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Its only been two weeks since Tesla began reducing its workforce by ten percent, a move that impacted at least 14,000 staffers. Now, even more pink slips are coming. The company let go of two senior executives today and plans to lay off hundreds more employees, as reported by The Information. These layoffs impact the entire Supercharger team, including senior director Rebecca Tinucci and 500 staffers. Daniel Ho, head of the new vehicles program, was also laid off, along with his team. Teslas public policy team is also being dissolved, which was led by former executive Rohan Patel. CEO Elon Musk sent out a company-wide email that seemed more like a threat than anything else. "Hopefully these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction," Musk wrote. "While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so." This could be just the beginning. Musk also said that any staffers working under executives who dont obviously pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test would also get cut. When all of this is said and done, Teslas headcount could be reduced by as much as 20 percent, as recently suggested by Bloomberg. This adds up to more than 20,000 employees. Just how hard core is Musk about reducing costs? Well, a judge recently rejected his proposal for a pay package that would grant him $55.8 billion of Teslas money, which was referred to in court as an unfathomable sum that was unfair to shareholders. Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick went on to call it the largest potential compensation opportunity ever observed in public markets by multiple orders of magnitude. Sounds kinda soft core to me. This is shaping up to be a really crappy year for Tesla, even if its stock price seems to be living in a parallel universe. Profit margins have sunk to a six-year low. The companys most recent earnings report was abysmal, with profits falling by 55 percent. The Cybertruck continues to be something of a dangerous joke. Teslas Autopilot software was recently linked to 14 deaths. It has also reportedly given up on its budget-friendly EV in favor of a robotaxi, because why make a car everyone would want to buy instead of something a few taxi companies will buy? On the plus side, Tesla doesnt really pay taxes, which is pretty hard core.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-is-reportedly-getting-absolutely-hard-core-about-more-layoffs-according-to-elon-musk-151635645.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Fujifilms Instax cameras have been around for a while. They offer instant photo printouts in cute frames, taking over where Polaroid left. Over the years, the company has experimented with pastel colorways, retro styles, hybrid digital and manual photography, and even collaborations with Pokmon and Taylor Swift. The new Instax mini 99, which was released this month, comes in black. It looks more like my X-T2 and other Fujifilm models than a Polaroid. From a distance, it looks like a pricey digital camera, although it costs only $200. When you get to handle it though, you might be a little disappointed by the plasticky build. Still, there are parts where Fuji has lavished the camera with machined elements, like a tripod stand converter and some of the controls. With a matte finish, the Instax mini 99 looks more professional, even cooler, than most of its predecessors. While there are no hybrid digital camera features, it delivers far more versatility than pretty much any other instant camera. Mat Smith for Engadget There are a lot of controls here for an instant camera, including three shooting options with different focal lengths. You twist the lens to switch between landscape, macro and standard settings, and each is (fortunately) labeled with a distance marker so you can best eyeball your shot. While there is a viewfinder, it wont scale based on your shooting mode. Again, lets not forget this is an instant camera. Having said that, with the mini 99 you do get access to filters and some basic exposure options. Those filters attempt to strike those nostalgia chords. Normal is your typical shooting mode, and theres faded green, soft magenta, light blue, warm tone and of course, sepia. Light leak, meanwhile, sort of messes up your shots with LEDs built inside the camera, adding a burnout effect to your photos as theyre captured. What impressed me further were even more shooting modes, adding the ability to capture double-exposure shots, a manual vignette switch which was nearly always on when I was shooting and even fill-in flash, red-eye removal and automatic flash options. Theres also a sports mode that attempts to avoid blur when capturing moving subjects. Photos werent pin-sharp, but the mode seemed to capture things a little bit more crisply than in auto mode. Its an awful lot for an instant camera, and I found half the fun was in experimenting with modes and shooting effects. While I wouldnt go so far as to call each shot a risk, its been so long since Ive used film of any kind that each time I reached for the shutter button (of which there are two), I tried extra hard to nail framing and composition probably more than I would with digital. A lot of the shots I took (at a family birthday party with constantly moving babies and toddlers) were in ideal sunny outdoor lighting, but when I was indoors or areas with less light in general, I leaned heavily on the flash, which muddied a lot of the photos. Mat Smith for Engadget The learning curve is a bit steep if you havent owned an Instax over the last decade(or three). Each messed-up shot is roughly a dollar down the drain. But with each attempt, you begin to gauge lighting and focal distances better. An hour and ten photos later, I got nice shots of my nieces birthday party, even catching them looking at the camera on a few instances. Some photos I seemed to nail the correct focal distance, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Fortunately, half the appeal is off-focus moments, off-center framing and other happy accidents. I chose to apply a light leak effect why would I complain if its not as pin-sharp as my iPhone 15 Pro? There are a few things Id love to see Fujifilm tackle if it attempts to make another premium Instax mini. First, add a small mirror for taking photos of yourself with the lens facing you. Many cameras offer a tiny mirrored surface so you can loosely tell you're pointing in the right direction. One selfie attempt with my niece cropped her almost entirely from the shot. Also, to recharge the Instax mini 99, you must take out the battery and put it into the included charger with a USB cable. That's too much of a hassle, and Fujifilm should offer a simpler method in future. Fortunately, I didnt ever need to recharge the camera as I captured over 20 shots. The Instax mini 99 uses the same smallish Instax film as other models, but with more controls, options and effects, it delivers on its attempt to be the premium instant camera. The film is still expensive, yes, and the device feels a little cheap for the price, but ultimately it delivers satisfying instant photo moments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-instax-mini-99-could-pass-for-a-real-fujifilm-camera-150018817.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Beats has a solid track record when it comes to wireless earbuds. The company consistently offers good audio performance with a comfy fit and a nice list of features for both Android and iOS users. In fact, the Beats Fit Pro are our current top pick for best workout earbuds. The one thing the company doesn't have in its lineup is a budget-friendly option, but that will change soon. Today, Beats revealed the Solo Buds: an $80 set of wireless earbuds that offer 18 hours of use on a single charge. There are some caveats on the spec sheet, but you might be willing to overlook them for that battery life at that price. The Solo Buds have the longest battery life on a set of Beats earbuds ever. 18 hours is way more than you'll probably ever use in one go, but there's a catch. The Solo Buds case doesn't have a battery, so the earbuds won't top up when you're not using them. The case is essentially a dock and will only charge the buds when it's plugged in with a USB-C cable. You'll be able to charge it with your phone, laptop or tablet though, and Beats' Fast Fuel feature gives your an hour of use in five minutes. The upside to the non-charging case is that accessory is significantly smaller since it doesn't hold a battery. Beats has designed the Solo Buds to be worn for long periods of time. More specifically, ergonomic acoustic nozzles and vents assist with audio performance while relieving pressure. Four sizes of ear tips are included in the box so you can find the best option for your ears in terms of both comfort and passive noise isolation. There's no active noise cancellation (ANC) here, so a secure fit will be your only defense against environmental distractions. Inside, dual-layer transducers are designed to reduce distortion across the frequency curve which should lead to "uncompromising clarity and detail," according to Beats. The company describes call quality as "exceptional," thanks to the combination of a custom-designed mic and a noise-learning algorithm. Onboard controls are customizable, putting music, call and voice assistant functions a press or multiple presses away. Beats also includes the option for volume controls on the Solo Buds with an optional press-and-hold action. Native compatibility in Android and iOS delivers one-touch pairing, automatic setup and support for Find My and Find My Device. Everything you'll need on iPhone is built into iOS while Beats offers a standalone app on Android for things like onboard control customization. The Solo Buds will be available in June in black, gray, purple and transparent red color options for $80. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-announces-solo-buds-80-wireless-earbuds-with-18-hour-battery-life-140054881.html?src=rss
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When Beats introduced the Solo 3 in 2016, the headline feature was the inclusion of Apples W1 audio chip. This delivered seamless pairing with Apple devices, which made life much easier for iPhone, Mac and iPad owners. Besides the noise-canceling Solo Pro in 2019, Beats hadnt updated the Solo line in nearly eight years, and its now bringing its popular on-ear headphones up to todays standards. Beats announced the Solo 4 today, a $200 set of familiar-looking cans with significant updates to audio quality and battery life. But as it has done on other devices, the company has chosen its own audio platform over Apples AirPod chip. Whats new on the Beats Solo 4? Beats says it re-engineered the audio on the Solo 4 for incredible, high-fidelity acoustics. This includes new, custom-built 40mm transducers that it says offer extraordinary clarity and range due to minimal latency and distortion. The company explained that the change also led to improved high-frequency response compared to the Solo 3. Beats says the Solo 4 is its only passively-tuned headphone, so youll get the same audio quality when listening wirelessly as you do when your battery dies and you have to employ the 3.5mm jack. Spatial Audio was available on the Solo 3, but Beats took things a step further on the Solo 4 by adding Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. This is the process Apple developed for its AirPods that uses your iPhones camera to create a custom audio profile tailored to the shape of your ears. The effectiveness of head tracking in enhancing Spatial Audio might depend on your personal preferences and the content, but the addition brings the Solo 4 up to date with other Beats (and Apple) audio products. Billy Steele for Engadget Another big upgrade is battery life. The Solo 3 already offered 40 hours of play time on a charge, but Beats managed to squeeze another 10 hours out of the Solo 4. Of course, thats with a volume level of about 50 percent with Spatial Audio off (45 hours with it on). The quick-charge feature, Fast Fuel, now gives you up to five hours of use in 10 minutes. Thats two hours more than the Solo 3. Like Apple has done with most of its products, Beats made the switch to USB-C for charging on the Solo 4. That wired connection also delivers lossless audio, so long as youre listening to compatible content with a supported device. Similar to other recent Beats products, the Solo 4 swaps Apples chips for the companys own platform. In this case, the W1 on the Solo 3 has been replaced, but theres still deep integration with iOS, macOS and iPadOS. And the companys recent efforts to better cater to Android users continues on the Solo 4. Beats upgraded the microphones on the Solo 4, though theyre used solely for calls since theres no active noise cancellation (ANC) here. Specifically, the company says it swapped out analog mics for digital, beam-forming MEMS ones, leading to increased quality when it comes to voice capture across various environments. Beats also added a noise-learning algorithm that can target your voice while combating background roar and wind. Whats good Billy Steele for Engadget The steps Beats took to improve the sound quality on the Solo 4 truly delivered. The company has employed a more even-handed tuning for several years now, ditching the overly bass-heavy EQ that dominated the sound on its early headphones. I can also hear the added clarity in tracks like Justices Neverender, where details like synth sounds had brought an atmospheric texture that enhanced the song. This is most prominent when you have Spatial Audio activated, and in my experience, the Solo 4 were at their best with Dolby Atmos content in Apple Music. The 50-hour battery life claim holds out, too. After 37 hours of testing at around 50-percent volume, macOS was still showing the Solo 4 had 35 percent left in the tank. Thats pacing ahead of Beats stated figure. During my test, I was streaming spatial Dolby Atmos content from Apple Music, mostly from a MacBook Pro. Beats says the Solo 4 has the same memory foam ear pads as the over-ear Studio Pro headphones, but with a new cover material for that component to further boost comfort. I do feel like theres less of a vice-like pressure when Im wearing the Solo 4, but after a couple of hours, each passing minute felt more laborious. Whats bad Billy Steele for Engadget While were on the topic of comfort, Ive never been a fan of the on-ear style of headphones. Most of them, the Beats Solo included, feel like theyre clamping down on my head. GrantedI have a large dome; I take my New Era caps in 7 . But I can appreciate that this design is very popular, so this is less of a con and more of an observation for my fellow large-domed homies. The slight changes to the ear pads definitely help make it more comfortable, but its still too snug a fit for me.Clearly, though, the Solo line is a hit: Beats says it has sold over 40 million pairs of these on-ear cans. I also wish the company did a bit more with the Solo 4s design. I understand if it aint broke and all that, but this feels like a missed opportunity. Beats opted to keep almost entirely the same look from the Solo 3, except that the Solo branding on the headband is now just a 4. The company changed things up a bit on the Solo Pro, but that model isnt around anymore, so a design update on the non-ANC Solo headphnes wouldve been a welcome change. While there are some obvious updates to the audio profile, the Solo 4 sounds a bit thin at times. When listening on an iPhone, audio performance is consistent across genress, but theres a noticeable difference when listening to the same songs on Apple Music on a Mac. That Justice album, Hyperdrama, doesnt have the same oomph streaming from my MacBook Pro as it does from my iPhone. The Solo 4 is also missing multipoint Bluetooth support on iOS. It isnt the first Beats audio device that lacks this, but that doesnt make it any less frustrating. The ability to automatically switch between your computer and your phone when you get a call is a handy feature most headphones offer these days. And if youre used to having it, its something youll miss on the Solo 4. Wrap-up Theres no denying the updates Beats made on the Solo 4 in terms of sound quality and battery life. The company also made tweaks to modernize it, including the switch to USB-C. Small changes to the ear pads make the Solo 4 more comfortable for those of us with big heads, but the fit is still far from ideal. And overall, the familiar design could use a refresh, especially now that were nearly eight years on from the Solo 3. Still, the Solo 4 is a clear upgrade from the Solo 3, but its likely not significant enough to entice more than the Beats faithful. The Beats Solo 4 is available today for $200 from Apple. The headphones come in black, blue (pictured) and pink color options. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-solo-4-review-upgraded-audio-extended-battery-life-and-familiar-design-140034968.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
I found myself in a variety of odd situations while solving puzzles in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. I spent some time staring at a mid-century movie poster for a documentary about a decomposing cat, wondering if I should focus on the runtime or the date it came out. I pulled up old hotel blueprints and deciphered the math of dead architects. I played a handful of ASCII-style PC games to receive messages from a 19th-century magician who calls me his sister. I found some toy blocks and shoved them into the walls of a secret cathedral. I slipped between realities and traversed a maze that shattered into shard-like pieces under my feet. I watched a woman fall to her death. I wondered if that woman was me. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a third-person noir detective game set in a haunted hotel with impossible architecture and a gruesome history. Its hallways are dense with logic-melting puzzles about magicians, mazes, astrology, filmmaking, mausoleums and physics, and it isnt even clear why the protagonist is there in the first place. With artifacts from the 1800s, set pieces from the 1960s and technology out of the 2010s, its barely clear when shes there. Lack of direction is a key tenet of the game, resulting in a sense of solitude thats oppressive and supremely unsettling. Its also empowering. The hotel in Lorelei is a playground of secrets with no set path for players, and theres a rich density of riddles and lore to untangle in every scene. Though I still have no idea where Im heading in the game, Ive rarely felt lost. It's kind of like Tunic in that regard, but it also feels like something directed by David Lynch, and visually, the game resembles Kentucky Route Zero or Sin City. Theres really no direct comparison for Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Playing it feels like nothing Ive experienced before. Simogo The actual gameplay in Lorelei is straightforward: Walk around and press a button (on a gamepad, literally any button) to interact with objects that glow when youre near. Otherwise, pressing a button pulls up a menu with the protagonists stats, inventory, reference materials, unsolved puzzles and handheld gaming system. Her stats include caffeine, stress, temperature, cash and bladder trackers, her inventory comes with a tampon and the hotel provides both coffee machines and bathrooms that she can actually use. I havent discovered a gameplay reason for the bathrooms or the tampon yet, but Ive enjoyed the fact that they exist, and I will keep trying to insert the tampon into every statue and keyhole until it finally works. If it ever does. With Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, you just dont know until you know. Loreleis world is built on Roman numerals, Greek letters, zodiac signs and 24-hour clocks, and its filled with puzzle boxes, keypad codes, logic riddles, mazes, image reconstructions, memory tests and other ultra-satisfying mystery-solving mechanics. Even then, part of the games genius lies in the actions that take place off-screen. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is meant to be played with a notebook and pen close by, and I do not suggest starting without these tools. Yes, even you, the person who just scoffed and thought, I wont need to write anything down. I promise, you will. Simogo Lorelei definitely has puzzles with straightforward solutions, but the bulk of its queries are challenging, relying on previous answers, significant amounts of reading, object manipulation, deduction and creative thinking. The simple riddles supply a steady cadence of endorphin hits, especially in the early game. They also provide a guide for approaching the trickier puzzles: Trust your instincts. If you think of something, try it, no matter how outlandish it may seem. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes rewards curiosity and the game is incredibly adept at planting the seeds of concepts thatll be useful hours later. I hit my first mental wall around hour seven, and thats when Loreleis pacing shifted downward for a spell. I went from consistently but not effortlessly solving puzzles and unlocking new areas of the hotel, to lingering on a handful of rooms I simply couldnt figure out, pacing among them and scouring my notes for hidden clues. After 45 minutes or so, I remembered I still had a simple puzzle from my first hour waiting to be solved; I returned to it, completed it, and the game expanded beautifully in response, offering up an entirely new area of the hotel to explore and increasing the tempo once again. Simogo Each eureka moment in Lorelei introduces more questions, and the secrets pile up as a grand, overarching narrative elegantly unfurls around the protagonist. There are classic horror elements here: children in owl masks giving advice from beyond the grave, hell-dark hallways, spooky phonograph music, ghosts with no eyes. A man with a maze for a head floating right behind you, reaching for the back of your neck. The game seamlessly introduces various visual styles at regular intervals, breaking its own reality in perfectly orchestrated ways. All of this weirdness forms a cohesive experience because Simogo knows how to make a damn fine puzzle game. This is the studio behind Device 6, an iOS title that played with text and physical input methods in trippy ways, and Year Walk, a haunting adventure about Swedish mythology and death. Lorelei feels like a magnum opus for Simogo, an atmospheric powerhouse of a puzzle game that proves how deeply its developers understand these systems, and pushes the genre into strange and unchartered territory. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a rat king of riddles. Its a game composed entirely of mysteries, with each puzzle twisted around the previous one and strangling the next, solutions knotted with concealed information. Mark my words, the game guides for this thing are going to look like House of Leaves. Im ten hours in and plenty of mysteries remain. Theres a six-handed clock with zodiac signs and Roman numerals in the west wing that I still cant figure out, and theres a journal with a lock based on moon phases thats been slowly driving me batty. More than a dozen puzzles are waiting to be solved in my characters on-screen scratchpad. In real life, the pages of my notebook look similar, covered in hastily scribbled numbers, letters, dates, arrows and symbols, solutions sprinkld among the chaos. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is due to hit Steam and Switch on May 16.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes-preview-this-may-be-my-goty-140030011.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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