Hasta La Gadget!

We’re still officially in “teaser trailer” territory for the new season of Squid Game but a lot of interesting details just dropped in the latest one for season two.

The new trailer takes us deeper into the games as Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, returns to the island presumably to take down the rich tyrants and the Front Man from the inside of the tournament. Seong is back as a player (Player 456 again, to be specific) and at least two of the games from the last season will be part of the new one, including “Green Light” and the dalgona cookie cutting challenge. This time, however, they have an experienced contestant in the sea of green, bloodied jumpsuits who can tell them how to avoid the pitfalls (figuratively and literally if the Mirror Bridge returns).

Seong seems to be on a personal crusade to save the latest batch of players who may not have any understanding of the games and its very high stakes. Unlike last season, Seong isn’t smiling when he takes his official contestant photo. The new trailer also features an impassioned Seong trying to convince the new batch of players to vote to leave the island with their lives still intact.

The next season of Squid Game lands on Netflix the day after Christmas, but for me, it still cannot get here quick enough.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-gives-us-another-sneak-peek-of-squid-game-season-two-204719198.html?src=rss

Hydrogen-powered vehicles haven’t really caught on as an alternative means of eco-friendly transportation. Hyundai, however, hopes to fix that with a bigger investment in the technology and its newest hydrogen-powered concept SUV called the Initium.

Hyundai announced it plans to start production on the hydrogen SUV in the first half of next year. The Initium can run approximately 404 miles on a single refueling and can also run on electric power as a backup that can be recharged from a household electricity supply. The vehicle will also make its public debut at the LA Auto Show and Auto Guangzhou in China next month. It’s not yet confirmed where the cars will be available when they go on sale so a US launch isn’t guaranteed.

The Initium may just be a concept car for now but Hyundai seems committed to bringing its newest hydrogen car to drivers quickly, even if the fuel source hasn’t made nearly as many strides towards widespread acceptance as electric options. The South Korean carmaker is planning on investing $4 billion to develop its hydrogen vehicle technology and infrastructure to meet its complete carbon neutrality goal by 2045 with cars like the Initium and the electric Ioniq 5 unveiled last year.

Hydrogen may be an efficient alternative to gasoline but it still has a ways to go to be competitive with electric vehicles (and that’s without acknowledging the continued prevalence of gasoline-powered cars). There are only 59 hydrogen charging stations in the US with most of them in California, according to the US Department of Energy. There are only a handful of carmakers who still offer a hydrogen powered option including Hyundai (the Nexo SUV) and Toyota (the Mirari). Honda used to offer a hydrogen car with The Clarity but it ended production in 2021, according to Car & Driver.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/hyundai-reveals-its-newest-hydrogen-powered-vehicle-the-initium-192235417.html?src=rss

WhatsApp just announced a custom lists feature to help users keep track of the neverending glut of conversations. This is basically a refined version of the chat filters feature that was released earlier this year.

The appropriately-named Lists tool allows people to filter chats via a myriad of custom categories. Users can create lists for family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors or just about anyone else. The platform says that these tools “help you focus on the conversations that are most important, when you need them.”

Just like the Favorites feature, users can add both group chats and one-on-one chats to any list. Look for the “+” icon in the filter bar at the top of the Chats tab to get started. WhatsApp is introducing this update today, but it’s a tiered rollout so it could take a few weeks to reach everyone.

This is just the latest update for the world’s favorite chat app. The platform announced that users can now add contacts from any device, and not just the primary smartphone affiliated with the account. WhatsApp recently hit 100 million users in the US, though that figure pales to the two billion users across the globe.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-custom-lists-are-here-to-help-you-keep-track-of-convos-173525237.html?src=rss

We’re racing toward the giving time of year and what better way to treat a loved one (or even yourself) than with the gift of time and convenience. Robot mops and vacuums can all but wipe out the time you spend on a chore that often has to be taken care of. An entry-level Roomba has dropped to a price that may make that proposition even more enticing for newcomers to the robot-cleaner world.

The Y011 Roomba Combo Robot Vacuum and Mop from iRobot has dropped to $160. That’s 42 percent off the regular price of $275 and a new record low.

This unit doesn’t have some of the funkier features of pricier models, such as self-emptying or advanced object detection. But it should do a solid job of keeping your floors clean.

The Y011 cleans your space in neat rows, vacuuming and mopping in one pass. It has a low-profile design to help it slink under beds and sofas, while an edge-sweeping brush helps it pick up debris from corners and edges. The Roomba uses sensors to move around furniture and avoid tumbling down stairs. If there’s a particularly dirty spot that needs extra attention, the spot cleaning feature enables the device to spin in place and keep cleaning that area for up to two minutes. On top of that, you can start an ad-hoc cleaning using Alexa or Google Assistant.

According to iRobot, this model will run for up to 120 minutes on a single charge and automatically return to its charging station when it needs more juice. The washable microfiber mop pad can be reused up to 30 times. 

Meanwhile, an entry-level vacuum-only Roomba has dropped to $140, down from $250. That’s a decent deal as well, but plunking down an extra $20 for iRobot to take care of mopping as well may be a more compelling option.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/irobots-entry-level-roomba-vacuum-and-mop-combo-hits-a-new-record-low-151054307.html?src=rss

The US presidential election is in its final stretch. Before election day on November 5, Engadget is looking at where the candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, stand on the most consequential tech issues of our day.

While the environment and climate change are standard fare for elections, the 2024 campaign has put a surprising amount of focus on EVs. Cars and trucks are some of the biggest contributors to global warming, spewing millions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere every year. So it’s no shock many believe transitioning from traditional combustion engine vehicles to electric will be key to reining in climate change. Of course, an electric car is only as clean as the energy used to charge its batteries, so the Biden administration has also put a lot of effort into expanding clean-energy initiatives in the US. Kamala Harris is widely expected to continue Biden’s work promoting EV adoption and clean energy technology. While Donald Trump has, unsurprisingly, run on a promise to undo it all.

Kamala Harris

On the campaign trail, Harris hasn’t announced any new major policy initiatives regarding EVs or clean energy. Mostly her comments on the matter have been broad but seek to build on the work done by the Biden administration. Between the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the government invested hundreds of billions of dollars in charging stations, EV tax credits, EV manufacturing, wind and solar.

Earlier in her career, as a senator from California and as a candidate in 2020’s presidential primary, Harris staked out a particularly aggressive stance on EVs and clean energy and made them a core part of her political identity. She supported the Green New Deal and was a cosponsor of the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019, which would have required all passenger vehicles sold in the US to be zero emissions by 2040.

Harris has since backed off many of those stronger proposals but remains a staunch proponent of using federal resources to build out EV and clean-energy infrastructure. She was the tie-breaking vote for the IRA, which included directives to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and included $370 billion for wind, solar, battery and EV production. Much of the $1.1 trillion IRA money remains unspent, but the administration has sped up efforts to use those funds ahead of the election.

That money has been used to expand charging station infrastructure, begin transitioning the USPS to electric delivery vehicles and increase the amount of electricity produced by wind and solar. Through investments and tax breaks, IRA funds have been used to encourage companies to manufacture more EVs, solar panels, batteries and related components in the US. That includes $100 million announced in May for small- and medium-sized car companies to upgrade their factories for EV production. Harris and Biden have also talked up the fact that the IRA has created 170,000 clean-energy jobs in just one year. The administration also placed stiff tariffs on EVs (100 percent) and solar cells (50 percent) imported from China.

Another key component of the legislation are consumer tax credits for the purchase of electric heat pumps, rooftop solar, batteries and EVs. The EV tax credit also comes with specific requirements regarding vehicle eligibility to encourage US manufacturing throughout the supply chain. Buyers can only claim the credit if the car was assembled in the US, has a certain percentage of battery components built in North America and a minimum amount of minerals extracted either in the United States or a country it has a free trade agreement with, or that have been recycled in North America. And each year those requirements increase, ultimately reaching 100 percent of battery components in 2029 and 80 percent of critical minerals in 2027.

Donald Trump

It might seem glib, but Trump’s policies regarding EVs and clean energy can essentially be boiled down to lifting regulations and “drill, baby, drill.” The former president has said repeatedly he would repeal almost all of the Biden administration’s rules regarding emissions, fuel standards and the environment. He also suggested he might get rid of the EV tax credit, which he tried and failed to do during his first term, claiming it unfairly influenced the market, primarily benefited the rich and increased our reliance on China. Considering the price cap on eligible vehicles and requirements regarding component and mineral sourcing, that argument seems on shaky ground. Since securing Elon Musk’s endorsement, Trump has softened some of his anti-EV rhetoric. However, he’s given no indication he’s actually reversed any of his positions.

Trump has also said he will immediately rescind new fuel efficiency and emissions standards established by the Biden administration. He has argued the efficiency requirements are simply impossible for gasoline-powered cars to meet and effectively create a mandate that 67 percent of auto sales in the US be EVs by 2032.

Trump has been even more hostile to clean-energy initiatives. Neither his platform nor the Republican Party’s official platform document mention solar energy at all. And wind energy is only mentioned on the Trump site to deride the Biden administration’s “insane wind subsidies” and generally dismiss windmills as dangerous and inefficient. The bulk of the Trump campaign’s energy policies are focused on expanding oil and natural-gas drilling and investing in nuclear power plants. But he is unlikely to try to end all the IRA’s clean energy and EV initiatives as they often lead to job creation in red states.

In general, Donald Trump is skeptical of climate change and efforts to limit humans’ impact on the environment. He has pledged to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord (again) and called for building hundreds of new power plants, including coal, hydro and nuclear, but wind and solar farms are noticeably absent from his plan for American energy independence.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/election-2024-what-are-the-candidates-policies-on-evs-and-clean-energy-133030889.html?src=rss