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Over 150 Playdate games are on sale, but if you’re looking for a good place to start, 13 titles from our list of the best Playdate games are currently discounted:

• Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll for $6, down from $8.

• Angel Pop for $4, down from $6.

• Mars After Midnight for $3, down from $6.

• Summit for $4, down from $6.

• Reel-istic Fishing for $5, down from $8.

• Under the Castle for $6, down from $10.

• Core Fault for $3, down from $6.

• You’re Gonna Miss the Bus! for $3, down from $6.

• The Keyper for $1, down from $3.

• You Cannot Go Back! for $1, down from $3.

• Penrose for $1, down from $2.

• Four Corners for $3, down from $6.

• The Botanist for $6, down from $9.

That’s on top of other great options you can buy, like the fast-paced puzzle game XTRIS for $3, historical RPG Quest for X for $1 or roguelite mining game SpaceRat Miner for $6. Panic, the creators of the Playdate, introduced Catalog as a supplement to the Playdate’s first “Season” of games when it was still uncertain if another one was going to happen. The tiny handheld supports sideloading games from third-party stores like Itch, but Catalog offers a more curated selection if you don’t want to spend time finding something good. 

Now that Panic’s confirmed that a second season of Playdate games is on the way in 2025, this Catalog sale is a perfect opportunity to stock up on anything you might have missed before the new season launches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-big-playdate-sale-discounts-13-of-our-favorite-games-000040558.html?src=rss

It seems that Instagram is working on a “community chat” feature that allows people to organize groups of up to 250 people in the app. The so-far unreleased feature was spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who has a solid track record of uncovering new features within Meta’s apps.

According to screenshots shared by Paluzzi, it seems that community chats will function similarly to Discord. Individual users can form the chats around specific topics and control who can join, though there’s apparently a limit of 250 people per community.

Unlike Instagram’s broadcast channels, which allow creators to blast out messages to their followers, anyone who is in the community chat can participate in the conversation. There are also built-in moderation features. “Admins can remove messages and members to keep the channel safe,” the screenshot says. “We also review Community Chat against our Community Standards.”

It’s not clear when, or if, the feature may launch. An Instagram spokesperson described it as an internal prototype that’s not being tested outside the company. But Meta has previously released similar features in its other apps. WhatsApp began experimenting with a “Communities” feature in 2022, and brought “Community Chats” to Facebook and Messenger later that same year. Mark Zuckerberg said at the time it was meant to help people find “a new way to connect with people who share your interests.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-is-experimenting-with-a-discord-like-community-chat-feature-234832236.html?src=rss

It was a swing and a miss for the first private attempt at an asteroid mission, but the company is still chalking it up as a win. California startup AstroForge launched a spacecraft dubbed Odin on February 26, but the team lost communication with it shortly after its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

“The chance of talking with Odin is minimal, as at this point, the accuracy of its position is becoming an issue,” the company said in its extensive debrief of the mission. Technical issues occurred at its primary ground station in Australia, but AstroForge said that other problems also could have occurred on Odin to further prevent establishing contact.

Although the launch was a bust, AstroForge maintained optimism about the project as a valuable learning experience for its eventual goal of creating and operating an asteroid mining vehicle. The company is targeting the asteroid 2022 OB5, with the aim of eventually landing on its surface and extracting potentially valuable resources. Odin was built in 10 months for $3.5 million, a sliver of the money and time federal space projects have taken to complete.

AstroForge CEO Matt Gialich had several quotes in the debrief, all peppered with expletives, and he summed up the company ethos as, “At the end of the day, like, you got to fucking show up and take a shot, right? You have to try.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/the-first-private-asteroid-mission-probe-is-probably-lost-in-deep-space-224803775.html?src=rss

Google is once again in the crosshairs of Republicans in Congress because of alleged censorship, Bloomberg writes. The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Google’s parent company Alphabet and CEO Sundar Pichai for evidence of communication between the tech company and the Biden administration.

The subpoena specifically asks for documents covering communications between Alphabet and the executive branch, along with discussions Alphabet might have had internally or with third-parties about those communications. The Committee hopes to snowball the discovery that the Biden administration made requests to Meta to remove COVID-19 misinformation into a case for “new statutory limits on the executive branch’s ability to work with Big Tech to restrict the circulation of content and deplatform users,” the subpoena says. 

None of these concerns are particularly new. Pichai and other tech CEOs have been brought in front of Congress to explain things like content moderation, censorship and bias before. In the past, it’s mostly seemed like a way for members of Congress to get sound bites, but the aggressive, retaliatory nature of the Trump administration might give these new demands more teeth. Helping to pay for Trump’s inauguration and showing up for photos didn’t get Google protection in the end, assuming it doesn’t manage to wriggle out of the ongoing antitrust case against it.

Tech companies might be getting attention from Congress, but the idea that the current administration might want to make censorship demands doesn’t appear to be a concern. President Trump has expressed interest in using the Take It Down Act, a bill designed to hold websites liable for hosting and not removing Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII), to eliminate any kind of speech he dislikes. The disastrous potential misuses of the law have been outlined by activists before, but the bill passed in the Senate and is now waiting to be taken up by the House.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/house-republicans-subpoena-google-over-alleged-censorship-212115140.html?src=rss

ChatGPT on macOS is about to become more useful for coding. With the latest update for the app (version 1.2025.057), ChatGPT can now edit code directly within an integrated development environment — no need to copy and paste. You can find the full list of supported IDEs on OpenAI’s website, but some of the more notable inclusions are Apple’s own Xcode, Visual Code Studio and offshoots of Jetbrains like Android Studio and PyCharm.       

According to OpenAI, IDE integration has been one of the most-requested features from macOS users since the company released its “works with app” framework back in November. If you’re a Plus, Pro or Team subscriber, you can start using the integration today. As for Enterprise, Edu and Free users, look for the updated app to arrive next week. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly this feature arrives just as “vibecoding” enters the popular lexicon. For the uninitiated, vibecoding is a form of coding that involves using AI tools like ChatGPT (and the power of vibes, of course) to program apps and games. While it might seem like a meme, vibecoding is very much a real thing. In a video titled “Vibe Coding is the Future,” Jared Friedman, a managing partner at Y Combinator, said a quarter of the startup accelerator’s W25 cohort have a code base that was 95 percent generated by AI. 

“This isn’t a fad. This isn’t going away. This is the dominant way to code. And if you are not doing it, you might just be left behind,” Garry Tan, the CEO of Y Combinator, added in the same video. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-for-macos-can-now-directly-edit-xcode-projects-201904659.html?src=rss

At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last June, Apple announced updates coming to its various operating systems, most of which focus on its own version of AI, dubbed Apple Intelligence. MacBooks will get macOS 15, aka Sequoia, that will support Image Playground, Apple’s image generation tool, and AI composition features that can rewrite, proofread and summarize text in Mail, Notes, Pages and more. But the AI smarts will only be available to Apple laptops with an M1 chip or newer. So if you have an older model (pre-2020), or want the latest chips to get the most out of macOS 15, you might want a new MacBook. This guide will help you pick which one makes the most sense for you.

After testing every model Apple makes, we think the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip and 16GB of RAM is the best choice for most people. But there are definitely reasons to consider the cheaper M2 Air and the fully featured Pro laptops. We’ve broken down all the options to help you decide which is the best MacBook for you.

Editor’s note (3/6/25): Apple unveiled the new M4 MacBook Air earlier this week, featuring the new M4 processor, a base 16GB of RAM and a price cut to $999 for the entry-level model. Our current top picks here still stand, but we’ll update this guide once we’ve put the new MacBook Air through its paces. You can currently pre-order the M4 MacBook Air, and it will become widely available on March 12.

Factors to consider when buying a MacBook

Compared to PCs, Apple computers tend to have more streamlined specifications. The company has long been known for this simplicity, and the M-series “system-on-a-chip” condenses things even further. It started with the M1 chip, which has since been retired in all models. The M2 and M3 chips can be found in current-generation MacBooks, but the latest Apple silicon, the M4 chip, is only housed in the new iPad Pro. All M-series chips combine, among other technologies, the CPU, graphics card and unified memory (RAM). Apple’s Neural Engine is included too, which is a specialized group of processor cores that handles machine learning tasks such as image analysis and voice recognition. 

While a unified chip means you have fewer decisions to make when picking a MacBook, there are still a few factors to consider, including specs like the number of CPU cores, amount of RAM, storage capacity, screen size, and, obviously, price. The finish color may be a minor consideration, but it’s worth pointing out that the Pro come in just two colors (Silver or Space Gray) but the Air adds two additional hues (Midnight and Starlight).

CPU cores

Currently the lowest-specced chip in a MacBook is the M2 in the 13-inch MacBook Air. It comes with an 8-core CPU and either an 8- or 10-core GPU. At the other end of the spectrum, the M3 Max chip is built with up to a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU. Cores are, in essence, smaller processing units that can handle different tasks simultaneously. Having more of them translates to the computer being able to run multiple programs and applications at once, while also smoothly processing demanding tasks like video editing and high-level gaming. In short, more cores allow for more advanced computing and better performance. But if your processing power needs fall below professional-level gaming and cinematic video and audio editing, getting the highest number of cores is likely overkill — and after all, more cores equals higher cost and more power usage.

RAM

Your options for RAM, or in Apple’s terminology, Unified memory, varies depending on the chip you choose. The M2 and M3 chips can be paired with 8, 16 or 24GB of RAM. The M3 Pro chip has 18 or 36GB memory options, while the most powerful M3 Max chip supports 48, 64 or a whopping 128GB of RAM.

You’ve likely heard the analogy comparing memory to the amount of workspace available on a literal desktop surface, whereas storage is the amount of drawers you have to store projects to work on later. The larger the worktop surface, the more projects you can work on at once. The bigger the drawers, the more you can save for later.

More RAM is ideal for people who plan to work in multiple apps at once. And the more demanding each program is, the more RAM will be required. Extra memory can also come in handy if you’re the type who likes to have infinite numbers of tabs open on your browser. If your daily workflow doesn’t involve simultaneously using a vast number of memory-intensive programs, you can save yourself money and buy the RAM configuration that you’re most likely to actually use.

For casual users, 8GB may be enough, however, if you can afford an upgrade to 16GB of RAM, we recommend going doing so, as modern browsers tend to be pretty memory-hungry. Investing in more RAM now will give your new MacBook a longer lifespan of reliable use. It’s also important to keep in mind that, unlike most PCs, the RAM in current-model MacBooks is not user-upgradable, so you’ll want to get what you plan on needing at the outset.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Storage capacity (SSD)

Storage options range from 256GB of SSD for the M2 MacBook Air and 8TB of storage for the MacBook Pros with the M3 Max chip. If you want to rotate between a long roster of game titles or keep lots of high-res videos on hand, you’ll want more storage. If you’re mostly working with browser- and cloud-based applications, you can get away with a smaller-capacity configuration. That said, we recommend springing for 512GB of storage or more, if it’s within your budget. You’ll quickly feel the limits of a 256GB machine as it ages since the operating system alone takes up a good portion of that space. Having 1TB will feel even roomier and allow for more data storage over the life of your laptop.

When Apple announced the iPhone 15, the company also announced new iCloud+ storage storage plans, with subscriptions that allow up to 12TB of storage. You could also transfer files to an external storage device. But if you don’t want to pay for a monthly subscription and prefer the convenience of having immediate access to your files, it’s best to get the highest amount of storage space your budget allows for at the outset.

Screen size

MacBooks come in 13-, 14-, 15- and 16-inch sizes. That might not seem like a huge difference, but, as Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham noted when he reviewed the now-retired 15-inch M2-powered MacBook Air, a larger screen “makes a surprising difference.” That’s especially true if you plan to use your laptop as an all-day productivity machine and won’t be using an external monitor. More space means you can more clearly view side-by-side windows and have a more immersive experience when watching shows or gaming.

But screen size is the main factor influencing weight. The 13-inch MacBook Air M2 weighs 2.7 pounds, whereas the top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs 4.8 pounds. If you plan to travel a lot or swap your work locations regularly, a smaller screen will make life easier in the long run.

All MacBooks feature IPS LCD panels (in-plane switching, liquid crystal display), which Apple markets as Retina displays. The MacBook Air M1 has a Retina display. A Liquid Retina display comes with the M2 MacBook Air and the Liquid Retina XDR display comes with the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. “Liquid” refers to the way the lighted portion of the display “flows” within the contours of the screen, filling the rounded corners and curving around the camera notch. “XDR” is what Apple calls HDR (high dynamic range).

Compared to most other laptops, MacBook displays are notably bright, sharp and lush. But one feature worth pointing out is another Apple marketing term: ProMotion. It’s the company’s term to describe a screen with a higher, 120Hz refresh rate, which results in smoother scrolling and more fluid-looking graphics. Only the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros offer ProMotion; the other models max out at 60Hz, which is perfectly fine for everyday browsing and typical workdays. But if you want buttery-smooth motion from your display, you’ll have to shell out more money for an upgrade.

Price

When the MacBook Air M3 came out, Apple dropped the price of the base-model, 13-inch, M2-powered Air with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. With a $999 starting price, it’s now the least expensive new MacBook you can get. Alternatively, you can spend up to $7,199 for the 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Max with 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. Chip type, screen size, memory and storage capacity all influence the final price, which is why guides like this can help you determine just what you need (and what you don’t) so you can get the most cost-effective machine for you.

We recommend the MacBook Air M3 for most people, the MacBook Air M2 for students and those on a budget, and the 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pros for professionals. If you have extra money to spare once you’ve picked your machine, we recommend upgrading to at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage to make your machine as future-proof as possible.

Best MacBooks 

MacBook FAQs

What’s the difference between MacBook Air and Pro?

The MacBook Air comes with a standard M3 or M2 chip. MacBook Pro models have the option of more powerful M3 Pro or M3 Max chips. The Pro has a higher resolution screen with a higher peak brightness that supports XDR (extreme dynamic range). The battery life on most Pro models is longer than on the Air models. Pro models also have more ports and more speakers. In short, the MacBook Air is aimed at everyday users looking for good productivity and entertainment capabilities, while Pro models are aimed at professionals who need a high-performance computer.

What’s the difference between macOS and Windows?

MacOS is the operating system developed by Apple and used in all of its desktop and laptop computers. It can only be found in hardware made by Apple including MacBooks and iMacs. Microsoft’s Windows operating system can be found in the company’s own Surface laptops as well as computers made by a wide array of manufacturers, like Acer, Asus, Dell and Razer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-macbook-140032524.html?src=rss

If you own one of Victrola’s high-end, Sonos-ready turntables from the last few years, your techie record player is about to get more versatile. The company said on Thursday that all of its “Works with Sonos” vinyl turntables will support Bluetooth, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and hi-fi Roon streaming through a software update.

The update will dramatically increase the streaming versatility of the Stream Carbon, Pearl and Onyx turntables. Meanwhile, Victrola says the ultra-premium Sapphire player, which also supports those standards, has already received the update. The company says it will install automatically, and the new options will appear in the section of the app where you previously only saw the option to pick a default Sonos speaker.

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

While the new capabilities are good news for anyone who spent anywhere from $600 to $1,500 on a hi-tech vinyl player, it seems curious (if not infuriating) that the premium gear launched without these capabilities despite having all the requisite hardware. And while the company framed the update as a natural continuation of its mission to help vinyl lovers, you could look at Sonos’ calamitous year and speculate that Victrola calculated that hitching too many horses to that post might not be the best idea.

An incomprehensibly botched Sonos app update in May led to months of downward spiraling. Despite numerous attempts to plug holes, the debacle culminated in two rounds of layoffs and the departure of its CEO and chief product officer in January. Although Victrola launched cheaper Sonos-less alternatives to the same turntables months before Sonos’ plummet began, it’s easy to imagine it nervously eyeing that mess and deciding now is a good time to awaken the Sonos variants’ dormant wireless capabilities.

“This update is a major step forward in our mission to blend the warmth of vinyl with the convenience of modern wireless audio,” Victrola Scott Hagen wrote in a press release. “The Victrola Stream turntables have been the best option for Sonos users, and now we’re extending that same effortless streaming experience to even more audio ecosystems. Vinyl lovers can now enjoy premium wireless flexibility without compromise.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/victrola-adds-more-wireless-options-to-its-sonos-compatible-turntables-181634084.html?src=rss

It’s Thursday, which means there are some more PC games that Amazon Prime members can claim for free. Amazon has also revealed the entire slate of freebies that subscribers can snag throughout March, as well as the games they can stream at no extra cost on Amazon Luna.

Arguably the highest-profile additions of the month are available today in the form of Saints Row: The Third Remastered and Mafia II: Definitive Edition. As ever, nearly every game on the list is for PC, but since Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is claimable via the Microsoft Store, you’ll be able to play that one on Xbox as well.

Mortal Shell is an RPG from a few years back that I’d been meaning to check out, so I’ll be sure to pick that one up. Elsewhere, The Forgotten City is a mystery RPG that was originally a Skyrim mod. The standalone version debuted a few years ago to critical acclaim.

You typically have about a month to claim each of the games before they leave the lineup (meaning that you can still snag many of the February additions) Here’s what you can snap up and when, along with the launcher you can play each game on:

Now

• Saints Row: The Third Remastered (GOG)

• Mafia II: Definitive Edition (GOG)

• Crime Boss: Rockay City (Epic Games Store)

• Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master (Amazon Games App)

March 13

• Wall World (Amazon Games App)

• Syberia: The World Before (GOG)

• Endling – Extinction is Forever (Amazon Games App)

• Dark Deity: Complete Edition (GOG)

• Beholder 3 (Amazon Games App)

March 20

• Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (Xbox and PC via Microsoft Store Code)

• Mutazione (GOG)

• Figment 2: Creed Valley (Amazon Games App)

• Legacy of Kain: Defiance (GOG)

• Mortal Shell (Epic Games Store)

March 27

• The Forgotten City (Amazon Games App)

• Deus Ex: Invisible War (GOG)

• Session: Skate Sim (Epic Games Store)

• Let’s Build A Zoo (Epic Games Store)

• Gamedec – Definitive Edition (GOG)

• The Wisbey Mystery (Legacy Games Code)

Along with those games that Prime members can claim and keep forever (even if they cancel their plan), subscribers can stream a bunch of other titles via Amazon Luna. Along with staples like Fortnite, Trackmania and a couple of Fallout games, members can stream WRC Generations Fully Loaded Edition, Spitlings, The Jackbox Party Pack 3, Strange Horticulture and the utterly brilliant Overcooked! 2 throughout March. As a reminder, only Prime members in the US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have access to these games on Luna.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/prime-gamings-march-freebies-include-saints-row-the-third-and-mafia-ii-remasters-180008526.html?src=rss

The Nintendo DS is one of the toughest consoles to emulate, for an obvious reason. It’s the two screens. This is even an issue with ports. Some developers avoid the problem by mushing everything together onto a single traditional screen, like the recently-released Castlevania Dominus Collection. However, gamers may finally have an affordable emulation solution, thanks to the MagicX Zero 40 handheld console.

On its surface, it’s yet another handheld emulator, but this one features a four-inch vertically-oriented 800×480 touchscreen display. This should allow players to accurately recreate the experience of playing DS games. That’s great news, as replacement parts for any of the DS’s iterations are difficult to come by these days.

The MagicX Zero 40 runs on a 64-bit Android operating system and features 2GB of RAM and a battery that lasts for four to seven hours. As for storage, it supports flash cards up to 512GB. What about 3DS emulation? The specs sheet indicates there’s no support for Nintendo’s follow-up dual-screen handheld, but the Zero 40 will emulate games from all of the standard single-screen systems. These include the PSP, NES, SNES, Dreamcast and many more.

The Zero 40 is expected to be released this April, with an asking price of $75. Pre-orders were open, but are sold out for the time being. There’s another option for a dual-screen emulation, if you have deep pockets. The Ayaneo Flip DS will run Nintendo DS, 3DS and Wii U games, but starts at $739.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-magicx-zero-40-handheld-features-a-vertical-display-for-ds-emulation-175820385.html?src=rss

Everything about Sorry We’re Closed sets my little punk heart ablaze, from its low-poly 3D graphics and banging original soundtrack, to its casually epic storyline starring heartbroken club kids and horny demons. Sorry We’re Closed takes place around a bustling city of neon-splattered nightmares, and if I could, I’d move there immediately.

Michelle, an existentially lost and effortlessly cool twenty-something, is introduced to the spiritual world by The Duchess, an archdemon with thigh-high boots and a threatening allure. Michelle is marked as The Duchess’ love interest and cursed with a powerful Third Eye. The Duchess is cruel and desperate for love, and Michelle — still reeling from a breakup that rocked her world three years ago — has a limited amount of time to discover why she’s been chosen and how to escape the curse with her life intact.

The characters in Sorry We’re Closed are raw, funny and authentic, and their relationships are relatably messy. There’s Oakley, the diner owner; Marty, the record shop manager; Clarissa, the dancer; Robyn, the local adventurer; Darrel, Oakley’s boyfriend and resident douchebag; and of course a cast of otherworldly beings. I feel like I know some of these people in my real life, and as for the rest, I’d love to meet them and help them chase their weird fantasies. Everything in this game is super stylish, from the blocky 3D avatars to the detailed, painterly icons that accompany their dialogue boxes. The city is populated by a diverse blend of genders and sexualities, and it feels both perfectly natural and deeply welcoming, like a stunning fever dream of what could be if The Gay Agenda finally got its way.

Again, it’s a world I’d love to live in.

Akupara Games

Michelle spends her time exploring the underworld and chasing the ghosts of The Duchess’ former victims — er, lovers — while gathering the strength to fight the archdemon head-on. There are four different endings in Sorry We’re Closed, and your decisions to help or hinder your friends will determine how things shake out in a tangible way. Many of the demons and angels in this world have sadistic streaks, and there are multiple scenes of bloody dismemberment and extreme body horror along Michelle’s journey. Choose your path forward wisely.

The game plays out in a fixed-camera perspective for exploration scenes, and switches to a dual-stick, first-person view for combat. Using a DualSense controller, you enter first-person view by holding down LT, and then shoot or swing with RT, using the right stick to aim. Michelle ends up with three weapons: a wolf-faced axe, a pistol and a shotgun. She also gets a powerful Heartbreaker attack, which builds up as she does damage and eventually allows her to unleash a devastating shot directly at an enemy’s heart. Collecting ammo and health is a constant task in Sorry We’re Closed, and first-person view is useful here, allowing Michelle to break and loot vases.

Akupara Games

Transitioning between third and first person feels nice and smooth, and the game does a great job of infusing classic Resident Evil-style gameplay with modern sensibilities. When it’s engaged, Michelle’s Third Eye lets her see and interact with an alternate reality, which appears in a circular pool around her. Demons that get caught in the Third Eye are briefly stunned, and their weak points become visible as stained-glass hearts. You’re only able to shoot weak points when Third Eye is engaged, but you can drop it at any time to attack with impunity. The length of the Third Eye stun can be extended by spending yowzas, the game’s currency, at the shop, which is run by a floating goat head. There are other basic upgrades for ammo and health capacities, which Michelle carries in the form of water bottles.

As Michelle travels deeper into The Duchess’ dimension, the environments become more M.C. Escher-like, and there are a series of puzzles to solve when you’re not actively battling demons. There’s nothing too tricky here, but there are little fetch quests and physical riddles to solve, and the reality-shifting mechanic of Michelle’s Third Eye keeps things interesting. There’s a perfect amount of variety in this game, with plenty of space to mess around with each new idea.

Akupara Games

I adore the way Sorry We’re Closed plays with perspective. It has standard top-down scenes, sure, but there are also cinematic shots peeking through the gaps in a chandelier, wide angles that show off the scale of some environments, head-on running scenes, and instances of beautiful but impossible physics, especially when The Duchess is involved. In case you couldn’t tell, I kind of fell in love with The Duchess, even though I know they would destroy me. Maybe because of that, even.

Sorry We’re Closed is campy, relatable, gruesome and gorgeous. You could say the same about The Duchess.

With today’s console launch, all versions of the game are getting rebalanced combat areas, improved controller sensitivity, aim assist options, fresh difficulties, a Time Attack mode and New Game+. Sorry We’re Closed is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and there’s a premium physical edition for Switch and PS5 due out later this year, available to pre-order now. Sorry We’re Closed is the debut title from à la mode games, a two-person team based in Bournemouth, UK, and it’s published by Akupara Games.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sorry-were-closed-ps5-review-oops-i-fell-in-love-with-an-archdemon-170040845.html?src=rss

Reddit has announced several new tools that seem like they were designed to encourage more lurkers to participate in discussions on the website. One of the new tools called Rules Check will make it easy to see if what you’re posting potentially goes against a subreddit’s rules. Before submitting your post, you can click the wand icon in the lower right-hand corner of the post composer, which you can see in the photo above. Doing that will highlight anything in your post that may be breaking a subreddit’s rules. Reddit will start testing the feature on iOS and Android before giving it a wider release. 

Another new tool called Post Recovery will show you a prompt if your post has been removed due to community rules. The prompt will contain a notice of removal, along with a link that will enable you to quickly share your deleted post to a more appropriate subreddit. To make sure you’re posting in the right community in the first place, Reddit will now suggest relevant communities based on what you write through a drop-down menu on the upper left corner of the composer screen. It will now also show you if a community has requirements, such as account age or minimum karma points, before you can post. 

The last tool is perhaps most useful if you promote products and services on Reddit. Post Insights will show you how many views, upvotes, shares and crossposts your posts have gotten, giving you an idea on what works when it comes to post engagement. All these tools other than Rules Check are now available on Reddit’s website and mobile app. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddits-rule-check-feature-will-help-users-avoid-breaking-subreddit-rules-160001398.html?src=rss

We love a good deal on a great laptop around these parts and that’s exactly the case with Apple’s M3-powered MacBook Air. The 2024 machine is on sale at Amazon with discounts of up to $300. The base model can be yours for $899, which is $200 off and close to a record-low price. This 13-inch variant has 16GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.

You’ll find the steepest discount on an M3 MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM and double the SSD storage at 512GB. That’s $300 off at $1,199.

The M3 MacBook Air is our pick for the best MacBook and our top recommendation for the best laptop overall. (I own one personally and am very happy with it.)

We gave the system a score of 90 in our review, lauding it for fast performance, as well as the sleek and study design (including a great trackpad and keyboard). It looks and sounds great too thanks to the Liquid Retina display and quad-speaker array. What’s more, the M3 MacBook Air supports Apple Intelligence features. Ultimately, the blend of performance and portability is hard to beat.

While this is an attractive deal, there’s one important factor to bear in mind. Apple just this week announced the M4 MacBook Air. We’ve yet to review the latest system, so we can’t say for sure how it stacks up against last year’s model.

But it’s worth considering that an upgraded model is right around the corner before you take the plunge on this deal — especially given that Apple has dropped the starting price of the base M4 Air to $999. That’s $100 less than the current regular price of the M3 and $100 more than you can get the laptop for through this deal.

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/apples-m3-macbook-air-is-up-to-300-off-right-now-153346492.html?src=rss

Nearly 50 years after they were first launched, Voyager 1 and 2 are still traveling around interstellar space — though they’ve faced some setbacks over the years. Now, NASA has announced that the twin Voyager spacecraft are losing some of their features in a bid to extend their lifespans in the face of a diminishing power supply. 

On February 25, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) turned off Voyager 1’s cosmic ray subsystem experiment and on March 25, it will shut down Voyager 2’s low-energy charged particle instrument. 

“The Voyagers have been deep space rock stars since launch, and we want to keep it that way as long as possible,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at the JPL. “But electrical power is running low. If we don’t turn off an instrument on each Voyager now, they would probably have only a few more months of power before we would need to declare end of mission.”

Each probe will continue to run three science instruments, but hold another seven instruments which have turned off over time. Just last October, NASA shut down Voyager 2’s plasma science instrument. However, both spacecraft have experienced recent issues. Last June, Voyager 1 finally starting running properly again, following seven months of technical issues, including unreadable data. It had a similar issue two years prior. In 2023, Voyager 2 went dark for two weeks after requiring technical assistance three years earlier. 

NASA still puts a lot of value in the Voyager probes. “Every minute of every day, the Voyagers explore a region where no spacecraft has gone before,” said Linda Spilker, Voyager project scientist at JPL. “That also means every day could be our last. But that day could also bring another interstellar revelation. So, we’re pulling out all the stops, doing what we can to make sure Voyagers 1 and 2 continue their trailblazing for the maximum time possible.” Maybe at least until they hit 50 years in 2027? 

The slightly more cynical take on NASA “pulling out all the stops” to keep them going is that they’d certainly love for the probes to be functional for their 50th anniversary in 2027 — which feels like a tall order despite the agency’s best efforts.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-is-shutting-down-parts-of-voyager-1-and-2-to-extend-their-lifespan-151322570.html?src=rss

1Password has added a new feature that allows users to tag their entries with physical locations. That way, when the user is close by a credential’s location, that information will be surfaced in the password manager’s mobile app. This ‘nearby items’ feature makes the most relevant information quickly available to 1Password customers and cuts out the need to search for the correct details or remember exactly what you’d named an account.

Location information can be added to any new or existing item in a 1Password vault. The app has also been updated with a map view for setting and viewing the locations of your items. In the blog post announcing the feature, the company cited examples such as door codes for a workplace, health records at a doctor’s office, WiFi access at the gym and rewards membership information for local shops as potential uses for location data.

Privacy and security are paramount for a password manager, and 1Password confirmed that a user’s location coordinates are only used locally and do not leave the device. Nearby items is available to 1Password customers starting today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/1password-introduces-nearby-items-tying-passwords-to-physical-locations-140040723.html?src=rss

Another day, another move from the Trump administration that will benefit Elon Musk — shocking. The US Department of Commerce has announced an overhaul of 2021’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and its $42.5 billion that will funnel work to Musk’s Starlink. 

The BEAD program was originally designed to give states funding for fiber-optic cable installation, increase Wi-Fi networks and free broadband internet access for some individuals. Fiber-optic broadband provides the fastest internet speeds, but the new mandate will get rid of BEAD’s preference for it. 

“The Department is ripping out the Biden Administration’s pointless requirements,” said US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in a statement. “It is revamping the BEAD program to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes, so states can provide internet access for the lowest cost.” 

The writing on the wall is clear: Musk, the richest person in the world, leader of a department to reduce government waste (read: cut many critical jobs and programs) and an unelected right hand to what can best be described as an authoritarian government, is about to make even more money.

Under the Biden administration in 2023, Starlink received a rejection from the Federal Communications Commission for nearly $900 million in subsidies. The FCC stated that Starlink’s application, which was part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, failed to meet the program’s requirements. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/musks-starlink-stands-to-benefit-from-changes-to-a-broadband-equity-program-132521582.html?src=rss

If you’re into kite surfing, skiing, rock climbing or other adventure sports and want to film your activities, an action camera is the only way to go. In the past, GoPro was uniquely associated with this type of first-person action filming. But now, buyers now have more choice, with models also available from DJI and Insta360. Each company has its own strength, with Insta360 specializing in 360-degree video, DJI known for low-light video quality and GoPro making solid all-around cams with a wide choice of accessories.

That raises the question, which one has the best features for your personal exploits? Engadget has been testing action cameras for more than 16 years and with that experience, we can help you find the right model for your budget and needs.

What to consider before choosing an action camera

Action cameras have certain traits that separate them from regular cameras or smartphones. The most important is ruggedness that makes them resistant to water, dust and shocks. Most action cameras are now waterproof without the need for a separate enclosure. At the same time, you can purchase housing accessories to make them waterproof to even greater depths.

Video quality is also key. Every model we recommend goes to at least 4K 60fps, but some models like GoPro’s latest Hero 13 boost resolution up to 5.3K 60fps, or even 8K 30p with the Insta360 Ace Pro 2. That allows you to crop in on shots and capture vertical video at higher resolutions for social media. Another nice feature is log video that improves dynamic range when filming on sunny, contrasty days. And if you film in dim environments, you’ll want the largest sensor possible for the best low-light performance.

For activities with bumps and jolts like mountain biking, stabilization is incredibly important. You want your video to look smooth, but still need to convey the thrill and speed of the action. The Hero 13 is still the best in this regard, delivering jolt-free video that makes the viewer feel like they’re going down the bike trail or ski slope, with no annoying digital artifacts. DJI and Insta360’s products are good, but not quite at that level yet.

Some action cameras are easier to handle and use, so take that into account as well. You’ll want bright and colorful displays both front and back, buttons you won’t have to fumble to find and easy-to-use menus. Remote control is another factor that can ease operation. And you’ll want to check which software is available to improve stabilization, edit video, remove selfie sticks and more.

Then there’s the area of accessories. Do you need helmet or chest mounts, waterproof housings or battery charger? GoPro has the largest number of those, but DJI makes handy wireless mics that connect directly with its cameras. And of course, battery life is critical for action shooting as it’s hard to change one when you’re out surfing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/best-action-camera-130017459.html?src=rss

Utah has once again passed a bill that attempts to place new limits on children’s ability to access social media and other apps. The state legislature passed a bill that requires app store makers to verify the ages of users and get parental consent for the downloading of apps. Should the governor sign the bill into law, it would be (as The Verge points out) the first such measure in the country.

The Beehive State has previously attempted to restrict how children can use social media. The state passed two laws in 2023 that imposed age verification and parental permission requirements onto social media companies. Those laws were later revised amid legal challenges, and a Utah judge blocked them from taking effect last fall.

The “App Store Accountability Act” takes a different approach. It puts the burden on app stores (namely, Apple and Google) to conduct age verification and parental permission rather than individual social media platforms. Unsurprisingly, Meta and other social media companies have long preferred the app store-centric approach to age verification.

On Wednesday, Meta, Snap and X issued a rare joint statement praising the Utah measure. “Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way,” the companies said. “The app store is the best place for it, and more than a quarter of states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play. We applaud Utah for putting parents in charge with its landmark legislation and urge Congress to follow suit.”

Apple and Google so far haven’t publicly weighed in on Utah’s bill, though we’ve reached out to both for comment.

Given the controversy surrounding previous attempts to impose age verification requirements on platforms, the Utah bill will likely face legal challenges if and when it’s signed into law. Even so, other states are likely to follow Utah’s lead on this issue. At least eight more states are considering similar measures.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/utah-is-poised-to-pass-an-age-verification-law-for-app-stores-000542476.html?src=rss