It’s hard not to find the premise of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary instantly compelling: Something is slowly killing the sun and threatening life on Earth. That same mysterious force, dubbed the Astrophage, also destroyed every nearby star — except one. Our only hope is to visit that solar system and figure out what helped it survive. And there’s just one middle school science teacher who can do it. 

At its core is Weir’s love of technical problem solving, along with a tremendous performance by Ryan Gosling in full nerd hero mode as the aforementioned science teacher (and former molecular biologist). It’s the sort of sweeping sci-fi epic that will make a whole generation of kids ready to science the shit out of humanity’s future problems. And maybe it’ll remind clueless adults that we gain much more by working together to solve global issues, instead of being purely self-interested.

The film starts with Gosling’s character, Ryland Grace, waking up from an induced coma with no memory. He’s shocked to find that he’s light years away from Earth, and that the other two members of his crew are already dead. As he gets his bearings, he recalls that he was sent on a last-ditch mission, Project Hail Mary, to save the sun and everyone on Earth. No pressure! These early moments make it clear that screenwriter Drew Goddard (who also adapted The Martian), as well as directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, can deftly juggle comedy alongside the inherent drama in the story.  

There’s something genuinely moving about the mission. With about 30 years before the planet is faced with a global cooling event likely ending in mass starvation, Earth’s major political powers put aside their differences and deliver their finest scientific minds to come up with a solution. You can really take your pick with real-world parallels, like the impending climate crisis, or the increasing threat of nuclear war. Simply seeing the world work together feels meaningful in these bleak times. And unlike other space disaster films like Armageddon and Interstellar, cooperation, rather than NASA alone, is the only way forward.

Jonathan Olley for Amazon

Sure, humanity’s hope for survival ultimately falls on the shoulders of one of the most attractive white men on (or in this case, off) the planet, but you know, movies. It’s also not a spoiler to say that Grace isn’t entirely alone on his journey. As already revealed by the film’s trailers and a ton of social media clips, he’s also joined by a crab-like being made of rock, which he simply calls Rocky. They eventually learn to communicate, and it’s revealed that Rocky is also on a mission to save their own home planet. 

While we get brief glimpses of life on Earth, and the planning of Project Hail Mary, for the vast majority of the film we’re just left with Grace figuring things together with a rock alien. And yet, the film never drags. It’s a testament to Gosling’s inherent charm, but he also demonstrates an incredible ability to shift from joy and goofiness, to sheer terror, to leading-man heroics on a dime. It’s also hard to take your eyes off of Rocky, who is rendered with a loving mixture of practical puppetry and CG. We’ve never seen a creature like them before – one that, despite having no eyes or mouth, manages to connect with viewers mostly through their very expressive arms.

Jonathan Olley for Amazon

Project Hail Mary is ultimately a work of pulp sci-fi as told by an author who loves deeply nerdy technical solutions, as well as a writer and directors who know precisely what makes a great blockbuster tick. But the notion that humanity can collectively come together to do the impossible always tugs at my heartstrings a bit. And yes, there’s the power of friendship, too. In this moment, when things seem particularly bleak, these ideas seem especially meaningful.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/project-hail-mary-could-teach-humanity-a-thing-or-two-154327806.html?src=rss

Valve’s Steam Machine desktop is currently in a state of involuntary limbo, driven by historically awful pricing and availability for memory and storage chips. AI data centers are absorbing much of what memory manufacturers can produce, leaving much less for enthusiast and hobbyist hardware like the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame VR headset. Even the years-old Steam Deck is currently out of stock thanks to component shortages.

But that hardware uncertainty hasn’t stopped Valve from working on the software, and the company released a major update this week. The SteamOS 3.8.0 preview release comes with a long list of changes for the Steam Deck as well as third-party gaming handhelds and other PC hardware, and it also adds “initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware.”

Many of the update’s improvements come from various upstream Linux components. Valve says the update includes a new Arch Linux base, an updated graphics driver, version 6.16 of the Linux kernel, and a new version of the KDE Plasma desktop environment for Desktop Mode (which now uses Wayland rather than X11).

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A landmark site in the peopling of the Americas is several thousand years younger than we thought. While that means very different things about the site itself, it doesn’t change the big picture as much as the researchers who generated the new date are claiming.

University of Wyoming archaeologist Todd Surovell and his colleagues recently took a second look at the age of a site called Monte Verde in southern Chile, and it turns out that people lived there 8,000 years ago—not 14,500, as the archaeologists who first described it claimed.

Monte Verde is about as far from the Bering Land Bridge as you can get without leaving the continents, so its age was the first piece of evidence that people were well-established in the Americas before the end of the last Ice Age. But it hasn’t been the last, so Surovell and his colleagues’ findings don’t actually change what we now know about the peopling of the Americas—and they definitely don’t put the “Clovis First” hypothesis back on the table.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Fan Xinquan, a retired electronics worker in Beijing, has recently started raising a “lobster,” hoping that the AI agent he has been training can help organize his specialized industry knowledge better than chatbots like DeepSeek. “OpenClaw can actually help you accomplish many practical things,” the 60-year-old said at a recent event hosted by AI startup Zhipu to teach people how to use and train the AI agent, which has gone viral in China, with its various local versions earning the “lobster” nickname.

In the past month, OpenClaw, which can connect several hardware and software tools and learn from the data produced with much less human intervention than a chatbot, has captured the imaginations of many in China, from retirees looking for side income to AI firms hoping to generate new revenue streams. […]

Huang Rongsheng, chief architect at Baidu’s smart device unit Xiaodu, said at an event on Tuesday that parent group chats for his daughter’s primary school class have become overwhelmed by OpenClaw discussions. “My daughter came to me and asked: Dad, I see you raising a lobster every day,” he said. “Can I have one too?” Bai Yiyun, another attendee at the Zhipu event, said she hopes to use the agent to start a side hustle during her retirement. “If DeepSeek marked a milestone for open-source large language models, then OpenClaw represents a similar turning point for open-source “agents,” said Wei Sun, chief AI analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Convertible laptops are a versatile and affordable alternative to buying a separate laptop and tablet. They offer touchscreen capability, multiple viewing modes, and greater portability than traditional laptops, which is a perk for commuters. They’re also useful if you want a second screen but don’t want to invest in a full second laptop or desktop. One of the most popular options is the entry-level 14-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip CX1 Convertible Laptop, which is down to a record low of $279.99 (originally $369.99), according to price trackers. 

Asus Chromebook Flip CX1 2-in-1

$279.99
at Amazon

$369.99
Save $90.00

$279.99
at Amazon

$369.99
Save $90.00

It’s one of the most affordable convertible laptops with a 360-degree hinge, a 13-inch touchscreen, and all the essentials for everyday tasks like streaming video, getting work done, multitasking, or serving as a secondary device. That said, it’s not designed for more intensive tasks like design work, competitive gaming, and video editing.

It has an Intel Celeron N4500 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of eMMC storage, and lasts up to 11 hours per charge. It can be used in laptop, tent, or tablet mode, adding to its versatility. While it doesn’t have the high-end specs and performance of dedicated computers, this  2-in-1 does come with fingerprint login, a backlit keyboard, dual speakers,  and a 1080p webcam. It also has fast-charging USB-C, USB-A, and micro-SD ports, offering more connectivity than many budget Chromebooks.

If you’re looking for a model that covers the basics and your priority is versatility and convenience at under $300, the Asus Chromebook Flip CX1 2-in-1 is a strong choice. However, if you need more storage, better brightness and visuals, and a more capable processor, it’s worth stepping up to a slightly more powerful model like the ASUS Chromebook CM14 Flip or the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, though those upgrades will come with a higher price tag.

Last year, Belkin released a couple of cases for the Nintendo Switch 2 just in time for launch, including one that came with a handy battery pack. That one was simple and effective, but it felt a bit crude because it wasn’t much more than a basic travel pouch with a generic power cell tossed inside. Now, Belkin is back with a Pro version of its Charging Case for the Nintendo Switch 2, featuring a more sophisticated battery pack along with a higher price tag ($100 vs. $70). So here’s the question for any Switch 2 owners still looking for a way to protect their console while keeping it topped off: Is a more elegant charging solution really worth the extra money?

Case design

At 11.7 x 6.1 x 2.5 inches and weighing 1 pound 12 ounces, the Pro Charging Case is a touch larger and heavier than its non-pro sibling. It also features a very similar design with the same color options and materials, including a tough polyester outer shell that’s balanced by a softer, velvet-like material and cutouts for your Switch 2 on the inside. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Once again, Belkin has done a good job of providing a snug cabin to store your console while still making it easy to take it in and out. That said, if your system also has an extra-thick protector or hardshell case like the Killswitch from Dbrand, it may not fit. There’s also a padded flap that swings down to protect your Switch 2’s screen that also pulls double duty as a place to stash up to 12 game cartridges, which is a very thoughtful touch. 

However, the biggest change to the Pro Charging Case’s exterior design is a new cutout on the front edge, which allows you to top off other gadgets (or a Switch) by plugging a USB-C cable into Belkin’s included battery pack. Unfortunately, the case doesn’t come with a cord, which seems a bit odd until you take a closer look at the power pack’s layout. That’s because once you open up the case, you’ll see a second port designed to fit right into the bottom power jack on the Switch 2 without the need for a cable.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Other small touches on Belkin’s Pro Charging Case include a mesh pocket for storing things like cables, Joy-Con straps or cleaning cloths, which is very handy. However, my favorite thing might be the AirTag pouch that’s also hidden inside that pocket, which could give you a fighting chance of recovering your system if it’s ever lost or stolen (though I wouldn’t count on it). 

Battery pack

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Despite the increased size of the Pro Charging Case’s included battery, it has the same 10,000mAh capacity as what you get from its less expensive sibling. That means you’ll typically have enough juice for a little more than 1.5 recharges for your Switch 2 and its onboard 5,220mAh cell. Instead of relying on a simple external power pack like before, Belkin’s bundled battery comes with a second USB-C port and a kickstand. This makes it super easy to plug in your Switch 2 every time you put it in the case. This way, you know the next time you turn it on, it’ll be at 100 percent. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Alternatively, you can raise the kickstand to prop up the Switch 2 and game on it while it stays nestled inside the case. This might seem a bit redundant as Nintendo’s console already has its own kickstand, but Belkin’s allows you to continue charging the system while you’re playing without needing a cord. There’s even a handy display on the side of the battery, so it’s super easy to see how much juice is left, even when the case is closed. Furthermore, when you need to recharge the power pack, you can do so without removing it from the case or disconnecting your Switch thanks to that bonus USB-C port on the outside. Compared to the previous model, this is certainly a more elegant solution that provides some subtle quality of life improvements. The one downside is that the battery pack is somewhat awkwardly shaped, so you won’t really want to use it on its own.

Wrap-up

There’s no doubt the Pro Charging Case’s new battery pack is a more premium solution that’s easier to use and manage. When you need to recharge it, you can do so from the outside without opening the pouch. It also lets you charge a Switch 2 without ever needing a cable. The built-in kickstand is another bonus that helps elevate the whole kit from a simple case to something closer to a tiny all-in-one gaming booth. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

That said, after using it for a couple of weeks, I’m still not sure the added convenience is worth an extra $30 over the original. Due to the battery packs’ new shape, it’s less useful as a standalone power cell, and the rest of the case’s design is largely unchanged. Of course, it’s always nice to have options, and if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind spending a little extra for a more streamlined and convenient kit, Belkin’s Pro Charging Case for the Switch 2 is still very much worth consideration.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/belkin-charging-case-pro-for-switch-2-review-a-more-elegant-solution-144820809.html?src=rss

A little more than a month ago, SpaceX founder Elon Musk put down a marker of his intent to saturate low-Earth orbit with up to 1 million satellites. Its purpose? Provide always-on data center services around the planet.

Now, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has done something similar with a filing to the Federal Communications Commission of his own, proposing a constellation of up to 51,600 satellites operating in Sun-synchronous orbits at altitudes ranging from 500 to 1,800 km. Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, sought the authority to do this and is calling the constellation “Project Sunrise.”

In its filing, Blue Origin argues that terrestrial AI-based data centers will face difficulties scaling up to meet computing demand.

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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.

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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.

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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