With short-form videos becoming extremely common these days, it's not unusual to discover new songs and artists from apps like TikTok and Instagram. Now, Instagram has started rolling out a Spotify integration that will let you add songs you hear from posts and Reels straight to the audio streaming app, 9to5Mac has reported. If an Instagram post uses a song, and it's linked at the bottom of the screen, tap on the song name to go to its audio preview page. There, you'll find a new button that says "Add" with the Spotify logo right next to the audio scrubber.
When you tap that Add button, the song will get added to the "Liked Songs" in your Spotify library. You'll have to link your Spotify account with your Instagram the first time you do it, but it becomes a one-tap process after that. The feature is now making its way to all users around the world. Back in August, mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi found another type of integration between the two apps in development. That feature would allow Instagram users to continuously share what they're listening to on Spotify, which would appear as notes on top of your profile picture.
TikTok has had the ability to add songs heard from videos to your music streaming library since last year. Its version of the feature works not just with Spotify, but also with Apple Music and Amazon Music. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/you-can-now-add-songs-to-spotify-straight-from-instagram-posts-120046609.html?src=rss
Amazon finally did it: This week the company announced the Kindle Colorsoft, its first color E Ink e-reader. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss where this device sits in a world of cheap tablets, and they dive into the updated Kindle Paperwhite and the writable Kindle Scribe. Also, we've got final thoughts on the Meta Quest 3S, the updated iPad Mini and tons of news.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
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Topics
Amazon announces new Kindle Colorsoft, updated Kindle Scribe and Paperwhite 0:51
Devindras Meta Quest 3S review: impressive VR for a fair price 38:14
Apple quietly drops new iPad Minis 45:25
Teslas Robotaxi event: lots of big promises that will be hard to fulfill 51:38
Amazon and Google go nuclear (power) 54:44
Android 15 starts to hit Pixel devices 55:51
Analogue 3D will give you 4K N64 games, just dont call it an emulator 57:14
Working on 1:00:48
Pop culture picks 1:04:38
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Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn LowProducer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'BrienThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/engadget-podcast-why-were-intrigued-by-the-kindle-colorsoft-113050334.html?src=rss
YouTube is testing a new version of its Premium Lite subscription tier in Australia, Germany and Thailand, a Google rep confirmed. It would have limited ads, which the fine print describes as most videos being ad-free, but you may see video ads on music content and Shorts, and non-interruptive ads when you search and browse.
The original Premium Lite subscription began testing in Europe in 2021, but it only lasted a few years, being phased out in October 2023. It was very much lite, lacking the offline or background viewing of the regular Premium subscription.
The pricing model for these early tests in Australia is $9 a month for Premium Lite, compared with $17 a month for full Premium access, roughly in line with the original Lite costs.
Mat Smith
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The biggest tech stories you missed
The 10 best sleep apps and gadgets for a better nights sleep
A new trailer for the Dune: Prophecy series just dropped
How to stream via a VPN on Roku
Amazon is rebooting its live-action adaptation of God of War
Amazon Studios wants another gaming hit.
After the success of Fallout, Amazon wants its next Prime Video gaming adaptation to match that level and its apparently willing to start afresh to do so. Deadline reported that the God of War showrunner and two executive producers have left the project as it shifts direction. The series is an adaptation of the 2018 franchise reboot.
Continue reading.
A $105,000 robot arm nobody needs can cook a delicious lunch
Moley Robotics wants to bring robots into the kitchen.
Engadget
It looks like the kind of kitchen purchase the antagonist millionaires of Ex Machina or Knives Out would be tempted by. The Moley Robotics X-AiR starts at $105,000. So far, Moley hasnt installed a single robot but expects the process to begin in the next three to six months people have bought into the arm already.
X-AiR has no built-in vision or sensing technology. Instead, the robot arm moves around its space from memory, knowing where all the ingredients, oils and tools should be. But while it can cook (with pans and everything), it cant peel a carrot. Is this a robot that only does the fun part of cooking? We made Daniel Cooper eat tofu.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-youtube-is-testing-a-new-subscription-option-that-could-remove-most-ads-110923941.html?src=rss
Amazon has given its basic Fire TV Stick what seems to be a rebranding and has even shaved off a few dollars from its pricing. When you visit its old listing on the website, you'll see a note that says "There's a newer model of this product," which links to the new Fire TV Stick HD. We call it a "rebranding," since its specs seem pretty much identical to the company's old basic streamer. It can stream in full HD resolution, comes with HDR support and ships with an Alexa-powered remote control. You can press the Alexa button on its remote to search for shows and launch apps with just a voice command.
The device can run the most popular streaming apps, like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Peacock, and its remote comes with special buttons for Netflix and Prime Video. Unlike the old version that set you back $40, though, the new Fire TV Stick HD has a base price of $35. That's only $5 more than the version that ships with a "lite" remote that has few buttons for control. If you want a streamer that's capable of handing 4K shows and movies, though, this isn't the model to go for. Amazon has several options to choose from, namely the Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick 4K Max with 16GB of storage and the Fire TV Cube that offers hands-free streaming with its built-in mic and speakers. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazons-new-basic-streamer-is-the-35-fire-tv-stick-hd-110011285.html?src=rss
Amazon
If youve got a Fire TV video streamer, you already know how great it can be to access all of the major streaming platforms and thousands of shows and movies in one centralized hub. And seeing all your favorites on a big-screen TV is way better than watching it on a smaller laptop or smartphone screen.
But what if you wanted to watch a show or movie and discovered it was unavailable in your country? Or what if you wanted to watch an award-winning BBC documentary but it was only available on the BBCs iPlayer and you dont happen to live in the United Kingdom?
Thats where a VPN (virtual private network) comes in. Using a VPN can let you unlock geo-blocked content for streaming even if youre outside of a given area. And heres the best part: Unlike archrival Roku, Amazons Fire TV system offers VPN apps straight through its built-in app store. Well explain the details and tell you how it works.
Choose the right VPN for your Fire TV
For starters, were going to assume you have a Fire TV device. If you dont, we have good news: If your TV doesnt already have Fire TV streaming built-in, the add-on devices are frequently on sale at Amazon for as little as $25 or less. Grab the Fire Stick 4K Max if you want a good balance of price versus performance just make sure its on sale for $40 or less. (See how the Fire TV streamers compare to rivals from Roku, Google, Apple and more by checking out our list of best streaming devices.)
Once you have your Fire TV hardware set up, its time to choose a VPN and thats where the Fire TV operating system shines. A long list of VPNs, including all of our current top picks for the best VPNs, are available on the platform and theyre as easy to download and install as any of the video apps.
The Engadget-approved VPNs currently available on Fire TV include:
ProtonVPN
Windscribe
ExpressVPN
CyberGhost
Surfshark
Well leave it to you to research which VPN offers the best combination of features and value for you, but a word of warning: With the exception of the first two listed above, we dont recommend using a free VPN, as theyre notorious for collecting and selling your data to advertising networks to fund shoddily-protected servers. Note you can install as many VPNs as youd like on Fire TV, if youd like to cross-test them at your leisure.
Installing the VPN
Installing it is easy once you know which Fire TV VPN you want to use. Head to Find > on the main menu and simply search the name of your preferred VPN just type VPN if youd like to scroll through all of the options available. There, you can find the service you want (or are already subscribed to) and start installing. The process shouldnt take too long. Once its completed, youre ready to start using it.
Using your Fire TV VPN
Once youve downloaded the app, navigate to it on your Fire TV dashboard. Youll have to enter your username and password or sign up to create an account. Some VPNs might require you to create an account on your smartphone or computer beforehand.
Once logged in, you can either click the Connect button on your VPN or browse the server list to choose which country you want to tunnel to. Once connected, return to the Fire TV home screen and reload your streaming platform of choice to verify if the content is different. If it is, your VPN is working and youre ready to stream. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-use-a-vpn-on-fire-tv-for-streaming-101822653.html?src=rss
Bees pollinate approximately 75% of human crops and 90% of wild plants, playing a pivotal role in global food security and the natural world. And yet, the average lifespan of an adult honey bee has halved in the past 50 years, and one in ten species of wild bees are facing extinction. As New Zealanders welcome spring, Woolworths New Zealand raised awareness about the plight of pollinators by opening a supermarket for bees.
X is updating its privacy policy with new language that allows it to provide users data to third-party collaborators in order to train AI models. The new policy, which takes effect November 15, 2024, would seem to open the door to Reddit-like arrangements in which outside companies can pay to license data from X.
The updated policy shared by X includes a new section titled third-party collaborators.
Depending on your settings, or if you decide to share your data, we may share or disclose your information with third parties. If you do not opt out, in some instances the recipients of the information may use it for their own independent purposes in addition to those stated in Xs Privacy Policy, including, for example, to train their artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise.
While the policy mentions the ability to opt out, its not clear how users would actually do so. As TechCrunch notes, the policy points to users settings menu, but there doesnt appear to be an control for opting out of data sharing. The policy doesnt go into effect until next month, though, so theres still a chance that could change. X didnt respond to a request for comment.
If X were to begin licensing its data to other companies, it could open up a significant new revenue stream for the social media company, which has seen waning interest from major advertisers.
In addition to the privacy policy, X is also updating its terms of service with stricter penalties for entities that are caught scraping large numbers of tweets. In a section titled liquidated damages the company states anyone viewing or accessing more than a million posts a day will be subject to a penalty of $15,000.
Protecting our users data and our system resources is important to us. You further agree that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, if you violate the Terms, or you induce or facilitate others to do so, in addition to all other legal remedies available to us, you will be jointly and severally liable to us for liquidated damages as follows for requesting, viewing, or accessing more than 1,000,000 posts (including reply posts, video posts, image posts, and any other posts) in any 24-hour period - $15,000 USD per 1,000,000 posts.
X owner Elon Musk has previously railed against scraping. Last year, the company temporarily blocked people from viewing tweets while logged out, in a move Musk attributed to fending off scrapers. He also moved Xs API behind a paywall, which has drastically hindered researchers ability to study whats happening on the platform. Hes also used allegations of scraping to justify lawsuits against organizations that have attempted to study hate speech and other issues on the platform.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-updates-its-privacy-policy-to-allow-third-parties-to-train-ai-models-with-its-data-234207599.html?src=rss
Sam Altmans Worldcoin is going to need some new business cards printed up because its dropping the coin in its name. The OpenAI CEOs startup is shifting from cryptocurrency to focus more on its identification technology and it just unveiled a new version of its signature gadget.
Bloomberg reported that the new company called (wait for it) World will focus its eye scanning tech on confirming identities, something that could come in handy in a world of deep fake videos popping up all over the internet.
Co-founder and CEO Alex Blania introduced the Worlds newest device called Orb, a biometric eye scanner used to confirm human identities through an identity service called Deep Face.
The latest model of the Orb, which uses NVIDIAs Jetson chipset, will roll out to customers as the need arises. Chief Device Officer Rich Heley said at the San Francisco event that access to the Orb will be on demand and delivered the same way that people order pizza. A company statement says, These advancements make it possible to offer new ways of providing World IDs proof of human verification in more places around the world.
According to the companys website, almost 7 million people have been scanned by World Orbs to date. Everyone in attendance at the San Francisco launch event received a free Orb for their human identifying needs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sam-altmans-worldcoin-startup-is-dropping-the-coin-and-doubling-down-on-orbs-232105287.html?src=rss
YouTube is testing a revamp of its Premium Lite subscription tier. User screenshots made the rounds on social media this week, and today a Google rep later confirmed to multiple other outlets that the plan is being tested in Australia, Germany and Thailand. This new version would have "limited ads," which the fine print describes as most videos being ad-free, "but you may see video ads on music content and Shorts, and non-interruptive ads when you search and browse."
The original Premium Lite subscription began testing in Europe in 2021, but it only lasted a few years, with the video platform eliminating the option in October 2023. The plan's only benefit was removing all ads; it didn't offer the offline or background viewing options of the regular Premium offering.
We were able to confirm that the pricing model in Australia is $9 a month for Premium Lite, compared with $17 a month for full Premium access. That's in line with the costs from the original Lite, which were about half the rate of a regular plan. With the current costs of a YouTube subscription $14 a month for an individual or $23 a month for the family option having a mid-tier choice could certainly be appealing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-is-testing-a-new-version-of-its-premium-lite-subscription-220050877.html?src=rss
A new trailer dropped on the opening day of the New York Comic Con for the new six-episode spinoff series Dune: Prophecy, a prequel to the recent films directed by Denis Villeneuve.
The new series will premiere November 17 at 9PM on HBO. Each episode will be available to stream on Max on Sundays following its TV broadcast.
The Dune prequel is based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, the son of Dune creator and science fiction writer Frank Herbert. The new HBO series takes place 10,000 years before the rise of Paul Atreides when the Bene Gesserit begins its ascension to power.
It tells the story of two Harkonnen sisters Valya and Tula, played by Emily Watson and Olivia Williams, who create the sisterhood that will inevitably become the Bene Gesserit, the social, spiritual and political order of powerful women seeking to control and shape the universe. Other members of the cast include Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May and Mark Strong.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a-new-trailer-for-the-dune-prophecy-series-just-dropped-212154554.html?src=rss