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Movie icon and super spy James Bond seemed to be on another rise to the top of the box office just a few years ago, but things have been almost as quiet as a shot from a Walther PPK with a silencer ever since then. Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royale and passed the baton with 2021s No Time to Die in one of the most heart-wrenching endings in Bonds cinematic history (you cried, just admit it). The only thing sadder is the reason why we havent seen a new Bond movie since then. The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert Cubby Broccoli when he died in 1996, are in the middle of an ugly fight thats halted production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesnt trust Amazon with her familys famous film franchise. How bad is it? Well, heres a quote from Barbara to some of her friends explaining how she feels about the people who run Amazons media empire: These people are fing idiots. Man, thats awkward with a capital awk. The stalemate started back in 2021 when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion and thus acquired the rights to distribute Bond films, according to Variety. The deal seemed like a big move for Amazon to weave its way into Hollywood using one of its most storied and rock solid film franchises. Unfortunately for Amazon, the true power over the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. She supplies the ideas for Bonds big screen adventures and when they go into production, and Broccoli isnt keen on working with Amazon anytime soon. The WSJ spoke to 20 people familiar with the feud who say Broccoli feels Amazon isnt the right place for a Bond movie because its core business is retail and ecommerce. When Amazon purchased MGM, clinching the rights to the Bond franchise was a key part of the deals value. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations but were assured they would still retain creative control. COVID lockdowns were already making it hard to jump into the next Bond film production as well. However, things seemed to be smoothing over between the two parties when Amazon also insisted that its next Bond movie No Time to Die would get a theatrical release. But as soon as the deal closed, Amazon executives started thinking of ways to expand the Bond film franchise to other mediums like a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show that took place in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to let any of these projects go forward. She also took umbrage with Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salkes use of the word content to describe new James Bond projects and any ideas Amazon had for Bond were labeled TBD in memos. To date, the only Bond property Amazon could get Broccoli to sign off on is a reality series 007: Road to a Million thats entering its second season. Broccoli and her family have been part of the Bond movie franchise for almost as long as she lived so shes fiercely protective of the brand and her fathers cinematic legacy. Shes also started training Wilsons son Gregg to produce recent installments and possibly prepare him to take over the franchise someday. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. Thats assuming we get one and it doesnt look like that will happen anytime soon.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/james-bond-the-movie-franchise-not-the-spy-may-be-in-deep-jeopardy-211608094.html?src=rss
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A little more than a week after announcing Gemini Deep Research, Google is making the tool available to more people. As of today, the feature, part of the companys paid Gemini Advanced suite, is available in every country and language where Google offers Gemini. In practice, that means Gemini Advanced users in more than 100 countries globally can start using Deep Research right now. Previously, it was only available in English. As a refresher, Deep Research takes advantage of Gemini 1.5 Pros ability to reason through long context windows to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics. Once you provide the tool a prompt, it will generate a research plan for you to approve and tweak as you see fit. After it has your go-ahead, Gemini 1.5 Pro will search the open web for information related to your query. That process can sometimes take several minutes, but once Gemini is done, youll have a multi-page report you can export to Google Docs for later viewing. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-gemini-deep-research-tool-is-now-available-globally-210151873.html?src=rss
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Instagram is still thought of as a feed of algorithmically-suggested photos first and foremost, but the app is also pretty popular for messaging, too. If you want to take some of the stress out of remembering to send a birthday message to a friend, as part of a recent update, you can now schedule Instagram messages in advance. Scheduled messages can't contain media like GIFs, photos or videos, but you can schedule them up to 29 days in advance on both the Android and iOS versions of the app. What are Instagram DMs? If you've stuck to using Instagram as a repository for your smartphone photos, you might have missed out on the introduction of Instagram Direct back in 2013, a direct messaging system integrated right in the Instagram app for sharing photos and videos with friends and family. Meta has changed the look, location, and features of Instagram DMs over the years, hooking it up with Messenger in 2020, and more recently adding location-sharing abilities in November 2024. Adding scheduled messages brings Instagram more line with messaging tools like iMessage and Gmail. How to schedule an Instagram message You can access DMs by tapping on the arrow or chat bubble icon in the top right corner of your feed. To schedule a message, choose an existing chat or create a new message by tapping on the new message icon in the top right corner. Then fill out the text box with whatever you want to say, and tap and hold on the blue arrow icon to the right of the text box. Instagram will then pull up a series of dials you can use to set the date and time you want your message to be sent. Once you're happy, tap the blue send button at the bottom of the menu and the message will be scheduled. Ian Carlos Campbell for Engadget How to delete a scheduled Instagram message If you change your mind about a scheduled message, you can delete them directly from your chat. From inside a chat, tap on the small text that says "scheduled messages" above the text box. Then tap and hold on the message you want to delete. From the dropdown menu that appears, tap on "Delete" to remove the message. How to edit a scheduled Instagram message If you want to edit your message instead of deleting it, things get more complicated. It became possible to edit normal Instagram messages in March 2024, but editing a scheduled message currently isn't possible. There is a way to achieve the same effect if you're willing to do some extra work, though. First, open the chat were the scheduled message you want to edit is. Then tap on "scheduled messages" near the bottom of the screen above the text box. Find the message you want to edit, then tap and hold on it. Tap on "Copy" from the menu that menu to copy the text to your clipboard, then repeat the process and tap on "Delete." With your copied message in hand, paste it into the text box of your existing chat or a new message. Edit it however you see fit, then tap and hold on the blue arrow to the right of the text box to schedule it again for your desire date and time. Tap on the send button at the bottom of the menu, and it will be scheduled.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/how-to-schedule-messages-on-instagram-205659294.html?src=rss
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When Intel debuted its first Arc video cards two years ago, I was more than a little skeptical. Could a company that famously gave up on its last major desktop GPU project in 2009 actually make a dent in a market dominated by NVIDIA and AMD? Well, when I reviewed them in 2022, the Arc A750 and A770 turned out better than I thought, though they were also held back by Intel's poor drivers. But it seems Intel has learned from its mistakes. The new $250 Arc B580 performs better than AMD's low-end Radeon 7600, and it can even tangle a bit with NVIDIA when it comes to budget ray tracing. The only question is if it's worth investing in an Intel video card given its rocky corporate outlook. But for such a cheap video card, with a price that harkens back to the early 2000s, the risk may be worth it. The B580 marks the debut of Intel's second-generation Arc Xe2 GPUs, and it'll be joined by the $219 B570 next month. Based on their specs alone, it's easy to see why they're compelling for budget games. The B580 features 20 Xe cores, 20 ray tracing units and a faster clock speed than the previous Arc cards. Most importantly, though, it's rocking 12GB of VRAM with a 192-bit memory interface, giving it more than enough room to pump out 1440p gameplay. The $299 NVIDIA RTX 4060, in comparison, is stuck with 8GB of VRAM and a far more limited 128-bit interface. Even the RTX 4060 Ti sports that meager amount of VRAM, limiting both of those GPUs mostly to 1080p gameplay (especially if you wanted a bit of ray tracing). AMD's Radeon RX 7600, which goes for around $269, is also burdened with 8GB of RAM and weaker ray tracing performance than NVIDIA and Intel's cards. While Intel has a clear hardware advantage, timing is once again a major concern. The Arc B580 launched as we're preparing for CES 2025, where both NVIDIA and AMD are expected to show off new desktop GPUs. Given NVIDIA's ever-increasing prices, I wouldn't bet on seeing an RTX 5060 around $250, but AMD is another story. It's been trying to make an impact in the low- and mid-range GPU market for years, and thats reportedly still the case with its RDNA 4 cards. There's a good chance we'll eventually see some sort of inexpensive next-gen GPU from AMD. Intel If you need to build a budget gaming rig in the next few months or so, though, the Arc B580 will serve you well. In my testing, it scored slightly higher than the RTX 4060 Ti in 3DMark's Timespy Extreme Benchmark, and it was also noticeably faster than the Radeon 7600. The B580 shone even brighter with ray tracing. I hit a 58 fps average in the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark running at 1080p with Ultra graphics settings and mid-range ray tracing. The Radeon 7600, on the other hand, sometimes struggled to stay above 40 fps with similar settings. GPU Timespy Extreme 3Dmark Speedway Port Royal Ray Tracing Intel Arc B580 7,287 2,443 7,872 Intel Arc A770 6,718 N/A 6,960 NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti 6,599 3,217 8,170 AMD Radeon 7600 5,526 1,969 5,478 I was genuinely surprised by how well the Arc B580 tackled 1440p gaming. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I hit 70 fps on average with high graphics settings, mid-range ray tracing and Intel's XeSS upscaling flipped on. That's better performance than you'll see on the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro (though admittedly, Sony's PSSR AI upscaling might look better to your eyes). I also hit 85 fps on average while playing Halo Infinite in 1440p with maxed out graphics, which was slightly better than the 4060 Ti. While we're used to budget cards being mainly limited to 1080p gaming, the Arc B580's additional memory clearly makes it well suitedfor 1440p. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget Still, there are benefits that the competition offers. NVIDIA's RTX GPUs can also work with its specialized apps, like NVIDIA Broadcaster, which can clean up your audio and video for streams and recordings. Additionally, NVIDIA's DLSS 3 upscaling is available on over 500 games, while Intel's XeSS just cracked 200. And then theres the driver issue: NVIDIA has decades of experience crafting solid GPU software, whereas Intel is still recovering from its recent driver missteps. At least the XeSS 2 AI upscaling seems more useful than AMD's FSR 3 (FidelityFX Super Resolution), as Intel's tech looks dramatically better and can often increase a game's performance by 30 percent or more. The Arc B580 also survived several hours of benchmarking and gaming without any hardware or driver issues. When I first tested the Arc A750 and A770, they would often crash within an hour of testing. Intel's software has clearly made some progress. The B580 reference model I tested also stayed relatively cool under load, and it never surpassed 64 degrees celsius (which also kept its two large fans from ever making much noise). While there will be third-party cards available, I was also impressed by Intels reference design: The B580 feels premium and sturdy, not cheap and plasticky like many other budget GPUs. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget At this point, it seems like Intel is already having trouble keeping the Arc B580 in stock, a rare good problem for the beleaguered chip giant. Its easy to see why gamers are smitten: It delivers solid 1080p and 1440p performance for most new titles, even with a bit of ray tracing. Finally, theres a viable $250 GPU that doesnt make you feel like youre desperately behind the pack. Its a clear win for Intel at least until we see whats new from AMD.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/intel-arc-b580-review-the-new-king-of-250-gpus-for-now-200047482.html?src=rss
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Hisense has officially unveiled its new HT Saturn audio system just ahead of CES, and it's a doozy. This five-piece surround system includes four identical satellite units and a single 6.5-inch subwoofer. All told, it ships with 13 speakers spread across the five units, each of them wireless. The company says this system has been purpose-built to complement extra-large screens, with Hisense announcing its the perfect companion to its own TVs that are 85-inches or bigger. The HT Saturn is especially feature-rich, as its compatible with both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X technology. Hisense It also includes a room calibration system, to ensure the best possible audio, and can use the TVs onboard speaker as an additional component. The system features plenty of useful connection options, including HDMI eARC, optical and Bluetooth 5.3. Everything is wall-mountable, which is great because it can be tough to find space for five cube-shaped speakers. The system also features five unique EQ modes that optimize sound for movies, music, games and more. We dont know the cost or when itll come out. The Hisense HT Saturn wireless audio system will officially debut at CES 2025, so well likely get pricing and availability details early next year. If you have an immediate hankering for a new entertainment-based sound system, Sony put out some good stuff this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/hisenses-ht-saturn-speakers-feature-wireless-dolby-atmos-and-room-calibration-192952302.html?src=rss
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