This Valentine's season, Thailand's Department of Health is leveraging February's association with sweetness to launch a campaign that's anything but saccharine.
X is experimenting with a new way for AI to write Community Notes. The company is testing a new "collaborative notes" feature that allows human writers to request an AI-written Community Note. It's not the first time the platform has experimented with AI in Community Notes. The company started a pilot program last year to allow developers to create dedicated AI note writers. But the latest experiment sounds like a more streamlined process. According to the company, when an existing Community Note contributor requests a note on a post, the request "now also kicks off creation of a Collaborative Note." Contributors can then rate the note or suggest improvements. "Collaborative Notes can update over time as suggestions and ratings come in," X says. "When considering an update, the system reviews new input from contributors to make the note as helpful as possible, then decides whether the new version is a meaningful improvement."We're launching something new: Collaborative NotesThe idea: when you request a note, AI drafts one then the community refines it together through ratings and suggestions. You can watch it get better in real time.Its a whole new way for the public to work with AI and each pic.twitter.com/U7eBOLdsh7 Community Notes (@CommunityNotes) February 5, 2026
X doesn't say whether it's using Grok or another AI tool to actually generate the fact check. If it was using Grok, that would be in-line with how a lot of X users currently invoke the AI on threads with replies like "@grok is this true?"Community Notes has often been criticized for moving too slowly so adding AI into the mix could help speed up the process of getting notes published. Keith Coleman, who oversees Community Notes at X, wrote in a post that the update also provides "a new way to make models smarter in the process (continuous learning from community feedback)." On the other hand, we don't have to look very far to find examples of Grok losing touch with reality or worse. According to X, only Community Note Contributors with a "top writer" status will be able to initiate a collaborative note to start, though it expects to expand availability "over time."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/xs-latest-community-notes-experiment-allows-ai-to-write-the-first-draft-210605597.html?src=rss
The Steam Machine is back from the dead. Not as a Valve-supported program for manufacturers to create living room PCs, but instead a home console sibling to the Steam Deck. Valve introduced its second attempt at ruling the living room in a surprise hardware announcement in November 2025, and paired the new Steam Machine with a new Steam Controller and a wireless VR headset it calls the Steam Frame. Since the announcement, as is often the case with Valve, some details remain elusive, however.While we wait for the release of the company's new hardware lineup in 2026, and more information straight from the horse's mouth, here's everything we know about the hardware, software and price of the Steam Machine.What's the Steam Machine's hardware like?ValveLike the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine is utilitarian and bespoke. The PC is a black, 5.98 x 6.39 x 6.14 inch (152 x 162.4 x 156mm) box, with ports and a grille for a fan in the back and a removable faceplate and customizable LED light strip in the front. Inside, Valve says the Steam Machine features a "semi-custom" AMD Zen 4 CPU with six cores and up to 4.8GHz clock speeds, and a "semi-custom" RDNA3 AMD GPU, along with 16GB DDR RAM, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM and either 512GB or 2TB of storage.While these specs make the Steam Machine more powerful than the aging Steam Deck (which shipped in 2022 with its own custom AMD chip) Valve has been careful not to oversell the capabilities of the box. In a blog post, the company said that "the majority of Steam titles play great at 4K 60FPS" using AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) frame generation and upscaling technology, but some titles require more upscaling than others, and it "may be preferable to play at a lower framerate with [variable refresh rate] to maintain a 1080p internal resolution."In a hands-on preview of the Steam Machine, Digital Foundry expressed concern with what Valve's claims and the device's stated specs could mean for future performance. "The decision to opt for 8GB of GDDR6 memory has been proven to be a limiting factor on many modern mainstream triple-A games and falls short of the maximum VRAM pools and memory bandwidth available on both Xbox Series X and base PS5," Digital Foundry writes.The Steam Machine supports Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6E and includes an integrated 2.4GHz adapter for the new Steam Controller. In terms of port selection, there's DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 inputs for connecting the box to external monitors and TVs, four USB-A ports (divided between two USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports) and one USB-C port on the back.Engadget will have to try out the Steam Machine to really know what it's capable of, but there's nothing to suggest it couldn't be as flexible as the Steam Deck, especially with more power to play with. What games will be able to run on the Steam Machine?ValveAny game that runs on SteamOS, Valve's Linux-based operating system, will run on the Steam Machine, provided the device's technical specs will support it. For games running natively on Linux, the Steam Machine will download the Linux version. For Windows games and everything else, it'll be able to use Steam's built-in Proton compatibility layer to translate games to Linux, just like the Steam Deck does.Proton is developed by both Valve and CodeWeavers, the team behind the macOS compatibility app CrossOver. Valve's compatibility layer translates a game's API calls and other software features into something Linux understands, essentially tricking the game into thinking it's running on Windows when it isn't. Proton has worked remarkably well so far, in some cases helping some PC games run more efficiently on Linux than they do on Windows, but it does have some limitations. Because some anti-cheat software doesn't support Linux, many competitive multiplayer games aren't playable on SteamOS. Valve hopes the Steam Machine will help change that. "While [the] Steam Machine also requires dev participation to enable anti-cheat, we think the incentives for enabling anti-cheat on Machine to be higher than on Deck as we expect more people to play multiplayer games on it," Valve told Eurogamer. "Ultimately we hope that the launch of Machine will change the equation around anti-cheat support and increase its support."To help users find what games work well on the Steam Machine, Valve plans to expand its program for verifying games on the Steam Deck to include the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. Valve looks at things like controller support, the default resolution of the game, whether or not it requires a separate launcher and whether the game and its middleware work with Proton to determine a game's rating. Then the company sorts games into four categories: Verified (where the game works with Steam hardware at launch), Playable (where a user might have to make modifications to run smoothly), Unplayable (where some or all of the game doesn't function) and Unknown. According to an announcement Valve sent to developers, games that were Verified for the Steam Deck will automatically be verified for the Steam Machine. The system is helpful, but far from definitive some Unplayable games are in fact playable which is why online, community-run databases like ProtonDB fill in the gaps with more granular information.How much will the Steam Machine cost and when will it launch?ValveValve hasn't announced a price or a release date for the Steam Machine or any of its new hardware. In terms of price, however, the company has suggested it might not be a deal in quite the same way the $399 Steam Deck LCD was. Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge that the "Steam Machines pricing is comparable to a PC with similar specs" and that its price would be "positioned closer to the entry level of the PC space" but be "very competitive with what you a PC you could build yourself from parts."That means the Steam Machine will likely cost more than the $499 PS5, and that the rising costs of memory could make it even more expensive. Valve has already publicly admitted that memory and storage shortages are affecting its plans. In February, the company said that it was delaying the launch of its hardware (though it still hopes to ship in the first half of 2026) and rethinking pricing, particularly around the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, because of the "limited availability and growing prices" of critical components like RAM.The changes Framework had to make to the pricing of the Framework Desktop are an illustrative example of the position Valve is in. Framework pitched its compact desktop PC as being great for gaming, with an AMD Ryzen AI Max chip (originally meant for gaming laptops) and a minimum of 32GB of RAM that lets it run games at 1440p. The company originally sold the base configuration of the Framework Desktop for $1,099, but announced in January 2026 that it would now cost $1,139 due to the rising cost of RAM. The price situation got even worse for configurations with more RAM. A Framework Desktop with 128GB of RAM now costs $2,459.The blame for rising costs lies squarely with the AI industry, whose demand for RAM has led to the collapse of consumer RAM brands and a dearth of true deals on the in-demand component. At this point, PC makers have no solution to the problem other than riding the shortage out and raising prices. Valve clearly isn't immune to those same issues.That doesn't rule out the company offering its Linux PC at multiple different price points, or in some kind of bundle deal with multiple pieces of new Steam hardware. But it does mean that the Steam Machine will likely be priced like a premium device. Same for the Steam Controller and Steam Frame. In the case of the Frame, UploadVR reports that Valve wants to sell the headset for less than the $1,000 Valve Index, but that doesn't mean it won't be significantly more expensive than the $300 Meta Quest 3S.What accessories will work with the Steam Machine?ValveThe Steam Machine is designed to work with a variety of different Bluetooth controllers and other wireless accessories, and also whatever you can plug into its multiple USB-A ports and single USB-C port. With a built-in 2.4GHz Steam Controller dongle inside the Steam Machine, Valve's controller should be an ideal option for controlling games, particularly because of its multiple control options, like touchpads and gyroscopes. Support for Steam Link, Valve's tech for streaming PC games over local wireless, means you can also send games from a Steam Machine to the Steam Deck, Steam Frame or the Steam Link app and play them there.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/everything-we-know-about-valves-new-steam-machine-200458817.html?src=rss
If you haven't yet played Alan Wake 2, here's your chance to immerse yourself in its terrors for free. Prime members can play it this month on Amazon's Luna cloud gaming service at no additional charge.The "fantastic" Alan Wake 2 oozes "psychedelic terror," as Engadget's Jessica Conditt put it in our review. The 2023 horror-survival game uses a dual-protagonist motif, alternating between the lost author Wake and the stoic FBI agent Saga Anderson. It "tells a twisted, serpentine story of paranormal murder, shifting realities and demonic possession, with two brooding investigators at its core." Not a bad way to sublimate the all-too-real horrors of life in 2026.The Order of Giants DLC for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also arrives on Luna this month. Ditto for Disney Universe, a knockoff of the Lego game franchise starring the Mouse's IP.Setting Luna aside, Amazon also has downloadable PC games that Prime members can claim for free this month. Starting today, you can snag the Borderlands spinoff Tiny Tina's Wonderlands from the Epic Store. Later this month, you can also claim the highly rated strategy title Total War: Attila (Epic Store, Feb. 26).You can check out Amazon's announcement post for the complete list.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/prime-members-can-play-alan-wake-2-for-free-on-luna-193509728.html?src=rss
Meta is developing a standalone app for Vibes, its feed of AI-generated videos, according to reports from TechCrunch and Platformer. Vibes was introduced as a feature in the Meta AI app in September 2025. Similar to OpenAI's Sora app, Vibes lets users prompt Meta AI to create TikTok-style vertical videos."Following the strong early traction of Vibes within Meta AI, we are testing a standalone app to build on that momentum," Meta said in a statement. "Weve seen that users are increasingly leaning into the format to create, discover, and share AI-generated video with friends. This standalone app provides a dedicated home for that experience, offering people a more focused and immersive environment. We will look to expand the app further based on what we learn from the community."Meta has yet to share specific numbers for how many people actually use Vibes, but the company does claim that Meta AI usage has continued to grow since Vibes launched. Breaking the feature out into its own app could allow Meta to add more functionality without cluttering the existing Meta AI app. The company believes AI-generated content will be the next big source of engagement on platforms, and said in an October 2025 earnings call that it planned to push more AI images and videos into its recommendation algorithm. A dedicated app for creating videos like Vibes could be one way Meta hopes to do that.As Meta's main competitor in the burgeoning field of AI-first social media, OpenAI has continued to iterate on its Sora app, adding ways for characters and pets to cameo in videos, and signing a deal with Disney to allow users to generate content with Disney characters. Considering the company has licensed celebrity likenesses in the past, it doesn't seem impossible that Meta could pursue similar deals. Whatever happens, AI-generated videos appear like they'll be increasingly inescapable.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-is-giving-its-ai-slop-feed-an-app-of-its-own-192208200.html?src=rss
The upcoming science fiction film Project Hail Mary is getting a LEGO set. This is fascinating because LEGO typically makes sets based on long-standing franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter. Project Hail Mary doesn't even hit theaters until March 20.
It's not an entirely new IP. The movie is based on a 2021 book written by Andy Weir, the same author behind The Martian. It's cool to see a LEGO set based on something more contemporary than its usual fare.
The 830-piece set looks pretty nifty. It includes a replica of The Hail Mary spaceship in all of its glory, complete with minifigures of teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace and his ultra-cute alien buddy that the whole world will likely fall in love with once the film hits.
LEGO
The set also comes with a functional display stand and a crank that moves the components around to simulate centrifugal gravity. The minifigures can even be arranged to recreate an iconic scene from the book and, likely, the movie.
LEGO's Project Hail Mary set is available for preorder right now and costs $100. It ships on March 1, giving fans around 20 days to build it before the movie hits theaters.
The film involves a reluctant astronaut attempting to solve a mystery as to why the sun is dying. It stars Ryan Gosling and is directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind the Spiderverse films and, incidentally, The LEGO Movie.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/project-hail-mary-is-getting-its-own-lego-set-191106809.html?src=rss
The US Central Intelligence Agency is ending one of its popular services, The World Factbook. Over the decades, this reference has provided readers with information about different countries and communities around the world. The post from the CIA announcing the news didn't provide any information about why it will stop offering The World Factbook. The agency was subject to the same buyouts and job cuts that decimated much of the federal workforce in 2025, so maybe this type of public-facing tool is no longer a priority. This reference guide was first published in 1962 as The National Basic Intelligence Factbook. That original tome was classified, but as other government departments began using it, an unclassified version for the public was released in 1971. It became a digital resource on the CIA website in 1997. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-cia-stops-publishing-the-world-factbook-184419024.html?src=rss
Nintendo capped off todays partner-focused Nintendo Direct with a flurry of Bethesda-related announcements, but arguably the most interesting game of the showcase appeared right at the start.
First announced at the beginning of the year, Orbitals is a two-player puzzle adventure game in which you and your co-op partner play as the intergalactic explorers Maki and Omura, on a mission to save their home in the stars from an incoming cosmic storm. Gameplay-wise, Orbitals looks like its at least partly inspired by the likes of It Takes Two and Split Fiction, but really what really stands out here is the 90s anime-inspired visuals.
The game is absolutely dripping in style, and somehow looks just as good in motion as it does in cutscenes. Describing it as a playable Saturday morning cartoon is getting into cliche territory, but Orbitals really nails its aesthetic.
It will be a tall order for any game like this to clear the impossibly high bar for creative co-op gameplay that Josef Fares Hazelight Studios has set in recent years, but Orbitals looks like it could be worth experiencing for its visuals alone.
Nintendo has managed to nab this one as a Switch 2 exclusive, which you can either play locally or online, and thanks to the console's GameShare feature, only one person needs to own the game for the latter.
Orbitals arrives at some point during summer 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-switch-2-exclusive-co-op-adventure-orbitals-launches-this-summer-180657892.html?src=rss
JLab just released a gigantic pair of headphones that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. The Blue XL headphones are ridiculously oversized, making them headphones in name only. I don't even think Andre the Giant could've comfortably worn these suckers.
Unless you have a mythically large head, these are basically "headphone speakers." The idea is to drape them around your neck and stream tunes for all to hear. Though you could also pop them on a table or something. I prefer my Bluetooth speakers to be speaker-shaped, but maybe that's just me.
JLab
As for the internals, they feature 30W of power and two 2.5-inch drivers, along with two 2.5-inch radiators. This is obviously more power than what's demanded by headphones because, again, these are actually speakers. JLab says they'll get around 20 hours of use per charge, which is a decent metric.
There's another use case here. They could make a mighty fine accessory in a "person wearing comically oversized headphones" Halloween costume. The price is actually right for a gag gift. The Blue XL headphones cost $99. These were first announced at a recent college football game, but everyone assumed it was a joke because they were gold and the company said they cost $120,000. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/jlabs-comically-oversized-headphones-are-not-an-april-fools-prank-174338833.html?src=rss
With gaming becoming an ever-smaller part of NVIDIA's lucrative business, the company reportedly won't bother releasing new graphics cards this year. The Information reported on Thursday that NVIDIA has pushed back its plan to release an update to the RTX 50 line in 2026. This would be the first time in three decades that the company hasn't launched new gaming chips. The culprit? Why, AI, of course.AI demand has driven the current memory chip shortage, throwing the consumer electronics industry out of kilter. Many product prices are expected to rise (as if tariffs hadn't already done enough damage there). And the scarcity of memory chips has made components that rely on them, including GPUs, nearly impossible to find. Even the auto industry isn't spared.Facing those constraints, NVIDIA, which made its bones on graphics chips for PCs and gaming consoles, is essentially brushing off that demographic. The Information notes that in the first nine months of 2022, NVIDIA's gaming GPUs made up 35 percent of its total revenue. During that same period in 2025, only around 8 percent came from gaming components. In addition, NVIDIA's AI chips have much higher profit margins: 65 percent vs. 40 percent for graphics cards.That means gamers, already hard-pressed to find last year's RTX 50 series, likely won't get the expected "Super" version in 2026. On top of that, The Information says the delay will also push back NVIDIA's next-gen graphics card (likely "RTX 60"). That component was initially expected to begin mass production at the end of 2027.But hey, at least you can shop (and view ads!) in ChatGPT, have a talk with your Gmail inbox and record everything the people around you say. Who needs games anyway, right?This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidia-reportedly-wont-release-new-graphics-cards-this-year-173002651.html?src=rss
