Amazon has some big plans for its drone delivery program, including an international expansion to the UK and Italy in 2024. The company also aims to start drone operations in a third US city next year, following existing efforts in College Station, Texas (where it just started offering prescription medication delivery by drone) and Lockeford, California.

Drone deliveries in the UK and Italy will start at one site each before expanding to more locations over time. Amazon says it will announce the specific locations for the US, UK and Italy expansion in the coming months.

Moreover, Amazon will integrate the Prime Air program into its delivery network. In the US, drones will run out of some Same-Day Delivery sites. By basing drones at those locations and its larger fulfillment centers in the UK and Italy, Amazon says customers can choose from a wider range of items for drone deliveries. Until now, Amazon has been using dedicated delivery centers at its first two Prime Air locations.

When the option is available in their area and they buy an eligible item that weighs under five pounds, Amazon customers can choose to have the product delivered by drone. Thousands of items are eligible for drone delivery, including office and tech supplies, household products and beauty items. The company notes that, for nearly a year, it’s been using drones to deliver items to customers in its first two Prime Air locations in an hour or less.

Reports earlier this year suggested that Prime Air got off to a very slow start, delivering to just a handful of homes in its first few weeks of operation in Texas and California (the program is said to have been hit hard by layoffs around that time too). Regulatory red-tape was said to be a key reason for the lackluster debut. To that end, Amazon says it has been “working closely with regulators and governments around the world to expand drone delivery.”

Meanwhile, Amazon plans to start making deliveries with the MK30 drone it first showed off last November. This model has a range that’s twice as large as previous drones, while it has improved tolerance for higher and lower temperatures. The MK30 can also operate in light rain. It’s smaller, lighter and quieter than previous drones too, according to Amazon.

What’s more, the MK30 latest model is said to be capable of identifying and avoiding obstacles that are in its delivery area, including objects like moveable cranes that weren’t there the previous day. One other intriguing aspect of the MK30 is how it flies. After taking off vertically, it orientates itself for horizontal, wing-borne flight. Add all of that up (and roll in some safety features), and Amazon says the MK30 can deliver packages to folks who live in more densely populated suburban areas and have smaller backyards.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-plans-to-start-drone-deliveries-in-the-uk-and-italy-next-year-185027120.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Amazon plans to start drone deliveries in the UK and Italy next year

Virtual private networks (VPNs) have become an essential tool for many web surfers, for a wide variety of reasons, and one of the most popular services is offering a great deal to entice new customers. NordVPN is selling two-year subscription plans for up to 69 percent off, depending on which tier you choose. You also get three free months of service when you sign up, which is always a nice bonus. This is actually a slightly better deal than last month’s 68 percent discount on two-year subscription plans.

Here’s how it all breaks down. The company’s flagship Complete plan is 69 percent off when you buy into two years of service, totaling $5 per month or $135. The Plus plan is 62 percent off, coming in at $4 per month or $108 for two years. The Standard plan is likely the best option for average consumers, offering a secure VPN, tracker blockers, ad blockers and malware protection. This plan is 63 percent off, totaling $3 per month or $80 for the whole shebang. Each and every one of these deals includes three free months of service, totaling 27 months. The one-year plans are also discounted and come with the same three free months of use.

There are even discounts for the company’s proprietary password management software, NordPass. Two-year Premium plans are 58 percent off and also offer three free months upon signing up. Enterprise users actually get six free months to try everything out.

We have praised NordVPN’s feature set and general ease-of-use, but balked at the original price tag. As a matter of fact, the cost was a primary reason why Nord’s offering narrowly missed our list of the best VPNs. So these discounts go a long way to making this an extremely attractive option for those looking for a speedy and useful virtual private network.

It’s worth noting that all of these plans are being advertised as Black Friday discounts, but you can actually make use of the sale beginning today. It all ends on November 29, so set a calendar reminder if you want some time to think things over.

If you aren’t even sure what VPNs are for, they are actually quite useful for those who spend a lot of time on ye olde internet. These services are nearly-mandatory when accessing public Wi-Fi, as they prevent cyber criminals from accessing your computer. The software also blocks malicious sites, protects sensitive data and lets you skirt geo-restrictions when surfing.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nordvpn-plans-are-nearly-70-percent-off-ahead-of-black-friday-183535813.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – NordVPN plans are nearly 70 percent off ahead of Black Friday

Meta is temporarily changing users’ default comment settings on Facebook as part of its response to the Israel-Hamas war. The company said in an update it was making the change in an effort to “protect people in the region from potentially unwelcome or unwanted comments.”

With the change, comments on “newly created public Facebook posts” will be limited to the user’s friends or “established followers.” The step is somewhat unusual as publicly viewable Facebook posts are typically open to comments from anyone by default. Meta didn’t specify the location or how many Facebook accounts would be affected by the change, but said it would apply broadly to “people in the region.”

The company added that all Facebook users have the ability to limit their comments, regardless of their location, and that it would notify users for whom the setting was now enabled by default. Additionally, Meta said it’s making it easier for Facebook users to bulk delete comments and that it’s “disabled the feature that normally displays the first one or two comments under posts in Feed.”

The updates appear to be meant to reduce harassment and potentially toxic comments as tensions surrounding the conflict continue to spill over onto social media. Meta also said it’s rolling out its profile “lock” tool to Facebook users “in the region.” The feature allows users to hide some previously-public parts of their profile and prevents non-friends from seeing a full-size version of their profile photos.

The company also addressed claims that their content moderation practices have unfairly suppressed some accounts posting about the conflict. Over the weekend a number of users reported that they believed they had been “shadowbanned” on Instagram for posting content about conditions in Gaza or otherwise calling attention to how the ongoing conflict is affecting Palestinians.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company had discovered and fixed a “bug” that affected the visibility of Stories and other re-shared posts “globally.” On Wednesday, the company confirmed the issues had “significantly reduced” the reach of Stories. “This bug affected accounts equally around the globe – not only people trying to post about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza – and it had nothing to do with the subject matter of the content,” Meta said. Separately, the company also fixed another “global issue” that prevented users from livestreaming on Facebook “for a short time.”

It’s not the first time questions have been raised about Meta’s response to a conflict between Israel and Hamas. In May of 2021, the last time there was a major escalation violence in the Gaza Strip, Facebook’s moderation practices violated Palestinians’ right to free expression, a report commissioned by Meta found. The report found that Meta’s systems and content reviewers had a lower accuracy rate when evaluating posts written in Palestinian Arabic, which resulted in a significant number of users being hit with “false strikes” on their accounts.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-temporarily-changing-facebook-comment-settings-amid-israel-hamas-war-183105130.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Meta is temporarily changing Facebook comment settings amid Israel-Hamas war

OpenAI has brought live web browsing out of beta. The company launched the feature earlier this year before pulling it after the plugin kept gleaning data from paywalled content. In addition, the next-generation image generation tool DALL-E 3, which integrates with ChatGPT for easier prompting, is now available in beta for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers.

Browse with Bing, as live web browsing is formally called, no longer requires subscribers to switch a beta toggle under the chatbot’s settings. It’s now available as a standard option in the dropdown under the GPT-4 model selector.

The feature matters since, by default, the popular chatbot has a knowledge cutoff date of September 2021, leaving it clueless about current events. “Browsing is particularly useful for tasks that require up-to-date information, such as helping you with technical research, trying to choose a bike, or planning a vacation,” the company posted on X (formerly Twitter) last month.

Meanwhile, DALL-E 3 is now available in beta settings for ChatGPT subscribers. While DALL-E 2 launched before ChatGPT and had a separate website, the new version is available within ChatGPT, preventing users from having to switch apps.

OpenAI said last month that DALL-E 3 is “significantly better” at grasping the user’s intent, especially with long and detailed prompts. The company says it’s better at rendering images, including hands (which many an AI image generator has struggled with). In addition, the tool lets you tweak results by entering follow-up queries in natural language. Unlike the previous version, the company says DALL-E 3 refuses attempts to mimic styles of living artists, helping it steer clear of potential lawsuits.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chatgpt-live-web-browsing-exits-beta-dall-e-3-enters-beta-182303115.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – ChatGPT live web browsing exits beta, DALL-E 3 enters beta