🏠 Pijat Gaol Contact Copyright Dmca

TikTok Launches Mental Health Guide After Report About Instagram's Impact On Teens

TikTok launches mental health guide after report about Instagram's impact on teens


TikTok launches mental health guide after report about Instagram's impact on teens

TikTok shared a handful of new features on Tuesday designed to support users' mental well-being, including guides on how to engage with people who may be struggling and updated warning labels for sensitive content. The changes come as Facebook's research into its photo-sharing app Instagram, which last year launched TikTok competitor Reels, has reportedly raised concerns about Instagram's impact on the mental health of teens. 

"While we don't allow content that promotes, glorifies or normalizes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders," TikTok said in a blog post, "we do support people who choose to share their experiences to raise awareness, help others who might be struggling and find support among our community."

To more safely support these conversations and connections, TikTok is rolling out new well-being guides to help people sharing their personal experiences on the video app. The guides were developed along with the International Association for Suicide Prevention, Crisis Text Line, Live for Tomorrow, Samaritans of Singapore and Samaritans (UK), and they're available on TikTok's Safety Center.

The social video app is also sharing a new Safety Center guide for teens, educators and caregivers about eating disorders. The guide was developed along with experts like the National Eating Disorders Association, National Eating Disorder Information Centre, Butterfly Foundation and Bodywhys, and offers information, support and advice. Earlier this year, TikTok added a feature that directs users searching for terms related to eating disorders to appropriate resources. 

In addition, when someone searches for words or phrases like #suicide, they're pointed to local support resources like the Crisis Text Line helpline to find information on treatment options and support. 

TikTok also said it's updating its warning label for sensitive content, so that when a user searches for terms that could surface distressing content, such as "scary makeup," the search results page will show an opt-in viewing screen. Users can tap "Show results" to view the content. 

The site is also showcasing content from creators sharing their personal experiences with mental well-being, information on where to get help and advice on how to talk to loved ones. 

"These videos will appear in search results for certain terms related to suicide or self-harm, with our community able to opt-in to view should they wish to," TikTok said.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that in studies conducted over the past three years, Facebook researchers have found Instagram is "harmful for a sizable percentage" of young users, particularly teenage girls. For years, child advocates have expressed concern over the mental health impact of sites like Instagram, where it can be hard to separate reality from altered images. Advocacy groups and lawmakers have long criticized Instagram and parent Facebook for harboring harmful content and fostering anxiety and depression, particularly among younger audiences. 

A 2017 report by the UK's Royal Society for Public Health found that Instagram is the worst social media platform for young people's mental health. Reports earlier this year revealed Instagram is planning to launch a platform for kids under 13, stirring up more criticism from child health advocates who are concerned about threats to children's online privacy and their mental well-being. 

In response to criticism, both Facebook and Instagram said in May that they'd give all users the option to hide the number of likes their posts get from the public and to choose whether they can see like counts on all posts in their feed. Following the Journal report Tuesday, Instagram said in a blog post that it stands by its research to understand young people's experiences on the app. 

"The question on many people's minds is if social media is good or bad for people," Karina Newton, head of public policy at Instagram, wrote. "The research on this is mixed; it can be both. At Instagram, we look at the benefits and the risks of what we do." Newton added that Instagram has done "extensive work around bullying, suicide and self-injury, and eating disorders" to make the app a safe place for everyone.

Like TikTok, Instagram has its own well-being guides and eating disorder resources, created in partnership with organizations including the National Eating Disorders Association and The Jed Foundation. Facebook also has online well-being and emotional health hubs with resources from experts, as well as suicide prevention tools to provide users with resources like a one-click link to the Crisis Text Line. In July, Instagram launched a tool called Sensitive Content Control to give people more control over how much sensitive content appears on its Explore page.

Concerns about the impact of technology on young minds extends as well to TikTok, which last month added more features aimed at protecting the privacy and safety of teenagers who use the app. TikTok was also sued in April over allegations it illegally collects and uses children's data, with the company saying those claims lack merit.

If you're struggling with negative thoughts or suicidal feelings, here are  13 suicide and crisis intervention hotlines  you can use to get help.

Source

Tags:

Amazon's Popular Fire Kids Edition Tablets Are On Sale With Price Drops Of Up To 50%

Amazon's popular Fire Kids edition tablets are on sale with price drops of up to 50%


Amazon's popular Fire Kids edition tablets are on sale with price drops of up to 50%

Buying an expensive tablet for your kids isn't always the best idea, but buying a cheap one could leave you worried that it won't perform well. Amazon has been making affordable tablets for some time now, and its Fire Kids Edition tablets are a great option for children of varying ages. Right now, Amazon is offering them for up to 50%, dropping tablet prices to as little as $50.

There are three different screen sizes to pick between -- 7, 8 or 10 inches -- and two different models - the standard Kids tablet, and the Kids Pro tablet. The main difference between the standard and the Pro is the software and case, as the Pro is designed for older kids. Amazon adds some parental controls and makes the interface easier to use for your young ones, and one of the best features is the warranty. Should your kids manage to break the tablet, Amazon will replace it for free with no questions asked for two years.

Note: The storage space inside is limited, so consider grabbing a microSD card to go along with your new tablet.

Source

Tags:

Amazon Sidewalk Expands Beyond Homes To Build A Commercial Internet Of Things

Amazon Sidewalk expands beyond homes to build a commercial internet of things


Amazon Sidewalk expands beyond homes to build a commercial internet of things

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon.

Amazon Sidewalk  is a long-range, low-power IoT network that uses Bluetooth and LoRa radios, which are built into Echo and Ring devices, to connect devices with Amazon's cloud when they're beyond the reach of traditional home networks. The pitch was meant to leverage the connected gadgets in peoples' homes to keep things like Tile trackers and outdoor smart lights online, no matter where they might be. But relying on homes that opt in creates some obvious coverage gaps in rural areas, industrial regions and other places where the sidewalk ends.

Now, Amazon is introducing a new gadget designed to help fill those gaps. Dubbed the Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro by Ring and intended for farms, factories and other nonresidential settings, the Bridge Pro is a dedicated device housing the radios needed to relay Sidewalk's signals to the cloud. Rather than targeting consumers, who can already turn Sidewalk on via their Echo smart speakers and Ring cameras, Amazon is seeking to partner with industries and organizations beyond the reach of the current network.

With a weatherized design intended for potential outdoor use, the Sidewalk Bridge Pro is capable of sending and receiving device data at distances of up to 5 miles, well exceeding the range of the radios included with select Echo and Ring devices. Amazon isn't setting a price for the gadget, but is rather planning to explore proof-of-concept partnerships on a case-by-case basis. 

sidewalk-indoor-rgb-2500x2500

The Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro by Ring.

 Amazon

One early partner is the University Technology Office at Arizona State University, which plans to install the devices atop the blue light poles used as emergency stations across the Tempe campus. From there, the bridges will help relay data from environmental sensors used by ASU faculty researchers while providing better IoT connectivity for compatible devices in the area.

"Exploring sustainable and long-term solutions plays a critical role in advancing our smart technology initiatives, both on campus and within the community," said Bobby Gray, University Technology Office's director of Digital Transformation at ASU. "Our goal is to deploy and test Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro to bring smart solutions, like those fitted to the blue light poles, to campus at scale and lower costs."

In another partnership, Amazon collaborated with Thingy, the makers of an outdoor air quality sensor meant to track wildfires. Better connectivity with Sidewalk servers should help those devices relay critical information about forest conditions to help guard against potentially catastrophic fires.

thingy-air-quality-sensor-amazon-sidewalk.png

A Thingy air quality sensor intended to help track wildfires before they become catastrophic. Amazon Sidewalk's new bridge will help remote devices like these to send and receive data.

 Thingy

"We designed Thingy AQ for very remote locations where power efficiency and range were critical for fire ground operations, and have been using LoRa since day one," said Thingy CEO and co-founder Scott Waller. "Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro brings us the power of LoRa in a massive number of needed locations, easy integration with our existing applications in AWS, and trusted security for the devices and applications."

The expansion of Sidewalk's coverage map is obviously key for Amazon as it seeks to compete in the evolving IoT landscape, as well. Long-range connections are a growing use case for the smart home and for modernized industrial and agricultural applications, and Amazon seeks to ensure that its technology and AWS servers continue to play a central role. There are also clear potential benefits for Amazon's home delivery operations, especially as it continues to experiment with delivery drones.

Amazon wouldn't comment on potential in-house use cases for Sidewalk, but it will need to balance such opportunities against concerns about privacy and security that have persisted since the service was first introduced in 2019. For starters, the feature is still enabled by default on Echo and Ring devices, meaning that users need to choose to opt out if they don't want their home's gadgets connecting other people's devices to Amazon's cloud, and using a tiny bit of their home network's bandwidth in the process. That said, Community Finding, an additional feature that shares the approximate location of your home when another user is trying to find a Tile tracker or other Sidewalk device lost nearby, requires users to opt in first. 

Forrester analyst Jeff Pollard described some of the broader privacy concerns in an interview with CNET shortly after Sidewalk was first announced, using the example of a dog with a Sidewalk-enabled location tracker clipped to its collar.

"It's great to get an alert [that] your dog left the yard, but those devices could also send data to Amazon like the frequency, duration, destination and path of your dog walks," Pollard said. "That seems innocuous enough, but what could that data mean for you when combined with other data? It's the unintended -- and unexpected -- consequences of technology and the data it collects that often come back to bite us (pardon the pun)."

Amazon counters fears like those by pointing out that Sidewalk transmissions include three layers of encryption, and that not even Amazon can see the data passing through the network. Amazon adds that it deletes the data used to route Sidewalk transmissions every 24 hours, and that it uses rolling IDs to prevent those transmissions from being tied to any specific user.

"Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro can be installed inside or outside and simultaneously connect to hundreds of devices over 5 miles away, while also delivering multiple layers of privacy and security protections built in to Sidewalk," Amazon's blog reads.

Source

Tags:

Xiaomi Spends $3.6 Million On New Two-letter Domain

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Snapchat Accused Of Exposing Kids To 'profoundly Sexual Content'

Snapchat accused of exposing kids to 'profoundly sexual content'


Snapchat accused of exposing kids to 'profoundly sexual content'

A 14-year-old boy and his mother have filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, alleging that the photo- and video-sharing app's Discover service routinely exposes minors to sexually explicit content without warning them or their parents.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos in US District Court for Central California, accuses Snapchat of violating the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law intended to regulate pornographic material on the internet.

Snapchat, once known as the "sexting" app of choice because photos sent on the service disappear after a set length of time, has been branching out into original content to attract new users. The John Doe lawsuit specifically focuses on Discover, which was launched in January 2015 to serve editorial and multimedia content from major brands such as BuzzFeed, Fusion, MTV and Cosmopolitan.

The complaint alleges that the unnamed boy was exposed to Disney characters in sexually explicit conditions as part of a photo collage titled "23 Pictures That Are Too Real If You've Ever Had Sex With A Penis" served up on the Discover channels from BuzzFeed. The lawsuit goes on to list several other articles with similarly suggestive titles the boy was exposed to during the first week of July.

"Millions of parents in the United States today are unaware that Snapchat is curating and publishing this profoundly sexual and offensive content to their children," the lawsuit says. "By engaging in such conduct directed at minors, and making it simple and easy for users to 'snap' each other content from Snapchat Discover, Snapchat is reinforcing the use of its service to facilitate problematic communications, such as 'sexting,' between minors. Snapchat has placed profit from monetizing Snapchat Discover over the safety of children."

Apple's App Store rates Snapchat as appropriate for users 12 and older, although its terms of service specify users should be at least 13 years old.

Representatives for the Venice, Calif.-based startup said they couldn't comment on the lawsuit but apologized for any offense taken.

"We haven't been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended," a Snapchat spokesman said in a statement. "Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support."

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, seeks civil penalties as well as an in-app warning about the possible sexual content.

Snapchat lawsuit by CNET News on Scribd

Source

Tags:

IIHS Announces 2022 Top Safety Pick Plus Winners

IIHS Announces 2022 Top Safety Pick Plus Winners


IIHS Announces 2022 Top Safety Pick Plus Winners

A few years ago, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety added a headlight requirement to get its Top Safety Pick Plus award, it knocked a ton of manufacturers out of the running. The fact is that most car headlights at that time were simply not good enough, but now carmakers are getting the hang of things, and more cars than ever are getting that coveted Plus award.

IIHS released its Top Safety Pick Plus winners on Thursday, Feb. 24, and 65 models made the cut in 10 categories. Many made it with no asterisks, but several models have added qualifiers. For example, the Genesis G70, Mitsubishi Outlander and Hyundai Santa Fe made the list but only for models built after a particular month. Others, like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and GLE-Class, make the cut only with optional front crash protection.

Despite that, having 65 models to choose from is a massive win for the American car-buying public because it means that it's easier than ever to find a truly safe car at basically any price and in nearly any shape and size. If you want a small car, buy the new Honda Civic or Mazda3. Need a supersafe minivan? Get the Chrysler Pacifica or Toyota Sienna. The list goes on.

"Manufacturers deserve congratulations for the steady improvements they've made since we last updated our award requirements, but with US traffic fatalities expected to exceed 40,000 people in 2021, it's no time for anybody to rest on their laurels," IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement. "A key reason vehicles have continued to get safer over the more than 25 years since the Institute began our ratings program is that we have never shied away from raising the bar. The high number of Top Safety Pick Plus winners shows that it's time to push for additional changes."

In case you need a refresher on what criteria a vehicle has to meet before getting a Top Safety Pick Plus award, they need to pass all six of the IIHS' stringent crash tests: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. They also need frontal crash prevention systems rated as Advanced or Superior in both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. Lastly, they need to have at least one headlight system that ranks as Good or Acceptable.

Now, carmakers won't be able to rest on their laurels for long. The IIHS is adding two tests to the 2023 Top Safety Pick Plus criteria: an updated side impact test that uses a heavier movable barrier conducted at a higher speed and a nighttime pedestrian crash prevention test. Neither will be necessary for the basic Top Safety Pick, but to get the Plus, vehicles have to score Good or Acceptable on the former and Advanced or Superior on the latter.

Source

Tags:

Honda Prologue Electric SUV Teased In Design Video

Honda Prologue Electric SUV Teased in Design Video


Honda Prologue Electric SUV Teased in Design Video

Honda is still hard at work on the Prologue, a new electric SUV that will begin making its way to consumers in 2024. That's still a ways off, but Honda is already rolling out some teasers that give us a better idea of what to expect.

Honda this week unveiled a 4-minute video diving into the design process for the Prologue. It's the first Honda designed primarily using VR visualization, which allows teams in different countries (the US and Japan, in this case) to more efficiently collaborate.

While we didn't exactly get a full view of the clay model in the video, what we can see looks mighty promising. The overall styling is devoid of unnecessary elements and hardcore creasing, which should help aerodynamics and overall range. The Prologue's short overhangs and longer wheelbase means the cabin should have plenty of space for its segment. The front bears more than a passing resemblance to the Honda E city car, an EV that earned universal adoration for its fun, unique styling.

Honda gave us our first Prologue teaser back in May, when it showed off a rendering and offered a few salient tidbits. The Prologue will be built in partnership with General Motors, and it'll rely on GM's Ultium EV platform and batteries. When it launches in 2024, it'll slot alongside the Passport and Pilot in Honda's midsize SUV range. An Acura variant will follow. These are all part of Honda's plans to introduce 30 EVs globally by 2030.

Source

Tags:

Trouble Tracking Your Stimulus Check Via Get My Payment? 6 Problems And How To Solve Them

Trouble tracking your stimulus check via Get My Payment? 6 problems and how to solve them


Trouble tracking your stimulus check via Get My Payment? 6 problems and how to solve them

You're sure you qualify for this second round of stimulus checks, but the IRS and Treasury Department have been making payments since the end of December and you still don't have your $600 check. You've estimated how big a payment you should expect, figured out how the IRS calculates your stimulus money and you've read up on what happens after Congress' Jan. 15 cutoff for the IRS and Treasury to send payments. 

But you've still not received your stimulus money, either to your bank account through direct deposit or in the mail as a paper check or an EIP card.

If you've tried to use the IRS's Get My Payment app to check on the status of your payment, maybe it's not telling you anything useful -- or anything at all. Here are some possible solutions we've discovered from the first and second stimulus checks. And here's what's happening now with the debated third stimulus check for $2,000.

The IRS doesn't have enough information on you

The IRS said if the Get My Payment tool isn't sharing useful information about the whereabouts of your check, it may not have enough information about your specific circumstance, especially if you didn't file a 2019 tax return, didn't use the Non-Filers tool by Nov. 21, 2020 or don't receive federal benefits. You'll need to use the Recovery Rebate Credit as part of Tax Season 2020 to file a claim for your missing money.

Try using another browser with Get My Payment

With the first check, we heard from several readers that accessing the IRS' Get My Payment tool from a different browser than the one originally used could be the key to success to using the service. In particular, some CNET readers pointed out that trying a browser other than Google Chrome worked for them. Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Apple's Safari are common alternatives.

Enter your address in all caps

Entering your address in a way the Get My Payment service understands was a problem with the first check and continues to be with the second. Some readers reported with the first check filling in the Get My Payment fields using all uppercase letters worked. The IRS said to enter your street address using this format: 123 Main St NW #7 and to not enter the city, state or town on the address line.

You could have typed your information incorrectly; try again

The simplest reason the IRS might not be able to match you with your stimulus payment status could come down to your keyboard. If you accidentally entered a typo, the wrong address or a different name than the government has under your record, the tool may not be able to find you. This one is simple enough to correct -- so try again before assuming the worst.

You checked at the wrong time

The IRS only updates information once a day, overnight, so if you happen to time it before the update comes, you may be out of luck. You can always try again later in the day or keep checking at the same time each day.

You're temporarily locked out of the Get My Payment tool

If you see a cryptic message that only says "Try again later," you might be locked out of the tool. According to the IRS, "If the information you enter does not match our records multiple times, you will be locked out of Get My Payment for 24 hours for security reasons. There is no need to contact the IRS."

Speaking of which, the IRS has a new preference for how you contact it -- no calling. Instead, here's how to go about hunting down your missing stimulus money. For more information about stimulus checks, here's everything else that could hold up your second stimulus payment, and how to claim any missing money after Jan. 15.

Source

Tags:

Tesla Cybertruck Reservations Now Limited To North America

Tesla Cybertruck Reservations Now Limited to North America


Tesla Cybertruck Reservations Now Limited to North America

Tesla is limiting reservations of its upcoming Cybertruck, first announced in 2019, to North America, cutting off Europe and Asia. 

If you try to change the region on the Cybertruck reservation page, the only options now available are the United States, Canada and Mexico. The change was reported earlier Monday by Electrek. 

screen-shot-2022-05-16-at-3-42-00-pm.png

Cybertruck reservation page has dropped Europe and Asia.

 Screengrab via Imad Khan/CNET

The company began taking reservations for the Semi earlier today, requiring a $20,000 deposit. 

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk blamed ongoing supply chain issues for the truck's lengthy lead-up to launch. At the moment, production is expected to start in 2023. 

Tesla dissolved its public relations relations department in 2020, meaning it's not possible to ask for a comment. Musk hasn't tweeted about the change, either. 

More to come.

Source

Tags:

Moto G Hands-on: Motorola Just Announced Two Budget Phones, And One Has A Stylus

Moto G hands-on: Motorola just announced two budget phones, and one has a stylus


Moto G hands-on: Motorola just announced two budget phones, and one has a stylus

The Motorola Moto G family of phones has a history of finding that sweet spot between well-considered necessities and an affordable price. Over the past three years, the Moto G5 Plus, Moto G6 and Moto G7 showed us just how good budget phones can be. Last year, the budget landscape got more crowded when Google launched the Pixel 3A and 3A XL. And recently there's been an uptick in rumors that Apple will release a budget iPhone 9 (aka the iPhone SE 2). So it's important for Motorola to keep pushing its G line of phones ahead. And to its credit, the Chicago-based company took a significant step forward Friday by launching two new additions for US and Can adian customers: the $300 Moto G Stylus and the $250 Moto G Power.

The phones aren't a radical reimagining of smartphone design like the Motorola Razr foldable phone. But after using both handsets for a few hours, it became obvious how many similarities the Moto G Stylus and G Power have. Both have a 6.4-inch full HD screen. And instead of a notch, the phones have a hole-punch display for a selfie camera. It's similar to what Samsung did on its Galaxy phones in 2019. I can't wait to see what custom wallpaper people make for that hole.

Power-wise, each has a Snapdragon 665 processor, 4GB of RAM and runs Android 10 with Moto's thoughtful extra touches. There's even a new gaming mode called Moto Gametime that limits distractions for a better mobile gaming experience.

On the back is a fingerprint sensor, on the front is a 16-megapixel selfie camera and on the bottom is a headphone jack. The new phones lack the generational naming of previous G phones. For example, the successor to last year's Moto G7 Power isn't the Moto G8 Power and is instead just the Moto G Power. But there still isn't just a plain Moto G, aka a Moto G8, to fill the hole between the Moto G8 Plus and Moto G8 Play that were released in October 2019 outside the US.

Moto G Stylus is a lower-priced Galaxy Note

The most obvious difference between the two phones is that the Moto G Stylus has… well… a stylus. And the Moto G Power doesn't. The stylus fits into the bottom right corner of the phone and hooks open easily with a fingernail.

There are only a couple phones that come with a built-in stylus. Probably the best-known one is the Galaxy Note 10, which costs more than three times as much. There's also the 2019 LG Stylo 5, which like the Moto G Stylus costs $300 (though you can find it on sale for half that, or even less).

Unlike the S-Pen on the Galaxy Note 10, the Moto stylus doesn't connect with Bluetooth and relies solely on capacitive touch for interactions. When you pull the stylus out, you can set it to trigger the Notes app to open without unlocking your phone, or have it open a stylus menu with shortcuts.

009-motorola-g-stylus

The capacitive stylus can be used for navigation, writing, drawing and photo editing.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

The Notes app is pretty basic, but you can create drawings, write notes or just doodle. For years, Motorola has had a camera feature called Cinemagraph that allows you to record a video and then choose parts of the video to remain static. If you've ever been on Instagram, you have most likely seen an ad that does something similar. You can use the stylus to shade out parts of the video with much more precision than you can using your finger.

The stylus can also be used to navigate the phone, markup screenshots and edit photos. I hope Motorola creates more unique and fun ways to take advantage of the stylus.

The Moto G Stylus also has a triple rear camera. There's a 48-megapixel main camera, which combines groups of four pixels to create a 12-megapixel photo. The idea is to help improve image sharpness and brightness. There's also a 16-megapixel ultrawide "action" camera and a built-in macro camera that lets you get as close as 2 centimeters (just under an inch) to your subject.

The G Stylus has 128GB of storage and a 4,000-mAh battery that Motorola claims will last two days of regular use on a single charge.

The Moto G Power has a behemoth battery

If you're looking for even more battery life than the G Stylus offers, then you should consider the Moto G Power. It packs a 5,000-mAh battery that Motorola claims can last over three days of regular use after a single charge.

The G Power also has 64GB of storage and a triple rear camera. There's a 16-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide-angle camera and a built-in macro camera. Obviously, not all cameras are equal and more cameras doesn't necessarily mean better photos.

015-motorola-g-power

The Moto G Power in Chicago on a snowy day.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

Both phones will be available this spring unlocked and we look forward to testing out the cameras, the batteries and that stylus once we get our hands on them again.

Originally published last week.

Source

Tags:

How Does The Newest M2 MacBook Air Leave Room For The IPad?

How Does the Newest M2 MacBook Air Leave Room for the iPad?


How Does the Newest M2 MacBook Air Leave Room for the iPad?

With the latest M2-equipped, redesigned MacBook Air, Apple looks like it's delivered a completely useful and highly functional laptop. The Mac line, which once looked like it was slipping into irrelevance, feels stronger than ever. This seems like a good time to buy one, except for one big question mark: What about the iPad? 

My colleague Daniel Van Boom wondered about these questions when new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros were released last fall. But now, with a revamped mainstream laptop and an ever-more Mac-like iPad OS, the lines between these products seem like they're blurring a bit more. And yet, not enough.

I was speaking with a colleague who was debating whether to buy a MacBook Air or an iPad-plus-keyboard, and the answer isn't any clearer than it was a year ago. The MacBook remains highly functional and improved in areas like battery life and processing speed, but it still takes an old-fashioned laptop form without a touchscreen. Meanwhile, the iPad has increasingly laptop-like features, especially the Air and Pro models. Keyboard and trackpad/mouse support, a revamped multitasking system in iPadOS 16, and finally, support for an external monitor that now works like an extension of your iPad workspace. It also has unique features that Apple's Macs lack: the Pencil for art and handwriting, Face ID for the Pro models, better cameras with lidar that can be used for select AR and 3D scanning purposes, and a ton of unique apps and games that aren't all available or optimized for Macs.

iPads get too expensive at the top end, turning into laptop-priced devices despite not being entirely laptop-useful for all needs. At the lower end, with entry-level iPads, they lack some of the future-forward chips (and USB-C) that could make a bigger difference a couple of years down the line.

Read more: Best iPad for 2022

I'm really leaning towards buying an M2 MacBook Air as an overdue personal laptop upgrade for myself, mainly because I know that iPads still can't do all the things I need for work and personal data management. Not easily, at least. What I'd still really love, and keep waiting for, is some sort of iPad that can run MacOS, or something effectively equivalent. Apple keeps creeping forward on this front, a small change or so every year. In 2022, iPads will gain more multitasking — if you buy an iPad with an M1 chip. In my time with the public beta so far, it still isn't enough to make me live without a PC or Mac.

Apple is expected to have a new iPad Pro in the fall, one that'll possibly have the M2 chip that's also in the newest MacBook Pro and Air. Don't expect it to make a huge impact in how you use an iPad, though: Apple still limits iPadOS's flexibility. Although iPadOS 16 does make strides in how many app windows can be open at once, there's a cap. So far, on existing M1 iPads, performance seems good enough (except for some crashes, though it's hard to tell if that's just from early beta software). 

If you're trying to figure out which is the safest iPad to get right now, I'd say the Air: The M1 chip should keep it ready for future OS updates, and it's got a lot of performance boosts over the entry iPad (which will probably get an update in the fall, too). But then again, with new iPads expected just a few months from now and recent Prime Day sales not offering deep discounts, maybe it's best to just wait and see.

But it's all pretty annoying to me, because Apple's made it extremely easy on the Mac front to get a pretty great computer. As good as iPads are, they're still standing further on the periphery. Macs and iPads are growing closer than ever, but the decision on which one to get remains difficult... mainly because Apple's solution still seems to be "buy both," and that's not really a solution for most of us.

Source

Tags:

'Ahsoka' Trailer Reveals 'Star Wars Rebels' Characters Coming To Live-Action

'Ahsoka' Trailer Reveals 'Star Wars Rebels' Characters Coming to Live-Action


'Ahsoka' Trailer Reveals 'Star Wars Rebels' Characters Coming to Live-Action

The live-action Ahsoka series only started shooting earlier this month, but executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni delighted Star Wars Celebration Anaheim attendees on Saturday with the first trailer for The Mandalorian spinoff. It's set to come to Disney Plus in 2023.

The trailer was shown exclusively at the convention and isn't yet available online. It revealed that former Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) will team up with the Ghost crew to find lost ally Ezra Bridger, essentially making the show a live-action followup to CGI animated series Rebels.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo speaks at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim

Natasha Liu Bordizzo talks about playing Sabine Wren at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.

 Sean Keane/CNET

Favreau and Filoni also introduced actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, the Ghost crew's Mandalorian member, confirming reports from last year. 

"I feel like I've just been adopted into a new family," Bordizzo told the Celebration crowd. "I know how much Sabine means to you guys. Watching Rebels, she's come to mean a hell of a lot to me too."

Ezra and Ghost pilot Hera Syndulla are glimpsed from behind in the trailer, but it's unclear at this point who they'll be played by, and lovably mean astromech Chopper will appear as well.

reb-ia-19751

Sabine Wren, who once wielded the Darksaber, is coming to live action.

 Lucasfilm

Ahsoka is set at the same point in the timeline as The Mandalorian, a few years after Return of the Jedi. The show will hit Disney Plus sometime next year, likely after The Mandalorian season 3 (which begins in February).

Favreau also delighted the crowd by bringing The Mandalorian's beloved Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) onto the stage. The amazingly lifelike puppet gestured, smiled and sat, earning a collective "Aww" from the assembled fans.

Rebels, which ended in 2018, was set in the years before the original Star Wars. Ezra vanished into hyperspace toward an unknown fate, along with Imperial villain Grand Admiral Thrawn, in that show's finale. Saturday's trailer suggests that the pair have been missing for many years, but we know from her appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 that Ahsoka is hunting Thrawn -- presumably as part of the search for Ezra.

Ahsoka made her animated debut as Anakin Skywalker's Padawan in 2008's The Clone Wars (which was set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) and played a pivotal role in the seven-season series that followed. She appeared again in follow-up show Rebels, and was voiced by Ashley Eckstein in both. 

Dawson took on the role when Ahsoka made her live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 2 (where she had the honor of revealing Baby Yoda's real name), and showed up in The Book of Boba Fett earlier this year. All the Star Wars movies and TV shows are available to stream on Disney Plus.

Source

Tags:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Search This Blog

Menu Halaman Statis

close