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It has been less than a week since Apple released the AirPods 4, and there's already a small sale available on them. Ahead of October Prime Day, you can pick up the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation for $169, down from $179. The AirPods 4 without ANC are also $10 off, with an eight percent discount dropping their price to $119 from $129. The markdowns aren't significant but could be the extra push you need if you've been sitting on the fence. Apple announced the two AirPods 4 models at its iPhone 16 event on September 9. The fourth-generation AirPods with ANC garnered an 86 in our review, while the standard version fared a bit better with an 88. The ANC model has improved fit and sound quality and offers Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and wireless charging. It also has perks like a speaker in the case that beeps when you activate Find My though the AirPods only support proximity view, not precision finding like the AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods 4 without ANC share a big con with their sister device: no onboard volume controls. They also don't have wireless charging or Conversation Awareness. What they do give you is a good, comfortable fit and much better sound quality than their predecessor. This model also offers Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, Voice Isolation and Adaptive EQ. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice in the lead up to October Prime Day 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-4-are-already-on-sale-in-this-early-prime-day-deal-133057269.html?src=rss
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TikTok has announced in its US Elections Integrity Hub that it has removed accounts associated with Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, which own and run Russia state media outlets Sputnik and RT. The company said that it kicked the accounts off the social media platform for "engaging in covert influence operations" that go against its guidelines for spam and deceitful behavior. TikTok clarified that the accounts' content weren't shown in the For You feed under its state-affiliated media policy and were also labeled as such. Their videos were already restricted in the EU and the UK, as well, but now the accounts had been permanently banned and are no longer visible to anyone in the world. As CNBC notes, Sputnik has issued a statement on X that says "TikTok users and [its] 86,000 subscribers are no longer allowed to know the truth about most urgent geopolitical issues and laugh at Western politicians' gaffes in Sputnik International videos." TikTok didn't give specific examples of how the outlets are trying to spread misinformation and to manipulate this year's presidential elections in the US. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI have just told reporters that Russia has generated the most AI content related to the election, so far. It has reportedly created and spread AI-made text, images, audios and videos online, mostly to "denigrate the Vice President and the Democratic Party" and to sow division by focusing on topics like immigration. Earlier this month, the US government formally issued sanctions against Rossiya Segodnya and TV-Novosti, accusing RT of moving "beyond being simply a media outlet." It said the Russian government embedded a cyber operational team with ties to Russian intelligence within RT, and that team allegedly focuses on "influence and intelligence operations all over the world." That team even pays social media personalities to spread "unbranded content" meant to influence foreign government elections, the feds said. Meta banned Russian state media outlets on its products, including Facebook and Instagram, "for foreign interference activity" shortly after the US government announced the sanction. It said it found evidence in the past that the outlets tried to hide foreign interference activities and that it expects them to continue with their deceptive practices. If you're wondering what kind of fake videos Russia has been releasing, Microsoft detailed a few in a recent threat analysis report. One video showed "Kamala Harris" attacking Trump rally attendees, while another video used an actor to accuse the Vice President of being involved in a 2011 hit-and-run incident that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. There's also another fake video showing a New York City billboard claiming that Harris wants to change children's gender. The company warned that more Russian-made staged and AI-generated videos are bound to circulate online as the US gets closer to the election. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-removes-russian-state-owned-media-accounts-for-covert-influence-133006441.html?src=rss
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The 2024 Roku Ultra is the latest update to the streaming player, announced today at the company's developer conference. The original version of this device was one of our top picks for a streaming device. The new model promises some nice quality of life upgrades, such as 30 percent faster performance in content loading and interface navigation thanks to a new quad-core processor. It comes with Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision for 4K and HDR10+ picture quality. The Ultra now supports Wi-Fi 6 and can also be directly connected via ethernet. This streaming device is also getting an updated controller. The Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition) has backlit buttons, USB-C charging, and direct access to a Live TV Guide and to a new feature called Quick Launch. This introduces a personalized screen of a viewer's most-used apps and voice commands. The remote also provides all the usual features for selecting content and controlling playback. Roku is also rolling out a new version of its operating system. Roku OS 14 is getting more customization, with thumbs up and thumbs down icons to provide feedback on programming, which should lead to users receiving better recommendations. The company is also making its Kids & Family content accessible from the main home screen and adding additional voice controls. The update will be applied to supported devices in the US "in the coming months." This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/roku-says-its-new-ultra-streaming-box-is-30-percent-faster-130038051.html?src=rss
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