Some fantastic Mickey Mouse storytelling lives in "Epic Mickey," this new version looks fantastic!

Epic Mickey, released in 2010, was only available on the Wii. While the story and characters were fantastic, the gameplay was what I'd describe as "puke-tastic," with the camera swinging all over space. — Read the rest

The post I'm excited to play "Epic Mickey: Rebrushed" appeared first on Boing Boing.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Rabbit R1 — the $199, bright orange, AI-powered companion gadget — all over the internet. It’s been making waves for its retro-inspired design, reasonably approachable price tag (with one colossal asterisk), and its vaunted ability to quickly answer straightforward questions. Unfortunately, you’ve probably also seen almost every reviewer under the sun roasting the Teenage Engineering-designed companion for its limited set of day-one features, app integrations that only work with a healthy dose of luck, and its tendency to get the more complicated queries completely wrong.

So, which version of the Rabbit R1 is real, and which would vanish when put into a magician’s hat? Is it a capable AI companion powered by a cloud-based “Large Action Model,” or is it just specialized hardware for a platform that should be an app (and, in some ways, provably already is)? Let’s find out!

We’ve uncovered some pretty interesting information about the Rabbit R1 in recent days, such as the fact that it’s actually an Android app that can run on a standard Android phone. We were also able to confirm that the AI gadget runs Android.

Now, software developers @xyz3va, @schlizzawg, and @MarcelD505 have dug into the servers powering the Rabbit R1. One of the key findings is that the servers running the AI gadget’s interactions apparently aren’t running a Large Action Model (LAM) as previously claimed.

Smartphones may be incredibly useful gadgets that let you do everything from banking to gaming to keeping up with friends. But they’re also incredibly distracting devices that can eat up way more of your time than you’d like, which is why we’ve seen a growing number of attempts to bring back “dumb phones” that just […]

The post Lilbits: Cake wants to turn your Apple Watch into a phone, Dillo returns from the dead, and removing ads from Windows 11 appeared first on Liliputing.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Rabbit R1 — the $199, bright orange, AI-powered companion gadget — all over the internet. It’s been making waves for its retro-inspired design, reasonably approachable price tag (with one colossal asterisk), and its vaunted ability to quickly answer straightforward questions. Unfortunately, you’ve probably also seen almost every reviewer under the sun roasting the Teenage Engineering-designed companion for its limited set of day-one features, app integrations that only work with a healthy dose of luck, and its tendency to get the more complicated queries completely wrong.

So, which version of the Rabbit R1 is real, and which would vanish when put into a magician’s hat? Is it a capable AI companion powered by a cloud-based “Large Action Model,” or is it just specialized hardware for a platform that should be an app (and, in some ways, provably already is)? Let’s find out!

We’ve uncovered some pretty interesting information about the Rabbit R1 in recent days, such as the fact that it’s actually an Android app that can run on a standard Android phone. We were also able to confirm that the AI gadget runs Android.

Now, software developers @xyz3va, @schlizzawg, and @MarcelD505 have dug into the servers powering the Rabbit R1. One of the key findings is that the servers running the AI gadget’s interactions apparently aren’t running a Large Action Model (LAM) as previously claimed.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Rabbit R1 — the $199, bright orange, AI-powered companion gadget — all over the internet. It’s been making waves for its retro-inspired design, reasonably approachable price tag (with one colossal asterisk), and its vaunted ability to quickly answer straightforward questions. Unfortunately, you’ve probably also seen almost every reviewer under the sun roasting the Teenage Engineering-designed companion for its limited set of day-one features, app integrations that only work with a healthy dose of luck, and its tendency to get the more complicated queries completely wrong.

So, which version of the Rabbit R1 is real, and which would vanish when put into a magician’s hat? Is it a capable AI companion powered by a cloud-based “Large Action Model,” or is it just specialized hardware for a platform that should be an app (and, in some ways, provably already is)? Let’s find out!

We’ve uncovered some pretty interesting information about the Rabbit R1 in recent days, such as the fact that it’s actually an Android app that can run on a standard Android phone. We were also able to confirm that the AI gadget runs Android.

Now, software developers @xyz3va, @schlizzawg, and @MarcelD505 have dug into the servers powering the Rabbit R1. One of the key findings is that the servers running the AI gadget’s interactions apparently aren’t running a Large Action Model (LAM) as previously claimed.

The first wave of AI devices is here for better or worse depending on your viewpoint of the technology. Regardless of where you stand, the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin do introduce us to a new category of device for the first time in a long time. So you may be wondering just what’s under the hood of this hardware. A new video gives us exactly that answer.

The YouTube channel for iFixit recently released a teardown video of the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin. Just as a bit of background, both devices rely on large language models (LLMs) that run on the cloud for their heavy AI processing. As such, don’t expect to see much inside of these devices outside of what’s needed to make them run.

Yesterday, we broke the news that the software that allows you to control the AI-first Rabbit R1 device is actually just an Android APK — essentially a proprietary launcher. We even showed you the app running on a Pixel with minimal hacking necessary to get it on there. This heavily suggested that the Rabbit R1 is just an Android device running some form of AOSP, but we couldn’t fully prove it at the time.

Today, though, we can confirm that the R1 is specifically running Android 13, the 2022 version of the operating system. We obtained this from Mishaal Rahman, a frequent contributor to Android Authority. Rahman posted the confirmation on his various social channels:

Update: May 1, 2024 (1:01 AM ET): Rabbit has reached out to Android Authority with a statement from its founder and CEO, Jesse Lyu. The statement argues that the R1’s interface is not an app. The company explains that the LLM it uses runs on the cloud, which is something we never questioned. We’ll be following up with another article diving deeper into the subject soon. Until then, you can read Rabbit’s complete statement below.

“rabbit r1 is not an Android app. We are aware there are some unofficial rabbit OS app/website emulators out there. We understand the passion that people have to get a taste of our AI and LAM instead of waiting for their r1 to arrive. That being said, to clear any misunderstanding and set the record straight, rabbit OS and LAM run on the cloud with very bespoke AOSP and lower level firmware modifications, therefore a local bootleg APK without the proper OS and Cloud endpoints won’t be able to access our service. rabbit OS is customized for r1 and we do not support third-party clients. Using a bootlegged APK or webclient carries significant risks; malicious actors are known to publish bootlegged apps that steal your data. For this reason, we recommend that users avoid these bootlegged rabbit OS apps.”

The Rabbit R1 is a pocketable AI assistant that's arrived alongside questionable reviews at best. Criticized for its slow responses, poor battery life, and an existence that's made defunct by modern smartphone capabilities, many are wondering what the point behind it, and by extension the company, actually is. Things are now going from bad to worse for Rabbit, as it's now been revealed that the company was once an NFT company that pulled the entire project that people had invested thousands of dollars into.

The Rabbit R1 is the second major gadget to launch this year as basically a portable device for interacting with cloud-based AI features. Unlike the Humane Ai Pin, the Rabbit R1 has a display that provides visual information. And with a $200 price tag, it’s a lot easier for forgive its shortcomings than the $699 […]

The post Lilbits: Rabbit R1 handheld AI device runs Android (but its head is in the cloud), LastPass is an independent company again, and other tech news appeared first on Liliputing.

If not, here's your chance! In this video, you can see an absolutely adorable rabbit first check out the water, and then jump right in. It immediately starts doing the rabbit version of a doggie paddle—I guess that'd be called a bunny paddle? — Read the rest

The post Have you ever seen a rabbit swim? appeared first on Boing Boing.