Lego adds ‘Luigi’s Mansion’ sets to its Super Mario World collection
Now that Luigi is part of Lego Super Mario, the toymaker is ready to show the other heroic plumber a little more respect. Lego has introduced a trio of Luigi's Mansion expansion sets that give its namesake star more to do in a game designed with him in mind.
The $30 Lab and Poltergust set helps you get started with Luigi's ghost vacuum, while a $40 Entryway set introduces you to the mansion proper as well as Polterpup and the game series' Boo ghosts. Splurge on the $80 Haunt-and-Seek kit and you can create a full-fledged level, complete with hidden gems and rotating hallways. As you'd expect, you can combine the sets or mix them with other Lego Super Mario packs.
The timing is off. Lego may be announcing the Luigi's Mansion sets on Halloween, but they won't be available until January 1st, 2022. It's a missed opportunity, then, but you might not mind if you or or your kids enjoy the existing Super Mario collections and want more variety. If nothing else, this will provide fond memories for anyone who remembers collecting ghosts in Luigi's games.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/lego-luigis-mansion-set-110023202.html?src=rss
iRobot’s poop-detecting Roomba j7+ vacuum is cheaper than ever right now
iRobot's latest Roomba that can detect obstacles — including pet poop — along its cleaning journey is cheaper than ever right now. Both Amazon and Wellbots have the Roomba j7 and j7+ for $150 less, so you can grab them for $499 and $699, respectively. Both robots are the same, but you'll get the clean base with the j7+ model, allowing you to set and forget the robot and only empty the clean base about once every 60 days.
Buy Roomba j7 at Amazon - $499
Buy Roomba j7+ at Amazon - $699
Buy Roomba j7 at Wellbots - $499
Buy Roomba j7+ at Wellbots - $699
The j7 series builds upon the Roomba i7 robots with more powerful cameras, better sensors and more power. The AI-driven computer vision technology allows the device to detect obstacles and move around them as it cleans, and you can label those obstacles as permanent (in the case of a chair or another piece of furniture) or temporary. Not only does this mean the j7 robots should better navigate around things like piles of clothes and charging cords, but they can also detect a robot vacuum's arch nemesis: pet poop. iRobot even has a Pet Owner Official Promise (yes, P.O.O.P.) which states that you'll get a new robot vacuum if your j7+ runs into poop in the first year of you owning it.
Aside from that, the j7 series takes advantage of iRobot's improved mobile app, which lets you schedule cleanings and set routine triggers. You can also label rooms in your home after the robot has created a map, so you can better direct it to a specific room when you only need a quick clean.
While the clean base included in the j7+ package isn't necessary, it takes the convenience level up a notch. Instead of emptying your robot's bin after every job, the j7+ will automatically empty its contents into the clean base when it's done. You then only have to worry about emptying the base once every two months.
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Article source: https://www.engadget.com/irobots-poop-detecting-roomba-j7-plus-vacuum-is-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-123037360.html?src=rss
Amazon offers steep discounts on recent Echo devices
This may be one of your best chances of scoring a smart speaker or e-reader before the holiday rush. Amazon is selling multiple recent Echo devices (plus a Kindle reader) at very low prices. To start, the fourth-generation Echo speaker is on sale for just $60 (usually $100), or the same as its Prime Day pricing. You can also buy the new Echo Show 5 for an all-time low of $55 (normally $85), while its larger Echo Show 8 counterpart has dropped to $100 (typically $130).
Buy Echo (4th-Gen) on Amazon - $60
Buy Echo Show 5 on Amazon - $55
Buy Echo Show 8 on Amazon - $100
You might also appreciate the Kindle deal if you're a book lover. Amazon is selling the standard Kindle (with ads) for just $50 — that's $40 below its official sticker, and even better than the Prime Day price. You'll get a similar discount on the ad-free version, which sells for $70. Either price drop makes the Kindle an easy choice if you prefer to wind down with a digital book at the end of the day.
The Echo devices are safe choices. The fourth-gen Echo sounds great for the money and boasts a memorable design along with Alexa's healthy ecosystems for smart home devices and skills. The newer Echo Show 5 and 8, meanwhile, build on that Alexa know-how with visuals. The Show 5 fits best as a bedside clock, while the 8 works well for video calls or as a family hub in the kitchen or living room. The main hiccups are simply the interface and streaming app selections — Google has a slight edge in both departments, but that might not matter much if you're mainly using voice commands or checking the news and weather.
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Article source: https://www.engadget.com/amazon-echo-show-5-8-kindle-sale-142212659.html?src=rss
Apple’s mixed reality headset might play ‘high-quality’ VR games
Apple's rumored mixed reality headset may be a boon for VR gaming. In his most recent newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed Apple is aiming for a headset that can handle "high-quality" VR games with both fast chips and high-res displays. While it's not certain just what chips would be involved, a previous leak mentioned a possible 8K resolution per eye — Apple might not expect games to run at that resolution, but it would hint at serious processing power.
The headset is still poised to arrive "as early as" 2022, Gurman said. He also suggested Apple would eventually follow up the mixed headset with an augmented-reality-only model, but that was "years down the road."
However accurate the claim might be, it's doubtful the mixed reality headset would be meant primarily for gaming The price (rumored to be as high as $3,000) might relegate it to developers and other pros. It wouldn't be a rival to the $299 Quest 2, then. Instead, the report suggests Apple might use this initial headset to pave the way for more affordable wearables where gaming is more realistic.
It's safe to presume Apple is committed to a headset, no matter the end result. Apple has acquired companies and reportedly shuffled executives with mixed reality in mind. This wouldn't just be a side project for the company, even if the mixed reality tech could take years to reach the mainstream. Gaming might play a pivotal role if Apple intends to reach a wider audience.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/apple-mixed-reality-headset-vr-games-160752822.html?src=rss
G20 deal raises the minimum tax rate for big tech companies
Large tech companies may soon have to pay significant taxes no matter what tax loopholes they had before. BBC News reports G20 leaders have reached an agreement that would set a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent for large companies. The long-in-the-making deal should be official as of today (October 31st) and would be enforced starting in 2023.
The US originally pitched the concept to prevent companies from using creative accounting (such as the "Double Irish arrangement") to avoid paying most of their taxes in the country. Other countries embraced the idea, though, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) told CBC News the move could rake in about $150 billion from corporations around the world.
The deal could discourage tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Netflix from relying on loopholes to maximize their profits. If the deal collects the promised money, governments could better fund public services and help tackle problems like climate change.
There are numerous criticisms, however, and not just from those who generally oppose higher taxes. Oxfam, for instance, blasted "generous carve outs" that protected sone income and take 10 years to phase out. The pro-equality group also claimed the deal was "extremely limited" and would affect fewer than 100 companies while generating little money for poorer countries. The arrangement might beat the status quo for G20 nations, but it won't necessarily address some outstanding concerns.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/g20-global-minimum-tax-rate-180620093.html?src=rss
Apple quietly discontinues the 21.5-inch iMac
You'll have to go large if you want an Intel-powered Mac desktop. 9to5Mac reports Apple has quietly discontinued the 21.5-inch iMac about half a year after introducing the M1 model. The company had been selling a lone dual-core model for $1,099 through a relatively hard-to-find page, but YouTube Tech God noticed that it disappeared sometime on October 29th.
We've asked Apple for comment on the move. The company has a long history of keeping legacy Macs around for a while before silently dropping them, but it seldom elaborates on those decisions. A notable exception came in March this year, when Apple confirmed it was winding down iMac Pro sales.
This won't thrill educational customers that may still want the 21.5-inch iMac for its relatively low price, small size and legacy ports. You'll have to buy at least a 27-inch iMac or a $1,099 legacy Mac mini if you're not ready to leap to Apple Silicon. This does signal Apple's confidence in its processors, though — it clearly believes its mainstream desktop customers are ready to make the switch.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/apple-discontinues-21-5-inch-imac-195036632.html?src=rss
Juno probe provides the first 3D view of Jupiter’s atmosphere
NASA's Juno probe has provided a better, deeper look at Jupiter's atmosphere. Researchers have produced the first 3D view of Jupiter's atmospheric layers, illustrating how its turbulent clouds and storms work in greater detail than before. Most notably, it's clearer how cyclones and anticyclones behave. They're much taller than expected, with the Great Red Spot (an anticyclone) running 200 miles deep. They're either warmer or colder at the top depending on their spin, too.
Juno helped fill out the data using a microwave radiometer that offered a peek below the clouds' surfaces. For the Great Red Spot, the team complemented the radiometer data with the gravity signatures from two close passes. The radiometer info also showed Earth-like circulation cells in northern and souther hemispheres, not to mention ocean-like changes in microwave light.
There are still mysteries left, such as the atmospheric mass of the Great Red Spot. With that said, the 3D imagery is already producing a more cohesive picture of how jovian planets like Jupiter behave. It might not take much more effort to solve more of Jupiter's mysteries.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/jupiter-atmosphere-3d-view-juno-probe-210638035.html?src=rss
Facebook expands fight against COVID-19 vaccine misinformation to include kids
Vaccine misinformation has been pervasive issue on Facebook for years, and it wasn't until earlier this year that the website finally introduced policies that would address the problem. Now, the social network has expanded those policies and its COVID-19 vaccination efforts to include kids shortly after the FDA authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages five to eleven.
In the coming weeks, it will send in-feed English and Spanish reminders to users in the US that the COVID-19 vaccine is now available for kids. Those reminders will also include a link that'll help users find the nearest vaccination site. Perhaps, more importantly, it will expand its anti-vaccine misinformation policies to remove claims that COVID-19 vaccines for kids do not exist and that the vaccine for children is untested. It will also remove any claim that COVID-19 vaccines can kill or seriously harm kids, that they're not effective for children at all and that anything other than a COVID-19 vaccine can inoculate children against the virus.
Facebook says its fight against vaccine misinformation is part of an ongoing effort in partnership with the CDC, WHO and other health authorities. It promises to keep on updating its policies and ban any new claim about the COVID-19 vaccine for children that will emerge in the future. The website, which now operates under its parent company Meta, says it has removed more than 20 million pieces of content from Facebook and Instagram since the beginning of the pandemic. As of August 2021, it has also banned 3,000 accounts, groups and pages for repeatedly breaking its health misinformation policies.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/facebook-covid-19-vaccine-misinformation-kids-074628334.html?src=rss
Meta is acquiring the maker of VR workout app ‘Supernatural’
Facebook made it pretty clear that it's focusing on the metaverse when it rebranded itself as Meta, and its latest acquisition is part of that effort. Jason Rubin, the company's VP of Metaverse Content has revealed that Meta is acquiring Within, the creator of immersive virtual reality workout app Supernatural for Oculus Quest headsets. A rep for Within previously described Supernatural to Engadget as "part Beat Saber, part Dance Dance Revolution, part Guitar Hero with your whole body.
In a separate announcement (via TechCrunch), Within CEO Chris Milk and Head of fitness Leanne Pedante said that its coaches, choreographers and managers will continue being part of the team. They'll work on VR fitness experiences for Supernatural independently under Meta's Reality Labs. While Within will have to answer to its new parent company going forward, Milk's and Pedante's statement says the the acquisition will give them access to more resources, including more music, more features and more social experiences.
In Supernatural, you'll have to hit colored orbs flying at you from its various VR environments using your controllers. The balls will shatter if you hit them with enough force, but they'll only float away if you don't — you'll get scored at the end based on how you do. Supernatural has a 30-day free trial period, after which it'll cost you $19 a month for continued access.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/meta-acquiring-within-supernatural-123904948.html?src=rss
Apple’s worst shipping delay is for a $19 polishing cloth
You'd think global supply shortages would hit Apple's tech products the hardest, but that's apparently not the case. As The New York Times reports, Apple's most backordered new release is its $19 Polishing Cloth. Order the microfiber cloth from the company store as of this writing and you'll wait 10 to 12 weeks — in other words, you won't get your Apple-branded polishing experience until January 2022 at the earliest. You could buy a new MacBook Pro and wait another two months to (officially) wipe smudges off the screen.
It's not clear what prompted the backlog, but it might be sheer popularity. An anonymous Apple official talking to The Times said the company wasn't surprised by high demand, and that the cloth was both specially designed (it was originally meant for the nano-texture glass on the Pro Display XDR) and particularly effective.
It's no secret that you can find far, far less expensive alternatives if you're cleaning a regular screen. Amazon is selling a six-pack of MagicFiber cloths for $9, and even the pricer options tend to offer better value. However, the shortfall illustrates both the cachet of the official product and the sheer range of supply constraints affecting tech, sometimes in unexpected ways. If you can't even count on getting a polishing cloth in a timely fashion, you know the industry is struggling with broad supply issues.
Article source: https://www.engadget.com/apple-polishing-cloth-backorder-141011995.html?src=rss