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Theres a good chance learning a new language is one of your New Years resolutions, unless youre hoping Google Translate will be enough for your next international adventure. Either way, youll need a reliable method to guide you through speaking and understanding the foreign language of your choosing. Fortunately, we're no longer confined to flashcards and textbooks as you can learn using your phone from the comfort of your couch.Many of the best language learning apps today offer a multi-tier approach, with AI-powered conversations, extensive vocab libraries and even podcasts you can listen to to help you master your target language. Whether you're just starting because you're just trying to understand what Bad Bunny means when he says "un verano en Nueva Yol," or you want to brush up on your Korean before that planned vacation, theres a language learning app to suit your needs. Best language learning apps for 2025 Others language learning apps we tested Memrise Memrise has a library of more than 200 languages to learn. From Spanish to isiXhosa, Memrise can teach you all the basics and dive into more regional differences. As a Spanish learner, I could choose to learn from Spain or Mexico and I enjoyed that Memrise didnt just teach me a more generalized version of the language. While Memrise could be great for polyglots, its hefty $60 monthly fee was too steep and prevented it from gleaning one of our top slots. Pimsleur Dr. Pimsleur believed speaking and listening were key to learning a new language. This app allows you to take its audio lessons offline, even going as far as integrating into Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As a commuter, I appreciated having a lesson or two stored away for my journey to the office. However, I wanted more ways to practice reading and writing. With other apps offering podcasts for listening along and other forms of teaching, Pimsleur didnt offer enough to make our list. Rosetta Stone Gone are the large, yellow disc sets of yesteryear; now Rosetta Stone lives squarely in the digital age with its app. Using the same visual learning tools as the old-school Rosetta Stone, the app shows you pictures and terms to get you to understand what things mean. Users can repeat after voice recordings and match phrases to the images to learn slowly. Rosetta Stone could be great for beginners, but in order to get access to all 25 languages and a lifetime subscription, youd have to dish out $400. There are cheaper apps on this list that provide comparable experiences. HelloTalk Similar to Discord, HelloTalk provides voice and chat rooms to talk to folks from different countries. Its users can learn regional terms and talk about cultural differences. With a paid subscription, you can practice with a tutor or their AI chatbot. If youre looking to learn a new language outside of your inner circle, HelloTalk can be a great fit. I enjoyed connecting with others on the app, but, as always when meeting strangers online, beware some users treat it like a dating app. Fortunately, there are apps on this list that offer a similar AI learning approach without that added concern. How we test language learning apps As an intermediate Spanish learner, I was looking for an app that best catered to my needs, but I know everyone learns differently. So for each app, I assessed based on several factors. Can beginners use this to gain confidence? Will advanced speakers feel challenged? Are there enough opportunities to test reading and writing skills? How many ways can you learn vocabulary words? For those who want to have more conversations, what opportunities did each app provide to speak in that language? Bonus points if an app helped you learn a bit of the culture surrounding that language.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/best-language-learning-app-120001600.html?src=rss
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Gaming journalism stalwart Game Informer has risen from the ashes. More than thirty years after its debut issue back in August 1991, the media outlet was officially shut down by parent company GameStop in August 2024. Since then, the rights to Game Informer were acquired by Gunzilla Games and, in an all-to-rare win for today's media world, the entire team that worked for Game Informer at the time of its closure will return to their jobs. Editor-in-Chief Matt Miller posted the details about how the outlet was saved from the brink and noted that Gunzilla Games will be a hands-off boss. "The new owners insisted on the idea of Game Informer remaining an independent editorial outlet," he wrote. "They felt just as strongly as our team did that the only path forward was with an editorial group that made 100 percent of the decisions around what we cover and how we do so, without any influence from them or anyone else." We are proud to welcome the talented voices behind Game Informer in the Gunzilla Games family, and join their fight to preserve the heart of video game journalism in what has been a tumultuous time for the industry," Gunzilla CEO and Co-Founder Vlad Korolov said. The website and its back catalog of content have been republished online. Game Informer's staff have also published reviews of more than two dozen games that came out during the site's hiatus and belatedly compiled their requisite best games of 2024 list. The print magazine is also expected to resume activity, and Miller said more details will be forthcoming about subscription and membership options. Gunzilla Games, which counts Hollywood director Neill Blomkamp among its leadership, made a battle royale shooter called Off the Grid and also developed the GUNZ blockchain platform.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/game-informer-is-back-and-so-is-its-entire-team-210748358.html?src=rss
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As it turns out, including a reporter in your national security leader group chat about military strikes isn't the only way to compromise sensitive information on Signal. NPR reported on Tuesday that, days after the Trump administration's preposterous and dangerous national security fumble, the Pentagon issued a warning against using the messaging app due to a phishing vulnerability. "A vulnerability has been identified in the Signal messenger application," a department-wide email obtained by NPR reads. "Russian professional hacking groups are employing [Signal's] 'linked devices' features to spy on encrypted conversations." The publication says the memo states that Russian hacking groups are "targeting Signal Messenger to spy on persons of interest." A Signal spokesperson told NPR that the memo wasn't about Signal's security but about phishing attacks on the platform. So, if you're using the app, be especially mindful of attempts to trick you into linking devices to your account. Or simply communicate through different channels. The Pentagon directive follows a scandal that, at least in previous eras, would have ended the careers of a long list of high-profile officials. (In this one who knows?) The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported on Monday that a group of Trump administration national security officials inadvertently included him in a Signal group chat discussing military strikes in Yemen. Andrew Harnik via Getty Images The conversation included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, among others. They with Goldberg essentially CC'd discussed the timing, targets and weapons involved in bombing Houthi sites in Yemen. A 2023 Department of Defense memo prohibited using mobile apps for even "controlled unclassified information." NPR notes that military planning is many degrees more sensitive than that. And that doesn't even cover accidentally including a journalist in the conversation. The entire Atlantic article is worth a read, but a few gems from the chat include Hegseth's writing, "I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It's PATHETIC." And, "Nobody knows who the Houthis are which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded." Adding to the "It would be hilarious if it weren't so dangerous" nature of the fiasco, Hegseth went on camera to deny the chat's authenticity after the White House confirmed it. Although the fallout is still taking shape, here's an early taste. Watch below as retired US Navy captain and current US Senator Mark Kelly grills Gabbard and Ratcliffe on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-pentagon-warns-government-officials-that-signal-is-being-targeted-by-russian-hackers-203436757.html?src=rss
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We hear Signal is in the news. As longtime fans of the app, and secure messaging more broadly, we feel like it's our duty at Engadget to ensure you know how to use the software properly. Download Signal Signal is available on Android and iOS, as well as nearly every desktop operating system, including Windows and macOS. You can download the app by clicking one of the links provided above, or typing in "Signal Messenger" in your device's app store. Once you've installed the app, proceed to set up an account using your phone number or an alias. Note: If you want to install Signal on a workplace phone or computer, be sure to obtain approval from your employer; some organizations, such as the US government, either actively discourage or downright disallow use of the app. Create a new group Wonderful, you've downloaded Signal! Now, to create a group chat, follow these steps: Tap the compose icon at the top of the interface. Select New Group. Add participants by selecting their name from your contact list, or inputting their username or phone number. Give your group a name (and a profile picture if you want). If the contents are especially sensitive, you may wish to enable Disappearing Messages and select an expiration time. As you're in the process of adding new participants to a group, be sure to verify you're adding the right people. Some useful tips I would also suggest making use of Signal's Permissions feature to limit who can invite people to your chat. Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings. Scroll down and select Permissions. Under "Add Members," tap Only Admins. One of the ways someone can join your group chat is through a group link or QR Code. For additional security, you can set it so that admins must approve group link invites before the invitee can join. Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings. Scroll down and select Group Link. Switch the toggle to on. Maybe you know exactly who you can trust, but the guy down the hall might not! If you tend to get mixed up on names easily, Signal allows you to assign nicknames to users. After all, no one wants a case of mistaken identity. Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings. Under "Members," select the name of the individual you want to assign a nickname to. Type in a name. You can also add a note, say describing the person's profession, in case you need additional context. Nicknames are only visible to you, so don't be embarrassed to use them. How to remove someone from your group chat Look, even the best of us can make mistakes. Thankfully, Signal makes it easy to remove someone from a conversation thread. Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings. Under "Members," select the name of the individual you want to remove. Tap Remove From Group. How to delete messages in a Signal group chat So you somehow got through all of the above steps, added someone you shouldn't have and sent information that a relative stranger likely shouldn't have seen. Lets be honest, you're an edge case. But there's still hope if you caught your mistakes early. Tap and hold the message on mobile (or hover the message bubble on desktop), Select Delete. Select Delete for Everyone. Now there's less chance of, for instance, a record of your civil and perhaps even criminal mishaps being shared to a notable reporter in a form potentially open to legal discovery. Ultimately, no matter how secure the messaging platform, if what you need to talk about is very, very sensitive, it's probably best to just "get everyone in a room together."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/how-to-add-someone-to-a-signal-group-chat-201430756.html?src=rss
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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again. Publisher Paradox Interactive announced today that it is now targeting release in October 2025 instead of the first half of this year. "Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room are committed to delivering this game, and we believe that ensuring great technical quality is more important than sticking to a specific date," the company said. Creating the sequel has been a trial of endurance that would test even an immortal undead's patience. Paradox parted ways with the game's original developer, Hardsuit Labs, in 2021. The Chinese Room, which made notable indie games Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, joined the project as developer in 2023. Today's update from offered some encouragement that the project is now in "a late development stage," however it has decided to discontinue dev diaries that offered behind-the-scenes peeks at progress. The original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines game came out in 2004 after its own challenging development. Made by the now-shuttered Troika Studios, it was an story-driven game inspired by a tabletop RPG about several vampire clans in a modern-day Los Angeles. It was a commercial flop, but acquired a loyal audience over the years and even cultivated a community for mods and fan games.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/vampire-the-masquerade---bloodlines-2-is-now-slated-to-launch-in-october-2025-194649207.html?src=rss
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