Geek News

Amazon is making it easier for developers to add a variety of sound effects to their Alexa skills . The tech giant has launched a library full of built-in audio clips people can use to add -- in Amazon's words -- "unique sounds" to their creations. Of course, by the time most developers are done tweaking their skills to add the audio clips, they'll no longer seem unique. In fact, you should probably probably get used to hearing the same thing again and again. But developers do have quite a wide selection to choose from with 14 categories that include sounds you'd usually hear in cartoons and sci-fi shows, as as well as sounds of nature, humans and animals. Amazon says developers can use those effects, say, to add applause for correct answers in a trivia game or spooky ghost-like moans for a horror/adventure game. The whole library is free for skill-makers, who can use the sounds on their own or combined with other files. If you'd like to get an idea of wha...

You might have to cross another item off of the list of things you never thought Porsche would do . Automobilwoche has claimed that Porsche is developing passenger drones , and is close to showing off its first design sketch. While there's clearly not much to show at this point, you would have some control over the machine but wouldn't need a pilot's license -- like other in-progress drones, a large chunk of the flight control would be automated. While it's not clear that Porsche is ready to confirm the details, it's clearly open to the idea. Company sales lead Detlev von Platen noted that it takes him "at least half an hour" just to drive from Porsche's plant in Zuffenhausen to the airport in Stuttgart, but just "three and a half minutes" with an aircraft. It may seem odd for Porsche to not only venture into flying vehicles, but hands-off vehicles. Isn't that anathema to enthusiasts used to taking the wheel? However, it's lik...

Apple has left the MacBook Air mostly untouched for years, including its price. Ever since the 11-inch model disappeared in 2016, you've been looking at $999 or more for Apple's 'starter' laptop -- a tough sell given the aging design. It might become a better value before long, however. KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a mostly solid track record for Apple leaks and rumors) has claimed that Apple is preparing a MacBook Air with a "lower price tag" for release this spring. Details are scarce at the moment, but 9to5Mac noted that this corroborated a sketchy claim from Digitimes . This doesn't mean that Apple will redesign the MacBook Air. It gave the system just a modest spec bump in June 2017, and then only by using an older processor. It may have reasons to make a more substantial update this year, however. It might not have much choice but to upgrade to a modern processor thanks to Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities . There's also the quest...

You might see a glimpse of Google's next mobile platform very, very soon. Evan Blass, a well-known source of tech leaks, has tweeted that Mountain View is targeting a mid-month release for Android P's first developer preview. We don't know what "P" stands for yet, but since March 14th is Pi Day, some people are speculating that Android's upcoming flavor is "Pie." According to previous reports, Android P will have the power to prevent idle apps from being able to access your camera and mic. That added security measure can protect you against against malware that can record background noise or take images without your consent. It will also reportedly support notches, which are cropping up on more and more Android phones ever since the iPhone X came out, and multiple screens. However, it apparently won't have a dark mode like earlier rumors said and will instead feature a toggle that makes it easier for developers to test a night mode for t...

Like it or not, video assistant referees are about to become a mainstay of the beautiful game. The International Football Association Board, which sets rules for FIFA as well as UK associations, has unanimously approved the use of VARs in soccer (aka football) matches on a permanent basis. So long as they go through a "mandatory approval process," they can implement the play review technology if they like. The decision comes after an independent university study showed that VARs had a net positive effect. As elsewhere, the aim is to produce more accurate play calls when there are serious disputes, such as for goals, penalties, red cards (but not a second yellow card) and cases of punishing the wrong person. This theoretically prevents game-changing mistakes while keeping the downtime to a minimum, and real-world tests have shown that the technology can work. In the US' Major League Soccer, for instance, it decided the outcome for matches soon after its introduction....

Pornhub owner Mindgeek has unveiled what might become the default gatekeeping tool for porn in the UK. AgeID will ask porn site visitors to create an encrypted login that verifies their age across any compatible site, saving them from having to prove they're 18 or older every time they want to view some racy material. The system will draw on third-party age verification companies, but Mindgeek promises that AgeID won't store any personal info -- it'll only keep "standard technical data" to prevent fraud as well as that protected login. The technology will be available to every porn site available inside the UK. It'll be free for independent UK porn studios, producers and bloggers, and will cost a flat fee for others depending on their volume of British traffic. It should be available when the Digital Economy Act, the law mandating age checks in the UK, takes effect in April. This isn't the very first implementation of AgeID. It's been in use in Ge...

The creator of 'Jessica Jones' serves up a dark mirror for our moment Joy Press, The New York Times Jessica Jones returns to Netflix in less than a week, and thanks to a couple of trailers, we know it's going to be dark and angry . The New York Times sat down with the creator of the show, Melissa Rosenberg, who has also penned the doom and gloom for Dexter and Twilight. Rosenberg opens up about how her own past helped her craft the show's protagonist. What I learned road-tripping across North America with one of those giant CD binders Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork Remember CDs? Barely? Pitchfork has a nostalgic love letter to the physical media that will remind you of the good times you had flipping through a Case Logic binder. How Rotten Tomatoes may have radically skewed the Oscars' Best Picture race Daniel Joyaux, The Verge There's been a lot of debate in recent months about the Rotten Tomatoes effect on the movie industry, but is...

Mobile World Congress 2018 has finally come to a close, and while this year felt more low-key than usual, there was still plenty to see and appreciate on the show floor. Samsung was here in full-force, Sony outed a pair of surprisingly compelling flagship phones, Vivo showed up with yet another kooky concept -- the list goes on. As always, though, Team Engadget happened upon some other developments that captivated us more than we expected. That's MWC for you -- it'll always catch you by surprise. As we board our planes and begin our long treks home, join us for a final look at some of our favorite things -- not just gadgets -- from MWC. (Oh, and take a gander at our unnerving AR emoji while you're at it.) Edgar Alvarez, Senior Editor Nokia x Kolon First Responders jacket I don't have to think about this once twice. My favorite thing from MWC 2018, by far, was Nokia's smart jacket for first responders . Not only does it have the potential to help cops or f...

It seems that a range-extended Mazda electric car with a rotary engine is for real, and coming sooner than expected. An automotive news outlet from the Netherlands called AutoRAI spoke with Mazda's European vice president for sales and customer service. He told the outlet that Mazda has an electric car coming In 2019, and it will be available with a rotary engine as a generator. Among the details about this car and its powertrain, he said it would be similar in size to the Mazda3 , and it might even be a crossover . It will also be based on Mazda's upcoming modular small car platform. The rotary engine will only generate electricity and will only have one rotor. Not only that, it will be mounted horizontally. This is particularly unusual as every rotary Mazda has had the engine mounted upright. We've reached out to Mazda representatives in the U.S. and Europe. An American representative couldn't comment on what type of range-extender options may be coming in the...

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Welcome to the weekend! It's the perfect time to catch up on everything from Mobile World Congress along with Friday's big news stories. An AWS outage knocked out Alexa (and Engadget) while we took Samsung's Galaxy S9+ out for some "late night photography testing." Fight! Google vs. Amazon = no more Nest on Amazon According to Business Insider , Amazon informed Nest it wouldn't stock the company's new devices. In response, Nest apparently won't restock any of its goods with the retailer, so once they're sold out, that's it. And Engadget too. Amazon server outage pulled the plug on Alexa for a few hours An outage in Amazon's cloud services muted the voice assistant for many people on March 2nd, producing error messages when you spoke commands to Echo speakers and other Alexa-equipped devices. It also prevented us from updating Engadget for a couple of hours before everything was restored -- h...

Amazon and Google probably won't kiss and make up anytime soon. According to Business Insider , Amazon's retail team told Nest on a call that the e-commerce website won't be listing the Google-owned company's newer products. Those include Nest's new thermostats and its Secure home security system launched late last year. While the team didn't say who exactly issued the order, it reportedly told Nest's employees that the decision "came from the top." Whether that means Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was behind the move is unclear -- either way, Nest is apparently responding in kind by leaving the website altogether. BI said that once Nest's current inventory on Amazon is sold out, it'll no longer replenish its stocks. Nest wants to be able to offer its whole portfolio on the platform. It would rather not sell anything on the website at all if it can't, though it's still unclear if that means even third-party sellers can't list Ne...