Enlarge / Will E3 ever come back, either physically or digitally? (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

The news comes in the form of an allegation from Razer PR lead Will Powers, who made no bones about what he was told: “Just got an email… It’s official, E3 digital is official [sic] cancelled for 2022.” When pressed in his replies about whether the event might shift from a digital event to something in person, Powers tweeted, “Official ESA E3 is officially cancelled cancelled.”

Ars Technica has since been able to review the email provided to E3 partners and can confirm its contents. This email does not go so far as to announce the end of E3 altogether and leaves open the possibility that the event could return in one way or another in the future.

Enlarge / The near-final version of the upcoming Dyson Zone mask-and-headphones system. (credit: Dyson)

In an announcement timed dangerously close to April 1, Dyson confirmed this week that it is working on the Dyson Zone, one of the most intense consumer-facing masks we’ve ever seen. What’s more, the company elected to combine this face-mounted air purifier with its first noise-canceling headphones—which contribute to the filtering process.

At least one outlet says it tested this perfect addition to your Mega Man cosplay project, which suggests this is an actual product and not an April Fool’s joke. Curiously, the world’s first face-on impressions of the device, as provided by The Verge, recount the company’s press release spiel before getting to the heart of why a face-dominating system like the Dyson Zone has us apprehensive.

“The Zone headphones are very big and noticeably heavy,” The Verge’s Chaim Gartenberg says, and a single look at this head-mounted system clarifies why that might be the case.

Enlarge / Roccat Burst Pro Air. (credit: Roccat)

Roccat’s Burst Pro Air weighs 2.86 ounces (81 g), a big weight reduction compared to powerhouse wireless productivity mice, like the Logitech MX Master 3 (4.97 ounces / 141 g) and Razer Pro Click (3.73 ounces / 106 g). All three mice let you use a USB-A dongle for your wireless connection, as well as Bluetooth, and are rechargeable. But the Burst Pro Air’s weight class makes it a good consideration for anyone tired of heavy mice. Whether you have a medical issue or have just been at the PC for a while, those ounces can start to add up.

Gaming brand Roccat designed the mouse for PC gamers who’ll be swiping, flinging, flicking, and clicking rapidly and suddenly, taking the design from its wired Burst Pro. But unlike some other ultralight gaming mice, such as the Glorious Model O- Wireless (about 2.43 ounces / 69 g) or SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless (2.4 ounces / 68 g), the Burst Pro Air doesn’t have open gaps in its chassis.

Enlarge / The Privacy Sandbox settings. (credit: Google)

Google is on a quest to kill the third-party web cookie, which is often used by advertisers to track users for targeted ads. Unlike other browser companies like Apple and Mozilla, which block third-party cookies outright, Google is one of the world’s largest advertising companies. It doesn’t want to kill the third-party cookie without first protecting its primary revenue source. Google seems to view user tracking as a mandatory part of Internet usage, and instead of third-party cookies, it wants to build a user-tracking system directly into its Chrome browser. Google’s eye-roll-inducing name for this advertising system is the “Privacy Sandbox,” and on Thursday, the company released its latest tracking solution in Chrome’s nightly “Canary” builds.

The latest Chromium Blog post laid out the current timeline, “Starting today, developers can begin testing globally the Topics, FLEDGE, and Attribution Reporting APIs in the Canary version of Chrome. We’ll progress to a limited number of Chrome Beta users as soon as possible. Once things are working smoothly in Beta, we’ll make API testing available in the stable version of Chrome to expand testing to more Chrome users.”

Topics will have Chrome locally track your browsing history and build a list of interests, which Chrome will then share with advertisers whenever they ask for ad targeting. If you want a breakdown of the API name-checked in Google’s statement, the FLEDGE API is responsible for both running an ad action directly on your device and picking an advertiser and then targeting users based on behavior, like leaving an item in a shopping cart. The Attribution Reporting API is responsible for measuring ad clicks, impressions, and tracking purchase conversions.