Technology

vendredi 14 avril 2023

Kia EV6 GT review: the attainable, guilt-free supercar

Kia’s quick, fun flavor of the EV6 is a huge upgrade at a reasonable premium. But there’s a catch.

We’ve long passed the point of asking how much horsepower is too much horsepower. It used to be a question of engine capability. When turbochargers went mainstream, it became a question of drivability; then, once the industry figured those out, it became a question of grip. As tires started to catch up, it became a question of responsibility and, then, sheer decency. Now, the only question is this: how much do you want?

The car you see pictured here is a compact Kia SUV with 576 horsepower — 576. Nissan’s all-conquering R35 GT-R? That makes 565 horsepower and comes complete with a price tag of well over $100,000.

And yet, you’re looking at a practical, comfortable, and, at just a tick over $60,000, relatively affordable car that not only looks phenomenal but also runs completely on batteries. Yes, all of this is possible thanks to the beauty of electrification and the genius engineers at Kia, who have bestowed upon us the EV6 GT. It’s a wonderful car, but there’s a catch: this thing is so effortlessly quick that it almost takes the fun out of it.

Making power

This GT flavor of Kia’s double-take machine, the EV6, has seen some considerable upgrades over the $48,700 base rear-wheel drive model. Where that car makes do with a (still strong) 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, this GT model makes 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque. That comes from two motors — one in the front and one at the back — putting power down to all four wheels.

The front motor generates 160 kilowatts, and the rear does 270. To ensure that power gets to the ground, an electronically actuated limited slip differential splits power between the rear wheels, each wearing a generous 21-inch Goodyear Eagle F1 tire. (Usually, anyway. Mine came on snow tires. More on that in a moment.)

While power is up in a big, big way, the battery pack size has not grown to match. And that’s the first rub of the GT: range. While the base rear-wheel drive EV6 can do up to 310 miles on a charge, according to the EPA’s range test, the GT’s range aspirations are a bit more modest: just 206 miles, per the EPA.

*Kia forgot to pump up the battery pack.*

*The EV6 GT averaged 2.5 miles per kWh during testing.*

*An adequate amount of trunk space, but you’re not buying this thing for its cargo capacity.*

*The GT model makes 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque.*

In my testing, I averaged 2.5 miles per kWh, which works out, theoretically, to a maximum range of 193.5 miles from the 77.4kWh battery — just short of the EPA’s estimates. But I need to state a few very important caveats. First, there are the aforementioned Pirelli Scorpion snow tires. Even modern EV-optimized snows will carry a measurable range penalty, so keep that in mind.

Second, I did my testing in the middle of January, with temperatures hovering at or just above freezing on most days. The EV6 GT does have a heat pump to maximize efficiency in chilly conditions like these, but low temps are never an EV’s friend.

The third caveat is the most significant: I drove the hell out of this thing. Other than some time spent droning on the highway, I spent much of my time in GT mode with maximum power and responsiveness, demanding every bit of power I could get out of those two motors.

GT mode is accessed by a little green button to the lower right of the wheel. The color makes the button hard to miss, but you’ll know when you’ve touched it because the car immediately lurches forward.

This could be seen as playful, but it could also be seen as a failure of the car to temper the changing of the throttle map. A throttle map is literally how much power the car delivers for a given amount of pedal application. An aggressive throttle map, like on GT mode, means quick acceleration with just a light brush of the gas pedal. A relaxed throttle map, like on Eco, requires a bigger movement.

Most cars ease the transition when changing from one mode to the next, but not the EV6 GT. If you’re tooling around in Eco mode and pop into GT, the car immediately snaps to this next twitchier mapping, also snapping the heads of your passengers back into their headrests. If you’re not careful, it’ll send your car flying into the bumper of the car ahead, too. In time, you’ll learn to lift off the gas before hitting that GT button, but you really shouldn’t have to.

This twitch does at least give everyone in the car fair warning of the violence that is to come. Put simply, the EV6 GT does not pull any punches. It is relentlessly rapid around town. See that gap in traffic? You’re there. Light about to turn red? Hit the accelerator, and you’ll shift its spectrum entirely.

The accelerative brutality only eases when you get up to highway speeds. Here, the torque of the Kia’s electric motors tapers, and that’s for the best. You don’t really want a car that jumpy at that speed. It’s better to toggle down to a more sedate drive mode, save a few watts, and soften the adaptive suspension while you’re at it.

The EV6 is still firm on rough roads even in comfort mode, jostling a bit over separation joints and the like, but most of the time, it’s a fine cruiser that’s comfortable and quiet. In fact, I’d say the EV6 GT does a better job at cruising than corner attacking. Even in GT mode, with the suspension on its most firm, the handling is sedate. I think this mostly comes down to steering that feels sluggish off the center thanks to the variable ratio and, problematically, never offers much in the way of feel. While the throttle pedal loves to shout, the steering wheel is always muted.

*The EV6 GT does a better job at cruising than corner attacking.*

Weird and wonderful

Any EV6 is worth a second look back in the parking lot — and the GT even more so. Though Kia’s chosen color palette leaves a bit to be desired (red, blue, white, black, or silver), the GT looks fresh and clean in red, despite the clashing chartreuse calipers. The EV6 looks like nothing else on the road. Its styling is wild and weird and wonderful, a medley of organic forms bisected by creases and LED lighting to form what looks like a cyberpunk canvas.

The inside is a lot less radical but no less appealing. Funky patterns etched across the soft-touch dashboard and matched elsewhere on the interior pair nicely with the faux brushed steel ahead of the rotary shifter and the overall mishmash of shapes and planes. Plastics and materials are generally good, from the suede door card inserts to the leather on the bespoke GT seats. Only an expanse of glossy, fingerprinty piano black lets the overall effect down.

Black is very much the theme here. Chartreuse stitching and piping on the front seats help a bit, and RGB customizable accent lighting zhuzh things up at night, but much of the details inside this car just sort of fade into a monotone background.

*The UX is similar to other infotainment screens found across Hyundai and Kia’s lineup.*

*You’ll need those brake calipers with this one.*

Regardless, the interior is eminently practical, with comfortable seating for five grown adults, plenty of headroom front or rear, and acres of legroom on the flat floor for rear passengers. Those seats, of course, fold down, giving room for 50.2 cubic feet of stuff, but don’t go looking for extra storage up front. Yes, there is a little cargo cubby up under the hood, but it’s barely big enough to store a charging cable and maybe a personal pie — but only if you prefer thin crust.

Kia’s UVO infotainment experience runs across two 12.3-inch displays joined at the hip, with a generous bezel between them. This system is so ubiquitous now, found in some flavor across basically every modern Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis, that it’s hard to get excited about finding it here. It feeds your media through a powerful, if a bit boomy, Meridian sound system. Though basic, UVO is snappy and responsive with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, though sadly, not wirelessly.

Also sad? UVO has not seen any real customization for the EV6 GT. Proper performance editions from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and others come replete with fancy lap timers and integrated G meters, dials and knobs for fiddling with differential settings, and all sorts of goodies that make those performance cars feel special enough to earn their exorbitant premiums.

There’s nothing of the sort here, not even in the cool augmented reality heads-up display, which will project an arrow over your next turn on the road — if you don’t mind using the mediocre built-in navigation experience. Kia didn’t even add any new Dynamic Sound modes. These fake engine noises are occasionally fun, especially Dynamic, which does an almost compelling job of aping a combustion engine with a little digital flare. It even has a somewhat lumpy idle that does help to get your juices flowing a bit, but it probably won’t be long before you disable it again.

Weirdly, the pitch of these sounds seems tied not to the power output of the motors but, instead, to how far you’re pushing down the accelerator, which means that, for a given speed, the EV6 GT is actually louder in Eco mode than in GT. That ain’t right.

The gauge cluster dynamically reconfigures itself to match the drive mode. Push the GT button on the wheel, and the gauge cluster pops into a sportier, cleaner mode of swooping gradients. It wouldn’t look out of place in Tron, if Tron had more fluorescent greens and fewer cool blues.

*The EV6 GT lacks pizzazz but is still fun to drive.*

A somewhat sedate rocket ship

It really is a shame that the EV6 GT doesn’t have a little more pizzazz and a lot more feel to match its wild performance. It is an absolute rocket ship, a car where speed is provided at an almost 1-to-1 ratio with the angle of your right foot. That ease of acceleration is thrilling, but the lack of engagement from the steering and the somewhat relaxed handling just make the whole thing feel a little less special than I wanted.

But special or not, the EV6 GT is a phenomenal car and a proper achievement. Remember, this is Kia’s first performance-oriented EV ever — and for less than a $13,000 premium over a base EV6. If you don’t mind losing the range, then this is one splurge that’s hard to resist. After all, it’s not every day you can have all the horsepower you could ever want and never have to feel the least bit guilty about it.

Photography by Tim Stevens for The Verge

Leverage the Power of Data To Monitor Home Energy Efficiency

You need information to make intelligent choices about how to save energy in your home. Data is power. Here's how to get started. The post Leverage the Power of Data To Monitor Home Energy Efficiency appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Hackers reportedly holding Western Digital data hostage

Flash Memory Companies Photo Illustrations — Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Hackers who claim to have breached Western Digital have reportedly stolen around 10 terabytes of data from the company and are holding it hostage. TechCrunch spoke to the hackers who appear to have control over Western Digital’s code-signing certificate, private phone numbers belonging to company executives, stolen SAP Backoffice data, and even managed to gain administrator access to Western Digital’s Microsoft Azure instance.

Western Digital reported a “network security incident” earlier this month that allowed an “unauthorized third party” to access data from the company’s systems. The incident put Western Digital’s cloud network out of action for 10 days, and the company only just managed to bring its My Cloud service back online earlier this week.

TechCrunch reports that the hackers are trying to negotiate a ransom payment of a “minimum 8 figures” to not publish the stolen data. Western Digital declined to comment on the situation, and the company is currently coordinating with law enforcement authorities and working with outside security and forensic experts.

Western Digital has admitted that hackers “gained access to a number of the company’s systems,” and that the network security incident was first discovered on March 26th and disclosed a week later. While TechCrunch claims “reams” of customer data has been stolen, the report doesn’t detail exactly what.

Either way, Western Digital’s lack of transparency here isn’t exactly reassuring for customers. The company described its My Cloud issues as merely a “service interruption” or “outage,” in support notes published on Twitter. It’s clearly a little more than your average service outage.

This isn’t the first time Western Digital has been hit by security issues. Hackers were able to mass-wipe lots of My Book Live cloud storage products in 2021 due to a 0-day exploit. Petabytes of data was estimated to be affected, and Western Digital was forced to provide free data recovery services and a trade-in program for My Book Live owners.

As a presenter I can tell you, TV news needs a human touch. This AI newsreader won’t give you that | Simon McCoy

They may be cheaper and less trouble, but they’ll never have the gravitas, the engagement or the raised eyebrow of reporters like me

“The news is … there is no news.” With those words, outside St Mary’s Hospital in London awaiting the birth of Prince George in July 2013, my reporting for the BBC went viral on the internet. My somewhat testy response to standing in the street with nothing to say had struck a chord with many. Not for what I was saying but the way I was saying it. The resigned look. The world-weary tone. The slight annoyance that four decades of reporting from around the globe had led to this moment. I couldn’t hide it. Viewers knew what I was thinking and feeling. Some were annoyed by it. Quite a few people appreciated it – because they could relate to it. Because they are human. And so am I.

“Fedha” is not human. Yes, the blond woman with light-coloured eyes, wearing a black jacket and a white T-shirt, looks human. She even sounds human. But this week she was introduced as the first presenter in Kuwait who works by artificial intelligence. “What kind of news do you prefer? Let’s hear your opinions,” she says in Arabic.

Inside the Hunt for the Discord Leaker, and Twitter Chaos Updates

Inside the Hunt for the Discord Leaker, and Twitter Chaos Updates How Times journalists tracked down the alleged leaker of top secret military intelligence.

jeudi 13 avril 2023

Pushing Buttons: The Super Mario Bros Movie is just fine – but what else did you expect?

In this week’s newsletter: After decades of offensively terrible video game adaptations, I’m more than happy to settle for one that is simply OK

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I don’t think I’ve ever been to see a film on its opening day – but I made the effort for the Super Mario Bros Movie last week. Using my six-year-old as a convenient excuse to see a children’s movie in the middle of the day, I sat in a suspiciously quiet cinema and tried to keep a handle on my trepidation. The reviews had come out the day before, and they weren’t good. I anticipated spending the next 90 minutes feeling bitterly disappointed that, yet again, Hollywood had screwed up a golden opportunity to bring a beloved game to the big screen.

Perhaps my expectations were just exceedingly low – I have, after all, suffered through 30 years of offensively terrible movie adaptations of video games, with only the occasional reprieve – but I thought it was fine. It’s not as surreal and funny as Detective Pikachu, nor as creative as the video-game-inspired Wreck-it Ralph or Free Guy, but it looked right, sounded right, and didn’t labour the nostalgia too much. Plenty of critics have characterised the film as a lazy and meaningless sequence of empty references – and, yes, it suffers from a distinct absence of plot – but how much narrative justification do we actually need for a trip down Rainbow Road in go-karts? (Side note: a Mad Max/Mario Kart mashup road battle was not something I was expecting from this film.)

A Videocassette of ‘Rocky’ Just Sold for $27,500, Because Why Not

A Videocassette of ‘Rocky’ Just Sold for $27,500, Because Why Not Collectors are finding that their childhood has a price — and it’s going up. When the future is frightening, it’s boom times at the nostalgia factory.

The AI Revolution Is at a Tipping Point

We spoke with Rootstrap co-founder and machine learning expert Anthony Figueroa about the issues surrounding the need for developer controls of machine learning and the potential need for government regulation of artificial intelligence. The post The AI Revolution Is at a Tipping Point appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

PBS also stops tweeting after being hit with ‘Government-funded Media’ label

In this photo illustration, the Public Broadcasting Service... — Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has stopped tweeting from its primary Twitter account after it was given a “Government-funded Media” label. As of this writing the @PBS account hasn’t tweeted since April 8th, and the organization has since confirmed that it currently has “no plans” to resume posting to Twitter.

“PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” PBS spokesman Jason Phelps tells Bloomberg. “We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely.” While PBS isn’t tweeting from its main account, it’s continued to put out content on affiliated accounts like @NewsHour, which have not had the “Government-funded” label applied.

The decision by the public broadcaster follows a similar move made by National Public Radio (NPR), which officially announced it would be leaving Twitter after being labeled as government-funded. Twitter initially labeled NPR as “US state-affiliated media,” using terminology usually reserved for state-backed outlets that aren’t editorially independent like Russia Today or China Xinhua News. It later changed the label to “Government-funded Media.”

“We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence,” NPR CEO John Lansing said in a memo to staff.

Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, who has long had an antagonistic relationship with the media, has doubled down on the decision to apply the labels to US public broadcasters. In a series of tweets, Musk called for NPR to be defunded, and said that the organization was hypocritical for calling its federal funding essential while also promoting its own editorial independence.

Best podcasts of the week: Jon Ronson and the ex-debutante who turned neo-Nazi – and then informant

In this week’s newsletter: The master storyteller investigates Carol Howe’s extraordinary life in The Debutante. Plus: five of the best real-life mystery podcasts

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The Debutante
Audible, all episodes out now
Jon Ronson hosts another addictive series, this time investigating Carol Howe – the glamorous former debutante who joined the neo-Nazi movement responsible for the Oklahoma bombings and became a government informant. A fascinated Ronson speaks to those whose lives collided with Howe’s, and asks: “Is it really the case that, had she been listened to, the bombing might never have happened?” Hollie Richardson

When Your Boss Is an App

When Your Boss Is an App Gig work has been silently taking over new industries, but not in the way many expected.

mercredi 12 avril 2023

iPhone 15 Pro could end up having physical rather than solid-state buttons after all

Side of iPhone 14 Pro showing volume buttons and alert switch. — *The iPhone 14 Pro’s physical buttons, which could re-appear on this year’s followup.* | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

After months of leaks saying Apple will ditch the physical volume and power buttons on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro in favor of fancy solid-state replacements, one of the original sources of the rumor now says it’s not happening.

“My latest survey indicates that due to unresolved technical issues before mass production, both high-end iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro & Pro Max) will abandon the closely-watched solid-state button design and revert to the traditional physical button design,” reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Medium post. 9to5Mac reports that another analyst, Haitong Tech’s Jeff Pu, also thinks Apple will stick with traditional mechanical buttons for iPhone 15 Pro models.

Two iPhone 15 Pro models’ removal of solid-state button design negatively affects Cirrus Logic and AAC / 兩款iPhone 15 Pro取消固態按鍵設計不利Cirrus Logic與瑞聲科技https://t.co/Ot81sCQzgk
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 12, 2023

Rumors that Apple would switch to solid-state buttons for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max emerged around October last year. At the time, Kuo predicted that Apple would switch to a solid-state solution similar to what it used for the home button on the iPhone 8 for the upcoming phones’ volume and power buttons (though there was no mention of the change coming to the non-Pro iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus). Instead of mechanical buttons, a pair of Taptic Engines would generate haptic feedback on a button press. Subsequently leaked phone renders appeared to confirm this design change.

In today’s note, Kuo doesn’t offer many details on the “unresolved technical issues” that prompted Apple to remove the feature, but says that switching to simpler physical buttons at this stage shouldn’t result in any delays on the phones’ production schedules. Kuo notes that it’s not great news for the suppliers of the solid-state button hardware, however. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t still happen in future years, but not for 2023.

While today’s news seems to eliminate one of the major changes coming to this year’s iPhone lineup, there are other rumored upgrades on the way including using a USB-C charging port rather than Lightning, and adding Dynamic Islands to this year’s non-Pro models.

Elon Musk says Twitter at ‘roughly break-even’ after ‘quite painful’ ownership – business live

Twitter owner says ‘constant criticism and attack’ has been ‘rough’, but that company is trending towards being cashflow positive very soon

Elon Musk says BBC’s Twitter tag will be changed from ‘government-funded media’

Demand for cinema trips picked up last year as pandemic restrictions were lifted, boutique operator Everyman Media Group reports this morning

Everyman, which runs 38 venues across the UK, told shareholders today that its revenues swelled to £78.8m in 2022, up from £49m in 2021, with admissions rising to 3.4m from 2m.

Supported by an increasingly strong pipeline of new releases, commitment to the theatrical window from studios and new investment from streamers in films for theatrical release, we view our prospects with increasing confidence.

Moving through 2023 and beyond, the Everyman proposition feels as relevant as ever.”

Several shareholders in the group, which has been listed in London since it demerged from pubs business Mitchells & Butlers two decades ago, asked at an investor roadshow last month whether it had any plans to switch its primary listing to the US, IHG chief executive Keith Barr told the Financial Times.

The group has a secondary listing in New York. “When we listed, there was probably no reason to even think about listing in the US for our primary listing because the FTSE was the FTSE and it was incredibly liquid . . . but things have changed,” said Barr.

It’s been 84 years, but Strava finally has a Spotify integration

Phone showing Strava/Spotify integration with plants in the background — *You don’t need a Spotify or Strava subscription to use the new in-app widget.* | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Strava has been around since 2009, but today, the popular fitness app is finally, finally adding an in-app Spotify integration. Instead of having to switch between apps, you can now access your Spotify favorites from the workout record screen. And, perhaps the best part is you don’t need a Spotify or Strava subscription to use it.

“It’s just one of those things we know people have been asking for a long time, and finally, the stars aligned,” says Mateo Ortega, Strava’s vice president of connected partnerships. When asked about the possibility of adding other platforms, Ortega didn’t rule out the possibility but noted that Spotify was a clear first step.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why Strava and Spotify partnering matters. Spotify is the most popular audio streaming service. Strava is one of the most popular fitness apps. Millions of people rely on music, podcasts, and audiobooks to distract from the physical agony of a grueling workout (or, you know, keep them motivated during the tough parts). But aside from the obvious reasons, an in-app Spotify widget eliminates the need to toggle between apps any time you want to switch up your tunes. Less time fumbling on your phone means you’re more likely to stay in the zone.

Screenshot of Spotify and Strava integration in the app — *You’ll see this once you tap the music icon in the Record screen.*

Screenshot of the Spotify widget in the Strava app — *The Spotify integration appears as an in-app widget.*

On the other hand, the integration seems like a long overdue addition — one that’s perhaps too late now that smartwatches and fitness trackers can also stream music. For example, I personally found this to be a bigger problem when I relied on my phone to track workouts circa 2013. Plus, several other fitness apps have added Spotify or Apple Music integrations over the years.

That said, when I tried the integration for myself, I could see the appeal. All you have to do is tap the record button and then select the music icon in the right-hand corner. From there, you’re prompted to connect your Spotify account. Once that’s done, you can browse through your top mixes in a little widget within the Spotify app. This is a bit different from some other music integrations that I’ve tried. In the Runkeeper app, for example, enabling Spotify just redirects me to the app’s running playlist page. It doesn’t actually bring me to the playlists that I’ve painstakingly curated. Likewise, the Apple Music integration auto-plays a single playlist and displays only the current track at the top of the screen.

It’s a small difference, but I was pleasantly surprised by Strava’s in-app widget approach. Not only can you swipe up to see what’s in the queue, but you can browse through various mixes — ones that you’ve curated yourself, as well as frequently listened to Spotify-made playlists.

“If people forget that they used to have to open Spotify, come back to Strava and hit record, and to change a song, switch back to Spotify — if it changes their behavior and keeps them in the moment? That is how this is going to be a good integration for us,” says Ortega.

The only quirk I noticed is that if you pause for a long-ish period, you’ll be asked whether you want to continue listening. You’ll have to reauthorize Spotify, though that part happens automatically once you hit play again.

This integration ultimately works best for users who use the Strava app to record workouts, as opposed to those who import them from other services or trackers. Even so, the move bolsters Strava’s status as a de facto fitness hub.

Right now, the digital fitness and wellness space is made of a bunch of little fiefdoms; there are a ton of apps for tracking runs, rides, nutrition, and route planning but only a handful of ways to view all of your data in one place. But while you can consolidate your data within Apple and Google’s health APIs, it leaves a gaping hole in terms of community. As Fitbit recently proved, making social features dependent on hardware has its downsides when social features are shut down or friends opt for a different platform.

“Our strategy has always been to be the Switzerland of fitness devices. We want everything to work with Strava,” Ortega says.

And by everything, Ortega isn’t really exaggerating. The Lululemon Mirror, Peloton bikes and other equipment, Garmins, Apple Watches, Komoot, Zwift, and MyFitnessPal — these are just a handful of the platforms that work with Strava. This is what makes Strava’s aggressive integration strategy savvy. It doesn’t really matter what fitness tracker or app you use — you can still connect with friends regardless of the platform. So it’s no surprise that Strava has emerged as a popular place to share your fitness exploits and keep your data in one place. Adding Spotify to the mix just gives Strava users more reasons to stick around.

Elizabeth Holmes to begin 11-year prison sentence at end of month

Federal judge denies Theranos founder’s request to remain free while she appeals her conviction of fraud and conspiracy

Elizabeth Holmes must begin her more than 11-year prison sentence on 27 April after a federal judge denied the disgraced Theranos founder’s request to remain free while she appeals her conviction.

Holmes, who was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the failed blood-testing startup in January 2022, is “not likely to flee or pose a danger” to the public, US district court judge Edward Davila wrote in his ruling. However, the San Jose-based judge found that her appeal was unlikely to result in a reversal of the verdict or a new trial – a requirement for a defendant to remain free post-conviction.

mardi 11 avril 2023

Is artificial intelligence getting out of control? – podcast

Hundreds of tech industry leaders have signed a letter proposing a six-month pause on the development of systems more powerful than OpenAI’s GPT-4. Alex Hern reports

Over the last few decades, we’ve seen how the internet and the smartphone rapidly transformed our lives. Artificial intelligence is now poised to do the same, but some experts are worried that the current pace of its development will cause harm.

An open letter signed by hundreds of leaders in the tech world, including Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple, and Elon Musk, has proposed pausing the development of any AI past the capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Mini’s cars are getting an ‘intelligent personal assistant’ named Spike

*Spike on the Mini Concept Aceman’s central OLED display.* | Image: BMW / Mini

Mini, the British car brand owned by German automaker BMW, has announced a new “intelligent personal assistant” called Spike, based on the English Bulldog that’s appeared in some past Mini ads. Spike will make his first major appearance at the Shanghai auto show later this month where he’ll be integrated into the cockpit of the Mini Concept Aceman. We can’t help but agree with Jalopnik, which points out that the whole announcement has very “Microsoft Clippy” vibes, or maybe LG’s Bean Bird?

The plan is to eventually have Spike appear in future production cars. Carscoops reports that these future models will include the 2023 Mini Countryman, the 2024 Mini Cooper, and the Aceman Crossover SUV in 2025. It’s less clear exactly what Spike will be able to do in these vehicles, but in Shanghai the character will apparently provide “various forms of support” to attendees from the Aceman’s central circular OLED display and dashboard. Expect more concrete details to be released over the course of this year.

Spike shown on the car’s circular OLED. — *Ruh-roh.*

Spike appears on car dashboard display. — *Spike leaving the circular OLED to explore the rest of the dashboard.*

“We are now taking Spike into the future as a digital character,” said Mini’s design head Oliver Heilmer. “And he is not just a design experiment – he is becoming a characterful companion for the user experience.” Carscoops notes that Spike sounds a lot like an existing BMW feature that uses a simple voice to guide drivers around its car’s infotainment features, only now the voice could have a cartoon dog attached to it.

In the absence of concrete details from Mini about the kinds of things its digital assistant will be able to do, here are a couple of Spike features we’d like:

Barking uncontrollably when anyone in the car says the words “walk” or “walkies.”
Quietly saying “Ruh-roh” if you miss your highway exit.
Taking control of the car to chase squirrels whenever possible.

Make it happen Mini.

‘Like the holy grail’: the making of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

As Respawn’s new game set in the Lucasfilm universe is released, director Stig Asmussen explains how it took a while to persuade its guardians that a Jedi is a game character

For almost a decade, my husband and I have had an annual tradition of setting aside a full day to watch all of the Star Wars films, back-to-back. When we first met, this was a six-film undertaking, or occasionally four, if we swapped the prequels for the fan-made Neon Noir edit. Now, a Star Wars marathon means making it through 11 films – sorry, Clone Wars fans – which is less a cosy day with snack breaks, and far more like a real marathon, complete with precisely timed bathroom breaks and energy gels for sustenance.

And, of course, this year’s traditional viewing came after we’d also devoured the first season of Andor, binged The Book of Boba Fett, been re-introduced to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and caught up on season three of The Mandalorian. Plus, we played through Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and visited Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars themed world at Disneyland. Twice.

The Super Mario Bros Movie breaks opening weekend records

Families flock in over Easter despite poor reviews, helping Mario collect more than £300m worldwide to become highest grossing game adaptation and animated film over opening weekend

The animated Super Mario Bros Movie has shot to the top of the global box office, taking $377m (£304m) worldwide on its opening weekend.

The new film is an origin story about how Brooklyn plumbers Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, and Luigi (Charlie Day), fall into a rogue pipe and wind up in a world populated by Nintendo’s most famous characters.

Fortnite’s new update adds Attack on Titan gear

Art of Attack on Titan characters in Fortnite. — Image: Epic Games

Fortnite just keeps speeding along. As part of its most recent update, the battle royale game is adding gear from Attack on Titan that lets players zip around the island.

The update, which brings the game to version 24.40, was first hinted at when the current Fortnite season debuted in March. It includes two pieces of Attack on Titan equipment: the omni-directional mobility gear, or ODM, which “will give you the ability to grapple in the air and strike opponents below,” and “arm-launched rockets” called Thunder Spears. The additions seem like they’ll be a good fit for the faster gameplay of the current season, which includes motorcycles and grindable rails.

A screenshot of Eren Jaeger in Fortnite. — *Eren Jaeger in* Fortnite.

Outside of the gameplay features, the update brings with it some characters from the anime. As was previously known, battle pass owners will be able to unlock Eren Jaeger by completing a series of missions, but fans can also purchase both Captain Levi and Mikasa Ackermann in the item shop starting today. There’s also a new location tied to the anime — though Epic says that it’s hidden. My advice is to look underground.

Of course, this is just the latest in a growing list of anime collaborations in Fortnite, which has so far included Dragon Ball, Naruto, and My Hero Academia. Now, we can only hope for a season-ending event featuring some actual Titans.

PC shipments fell sharply last quarter, with Apple among hardest hit

The MacBook Pro 16 half open seen from above on a pink table. — *Apple’s 2023 MacBook Pro 16.* | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The PC market had a rough first quarter, with both IDC and Canalys reporting that worldwide shipments of desktops and laptops suffered a drop of around 30 percent in the first quarter of 2023 versus the same quarter in 2022. IDC reports a drop of 29 percent to 56.9 million units, while Canalys reports a drop of 32.6 percent to 54 million units.

Although all five of the biggest manufacturers suffered double digit declines, Apple appears to have been hardest hit. IDC reports that its shipments dropped by 40.5 percent, while Canalys is reporting a drop of 45.5 percent. Both research houses suggest the Mac manufacturer’s market share has also dropped by between one and two percentage points.

A chart from Canalys showing PC shipments since 2017. — *A chart from Canalys showing trends since 2017.*

The drop in Mac shipments isn’t exactly a surprise. Apple previously reported a drop of 29 percent during its last earnings release (covering the three months ending December 31st, 2022), and had previously warned that sales of its computers would “decline substantially.” But these reports put Apple’s drop in the context of an entire industry that’s been feeling the pinch for multiple quarters now. Canalys notes that Q1 2023 was the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit annual declines for PC makers in general.

There appear to be a couple of interrelated reasons for the drop. One is the end of the explosion in demand that’s occurred over the past couple of years as everyone stocked up on computer hardware to allow employees and students to study and work from home. But this doesn’t tell the full story, since IDC notes that this quarter’s shipments were “noticeably lower” than pre-pandemic levels. It seems likely that broader economic uncertainty is also playing a part, with Canalys’ Ishan Dutt citing interest rate rises in the US and Europe as another cause of reduced demand.

Both IDC and Canalys suggest that demand will pick up in the second half of 2023 and 2024. “By 2024, an aging installed base will start coming up for refresh,” said IDC’s Linn Huang. “If the economy is trending upwards by then, we expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11.” However Huang also cautions that “if recession in key markets drags on into next year, recovery could be a slog.”

There’s apparently at least one upside to this drop in demand according to IDC: supply chains are getting some breathing space to recover, allowing PC makers to explore options outside of China. Bloomberg had a great piece last week on Apple’s attempts to diversify its manufacturing in the face of mounting geo-political pressures.

lundi 10 avril 2023

Elon Musk tweets, then deletes DMs from Matt Taibbi over his Substack snit

A photo illustration of Elon Musk looking pensive. — Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Elon Musk and one of his “Twitter Files” writers, Matt Taibbi, don’t seem to be on great terms right now, and that situation probably isn’t getting any better after Musk posted then deleted a DM conversation between the two of them.

Let me try to recap how we got to this point. I’m warning you now that it’s a bit of a mess.

Taibbi, given access to Twitter information from Musk, published the first of many editions of the so-called “Twitter Files” that Musk believed would be a shocking exposé of former leadership.
Taibbi also publishes Racket News, a Substack-based publication with more than 362,000 subscribers.
On Wednesday, Substack announced a Twitter-like product called “Notes.”
Late in the week, Twitter started restricting tweets with Substack URLs, severely limiting how many Substack writers can promote their work on Twitter.
Friday afternoon, Taibbi said he was told Twitter’s restrictions were due to “a dispute over the new Substack Notes platform.” He did not specify who gave him that information. He also said he planned to move to Notes.
On Saturday, Musk claimed that Taibbi “is / was an employee of Substack,” which isn’t true. (Musk also claimed that Substack was “trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone,” which Substack’s CEO says isn’t true.)
On Sunday, Substack said that “the suppression of Substack publications on Twitter appears to be over.”
Monday evening, in an entirely separate thread with another Twitter Files writer, Michael Shellenberger, Musk shared his DMs with Taibbi as evidence of information that needed to be corrected in an article by another author. The DMs appear to show Taibbi explaining his relationship with Substack.

Those DMs are now deleted, but we saved them, if you want to look:

A screenshot of a DM conversation between Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi.

Musk, in what appears to be a Signal chat, asks Taibbi: “You are employed at Substack?” Taibbi explains that his subscribers pay him and that he was one of the first “Substack Pro” writers, who were given an upfront payment for a year in return for giving Substack 85 percent of subscription revenue. Taibbi also asks if Twitter will fix an issue where his Twitter Files threads were being deleted, and Musk says that will happen.

You can see where the DMs were removed by scrolling up this thread or from the tweet below, where Musk claims that Substack was “illegally downloading vast amounts of data to pre-populate their Twitter clone.” (Best denied a similar claim over the weekend.)

We’re enabling users to post long articles & earn income from subscribers, but we’re not excluding other media.

Substack was temporarily categorized as “unsafe” when we discovered that they were illegally downloading vast amounts of data to pre-populate their Twitter clone.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2023

Ultimately, the DMs aren’t that salacious. But it’s a worrying sign that Musk, the most-followed person on Twitter, is willing to just post what Taibbi likely expected to be private conversations. It’s also a curious wrinkle on Musk’s stated aim to make Twitter DMs encrypted. Encryption isn’t as useful for anyone who DMs him if he might just post a screenshot of the conversation anyway. On the other hand, it would mean that even the owner of Twitter can’t just peek into your private messages to grab material for his next thread.

To Combat Generative AI Email Threats, Fight Fire With Fire

With a deep understanding of an organization and how the individuals within it interact with their inbox, AI can determine for every email whether it is suspicious and should be actioned or if it is legitimate and should remain untouched. The post To Combat Generative AI Email Threats, Fight Fire With Fire appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

A framework to enable touch-enhanced robotic grasping using tactile sensors

A framework to enable touch-enhanced robotic grasping using tactile sensors To successfully cooperate with humans on manual tasks, robots should be able to grasp and manipulate a variety of objects without dropping or damaging them. Recent research efforts in the field of robotics have thus focused on developing tactile sensors and controllers that could provide robots with the sense of touch and bring their object manipulation capabilities closer to those of humans.

The Steambox is an electric lunchbox looking for a problem to solve

As a steam-reheating lunchbox, it’s pricey but serviceable. But if you’re just looking for a warm meal, there are better ways to get it.

I’m going to level with you: I don’t really get the Steambox. I mean, I understand what it is: it’s a self-heating lunchbox that uses steam to warm up your food, one that’s powered by a rechargeable battery so you can theoretically take it on the go. And to its credit, it does actually live up to the idea of being a lunchbox that heats up your food. I just don’t understand why anyone would pay $279 for this particular one.

Before we get too far into that, though, let me acquaint you with what this thing actually is. From the outside, it’s a shoebox-sized gray plastic box with a bamboo lid. (The dimensions are 11 inches long, 6.5 inches wide, and 3.5 inches tall.) Unclip the plastic lid, and you’ll find a little metal pan with its own rubber lid, where you store the food — up to around 3 cups or 700ml worth. Beneath that is a heating element, which you pour water onto when it’s time to heat the food. (The water is stored in a little measuring container that clips onto the bamboo lid).

To turn it on, you flip a switch on the back, which is located right next to the barrel plug you use to recharge its battery. (Yes, you do have to use the bundled charger; at CES 2023, Steambox co-founder Kevin de Krieger told TechCrunch that it couldn’t charge via USB-C “because of how USB-C works.” Okay.) Then, you dump your water onto the bottom, put the metal container back in sans lid, and close the box up.

To choose how long you want to reheat your food, you tap on a capacitive button that cycles through 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-minute timer settings, indicated by a row of five lights. There’s another capacitive button that starts the heating process. Yes, the fact that it doesn’t use physical buttons can be a bit annoying — they don’t always register taps, and it sometimes took me a second to register what cook time the flashing lights were indicating.

The process of starting a cook with the Steambox.

You do have an alternative, because of course the Steambox has an app (though you can use the device completely offline if you want). Unfortunately, the app requires an account to use, and it’s extremely bare-bones. Once you’ve signed in and connected to the Steambox via Bluetooth, you can see how much battery it has left, set a timer with single-minute granularity, and start or stop the heating process. That’s pretty much it; there are buttons at the bottom that promise tips, recipes, news, and an FAQ, but tapping on them gives you a little “coming soon” banner.

Okay, so why am I so down on it? Is it bad at warming up food, leaving it cold and unappetizing? Not exactly. I found it to be sufficient at reheating most of the things I threw at it, like salmon fillets, mac and cheese, chili, mashed potatoes, and more. It’s important to note that word, though — reheating.

Unlike more powerful electric lunchboxes or portable hotpots that plug into the wall, the Steambox isn’t really meant to actually cook your food. The company’s website warns you to “be careful when cooking raw meats, chicken, or fish with Steambox” and says that doing so isn’t recommended.

The FAQ page does say that cooking veggies should be “no big deal,” which I was very happy to hear. I was a little less happy when I bit into the broccoli that had been steaming for all 25 minutes and felt the crunch of mostly raw greenery. (Though, honestly, it was alright once I tossed on a little Tony Chachere’s and some sweet chile sauce.)

Photo of the Steambox on a picnic table with mac and cheese and broccoli in it. — *Does this broccoli look soft — or even fork tender — to you?*

Probably my biggest issue with the Steambox: it is slow. I had to reheat the mac and cheese I mentioned for around 20 minutes, whereas a microwave takes around two or three minutes. It’s also worth noting that the Steambox’s small size gives you a pretty hard limit on what you can reheat, and it fits way less than even a dorm-size microwave. (I don’t think you could fit an average slice of pizza in it.)

Microwaves are one of the elephants in the room when it comes to the Steambox. Or at least they would be if the company (also named Steambox) didn’t constantly bring them up in its marketing. “Bye microwave,” reads a quote on its website. “The microwave basically kills your food,” de Krieger told TechCrunch. Perhaps the most offensive bit of copy is on its Kickstarter page, which claims the microwave is “a great way to heat up your food, and a great way to destroy all of the goodness and nutrients ... before radiating the sh!t out of it,” adding that a microwave often makes your food look “revolting.”

What? First of all, I’m not letting that bit about destroying nutrients and radiating your food go unchecked because I haven’t seen any evidence that’s true. (The US has many, many problems with its food culture; reliance on microwaves isn’t one of them.) But it also feels like unearned confidence. Perhaps I’m just a microwave wizard, but the food I got from the Steambox was on par with, not better than, food that I reheated in the microwave. It was enjoyable enough to eat, but I’d call bullshit if you told me the food that came out of it was straight from the oven or stove. That’s certainly a bit of a letdown for something that costs more than the price of three low-end microwaves (more than enough to stock an office, even if your boss wouldn’t spring for one themselves) and takes much longer to reheat food.

The Steambox does have some benefits compared to a microwave; in my tests, it didn’t fumigate my house with a fishy smell when I was reheating a fillet, while my microwave did. Also, I can stand next to it while reheating lunch without my AirPods cutting out.

There are plenty of people who don’t have the option of plugging a device into an outlet and who may appreciate a portable, freshly heated lunch. And others who would prefer, for whatever reason, not to nuke their food. Perhaps you work outside or are at job sites where outlets aren’t available or are taken up by more important equipment.

When it comes to portability, the Steambox does have a leg up versus basically every appliance that needs to be plugged into the wall. Its battery is good for around 40 minutes of cooking, which could reheat around two or three meals.

However, I often spend my weekends in the middle of conservation areas to build and maintain hiking trails and never even considered taking the Steambox on one of those trips. Even toting it to a nearby park for lunch wasn’t the idyllic experience I imagined. The problem is that it’s a big and relatively heavy device; according to my scale, the whole kit weighs around 4lbs, 11oz, or just over 2.1kg, before you add any food. (For reference, my backpacking stove, a titanium cookpot, and a gas canister meant for backpacking weighs less than a pound: it’s 12.8oz, or 360g.)

Picture of someone taking the Steambox out of a backpack. — *The Steambox took up a ton of space in my 25L backpack.*

That heft, and the fact that it’s a completely inflexible rectangle, makes it pretty uncomfortable to carry in a backpack. When I talked about the Steambox with one of my acquaintances who works outside almost every day, she was less concerned with the weight but also didn’t think it’d work for her 30-minute lunch breaks unless she wanted to scarf down food after 15–20 minutes of watching everyone else eat. She also wondered if it’d hold enough food for someone who’s active all day long.

She did come up with some use cases I hadn’t considered, though, suggesting that snowmobilers might find it useful or people on a car camping trip, assuming they had an easy way to clean it and wouldn’t be outside for too many days. For her personal use, though, it didn’t seem like she’d be rushing out to buy one. “I think I’d only try one out if I found one in a thrift store for under $10... more likely under $5,” she told me. (That probably sounds a little harsher than it actually is — she’s a legendary thrifter.)

There are cheaper and more packable ways to get warm meals while outside if you’re willing to use insulation rather than reheating. A classic Thermos can keep soups hot for hours, and those usually cost less than $50. The same’s true of this Zojirushi lunch jar, which even includes small bowls that let you bring along several different types of food. Even a standard insulated lunchbox could do the trick, depending on your needs.

There are a few more nits to pick with the Steambox, while I’m at this:

I like the stainless steel container, but the lid is difficult to get on properly.
It gets expensive when you want to meal prep — one extra container and lid goes for $23, while a three-pack costs $56. (The containers I use for microwave meal prep are $30 for five.)
Unless you completely dry the cooking area out after you’re done, there’s going to be a fair amount of moisture left in it. There was water visibly dripping from it when I took it out of my backpack, even though I’d dumped out as much of the excess as I could.
You can’t use the Steambox while it’s charging; if it has a dead battery, you’ll have to wait an hour or two to eat. Co-founder Amit Jaura says that’s because “operating batteries, DC and water / steam at the same time should be handled carefully.”
I do have mild concerns about quality control — my colleague Sean Hollister was also sent a Steambox, but it arrived entirely nonfunctional. There was also at least one Kickstarter commenter who says their unit had some scratches when they got it.

(I have, however, seen much worse in Kickstarter comments; the ones for the Steambox seem to be relatively positive, though there are at least a few people who say they’re still waiting for theirs.)

The thing I’m most torn about with the Steambox is that it actually seems to be relatively competent at heating up food. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s also not a disaster. Despite that, I struggle to recommend it to pretty much anyone. Perhaps its price tag would be swallowable for affluent fish aficionados whose co-workers hate the smell or someone who really wants to eat warm food away from an outlet, but I think pretty much everyone else would be better served by other less expensive solutions like a microwave, insulated containers, a toaster oven, or wired electric lunchbox. It’s just too unhappy of a medium; it’s not really convenient to take outdoors, and there are much better options indoors.

Perhaps the best way I can sum it up is with this anecdote: I’ve had the Steambox for a few months now, and have repeatedly tried to convince my wife — who takes a regular lunchbox to work every day — to test it out. Literally the entire reason I wanted this review was to see if my wife could cook fish at work without getting bullied.

Apparently, she didn’t think that juice was worth the squeeze because her response was always the same: “Why would I do that? I have a microwave at work.”

Nvidia and the Future of Everything Everywhere

Nvidia announced two under-covered technologies at its GTC conference this year. One focused on getting stuff to you cheaply and efficiently, and that anticipates drone delivery. The other automates the creation of a large facility. Both technologies work together to make the result viable and far more efficient. The post Nvidia and the Future of Everything Everywhere appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

EA Sports PGA Tour 2023 review – serious players have much to master in EA’s return to the virtual fairway

Electronic Arts; PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The controls can be tough to get the hang of, but the visuals are stunning, the commentary impressive and the play itself gives you all the challenge and realism you could want

After an eight-year hiatus from the world of golf simulation, Electronic Arts is back on the fairway, bringing its considerable licensing power and slick sports TV presentation skills with it. Featuring 30 courses, a large roster of current professionals, and a physics model built around the official TrackMan data for authentic ball flight measurement and swing analysis, this game is exactly what you’d expect from EA Sports – comprehensive, packed with options and deadly serious about the sport.

Those hoping for an accessible knockabout are going to be quickly disappointed. The new swing mechanic, which requires you to pull down on the analogue stick to bring the club back, then forward again to unleash your shot, takes considerable time and effort to master. There’s a slight lag between your input and the onscreen swing visual, which makes timing tricky, especially when you’re not going for a full-power shot. Consequently, you spend a lot of matches over-hitting wildly, and this isn’t helped by the fact that the transition on the stick from pull-back to forward has to be precise or your golfer just pulls a practice swing. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that there’s no real tutorial mode. Instead you get a Coaching Academy section in the Challenge mode, which has lots of little mini-games based around various elements of the sport – but these don’t provide tips or feedback, so it’s all trial and a lot of error.

dimanche 9 avril 2023

The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin

The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin Bitcoin mines cash in on electricity — by devouring it, selling it, even turning it off — and they cause immense pollution. In many cases, the public pays a price.

Profits at Apple’s subsidiary in Ireland rise to $69bn

Main non-US division pays $7.7bn in corporation tax but $20.7bn in dividends to California parent

Apple’s main Irish subsidiary paid €7.7bn (£6.8bn ) in corporation tax last year, but paid out nearly triple that amount in dividends to its California parent company, after reporting more than $69bn (£56bn) in profits.

The latest financial filings for the subsidiary, which is facing legal challenges over its tax arrangements in Ireland, show the Irish division made the equivalent of nearly $190m a day over the year to September.

Hatch Restore 2 review: TikTok made me try it

Ironically, the app that usually convinces me to spend too much on junky products led me to the best piece of sleep tech I’ve tested in a while.

I’m a sucker for “get ready with me” (GRWM) videos on TikTok. They’re just as they sound. You watch a complete stranger go through their daily routines, sometimes while espousing chaotic musings on everything wrong with American society. Some are narrated, while others are set to lo-fi beats and overlaid with text. They’re a vicariously aspirational and entertaining window into another way of living.

Watch enough GRWM videos, and you will eventually come across the $199.99 Hatch Restore 2.

At its core, the Restore 2 is a smart alarm clock, sunrise lamp, and sound machine rolled into one. It gently wakes you up by mimicking the sunrise and creates a cozy nighttime atmosphere by simulating the sunset. But, unlike the vast majority of sleep tech, it’s not a sleep tracker. It’s wholly unconcerned with your sleep stages, biometrics, or grading your sleep quality. The goal is to achieve your best #thatgirl life by creating morning and nighttime routines to improve your sleep habits.

I am a sleepy girlie trying to become a morning person. Sadly, TikTok has made me try a number of things — and most of them have been misses rather than hits. But like a moth to an aesthetic flame, I called in the trendy gadget. You never know. Every once in a while, the influencers are onto something.

#GRWM, Hatch Restore 2 edition

Picture this. You are a tired husk of a human, doomscrolling on your TikTok For You page. A conventionally attractive woman with luminous skin and luscious hair brushes her teeth, does her 10-step skincare routine, and before crawling into bed, taps her Restore 2. Soothing rain sounds emanate from the device, and she falls into a restful slumber. The next morning, she stretches a perfectly manicured hand to turn off her alarm on the Restore 2 before making a matcha latte in a mason jar. (Never mind how ridiculous it must look to film this kind of video.)

The Hatch Restore 2 on a nightstand with a pink light — *Watch enough GRWM videos on TikTok, and you’ll probably come across the Hatch Restore 2.*

I watched dozens of videos like this before the Restore 2 ever arrived on my doorstep. I saw dozens more while reviewing this thing. So believe me when I say the reality is not quite as glamorous, but it’s not too far off from the truth, either.

Here is a day in my life using the Restore 2.

I wake up at 6:15AM, even though my alarm is set for 6:30AM. This used to be because my rotund cat Pablo would perch over my head, meowing loudly for his morning kibble. Instead, I’m waking up because there’s a bright-but-not-blinding white light beaming into my face from the Restore 2. For a second, I’m quite pleased that I woke up before the alarm and mildly amazed that this keeps happening. Seeing that I’m awake, now Pablo meows. I stretch a hand (with chipped nail polish) and press the right button to turn off my alarm.

I used to press the same button a second time to start a guided morning stretch in bed. But I’m married to a night owl, and they complained about it waking them up too many times. There’s no way to pair headphones to the Restore 2, so I only get to do my guided stretches when they’re away on business. I am begrudgingly up, my spouse is snoring, and Pablo still begs to be fed. I remind the bugger that he has a fancy automatic feeder that will shower him with kibble at 6:25AM.

I brush my teeth, take my meds, and make some pre-workout — another product that TikTok convinced me to buy. At 6:30AM, cheery retro lo-fi beats emerge from the Restore 2. It turns out, I only pressed the left button instead of holding it down, so I didn’t actually turn the alarm off. I marvel at how crisp it sounds until my thoughts are interrupted by a groan from my spouse. Oops. I apologize and promise to try to turn it off correctly tomorrow. I go do my 30- to 60-minute workout, take a shower, drink a protein shake, and sit down for work for the next eight to 10 hours.

Angled view of the Hatch Restore 2 lit up on a nightstand — *The light is diffused but bright enough to wake you up.*

After blindly shoveling dinner into my gob, I lose track of how I spend the hours of 7PM to 9PM. At this point, I set out my workout clothes for the next day, brush my teeth, slather on skincare to fight the ravages of time, and if I’m good, I settle into bed to read. If I’m bad, I doomscroll on TikTok. When my eyes get droopy, I tap the left button on top of the Restore 2, which triggers the nighttime routine I set in the app. The light turns orangey-red, and I hear choo-choo noises. Some lady tells me stories about trains, and I conk out. (I won’t remember much about the story other than she asks imaginary passengers for their tickets a lot.) When Pablo wakes me up at 3AM because cats are gonna cat, the Restore 2 is making soothing rain noises. I fall back asleep. Rinse and repeat.

So yeah, the Restore 2 works well for me. The light consistently wakes me up before my alarm, and the sleep stories / white noise sounds knock me out at night. I may never be #thatgirl, but if I’m honest, I’m too old for that shit anyway. I’m just happy to make progress on my journey to being an early bird.

A well-designed alarm clock

The Restore 2 isn’t just effective. It’s a good lookin’ device that fades into the background but in an aesthetically pleasing way. I mean, look at this thing. It feels like it was plucked straight out of a West Elm catalog while the rest of my bedroom hails from the IKEA or Wayfair bargain bin.

It helps that the front is covered in a natural linen fabric, which gives it a modern, Japandi vibe. The fabric also helps diffuse the light like a lampshade would (as you can see in the above photo), compared to a more traditional sunrise lamp. It comes in three colors: slate, latte, and putty. My review unit is latte, but the others are equally neutral tones that should blend into whatever your bedroom’s color theme or aesthetic is.

Top-down view of the Hatch Restore 2 showing two big circular buttons with a shut-eye design on the left and an open eye on the right. — *These are the two buttons you’ll use the most. The left is your nighttime routine button, while the right controls your morning alarm.*

But as pretty as the Restore 2 is, I was skeptical when I first pulled it out of the box. I’ve been burned by plenty of devices that prioritize design over function. My biggest worry with the Restore 2 was the fact that there aren’t obvious controls when you look at it straight on. The controls do take a few nights to master, but they ended up being intuitive to use overall.

Up top, there are two tactile buttons. The left, for your nighttime routines, has a shut-eye design, while the right has an open eye for your morning alarm and moments, Hatch’s term for curated playlists. What I like most is that the nighttime button is concave, while the morning button protrudes a bit. I don’t have the best memory in the morning or when I’m sleepy, so it’s helpful to be able to distinguish them by touch.

Close up of the bottom half of the Hatch Restore 2 — *On either side of the time, you can tap the device to raise (right side) or lower (left side) the volume.*

Back view of the Hatch Restore 2 — *The back also features the natural linen fabric, but you probably won’t look at it much.*

On the left side of the Restore 2, you’ll find a small toggle. That lets you turn the alarm off and on without having to ever look at the app. I never really used it all that much, mostly because I forgot it was there. At the front of the device, on either side of the time display, you’ll find the invisible volume controls. Tapping the left side lowers the volume, while tapping the right side increases it. If at any time you find the clock to be too bright, you can always tap the whole thing to dim it.

A definite upgrade with a bigger library

The Restore 2 is an upgrade over its predecessor in every sense. It has a more appealing design, comes in more colors, and has three speakers, compared to the original Restore’s one. It also has several remastered sounds, 10 new sunrise alarms, new light and sound pairings for sunsets, 21 new sleep sounds, and a new “morning moment” option. The latter is a series of affirmations, stretches, or motivational content to get you going in the morning (provided you don’t have a sleep partner with a different schedule).

The Hatch app is pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it, and I appreciate that you can preview how things will look and sound before you add it to your routines. That said, once you find something that works for you, there’s not much reason to use the app unless you want to switch things up. In the month or so that I’ve been testing the Restore 2, I’ve only changed up my content twice — and that was mostly for review purposes. Left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have tried to switch things up for another few months.

Picture of the Hatch app on an iPhone displaying Morning moment content. — *There’s a pretty extensive content library in the Hatch app, but these “morning moments” playlists require a membership.*

However, if you’re someone who likes to switch things up more often, there’s more than enough content to keep you satisfied. Within the app, there are multiple “channels” with curated playlists of music, dreamscapes, guided exercises, and sleep stories for both nighttime and morning routines. Each channel has multiple tracks, and Hatch also says it regularly updates the content library.

You don’t have to worry about getting bored with the lights, either. Not only are there preprogrammed color palettes to go along with the content, but there are also 18 separate colors to choose from, spanning the entire rainbow. I mostly stuck to soft whites and peachy oranges, but if you love the idea of a mint green morning alarm, go for it.

The only rub is that if you want to access content channels, you’ll need to shell out for a membership. You can either opt for a one-month trial and an annual membership of $49.99 or a one-week trial and a monthly membership of $4.99. But you don’t need to shell out. If all you want is sunrise alarm sounds and white noise options, those are available for free.

Is it worth it?

Buying stuff you see on TikTok is a game of roulette. On the one hand, I’ve found my favorite sunscreens, protein powder, and backpack on that app. But generally speaking, I’ve found most “Tiktok made me buy it” products haven’t lived up to the hype.

Side view of the Hatch Restore 2 showing the alarm toggle. — *There’s an toggle on the side in case you just want to quickly turn the alarm on or off.*

In the case of the Hatch Restore 2, I went in fairly skeptical. As much as I enjoy #GRWM videos, they have the potential to be the most insidious kind of advertising. It’s genius, really. Hatch stuck its products into the routines and habits of popular influencers, thereby subtly teaching millions that this device is the key to getting a good night’s rest. (This is literally how Febreze became a household item.)

Knowing all this, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much I like the Restore 2. The only things I really don’t like are the $200 price tag and the subscription. But, if the price isn’t a turnoff and you’re struggling to build good nighttime and morning routines, this is one of the most effective sleep gadgets I’ve used in a good long while. For once, I don’t regret that TikTok made me try it.

Best podcasts of the week: How feminists and a porn baron built an iconic erotic magazine for women

In this week’s newsletter: Discover the wild 1970s tale of the revolutionary Viva in Stiffed. Plus: five of the best podcasts for Succession fans

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The List of Absolutely Everything That Might Kill You
Widely available, episodes weekly
Fireworks, bees, volcanoes, theme parks … there are many dangers in life. DJ Matt Edmondson and This Is Going to Hurt author Adam Kay’s new podcast explores just how likely some things are to kill you. While Kay has seen a lot of death as a doctor, his co-host has only dealt with a deceased pet rabbit, so the contrast between the two offers up many moments of comedy. Hannah Verdier

Cybercrime: be careful what you tell your chatbot helper…

Alluring and useful they may be, but the AI interfaces’ potential as gateways for fraud and intrusive data gathering is huge – and is only set to grow

Concerns about the growing abilities of chatbots trained on large language models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing Chat, are making headlines. Experts warn of their ability to spread misinformation on a monumental scale, as well as the existential risk their development may pose to humanity. As if this isn’t worrying enough, a third area of concern has opened up – illustrated by Italy’s recent ban of ChatGPT on privacy grounds.

The Italian data regulator has voiced concerns over the model used by ChatGPT owner OpenAI and announced it would investigate whether the firm had broken strict European data protection laws.

Creative tech firm Talenthouse is close to failure as debts mount

Company that matches artists with brands is understood to have laid off most of its staff and faces legal action by creditors

A tech company that claimed to “democratise creativity” by matching artists with design briefs for major brands is on the brink of collapse after being issued with a winding-up petition over unpaid debts.

Talenthouse, whose clients have included Netflix, Coca-Cola, Nike and the UN, is facing legal action by creditors in the UK and is understood to have laid off most of its workforce, with top executives also departing its parent company in recent days.

samedi 8 avril 2023

Substack CEO pushes back at Elon, says Twitter situation is “very frustrating”

Quick recap: Substack, the popular subscription newsletter platform for writers, launched a new feature in its app called Notes last week, which is fairly similar to Twitter.

Twitter, the world-historical clown car of a company currently operated by Elon Musk, responded by blocking the ability to like or retweet any posts containing the word “Substack,” throwing up a warning message if users clicked on Substack links, and finally blocking even the word Substack from being searched. Substack users, the vast majority of whom are independent small business owners who depend on Substack as an enterprise software provider, mostly responded to this by saying they would leave Twitter and use Substack Notes. (There’s more here, but it’s a combo platter of hilarious and tiresome given some of the personalities involved. Just click the links.)

Musk sort-of explained his decision in a reply this week by claiming that Substack was “trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone” which is very funny — just imagine starting any sort of Twitter competitor and prepopulating it with the garbage of Twitter — and also a pretty huge claim to make without any evidence.

A screenshot of a Substack Notes post from CEO Chris Best, responding to a tweet from Elon Musk. — The Substack Notes post from CEO Chris Best.

Anyhow, Substack CEO Chris Best responded to Elon with a post on Substack Notes, of course. The feature in in beta so there’s no permalink as yet, but he passed it along to us and we’re posting a screenshot so people can refer to it.

Best says Substack has used the Twitter API for years and thinks they’re in compliance with the terms of service; the implication is that Twitter never told the company about any alleged violation. And of course, Best says the whole situation is “very frustrating,” with a nod to the fact that Substack writers are actually customers of his enterprise software product; messing with Substack links has more impact on individual small business owners than it does on the platform company.

It is worth noting here that Andreesen Horowitz is an investor in both Substack and neo-Twitter, so that’s going great. And if you’re reading this you can probably just react to the phrases “free speech,” “Twitter,” and “Elon Musk” in whatever way kicks your Saturday night off right. I trust you. Party hard.

TikTok to a Heinz jar: vodka pasta sauce’s journey from fad to supermarket shelves

Whether it’s celebrity fads or wacky creations such as lasagne-filled yorkshire pudding, how food plays online is now key to brands

Sometimes you just need some vodka pasta sauce – especially when you’ve been grounded for trying to charter a helicopter on your dad’s credit card.

When Sofia Coppola’s 16-year-old daughter, Romy Mars, set the internet alight last month after doing just that – and then recorded a TikTok video to complain about her punishment while making the sauce – there was plenty of discussion about her family dynamics. Others, though, were more interested in her food choices.

How TikTok’s algorithm ‘exploits the vulnerability’ of children

Up to 1.4m children under 13 use app, watchdog finds – and experts say they are being flooded with harmful content to promote addiction

TikTok fined £12.7m for illegally processing children’s data

It is the home of dance tutorial videos and viral comedy sketches. But it is also host to self-harm and eating disorder content, with an algorithm that has been called the “crack cocaine of social media”.

Now, the information commissioner has concluded that up to 1.4 million children under the age of 13 have been allowed access to TikTok, with the watchdog accusing the Chinese firm of not doing enough to check underage children were not using the app.

A year on from that victory – which labor leaders had hoped would trigger a wave of union victories – is looking less momentous and another union election win at Amazon has remained elusive.