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InteraXon, the makers of the Muse wearable EEG, believe its made a big leap in scanning your brains health. It is launching the Muse S Athena, its fourth-generation device which adds a Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) sensor. fNIRS is designed to track how much oxygen is in your brain, the levels of which vary depending on its activity. The company claims the sensor offers you the equivalent of a VO2 Max reading, but for your brain, aiding you on your journey to become mentally swole. If youre unfamiliar, Muse has produced three wearable electroencephalogram (EEG) devices over the last decade. Put it on your forehead, close your eyes and, for instance, youll get audio feedback depending on what brainwaves your mind is pumping out. Its useful for people who are learning meditation, since youll get the sound of birds chirping when your mental state is relaxed. The app offers targeted programs to help improve your relaxation, combat stress, improve focus and even keep an eye on how well youre sleeping. Daniel Cooper for Engadget The Muse S Athena uses the same hardware-and-headband combination from the Muse S, which lets you wear it to sleep. Naturally, the biggest advancement here is the fNIRS sensor, paired with both the EEG and the companys AI-driven foundational brain model. With it, youll get feedback on how much oxygen is flowing to your brain a metric of how much mental effort youre making at any given time. During meditation and relaxation exercises, you want that figure quite low, and when youre trying to build up your focus and concentration, you want it to climb northward. Naturally, when worn to bed, youll get a record of your sleep stages, including how deep your sleep is. The company also promises that, if you use their audio cues to trigger sleep, youll also be able to use them to drift back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night. This is also the first Muse headband that can be used with the wearers eyes open, opening the door to a number of brain-training exercises. Its hoped the hardware, combined with the skill games inside the app, will help improve peoples mental resilience. Not to mention, of course, helping older adults stave off cognitive decline by offering a chance to strengthen focus. The Muse S Athena is available to order today from the Muse website, priced at $474.99 in the US and $574.99 in Canada.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/muses-new-wearable-eeg-knows-how-hard-youre-thinking-120041154.html?src=rss
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Sony has apparently formed a new first-party studio for PlayStation called Dark Outlaw Games, and it has already started hiring personnel for it. Jason Blundell, who worked on several Call of Duty titles under Treyarch and who's perhaps best known for co-creating CoD's Zombies mode, has revealed that he's heading up the studio in an interview with Jeff Gerstmann for his podcast. As for why Sony Interactive hasn't announced the new studio yet, Blundell said that they've been "working away in the shadows for a while" and that they'll "step out into the light" when they have something to talk about. Presumably, that means Sony will make an official announcement once Dark Outlaw is ready to reveal its first game. Blundell didn't say if he and his team have already started developing their first title or if it even already has a project lined up. All he said was that the studio is currently "staffing up" and that he's "getting the team to gel, getting the ideas clicking right" and then testing them. Blundell worked as a programmer and a producer for Activision before joining Treyarch to work on Call of Duty. For Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, he directed and produced the Career and Zombies experiences. Blundell left Treyarch in 2020 and founded Deviation Games, which he also left in 2022 before the studio shut down two years later. According to Dark Outlaw Games' LinkedIn account, the PlayStation studio was founded in 2024, is based in Los Angeles and has a team size between 11 and 50 persons. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-has-a-new-first-party-playstation-studio-led-by-cod-zombies-creator-jason-blundell-120007351.html?src=rss
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Google's software fix for older Chromecasts devices that weren't casting is rolling out now, according to an email the company sent to impacted owners. You can view the text of the email in the Google Nest Community pages. If you didn't factory-reset your device, it may already be working. If you're still not able to cast, though, Google recommends rebooting your device and trying again. Any Chromecasts that were accidentally reset to factory settings will need to be reconnected in the latest version of the Google Home app (either version 3.30.106 on iOS or version 3.30.1.6 on Android). The app update is apparently still trickling out to all devices, so if you don't see it now, you will in a few days. Some second-generation Chromecasts and Chromecast Audio dongles first became unable to cast early last week. Before Google promised a fix, many assumed this was the beginning of the slow death of Google's Chromecast line. Google no longer sells Chromecasts, retiring the name and dongle-style device after the Google TV Streamer was released in August 2024. As this relatively speedy fix suggests, even if it isn't selling them, Google doesn't intend to end support for existing Chromecasts at least not yet.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/googles-fix-for-busted-chromecasts-is-out-now-211334639.html?src=rss
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The release of the Pixel 9a is apparently very near, because after a regular cadence of leaks about the yet-to-be announced budget phone, at least two YouTubers have reviewed it early. Both The Mobile Central and Sahil Karoul have Google's new phone and released reviews that confirm a lot of the information that trickled out about the budget phone since the Pixel 8a was released. The biggest and easiest to grasp are the visual changes. The Pixel 9a doesn't have Google's trademark camera bump, opting instead for cameras that are nearly flush with the plastic back of the phone. The aluminum frame and front of the 9a are more familiar if you've used Pixel 9, though the 9a does have to have a lower-resolution 6.3-inch 1080p display, with what looks like slightly larger bezels, too. The main reason you opt for a Pixel over another budget Android phone is access to Google's custom camera and AI features, powered by the company's in-house Tensor chips. Both videos confirm the Pixel 9a uses the Tensor G4 and features a 48-megapixel wide and 13-megapixel ultrawide for photos and video. Photography performance seems on par with the Pixel 9, but video seems to suffer at night. The phone is rumored to come in multiple finishes: a light purple "Iris," black "Obsidian," hot pink "Peony," and a white "Porcelain." Only the purple and white models are shown in the videos, but that seems like as good a confirmation as any that the other colors will be available, too. Google originally released the Pixel 8a a week before its I/O developers conference in 2023, so a March announcement of a Pixel 9a would be a bit earlier than usual. It does fit with the rumored March 19 launch Android Headlines reported, though.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-pixel-9a-has-leaked-so-thoroughly-that-youtubers-are-reviewing-it-200943966.html?src=rss
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The original Looney Tunes animated shorts that aired between the 1930 and 1969 are no longer available to stream on Max, Deadline reports. Warner Bros. Discovery removed them from the streaming service as part of its ongoing shift away from children's shows and towards adult and family programming. For now, newer Looney Tunes series and spin-offs remain, like New Looney Tunes and Baby Looney Tunes, but the decision still feels odd because Warner Bros. Discovery just released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Story in theaters on March 14. Of course, the company is no stranger to ill-conceived (frequently anti-art) decision making. The original Looney Tunes were last on the chopping block in 2023, when a press release covering shows and movies that were being added and removed from Max included the iconic animated shorts. Warner Bros. Discovery walked back that announcement, saying it was an error, but apparently plans change. While it seems strange to remove something Warner Bros. Discovery owns and doesn't have to pay an exorbitant licensing fee to offer, pulling shows and scrapping the release of movies has been the company's recent strategy to save money and earn tax breaks see another Looney Tunes-related release, Coyote vs. Acme, or Batgirl. As far as this recent deprioritization of children's programming on Max goes, Warner Bros. Discovery has been working on it for a while. The company shutdown Boomerang, Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service for classic cartoons, in 2024. Warner Bros. Discovery decided to not renew its distribution deal for Sesame Street last year, too, but removing around 200 old episodes of the show in 2022 was probably a good sign the company had lost interest way earlier.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/warner-bros-discovery-pulled-the-original-looney-tunes-shorts-off-max-190500556.html?src=rss
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