Between the July 4th holiday and Amazon Prime Day coming up in a couple of weeks, there are a bunch of tech deals available right now. Solo Stove’s Independence Day sale knocks up to 45 percent off fire pits, while our favorite ThermoWorks food thermometer is down to only $79. Early Prime Day sales bring… Continue reading The best 4th of July tech sales we could find
Author: Engadget Online News
Meta cuts hiring plans as it prepares for ‘serious times’
In a weekly employee Q&A session, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said the company is experiencing “one of the worst downturns [it has seen] in recent history.” According to Reuters, the executive has revealed that Meta has slashed its target number for new engineers hires this year by about 30 percent. Meta previously said that… Continue reading Meta cuts hiring plans as it prepares for ‘serious times’
FCC cracks down on robocalls originating from small carriers
Starting today, small phone carriers must implement a special caller ID authentication tool that will help identify robocallers, the Federal Communication Commission announced. Known as STIR/SHAKEN, major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon — due to an FCC rule adopted in 2020 — have had the same tool in place since last year. The agency… Continue reading FCC cracks down on robocalls originating from small carriers
Roland’s SP-404 MKII sampler gets powerful new sequencing features and effects
When I went hands-on with Roland’s SP-404 MKII back in October I said it was “becoming” my favorite sampler. Fast forward a few months and it is firmly entrenched in that spot. Of course, no piece of gear is perfect, and there’s always room for improvement. So Roland is pushing out a 2.0 firmware update… Continue reading Roland’s SP-404 MKII sampler gets powerful new sequencing features and effects
OpenSea users’ email addresses leaked in data breach
NFT marketplace OpenSea shared today that it’s the victim of another data breach — though this time the target is one of its vendors. An employee of its email delivery vendor, Customer.io, allegedly downloaded and shared stored email addresses associated with OpenSea accounts and newsletter subscriptions with an unknown third party. Any OpenSea account holder… Continue reading OpenSea users’ email addresses leaked in data breach
A swarm of Cruise robotaxis blocked San Francisco traffic for hours
A small fleet of Cruise robotaxis in San Francisco suddenly stopped operating on Tuesday night, effectively stopping traffic on a street in the city’s Fillmore district for a couple of hours until employees were able to arrive. TechCrunch first noticed a Reddit post that featured a photo of the stalled driverless cabs at the corner… Continue reading A swarm of Cruise robotaxis blocked San Francisco traffic for hours
Cyberattack impacts unemployment benefits in several states
A cyberattack on a third-party vendor has impacted employment services, including unemployment benefits, in several states, according to the Associated Press. Some state employment websites have been offline since Sunday, including the ones in Tennessee and Nebraska. “We recently identified anomalous activity on our network, and immediately took [Tennessee’s] Jobs4TN system offline to halt the… Continue reading Cyberattack impacts unemployment benefits in several states
The EU extends its ‘Roam-like-at-home’ mobile service rule through 2032
Back in 2017, the European Union took the shockingly rational step of largely eliminating roaming charges for its citizens travelling among member nations, dubbing it the “Roam-like-at-home” system. Operating across the 27 countries that make up the European Economic Area as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — but not the UK because Brexit —… Continue reading The EU extends its ‘Roam-like-at-home’ mobile service rule through 2032
FDA asks COVID-19 vaccine makers to update boosters to target new Omicron variants
The Food and Drug Administration has asked COVID-19 vaccine makers to update booster shots to tackle newer Omicron variants that are on the rise. It says the manufacturers should add a spike protein component to shots to target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants in addition to the original strain. An “overwhelming majority” of the… Continue reading FDA asks COVID-19 vaccine makers to update boosters to target new Omicron variants
Niantic’s Campfire social AR app rolls out for ‘Pokémon Go’ players
With Pokémon Go, Niantic became the poster child for the power of mobile augmented reality (AR) apps. Since then, the company has struggled to recapture that glory. Yesterday’s round of layoffs and canceled projects cemented how difficult things are for Niantic, driven by the pandemic that has made it tough for people to get outside… Continue reading Niantic’s Campfire social AR app rolls out for ‘Pokémon Go’ players