Google promised advertisers that its AI plans would not bar them from reaching potential customers, and the tech giant has delivered with the addition of advertising to the AI Overviews feature in Google Search. Whether that makes the Gemini AI-written summaries to your search queries more appealing is debatable. AI Overviews means you may not need to click on a link to get an answer to a question and was hyped at Google I/O this year. Companies that rely on Google’s search engine to promote their websites were leery of a tool that seemed to make sponsoring results worthless.
Google anticipated that reaction and promised ads would be an element of AI Overviews. After months of testing, the ads are rolling out. Essentially, you’ll see products mentioned and linked to in the text written by the AI. For now, it’s just going to be U.S. mobile users who see the ads, but they will likely expand quickly, assuming the tests have worked out most of the bugs.
The idea is to connect how Google traditionally used ads to support itself with the new AI mandate, bringing Gemini to every corner of the company’s ecosystem. While you may or may not find the direct suggestions for products useful, it’s definitely going to make it more likely that people click on a product and buy it than if there were only the somewhat subtle hyperlinks to the content Gemini used to write the AI Overview. The company said it will only include sponsored links when it’s directly relevant, so you shouldn’t see any ad spam in the AI Overview.
Google demonstrated in the video below how you might look for tips on removing grass stains from clothing. While the AI Overview would normally suggest methods and provide links, the sponsorship of a cleaning product company means you’ll also see a list of products you might want to buy for that purpose. The products are marked as being sponsored, much like when you see a bunch of sponsored links at the top of a search result page.
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AI Overviews Just for You
“This new ad format was designed to help people discover new brands and make informed purchasing decisions,” Google explained in a blog post. “People have been finding the ads within AI Overviews helpful because they can quickly connect with relevant businesses, products, and services to take the next step at the exact moment they need them.”
Google has been keen to push AI Overviews onto users despite some major problems with how safe the answers were early on and reports that Google was pulling back on its rollout. Still, the feature is now international, and clearly, Google feels comfortable enough with it to trust its AI models with its crucial advertising dollars.
Melding its keystone services of search and ads with AI could be a boon to both advertisers and consumers who want a faster route between having a question and getting a product to solve the problem. It’s also necessary for Google as it works to match and beat its rivals in both search and AI. Microsoft has been playing with ads in its Copilot AI chatbot, as has Perplexity with its sponsored follow-up questions. And, Amazon has pursued a similar objective from the other direction by making an AI chatbot on its website called Rufus that will also offer sponsored suggestions for purchases.
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Raal Immanis: The Headphones That Triggered an Audiophile Civil War, A Battle for Audiophile Integrity!
Recent events surrounding the Raal Immanis headphones have exposed significant issues within the audiophile community, highlighting the need for more rigorous standards in product evaluation and transparency in reviewer relationships. This controversy is particularly striking given the Raal Immanis’ stellar reputation among experienced audiophiles and owners.
The Controversy Unveiled
At the heart of this controversy lies a series of harsh criticisms directed at the Raal Immanis headphones by influential YouTubers and reviewers associated with a popular online headphone retail and forum site. What’s particularly troubling is that these criticisms were based on extremely limited listening time—merely initial impressions rather than thorough, professional reviews.
This situation raises serious questions about the responsibility of influencers and the weight given to their opinions, especially when those opinions can significantly impact consumer perception and potentially harm a product’s reputation.
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The Disconnect: Rushed Judgments vs. Owner Experiences
It’s crucial to emphasize that no proper, in-depth review of the Raal Immanis was conducted by these influencers. Their comments were based on brief listening sessions, which is insufficient for evaluating high-end audio equipment. This rushed approach stands in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from actual Immanis owners and many independent reviewers who have spent significant time with the headphones.
The vast majority of Immanis owners – many of whom are experienced audiophiles with extensive exposure to top-tier headphones – express high satisfaction with their purchase. Those who have spent significant time with the Immanis often describe them as among the best headphones currently available. While they may not be perfect for everyone – no headphone is – the overwhelmingly positive response from owners suggests that the Immanis deliver exceptional performance for many listeners.
Beyond Measurements: The Larger Picture
While measurements and frequency response graphs provide valuable data, they don’t tell the whole story of a headphone’s performance. The Raal Immanis, despite not perfectly aligning with popular benchmarks like the Harman curve, has garnered significant praise for its real-world performance.
This discrepancy highlights the subjective nature of audio appreciation and the importance of personal experience over rapid judgments or strict adherence to measurements. The pursuit of audio perfection is ongoing, and different manufacturers approach this goal in unique ways that may not always be captured by standard metrics.
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The Problem with Rushed Judgments
High-quality headphones often require significant time for proper assessment, including:
Extended listening across various genres of music
Comparisons with other high-end models
Testing with different amplifiers and sources
Consideration of build quality and long-term comfort
Without these elements, any “review” is, at best, an initial impression and should be presented as such. It’s irresponsible for influencers with large followings to present such limited experiences as definitive assessments.
The Conflict of Interest Conundrum
Compounding this issue is a clear conflict of interest: the harshest critics are involved in developing a competing product or their coworkers are. This collaboration with a direct competitor to the Raal Immanis creates an inherent bias that should disqualify these individuals from offering public opinions on the Immanis, let alone presenting those opinions as authoritative.
This conflict raises several ethical concerns:
The potential for biased opinions influencing consumer choices
The integrity of the review process in the audiophile community
The responsibility of influencers to disclose their industry relationships
Trusting Your Ears: The Ultimate Test
Given these issues, the importance of personal listening experiences cannot be overstated. While initial impressions and measurements can provide a starting point, they should never be the sole basis for judging high-end audio equipment.
For those interested in headphones like the Raal Immanis, it’s crucial to seek out opportunities for extended personal auditions. Audio shows, local meet-ups, or loaner programs can provide chances to experience these headphones firsthand over a meaningful period.
A Call for Integrity in the Audiophile Community
This controversy serves as a wake-up call. It’s time to demand:
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Clear distinction between initial impressions and full reviews
Full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest from reviewers and influencers
A more balanced approach to evaluating audio equipment, considering both objective measurements and subjective experiences over time
Greater skepticism of overly harsh critiques, especially when they contradict widespread user experiences or are based on limited listening time
More opportunities for consumers to personally audition high-end equipment before making purchasing decisions
A Scathing Indictment of Audiophile Influencer Culture
The recent controversy surrounding the Raal Immanis headphones serves as a damning indictment of the current state of audiophile influencer culture. The actions of certain YouTube personalities and online reviewers have exposed a rot at the core of what should be an impartial, enthusiast-driven community.
Let us be unequivocally clear:
Rushed Judgments: The practice of offering authoritative “opinions” based on fleeting listening sessions is not just unprofessional—it’s ethically bankrupt. High-end audio equipment demands thorough, extended evaluation. Anything less is a disservice to manufacturers, consumers, and the entire audiophile community.
Measurement Obsession: While measurements have their place, the over-reliance on graphs and numbers at the expense of actual listening experience is a dangerous trend. It reduces the rich, subjective world of audio appreciation to a simplistic numbers game, ignoring the nuanced realities of personal preference and musical enjoyment.
Conflicts of Interest: The revelation that some of the harshest critics are involved in developing competing products is nothing short of scandalous. This level of conflict goes beyond mere bias—it borders on corruption. It’s a betrayal of the trust placed in these influencers by their audiences.
Industry-Wide Implications: These actions don’t just harm individual products or companies—they corrode the integrity of the entire audiophile industry. When consumers can’t trust the impartiality of reviews or the motivations behind critiques, it undermines the very foundations of informed decision-making in audio purchases.
The Illusion of Impartiality: Perhaps most egregious is the attempt to present these biased, rushed judgments as impartial, authoritative reviews. This deliberate misleading of audiences is not just unethical—it’s a form of consumer deception.
Conclusion
The actions surrounding the Raal Immanis controversy represent a low point in audiophile discourse. They expose a world where rushed judgments, conflicts of interest, and measurement obsession threaten to overshadow the true joy of music appreciation and the real-world experiences of dedicated audiophiles.
As consumers and enthusiasts, we must be vigilant. Question every review, scrutinize every opinion, and above all, trust your own ears. The audiophile journey is deeply personal, and no amount of graphs, hastily formed opinions, or influencer proclamations should overshadow your own listening experience or the collective wisdom of experienced owners.
In the case of the Raal Immanis, as with any high-end audio equipment, reject the noise of biased influencers and superficial assessments. Seek out opportunities for extended personal listening. Engage with owners who have spent significant time with the product. Form your own opinions based on what matters most—your personal enjoyment of the music.
The audiophile community stands at a crossroads. We can either allow this culture of rushed judgments, hidden agendas, and measurement worship to persist, or we can demand a return to integrity, thoroughness, and genuine passion for audio. The choice is ours, and the future of our hobby depends on it.
Shane Gross wins the grand prize – and the ‘Wetlands: The Bigger Picture’ category
A snapshot of wriggling toad tadpoles has earned Shane Gross the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Beneath a floating canopy of lily pads in Cedar Lake, Canada, a swarm of western toad tadpoles glided gracefully through the water.
“To me, the most fun that I can have, the thing that lights me up inside, is to see something new and try to photograph it in the best way I possibly can,” Shane told BBC News.
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His careful movements through the delicate layer of silt and algae at the lake’s bottom ensured a clear view.
“I had no idea if I had anything good at all until I got home,” he said. “But when I finally looked, I was like, wow, this is pretty cool.”
Within four to twelve weeks after hatching, these little tadpoles begin their transformation into toads, with only about 1% making it to adulthood.
He was awarded the prize at London’s Natural History Museum.
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“This image swirls with light, energy and a feeling of synchronised movement between the lilies and the tadpole tails,” said Kathy Moran, Jury Chair and Editor. “The real payoff is that this wonderful scene highlights environments and species that are often overlooked.”
Scroll on to see all of the winning photographs.
Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas wins the junior grand prize, in addition to the 15-17-year-olds category
Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, 17, from Germany, won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title. His photo “Life Under Dead Wood” featured fruiting slime mould alongside a tiny, energetic springtail.
Working quickly was essential, as these tiny critters can leap several times their body length in the blink of an eye.
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“I think a lot of people don’t know that these things even exist,” Alexis said. “If people learn more through my images, I feel like that’s one of the biggest goals for me, to just show this tiny world that a lot of people don’t really get to see, in a different light.”
Using a technique known as focus-stacking, he combined 36 images into one stunning photograph.
These miniature springtails, under two millimetres long, are found alongside slime moulds worldwide, munching on microorganisms and playing a key role in soil health.
Category winners
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Dusting for New Evidence by Britta Jaschinski, Germany/UK
Britta Jaschinski
Britta Jaschinski wins the Photojournalism category
Britta Jaschinski observed as a crime scene investigator from London’s Metropolitan Police dusted a confiscated tusk at Heathrow Airport for fingerprints, using newly developed magnetic powder.
Under the Waterline by Matthew Smith, UK/Australia
Matthew Smith
Matthew Smith claims the title in the Underwater category
Matthew Smith captured a striking split image of a curious leopard seal beneath the Antarctic ice, using a custom extension he designed for his camera’s underwater housing.
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Dolphins of the Forest by Thomas Peschak, Germany/South Africa
Thomas Peschak
Thomas Peschak takes home the award in the Photojournalist Story category
The Amazon River dolphin, one of two freshwater dolphin species in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, uniquely adapts to explore seasonally flooded forest habitats.
Thomas Peschak highlights the endangered dolphins’ complex relationship with local communities and the challenges they face due to human interactions that disrupt their natural behaviours.
Tiger in Town by Robin Darius Conz, Germany
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Robin Darius Conz
Robin Darius Conz has won the Urban Wildlife category
While filming a wildlife documentary in India’s western ghats, Robin Darius Conz saw a tiger on a hillside overlooking a town. He used a drone to track the tiger, to highlight the contrast between protected areas and those affected by human development.
A Tranquil Moment by Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod, Sri Lanka
Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod
Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod takes the prize in the Behaviour: Mammals category
After photographing birds and leopards, Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod captured a young toque macaque peacefully sleeping in an adult’s arms to highlight the challenges these monkeys face amid habitat loss and farmer conflicts.
The Demolition Squad by Ingo Arndt, Germany
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Ingo Arndt
Ingo Arndt is the winner of the Behaviour: Invertebrates category
Ingo Arndt captured the red wood ants efficiently dismembering a blue ground beetle to carry into their nest. He described himself as “full of ant” after just a few minutes lying beside the ants’ nest as he watched their teamwork in action.
Free as a Bird by Alberto Román Gómez, Spain
Alberto Román Gómez
Alberto Román Gómez claims the title in the 10 Years and Under category
Alberto Román Gómez captured a playful stonechat perched beside a heavy chain, resembling a tiny warrior. From his father’s car in Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, he struggled to photograph the bird as it darted about, gathering insects.
Frontier of the Lynx by Igor Metelskiy, Russia
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Igor Metelskiy
Igor Metelskiy has been awarded first place in the Animals in their Environment category
Mr Metelskiy captured a serene image of a lynx stretching in the evening sun, blending into the wilderness. After over six months of patience, he positioned his camera trap near the footprints of potential prey, revealing the elusive lynx in its natural habitat.
Old Man of the Glen by Fortunato Gatto, Italy
Fortunato Gatto
Fortunato Gatto wins the Plants and Fungi category
Fortunato Gatto came across a gnarled birch tree draped with pale ‘old man’s beard’ lichens in Glen Affric in the Scottish highlands. Glen Affric is home to the highest concentration of native trees in the UK, making it a vital ecosystem.
Practice Makes Perfect by Jack Zhi, USA
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Jack Zhi
Jack Zhi is awarded first place in the Behaviour: Birds category
Jack Zhi captures a young falcon practicing hunting on a butterfly near its sea-cliff nest. For the past eight years, he observed the birds in this area, but tracking them was particularly challenging as they were so fast.
The Artful Crow by Jiří Hřebíček, Czech Republic
Jiří Hřebíček
Jiří Hřebíček won the Natural Artistry category
Jiří Hřebíček created an artistic image of a carrion crow by using a long shutter speed while moving his camera on purpose.
On Watch by John E Marriott, Canada
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John E Marriott
John E Marriott takes home the award in the Animal Portraits category
John Marriott photographs a lynx resting, with its fully grown young sheltering from the cold wind behind it. After a week of tracking led him to the group, he kept his distance to avoid disturbing the family in the snowy forest.
A Diet of Deadly Plastic by Justin Gilligan, Australia
Justin Gilligan
Justin Gilligan wins the Oceans: The Bigger Picture category
Justin Gilligan created a mosaic from 403 pieces of plastic found in the digestive tract of a dead flesh-footed shearwater. He has been documenting research from a team that studies the impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems.
An Evening Meal by Parham Pourahmad, USA
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Parham Pourahmad
Parham Pourahmad Winner wins the 11-14 Years category
Parham Pourahmad watched the last rays of sunlight highlight a young Cooper’s hawk eating a squirrel. Over the summer, he photographed wildlife in a city park to show that “nature will always be wild and unpredictable”.
Wetland Wrestle by Karine Aigner, USA
Karine Aigner
Karine Aigner won the Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles category
Karine Aigner spotted a yellow anaconda coiled around the snout of a yacaré caiman while leading a tour group. She observed the two reptiles struggling, uncertain which was the aggressor, while horseflies clung to the snake’s back.
The Serengeti of the Sea by Sage Ono, USA
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Sage Ono
Sage Ono’s image won the Rising Star Award.
Tube-snout fish eggs glimmer among golden kelp, their colours fading as they develop. Sage Ono, inspired by his grandfather’s marine biology stories, captures the unique underwater life of Monterey Bay’s giant kelp forests.
“I like small and weird. So, when I saw the eggs and the kelp, I was like, okay, this is something I don’t have a photograph of. I’ve never really seen a photograph of it, so it’s really interesting to me.” Sage said.
Anker makes some of our favorite charging gear and mobile accessories, and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be able to find good discounts on the company’s products during an event like October Prime Day. Whether you’ve been on the hunt for a docking station for your laptop, want a new magnetic wireless charger for your next trip or just need another charging cable to replace the last one you misplaced, Prime Day deals on Anker devices should be able to help. We’re seeing some of our favorite Anker accessories on sale for record-low (or close to them) prices. While there’s always the chance that these deals come back around in a month for Black Friday, we recommend grabbing what you want now while the deals are available. These are the best Prime Day deals on Anker gear that we found for October Prime Day.
Prime Day deals on Anker magnetic charging gear
Particularly if you have an iPhone with MagSafe support, magnetic accessories can make charging up your phone even easier. On sale this time around are wireless, magnetic power banks and charging stations that can support multiple devices at once.
Prime Day deals on Anker charging cables and adapters
Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget
Prime Day, or any big sale event for that matter, is a good opportunity to pick up a few extra essentials like charging cables while you can get them at a discount. Anker’s offerings right now include deals on USB-C and Lightning cables, along with charging adapters in various sizes and max wattages.
Prime Day deals on Anker docking stations, hubs and more
Anker may be known for its charging gear, but the company makes other accessories like docking stations and webcams, too. Prime Day deals include deep discounts on hubs and stations that add a bunch of extra ports back into the mix, and one of our favorite webcams.
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Anker 8-in-1 USB-C hub/foldable tablet stand for $80 ($20 off): This handy stand can make it much easier to turn your iPad or other tablet into a laptop replacement. It supports passthrough charging and has eight different connectors including a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB-A ports.
Anker 14-in-1 USB-C docking station for $54 ($21 off): If you need a lot of connectivity on the go, this 14-in-1 hub could be a good option. Not only does it include an Ethernet port, but it also has two HDMI connectors and supports 80W passthrough charging.
Anker 13-in-1 USB-C docking station for $140 ($30 off): A docking station like this one make your work-from-home setup more efficient. Here, you get pretty much every connector you’d need, including Ethernet, Display and HDMI ports, multiple USB-A ports, an audio jack and more. Plus, the docking station supports 85W charging for your laptop while it’s connected.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.
A treaty finalized by the UK may bring about the end of the .io domain. Last week, the British government announced that it has agreed to give up ownership of the Chagos Islands, a territory in the Indian Ocean it has controlled since 1814 — relinquishing the .io domain with it.
But first, let’s take a step back (and I mean far back) to see how we got here. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Chagos Islands were settled by the French in the 1700s, who brought slaves to the archipelago. In 1814, the French ceded control of the Chagos Islands and the island country of Mauritius to the British. When the British took over, the Chagos Islands remained a dependency of Mauritius.
In 1965, the UK granted Mauritius its sovereignty, but the government decided to split off the Chagos Islands, making it a British Indian Ocean Territory. The UK ended up forcibly removing the Chagossian people so the US could build a military base on one of the islands, displacing more than 1,500 people, as detailed in this report from Human Rights Watch.
Eventually, the Chagos Islands — or the British Indian Ocean Territory — were given the IO country code. It was also assigned a matching .io country code domain in 1997. The British government granted the rights to sell .io domains to the Internet Computer Bureau (ICB), according to a 2014 report from GigaOm.
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A country’s government is typically supposed to receive revenue for any sites that register using their country code domain. For example, Anguilla, which has the country code AI, was projected to make between $25 million and $30 million last year from websites registering with the .ai domain.
The IANA aims to retire old country code domains within five years
You’d think the Chagos Islands would make similar amounts of money from the .io domain. After all, thousands of buzzy tech startups and cryptocurrency companies — like itch.io, greenhouse.io, and opensea.io — adopted the domain, since “io” also serves as an abbreviation for “input/output.”
However, entrepreneur Paul Kane, who previously ran the ICB, told GigaOm that the British government collected some of the revenue, which came as a surprise to the Chagossian people. In 2020, the Chagossians submitted a claim to gain ownership of what they said was a $50 million property, as reported by Fortune.
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But now, the UK’s finalized agreement will make the Chagos Islands part of Mauritius — a move Chagossians say the government didn’t even consult them on. With this change, the British Indian Ocean Territory is no more, calling into question the future of the .io domain.
Since then, IANA has also had to retire the .yu domain previously used for Yugoslavia, but it remained operational for years following the country’s breakup while government websites transitioned to new domains. And while the independent Solomon Islands does have the domain name .sb, where “B” stands for how it used to be a British protectorate, that domain was registered decades after it achieved independence. The UK still has the inactive .gb domain as well, but it’s considering getting rid of it.
For now, it’s still too early to tell what will become of the .io domain — whether it will go through a similar transitional period like .yu, or if the IANA will just let the Chagossans keep it. The Verge reached out to Identity Digital — the domain registrar that previously obtained the rights to sell .io domains — and IANA for information about .io’s future. We didn’t immediately hear back.
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