Hasta La Gadget!

For me, the iPad Mini is one of those devices I know I should like but can never quite bring myself to actually appreciate. Apple must feel similarly, given it only sporadically updates its smallest tablet, knowing its target market probably isn’t in need of blazing speed. But, with Apple Intelligence looming, Apple has launched the seventh-generation Mini. Naturally, we handed our review unit to tablet expert Nathan Ingraham for his opinion. Is the iPad Mini 7 worth the price?

On paper, Apple didn’t do a lot beyond cramming in a chip, the A17 Pro, capable of running the company’s new AI bells and whistles. But Nathan found that plenty of pain points from the older Minis — including the dreaded jelly scrolling — have been airbrushed out of the picture. You’ll also get support for the Apple Pencil Pro, helpfully streamlining the company’s presently messy stylus lineup. Ironically, what sold him on this device was neither of those features but that he found the iPad Mini the perfect device for Balatro. If you don’t know what that is, click through.

— Dan Cooper

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The biggest tech stories you missed

• Qualcomm and Google team up to help carmakers create AI voice systems

• WhatsApp will soon let users add contacts from any device

• Netflix has closed its AAA gaming studio

• A federal ban on fake online reviews is now in effect

• Meta and GoFundMe team up to streamline social media donations

Amazon is reportedly working on a low-cost storefront to rival Temu

Hope you like crap!

Online junk stores offering ludicrous discounts for badly made tat shipped directly from China is not a new phenomenon on the internet. After all, it was only a few years ago everyone in the US was wringing their hands about the threat Wish posted to traditional retailers. Bear that in mind when you learn Amazon, nervous about Temu’s success, is considering its own low-cost online retailer.

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Huawei appears to still be using TSMC chips despite US sanctions

TSMC says it alerted the US to the potential breach.

Despite being drowned in sanctions, Huawei may still be using chips made by TSMC for some of its products. A series of blockbuster reports suggests the Ascend 910B chip in a new AI accelerator was made by the Taiwanese chip giant. All we have right now are a lot of denials and pointed fingers, but this story is likely going to rattle on for a while until we know what happened.

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NASA’s newest telescope can detect gravitational waves from colliding black holes

Cool.

NASA / Dennis Henry

NASA has shown off a prototype telescope that can detect gravitational waves to help better understand the building blocks of the universe. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is expected to launch in the mid-2030s, with three linked satellites orbiting Earth. The trio will keep track of each other’s precise location, monitoring when gravitational waves shift from their expected pattern. If successful, it could offer useful insights into black holes and the Big Bang, which are difficult to study using other means.

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Meta bans private jet tracking accounts on Instagram and Threads

No more following TayTay’s jet across the skies.

Meta has shut down accounts tracking the movements of prominent public figures’ private jets, saying they risk the privacy and safety of those concerned. Accounts following the whereabouts of Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg himself have all been axed.

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Blade Runner 2049 producer sues Elon Musk for image used in Cybercab launch

The images are pretty similar if we’re honest.

Tesla

They say the only two certainties in life are death and taxes, but, if you’re Elon Musk, that list has swelled to include lawsuits. Alcon Entertainment, which produced Blade Runner 2049, is suing Tesla after it used a Blade Runner 2049-esque image during the Cybercab launch. You could dismiss this as mere coincidence, but Alcon added it had previously denied a request by Tesla to use clips from the film during the event.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-our-verdict-on-the-ipad-mini-7-111546869.html?src=rss

Be warned, online merchants who see no issue in publishing phony reviews from made-up customers: that practice is no longer allowed. A federal ban on fake online reviews has taken effect.

The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule on the purchase and sale of online reviews back in August and it came into force 60 days after it was published in the Federal Register. The agency’s commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the regulation.

The rule bans businesses from creating, buying or selling reviews and testimonials attributed to people who don’t exist, including those that are AI generated. False celebrity endorsements aren’t allowed and companies can’t pay or otherwise incentivize genuine customers to leave positive or negative reviews.

Certain reviews and testimonials written by people who have close ties with a company without a disclaimer is a no-no. There are restrictions on soliciting reviews from close relatives of employees too.

The rule includes limitations on the suppression of negative reviews from customers. It also prohibits people from knowingly selling or buying fake followers and views to inflate the influence or importance of social media accounts for commercial purposes.

Fines for violating these measures could prove extremely costly. The maximum civil penalty for each infraction is currently $51,744.

“Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said when the rule was finalized. “By strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest and competitive.”

The rule is a positive move for consumers, with the idea that reviews should be more trustworthy in the future. In a separate victory for consumer rights, the FTC recently issued a final rule to make it as easy for people to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/a-federal-ban-on-fake-online-reviews-is-now-in-effect-191746690.html?src=rss

NASA showed off a telescope prototype for a new gravitational wave detection mission in space. The telescope is part of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission led by the European Space Agency (NSA) in partnership with NASA.

The goal of the LISA mission is to position three spacecraft in a triangular orbit measuring nearly 1.6 million miles on each side. The three spacecraft will follow the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Each spacecraft will carry two telescopes to track their siblings using infrared laser beams. Those beams can measure distances down to a trillionth of a meter.

Gravitational waves are created during a collision between two black holes. They were first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916 and detected almost a century later by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration from the National Science Foundation, Caltech and MIT. A gravitational wave is detected when the three spacecraft shift from their characteristic pattern.

The LISA mission is scheduled to launch in the mid-2030s. The detection of gravitational waves could provide “enormous potential” to better our understanding of the universe, including events like black holes and the Big Bang that are difficult to study through other means, according to the official mission website.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-newest-telescope-can-detect-gravitational-waves-from-colliding-black-holes-194527272.html?src=rss

NASA showed off a telescope prototype for a new gravitational wave detection mission in space. The telescope is part of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission led by the European Space Agency (NSA) in partnership with NASA.

The goal of the LISA mission is to position three spacecraft in a triangular orbit measuring nearly 1.6 million miles on each side. The three spacecraft will follow the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Each spacecraft will carry two telescopes to track their siblings using infrared laser beams. Those beams can measure distances down to a trillionth of a meter.

Gravitational waves are created during a collision between two black holes. They were first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916 and detected almost a century later by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration from the National Science Foundation, Caltech and MIT. A gravitational wave is detected when the three spacecraft shift from their characteristic pattern.

The LISA mission is scheduled to launch in the mid-2030s. The detection of gravitational waves could provide “enormous potential” to better our understanding of the universe, including events like black holes and the Big Bang that are difficult to study through other means, according to the official mission website.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-newest-telescope-can-detect-gravitational-waves-from-colliding-black-holes-194527272.html?src=rss

Ecobee is integrating smart locks into its app. The company doesn’t make smart locks of its own, but you can now control Wi-Fi-enabled ones from Yale and August using the Ecobee app. The feature could prevent you from switching apps to let someone who rings your smart doorbell in. However, it’s locked behind a subscription, so user convenience isn’t the only motive here.

The integration adds an “unlock” button from the Ecobee app’s live view. So, you can let visitors in from the same screen where you confirm it’s someone you want coming inside. (Handy!) The Ecobee app also allows you to lock your doors automatically when you arm your security system. (Also handy!)

Less handy: You’ll need to pay up to enjoy these perks because the feature is locked (ahem) behind Ecobee’s Smart Security system. The premium service costs $5 monthly or $50 annually. And as The Verge notes, it won’t let you unlock your August or Yale devices from Ecobee’s smart thermostats.

This could be a convenient perk if you’re already paying for Ecobee’s subscription service. If not, you’ll have to ask yourself if it’s worth a premium to avoid the oh-so-grueling task of pulling up your phone’s app switcher to jump to another smart-home app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ecobee-smart-home-users-can-now-unlock-yale-and-august-smart-locks-from-its-app-201700926.html?src=rss