Category: Technology

Meta currently has lots of priorities Mark Zuckerberg likely never would have imagined back in the early days of Facebook. The company has pivoted from social networking to the metaverse and, most recently, to AI. But somehow, one of its earliest — and most useless — features has not only survived but is apparently getting a revamp. I’m talking, of course, about the poke, which Meta is once again trying to revive. 

The company is making the storied feature easier to find by adding pokes back to user profiles in the Facebook app, according to a post it shared on Instagram. And you can track all poking-related activity between you and your friends at facebook.com/pokes. It even looks like there’s a Snapchat-streak like aspect where different emojis appear based on how many pokes have been exchanged. 

Just in case you weren’t on Facebook two decades ago, “poking” was something of a novelty in the early days of the social network. At the time, there weren’t that many features for interacting with your friends. You could leave comments on their profile and … you could “poke.” The feature never …read more

The new Street Fighter movie has been given a release date of October 16, 2026. Kitao Sakurai is directing the project and a few generic plot details have been disclosed. The story will be set in 1993, a nod to the year Street Fighter II was released in arcades, and will have familiar characters from the game uncovering “a deadly conspiracy” in the midst of all their street fighting.

It seems safe to expect a fair bit of camp in a Street Fighter project, and that bears out in some of the casting. Andrew Koji will play Ryu; he’s had several past action roles such as Bullet Train and TV series Warrior, so that feels like a solid choice. Noah Centineo is taking a break from his work in Netflix rom-coms (notably To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and its sequels) to play Ken. Newcomer Callina Liang, who only has a few credits to date, will play Chun-li. David Dastmalchian will be filling the great Raul Julia’s shoes (and oversized hat) as M. Bison.

Then things really get wacky. Curtis Jackson (who you know as rapper 50 Cent) is playing Balrog and country artist Orville Peck is Vega. Jason …read more

Firaxis, longtime developer of the strategy series Civilization, is laying off an undisclosed number of staff, Game Developer reports. The studio’s publisher and owner 2K confirmed that the layoffs were happening as Firaxis “restructures and optimizes” for “adaptability, collaboration, and creativity.” The layoffs follow turmoil at another 2K studio, Cloud Chamber, which is supposed to be developing the next Bioshock game. 

Since the restructuring has yet to be publicly disclosed, it’s hard to say with absolute certainty how many people have been impacted. Some former staff who worked on Civilization VII and Marvel’s Midnight Sons have already shared that they were laid off social media. Game Developer’s source claims “dozens of workers” were caught up in the cuts.

Engadget has contacted 2K for details about the layoffs and will update this article if we hear back.

The layoffs are surprising only because Take-Two Interactive, Firaxis and 2K’s parent company, was still expecting financial growth for the back half of 2025. Despite delaying its hotly anticipated cash cow Grand Theft Auto VI, Take-Two shared in March that it expected five percent growth in revenue and net bookings for the rest of the year, according …read more

The White House hosted several tech and AI leaders at an event today centered on teaching artificial intelligence in US schools. Many of the big tech companies — including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic — have already issued press releases with their commitments to a pledge from the White House to help “foster early interest in Al technology, promote Al literacy and proficiency, and enable comprehensive Al training for parents and educators.” The business commitments include things like cash prizes for students and teachers who use AI in educational ways, and cheap or free access to the companies’ AI tools, trainings and certifications. First Lady Melania Trump hosted the gathering.

That sounds fine and dandy on the surface. Understanding AI and the limits of what it can and can’t do are already important as industries try to adapt to the technology. But considering the current administration has been actively trying to dismantle the Department of Education for being too woke, it seems doubtful that this is going to be a thoughtfully planned or well-reasoned rollout that has the best interests …read more

Amazon has introduced a new eero product at IFA 2025, which can provide you with connectivity in case your home internet goes out. The new product called eero Signal connects to any USB-C-powered eero device on a network that supports Wi-Fi 6 and up. It’s meant to be a cellular backup, available two versions: A 4G LTE one that will cost you $100 and a 5G one that will set you back $200. Signal can detect outages and automatically connect you to a cellular network with its multi-carrier eSIM that’s already included with the price of the device. It also switches back to your home internet once it detects that it’s back online. 

To note, Signal isn’t meant for standalone use. It’s only meant as a backup that requires an existing primary internet connection and will only work in a single location. The device was designed to keep you connected when you would’ve had no home internet otherwise. You will need an annual eero Plus subscription to be able to enjoy its benefits, though it’s coming to eero Business as well. An annual eero Plus plan will set you back $99 a …read more