Technology

Comcast has received a patent for a smart speaker — one with a very unusual design, to say the least (thanks to @SteveDonohue on Twitter for pointing this out). Instead of opting for a spherical shape that comes with the Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod Mini, or even the rounded rectangular look of the Google Nest Audio device, a sketch shows what appears to be a speaker with a sloped top and a wide base. Online records show that Comcast first filed for the patent last year, but it didn’t get approved until April 2022. As seen in the sketch, the device seems to have playback controls on the side of the speaker, with an additional button and a small stand on the bottom. The smart speaker design kind of looks like a bedpan (sorry, not sorry).Image: Comcast via USPTO At first glance, I’d say thi...

Ayn, the maker of the Odin Android handheld, is releasing a lineup of what it calls the “most affordable” portable Windows gaming consoles yet (via Liliputing). The cheapest of the bunch starts at just $299 — $100 less than the 64GB Steam Deck. Ayn announced the news in a YouTube video and a series of posts on Instagram, giving us a look at what we can expect for looks, tech specs, and pricing. While the entry-level $299 Loki Mini comes with 64GB of storage and an Intel Alder Lake U chip, the standard Loki handheld has an AMD Ryzen 5 6600U chip with three different storage options: 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB, each costing $499, $599, and $699, respectively. The $799 Loki Max features an upgraded AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chip and 512GB of storage. [embedded content] If you’re not happy with the amount...

While Google’s Chromebooks are all about online services, sometimes you need a good old-fashioned printout to accompany your digital adventures. Printing from a Chromebook has gotten a lot easier over the years, but it still isn’t always obvious how to get started or which paths to embrace. Follow this guide, and with any luck, you’ll be churning out paper from your cloud-centric computer in no time. [Note: unfortunately, the Cloud Print system, which made it a lot easier to print using any cloud-connected device, was relegated to the Google graveyard in 2020. This means that some older printers may not be able to print from a Chromebook, period. Before purchasing a printer, especially a used one, make sure it’s compatible with ChromeOS. Google lists some compatible printers on this page.]...

With terrifying beasts like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, Stranger Things has slowly been building up an impressive bestiary of monsters. But, for the latest season, the show goes in a slightly different direction. Its new baddie, called Vecna, is less of a mindless beast and more of a classic-style ‘80s movie monster in the mold of Freddy or Jason. So showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer tapped prosthetics designer Barrie Gower to help bring their attempt at an iconic villain to life. “The quite interesting thing about Stranger Things is it’s this huge property already, and it’s got this great design sense to it,” Gower tells The Verge. “They already had a very clear vision of what they wanted to do with this character.” Gower is no stranger to showcase villains, having previously worke...

Due to the general but chilling similarities the opening scenes of Stranger Things 4 bear to the recent mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Netflix has issued a content warning. In addition to a recap of Stranger Things’ previous chapters, the new season starts with a short message explaining that while production on Stranger Things 4 wrapped in 2021, viewers may be disturbed by the parallels between scenes from the first episode and the real world Texas school shooting that left two teachers and 19 school children dead. In the days leading up to Stranger Things’ season 4 premiere, Netflix had previously uploaded the scenes in question to YouTube as a teaser, but the video has since been pulled down. Netflix’s content warning, pictured below, pops up when you play the...

The servers for the Dark Souls series have been offline for PC players for months due to a remote code execution (RCE) exploit that could let hackers take over your computer, but developer FromSoftware is in the process of restoring the servers, according to a PC Gamer article published Friday. “We are currently in the process of restoring the online servers for the Dark Souls series on PC,” FromSoftware said to PC Gamer in an email. “We plan to restore online service for each game progressively, bringing back servers for Dark Souls 3 once we complete the necessary work to correct the problem. We will provide additional updates as soon as the restoration schedule is finalized. We want to thank all our players for your patience and understanding as we work to fix this issue.” It’s unclear w...

Nintendo has promised to fix an annoying bug that’s cropped up in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, a Nintendo 64 game that’s available via Nintendo’s Online Expansion Pack subscription. According to NintendoLife, the bug makes it so players can’t move if they’re hit by certain enemies or items in the game’s underwater levels. The only way to fix it, according to people who say they’ve experienced the bug, is to exit the level. The issue seems to be caused by Nintendo’s emulator, as players report that they don’t remember it happening in the original version of the game or in other ports (it was available through the Virtual Console on the Wii and Wii U). In a tweet on Friday, the company said that a patch to fix the issue “will be released early next week.” A bug has been found in #Kirby 64: ...

The recent collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin caught the crypto market by surprise. For people who saw Terra as a more secure asset compared to other, more openly volatile cryptocurrencies, and invested heavily in the coin or its associated Anchor protocol, they are now dealing with the aftermath as they let go of assets to try and make up for their lost nest eggs. A report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday told the stories of several of these investors, including one doctor who explained how the fall of TerraUSD is affecting his family’s future. Keith Baldwin, a 44-year-old surgeon who lives outside New Bedford, Mass., saved $177,000 during the past decade. Last year he took his savings and bought USD Coin, putting it in a crypto account that paid a 9% annual yield. In April, he...

Diablo Immortal is hell, literally, but playing it doesn’t have to be. Ahead of the game’s June 2nd release date, the Diablo team at Blizzard talked about some of the accessibility features they’ve built into Diablo Immortal to make hell that works for everyone. Controller support was something really important to bring to Diablo Immortal. “You will be able to play Diablo Immortal with controllers on both mobile devices and on PC,” Blizzard wrote in its accessibility blog. “Many controls — including skills, accessing chat, and more — can be remapped from the controller tab of the settings menu.” In addition to controller support, Blizzard is also sending Diablo Immortal reviewers a Razer Kishi controller that turns your phone into a Switch or Steam Deck-like apparatus. While Blizzard is se...

As it occasionally does, the company formerly known as Facebook has produced a new revision of its Terms of Service and updated its privacy policy. The old Facebook Data Policy is now Meta’s Privacy Policy, rewritten “to make it easier to understand and to reflect the latest products we offer.” With this revision, Meta “is not collecting, using or sharing your data in new ways based on this policy update and we still do not sell your information,” according to the company. Instead, this update tweaks the language and adds examples to help people understand what each segment is about. “the status quo is not good for privacy” After reading through the new policy and comparing it to the old one, this appears to hold up, for better or worse. John Davisson, the senior counsel for the Electronic...