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AI Summary

  • Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire Eventbrite for $500 million, a move seen as an effort to revive the brand following its significant decline in valuation since its IPO.
  • Amazon has introduced new AI features for its Prime Video platform, allowing users to seamlessly jump to specific scenes in movies by simply describing them to Alexa.
  • Waymo has expanded its autonomous vehicle testing to four new cities, including Philadelphia, aiming to increase the availability of its robotaxi service amid growing competition in the self-driving sector.
  • Google is integrating more advanced AI capabilities across its platforms, including Google Photos, which will now utilize Gemini AI to curate user memories, and Google Discover, which is testing AI-generated headlines, albeit with mixed results.
  • As regulatory tensions continue, an attempt to ban state-level AI regulations has failed, highlighting the ongoing conflict between tech industry demands, consumer privacy concerns, and legislative actions.

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Engadget

  • Waymo's testing AVs in four more cities, including Philly 32 minutes ago by Matt Tate
    Transportation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Matt Tate

    Waymo is adding four new US cities to the gradual rollout of its robotaxi service. As reported by TechCrunch, the company said it has already started trialling self-driving cars in Philadelphia, albeit with a human safety monitor, and that it will now commence similar manual tests in Baltimore, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. After the initial supervisory and data-collecting stage, the plan is to deploy fully autonomous vehicles, as Waymo recently did in Miami, ahead of launching in five new cities across Texas and Florida in 2026. Waymo's taxis currently accept passengers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, Austin and the San Francisco

  • Nikon ZR review: A highly capable cinema camera at a reasonable price an hour ago by Steve Dent
    Cameras & Photography, Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Steve Dent

    Video used to be an afterthought for Nikon, but since the company purchased RED last year, content creators are now high on its priority list. A perfect example of that is Nikon’s new $2,200 ZR: a full-frame mirrorless model that stands up against dedicated cinema cameras for a fraction of the price. It’s the first consumer camera to capture video using RED’s 12-bit RAW format, but unlike RED’s Hollywood cameras, it has a fast and accurate autofocus system. It also comes with a huge display, pro video monitoring tools, in-body stabilization and 32-bit float internal audio recording. After shooting a short

  • Amazon rolls out a find-a-scene Alexa+ feature for Prime Video 2 hours ago by Kris Holt
    Movies, Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Kris Holt

    Amazon is rolling out a new Alexa+ feature on Fire TV that can take you to a specific moment in a given movie on Prime Video based on a natural language voice command. The company says that, when you describe a certain scene, quote or character action, Alexa+ can start playing that part of the film. The company previewed this feature at its Devices and Services event in September. According to Amazon, you can say something like “Jump to the card scene in Love Actually" or “Jump to the Ozdust ballroom scene in Wicked with Glinda,” to quickly get to that

  • Amazon halts AI anime dub 'beta' after widespread ridicule 3 hours ago by Matt Tate
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Matt Tate

    Amazon appears to have quietly removed its truly terrible AI-generated English dubs for several anime shows currently streaming on Prime Video, following widespread (and entirely fair) ridicule from viewers and industry professionals. AI dubs were recently added to Banana Fish, No Game, No Life and Vinland Saga, where they were labeled "AI beta" in the Languages section of the app. As shows that previously only offered English subtitles, the option of a dub for those who prefer it could have been seen as a win for Amazon. But it quickly became clear that the dubs were unspeakably bad, completely devoid of

  • Superhuman (formerly Grammarly) has some AI updates for its Superhuman Mail app 3 hours ago by Matt Tate
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Matt Tate

    Superhuman, the AI-powered mail app, is heading in a more agentic direction with its latest update. Its "write with AI" feature, which you could previously activate when drafting an email, now works across your inbox, calendar, and the web. This means it can now pull in information from other emails or research a topic online. The AI will think for as long as it needs before responding to a prompt and will open its Ask AI tool if it needs clarification. Ask AI now lives in a left sidebar when you’re on desktop, so it’s always accessible should you need to


The Verge

  • Linux usage on Steam hits a record high for the second month in a row 30 minutes ago by Stevie Bonifield
    Gaming, News, PC Gaming

    After finally passing the three percent mark in October, Linux usage on Steam has peaked again in the November Steam Hardware & Software Survey. As of last month, Linux users accounted for 3.2 percent of all Steam users. That pales in comparison to Windows usage (94.79 percent), but it’s still a boost from October and marks a new all-time high for Linux usage on Steam.  Unsurprisingly, Valve’s own Linux distribution is the most popular, with 26.4 percent of Linux users running SteamOS Holo. Arch Linux, Linux Mint, CachyOS, Bazzite, and Ubuntu trailed behind with shares of about five to ten percent

  • I’ve tested the latest Switch 2 controllers, and this one is the best 39 minutes ago by Cameron Faulkner
    Buying Guides, Entertainment, Gadgets, Gaming, Nintendo, Tech, Verge Shopping

    If you choose to get an extra controller for your Nintendo Switch 2, you can spend a lot — and get a lot in return. Buying Nintendo’s own $89.99 Switch 2 Pro Controller, for instance, will net you the console’s only wireless controller with a 3.5mm headphone jack, not to mention great rumble, OS-level rear button customization, and a slick design. It’s not perfect, but it’s the total package.  But it’d be a disservice to you to call it a day there. There are several third-party offerings that are significantly cheaper, yet don’t make too many compromises in terms of features.

  • Garmin’s new satellite communicator adds a touchscreen and photo sharing an hour ago by Andrew Liszewski
    Gadgets, News, Tech

    Garmin announced a new version of its inReach satellite communicator with major upgrades that expand and improve the ways you can keep in touch while you’re adventuring outside cellphone coverage. The new inReach Mini 3 Plus now features a color display with touchscreen capabilities and adds voice messaging, longer text messages, and the ability to send and receive photos. The inReach Mini 3 Plus is available now for $499.99, which is a considerable price bump from the $399.99 inReach Mini 2 that debuted in 2022. And while some of the Mini 3 Plus’ functionality like navigation will work right out of

  • Sony is slowly improving the ergonomics of its cameras, but it’s still not enough an hour ago by Antonio G. Di Benedetto
    Analysis, Cameras, Gadgets, Report, Sony, Tech

    The new Sony A7 V may be slightly smaller than Canon’s also-new EOS R6 Mark III, but it doesn’t feel smaller in the hand — just less comfortable. I was stoked to learn that the recently announced Sony A7 V had improved ergonomics. Just like I was happy to first hear that Sony's flagship A9 III and A1 II cameras got new ergonomic grip designs before that. I actually bought an A9 III to replace my aging A9 II for my wedding photography. But Sony's ergonomic improvements have disappointed me time and time again, both in my personal cameras and ones

  • Google Photos Recap will tell you how many selfies you took this year an hour ago by Jess Weatherbed
    Google, News, Tech

    Google has added some new features to its end-of-year Photos app throwback experience, including a selfie count, CapCut integration, and photo curation capabilities. The Google Photos Recap includes insights and graphics that summarize what users have been snapping over the year, and follows the updated presentation format Google introduced in 2024 which looks like a closer riff on Spotify Wrapped to me. The Recap is available starting today. It will appear in the Google Photos Memories carousel and then be pinned in the Collections tab throughout December. A new insight for the 2025 Recap is a selfie count that presumably uses facial


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