Before augmented reality was ever a thing, there was Google Glass: a much hyped experiment that was ultimately a failure over issues like privacy (and just looking like a dork). At an I/O session yesterday with Deepmind CEO Demis Hassabis, Google co-founder Sergey Brin admitted that he made “mistakes” with Google Glass in several areas.

“I just didn’t know anything about consumer electronic supply chain chains, really, and how hard it would be to build that and have it it at a reasonable price point and managing all the manufacturing and so forth,” he said during the session.

Brin said that he’s still a believer in the form factor, though, adding that Xreal’s latest device looks like “normal glasses” without “that thing in front.” He noted that rather than going it alone as before, Google now has “great partners” in Samsung (the Project Moohan headset) and Xreal (Project Aura glasses) as part of the Android XR extended reality program. 

There was also a “technology gap” when Google Glass came along in 2013 that no longer exists, according to Brin. “Now in the AI world, the things that these glasses can do to help you out without constantly distracting you, that capability is much higher,” he said

Google Glass wasn’t a complete flop. It’s easy to forget that the product soldiered on for many years after its debut, largely as an enterprise device, and was only fully discontinued in 2023. It also paved a path for future VR and AR wearables like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro. Come to think of it, though, none of those projects have exactly set the world on fire, either. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-co-founder-sergey-brin-admits-to-mistakes-over-google-glass-110659349.html?src=rss

Starfish Space plans to perform the first commercial satellite docking in orbit with its Otter Pup 2 mission, aiming to connect to an unprepared D-Orbit ION spacecraft using an electrostatic capture mechanism and autonomous navigation software. NASASpaceFlight.com reports: This follows the company’s first attempt, which saw the Otter Pup 1 mission unable to dock with its target due to a thruster failure. The Otter Pup 2 spacecraft will be deployed from a quarter plate on the upper stage adapter of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, placing it into a sun synchronous orbit altitude of 510 km inclined 97.4 degrees. The target will be a D-Orbit ION spacecraft which will simulate a client payload, which is not equipped with a traditional docking adapter or capture plate as you might see aboard a space station or other rendezvous target. Instead, Starfish Space’s Nautilus capture mechanism will feature a special end effector connected to the end of the capture mechanism. This end effector will enable Otter Pup 2 to dock with the ION through electrostatic adhesion.

“An electromagnet will be integrated into the end effector and will be used as a backup option to the electrostatic end effector, to dock with the ION through magnetic attraction,” the company notes. The goal is to eventually commission its Otter satellite servicing vehicle to allow for servicing of previously launched satellites. The company’s first Otter missions include customers such as NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and Intelsat, with the goal of flying those missions as soon as 2026. […] Following the thruster issues on the first mission, this flight will feature two ThrustMe thrusters, which use an electric propulsion system based on gridded ion thruster technology.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sony is opting out of its PlayStation Stars loyalty program. Starting today, you can no longer sign up for the program. If you’re a member and cancel your membership, you won’t be able to sign up again.

Current members can still earn points and digital collectibles and level up their status until July 23 at 9:59 PM ET. After that, all campaigns and rewards will be kaput. The program will be entirely discontinued on November 2. But if you keep your membership until then, you can still redeem your points after that, provided they haven’t expired.

Sony launched PlayStation Stars in 2022. The company’s first loyalty program lets you earn points by playing games and making purchases on the PlayStation Store. You can redeem points for items like PSN wallet funds and select store products.

The company will now “refocus” its approach to rewards. (How, we don’t know.) “We want to thank all of our players for supporting PlayStation Stars since the launch in 2022,” Sony wrote on the PlayStation Blog. “As we explore new ways to evolve our loyalty program efforts for the future, we’ll continue to celebrate all of our players through the various community activities we have planned.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-is-ending-its-playstation-stars-loyalty-program-164514310.html?src=rss

Microsoft is introducing a new “Cross Device Resume” feature for Windows 11, enabling app developers to let users seamlessly continue activity between devices in a manner closely mirroring Apple’s Handoff for Macs and iPhones. Unveiled at Build 2025 during a session titled “Create Seamless Cross-Device Experiences with Windows for your app,” the feature was demonstrated — before the session was quietly edited to remove this segment — by showing Spotify playing a song on an Android phone, then surfacing the Spotify app in the Windows taskbar with a phone icon; clicking this launches Spotify on the PC at precisely the same point in the app as on the phone, preserving playback position for uninterrupted use.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is coming to PS5 this summer, though we don’t have a concrete release date just yet. Ninja Theory says it will be optimized for both the standard-issue PS5 and the beefier PS5 Pro.

The company also says it launches alongside a free update that’ll be available for all platforms, including PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. We don’t know much about this update, but the developer promises “new features.” There’s a trailer that discusses the update, but is also devoid of any real details.

This is something of a homecoming for the franchise, as Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was originally released for PS4 back in 2017. Ninja Theory says it’s “excited to bring Senua back to where her journey began and for PlayStation players to be able to experience the next chapter in her brutal saga of survival.”

For the uninitiated, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a brutal and gorgeous game that first hit the Xbox and PC in 2024. It’s a third-person adventure set in Iceland during the 10th century. We called it an outstanding “interactive brutality visualizer” in our original review, going on to say it features “an extended, extremely anxious and violent vibe.” Good times!

The combat is decent, though not groundbreaking, and the puzzles are just average. The sheer violence, however, is epic. The protagonist Senua screams with each swing of the sword and every fight is close combat. This is for those who revel in simulated physical violence. We’ll let you know when we have an actual summer release date for this gem.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-is-coming-to-ps5-this-summer-163539229.html?src=rss

According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft says Apple‘s App Store rules are to blame for the continued delay of the Xbox mobile app store it announced last summer. The store would have allowed users to buy Microsoft mobile games through the Xbox web store on iOS. In an amicus brief filed this week, Microsoft expressed support for Epic Games in the companies’ long-running bout against Apple. The company also expressed concern that Apple could succeed in overturning the injunction that has opened the floodgates for payments outside of apps that circumvent Apple’s 30 percent fee.

Apple filed an appeal against the injunction earlier this month, and just a few days later it asked the Ninth Circuit to halt enforcement of the original ruling while it works through its appeal. Microsoft, for its part, is urging the court to enforce the injunction while the courts handle the appeal. The company points out that Apple itself has said that the policy changes it made in response to the injunction “can be undone,” raising concern that without firm enforcement by the courts, Apple could pull the rug at any given moment.

As of this writing, Microsoft’s filing is not yet publicly available, but The Verge has details on the brief’s contents. It reads, in part: “The district court’s injunction allows Apple to maintain its in-app exclusivity but at least should have enabled Microsoft to offer consumers a workable solution by launching its own online store — accessible via link-out — for in-app items to be purchased off-app and used in games or other apps. And that is what Microsoft wants to do. But even this solution has been stymied by Apple.”

While things are moving quickly, with apps like Fortnite already returning to the App Store in the US, Microsoft remains in a holding pattern awaiting a firm outcome in the case. It seems they want to avoid a situation where the Xbox mobile store is released, only to be taken down should Apple win on appeal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-blames-apple-for-xbox-mobile-store-delays-162413207.html?src=rss

The third and final season of dystopian survival series Squid Game—one of Netflix’s most-watched shows—is coming in June. The South Korean thriller picks up after last season’s cliffhanger, with Gi-hun (Player 456) at the center of the new game. The new season will be available on June 27.

Also on June’s lineup is the return of FUBAR (June 12), the action series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro as a father and daughter who both work for the CIA. Carrie-Anne Moss joins the cast this season as a former East German spy.

On the documentary side, Netflix will stream Titan: The OceanGate Disaster (June 11) following its premiere at the Tribeca Festival just a few days earlier. The feature uses first-hand accounts of former OceanGate employees to create a portrait of CEO Stockton Rush and the history leading up to the submersible’s failure in 2023.

The platform will also drop three new installments of its anthology series Trainwreck, which covers major news events gone wrong. This month’s stories cover the deaths at 2021’s Astroworld music festival (The Astroworld Tragedy, June 10), the rise and fall of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford (Mayor of Mayhem, June 17), and the ill-fated “poop cruise” (Poop Cruise, June 24).

Sports docs this month include Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal (June 4), a series that follows Shaq in his role as president of Reebok Basketball alongside Allen Iverson, and season two of AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (June 18).

Netflix comedy specials in June include Justin Willman: Magic Lover (June 17) and Steph Tolev: Filth Queen (June 24).

Here’s everything coming to Netflix in June, and everything that’s leaving.

What’s coming to Netflix in June 2025

Available soon

• The Great Indian Kapil Show: Season 3—Netflix Series

• Rana Naidu: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available June 1

• The American

• Barbarian

• Bee Movie

• The Birds

• The Blues Brothers

• The Devil’s Own

• Dune (1984)

• The Equalizer

• Family Plot

• Focus

• Frenzy

• The Great Outdoors

• Hitchcock

• Hop

• The Legend of Zorro

• The Man Who Knew Too Much

• Neighbors

• Now You See Me

• Now You See Me 2

• The Nutty Professor

• Pokémon The Series: XY

• Pokémon The Series: XY: XY: Kalos Quest

• Pokémon The Series: XY: XYZ

• Rear Window

• The Theory of Everything

• The Town

• U-571

• Us

• Vertigo

Available June 3

• Sara – Woman in the Shadows—Netflix Series

Available June 4

• Criminal Code: Season 2—Netflix Series

• Eva Lasting: Season 3—Netflix Series

• Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal—Netflix Series

Available June 5

• Barracuda Queens: Season 2—Netflix Series

• Ginny & Georgia: Season 3—Netflix Series

• Tires: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available June 6

• K.O.—Netflix Film

• Mercy For None—Netflix Series

• TYLER PERRY’S STRAW—Netflix Film

• The Survivors—Netflix Series

Available June 7

• Boys on the Side

• Piece by Piece

Available June 9

• The Creature Cases: Chapter 5—Netflix Family

Available June 10

• Families Like Ours—Netflix Series

• Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy—Netflix Documentary

Available June 11

• Aniela—Netflix Series

• Cheers to Life—Netflix Film

• Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft.—Netflix Documentary

• Our Times—Netflix Film

• Titan: The OceanGate Disaster—Netflix Documentary

Available June 12

• The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish: Season 2

• FUBAR: Season 2—Netflix Series

• Plane

Available June 13

• Kings of Jo’Burg: Season 3—Netflix Series

• Too Hot to Handle: Spain—Netflix Series

Available June 14

• Grey’s Anatomy: Season 21

Available June 16

• The Last Witch Hunter

Available June 17

• Justin Willman: Magic Lover—Netflix Comedy Special

• Kaulitz & Kaulitz: Season 2—Netflix Series

• Scandal: Seasons 1-7

• Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem—Netflix Documentary

Available June 18

• AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Season 2—Netflix Series

• Rosario Tijeras (Mexico): Season 4—Netflix Series

• Somebody Feed Phil: Season 8—Netflix Series

• YOLANTHE—Netflix Series

Available June 19

• The Waterfront—Netflix Series

Available June 20

• KPop Demon Hunters—Netflix Family

• Olympo—Netflix Series

• Semi-Soeter—Netflix Film

Available June 22

• The Intern

Available June 24

• Steph Tolev: Filth Queen—Netflix Comedy Special

• Trainwreck: Poop Cruise—Netflix Documentary

Available June 25

• The Ultimatum: Queer Love: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available June 27

• Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua Part 3—Netflix Family

• Squid Game: Season 3—Netflix Series

What’s leaving Netflix in June 2025

Leaving June 1

• Batman Begins

• Beginners

• Burlesque

• Closer

• Cult of Chucky

• Daddy Day Care

• The Dark Knight

• The Dark Knight Rises

• Den of Thieves

• From Prada to Nada

• GoodFellas

• Ma

• Magic Mike XXL

• Pride & Prejudice

• Ted

• Ted 2

• Two Weeks Notice

Leaving June 11

• Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story

• Trap

Leaving June 14

• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Leaving June 16

• The Equalizer: Seasons 1-3

• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Leaving June 17

• Carol

Leaving June 19

• Migration

Leaving June 21

• American Sniper

Leaving June 22

• Brain on Fire

Leaving June 26

• Ordinary People

An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta is expanding the ranks of its lowest-rated employees in mid-year performance reviews, a move that could lead to more performance-based cuts. Meta is telling managers to put more employees in “Below Expectations”, the lowest performance bucket during this year’s mid-year performance reviews, according to a memo shared on Meta’s internal forum on May 14, which was viewed by Business Insider. For teams of 150 or more, Meta wants managers to put 15-20% of employees in the bottom bucket compared to 12-15% last year.

The expanded range includes employees who have already left the company as part of “non-regrettable attrition”, Meta’s term for staff considered non-critical to operations, including those who resigned or were dismissed for underperformance. The mid-year performance review process is “an opportunity to make exit decisions”, according to the memo. It added that “there will be no company-wide performance terminations, unlike earlier this year,” and leaders are expected to manage the performance of their reports.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mac users are spoiled when it comes to searching their computers. Macs have Spotlight search built-in, which they can use to open apps, search for files, perform calculations, and search the web. Windows has the Search Bar, but when you compare what they can do, it’s not exactly the same.

Now, though, there’s a new tool called Command Palette, and it’s a keyboard launcher designed specifically for developers and power users alike. It replaces a similar feature called PowerToys Run, and offers way more features, including the ability to run commands, search the web, search for files, and add custom bookmarks and global keyboard shortcuts.

How to install and enable Command Palette

Command Palette is part of PowerToys, which is a suite of powerful apps and utilities created by Microsoft itself. These are open source and are updated much faster than any built-in Windows feature. You can download and install PowerToys from the GitHub page, the Microsoft Store, or using Windows Package Manager.

Once PowerToys is installed (or updated to the version 0.9 or higher), open the app and find the Command Palette option from the sidebar. If you don’t see the app window, right-click the PowerToys utility in the Windows taskbar and click Settings.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

From the Command Palette screen, make sure the extension is enabled. Here, you’ll see the default keyboard shortcut for Command Palette, which is Windows + Alt + Space, but you are free to change it to anything you want.

Customizing the Command Palette shortcut and other settings

First, open Command Palette using the keyboard shortcut, and then click the Settings button in the bottom-right corner. From here, you can use the Activation key option to remap the keyboard shortcut to something simpler, like Alt + Space.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

While you’re here, you can also customize the behavior of Command Palette. The features I find most useful is the ability to use Backspace to go back, but your mileage may vary.

Now, let’s see everything Command Palette can do.

System settings and file search

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Open the Command Palette and start typing. Everything you’d want from a basic keyboard launcher is here. You can use Command Palette to open apps, and to search for files and folders.

You can start searching for apps directly. But when it comes to files and folders, it’s better to first choose the File search option. Just type “file“, choose the option, and then start searching. Similarly, if you use the “=” key, you’ll enter calculator mode.

Switch between open windows

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Command Palette has a built-in window switcher, and it can show all windows across different desktops and monitors. Open the Command Palette and type the less-than symbol () and you’ll see a list of all open windows and apps. You can scroll or search through this, or you can just enter the name of a specific app or window to highlight it, then press Enter to quickly switch to it.

Use Bookmarks to open any folder or website

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Bookmarks might be the best feature in Command Palette. The file search is definitely useful, but most often, you find yourself opening the same folders and files over and over again throughout the day. For me, it’s the Screenshots folder and the Downloads folder. Now, I can use Command Palette to make these easier to open.

Namely, I can create a bookmark that opens the Downloads folder with just a couple of letters, or using a global keyboard shortcut. This works for any Folder or File path, and even a website URL.

First, navigate to the folder you want to assign a shortcut to, right-click on the folder at the top, and choose Copy Address to copy the file path. In Command Palette, use the Add Bookmark option. Here, paste in the file path and give it a name.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Now, you can give it a unique alias and a global shortcut. Go to Command Palette Settings, and from the sidebar, choose Extensions > Bookmarks. You’ll see your newly created bookmark here.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Click on it, and you can now record a unique global hotkey, or give it an alias that makes it faster to find in Command Palette.

Search the web

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Command Palette has a quick way to search the web that opens directly in your default browser. Enter “??” and then type out your query. Press Enter, and that’s it.

Run any Terminal command

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

If you use the greater-than sign (>) before you start typing in Command Palette, you’ll enter Terminal mode. From here, you can enter any command, and it will open in the Terminal app, where it will execute the command for you.

Install apps using WinGet

We’ve already talked about WinGet, the hidden package manager inside Windows that lets you install any package or an app using a single command. Well, now you don’t even need to open Terminal for this. Once you have WinGet set up, you can simply enter the “winget” command in Command Palette, followed by the package you want to install. Command Palette will search for and start installing the package for you.

Use extensions to add even more features

Lastly, you can use third-party extensions to add even more functionality to Command Palette. As the feature is new, the collection is quite limited, but here’s hoping that developers add new extensions in the future. To see your extensions, open the Command Palette and search for Extensions. You can find extensions on WinGet, or on the Microsoft Store.