An EU law comes into force next year that demands portable devices have replaceable batteries
Nintendo Could Be Forced To Shed One Of Its Biggest Anti-Consumer Practices
Author Archives: Xordac Prime
The US is looking at a year of chaotic weather
Despite being declared the third-hottest year on record, 2025 was a relatively quiet year for climate disasters in the US. No major hurricanes made landfall, while the total number of acres burned in wildfires last year—a way of measuring the intensity of wildfire season—fell below the 10-year average.
But starting this week, the West is experiencing what looks to be a record-breaking heat wave, while forecasting models predict that a strong El Niño event is likely to emerge later this year. These two unrelated phenomena could set the stage for a long stretch of unpredictable and extreme weather reaching into next year, compounding the effects of a climate that’s getting hotter and hotter thanks to human activity.
First, there’s the heat. Beginning this week and heading into next, a massive ridge of high-pressure air will bring record-breaking temperatures to the American West. The National Weather Service predicts that temperature records across multiple states are set to be broken in dozens of locations, stretching as far east as Missouri and Tennessee. The NWS has issued heat warnings for parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as fire warnings for parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Colorado.
Feds say no need to recall Tesla’s one-pedal driving despite petition
One-pedal driving is not causing Tesla electric vehicles to suddenly accelerate when parked, according to federal regulators. For almost as long as Tesla has been selling cars, it has been hit with sporadic accusations of parked cars accelerating when they shouldn’t. Known to the industry as “sudden unintended acceleration,” the question for regulators is whether the problem is a human one or an engineering one, and over the years, engineers who think they’ve found the culprit have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to force a recall. These efforts usually fail, as was the case today, when NHTSA said it would not tell Tesla to recall every EV it built since 2013.
Because electric motors are also generators, EVs use regenerative braking to recover energy when they slow down rather than wasting that kinetic energy as heat (and maybe a bit of sound) via the friction brakes. In many battery EVs and just about any hybrid I can think of, a brake-by-wire system blends the two together—the driver uses the left pedal as normal, and the car slows down. Some automakers (I’m looking at you, Porsche) think this is the only way a driver should slow their EV. But an electric motor can also be programmed to regeneratively brake when the driver lifts their foot from the throttle, and in Tesla’s EVs (as well as Rivian’s and Lucid’s), this is the only way to regen, as there is no brake-by-wire system, only traditional hydraulic friction brakes.
Technically, I just described lift-off regen, but if the car has been programmed to come to a complete stop when you take your foot from the accelerator, that’s one-pedal driving. Some EV drivers absolutely love one-pedal driving; others don’t. I like one-pedal for low-speed driving or when I want something similar to engine braking. But according to the petition sent to NHTSA in 2023 by a Greek engineer, this causes a “short-circuit” in Tesla drivers’ brains.
Ubuntu 26.04 Delivers Enhanced Performance For AMD Radeon Linux Gaming
Earlier this month was a preview of the Ubuntu 26.04 performance benefits for NVIDIA Linux gaming while today’s article is providing an early look at how the open-source AMD Radeon gaming experience is looking for the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release.
SteamOS 3.8 Preview Preps For Steam Machine, KDE Plasma Desktop With Wayland By Default
In addition to last night’s Steam client beta with Steam Runtime container support for the client and that SteamRT3 client now a 64-bit build, Valve also released a big preview update to the forthcoming SteamOS 3.8. The SteamOS 3.8 preview release brings initial support for Steam Machine hardware, various handheld gaming device support improvements, various other Steam Deck updates, improved compatibility with newer Intel and AMD platforms, and its KDE Plasma desktop is now using Wayland by default…
Amazon is reportedly working on a new phone built around Alexa
Amazon is reportedly planning to re-enter the smartphone market more than 10 years after its last attempt. According to a Reuters report, the mysterious phone is internally codenamed “Transformer” and is being developed by the company’s devices and services unit.
There isn’t a whole lot to go on right now, but it probably won’t surprise many to learn that the phone will likely lean heavily on AI. According to Reuters’ sources, Alexa functionality would be a core part of the experience, but Amazon wouldn’t necessarily build a custom OS around its voice assistant. The phone would make buying products on Amazon and using services like Prime Music and Prime Video “easier than ever,” and may bypass traditional app stores.
Reuters reports that the Transformer project is being led by the recently established ZeroOne, an Amazon devices unit headed up by ex-Microsoft executive and Xbox co-founder J Allard, who was also one of the creators of Zune. Allard joined Amazon last year to lead a “a special projects team dedicated to inventing breakthrough consumer product categories.”
The development team has reportedly considered launching both a traditional smartphone and a so-called “dumbphone,” which would presumably strip away anything that needlessly distracted you from the Amazon empire. Reuters’ anonymous sources suggest the latter could help combat screen addiction by offering fewer features.
ZeroOne is apparently inspired by the ultra-minimalist Light Phone, suggesting that Amazon might be reluctant to take on the flagship devices of Apple and Samsung. The report adds that the Transformer phone could even be positioned as a secondary handset.
This, of course, would not be Amazon’s first crack at the smartphone business. The company launched the Fire Phone in 2014, an ambitious and interesting device that ultimately failed to tempt people away from the more established smartphone ecosystems. It’s widely remembered as perhaps the company’s biggest hardware misstep.
With analysts forecasting an unprecedented decline in the smartphone market in 2026, now seems like a risky time for Amazon to try again, and Reuters was unable to determine exactly how much the company has committed to the Transformer project. Sources also wouldn’t rule out it being scrapped altogether if the company’s priorities suddenly shifted.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/amazon-is-reportedly-working-on-a-new-phone-built-around-alexa-142244500.html?src=rss
Super Micro Co-Founder Charged In $2.5B NVIDIA AI Chip Smuggling Scheme To China
The unsealing of a federal indictment has exposed a multi-billion dollar shadow pipeline designed to funnel restricted NVIDIA AI chips into China. At the center of the controversy is Wally Liaw Yih-Shyan, the 71-year-old co-founder and Senior Vice President of Super Micro Computer, who now faces serious criminal charges for allegedly orchestrating
Meta Shows Confidence in EMG Input for Wearables by Funding Six External Studies
Meta announced it’s tapped six external teams to receive a research grant in order to advance work on its surface electromyography (sEMG) based wristband controller.
Meta revealed in a blog post it’s launched a research funding initiative focused on improving how users learn and interact with sEMG systems, having chosen six universities out of 70 global submissions.
Each research group is set to receive $150,000 in funding, which includes teams at the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, University of California, Davis, Newcastle University, University of British Columbia, and Northwestern University.
Meta’s wrist-worn neural interface relies on sEMG, which detects electrical activity in the wrist and hand and translates it into digital commands. As Meta Ray-Ban Display’s main input device, the company hopes to answer a few questions with the studies, namely: how do people learn new sEMG-based controls, and how can onboarding be streamlined?
The funded projects explore a range of challenges. Some focus on improving learning methods, such as comparing gamified training with step-by-step instruction, or developing systems that adapt to individual users over time.
Others aim to expand what sEMG can do, like enabling silent speech generation by translating muscle signals into synthesized voice, or increasing the ‘bandwidth’ of communication so users can issue more complex commands without disrupting natural hand movement.
A number of the proposed research topics include assistive applications, such as helping stroke survivors regain muscle control, or improving prosthetic limb operation through co-adaptive systems that learn alongside the user. You can see more about each study here.
This follows the release of Meta Ray-Ban Display last September, the company’s first pair of smart glasses with a built-in display. Priced at $800 and only available in the US for now, the smart glasses make use of the same input scheme first paired with Meta’s Orion AR prototype, which was revealed in late 2024.
This ostensibly shows Meta is pretty confident in the control scheme, viewing it as reliable enough for future (likely AR) devices. We’re looking forward to learning more as the research projects progress. Typically, we see papers either highlighted or released during SIGGRAPH, which is taking place in Los Angeles, California this year on July 19th – 23rd.
The post Meta Shows Confidence in EMG Input for Wearables by Funding Six External Studies appeared first on Road to VR.
Amazon May Launch An AI Smartphone Years After Its Fire Phone Failure
You can be forgiven for having forgotten all about Amazon’s ill-fated Fire Phone. It released a long time ago and despite an initial flurry of sales, it wasn’t all that long after launch that Amazon held a fire sale of its Fire Phone due to underwhelming demand, and vowed there would not be a sequel. Never say never, though, as Amazon is evidently
Slay The Spire 2 Is Getting Review Bombed On Steam Over Upcoming Balance Patch
Some fans are using Steam reviews to submit their input on upcoming changes rather than the in-game ‘Feedback’ option
Saudi Arabia Just Spent Over $6 Billion Buying Up More Of The Video Game Industry
Savvy Games just scooped up another mobile juggernaut
Arctic’s New Mini PC Packs A Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 And Stealthily Mounts Under Your Desk
Mini PCs have grown in popularity over the last several years, even with Intel handing off the reins of its NUC to ASUS. These days, we’re seeing a bunch of AMD-powered mini PCs. They’ve sort of become a dime a dozen, though Arctic has found a way to stand out from the crowd with its Senza AI 370, a fanless mini PC that you can mount sight
Patches Sent Out For Booting Linux On Apple M3 But Without Much Functionality
Asahi Linux developers have been working for a while now on porting Asahi Linux to the Apple M3 hardware that launched back in 2023. Sent out today to the Linux kernel mailing list were finally Device Tree files for booting Linux on Apple M3 hardware but it’s far from functional for end-users…
The Avona Velum SUB6 is a 5.92kg road bike with a focus on ‘real-world’ speed
Avona has launched the Velum SUB6, a new flagship-spec road bike that slips under the 6kg weight barrier.
Built around a Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 groupset and a carefully selected components package, the Velum SUB6 tipped our scales at 5.92kg in a size medium without pedals.
- Read more: Avona unveils “the lightest full-suspension frame on the market” alongside new road and gravel bikes
Real-world performance
Rather than chasing headline aero gains, Avona says it developed the Velum focusing on reducing rolling resistance, drivetrain losses and overall system weight.
It says these factors are more impactful on speed and riding efficiency, assuming the same rider aerodynamics are at play on the entire system.
Jonas Müller, Avona’s co-founder, says the brand analysed hundreds of real-world ride files to understand where riders spend time and produce power, concluding that climbing and variable terrain play a bigger role in overall performance than often assumed.
Speaking to BikeRadar about the development of the Velum SUB6, Müller says: “We measure performance using normalised power, time above critical power, and anaerobic work done.
“We then introduce hypothetical scenarios – where we save weight from the assumed system, and then an aero drag reduction, a rolling resistance reduction, and drivetrain efficiency.”
Müller claims that improvements in the bike’s aerodynamic drag aren’t as impactful on performance as those other factors.
That said, aerodynamically, Müller says the Velum matches “benchmark race bikes” in wind-tunnel testing, despite accommodating wider tyres, reflecting a design brief that avoids sacrificing ride quality or rolling efficiency for marginal drag reductions.
The Velum SUB6 in detail
The Velum’s frame weight is a claimed 798g (painted, in a size 54cm), but key to achieving the SUB6’s 5.92kg weight are the new Faserwerk Bergreif SL wheels, which come in at a claimed 987g for the pair.
These feature straight-pull Vonoa carbon spokes laced to lightweight NonPlus Primaro hubs, with a 35mm rim depth.
These ultra-light wheels are central to the build’s philosophy, with Avona arguing weight savings can deliver greater benefits than deeper aero profiles in many real-world scenarios – particularly on climbs where riders spend more time at higher-power outputs.
Tyres also play a major role, with the SUB6 specced with Tufo Comtura Prima TT tyres, which Müller says were chosen specifically for their low weight and rolling resistance, offering efficiency gains across all terrain and rider speeds.
The Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain is supplemented by a QO Race SL carbon crankset, while the Repente Quasar CR2.0 saddle is intended to deliver long-ride comfort. Müller says this choice is reflective of the Velum’s broader emphasis on holistic performance, rather than saving a few grams at the expense of comfort.
Beyond outright weight, the Velum platform also incorporates details aimed at improving real-world usability and speed.
This includes an aerodynamically optimised one-piece integrated cockpit, clearance for up to 35mm-wide tyres (measured), and offering tubeless setups as standard, which Müller says is most efficient in terms of rolling resistance.
The Velum SUB6 is also supplied with a waxed chain to reduce friction losses.
Müller says Avona’s testing shows waxing to be the most efficient chain treatment, and reasons that “it’s much easier to switch to oil-based lubes than to take an oiled chain and switch it to wax”.
The Avona Velum SUB6 costs €9,999 direct from Avona, with prices in the UK and US subject to customs duties and local taxes.
These Highly Rated Powerbeats Pro 2 Earbuds Are on Sale for 60% Off Right Now
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The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 launched in February 2025 at $249.99, putting them in direct competition with the AirPods Pro 2. They’re currently down to $99.99 on Woot—a $150 drop, or about 60% off—and the lowest price recorded so far, according to price trackers. The deal is expected to last three days or until the stock runs out. Shipping is free for Prime members (or $6 otherwise), but Woot does not deliver to Alaska, Hawaii, or P.O. box addresses.
These are built for workouts first, and you can feel that in the design. The nickel-titanium alloy ear hooks curve around your ears and stay put, whether you’re running, lifting, or just moving around a lot, without that rigid, over-tight feeling some sports earbuds have. Plus, you get four ear tip sizes, which help create a proper seal for active noise cancellation and better sound. There’s also a transparency mode, which is useful if you run outdoors and need to hear traffic. As for the controls, the Powerbeats 2 Pro have physical buttons on each earbud, which makes them easier to use mid-workout when your hands are sweaty. They’re rated IPX4, so sweat or a bit of rain isn’t going to be an issue.
Getting them up and running is straightforward, and if you want a step-by-step walkthrough, Lifehacker has a detailed guide that covers how to set up and fine-tune every feature on the Powerbeats Pro 2. Sound-wise, they lean toward a punchier, bass-forward profile, which works well if your playlists are heavy on hip-hop or electronic music, but might feel a little too thumpy if you prefer something flatter. And since there’s no equalizer, you’re stuck with the default tuning.
The heart rate tracking sounds like a nice bonus, but it doesn’t always stay consistent, especially if your phone is juggling music and workout apps at the same time, according to our senior health editor, Beth Skwarecki. On the plus side, you get around eight to 10 hours on a single charge, and the case stretches that to roughly 45 hours, so you’re not constantly thinking about battery life.
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GParted Live 1.8.1 Released With Linux Kernel 6.19
GParted Live 1.8.1, a bootable Linux system for disk partitioning, is out with Linux kernel 6.19, Debian Sid updates, and the stable GParted 1.8.1 release.
ByteDance is selling its Moonton game unit to Savvy Games for a cool $6 billion
Following discussions first reported on earlier this year, ByteDance has agreed to sell its games unit Moonton to Savvy Games Group for $6 billion. Moonton is known for mobile titles popular in Asia like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has been downloaded 1.5 billion times. The transaction is set to be finalized in the “near future,” according to an internal memo from Moonton’s CEO seen by Bloomberg.
ByteDance has been winding down its gaming arm and shopping Moonton since 2023, just two years after it first acquired the developer. Around that same period, the TikTok parent was shuttering its Nuverse gaming arm, which published notable titles like Marvel Snap and Ragnarok X: Next Generation. The company has since shifted its focus to AI, competing with Chinese rivals to develop chatbots and foundational models.
Savvy Games, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has been going in the opposite direction. Last year the company (via its subsidiary Scopely) acquired Pokémon Go developer Niantic for $3.5 billion. PIF was also among the key investors that purchased Electronic Arts in a blockbuster $55 billion deal last year. The Saudi fund holds a 7.5 percent stake in Nintendo as well.
The sale is the latest chapter in the recent gaming industry consolidation that saw around 45,000 jobs lost in a brutal three-year period between 2022 and 2025. According to a recent GDC study, one-third of US video game industry workers were laid off over the last two years.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/bytedance-is-selling-its-moonton-game-unit-to-savvy-games-for-a-cool-6-billion-124131595.html?src=rss
Everyone Agrees Crimson Desert’s Controls Suck As It Struggles To Earn Positive Steam Reviews
‘Just takes a minute’ says Pearl Abyss, in defiance of a thundering consensus
Maid of Sker VR Review: A Tense But Middle-Of-The-Road Conversion
Maid of Sker VR just launched on major VR platforms after originally being slated for a November launch. How does this conversion fare?
Virtual reality remains the most transformative medium for immersive horror. Whether it is frantically shooting at zombies in Resident Evil 4 VR or reacting to the unexpected jumpscares in MADiSON VR, compared to the flatscreen versions of these experiences, it feels more vivid. The sense of presence, either crouching, holding items, or listening to footsteps of incoming danger, is undeniable. Maid of Sker VR is the latest video game to get the VR treatment to varying degrees of success. While it retains the eerie atmosphere of the original, it lacks the implementation of made-for-VR features that end up delivering a middle-of-the-road tale.
The Facts
What is it?: A Welsh folklore survival horror VR conversion.
Platforms: Steam, Quest, PlayStation VR 2 (Reviewed on PS VR2)
Release Date: Out now
Developer/Publisher: Wales Interactive
Price: $24.99
Playing as Thomas Evans, this Welsh folklore-inspired narrative takes you to Hotel Sker, an abandoned hotel. Your estranged beloved, Elisabeth Williams, is presumably imprisoned in it according to a letter she sent. Walking through an idyllic forest turning darker as you arrive at the manor, it can be said that Maid of Sker VR is indeed a horror game. But it is decidedly less scary than its counterparts, such as Trenches VR or Exorcism of the Legion. Regardless, what stands out in this VR conversion is how well translated the setting is, immersing the mind in this 1898-set spine-chiller.
Developer Wales Interactive honed in on the gritty, down-to-earth art style juxtaposed with the more sinister themes as the story progresses. Looking at the haunted hotel, with rotten flowers scattered across the marble floor, gives an impression of melancholy as soon as you enter it. Blood stains, creaking floorboards, and misplaced furniture complete the scene to instill fear in the player. Something went very wrong here. And that is all before the possessed corpses start rummaging around the foyer.
The structure of Maid of Sker VR will be familiar to survival horror fans. Particularly of the Resident Evil type. Fundamentally a game of cat and mouse, the goal is to find four cylinders hidden across Sker Hotel to reach one of the two possible endings. What the game’s progression does well to not simply let you roam free to find the items on your own is to guide you through several story beats before doing so. Exploring the hotel’s courtyard, gardens, cemetery, and catacombs informs the player of the sinister underdealings as they sneak through.
Puzzles abound to introduce friction to the gameplay. Not too complex, some require finding a key or stealthily powering two doors’ locks to access a new area. This is where the main issues of Maid of Sker VR arise. To use a key, for instance, you must go to the main menu, click with a pointer across tabs, make the gesture to grab it, and leave the main menu again so it spawns in the world. If this sounds clumsy, in motion it is even more so. Plenty of VR games utilize a backpack to quickly access any item by “grabbing” it from their right or left shoulder, and that seems more intuitive than whatever this is.
Not only that, but the two easy-to-use tools to make things easier, a health tonic and a “phonic modulator” to briefly stun enemies, are at all times awkwardly floating around you. At the time of writing, there is no way to adjust the position of these items. On the other hand, because stealth is such an important part of the game, having to stay silent or to stop coughing from smoke or spores by holding both hands close to your mouth is thrilling.
Another noticeable issue is the way dialogue choices are done. Although not a dealbreaker considering they are so sporadic, certain sequences when speaking with Elisabeth on the phone will have you choosing between several dialogue options. Instead of picking these on the same screen where you are looking at your surroundings, the game shows a black screen to click your decision from. Paired with the brief cutscenes that are shown in-game seen through a rectangular screen, the uneven VR implementation is palpable.
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Making the gesture to hold down your breath is a tense, clever addition.
All of this could be forgiven if the game itself did not look so blurry, at least on PlayStation VR2. There is no dynamic foveated rendering to speak of that would help make the image sharper, and it shows. Random blinding lights in some areas can quite literally blind your character for a moment, rendering your goggles with a damaging white screen. This may seem like the complaints amount to much, but the truth is that some of these details could be ironed out for a memorable experience. As it stands, though, it leaves something to be desired.
Comfort
There is a concerted effort to make Maid of Sker VR accessible to most players. Beyond the expected Snap or Smooth Turn mode with precise angles and speeds, respectively, there are various locomotion options. To move continuously guided by your head or hand, or teleport by shifting or blinking, is possible.
A seated or standing option is available. The Adaptive Triggers and Headset Haptics, both of which are prominent and enhance the terror, can be turned off as well. Lastly, for less horror-inclined players, a safe difficulty mode with no enemies to speak of allows them to soak in the game’s dreary environment stress-free.
Maid of Sker VR’s tense moments, like hiding from violent brutes while holding both your hands to stop breathing, are actions you cannot emulate elsewhere. It elevates what made the original mystery lasting. Sadly, it does not fully utilize all the richness that the medium has to offer. Clumsy menus and blurry graphics put a significant stain on an otherwise compelling thriller.
UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.
This Apple MagSafe Charger Is $50 Off Right Now
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Apple’s MagSafe Duo Charger has always been a bit of a specific-use accessory, but this drop to $79 makes it easier to justify if you live inside Apple’s ecosystem. That price is the lowest tracked so far (according to online price trackers), down from its usual $129 on Amazon and below its previous low of $89. The deal is live on Woot for the next three days or until it sells out. Shipping is free for Prime members; otherwise, it’s a $6 fee, and Woot won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or P.O. boxes.
The charger is split into two pads joined by a hinge. One side snaps your iPhone into place with MagSafe, saving you from fiddling to find the right position, especially on a bedside table where you might reach for your phone half-asleep and want it to line up again without fuss. The other side handles your Apple Watch and can double as a flat pad for AirPods or any Qi-compatible device. It’s the kind of setup that works best at the end of a long day. You drop your phone and watch on it, and you’re done. The whole thing folds into a small square, so it’s easy to carry if you travel or just don’t want cables everywhere, notes this PCMag review.
That said, this is not a full charging kit—Apple includes a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box, but you’ll need to buy a 20W USB-C power adapter separately to get the intended charging speeds. Charging is also slower than plugging your phone in, so this is more of an overnight solution than something you rely on during the day. You also have space for only two devices, which feels limiting if you’re trying to charge multiple items at once. And unlike newer charging stands, this doesn’t prop your phone up for notifications or standby mode.
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