Sounding off: As AI moves into more parts of daily life, the possibility of using it in New Orleans’ 911 system struck a nerve. Residents were relieved to learn that reports of AI replacing emergency call-takers were inaccurate, but the reaction underscored a larger reality.The technology is reshaping essential services, often faster than the public is ready to accept.

New Orleans is using artificial intelligence in a limited part of its 911 operation: screening some duplicate calls about vehicle crashes when human call-takers are unavailable.

The Orleans Parish Communication District issued the clarification after a Shreveport Times story reported that the city would use AI to answer 911 calls instead of human operators. OPCD said the technology is not replacing human call-takers and is used only in a narrow set of circumstances.

The Shreveport Times article, published Thursday under the headline “New Orleans will use AI to answer 911 calls instead of a human,” focused on Carbyne’s AI Emergency Call Triage tool. The system is designed to identify when multiple callers are reporting the same incident.

Under that process, callers reporting a crash that is already known to dispatchers may receive information or updates about the incident. Callers reporting a separate emergency would be routed to a human dispatcher. The story also noted that the tool would not replace dispatchers.

Still, the headline drew a wider reaction online, with commenters questioning whether AI should play any role in emergency communications.

“I wonder what happens if someone has to be discreet and order a ‘pizza’ and instead AI answers,” one commenter wrote.

Some commenters also pointed to McDonald’s abandoned test of AI drive-thru ordering. Widely shared examples of incorrect orders became a symbol of the technology’s shortcomings, and McDonald’s ended the test at more than 100 restaurants in 2024 after working with IBM on the automated ordering system.

The comparison isn’t exact. Ordering food at a drive-thru is very different from calling 911, and OPCD says its system is limited to duplicate reports of a known crash. But the reaction reflects a broader concern about using AI in situations where mistakes could have serious consequences. Questions about reliability, accountability, and access to a human operator are particularly sensitive in emergency response.

OPCD Executive Director Karl Fasold said the agency has used the AI tool for about two years. It can be activated only when all human call-takers are busy and a caller is within about 200 meters of a crash that has already been reported.

The system then determines whether the caller is reporting the same crash. If so, it can provide information or updates. If the caller is reporting something else, the call is routed to a human dispatcher.

OPCD said the technology is not used for other types of 911 calls. The agency also said it has safeguards in place to ensure callers can reach a person when needed.

Fasold said the Shreveport Times article left readers with the impression that New Orleans was moving toward an AI-run 911 system. He said that is not how the city is using the technology.

OPCD also said the reporter did not contact the agency before publishing the article and did not identify sources for some of its claims.

“Every 911 center in the country is dealing with the reality of tighter budgets and inability to reach full staffing even with funding to do so. We have found this AI triage tool, used specifically for the scenario outlined above involving motor vehicle accidents, to be an extremely positive use of the technology to make the best use of our staff’s very limited time,” Fasold said in a statement.

For more than a decade, the Apple Watch has looked like a tiny computer strapped to the wrist. But what if Apple made it look like an actual watch instead? Recent reports suggest that Apple is considering round displays for future Apple Watch models, alongside other design ideas as the company rethinks its wearable lineup. Nothing has been finalized, but the possibility raises a fascinating question: would a circular Apple Watch actually be better, or would Apple be fixing something that isn’t broken? I think the answer depends on what Apple wants the Watch to be.

A circle could finally make the Apple Watch feel like a watch

The biggest argument for going circular isn’t technical. It’s fashion.

The Apple Watch’s rounded-square design is instantly recognizable, but it also looks unmistakably like a piece of technology. A circular design could make it blend far more naturally with formal clothing, traditional outfits, or simply with users who prefer the look of a conventional timepiece. And Apple could potentially attract people who have avoided the Watch precisely because they don’t like its appearance. Samsung, Google, Garmin and countless traditional watchmakers have already demonstrated that a circular watch can look more natural on the wrist.

There is also something to be said for Apple’s design becoming less repetitive. The company has refined the Watch over the years, but the fundamental shape has remained remarkably consistent. Going circular would instantly make a new generation feel like a new Apple Watch, rather than another iteration with a thinner case and brighter screen. But there is a catch.

The Apple Watch is also a tiny computer.

The current shape isn’t just an aesthetic choice. It gives watchOS something extremely useful: a relatively rectangular canvas.

Apps, notifications, messages, maps, fitness statistics, calendars and settings are all much easier to arrange inside a rectangle. A circle removes usable space from the corners, which can leave text and interface elements feeling cramped. The keyboard is an obvious example. Typing on the Apple Watch is already an exercise in patience. Now imagine trying to squeeze a keyboard into a shape that gets narrower toward the edges.

Sure, Apple could redesign watchOS specifically for a circular screen, and that’s where things get interesting. The company controls both the hardware and software, so it could create a genuinely circular-first interface rather than simply cropping the existing one. But third-party developers don’t have the same luxury. Apple already has a somewhat fragile watchOS app ecosystem, with some developers moving away from standalone Watch apps in favor of quicker notifications and companion experiences. Asking developers to maintain another completely different interface system could make that problem worse.

Apple could potentially require developers to support both rectangular and circular layouts, but that means more development, testing, and maintenance for an ecosystem that isn’t exactly overflowing with developer attention. A circular Apple Watch could therefore become a beautiful device that increasingly relies on Apple’s own apps while third-party experiences take a back seat.

Then there’s the hardware problem nobody sees

There is another issue hiding inside that pretty circular chassis: the components aren’t circular.

Batteries, logic boards, speakers, sensors, and the Taptic Engine are generally rectangular, flat, or otherwise shaped around the available internal space. Put those components inside a circular case, and the corners inevitably become awkward dead space. Apple could compensate by redesigning virtually every internal component, but that would add complexity and potentially increase manufacturing costs. Alternatively, the company could make the circular Watch thicker to fit the same battery and hardware capacity, creating the dreaded “puck” effect.

That’s a particularly awkward trade-off for Apple. The company has spent years making the Watch thinner and more refined. Giving some of that progress back simply to accommodate a circular chassis would be a difficult sell. Samsung and Google have already had to deal with similar compromises in their circular watches, so Apple wouldn’t exactly be entering unexplored territory. The difference is that Apple tends to be particularly obsessive about internal packaging and thinness.

Maybe Apple needs to make a watch that looks like one

A circular Apple Watch could be the perfect fit for lifestyle users who want health tracking and smart features without wearing something that looks like a tiny computer. It could even coexist with the current design, giving Apple a more fashion-focused option while retaining the rounded rectangle for users who value screen space and information density. The trade-off is identity: the current Apple Watch is instantly recognizable, while a circular model could look more like a traditional timepiece, but also more like what Samsung, Google, and Garmin already offer.

That makes a circular Watch more interesting as a new branch of the lineup rather than a replacement. Apple could have one Watch designed around maximizing information and another designed around blending into everyday life. But making that work would require much more than putting a round panel inside a new case. Apple would need to rethink watchOS, third-party apps, internal component placement, battery capacity, and potentially even the thickness of the device.

Of course, there is still a very real possibility that none of this ever happens. The original report says Apple is exploring different designs, not that a circular Watch is confirmed, and plans can change long before a product reaches the market. Still, if Apple does decide to go round, it could make the Apple Watch feel less like another gadget and more like a genuine everyday watch, even if that comes with some serious compromises.

security

Gen Xers who feel triggered by this should remember to unplug the network cable and call the cops

Turns out the fastest way to get a company to consider paying a ransom isn’t calling the CEO – it’s targeting the 46-year-old IT manager.

That’s according to Zscaler, whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month.

The data suggests today’s ransomware crews have become oddly specific about their preferred victim profile: nearly two-thirds of victims held manager-level titles or above, the average victim was a 46-year-old Gen Xer, and three-quarters worked in accounting and finance, sales, operations, HR, or marketing. Half worked in the industrial or IT sectors.

Rather than blasting the same extortion email across an organization, attackers are doing their homework first. Zscaler says they combine information from compromised systems with publicly available data to map reporting lines and identify the employees most likely to influence a company’s response.

“The ransomware landscape has shifted from indiscriminate attacks to highly targeted extortion campaigns,” the security outfit wrote. “Rather than targeting executives directly, attackers are increasingly focusing on managers and other key personnel with the authority or influence to accelerate payment decisions.”

That shift reflects what Zscaler calls “business privilege” rather than technical privilege. Security teams have traditionally focused on privileged users with administrator rights. Attackers, meanwhile, are after employees whose day jobs give them access to invoices, payment approvals, budgets, supplier contracts, customer accounts, HR records, or other sensitive business processes.

“The value of a compromised managerial account lies in the breadth of business access associated with the position,” the researchers wrote. “Managers may approve payments, oversee budgets and vendors, review contracts, access sensitive records, or coordinate work across business units.”

The Gen X skew is probably no coincidence either. Zscaler says many workers in their forties and fifties have reached established management positions, giving attackers access to valuable systems, sensitive information, and people with decision-making authority without needing to compromise the executive suite.

It also found more than a dozen organizations said multiple employees were  compromised during the campaign, suggesting attackers weren’t content with a single foothold once inside a network. Instead, they appeared to work their way through different business functions to increase the chances of reaching valuable data and the people capable of influencing a ransom payment.

The wider report points to a ransomware ecosystem that is becoming increasingly focused on extortion rather than encryption alone. Zscaler said ransomware attempts blocked across its cloud platform increased 146 percent over the past year, while public extortion cases rose 70 percent and the volume of data stolen from victims climbed 92 percent.

By the time the ransom note lands, the crooks may already know who approves invoices, who signs contracts, who runs HR, and who reports to whom. The encryption is just the bit that victims notice. ®

Kasquez just released a complete fan recreation of Donkey Kong Land that runs natively on Windows. The 1995 Game Boy original from Rare now exists as a standalone PC build with visuals, audio, and movement drawn straight from the style of Donkey Kong Country. Over thirty full-sized levels wait, along with the usual banana collecting, secret hunting, and a fresh trip to reclaim the hoard from King K. Rool.

Rare spent a lot of time converting the handheld game from the ground up rather than simply copying the Super Nintendo version, but let’s be honest, the hardware limitations meant the original game was always going to be a little rough, with shorter stages, only one Kong on screen at a time, fewer animal friends, and monochrome graphics that still managed to flex some impressive pre-rendered detail. Nonetheless, the game leaned into its new ideas and restrictions, so much so that levels relied on set pieces like cliff rockfalls and big ol’ tornado enemies, without losing that same basic roll-and-jump momentum that made the game so much fun, and even tho it was half the length, the game still clocked up nearly four million sales and received glowing reviews for squeezing so much personality out of its tiny green screen.

LEGO Super Mario Donkey Kong Arcade 72051

• BUILDABLE ARCADE CABINET – Relive the fun of playing an iconic arcade game with the LEGO Donkey Kong Arcade (72051) building set for adults ages…
• AUTHENTIC ARCADE GAME DETAILS – Create a Donkey Kong arcade level featuring Jumpman, Donkey Kong and Lady, including iconic details like the…
• WORKING JUMP AND DODGE PLAY – Pull the lever on the left side of the base to release one barrel at a time, then move Jumpman with the joystick and…

This new release effectively removes all of those limits. Stages can be as long as they need to be, leaving plenty of area for platforming sequences, hidden paths, and the vertical and horizontal exploration that seemed constrained in the original. Donkey Kong Country’s richer colors and sprite presence improve character and landscape art, making jungles, reefs, mountains, and the climactic pirate ship appear and feel more like the SNES game than a clone. Backgrounds are also given a nice polish, making them seem natural on current monitors. Music and sound effects follow suit, replacing the Game Boy’s limited sound with true, full-fat versions that can compete with vintage console tunes.

The controls are also smooth and tight, as they are built for gamepads or keyboards rather than the handheld’s two-button configuration, so movement remains quick and responsive. Rolling, jumping, and barrel-blasting all feel immediate, which is exactly what you need when the game opens up and demands precise timing over longer stretches. There are still plenty of secrets to find, bonus rooms, alternate paths, and collectibles that will entice you to return and explore every nook and cranny just like you did in 1995, but this time with a camera and resolution that actually allows you to see what’s going on.

It all delivers as a self-contained Unity package, so you won’t need the original ROM because all of the assets are included in the download. That’s a good convenience, but it opens the door to Nintendo’s proclivity to shut down ventures that leverage its intellectual property. So the Google Drive link may have a limited shelf life, as Kasquez has included a quick how-to video that talks you thru the setup and choices, and folks have already reported that it plays well and the physics are spot on for the console game.
[Source]

• Samsung advances floating data center project with first Texas engineering agreement
• Floating facilities promise 50MW capacity while reducing traditional construction timelines significantly
• Texas grid review creates fresh uncertainty for expanding data center developments statewide

Samsung Heavy Industries and Dallas-based Mousterian Corporation have signed an engineering contract covering their first floating data center project planned for deployment in Texas.

The deal advances their partnership into the engineering phase, with both companies jointly responsible for the project’s basic design, detailed engineering, and production planning.

Anthropic’s chatbot can be very vocal, if you want it to be.

How to use Claude voice

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Voice mode is available through the Claude mobile (Android and iOS) and desktop apps, as well as through the web. Anthropic says the feature works best from your phone.

To use voice mode on mobile:

1. Open the Claude app.

2. Tap the black waveform icon in the lower right corner of the interface (not the microphone icon right next to it).

3. Grant the app microphone permissions if necessary.

4. Start talking. Claude will generate a response once you finish a prompt.

5. Claude will remain in voice mode until you tap Stop.

One thing to keep in mind is Claude’s voice mode uses a “turn-based” architecture, meaning the chatbot will listen to you before it generates a response. This is different from ChatGPT’s voice mode, which OpenAI recently updated to use a “duplex” architecture. That system gives its GPT-Live models the ability to simultaneously process speech and generate outputs.

In practice, that means voice mode sometimes confuses a brief pause for the end of a question or prompt. For that reason, Anthropic recommends asking multi-part questions one at a time instead of all at once.

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How to select different models

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

You can change the model Claude will use to generate a response from the model picker at the bottom of the interface. See below for a list of available models, followed by a short description from Anthropic.

• Haiku: Fastest for quick answers

• Sonnet: Most efficient for everyday tasks

• Opus: For complex tasks. Only available to paid accounts.

How to use your connected apps

Like with text chat, voice mode can access apps and services you’ve connected to Claude, including Gmail, Google Calendar and Slack. For example, you can ask Claude to summarize your recent emails. Simply tell Claude the app you want it to use as part of a prompt. If you’re accessing a third-party app for the first time, you will need to grant Claude permission to use it.

How to change Claude’s voice and language

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Do you need a paid account to use Claude Voice?

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

Despite its ferocious popularity, people still tend to swear off anime entirely. These are usually the people whose reference of the medium pertains to a certain stereotype or to the few seconds of anime they once saw on a computer somewhere in the early 2000s.

But Japan has been producing some of the most emotionally resonant and visually audacious storytelling in contemporary media for half a century, and a great deal of it looks nothing at all like the stereotype it holds.

So here’s a case for the uninitiated. Start with self-contained films you can knock out in a single evening before graduating to series worth committing wholly to. The common thread, if you’re keeping score, is that not one of these requires you to know anything about anime, or Japan for that matter, going in.

Note that many of these picks are available in both the original Japanese audio with subtitles or as “dubs” with dialog dubbed by English voice actors. Dive in however you’d like.

Solo Leveling

Between reviewing tech for a living and spending most of my day in front of a screen, free time is a luxury. Yet almost every evening, I somehow find myself queueing up for two or three ranked Valorant games. My peak rank is Ascendant 1, and while I’m far from going pro, competitive FPS titles are where I put hundreds of hours every year.

For the longest time, my trusty Logitech G502 X Plus LIGHTSPEED was always waiting on my desk. It wasn’t the lightest mouse around, but it felt dependable. I’d flirt with lightweight esports mice now and then, only to come crawling back a few days later. Most of them either felt too hollow, too small, or simply lacked the reassuring heft I had grown accustomed to. Then the Logitech PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE showed up, and for the first time, my G502 has been gathering dust.

Lightweight doesn’t have to feel… light

At around 61 grams, the PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE couldn’t be more different from the G502. On paper, it sounds like exactly the kind of ultralight mouse I’d normally abandon after a week. Instead, it struck a balance I didn’t know I was looking for.

The shape fits naturally in my hand, making long Valorant sessions surprisingly comfortable, while the weight feels almost tailor-made for my low-DPI playstyle. Wide arm movements, quick flicks, and frequent mouse lifts require very little effort, but the mouse never feels flimsy or toy-like. There’s a surprising solidity to the chassis that makes it feel premium, even though it’s one of the lightest mice I’ve used. That’s probably the biggest reason it stuck around. It finally delivered the speed benefits of an ultralight mouse without making me feel like I was holding an empty plastic shell.

HITS made me relearn how to click

However, as much as I appreciate the weight and shape, they’re not why this mouse deserves attention. That credit goes to Logitech’s Haptic Inductive Trigger System, or HITS.

If there’s one comparison that immediately clicked in my head, it was Hall Effect keyboards like the Wooting. Just as those keyboards let gamers adjust actuation points and use features like Rapid Trigger, HITS applies the same philosophy to mouse buttons. Instead of relying on traditional mechanical or optical switches, the PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE continuously tracks button movement using inductive sensing and recreates the click using haptic feedback. The actuation point, reset point, and even the strength of the tactile feedback can all be adjusted through software.

The first time I switched the mouse off, I genuinely thought something had broken. The buttons suddenly felt lifeless, with almost no tactile click to speak of. Turn it back on, though, and the haptics instantly trick your brain into believing there’s a physical switch underneath.

It’s weird. It’s clever. And for the first couple of days, it’s surprisingly difficult to trust.

Years of muscle memory had taught my fingers exactly how a mechanical switch should feel. HITS delivers a softer, more refined tactile pulse instead. It doesn’t try to imitate a traditional click perfectly, and honestly, I’m glad it doesn’t. It ends up creating its own identity rather than pretending to be something else.

Of course, the best part is that there’s plenty of customizability underneath too. While the Logitech G Hub isn’t the most lightweight application out there, I will give credit to it for seamlessly transitioning my profile from the G502 to the PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE. That said, since it’s a new mouse in itself, I didn’t find my ideal settings immediately. After almost every ranked session, I’d tweak the actuation point by a notch, lower the haptic strength, play a few more matches, then change it all over again the next evening. It became part of my routine.

Eventually, I landed on a setup that felt completely natural. That’s when it hit me. We’ve spent years obsessing over DPI, polling rates, and sensor performance, yet the mouse click itself has remained surprisingly primitive. HITS finally changes that. Instead of adapting to a fixed switch, I was gradually shaping the mouse around the way I play.

No, it didn’t magically make me Radiant

Whenever new gaming hardware pushes input technology forward, the internet inevitably starts arguing about whether it’s “cheating.” We’ve seen it with Rapid Trigger keyboards, Snap Tap, SOCD discussions, and now HITS. Personally, I think that misses the point.

The PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE didn’t suddenly improve my aim or carry me through Ascendant lobbies. It didn’t start winning my Sheriff duels or fix my questionable decision-making when I inevitably dry peek an Operator. What it did change was how connected I felt to every click. Knowing I could fine-tune the actuation point instead of living with a fixed mechanical switch made the mouse feel uniquely mine. It wasn’t about finding an unfair advantage. It was about removing one more layer between my hand and what happened on screen.

The mouse that finally retired my G502

After more than a month of playing ranked Valorant almost every day, I can confidently say the PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE is the first lightweight gaming mouse that has permanently replaced my G502 X Plus LIGHTSPEED. Not because it’s lighter. Not because it’s faster. And not because HITS suddenly transformed me into a better player.

It’s because, for the first time, I felt like the mouse adapted to me instead of the other way around. Once I stopped thinking about the technology and simply enjoyed playing, going back to a traditional mechanical switch started to feel strangely limiting. Mechanical switches aren’t disappearing anytime soon, and plenty of gamers will still prefer that familiar tactile snap. But after living with HITS for over a month, I’m convinced Logitech has stumbled onto something genuinely exciting.

It’s been a long time since a gaming mouse made me rethink something as fundamental as clicking. HITS did exactly that, and now every time I pick up a traditional mouse, a tiny part of me wonders why its clicks are still stuck in the past.