Strava has had a few new developments recently, including buying personalized running plan app Runna. Now, it has launched a new training feature for distance runners called Performance Predictions, which gives estimated finish times for difference race lengths.
The app will now offer possible times for a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon so, now, it's not only your own goals you have to live up to but Strava's as well. No pressure. Strava is providing these predictions using a machine learning model (shocking) which looks at over 100 data points from the individual and the performance of similar runners on the app. The times should change after every run and based on rest periods.
Strava claims that users logged almost 1 billion runs on its app last year, so it should be helpful to some (and apply added pressure to others). Subscribers can access it in Strava's Progress tab. It will also show you how much those numbers have recently changed based and your average time per mile. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/strava-can-predict-your-race-finish-times-120007844.html?src=rss
If you were hoping to avoid the chaos that has accompanied the Switch 2 launch by pre-ordering directly from Nintendo, that may not make it arrive any faster. In an update on its website, Nintendo says that it's seeing "very high demand" for the console, so "your invitation email may arrive after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch" set for June 5th. That may delay the shipment until after that date as well, the company said.
Nintendo opened the ability to "register your interest" for purchasing a Switch 2 earlier in Japan and a staggering 2.2 million people applied to pre-order the console. It's now making the same offer to North American users and had initially promised to send out the first batch of pre-order invitations on May 8th. For at least some people, that may now slip nearly a month or more.
Nintendo suggested visiting its launch partners, but as we've seen so far, that process has also been challenging. So far, Amazon doesn't even have an order page for the Switch 2 and customers are having trouble ordering from other retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy.
Should you wish to apply to pre-order, beware that Nintendo hasn't made the process easy, likely to dissuade scalpers. You must have a purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership yourself, have had any paid Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least 12 months, have opted in to share gameplay data and have at least 50 total gameplay hours.
Nintendo delayed the original launch date from April 9 to April 24 due to concerns over Trump's tariffs. It remains to be seen whether Nintendo underestimated Switch 2 demand in other territories like the US as much as it did for Japan but given the current frenzy, that seems likely. To see full details on how to pre-order, check Engadget's article with all the details.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-warns-its-own-preorder-invites-may-arrive-after-switch-2-launch-100048014.html?src=rss
If you're a frequent Photoshop user, there's a good chance you've run into this scenario. You open the program after a long break to edit an image, but this being Photoshop we're talking about, there are about five different ways to complete the task before you and you can't quite remember the way you learned to do it. Adobe is trying to make it easier to use its flagship app with the introduction of a built-in AI agent that can navigate Photoshop and complete tasks for users. At its Adobe Max London event today, the company demoed this agent, showing how it can automate multi-step workflows.
Users can access the tool from the redesigned Actions panel. If you've used an AI chat bot before, the interface will be familiar. There's a text box for users to input what they want the agent to do for them, with a list of suggested prompts above. Once you hit enter, the tool will display all the steps needed to complete your request, allowing you to follow along as it does the work for you. Judging by the demos Adobe shared with press before the event, the agent can complete nearly any task you might turn to Photoshop to do. In one example, the tool first applies a color gradient to text, and then does the same for the background behind it.
Adobe
At the same event, Adobe showed off a new version of its Firefly app, which brings together all of the company's AI image, video, audio and vector generation tools in one easy to find place. The redesigned Firefly is available to use on the web today, with Android and iOS apps coming soon. Additionally, each part of the app is powered by new underlying models that offer better performance.
With image generation, for instance, Adobe is offering two new in-house systems, the imaginatively named Firefly Image Model 4 and Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. Of the former, the company says it can produce 2K resolution images, making it possible to print what the model generates. Adobe claims both systems offer best-in-class human rendering. All of Adobe's own models are commercially safe, meaning they weren't trained on copyrighted material, and creative professionals can feel safe using them.
"By unifying image, video, audio and vector generation and providing unmatched creative control, Firefly empowers creative professionals to work more productively and with an unmatched degree of precision," Adobe said. "Seamlessly integrated with Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Express and Adobes other creative applications, it offers AI-powered assistance throughout every stage of the content creation process from ideation through production."
Adobe
If Adobe's models aren't thing, the company is also for the first time offering third-party models directly within the Firefly app. With today's announcement, some of the more notable options include Google's Imagen 3 and Veo 2 models, as well as ChatGPT image generation, with more to come later. As part of Adobe's agreements with Google, OpenAI and other model providers, those companies have agreed to not use data from Adobe users for training their future AI systems. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/adobes-new-ai-agent-can-show-you-how-to-use-photoshop-090049772.html?src=rss
A troubling trend has emerged on clothing resale platforms like Vinted: women who post photos of themselves wearing items see better sales but risk harassment and having their images posted on misogynist forums. Vienna-based startup Minimist aims to tackle the issue with generative AI.As reported by Brutkasten, Minimist is developing a tool that lets sellers showcase clothing on realistic AI-generated models instead of their own bodies. After uploading an image of the item, users receive a professionally rendered photo featuring a lifelike avatar preserving anonymity while maintaining visual appeal.The feature will be part of a broader suite of recommerce tools aimed at streamlining clothing resale. Initially targeting consignment, vintage and second-hand stores, Minimist is currently testing automatic background removal and lighting enhancements to help sellers produce polished, high-quality product photos.
As nice as it is to have a projector wired up in your home cinema, the flexibility a portable model offers is equally valuable. It means you can set up an impromptu big screen in your back yard during those glorious long summer evenings. But portable projectors also carry that whiff of not being as good, or being compromised, with less powerful sound and vision. Its this issue that Nebula is looking to tackle with its latest flagship portable projector, the X1, which is designed to offer the power of a home projector in the body of a movable one.
The X1 is a triple-laser unit promising 4K UHD, Dolby Vision video with 3,500 ANSI lumens that should easily fill a 300-inch screen. You can place it on a stand, table or the floor, with the array capable of tilting up to 25 degrees to find wherever youve placed your screen. Theres a 14-element glass array inside the body, which the company says should provide reliable image quality for the life of the unit. Its flexible, too, with an optical zoom letting you cast on a screen up to 200 inches wide from between 13 and 22 feet away.
Nebula
The other big problem with projectors is the sound quality, but Nebula thinks its solved that issue as well. The X1 not only has a quartet of side-firing internal speakers, but you can pay a little more to pick up a pair of wireless 20W satellite speakers with their own built-in batteries. Each satellite connects to the X1 over Wi-Fi and has a rated battery life of eight hours, plus theyre IP54 rated to ensure they wont break if your movie night gets interrupted by a rain shower.
Nebula is also proud to boast that the X1 is the companys first portable projector to get its own internal liquid cooling system. Liquid cooling is commonplace on higher end wired projectors, and Nebula says that its inclusion here enables it to get the fan noise down to 26 dB. That may or may not be a good thing depending on the talent levels of your friends given you can also buy a pair of wireless karaoke microphones with a rated battery life of 40 hours.
The rest of the spec list is what youd expect, with the X1 running Google TV, plus a pair of HDMI ports (one with eARC). Itll be available to purchase in the US on June 20 for $2,999, while the accessory pack on its own will set you back $999, but you can bundle both for $3,298. Its a similar situation in the UK, where itll be ready to buy on May 21 for 2,199.99, with the accessory pack costing 500, but if you order between May 21 and June 15, youll get both for 2,350.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/nebulas-new-x1-4k-portable-projector-is-liquid-cooled-233025705.html?src=rss
The PlayStation 5 is getting a software update that brings back the looks of yesteryear. After fans applauded the move to apply the appearances of past Sony generations to their consoles' home screens during the PlayStation 30th anniversary last year, the company said it was working on making those permanent aesthetic options. That promised return of the four retro UI looks is the highlight of the upcoming PS5 update.
Unfortunately, the start-up audio chimes that accompanied each generation are not coming back. But the visual part can be changed at will under the Appearance tab of the Settings menu.
The other big component of the upcoming software update is a feature called Audio Focus that can help increase immersion during a play session while using headphones or headsets. With these presets, players can choose to boost the voice, the low pitch sounds, the high pitch sounds or the quiet sounds. You can also set whether the amount of amplification is weak, medium or strong.
The PS5 update will begin its global rollout on April 24.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/retro-playstation-ui-options-return-permanently-to-the-ps5-230337414.html?src=rss
Microsoft promised in a strange ad campaign last year that it would bring Xbox Game Pass to more than just its own gaming brand's hardware thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming. One of the previously announced platforms that it said would gain the ability to run Xbox Game Pass was smart TVs from LG. Today, LG announced that the Xbox app will begin rolling out to a collection of its smart TVs in 25 countries this week.
The Xbox app is compatible with select LG screens and monitors. According to the press release, the available models include "2022 OLED TVs, 2023 OLED, QNED, NanoCell and UHD TVswhich have been updated to software version 23.20.01 or higher." It will also be made available at a later date on LG's StanbyME screens. Once downloaded, the app allows members of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to stream select titles they already own or to access titles from the Game Pass library.
LG is the latest electronics manufacturer to offer the Xbox experience without the need to physically own an Xbox. Samsung has already done the same, and Amazon's Fire TV also has an Xbox app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/lg-smart-tvs-are-getting-xbox-game-pass-this-week-200422697.html?src=rss
Meta AI, the most interesting thing you can do with Ray-Ban Meta glasses, will soon be available to more people. The company's Live Translation feature is rolling out to all the product's markets, and Live AI (where you can hold a free-flowing conversation about what you're looking at) will soon be available in the US and Canada. In addition, glasses owners in the EU can finally use Meta AI with their high-tech specs.
Live translation, previously available in early access, is now rolling out in every region where Ray-Ban Meta glasses are available. Handy for trips abroad or chats with locals who speak a different language, the AI-powered feature speaks a translation in your preferred language in real time. You can also view a translated transcript on your phone.
Live translation is available in English, French, Italian and Spanish. And if you download your preferred language pack in advance, you can use it without a Wi-Fi connection or even mobile data from your paired phone. You can launch the feature by saying, "Hey Meta, start live translation."
Meta
US and Canadian users can now use Meta's Live AI feature, which lets you ask questions about your surroundings without saying "Hey Meta" every time. (You can even interrupt it.) Another feature previously only available in beta, live AI lets you chat with your glasses in natural language about your environment, asking it to explain things like missing ingredients for a meal or the best wine to pair with it. You can say, "Hey Meta, start live AI" to begin.
In addition, Meta AI is finally rolling out to all of the product's supported countries in the European Union. And starting next week, EU countries will get the visual search feature that can answer individually prompted questions about your surroundings, but (unlike Live AI) can't perform a free-flowing conversation with interruptions.
The glasses' Instagram integration is also expanding. Meta says you can soon send and receive Instagram DMs, photos, audio calls and video calls on your Ray-Bans. They already supported calls and messages through WhatsApp and Messenger and your phone's messaging app, so the glasses now have a solid list of communications options. You can start by saying, "Hey Meta, send a message to [your recipient's name] on Instagram."
Meta
Music app support is expanding beyond the US and Canada. The company is rolling out support for Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Shazam in the product's non-North American regions. Once the update is live, you can ask your glasses things like, "Hey Meta, what's the name of this song?" or "Hey Meta, when did this album come out?"
Although no major hardware upgrades were announced today (the next revision with a screen is rumored to launch later this year), Meta and Ray-Ban are rolling out new styles for the second-gen glasses. These include new Skyler frame and lens color combinations, including the cat-eye-shaped Shiny Chalky Gray with Transitions Sapphire lenses and the "more timeless" Skyler Shiny Black with G15 Green lenses and Skyler Shiny Black with Clear lenses.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-is-bringing-smart-glasses-live-translation-and-ai-to-more-people-184546291.html?src=rss
Discord CEO and co-founder Jason Citron has announced that he's stepping down from his leadership role at the chat app and being replaced by Humam Sakhnini, a former executive from Activision Blizzard. Citron will remain on Discord's board of directors, and fellow co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy will continue acting as the company's chief technology officer.
"From the very beginning, our mission has been about bringing people together around games," Citron said in a statement. "Its a mission Ive dedicated my career to, and I'm confident that passing the torch to Humam is the right evolution for Discord's future." While initially pitched as a way to talk to friend's before, during and after playing games, Discord has morphed into a much larger and more general social platform, serving "more than 200 million monthly active users worldwide," the company says.
There's an important financial context to Citron's move. The New York Times reported in March that Discord was meeting with investors to take the company public. Sakhnini has experience acting as a leader of a public company. He was also the President of King Digital the creator of Candy Crush and other popular mobile games after the company was acquired by Activision Blizzard. A veteran executive could be a natural fit to usher Discord to an IPO. Citron didn't deny the plan when GamesBeat asked if the company would go public: "As you can imagine, hiring someone like Humam is a step in that direction."
Just a few years ago, Discord was reportedly in talks to be acquired by Microsoft, which seemed like a natural fit alongside Xbox. The rumored $10 billion deal fell through, but both Xbox and PlayStation platforms got Discord integration.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/discords-ceo-and-co-founder-is-stepping-down-181851778.html?src=rss
The wait is (kind of) almost over. Ghost of Ytei will be available for PS5 on October 2. This is a sequel to the 2020 hit Ghost of Tsushima and was first announced last year. Its a PS5 exclusive, as its developed by Sony-owned Sucker Punch.
It doesnt follow the story of Ghost of Tsushima. Rather, its an original adventure with new characters that's set in a new era. Ghost of Ytei takes place in Hokkaido, Japan in the early 1600s. This is over 300 years after the events of the first game.
Its still an open-world adventure, though Sony promises "even more freedom and variety than in Ghost of Tsushima." For instance, you can hunt down the six big bads in whatever order you choose. Theres a new trailer that reveals the basic story beats and some gameplay. It looks pretty darn fun.
Preorders will open up on May 2 at 10AM ET for those in the US. This being a modern console game, there are a few different editions to choose from. Theres the Standard Edition, which is just the game, that costs $70. The Digital Deluxe Edition adds in-game bonuses, like armor, weapons and costumes. That one costs $80.
Sony
The Collectors Edition, which costs a whopping $250, comes with all of the aforementioned in-game items, but thats just the beginning. It also ships with physical items, like replicas of the protagonists mask, katana and sash. Sony is calling this the best Collectors Edition it has ever produced. All preorders, no matter which edition, receive a "unique in-game mask" and a handful of PSN avatars.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/ghost-of-yotei-comes-to-ps5-on-october-2-165531467.html?src=rss
