The glasses-shaped face computers that tech companies have been building for years now face an identity crisis, and their makers can’t agree on what to call them. Meta has asked a journalist to refer to its Ray-Ban glasses as “AI glasses” to distinguish them from Google Glass. Google, whose Project Aura is a collaboration with Xreal, calls the product “wired XR glasses” because the company views it as more aligned with headsets in a glasses form factor.
Xreal’s CEO Chi Xu laughed when asked about Aura’s category and said the company will call all its products “AR glasses.” Research firms aren’t aligned either. Gartner defines smart glasses as camera- and display-free devices with Bluetooth and AI. Counterpoint Research said smart glasses without see-through displays drive volumes in the smart eyewear category. IDC uses a broader definition that includes anything glasses-shaped.
As part of my various year-end comparison benchmarking, I recently ran some tests looking at how the Radeon RX 9000 series RDNA 4 performance has evolved since its debut near the beginning of the year. The Vulkan ray-tracing performance in particular was standing out this year as having evolved quite nicely while for conventional OpenGL and Vulkan performance the performance has been largely stable this year with its great at-launch support.
Have you ever just wished you could watch Instagram Reels right on a TV? Maybe? Well, if so, you’re in luck. Meta has launched an Instagram app exclusively on Fire TV. It will be solely for “short-form video content,” so Reels. TikTok launched an app on Fire TV in 2020 before rolling it out to other platforms.
Instagram and Fire TV users can download the former through Amazon’s App Store. It can either link to an existing account or have a separate account just for TV. The app can hold up to five different Instagram accounts — and time spent factors into any limits on teen accounts.
“Our mission is to get you to the world’s best content fast, and we’re thrilled to welcome Instagram to Fire TV,” Fire TV vice president, Aidan Marcuss, said in a statement. “We’re committed to keep pushing the boundaries of entertainment on customers’ biggest screens — the Instagram team has built an awesome experience, and we’re excited to be the first place to offer it. We can’t wait to see what customers think.”
For now, Reels are separated into different channels, such as sports highlights or hidden travel gems. Reels also play automatically, so you don’t have to swipe between content on the screen. According to Meta, the app is still being tested, so these formats might change in the future.
Instagram users in the US can now get the TV app on Amazon’s Fire TV Stick HD, 4K Plus and 4K Max (first and second generation). It’s also available on the Fire RV 2-Series, 4-Series, and Omni QLED Series. However, Meta says that the Instagram App for TV should be available on more devices and in other countries after this initial testing round.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-launches-a-fire-tv-app-for-reels-160003710.html?src=rss
Shimano has launched the new, more affordable GRX RX717 fully wireless range of gravel components, which will finally see the Japanese brand compete with SRAM’s Rival AXS XPLR.
It follows Shimano’s entry into the wireless 1x groupset space with the release of new premium-priced RX827 components in June.
The new fully featured Di2 RX717 rear derailleur features the same compact removable battery as found in the GRX RX827, XTR M9250, Deore XT M8250 and Deore M6250 units.
Like RX827, it shares the same design as Shimano’s mountain bike counterparts. That means the same low-profile (Shadow) design, skid plate, protected battery and Automatic Impact Recovery function.
Where RX827 sits alongside Shimano’s Ultegra Di2-level components, RX717 is aligned with 105 Di2. That should mean we’ll see Shimano compete with SRAM’s gravel offerings at more affordable price points.
Shimano’s 1x Di2 brings a wide range of compatibility. That means you can mix and match RX717 components with all Shimano 12-speed wireless shifters (GRX, Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 Di2 drop-bar options, as well as XTR, Deore XT and Deore flat-bar Di2 models).
Shimano GRX RX717 mixes with existing GRX 12-speed components. Shimano
Like the existing GRX components, which now comprise mechanical, 2x Di2 and 1x wireless Di2, the GRX family offers a mix-and-match approach, even including 12-speed mountain bike components.
That means rather than a complete groupset, RX717 consists of shifter/brake-lever options and a new rear derailleur that can be combined with a 10-51 12-speed cassette.
GRX RX717 right-hand lever
The right-hand lever has the gear controls. Shimano
The GRX 12-speed ST-RX715-R Di2 hydraulic disc brake dual-control lever is a more affordable option. It’s still fully featured with reach adjustment and has compatibility with the E-Tube Project app, enabling you to custom-configure the controls.
Shimano claims the twin batteries in a GRX shifter are good for four years of use. Shimano
Like the existing wireless levers, it uses two CR1632 batteries for power, stowed in a port at the top of the hood. Shimano claims up to four years of use for the twin-battery setup.
The standard GRX left-hand brake lever. Shimano
GRX RX717 left-hand lever
The levers have 16.4mm of reach adjustment. Shimano
The left-hand lever is a brake only, using the same hood shape, ergonomics and adjustability. It comes without the Di2 button assembly behind the brake lever.
It’s available in two versions – one with GRX branding and one with a Shimano logo.
The left-hand brake lever with Shimano branding. Shimano
GRX RX717 rear derailleur
The battery is well hidden inside the body of the derailleur. Shimano
Just as the premium RX827 derailleur is based on Shimano’s XT unit, the RX717 uses the Deore derailleur as inspiration.
The derailleur features everything found on the premium model.
Automatic Impact Recovery: this returns the derailleur instantly to its original position after an impact.
Wide link structure and skid plate: the wide links provide added strength and the skid plate helps protect the derailleurs’ internals if the bike is dropped.
Shadow ES technology: the lower-profile, wedge-shaped design increases ground clearance and frontal area. The derailleur also features a chain-stabilising clutch to reduce bounce and chain slap.
Protected battery housing: keeps the battery tucked away and out of harm, while providing easy access for charging.
The derailleur uses the same battery as GRX RX827, XTR M9250, Deore XT M8250 and Deore M6250, so spares shouldn’t be an issue to source, and you can, of course, share batteries between your gravel and mountain bikes.
The RX717 shares lots of tech with Shimano’s Deore Di2 mountain bike derailleur. Shimano
That means 13-speed and derailleur architecture only compatible with UDH frames.
For the derailleur, Shimano claims a weight of 494g, compared to SRAM’s 435g. Shimano’s derailleur is priced at £379.99, against SRAM’s £315.
Weight comparisons on the shifters are more difficult to make because Shimano hasn’t given weights for the complete assembly (levers, hoses and brake calipers), but it claims 212g for the right hand and 188g for the left lever only.
SRAM states 746g a pair for Rival shifter/brake assemblies, with some reports suggesting the levers themselves weigh in at around 244g each.
Shimano’s lever/brake assemblies are priced at £299.99 for the right-hand and £279.99 for the left. SRAM’s Rival duo is priced at £247.30 for the rear and £229.99 for the front.
So, much like Force and Rival AXS on the road, it looks as if SRAM maintains an aftermarket price advantage over Shimano when it comes to wireless gravel.
However, I’d expect complete bike prices to be much, much more competitive due to Shimano’s strength in the OEM (original equipment market).
There’s going to be a new space telescope in town: the Nancy Grace Roman (the famous NASA astronomer, not to be mistaken for the crime show host), which is slated to launch by May 2027. At least initially, its main mission will be to chart the nature of dark energy and the hidden structure of our own Milky Way galaxy.
Amazon is set to fire 370 people at its European headquarters in Luxembourg in the coming weeks, as Bloomberg reports. That accounts for about 8.5 percent of the workforce. Amazon initially planned to reduce its headcount there by 470, but under European Union law, companies have to negotiate layoffs with employee reps and, in some cases, governments.
Amazon reportedly told employees at the European HQ in a memo the layoffs are “adjustments that reflect business needs and local strategies.” The company claims to be going “well beyond industry benchmarks” in Luxembourg with regards to the severance packages it’s offering.
An Amazon employee said it would be difficult for hundreds of people who are all going into the job market at the same time to find employment elsewhere in the country. Affected employees who moved from other countries to work for Amazon will have to leave if they don’t land another job in Luxembourg within three months. After the layoffs, Amazon is still expected to be the fifth-largest employer in Luxembourg, which has a population of 680,000.
One employee told Bloomberg that the cuts would primarily affect software developers amid a push in the tech industry for AI to take on more coding tasks. Amazon said in October it would cut 14,000 jobs from its global workforce amid its deepening embrace of AI. It was reported that same month that the company’s plans to ramp up its robotics operations could put around half a million jobs in the US at risk.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-is-set-to-lay-off-370-workers-at-its-european-hq-154037845.html?src=rss
SAN FRANCISCO—Automakers are starting to follow somewhat familiar paths as they continue their journeys to electrification. Electric vehicles are, at first, strange new tech, and usually look like it. Mercedes-Benz’s EQS and EQE are good examples—with bodies that look like bars of soap worn down in the shower, they stood out. For early adopters and trailblazers that might be fine, but you need to sell cars to normal people if you want to survive, and that means making EVs more normal. Which is what Mercedes did with its newest one, the all-electric CLA.
The normal looks belie the amount of new technology that Mercedes has packed into the CLA, though. The car sticks to the four-door coupe look that the company pioneered a couple of decades ago, but there’s a thoroughly modern electric powertrain connected to the wheels, run by four powerful networked computers. And yes, there’s AI. (For the pedants, “coupe” means cut down, not two-door, so the name is accurate.)
The CLA is the first of a new series of Mercedes that will use the same modular architecture, and interestingly, it’s powertrain agnostic—a hybrid CLA is coming in time, too. But first the battery EV, which makes good use of some technology Mercedes developed for the EQXX concept car.
Sometimes we can all use a little reassurance that everything will be okay. If you’re PC enthusiast, now is definitely one of those times, as the booming AI market is gobbling up NAND flash memory chips and other hardware at a breakneck pace (and sending consumer brands packing for the data center hills). Well, enter Kioxia, which is rolling
The traditional signals that employers used to evaluate entry-level job candidates — college GPAs, cover letters, and interview performance — have lost much of their value as grade inflation and widespread AI use render these metrics nearly meaningless, writes The Atlantic.
The recent-graduate unemployment rate now sits slightly higher than the overall workforce’s, a reversal from historical norms where new college graduates were more likely to be employed than the average worker. Job postings on Handshake, a career-services platform for students and recent graduates, have fallen by more than 16 percent in the past year. At Harvard, 60% of undergraduate grades are now A’s, up from fewer than a quarter two decades ago. Seven years ago, 70% of new graduates’ resumes were screened by GPA; that figure has dropped to 40%.
Two working papers examining Freelancer.com found that cover-letter quality once strongly predicted who would get hired and how well they would perform — until ChatGPT became available. “We basically find the collapse of this entire signaling mechanism,” researcher Jesse Silbert said. The average number of applications per open job has increased by 26% in the past year. Students at UC Berkeley are now applying to 150 internships just to land one or two interviews.
The final part of the 2025 Maintainers Summit was devoted to the kernel’s
development process itself. There were two sessions, one on continuity and
succession planning, and the traditional discussion, led by Linus Torvalds,
on any pain points that the community is experiencing. There was not a lot
that developers were unhappy about, and there are now more explicit plans in
the works to provide a process should Torvalds abruptly become unable to
fill his role.
OnePlus has officially confirmed the launch of a brand-new Turbo smartphone series, marking the company’s official entry into the high-end mobile gaming market with a focus on performance and endurance, among others.
The existence of the new line dropped in a Weibo post by OnePlus China President Louis Li Jie, who said that the Turbo series
If you’re still debating what gifts to get the important people in your life, sales can be a good starting point. Take Apple’s 2024 Mac mini M4, which is down to $479, from $599. The 20 percent discount brings the device back down to its all-time low price seen over Black Friday.
Apple released the Mac mini M4 in late 2024 and we were impressed with how something so small could be so powerful. We gave it a 90 in our review, thanks to features like its speed and standard 16GB of RAM. The — currently — $479 base model also comes with 256GB of SSD. We were also happy to see it had front-facing USB-C and headphone ports.
If you really want to go all out for someone’s gift (or for yourself) then you can buy one of the Mac mini M4’s higher memory or storage options. You can pick up the Mac Mini M4 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD for $690, down from $799 — a 14 percent discount. Meanwhile, the 24GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD model is 11 percent off, dropping to $890 from $999.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-mac-mini-m4-is-back-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-150041509.html?src=rss
Season’s greetings and all that. In honor of this most special time of the year, I’m taking a look at commonly held Christmas myths and misconceptions. I busted a ton of Jesus myths a couple weeks ago, then got secular and finally revealed the truth about Santa Claus, so this week I’m doing a round-up of seasonal misinformation, both religious and secular.
Religious Christmas myths
Jesus was born in a stable
The Gospels aren’t specific about where where Jesus was born, other than “Bethlehem.” Here’s how Luke 2:4–7 is traditionally translated: “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” But that isn’t entirely accurate, because it turns out Greek word καταλυμα (kataluma) doesn’t mean “inn.” It means something closer to “spare room,” and since the holy family was in Bethlehem because it was where Joseph was from, it seems more likely that they were crashing at a friend or relative’s place, all the bedrooms upstairs were taken, so they were sleeping downstairs, where people kept the animals—hence, the manger. The stable idea likely stuck because it’s visually simple and works well for nativity scenes, and it’s in keeping with the point of the story: Jesus was born in humble circumstance.
Three wise men attended Jesus’ birth
The Gospel of Matthew says King Herod told an unspecified number of “wise men” (or Magi) to go to Bethlehem, because a star appeared heralding the birth of the Messiah. So they went off to find him to bring him gifts. We don’t know how many of said wise men went to Bethlehem or how long it took them to get there, but Matthew 2:11 says they visited a house. The Bible does say they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, so at least that part is right.
Calling it “Xmas” is attempting to cross the “Christ” out of “Christmas”
This is a weird one, but a lot of Christians think the use of “Xmas” is part of the ongoing secular War on Christmas, but it isn’t. In the Greek New Testament, the word for Christ is “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.” Using XP or X to indicate Christ dates back to early Christians writing in Greek, and it was used in English writing, too. Something like Xmas (Xp̄es mæsse) was written as early as 1100 a.d. to indicate “Christ’s Mass” or Christmas. That was centuries before secular Christmas even existed.
Secular Christmas myths
“Jingle Bells” is a Christmas song
“Jingle Bells” is not a Christmas song—technically. Even though it’s probably the song most widely associated with the holiday, there’s no mention of Christmas in the lyrics. It’s just a song about how much fun it is to go a’riding in a one-horse, open sleigh. (Another common misconception about “Jingle Bells” is that it was written for Thanksgiving. That’s not true either.)
Like a lot of history, “Jingle Bells” is more troubling than you might think. It was written by James Pierpont and first performed at a minstrel show in 1857. Sleigh riding is a great subject for songs, so there was a whole subgenre of minstrel songs about it, some more racist than others, and “Jingle Bells” is the one that survived.
Other Christmas songs that don’t mention the holiday include “Let It Snow,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Home for the Holidays,” and “Frosty the Snowman.” Technically, none of these are Christmas songs if you use the most strict definition of “Christmas song,” but on the other hand, they’re songs everyone sings around Christmas, and they’re generally about winter fun and holidays and whatnot, so there’s a strong argument that they actually are Christmas songs. It’s the kind of thing you can decide for yourself.
Boxing Day is for boxing up gifts you’re going to return
December 26 is called “Boxing Day,” and a lot of people think it got the name because that’s the day we box up presents we don’t want and return them to the store. But the holiday originated in England and it was a day that rich people would give their servants the day off and a box of presents, and/or just give some presents or donations to local unfortunates.
Mrs. Claus’ first name
We know Mr. Claus’ first name is “Santa,” but what about his wife? It turns out she doesn’t have a first name. Santa’s source material, St. Nicolas, was a Catholic bishop, so he didn’t have a wife. The collective unconscious filled in the details of Santa Claus as a mythical figure (The North Pole home, the worker elves, etc.) but no one ever gave Mrs. Claus a name that stuck.
Here are a few attempts, though: in 1985 film Santa Claus: The MovieMrs. Claus is named “Anya.” She’s called “Margaret” in the 2011 movie Arthur Christmas. She’s named “Carol” in the Santa Clause movies (but in that mythology, she will be replaced when she dies). These are all one-offs, but there’s one Mrs. Claus name that has a few data points backing it up: Jessica.
Reportedly, the creators of the 1970’s stop-motion film Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town called Mrs. Claus’ character “Jessica,” although she’s not referred to as that in the movie. Ryan Reynolds called Mrs. Claus “Jessica” on Instagram. Most importantly, this random little girl in 1974 said Mrs. Claus’ name is Jessica, so I’m going with that one.
It’s been a minute since Google last rolled out an update for its first-generation Pixel Buds Pro, which released back in 2022. Now more than three years after launch, Google is offering another firmware update (version 5.11) to its original Pixel Buds Pro, and it could very well be the last one. Before the 5.11 release, the last firmware
