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Many home Wi-Fi setups suck for countless reasons, which makes it frustrating when everyone in your household needs a reliable connection for the most important things. Be it a work video call, an online class or simply balancing the family budget online, we all need a good home Wi-Fi connection to get things done. If yours isn’t up to pair, maybe it’s because the hardware your ISP gave you isn’t great, or your walls aren’t friendly to wireless signals. Or perhaps the signals from your all-in-one wireless modem and router just can’t reach everywhere from its spot in a far corner of your house.

This is where mesh Wi-Fi routers can come in handy. It’s these maladies that mesh systems deal with as a distributed set of smaller Wi-Fi nodes that are spread around your home, pushing internet into every corner. Mesh routers aren’t new, and we’ve reviewed plenty, but now we have a one-stop shop for everything you need to know in order to find the best buy for you. After testing a number of systems for connection consistency, dead zones, available parental controls, general ease of use and more, we've collected our top picks for the best mesh Wi-Fi systems you can get today.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is governed by the International Standard IEEE 802.11, and every few years the standards evolve. Until 2018, routers were sold under their IEEE designation, leaving consumers to deal with the word soup of products labeled 802.11 b/a/g/n/ac et cetera. Mercifully, wiser heads opted to rebrand the standards with numbers: Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. We’re presently between two Wi-Fi generations, Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, which relates to the frequencies the standard uses. Wi-Fi 6 covers routers which operate on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, while the latter means it can also use the 6GHz band.

Each Wi-Fi band has tradeoffs, because the slower radio frequencies have greater range but less speed. 2.4GHz signals will travel a long way in your home but aren’t quick, while 6GHz is blisteringly fast, but can be defeated by a sturdy brick wall. A lot of Wi-Fi-enabled gear, like a lot of smart home products, only use 2.4GHz because the range is better and it’s a lot cheaper. But it means that the band is also overcrowded and slow.

Linksys’ CEO Jonathan Bettino told Engadget why mesh systems are an “advancement in Wi-Fi technology” over buying a single point router. With one transmitter, the signal can degrade the further away from the router you go, or the local environment isn’t ideal. “You can have a small [home], but there’s thick walls [...] or things in the way that just interfere with your wireless signal,” he said.

Historically, the solution to a home’s Wi-Fi dead zone was to buy a Wi-Fi Range Extender but Bettino said the hardware has both a “terrible user experience” and one of the highest return rates of any consumer electronics product. Mesh Wi-Fi, by comparison, offers “multiple nodes that can be placed anywhere in your home,” says Bettino, resulting in “ubiquitous Wi-Fi” that feels as if you have a “router in every room.”

Having a “router in every room” is the biggest selling point for mesh Wi-Fi given how reliant we all are on the internet. Each node is in constant contact with each other, broadcasting a single, seamless network to all of your devices. There’s no separate network for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, just a single name that you connect to.

What to look for

It’s a pretty good time to buy a mesh Wi-Fi system, since Wi-Fi 6E represents a fairly significant leap in the technology. Matt MacPherson, Cisco’s Chief Technology Officer for Wireless, said that Wi-Fi 6E is a substantial “inflection point” and can take advantage of a much broader chunk of the wireless spectrum than its predecessors. “If you’re using that spectrum with a Wi-Fi 6 [device],” he said, “you’re going to get significant gains [in speed.]”

MacPherson added that Wi-Fi 6E will likely “carry you for a long time,” thanks to the fact that its “top throughputs now typically exceed what people can actually connect their home to.” In short, with a top theoretical per-stream speed of 1.2 Gbps, Wi-Fi 6E is fast enough to outrun all but the fastest internet connection. (You may also see talk of Wi-Fi 7 devices, some of which have been released already before the standard is officially launched next year. Given that it will take a generation for all of the devices in your home to be compatible with Wi-Fi 7, it’s not worth thinking about this for several years yet.)

Range and speed

Every mesh product will boast of its theoretical broadcast range in square feet, as well as its theoretical top speed. Given there are so many factors outside of the manufacturer’s control, these numbers don’t really mean much in the real world. Your internet provider’s real speed, the construction materials and layout of your home, amongst other things, will all affect your Wi-Fi.

It’s worth saying that raw speed isn’t everything, and that for most normal users, you probably need a lot less than you’re paying for. Netflix recommends a minimum speed of just 15 Mbps to stream a 4K video to a single device. Naturally, that’s just for one connection, so you’ll need some more capacity if you’ve got other devices all running at the same time. As cool as it is to say you’ve got 100, 200 or 500 Mbps download speed, factors like latency and reliability are way more crucial.

Backhaul

Mesh Wi-Fi systems work by connecting every hardware node to a single wireless network, letting them all communicate with each other. Imagine four people in a busy, noisy restaurant all trying to order their dinner from a weary staff member, all at once. Now imagine, while this is going on, that four more people at that same table are also trying to tell a funny anecdote. It’s no surprise that it might take a long while for the right information to reach its intended destination.

To combat this, higher-end mesh systems offer dedicated wireless backhaul; a slice of the spectrum for node-to-node communication. So rather than everyone talking at once in the same space, the conversations are essentially separated, reducing the invisible clutter in the air. Because there’s less confusing cross-chatter, everything moves faster, offering a significant performance boost to those systems.

Connectivity

These days, even your washing machine has a wireless connection, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the joys of wired internet. No matter how fast WiFi is, a hard line will always be faster, and some gear, like Philips’ Hue bridge, still needs an ethernet connection. Plenty of routers can also use these hard connections as backhaul, eliminating further wireless clutter. It’s convenient for spread-out systems and power users, but it will mean running more wires through your home. The most common standard is Cat 5e, or gigabit ethernet which, unsurprisingly, has a top speed of 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps).

Flexibility and scalability

Mesh enables you to add (or subtract) modules from your network to suit your needs. D-Link’s Alan Jones said users should “check how scalable the prospective product is” before you buy. This sense of scale doesn’t just apply to the number of nodes on the network, but how many simultaneous connections it can handle.

Placement

Modern mesh networking products offer one, two or three (or more) pieces of equipment that are commonly the same hardware inside and out. It normally doesn’t matter which module you make the primary one to connect to your modem, usually over ethernet. You’ll then set up the other, secondary nodes around your home, which is often just a case of adding them to the existing mesh network.

When installing your hardware, remember that every physical obstacle between nodes may hurt your performance. The ideal spot is, at the very least, at waist height on a piece of furniture without too many obstructions. Tables, sideboards, free-standing cupboards, and bookcases make for a good home. The rule of thumb is to place each node no more than two rooms away from the last one.

How we test Wi-Fi routers

My home covers around 2,200 square feet across three stories, with my office on the third floor. It’s relatively long and thin, with the living room at the front of the house, the kitchen at the back and three bedrooms on the second floor. Its age means there are a lot of solid brick walls, old school lathe and plaster, as well as aluminum foil-backed insulation boards to help with energy efficiency. There are two major Wi-Fi dead zones in the house, the bathroom and the bedroom behind it, since there’s lots of old and new pipework in the walls and floors.

For sets that have two nodes, I placed the first in my living room, connected via ethernet to my cable modem, with the second on the first-floor landing in the (ostensible) center of the house. For three-node sets, the third went in my kitchen, which I’ve found is the optimal layout to get the bulk of my house covered in Wi-Fi.

Each mesh is judged on ease of setup, coverage, reliability, speed and any additional features. I looked at how user-friendly each companion app is from the perspective of a novice, as well. My tests included checking for dead zones, moving from room to room to measure consistency, and streaming multiple videos at once.

The best mesh Wi-Fi system for most people: TP-Link Deco XE75

The best mesh Wi-Fi system for novice users: Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro

The best mesh Wi-Fi system for power users: ASUS ZenWiFi Pro ET12

Other mesh Wi-Fi router systems we tested Amazon Eero 6E

On one hand, Eero Pro 6E does count as an “easy” device, the sort you could hand to a total novice and expect them to thrive with. There’s very little brain work needed to get things set up, and the app has a clean UI with plenty of hand-holding. But — and it’s a big but — the fact so many common management tools aren’t available to me here because they’re paywalled irks me. Amazon and Eero are playing in the same slightly shallow waters as Google / Nest, building a “good enough” mesh product for "everyone;” types who want to set up the hardware and more or less forget about it for several years at a time knowing that everything is in hand. But the fact that the Nest WiFi Pro offers more features for free compared to Eero’s package means that, despite my gripes about Google’s system, it wins out in a straight duel.

Netgear Orbi 960

The Orbi 96T0 (RBKE963) is Netgear’s flagship mesh WiFi product, which the company calls the “world’s most powerful WiFi 6E system.” It’s also one of the most expensive consumer-level kits on the market, setting you back $1,499.99 for a three pack. It's a fantastic piece of gear but it's worth saying that the subset of people who could, would or should buy it remains far smaller than you might expect. Ultimately, I feel that if you’re paying luxury prices, you should expect a luxury product. There were plenty of times during testing that I went looking for a feature that was either only available via the web client, or behind a paywall. While, yes, much of your cash is going to the superlative hardware, but for this sort of money, the fact you have to pay extra for some table-stakes features is insulting.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-mesh-wifi-system-130028701.html?src=rss

Much like the ubiquitous Instant Pot that trended before them, air fryers can be a useful addition to your kitchen. While they excel at making things super crispy without excess oil, many of them are true multicookers with different cooking modes like bake, broil and dehydrate. Regardless of if you get a traditional pod-style air fryer or a larger air fryer toaster oven machine, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to use your new appliance for more than just crisping up chicken or french fries. If you’re still on the fence about buying one, or don’t know where to start looking for the best air fryer for you, we at Engadget can help. We’ve detailed our top picks below, along with buying advice that will help you decide which air fryer model is right for you.

What does an air fryer do?

Let’s clear one thing up first: it’s not frying. Not really. Air fryers are more like smaller convection ovens, ones that are often pod-shaped. Most work by combining a heating element and fan, which means the hot air can usually better crisp the outside of food than other methods. They often reach higher top temperatures than toaster ovens – which is part of the appeal.

For most recipes, a thin layer of oil (usually sprayed) helps to replicate that fried look and feel better. However, it will rarely taste precisely like the deep-fried version. Don’t let that put you off, though, because the air fryer, in its many forms, combines some of the best parts of other cooking processes and brings them together into an energy-efficient way of cooking dinner. Or breakfast. Or lunch.

Read more: We’ve also rounded up the best pizza ovens and the best sous vide machines.

Best air fryers for 2024

Buying guide for air fryers Convection ovens

You can separate most air fryers into two types and each has different pros and cons. Convection ovens are usually ovens with air fryer functions and features. They might have higher temperature settings to ensure that food crisps and cooks more like actually fried food. Most convection ovens are larger than dedicated air fryers, defeating some of the purpose of those looking to shrink cooking appliance surface area. Still, they are often more versatile with multiple cooking functions, and most have finer controls for temperatures, timings and even fan speed.

You may never need a built-in oven if you have a decent convection oven. They often have the volume to handle roasts, entire chickens or tray bakes, and simply cook more, capacity-wise, making them more versatile than the pod-shaped competition.

The flip side of that is that you’ll need counter space in the kitchen to house them. It also means you can use traditional oven accessories, like baking trays or cake tins, that you might already own.

Pod-shaped air fryers

Pod-shaped air fryers are what you imagine when you think “air fryer.” They look like a cool, space-age kitchen gadget, bigger than a kettle but smaller than a toaster oven. Many use a drawer to hold ingredients while cooking, usually a mesh sheet or a more solid, non-stick tray with holes to allow the hot air to circulate. With a few exceptions, most require you to open the drawer while things cook and flip or shake half-cooked items to ensure the even distribution of heat and airflow to everything.

That’s one of a few caveats. Most pod-shaped air fryers – there are a few exceptions – don’t have a window to see how things are cooking, so you’ll need to closely scrutinize things as they cook, opening the device to check progress. Basket-style air fryers also generally use less energy – there’s less space to heat – and many have parts that can be put directly into a dishwasher.

Some of the larger pod-shaped air fryers offer two separate compartments, which is especially useful for anyone planning to cook an entire meal with the appliance. You could cook a couple of tasty chicken wings or tenders while simultaneously rustling up enough frozen fries or veggies for everyone. Naturally, those options take up more space, and they’re usually heavy enough to stop you from storing them in cupboards or shelves elsewhere.

As mentioned earlier, you might have to buy extra things to make these pod fryers work the way you want them to. Some of the bigger manufacturers, like Philips and Ninja, offer convenient additions, but you’ll have to pay for them.

Air fryer pros and cons

Beyond the strengths and weaknesses of individual models, air fryers are pretty easy to use from the outset. Most models come with a convenient cooking time booklet covering most of the major foods you’ll be air frying, so even beginners can master these machines.

One of the early selling points is the ability to cook fries, wings, frozen foods and other delights with less fat than other methods like deep frying, which gets foods the crispiest. As air fryers work by circulating heated air, the trays and cooking plates have holes that can also let oil and fat drain out of meats, meaning less fat and crisper food when you finally plate things up. For most cooking situations, you will likely need to lightly spray food with vegetable oil. If you don’t, there’s the chance that things will burn or char. The oil will keep things moist on the surface, and we advise refreshing things with a dash of oil spray when you turn items during cooking.

Most air fryers are easy to clean – especially in comparison to a shallow or deep fryer. We’ll get into cleaning guidance a little later.

With a smaller space to heat, air fryers are generally more energy-efficient for cooking food than larger appliances like ovens. And if you don’t have an oven, air fryers are much more affordable – especially the pod options.

There are, however, some drawbacks. While air fryers are easy enough to use, they take time to master. You will adjust cooking times for even the simplest types of food – like chicken nuggets, frozen French fries or brussels sprouts. If you’re the kind of person that loves to find inspiration from the internet, in our experience, you can pretty much throw their timings out of the window. There are a lot of air fryer options, and factors like how fast they heat and how well distributed that heat is can – and will – affect cooking.

There’s also a space limitation to air fryers. This is not a TARDIS – there’s simply less space than most traditional ovens and many deep fat fryers. If you have a bigger family, you’ll probably want to go for a large capacity air fryer – possibly one that has multiple cooking areas. You also might want to consider a different kitchen appliance, like a multicooker, sous vide or slow cooker to meet your specific cooking needs.

You may also struggle to cook many items through as the heat settings will cook the surface of dishes long before it’s cooked right through. If you’re planning to cook a whole chicken or a roast, please get a meat thermometer!

Best air fryer accessories

Beyond official accessories from the manufacturer, try to pick up silicone-tipped tools. Tongs are ideal, as is a silicon spatula to gently loosen food that might get stuck on the sides of the air fryer. These silicone mats will also help stop things from sticking to the wire racks on some air fryers. They have holes to ensure the heated air is still able to circulate around the food.

Silicone trivets are also useful for resting any cooked food on while you sort out the rest of the meal. And if you find yourself needing oil spray, but don’t feel like repeatedly buying tiny bottles, you can decant your favorite vegetable oil into a permanent mister like this.

How to clean an air fryer

We’re keeping clean up simple here. Yes, you could use power cleaners from the grocery store, they could damage the surface of your air fryer. Likewise, metal scourers or brushes could strip away the non-stick coating. Remember to unplug the device and let it cool completely.

Remove the trays, baskets and everything else from inside. If the manufacturer says the parts are dishwasher safe – and you have a dishwasher – the job is pretty much done.

Otherwise, hand wash each part in a mixture of warm water, with a splash of Dawn or another strong dish soap. Use a soft-bristled brush to pull away any crumbs, greasy deposits or bits of food stuck to any surfaces. Remember to rinse everything. Otherwise, your next batch of wings could have a mild Dawn aftertaste. Trust us.

Take a microfiber cloth and tackle the outer parts and handles that might also get a little messy after repeated uses. This is especially useful for oven-style air fryers – use the cloth to wipe down the inner sides.

If Dawn isn’t shifting oily stains, try mixing a small amount of baking soda with enough water to make a paste, and apply that so that it doesn’t seep into any electrical parts or the heating element. Leave it to work for a few seconds before using a damp cloth to pull any greasy spots away. Rinse out the cloth and wipe everything down again, and you should be ready for the next time you need to air fry.

How to find air fryer recipes

Beyond fries, nuggets and – a revelation – frozen gyoza, there are a few ways to find recipes for air-fried foods. First, we found that the air fryer instruction manuals often have cooking guides and recipe suggestions for you to test out in your new kitchen gadget. The good thing with these is that they were made for your air fryer model, meaning success should be all but guaranteed. They are often a little unimaginative, however.

Many of the top recipe sites and portals have no shortage of air fryer recipes, and there’s no harm in googling your favorite cuisine and adding the words “air fryer” on the end of the search string. We’ve picked up some reliable options from Delish, which also has a handy air fryer time converter for changing oven and traditional fryer recipes.

BBC Good Food is also worth browsing for some simple ideas, as is NYT Cooking, with the ability to directly search for air fryer suggestions.

And if you have a killer recipe or unique use for your air fryer, let us know in the comments. What’s the air fryer equivalent of the Instant Pot cheesecake? We’re ready to try it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-air-fryers-133047180.html?src=rss

China has introduced guidelines that bar the the use of US processors from AMD and Intel in government computers and servers, The Financial Times has reported. The new rules also block Microsoft Windows and foreign database products in favor of domestic solutions, marking the latest move in a long-running tech trade war between the two countries.

Government agencies must now use "safe and reliable" domestic replacements for AMD and Intel chips. The list includes 18 approved processors, including chips from Huawei and the state-backed company Phytium — both of which are banned in the US. 

The new rules — introduced in December and quietly implemented recently — could have a significant impact on Intel and AMD. China accounted for 27 percent of Intel's $54 billion in sales last year and 15 percent of AMD's revenue of $23 billion, according to the FT. It's not clear how many chips are used in government versus the private sector, however. 

The moves are China's most aggressive yet to restrict the use of US-built technology. Last year, Beijing prohibited domestic firms from using Micron chips in critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the US has banned a wide range of Chinese companies ranging from chip manufacturers to aerospace firms. The Biden administration has also blocked US companies like NVIDIA from selling AI and other chips to China. 

The US, Japan and the Netherlands have dominated the manufacturing of cutting-edge processors, and those nations recently agreed to tighten export controls on lithography machines from ASL, Nikon and Tokyo Electron. However, Chinese companies, including Baidu, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have already started designing their own semiconductors to prepare for a future wherein they could longer import chips from the US and other countries.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/china-bans-intel-and-amd-processors-in-government-computers-065859238.html?src=rss

GKIDS and Fathom Events have announced the lineup for Studio Ghibli Fest 2024, and it’s absolutely stacked with gems. This year’s run includes 14 films and isn’t limited only to the works of Hayao Miyazaki, also featuring movies directed by Isao Takahata, Yoshifumi Kondo, Hiroyuki Morita and Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Studio Ghibli Fest 2024 will start with Spirited Away on April 27 and continue through December, when it ends with My Neighbor Totoro. The movies are playing in select AMC and Regal theaters across the US, with a few dates for each title in both Japanese and English dubbed.

The full list is: Spirited Away (April 27-May 1), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (May 19 and 21), Castle in the Sky (May 20 and 22), The Secret World of Arrietty (June 9 and 11), When Marnie Was There (June 10 and 12), Princess Mononoke (July 13-17), Ponyo (August 3-7), Whisper of the Heart (August 25 and 27), The Cat Returns (August 26 and 28), Howl’s Moving Castle (September 26-October 3), Kiki’s Delivery Service (October 26-30), Pom Poko (November 24 and 26), The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (November 25 and 27), and My Neighbor Totoro (December 7-11).

I’m already crying thinking about watching Nausicaä and Princess Kaguya on the big screen. Actually, you can apply that sentiment to pretty much all of these titles. It’s going to be great. According to the announcement, there will also be “surprise special extra content.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/studio-ghibli-fest-will-bring-14-movies-back-to-theaters-this-year-so-start-planning-201908784.html?src=rss

The newly independent game studio Toys for Bob, which announced last month that it was splitting from Microsoft-owned Activision, has entered an agreement with Xbox for a new game, according to Windows Central. The deal was reportedly mentioned during a recent town hall meeting. Toys for Bob developed 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy and was behind Crash Bandicoot 4, along with the Nintendo Switch port for the N. Sane Trilogy.

There are no real details yet as to what the new title might be, aside from a comment by Xbox’s Matt Booty that it will be in line with the kind of games Toys for Bob has become known for, according to sources cited by Windows Central. Toys for Bob also led the development of the early Skylanders toys-to-life games. Though it only recently departed from the Activision Blizzard/Microsoft family, the studio indicated leading up to the news of its deal with Xbox that it would remain open to working with its former employer on future projects.

In February, Toys for Bob said it was “exploring a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft,” and that it was “confident that we will continue to work closely together” with Activision and Microsoft. “So, keep your horns on and your eyes out for more news,” the studio wrote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/studio-behind-spyro-remakes-and-crash-bandicoot-4-is-reportedly-working-with-xbox-on-a-new-game-173738945.html?src=rss

Sonos is readying the release of its followup to 2021’s Roam speaker, and it should be here in time for all your outdoor summer excursions. In the Power On newsletter this week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Sonos is planning a June release for the Roam 2 speaker. The first-generation Roam was Sonos’ second attempt at a portable speaker, with a slim, triangular build that weighs less than a pound but produces impressive sound.

According to Gurman, this version of the Roam will feature the same touch-sensitive control panel seen in some of the company’s other speakers, like the Era 100. Sonos is also reportedly working on a new app to pair with its devices, starting with the Roam 2 and an upcoming set of premium headphones that are positioned as an AirPods Max rival. Those headphones will cost $450, Gurman reports, and are also expected to be released in June a bit behind their original schedule.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonos-roam-2-portable-speaker-may-arrive-just-in-time-for-summer-152535125.html?src=rss

Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel exclusively joins Meet the Press to discuss her time leading the RNC. Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer reflects on the state of U.S. democracy and the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Stephen Hayes, Kimberly Atkins Stohr and Chuck Todd join the Meet the Press roundtable.

SAG-AFTRA has ratified new contracts for voice actors working in TV animation after members’ votes came in at over 95 percent in favor of the terms. The three-year agreements put into place new protections around the use of AI, including a requirement that producers obtain an actor’s consent before using their name as a prompt to create an AI-generated voice. SAG-AFTRA announced the contracts’ approval on Friday night. They’ll be effective through June 30, 2026.

Per the new contracts, “the term ‘voice actor’ only includes humans.” The contracts also outline voice actors’ rights around studios’ use of their digital replicas, and require producers to notify and bargain with the union any time they use AI-generated voices instead of voice actors. “This is the first SAG-AFTRA animation voiceover contract with protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence,” TV Animation Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the agreement “represents a meaningful step forward in expanding our A.I. protections,” along with providing “important new terms in the areas of foreign residuals, high-budget SVOD [subscription video-on-demand] productions, late payments and much more.” The contracts establish a series of wage increases, starting with a 7 percent increase dated back to July 1, 2023, which actors will receive retroactive payments for. That will be followed by a 4 percent increase July 1 of this year, and a 3.5 percent increase the following year.

The union earlier this year announced that it had reached a deal with the AI voice generation company Replica Studios to give voice actors a way to “safely” license their digital voice replicas for video games. AI protection were also a crucial component of the strike-ending deal SAG-AFTRA reached with Hollywood studios late last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sag-aftra-ratifies-tv-animation-contracts-that-establish-ai-protections-for-voice-actors-190911363.html?src=rss

The bright orange Rabbit R1 is easily one of the most memorable devices to have debuted this year, and if you’re among the lucky few who were able to put in an order before the first batch sold out, yours will soon be on its way to you. According to Rabbit, the first batch of US pre-orders will ship out on March 31 (Easter Sunday). It’ll take a few weeks for the devices to get to their destinations, though. The company estimates the first R1 orders will be in customers’ hands “around April 24.”

Rabbit is also hosting a pickup party in New York City on April 23 that it says is open to all buyers, not just batch one. It plans to release more information on the party and the first deliveries next week.

The company’s Rabbit R1 demo, which came in parallel to CES, sparked a lot of hype and a lot more questions about the purpose of dedicated AI hardware in the era of smartphones. It’s positioned as a more useful AI assistant that can go with you anywhere, powered in large part by San Francisco startup Perplexity’s LLM. Co-designed by Teenage Engineering, the Rabbit R1 features a physical scroll wheel and a rotating camera, plus an adorable animated bunny that serves as its mascot.

r1 pickup party in NYC April 23rd.

RSVP will only be available to confirmed r1 order customers of all batches.

Confirmed customers will be able to pick up r1 on site.

More event details coming soon. pic.twitter.com/MKry7LdhfZ

— rabbit inc. (@rabbit_hmi) March 23, 2024

The company started taking pre-orders for the $199 Rabbit R1 back in January, and the first several batches of 10,000 devices each sold out fast. While batch one starts shipping soon, buyers who got in later will still have to wait several months for theirs to arrive. Pre-orders are currently open for batch seven.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-starts-shipping-to-the-first-batch-of-us-buyers-next-week-162804743.html?src=rss

Federal authorities in the US asked Google for the names, addresses, telephone numbers and user activity of the accounts that watched certain YouTube videos between January 1 and 8, 2023, according to unsealed court documents viewed by Forbes. People who watched those videos while they weren't logged into an account weren't safe either, because the government also asked for their IP addresses. The investigators reportedly ordered Google to hand over the information as part of an investigation into someone who uses the name "elonmuskwhm" online. 

Authorities suspect that elonmuskwhm is selling bitcoin for cash and is, thus, breaking money laundering laws, as well as running an unlicensed money transmitting business. Undercover agents reportedly sent the suspect links to videos of YouTube tutorials for mapping via drones and augmented reality software in their conversations back in early January. Those videos, however, weren't private and had been collectively viewed by over 30,000 times, which means the government was potentially asking Google for private information on quite a large number of users. "There is reason to believe that these records would be relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation, including by providing identification information about the perpetrators," authorities reportedly told the company. 

Based on the documents Forbes had seen, the court granted the order but had asked Google to keep it under wraps. It's also unclear if Google handed over the data the authorities were asking for. In another incident, authorities asked the company for a list of accounts that "viewed and/or interacted" with eight YouTube livestreams. Cops requested for that information after learning that they were being watched through a stream while they were searching an area following a report that an explosive was placed inside a trashcan. One of those video livestreams was posted by the Boston and Maine Live account, which has over 130,000 subscribers.

A Google spokesperson told Forbes that the company follows a "rigorous process" to protect the privacy of its users. But critics and privacy advocates are still concerned that government agencies are overstepping and are using their power to obtain sensitive information on people who just happened to watch specific YouTube videos and aren't in any way doing anything illegal. 

"What we watch online can reveal deeply sensitive information about us—our politics, our passions, our religious beliefs, and much more," John Davisson, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told Forbes. "It's fair to expect that law enforcement won't have access to that information without probable cause. This order turns that assumption on its head."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/authorities-reportedly-ordered-google-to-reveal-the-identities-of-some-youtube-videos-viewers-140018019.html?src=rss

After testing dozens of Bluetooth speakers, one thing was clear to me: there are plenty of good options for most consumers out there. That’s both a blessing and a curse, though, because it can quickly get overwhelming when you go to buy a new one ahead of your next camping trip or beach outing. I tried out a number of speakers at all different price points, from sub-$100 models to high-end, $500 and up gadgets, and most of them sounded pretty good upon first listen. But in comparing them head-to-head, that’s when I began to suss out the nuances among the best-sounding ones. Ultimately there’s no best portable Bluetooth speaker for everyone, but there are plenty of good options at various price points that should fit most use cases. These are our favorites.

Factors to consider before purchasing a portable Bluetooth speaker Weather-proofing

IP ratings (Ingress Protection) are the alphanumeric indicators you often see in a product’s spec sheet that define the tested resistance of a product to both solid objects (dirt, dust, fingers?) and water. It’s usually a combo of two numbers with the first indicating solid object ingress and the second being water. The former goes from 0 (no protection) to 6 (dustproof). The water-resistance rating goes from 0 (no protection) to 9 (protected against immersion and high pressure jets). When an X is used instead of a number, that means the product wasn’t tested for resistance. If it’s waterproof, it may have some innate resistance to solids, but there’s no guarantee.

IP67 is a common rating these days indicating highly resistant and potentially rugged speakers suitable for outdoor adventures. These are safe for quick dunks in the pool or tub and should be more than OK in the rain or in the shower. They’re also good options for the beach, playground and other rough environs.

Additionally, speakers with ports and a high rating will often include a tight-fitting cover over the charging or auxiliary ports. If you plan on using the ports, that may limit the product's rated ability to fend off the elements.

Consider the IP rating and also how you plan to use your Bluetooth speaker when making your decision. It may be worth splurging on a better sounding model with a lower IP rating if you’ll mostly be using it indoors, for instance.

Battery life

The focus of this guide is on portable Bluetooth speakers, and while “portable” can be a relative term, these devices are generally for people who are likely to find themselves far from a power outlet. These days, around 12 hours of runtime seems to be the baseline but obviously, the more battery life you can get out of a speaker, the better.

That said, be careful when looking at battery specs, as they frequently list a maximum runtime (“up to” x amount of hours). This usually means they tested at a low to mid volume. If you like your tunes loud, it can often end up cutting the expected usage time in half or more. Luckily, some manufacturers also list the expected hours of battery life when used at full volume and that transparency is appreciated.

Additionally, if your Bluetooth speaker also happens to have WiFi connectivity, they're usually designed for always-on functionality. Unlike normal Bluetooth speakers that go to sleep after a short period without use, these will usually stay awake (to listen for your commands) and slowly run down the battery. If you're out and about, you'll want to remember to turn these speakers off manually when not in use to maximize battery life.

Range

Bluetooth range is tricky business. Some companies list their product’s longest possible range, usually outdoors and in an unobstructed line-of-sight test environment. Other companies stick with a 30-foot range on the spec sheet and leave it at that, even though they may be running Bluetooth 4.x or 5.x. That’s likely underselling the speaker's potential, but unpredictable environments can affect range and there’s little point in promising the moon only to get complaints.

I’ve seen signal drop issues when crouching down, with my phone in the front pocket of my jeans, and barely 30 feet away from a speaker inside my apartment. I ran into this issue across several devices regardless of their listed Bluetooth connectivity range.

If you’re hosting a patio party and duck inside, it’s wise to have the source device remain close by just in case. It’s hard to gauge what aspects of any environment may interfere with a Bluetooth signal. In general, take range specs around 100 feet or more as a perfect-world scenario.

Latency

This is a minor mention for those out there who use a speaker for their computer output, or as a mini soundbar solution for setups like a monitor and streaming box. It’s annoying to find that your speaker’s latency isn’t low enough to avoid lip sync issues. Luckily, it seems that most speakers these days don’t often have these problems. Only a handful of the few dozen speakers I tried had persistent, noticeable lip-sync issues. Aside from occasional blips, all of our picks worked well in this regard.

If you plan to frequently use a speaker for video playback, look for devices with the most recent Bluetooth versions (4.x or 5.x) and lower latency codecs like aptX. Also make sure the speaker is close to the source device as distance can be a factor. To avoid the issue altogether, though, consider getting one with a wired auxiliary input.

Best Bluetooth speakers: $50 to $200

Best Bluetooth speakers: $200 to $450

Best high-range portable bluetooth speakers: $450 and higher

Other portable Bluetooth speakers we tested Sonos Roam

While there's a lot to like about the Sonos Roam, there are plenty of other Bluetooth speakers with more features and better battery life. In our review, we gave the Roam a score of 87, praising it for its good sound quality, durable waterproof design and ability to work well within an existing Sonos speaker ecosystem. But the price is just fine at $180, and we found Bluetooth speakers that offer more at lower price points. Plus, the Roam taps out at 10 hours of battery life, and all of our top picks can run for longer than that on a single charge.

Monoprice Soundstage3

The Monoprice Soundstage3 offers relatively big sound at a midrange $250 price, with a variety of inputs rarely found on a portable Bluetooth speaker. The boxy, minimalist design is no nonsense, even if it's more of a less-rugged, bookshelf-styled homebody. While the speaker puts out crisp highs alongside booming lows, we found the bass can overpower the rest of the output, so it's not for everyone. And after using the speaker for many months, we also found the low-slung, poorly labeled button panel along the top can be a bit annoying to use. If you want a speaker for road trips, favor mids and highs, and plan on using physical buttons for volume control and input selections, there are better options out there.

JBL Boombox 3

Fans of JBL’s bluetooth speaker sound profile who want to crank up the volume, but also want a rugged and portable option, may enjoy the JBL Boombox 3. It’s a decent grab-and-go speaker with a very loud output, although it's not as good as some of the loud-speaker styled options for long-throw sound and big outdoor areas. However, the price for this speaker line remains prohibitively expensive compared to other options with big sound that cover a bit more ground. If the JBL brand is your thing and you like the rugged, portable form factor, we recommend looking for discounts, or shopping around and exploring the available options including the (less portable) JBL PartyBox series.

Soundcore Motion X500

Soundcore speakers have generally been good and often reasonably priced. The Motion X500 loosely falls into that category. It has a tall, metallic lunchbox vibe with a fixed handle and pumps out a respectable 40 watts of crisp, clear sound for its size. It can get pretty loud and serves up a good dose of bass, although its primarily a front-facing speaker.

There’s LDAC hi-res audio support for Android users, but the main selling point on this is spatial audio. This is done through an EQ change and the activation of a small, up-firing driver. There’s a slight benefit from this if you’re up close and directly in front of it, but it’s not a total game changer for your listening experience. The original pre-order price of $130 made it a decent option in terms of bang for your buck. But it went up to $170 at launch, making it less appealing even if it’s still a good middle-of-the-road option if you want small-ish, clear and loud. If you can find one on sale for the lower price, it’s definitely worth considering. There’s also the larger and louder X600 ($200) if the overall concept is working for you.

FAQs How does a Bluetooth speaker work?

Bluetooth technology lets devices connect and exchange data over short distances using ultra high frequency (UHF) radio waves. It’s the frequency range that’s carved out for industrial, scientific and medical purposes, called the 2.4GHz ISM spectrum band. This range is available worldwide, making it easy for companies to use with devices for global markets.

Bluetooth speakers include this tech, which lets them communicate with source devices like smartphones, tablets or computers in order to exchange data. The two devices pair by sharing a unique code and will work within the proscribed range for the device and Bluetooth version. 

Ever since Bluetooth 4.0 was released over a decade ago, new iterations usually improve on range, use less power and offer expanded connectivity with features like multipoint (allowing more than one device to be connected at the same time, for instance).

Who should buy a Portable Bluetooth speaker?

If you want to play music while you’re out-and-about on something other than headphones, a portable Bluetooth speaker is probably what you want. There’s a broad range of devices for all types of circumstances. Many adventurous people will want a relatively lightweight portable that’s rugged enough to handle the elements while also packing enough charge to play for hours on end. Others may simply need a speaker they can move around the house or use in the backyard. In this case, you can choose larger less rugged models that may offer better sound. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-portable-bluetooth-speakers-133004551.html?src=rss

Enlarge / BMW's M2 might be the last M car it builds with three pedals and a stick shift. (credit: Peter Nelson)

We're at an interesting crossroads in the high-performance enthusiast car market. Running east to west is the adoption of electric vehicles and a slow reduction in internal combustion engine car production. North to south is the progression of ICE horsepower from the factory over the years, and it's unclear how far it continues from here. Coming in diagonally is the weakening demand for manual transmissions—this is sadly where they end.

In the middle of this intersection is the 2024 BMW M2 six-speed manual, hanging its tail out in a massive controlled drift around the edges, expressing one last hurrah as BMW's final object of internal-combustion M car affection.

I recently had the opportunity to pilot BMW's latest, smallest M car through some of Southern California's most fun mountain roads, plus Willow Springs International Raceway's Streets of Willow circuit. When it comes to quickly figuring out this kind of car's powertrain and chassis, I can't think of a better mix of pavement. Here's what makes the latest—and last—six-speed-manual-equipped M2 generation an overall excellent enthusiast coupe.

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Enlarge / Steve Huffman, u/spez on Reddit, sold 500,000 of his shares in Reddit’s IPO on Thursday (credit: AFP via Getty Images)

In an interview on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor ahead of Reddit’s market debut on Thursday, chief executive Steve Huffman acknowledged that the mischievous retail investors that congregate on the social media platform might deliberately drive down its share price.

“It’s a free market!” he said.

For Reddit, as for Huffman, the bet on a public offering for a site he described as a “fun and special, but sometimes crazy place” has appeared to pay off.

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If you're in the US, you might see a new shaded section at the top of your Google Search results with a summary answering your inquiry, along with links for more information. That section, generated by Google's generative AI technology, used to appear only if you've opted into the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the Search Labs platform. Now, according to Search Engine Land, Google has started adding the experience on a "subset of queries, on a small percentage of search traffic in the US." And that is why you could be getting Google's experimental AI-generated section even if you haven't switched it on. 

The company introduced SGE at its I/O developer conference in May last year, shortly after it opened up access to its ChatGPT rival Bard, now called Gemini. By November, it had rolled out the feature to 120 countries with more languages other than English, but it still remained opt in. Search Engine Land says Google will start showing you the experience even if you haven't opted in if you look up complex queries or if it thinks you could benefit from getting information from multiple websites. "How do I get marks off painted walls," is apparently one example. 

Google told the publication that for these tests, it will only show AI overviews if it has confidence that they will show information better than what Search results might surface. Apparently, the company is conducting these tests, because it wants to get feedback from more people, specifically from those who didn't choose to activate the feature. That way it can have a better idea of how generative AI can serve those who may not be tech-savvy or those who couldn't care less about generative AI. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-will-start-showing-ai-powered-search-results-to-users-who-didnt-opt-in-093036257.html?src=rss

Enlarge / One day I will own griffons in such spectacular fashion. But I'm currently carrying a too-heavy backpack and clipped through a hut wall.

With all due respect to the Capcom team, which poured itself into Dragon’s Dogma 2 and deserves praise, raises, and time off, let me get right to it: I love this game for how dumb it is.

I mean "dumb" in the way most heavy metal lyrics are dumb, but you find yourself rocking out nonetheless. Dumb like when you laugh uncontrollably at the sight of someone getting conked in the head and falling over backward. Dumb as in the silliest bits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, just nowhere near as self-aware (unless, due to translation issues, this game actually is self-aware, then I apologize).

Dragon’s Dogma 2 (DD2) reminds me of playing another huge, dumb, enjoyable game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Not the first time you play through it, though. I’m talking about the second or third run-through (or that 100-plus-hour save in which you refuse to finish the game), and your admiration of this huge, rich world gives way to utter ridiculousness. You one-shot dragons with your broken stealth-archer build, you put buckets on the heads of NPCs to rob them, and you marvel at how the most effective fast travel is horse tilting. You lunge into possibilities, choose chaos, and appreciate all the ways you can do so.

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Enlarge / XB-1 takes off on its inaugural flight. (credit: Boom Supersonic)

A prototype jet independently developed by Boom Supersonic made its first flight on Friday, the company said.

The XB-1 vehicle flew from Mojave Air & Space Port in California, reaching an altitude of 7,120 feet (2.2 km) and a maximum speed of 273 mph (439 kph). In a news release, Boom Supersonic said the initial test flight of the XB-1 aircraft met all of its objectives.

"The experience we have gained in reaching this milestone will be invaluable to Boom’s revival of supersonic travel," said Bill “Doc” Shoemaker, Chief Test Pilot for Boom Supersonic.

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"Once you’ve taken a nap with a dog in the middle of the day, how can you continue to believe in capitalism even a little bit"

Several gunmen opened fire at a concert hall in Russia, reportedly killing at least 40 people. The Senate is expected to vote on a $1.2 trillion spending package hours before the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) joins to discuss the U.N.'s rejection of the U.S. resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

After public outcry, General Motors has decided to stop sharing driving data from its connected cars with data brokers. Last week, news broke that customers enrolled in GM's OnStar Smart Driver app have had their data shared with LexisNexis and Verisk.

Those data brokers in turn shared the information with insurance companies, resulting in some drivers finding it much harder or more expensive to obtain insurance. To make matters much worse, customers allege they never signed up for OnStar Smart Driver in the first place, claiming the choice was made for them by salespeople during the car-buying process.

Now, in what feels like an all-too-rare win for privacy in the 21st century, that data-sharing deal is no more.

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• Only the most dedicated "Carmen" fans—or North Dakotan educators of a certain age—are likely to have this one in their collections. [credit: Kyle Orland / VGHF ]

SAN FRANCISCO—Trade shows like the Game Developers Conference and the (dearly departed) E3 are a great chance to see what's coming down the pike for the game industry. But they can also be a great place to celebrate gaming's history, as we've shown you with any number of on-site photo galleries in years past.

The history display tucked away in a corner of this year's Game Developers Conference—the first one arranged by the Video Game History Foundation—was a little different. Rather than simply laying out a parcel of random collectibles, as past history-focused booths have, VGHF took a more curated approach, with mini-exhibits focused on specific topics like women in gaming, oddities of gaming music, and an entire case devoted to a little-known entry in a famous edutainment series.

Then there was the central case, devoted to the idea that all sorts of ephemera—from design docs to photos to pre-release prototypes to newsletters to promotional items—were all an integral part of video game history. The organization is practically begging developers, journalists, and fan hoarders of all stripes not to throw out even items that seem like they have no value. After all, today's trash might be tomorrow's important historic relic.

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