As expected, Meta has introduced new smart glasses during its Connect conference today. The announcements included a “Gen 2” of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which retail starting at $379.There are a bunch of upgrades over the $299 Ray-Ban Meta set that the duo released in 2023. Meta highlighted improvements to battery life, which it says now lasts up to eight hours with "typical use." The included charging case now provides an additional 48 hours of juice, versus 32 hours for the current one. The glasses can also charge to 50 percent battery in 20 minutes. The second-gen glasses are equipped with a 12-megapixel camera and offer 3K Ultra HD video capture, with “up to 60 frames per second” and HDR support. Meta says it will release updates that add hyperlapse and slow-motion video capture to all of its AI glasses later in the fall. The second-gen Ray-Ban Meta has 32GB of storage and is IPX-4 rated for water resistance.On the style side, the Gen 2 Ray-Bans be available with the same three base frames as the originals: Wayfarer, Skyler and Headliner. All three will be available with a range of lenses, including regular, polarized, transitions and prescription. Polarized lenses will cost an additional $30, while transitions add $80 to the bill. There’s no set price for prescription lenses due to the innumerable ways our eyes can suck.The second-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses are available to purchase now in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, UAE, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Mexico, India and Brazil will have access to the new glasses "soon." At least for now, it seems as though Ray-Ban and Meta will continue to sell its Gen 1 wearable at the same $299 price alongside the new model.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-unveils-its-second-generation-of-ray-ban-smart-glasses-at-connect-000834514.html?src=rss

We learned earlier this week that iRobot, the company behind Roomba, had been taken over by a Chinese contract manufacturing company, Picea, following years of financial struggles. The deal has led to plenty of negative press, but when I spoke to the company's CEO, Gary Cohen, he assured me the future for iRobot was far brighter than the headlines would have us believe.It's kept a brand alive. We've saved 500 jobs.Gary Cohen, iRobot CEO"I'm feeling great. This is good news for us. This sets iRobot on a new path, a new beginning – a reboot, as many of our employees have been saying," he says. "Just from a process standpoint, this transaction fixes our balance sheet. It helps us out. It protects a lot of stakeholders, and for me, importantly, it's kept a brand alive. We've saved 500 jobs."Cohen was brought in to save the struggling iRobot in May 2024, following a high-profile failed acquisition by Amazon. Without a buyer, it would have been curtains for the brand that was so instrumental in shaping the robot vacuum market. He explains that the deal means iRobot has been able to keep its headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts, alongside its innovation team and international teams worldwide.Although not a widely known name, Picea Robotics is no mysterious interloper, either, but a company that iRobot has had close dealings with over the past year. Cohen tells me how it was first assigned as one of iRobot's contract manufacturers just before the Amazon deal fell through.(Image credit: Future)"So fast forward to when I joined. We made a decision to totally get rid of our legacy product lines in one year, and we chose Picea as the partner to do that. We still kept our innovation engine. We designed the specs that we wanted to have in the marketplace, but then Picea did more of the engineering development, tooling, purchasing and even testing," he recalls.As part of that reboot, Picea even introduced some new features of its own, which were developed in conjunction with iRobot.This isn't a story about being taken over by a Chinese company. This is a story of a partner kind of saving a company.Gary Cohen, iRobot CEOThe new lineup is still in the process of being rolled out, and it must be said the new models haven't been an overwhelming success so far. Still, Picea's work on the project was enough to convince Cohen of Picea's potential as a partner.It wasn't the first company to try to purchase iRobot, but early deal attempts were derailed by US tariff turmoil in the Spring. Then, when a serious potential buyout eventually fell apart in October, Cohen had to find a new way to save the company."Chapter Seven [liquidation bankruptcy] was not something I really wanted to have happen. I had too much invested in the company and the employees, and so we went to Picea and said, 'Would you be interested in buying the company?' And that's how it materialized," he explains."So this isn't a story about being taken over by a Chinese company. This is a story of a partner kind of saving a company, and a partner that we have a really good experience with."Looking forwardThe final deal is a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which the struggling company can continue operations while reorganizing its finances. Under this agreement, Picea will "receive 100% of the equity interests in the Company," as described in a statement from iRobot.Day-to-day, Cohen explains that the deal means what were two separate sides of the business will be more smoothly integrated, and insists the teams are "actually excited" at the prospect of a more connected setup.The original iRobot has already been developing its 2026 lineup with Picea before the takeover, and the results will be launching in the spring.Collectively, we'll be able to put the best brains together from a technical standpoint.Gary Cohen, iRobot CEOCohen tells me that Picea is a relatively new company, but has doubled its size in the past three or so years, and is already a key player in contact manufacturing for robot vacuums. He asserts that they "bring a lot to the party," not just in manufacturing but also on the technical side of things."By partnering with them, we have over 1,000 patents. Collectively, we'll be able to put the best brains together from a technical standpoint," he says. "I look at them as more than a contract manufacturer. They've got some brilliant software robotic scientists. We do as well. So by partnering with them, we'll be able to bring innovative ideas to consumers better and faster than even our competitors. They bring to us a get-to-market-faster, lower-cost structure, but also a lot of innovative ideas."Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

HP’s GPIB standard receives Linux support 53 years after its original releaseLegacy lab instruments can now integrate seamlessly with modern Linux distrosThe interface maintains the original 8MB/s bandwidth across multiple connected devicesA bus standard introduced by HP in 1972 has finally gained stable Linux driver support, more than fifty years after its initial release.HP created the interface to link laboratory instruments with computers, and it later became known as IEEE 488 after standardization in 1975.The design allowed multiple devices to share a single bus of up to twenty meters while offering data transfer speeds of up to 8MB/s, which was impressive for its time.Historical Context of GPIBWhen developers introduced the bus, computing was still in its early stages. Intel had just released the 8008 processor, and the personal computer industry had yet to emerge.Popular interfaces in use today, such as USB and PCIe, were still decades away.GPIB provided a parallel, short-range, multi-master communication system and quickly found use in oscilloscopes, multimeters, and other laboratory instruments.The standard later reached home computing, including Commodore 64 and Acorn systems, where it connected peripheral devices reliably.The bus has now moved from staging to stable support in the Linux 6.19 kernel.Earlier inclusion in the mainline kernel allowed testing, but the driver is now officially recognized and fully functional.Greg Kroah-Hartman, an influential Linux kernel developer and a Fellow at the Linux Foundation, confirmed the update in the Linux 6.19-rc1 pull request.“Here is the big set of staging driver updates for 6.19-rc1,” wrote Kroah-Hartman.“Only thing ‘major’ in here is that two subsystems, gpib and vc04 have moved out of the staging tree into the ‘real’ portion of the kernel, which is great to see.”The interface retains its original 8MB/s bandwidth, which remains sufficient for most measurement instruments today.Its stackable connector design and support for multiple devices continue to deliver reliable operation after decades of use.The standard’s adoption across both home computers and laboratory equipment reflects its flexibility and long-term durability.Stable Linux support now allows older instruments to integrate into modern workflows.Researchers and engineers can connect vintage hardware with current productivity tools without relying on external adapters.The update shows how long-established technologies can continue to provide practical value when modern software support brings them forward.Via Tom's HardwareFollow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Amazon's 'Ask this book' feature is now rolling out to KindlesIt's part of software version 5.20.2So far, users have only reported this landing on 2026 models, and it might currently be US-exclusiveAmazon launched ‘Ask this book’ almost a year ago now, with this AI-powered tool allowing you to ask questions about what you’re reading. However, it was initially only available for the iOS Kindle app, and only in the US.Now, though, that availability is widening — at least a little. As spotted by some Reddit users and The eBook Reader, ‘Ask this book’ has started rolling out to certain Kindle models, including the Kindle Colorsoft 2026 and the Kindle Paperwhite 2026. It’s likely that the other 2026 Kindles will also receive this update, though that hasn’t been confirmed.Indeed, Amazon itself has so far said very little about this rollout. The feature is part of software version 5.20.2, but this doesn’t yet have any release notes, or any confirmation beyond user reports of which models ‘Ask this book’ will actually work with.(Image credit: Amazon / The eBook Reader)Unclear availabilitySo, for now, there’s a question mark over whether the feature is coming to previous Kindle generations — I can say that my Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition 2024 does not yet have the update. But then it’s a UK model, and previously, the feature had only been available in the US — so it also remains to be seen whether other regions will get it.For now, if you’re curious, you’ll seemingly have to wait and see whether your Kindle gets the update pushed to it — there is no way to force the update currently. The rollout might happen in stages, though, so even if you don’t have it yet, you may still get it. Just make sure Wi-Fi is on so your Kindle can update.As for the ‘Ask this book’ feature itself, it’s potentially very useful, letting you, for example, ask about the plot or characters of a supported book and receive information based on where you’re up to in it — or for the whole book if you don’t mind spoilers.As with most AI features, though, it’s also controversial, with Reddit comments about its original launch including “I hate it,” and “this feature is so invasive.” So it’s certainly not for everyone.