Sonos’ Ace headphones didn’t get off to the best start, but the brand’s first headphones have come a long way since launch, and for $100 off when purchased directly from Sonos or Amazon, they’re well worth considering. The Ace are down to $299 from both retailers, and for that price you’re getting one of the most feature-packed pairs of noise-canceling headphones on the market right now.
When the Ace arrived in the summer of 2024, we praised them for their sound quality, premium design and comfy fit, but had no choice but to ding the headphones for not launching with some of their flashiest features. But that’s no longer an issue if you pick up a pair today, as Sonos’ TrueCinema spatial audio tech now works as advertised.
As a reminder, TrueCinema takes into account the dynamics of your living space when you’re using TV Audio Swap to create a virtual 3D audio system in your headphones. The idea is that you feel like you aren’t wearing them at all, which is a big claim to make, but there’s no denying that True Cinema enhances the experience of watching movies and TV shows while wearing the Ace.
Sonos has also improved the Ace’s adaptive noise cancellation in updates made available since launch, while phone calls are now clearer than they were when we first reviewed the headphones. They’re still expensive at full price, but if you use other Sonos products in your home and think you’ll appreciate the Ace’s ability to swap audio output with a compatible Sonos soundbar (ideal for late-night movies when the kids are in bed), then it’s a very easy recommendation at $299.
Nevada state regulators have accused Elon Musk’s Boring Co. of violating environmental regulations nearly 800 times in the last two years as it digs a sprawling tunnel network beneath Las Vegas for its Tesla-powered “people mover.” The company’s alleged violations include starting to dig without approval, releasing untreated water onto city streets and spilling muck from its trucks, according to a new document obtained by City Cast Las Vegas and ProPublica.
The September 22 cease-and-desist letter from the state Bureau of Water Pollution Control alleged repeated violations of a settlement agreement that the company had entered into after being fined five years ago for discharging groundwater into storm drains without a permit. That agreement, signed by a Boring executive in 2022, was intended to compel the company to comply with state water pollution laws.
Instead, state inspectors documented nearly 100 alleged new violations of the agreement. The letter also accuses the company of failing to hire an independent environmental manager to regularly inspect its construction sites. State regulators counted 689 missed inspections.
With the aid of a multinational network of radio telescopes, scientists have been able to detect the lowest-mass dark object ever found in the universe. The mysterious object, roughly one million times the mass of our Sun (approximately 10 billion light-years from Earth) was discovered using gravitational imaging to spot a subtle warp of spacetime.
Listen here, Mac. If you want to be wealthy, you can work hard, grind your whole life, and make wise investments that you hope will pay off in time for retirement, or get lucky and pick a set of winning lottery numbers. Barring those avenues, legal options that won’t land you in prison start to dwindle, though there is another avenue to raking
The Chevrolet Bolt was one of the earliest electric vehicles to offer well over 200 miles (321 km) of range at a competitive price. For Ars, it was love at first drive, and that remained true from model year 2017 through MY2023. On the right tires, it could show a VW Golf GTI a thing or two, and while it might have been slow-charging, it could still be a decent road-tripper.
All of this helped the Bolt become General Motors’ best-selling EV, at least until its used-to-be-called Ultium platform got up and running. And that’s despite a costly recall that required replacing batteries in tens of thousands of Bolts because of some badly folded cells. But GM had other plans for the Bolt’s factory, and in 2023, it announced its impending death.
The reaction from EV enthusiasts, and Bolt owners in particular, was so overwhelmingly negative that just a few months later, GM CEO Mary Barra backtracked, promising to bring the Bolt back, this time with a don’t-call-it-Ultium-anymore battery.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Last week, Amazon launched a major update of its line of Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers and displays. The redesign — led by former Microsoft design chief Ralf Groene, whom Amazon Devices & Services head Panos Panay coaxed out of retirement — included two new Echo Show smart displays. According to Panay, these new models are the first step on a road to building “products that customers love.”
But there’s one big barrier to customers loving their Echo Shows: ads. In recent months, full-screen display ads with the tag “sponsored” have been appearing on current Echo Shows, and users are not happy. They just started popping up on my device this week, and they are very intrusive, appearing between photos when the Show is set to Photo Frame mode or between content if it’s set to show different categories (such as music, recipes, news). As I type, the last-gen Echo Show 8 on my desk showed an ad for an herbal supplement between a snapshot of my daughter dancing at her aunt’s wedding and a baby picture of my son. The ad reappeared two photos later, and then again. And again.
Sigma Sports has a flash sale running this weekend, starting today. Sigma’s Big Deal Days are focused on road and gravel products, and it’s a great opportunity to update your wardrobe or stock up for winter riding.
There are discounted prices on almost 500 products, including electric pumps, smart trainers and wheels. There are also some bikes on sale, if you’re looking for something new.
To save you hunting through Sigma’s site, we’ve picked out some top products that are on our shopping list. You’ll need to sign up for Sigma+ to get access to the best prices.
This multi-tool from boutique brand Silca combines beautiful design with every tool you’ll need.
There are 20 hardened steel tools, including a chain tool with a magnetic slide-lock design for increased length and ease of use. There’s also a hidden storage area for a spare chain link.
The tool is coated with high-grip chrome plating and weighs 172g.
The Mondo is Specialized’s endurance road tyre – and one that’s designed to be quick, too. So much so, it was used in the Spring Classics by Specialized’s sponsored WorldTour teams.
The Mondo uses the brand’s Gripton T2/T5 dual-compound construction to balance speed, grip and durability.
It’s available in three sizes: 700x28x, 700x32c and 700x35c.
It’s indoor training session and the Wahoo KICKR CORE has everything you need to get started. It’s a direct-drive smart trainer, meaning the resistance will automatically change when the gradient rises or you start an interval on an indoor training app.
The KICKR CORE can simulate gradients of up to 16 per cent, while also being capable of measuring power to an accuracy of two per cent.
It will also be supplied with a cassette, so you just need to hop on your bike to get going.
The CarBack from Trek combines a 90-lumen rear light with radar technology to detect rear-approaching vehicles from up to 240m. The light then delivers audio and visual alerts through your paired GPS unit.
There are four modes to choose from: Day Flash (90 lumens), Day Steady (25 lumens), Night Steady (5 lumens) and Night Flash (5 lumens).
Trek says the Day Flash mode is visible from distances of up to 2km, making this a light that features the latest in safety tech.
With turbo season upon us, now’s the time to get set up to keep yourself occupied indoors.
The Shokz OpenRunPro 2 bone conduction headphones are a lot more comfortable than in-ear and over-ear designs when training. They will run for up to 12 hours and five minutes of charging will give you 2.5 hours of use.
If your gravel bike needs a saddle upgrade, this Selle San Marco option includes variable-density extra-dense padding and a wide cut-out. The brand says this adapts to your saddle movement and ensures long-distance comfort.
The claimed weight is 213g, and there are three colours on offer to match your gravel bike. Sigma Sports has a range of other saddles on offer from Prologo, Selle Italia, Fizik and more.
The SunGod Ultras feature a frameless lens for good peripheral vision, also offering a low 26g weight. Three nosepieces allow you to tailor the fit so they shouldn’t slip around when riding.
The photochromic lens is a great option for off-season riding, offering between 34 per cent and 79 per cent light transmission, to see you through sun and shade on sunnier winter days, as well as gloomy ones.
There are other SunGod sunnies and lens options on offer, as well as discounted sunglasses from Oakley, 100% and more.
Scope claims its Artec wheels offer best-in-class aerodynamics thanks to its fishscale-like surface finish, in a wheelset that weighs only 1,384g in this 85mm depth. The 23mm hookless internal rim width will support wider tyres for lower rolling resistance, and the carbon spokes contribute to the low weight.
If you’re after a choice of flashy wheel upgrades, Sigma Sports has a similar discount on Princeton CarbonWorks Grit and Peak wheels.
Transporting your bike on a car usually involves clamping hardware to your vehicle.
The Seasucker bike racks do away with that, using large suction cups to attach to your car roof, so there’s much less hardware to stash away when not in use.
It works via the same suction cups as used by glazers to move large panes of glass and high-rise window cleaners to keep them aloft.
Lazer updated its classic Z1 helmet in 2024, adding its KinetiCore crumple zones for additional rotational impact protection. The update also removed weight, with our size-M helmet coming in at 236g.
Along with the large vents, the KinetiCore treatment in the shell makes the Z1 KinetiCore a very well-vented helmet, too. Sigma Sports has a range of sizes and colours in stock.
The arrival of the updated Aethos 2 means the original Aethos is at a discount. If you can bear to have your brake cables exposed – the horror – this SRAM Rival AXS spec gets you a similarly lightweight frame to the Aethos 2, but for £2,000 less cash than the updated bike.
Sigma Sports has sizes from 54cm up available in a couple of colours, both equipped with a Rival power meter and Roval C38 carbon wheels paired with 28mm S-Works Turbo tyres.
Available in 40mm and 45mm widths, Challenge’s gravel tyres’ aggressive, spaced-out lugs are designed for grip in muddy conditions or over rocks, so they’re ideal for the coming winter.
The tyre is built on a 260 tpi casing for a supple ride feel and is compatible with hookless rims. There’s bead-to-bead puncture protection and Challenge’s high-durometer rubber compound for good wear resistance and low rolling resistance.
We’ve been blown away by electric pumps here at BikeRadar, to the extent that Warren has thrown away his mini-pump collection. Fumpa was the original portable electric pump maker and this pump will get a 25c tyre up to 100psi in around 25 seconds.
There’s a built-in pressure gauge and the capacity to inflate five or six tyres on a charge, with USB-C fast charging replenishing the battery in just one hour. The more portable miniFumpa is also discounted in the sale.
At 310 lumens, Lezyne’s alloy front light puts out more illumination than its name suggests. It can run for up to 4.5 hours in peak mode, or 27 hours in economy mode, so runtimes are better than some lights with greater headline output.
What’s more, the light is StVZO-compliant, so its lens is designed not to dazzle and annoy oncoming traffic, but direct the beam downwards for good illumination of the road ahead.
With this week’s release of Python 3.14 bringing performance improvements, debugging improvements, a new Zstd compression module, and other enhancements I have been eager to run some benchmarks seeing how Python 3.14 compares to prior Python releases.
Today is Battlefield 6 launch day and while the minimum and even recommended system requirements to play on PC are not all that stringent, you can also play the title on NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW cloud gaming service. It’s one of half a dozen new game additions to the platform. It also arrives with support for NVIDIA’s upgraded GeForce RTX 5080
Derek Gee has said he terminated his contract with Israel–Premier Tech following “serious concerns related to racing for the team” and a “personal-belief standpoint”.
Gee revealed in August that he had terminated his contract with Israel–Premier Tech, while the team said the Canadian’s contract was valid until 2028. Gee was pulled from the team’s Vuelta a España squad at short notice.
Providing an update on his situation yesterday, the 28-year-old said in a statement published on social media that he is facing what he understands to be damages of approximately €30m.
When Gee first announced the termination of his contract with Israel–Premier Tech, he said “certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable”.
Gee explained yesterday: “I terminated my contract with just cause, as is every person’s right when they are unable to continue performing their work under existing circumstances.
“The decision was not taken lightly – it followed an irreparable relationship with the team principal, as well as serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal-belief standpoint that weighed heavily on my conscience.
“But what moves me most is how, when human issues are involved, money becomes the headline; money was not the issue that led to my termination. Leaving has meant the risk of having no team or protection if I get injured without [a] contract. It is a risk I was – and still willing – to take, as I was simply unable to continue racing for the team.
“I understand the team sees it differently, and that this will be for the competent authorities to decide; however, I am now facing what I understand to be a damages claim said to exceed approximately 30 million euros – for doing nothing more than exercising my fundamental rights as a professional and a person.
“These are not the kind of numbers, or the kind of situation, any athlete expects when they dream of becoming a professional cyclist, and I believe it flies in the face of the very values that sport seeks to uphold. These actions are also a reflection of the very issues that led to the breakdown of the relationship to begin with.
“It strengthens my belief that leaving the team was the right decision, regardless of the recent announcement of branding changes and cosmetic structural shifts.”
Israel–Premier Tech were the subject of continued protests throughout La Vuelta from pro-Palestine demonstrators, who objected to their participation in the race and accused the team of “sportswashing”.
Since the race, Factor and Premier Tech, two sponsors of Israel–Premier Tech, threatened to withdraw their support if the team did not change its name.
On Monday, it was revealed that Israel–Premier Tech would change its name and national identity, while co-founder Sylvan Adams will also step back from his day-to-day involvement and will no longer speak on behalf of the team.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially designated Google with strategic market status (SMS) under the new digital markets competition regime. Specifically, it found that Google holds “substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance” when it comes to general search and search advertising services. The digital markets competition regime came into force on January 1, 2025 and will enable the agency to “promote competition in fast-moving digital markets, while protecting UK consumers and businesses from unfair or harmful practices by the very largest technology firms.”
So what does getting the “strategic market status” designation mean, exactly? As the CMA clarifies, it doesn’t automatically mean Google did something wrong, but it does allow the agency to launch interventions that ensure general search services in the UK are “open to effective competition” and that businesses relying on Google are being treated fairly. The company is expecting to face new rules and regulations on how Search works in the near future. UK’s CMA launched an investigation on Google’s standing in the search industry on January 14 to confirm its status.
“We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector – with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform,” said Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets at the CMA. To be clear, the designation applies to the company’s AI Overviews and AI Mode features, as well, but not to its Gemini AI assistant, at least for now.
The CMA said it’s expecting to start consulting on possible interventions later this year. In an announcement of its own, Google said that “many of the ideas for interventions that have been raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation.” The company believes that some of those ideas would “pose direct harm to businesses” and could lead to higher prices for consumers.
“The UK enjoys access to the latest products and services before other countries because it has so far avoided costly restrictions on popular services, such as Search. Retaining this position means avoiding unduly onerous regulations and learning from the negative results seen in other jurisdictions, which have cost businesses an estimated €114 billion,” Google wrote. By “other jurisdictions,” Google means the European Union, whose similar Digital Markets Act law designated the company as a gatekeeper in 2023.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-uks-antitrust-regulator-will-keep-a-closer-eye-on-google-search-130021994.html?src=rss
The all-new 3T RaceMax2 Italia takes 3T’s original gravel race bike template and adds fully revised geometry, more tyre clearance and lower drag.
The RaceMax2 Italia sports a steeper head angle, longer fork offset and increased bottom bracket drop than the previous incarnation.
This is combined with super-short 420mm chainstays. That’s the shortest I’ve seen on a bike with tyre clearances of 50mm or more.
The new geometry is intended to make the new RaceMax2 much more of an all-road all-rounder, with a road-steep 71.5-degree head angle, 74-degree seat angle, low stack and long reach.
3T says the aerodynamic improvements to the new RaceMax make it the brand’s fastest gravel bike yet.
The new head tube has an arrow-like front profile and a much deeper tail. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
Alongside the new geometry is a frameset with all-new aerodynamics. At the front end, a fresh head tube design combines a pointed front nose and elongated tail. It’s a design feature more common to the latest aero road bikes, such as our current race bike of the year, the Cervélo S5.
Even the fork dropouts have seen aero optimisation, with a caliper bolt cover smoothing the fork’s leading edge, and there’s no thru-axle hole in the fork on the driveside.
The front end is completed with a combination of 3T’s aerodynamic More stem and Aeroghiaia aero-gravel bar.
3T says it will also have updated cockpits built to suit the Racemax2 early next year.
The RaceMax2 down tube is wide enough to shield a 750ml bottle. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
The down tube is massively oversized at 75mm. This enables it to fully shield a bottle mounted there.
The down tube also features a wheel cutout on the underside, behind the fork, with a new, large storage port with two positions for the bottle cage on the Fidlock magnetic mini-hook locking cover.
Inside is a custom storage bag made for 3T by Miss Grape.
Miss Grape provides the bag for the down tube storage. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
At the rear end, the aero-profile seat tube features a wheel cutout, which helps keep the chainstays short.
The lowered seatstays meet the seat tube via an aerodynamically sculpted junction. It’s topped by an aerodynamic seatpost that incorporates a clip-in rear light.
The RaceMax2 Italia has generous tyre clearances. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
Despite the short stays and aerodynamic optimisation, the RaceMax2 is compatible with both 1x and 2x drivetrains, with a maximum chainring size of a whopping 52 teeth.
3T claims this has given the RaceMax2 a 1.5% aerodynamic improvement over the previous RaceMax Italia – previously the brand’s fastest gravel bike. That may be a small gain, but when you factor in it’s with a 50mm tyre, it’s quite the achievement.
Less weight, more speed
The frontal profile of the RaceMax2 shows the new aero design. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
Even with the aerodynamic overhaul and increased tyre clearances, 3T has managed to shave a few grams. The frame remains the same at a claimed 990g. This rises to 1,050g when you include the Miss Grape internal storage bag.
The fork loses 5g down to a claimed 380g for a size-medium frameset.
3T claims weights as low as 7.9kg for a complete bike (SRAM Red XPLR, Zipp 303 XPLR).
3T RaceMax2 Italia GRX Di2 spec details
2x GRX is a surprise from a brand that pioneered 1x drivetrains on drop-bar bikes. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
My sample test bike tips the scales at 9.21kg (56cm/L including storage bags, integrated rear light and 2x bottle cages).
The bike comes equipped with Schwalbe’s 45mm G-One RS Pro tanwall tubeless tyres wrapped around 3T’s own Discus 45/40 LTD wheelset. That’s surprising for a brand that pioneered 1x drivetrains on the road and for gravel.
This model comes with Shimano’s 2x GRX Di2. The pairing of a 48/31 chainring and a 12-speed Ultegra 11-34 cassette should give a usable range for trail and road.
The bike is finished with 3T’s dedicated aero-shaped carbon seatpost with integrated rear light. That’s topped by Fizik’s 3D-printed version of the classic Antares saddle.
Up front, it’s the combination of 3T’s More stem and Aeroghiaia gravel bar.
3T’s More stem and Aeroghiaia gravel bar combine to make for an aerodynamic cockpit. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
At first glance, the RaceMax2 combines its compact wheelbase with steep angles, making it look far more like a fast all-road take on gravel.
It’s more similar to the similarly priced Cervélo Áspero 5 than a trail and technical-capable bike such as Parlee’s Taos.
I’ll have a full test of the RaceMax2 Italia as soon as I’ve had a chance to get plenty of miles in on it.
SIZE
S
M
L
XL
Rider height* (CM)
157-171
168-180
176-186
183-195
Rider height* (IN)
5’2″-5’8″
5’6″-5’11”
5’9″-6’1″
6’0″-6’5″
Stack
547
569
589
609
Reach
367
377
385
393
Head tube angle (degrees)
70,5
71,5
71,5
71,5
Fork axle-crown (mm)
383
383
383
383
Head tube length (mm)
138
152
173
197
BB drop (mm)
79
79
79
76
Seat tube angle (degrees)
74
74
74
74
Seat tube length (mm)
463
491
510
537
Top tube length (mm)
522
538
552
566
Front Center (mm)
609
607
622
636
Rear Center (mm)
420
420
420
420
Wheelbase (mm)
1017
1015
1029
1045
FiZik provides a 3D-printed Antares saddle for our 3T RaceMax² Italia test bike. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
3T RaceMax2 Italia range and pricing
3T claims the latest Racemax² is its fastest gravel race bike yet. Warren Rossiter / OurMedia
Framesets
Racemax² Italia with 3T More stem and 3T Aeroghiaia Integrale LTD handlebar: £4,425 / $6,499 / €4,917
Complete bikes
Racemax² Italia with Shimano GRX 2×12 and 3T Discus 45|40 LTD wheels: £7,303 / $10,999 / €8,114
Racemax² Italia with SRAM Force XPLR AXS 1×13 and 3T Discus 45|40 LTD wheels: £7,304 / $11,699 / €8,115
Racemax² Italia with SRAM Force XPLR AXS 1×13, Torno Wide crank and 3T Discus 45|40 LTD wheels: £7,745 / $11,699 / €8,605
Racemax² Italia with SRAM Red XPLR AXS 1×13 and ZIPP 303 XPLR SW wheels: £9,368 / $13,899 / €10,409
Racemax² Italia with SRAM Red XPLR AXS 1×13 with Torno Wide Crank and ZIPP 303 XPLR SW wheels: £9,368 / $14,399 / €10,409
Racemax² Italia with Campagnolo Super Record 2×13 Gravel and 3T Discus 45|40 wheels: £9,662 / $14,599 / €10,736
Welcome to Edition 8.14 of the Rocket Report! We’re now more than a week into a federal government shutdown, but there’s been little effect on the space industry. Military space operations are continuing unabated, and NASA continues preparations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for the launch of the Artemis II mission around the Moon early next year. The International Space Station is still flying with a crew of seven in low-Earth orbit, and NASA’s fleet of spacecraft exploring the cosmos remain active. What’s more, so much of what the nation does in space is now done by commercial companies largely (but not completely) immune from the pitfalls of politics. But the effect of the shutdown on troops and federal employees shouldn’t be overlooked. They will soon miss their first paychecks unless political leaders reach an agreement to end the stalemate.
As always, we welcome reader submissions. If you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Danger from dead rockets. A new listing of the 50 most concerning pieces of space debris in low-Earth orbit is dominated by relics more than a quarter-century old, primarily dead rockets left to hurtle through space at the end of their missions, Ars reports. “The things left before 2000 are still the majority of the problem,” said Darren McKnight, lead author of a paper presented October 3 at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. “Seventy-six percent of the objects in the top 50 were deposited last century, and 88 percent of the objects are rocket bodies. That’s important to note, especially with some disturbing trends right now.”
After years of trying, a dedicated team has managed to download and archive a fully playable version of the long-lost canceled mobile game, Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home. The story of its search and recovery has been detailed in a new video by YouTuber The Golden Bolt, who helped kick off the search himself back in 2019.
Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home has usually been attributed to Handheld Games, which developed a string of mobile titles in 2005 including Spider-Man 2: The Hero Returns and Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile, the predecessor to Clone Home. Originally set to debut in 2006 for Java phones, it was quietly canceled just prior to release.
It wasn’t forgotten, though. Rumors persisted that it was a fully playable game, helping elevate it to mythical status among fans. Then, The Golden Bolt heard from one of the original developers that the game was indeed finished and may have found its way to a handful of mobile devices. His 2019 video on the subject helped kick off a new search.
The most dedicated fans researching the game were college students “Emily” and “Super Gamer Omega Clank.” The latter posted on Reddit four years ago that they found someone with the game on a Sony Ericsson W880i. It was encrypted, though, and as little as a few weeks ago, they said that their quest to extract it from that device was proving to be “hopeless.”
Then, a breakthrough. The team managed to safely crack the phone’s encryption, extract Clone Home and archive it for anyone to download. Miraculously, it’s complete and fully playable, if a bit unpolished. Golden Bolt now believes that the game was actually developed not by Handheld Games but a company called JavaGround, which made Sony’s last few Java (J2ME) games. It may have been uploaded by accident to mobile networks like Cingular or Sprint for a brief period, then downloaded by a handful of people before being pulled.
People who have played the game so far say it’s surprisingly good and even better than Going Mobile. It’s a wonderfully eccentric entry to the R&C canon (which now counts 17 titles), thanks to the nonsensical plot, solid mechanics, ability to play as two different Lombaxes and a gun called the “Ewezie” that turns your enemies into sheep.
So why was Clone Home canceled? It may have been due to potential litigation between Sony and Handheld Games, The Golden Bolt speculated. In any case, it’s a gem for game preservationists and an amazing reward for the years of work put in by R&C fans.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-long-lost-ratchet-and-clank-mobile-game-has-been-found-123008739.html?src=rss
China’s antitrust regulator has opened an investigation into Qualcomm’s acquisition of Israeli connected-vehicle chip company Autotalks. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) alleges that Qualcomm is suspected of violating China’s anti-monopoly laws by not disclosing certain details of the deal.
Qualcomm had initially agreed to acquire the fabless chip company in 2023 to expand its Snapdragon portfolio into more automotive applications. Autotalks creates chips, sensors and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication tech centered in part on safety for vehicles. It has been a few months since the acquisition was finalized, with the new probe coming amid trade negotiations between the United States and China.
The deal was previously investigated by both the US Federal Trade Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, with Qualcomm temporarily abandoning the acquisition in early 2024. The exact process of how the deal was reopened is not clear, as the acquisition was only announced once it had been finalized and received regulatory approval
Last month, SAMR said that NVIDIA’s $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox also ran afoul of national regulations. The regulators also said the deal violated conditional terms outlined by regulators on initial approval. The Financial Times reported that China’s regulators held on to that decision for months, purportedly to gain leverage in trade discussions with the US.
The bulk of these investigations have come while the US and China are engaged in negotiations around a TikTok deal, tariffs, trade and more. Today China drastically expanded its export controls for rare earth minerals, targeting defense and semiconductor companies outside the country.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/chinese-regulators-are-investigating-qualcomms-acquisition-of-autotalks-121540269.html?src=rss
Control: Ultimate Edition will be available on the iPhone, the iPad and the Apple Vision Pro in early 2026, its developer Remedy has announced. The developer says you can either “tap into the action with touch controls,” which presumably includes hand tracking and gestures on the mixed reality headset, or use controllers to play the game. Remedy first made it available for the Apple ecosystem when it released Ultimate Edition for Mac back in February this year.
Remedy originally released Control in 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows computers. In the action-adventure game, you take on the role of Jesse Faden, the new director of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) who’s also searching for her kidnapped brother Dylan. The game is set in the Oldest House, the headquarters of the clandestine US agency that studies and contains paranatural phenomena.
Ultimate Edition is the definitive version of the title and bundles the base game with the Foundation and AWE (Altered World Events) expansions. While both are continuations of the main game, AWE is a crossover between Control and Alan Wake, an older title by Remedy about a crime author whose wife disappears during a trip to a small mountain town. Remedy hasn’t announced a specific release date or price for the game yet, but it’s currently listed for $40 on the Apple Store for Mac computers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remedys-control-is-coming-to-iphone-ipad-and-vision-pro-early-next-year-120100226.html?src=rss
This weekend’s big events are the double XP Zwift Unlocked rides, but we’re also seeing some really popular races popping up from community organizers. See our picks below!
Zwift Unlocked Stage 1
Double XP Popular New Routes Jersey Unlock
The new Zwift Unlocked series kicked off this week, with double XP, double powerups, and fresh routes. Stage 1 ends this weekend, and riders have a choice between a long ride on Tropic Rush (41.9km, 326m) or a shorter ride (or race) on Dùn Dash (12.4km, 139m). Runners are on the new Highland Run (6.8km)
The single event with the most signups this weekend is this new series from Team Foudre – a weekly “medio fondo” featuring age-based groupings and a women-only category. These first four events, held on four consecutive weekends in October, serve as a sort of “pre-series,” where your best two results count towards the overall. An overall 2025/2026 begins in November (see event description for details).
This weekend’s race is on two laps of Chasing the Sun in Makuri Islands (70.2km, 628m)
Based on early signup numbers, this race series is also a popular one! It’s a 4-stage series, raced each weekend, with mass starts and no categories. Stage three is this weekend on London Uprising (20.9km, 356m).
Enter individual races for the fun of it, or compete in all four stages. There’s a GC on ZwiftPower which uses cumulative time to rank riders across the series!
Team Not Pogi has organized a race mirroring the pro peloton who will be racing Il Lombardia, the last monument of the season, on Saturday. This race has rides taking on 32.5km of the Bologna Time Trial route, which means you’ll you up and down the challenging San Luca climb twice!
Looking for a fun social ride? Join the experienced DBR time for 60 minutes on the Douce France route. The ride leader will keep a pace at 30-35kph, but you aren’t limited to that speed – the ride description says “… it’s ok to ride ahead and join other riders in front – just remember to be social.”
We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:
Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
Is it for a good cause?
Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?
In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!
A little after the launch of the rest of the Pixel 10 family, Google’s new foldable is here. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a beast — which may not be the first thing you want to hear about a foldable.
Engadget
It’s perceptibly thicker than its biggest rival, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. But avoiding the race for thinness gives Google’s new foldable some advantages. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has the best cameras of any foldable and enhanced hardiness with the top dust resistance rating. And remember: This thing is $1,800. There’s more: It has PixelSnap, Google’s version of MagSafe, and a bigger battery compared to its predecessor. Make sure to check out our full review right here.
Engadget
It’s a week of heavy-duty gadgets, and I don’t mean CAT-branded phones and off-road EVs. We’ve also tested out Razer’s updated 18-inch laptop. Predictably, perhaps, it has all the power you’d want as well as the PC maker’s excellent build quality. It’s got lots of ports too. Rejoice! Prices start at $2,799.
Nintendo spent the week confusing its fans with a teaser video on its Today app. The Pixar-tinged animation focused on a baby playing with toys and a magical pacifier (dummy) and not much explanation about what game (or toy) it was teasing. Fortunately, more recently the games maker released a second version of the animated short, but this time you can clearly see widdle Pikmin creatures moving a baby’s building blocks and pacifier around. Yeah, it’s a Pikmin thing. Now, is it a movie or a game? Regardless, it’s cute.
Sony just dropped a new video with Mark Cerny, who was the lead designer for the PlayStation 4 and PS5, and Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s Computing and Graphics Group. They chatted up a storm about a series of technologies, collectively dubbed Project Amethyst. It is very early days, however, as the technologies “only exist in simulations.” They teased upscaling, better ray tracing and other machine learning-based rendering techniques. One of the more intriguing new concepts is Universal Compression, which builds on the PS5’s existing Delta Color Compression technique. It will theoretically allow Sony’s next console to compress everything that goes through its graphics pipeline, reducing the amount of memory bandwidth needed and even potentially cutting power consumption.
The original has grossed nearly a billion dollars globally.
A Minecraft Movie was a box office hit. So you know what that means in Hollywood? Sequels! Variety reports that Warner Bros. has penciled in the sequel for a July 23, 2027, premiere date, just two years after the original. When you know something can print money, you make more of it.
Lime has just published its financial reports for 2024, revealing a surge in revenue as its ebike rentals continue to grow.
The Uber-backed company’s latest accounts reveal its revenue in the UK jumped by 75 per cent last year, to £111.3m. In 2023, its revenue was £63.5m, and in 2021 it was just under £9m.
The accounts also show the company’s pre-tax profit dropped from £2.1m in 2023 to £1.7m in 2024.
The financial records cover all of Lime’s activities in the UK, including ebike and e-scooter rentals across Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, Oxford and Milton Keynes. But it’s in London that the company has seen particularly large growth.
Londoners made 16 million journeys by Lime during commuting hours in 2024, while the company saw an 85 per cent increase in total journeys.
This summer, there was also a spike in the usage of Lime ebikes, which was partly caused by tube strikes. Lime saw a 50 per cent increase in rentals on Tuesday 9 September compared to the same day in 2024 due to the strikes, according to the Financial Times.
London saw 1.33 million daily cycling journeys in 2024, which is a 5 per cent increase over 2023, according to Transport for London. Cycling in the City of London has increased by more than 50 per cent in the last two years, according to the City of London Corporation, which said dockless rental bikes, such as Lime bikes, “have quadrupled since 2022 and now account for one-in-six bikes on City streets”.
Lime’s growth in the capital also means it has a larger presence than Transport for London’s Santander Cycles rental scheme. It is predicted that Lime has at least 20,000 bikes on London streets (the figure could be much higher), while Santander has 12,000.
But the presence of Lime’s electric bikes in the capital has led the company to face growing scrutiny. Trauma surgeons have reported an increase in injuries linked to the heavy ebikes, including fractures that have been called ‘Lime bike leg’.
Elsewhere, boroughs have begun to address the growth and use of Lime bikes. In August, Hounslow council ended its two-year trial allowing the bikes in the borough, after they were claimed to be parked in dangerous places.
Hackney council also capped Lime ebike fares at £1.75, making them the same price as a bus, in September.
Lime’s UK results come after the US group announced in February that its gross bookings were $810m (£602.7m) and its revenue rose by 32 per cent to $686m.
On January 1, 2008, at 1:59 AM in Calipatria, California, an earthquake happened. You haven’t heard of this earthquake; even if you had been living in Calipatria, you wouldn’t have felt anything. It was magnitude -0.53, about the same amount of shaking as a truck passing by. Still, this earthquake is notable, not because it was large but because it was small—and yet we know about it.
Over the past seven years, AI tools based on computer imaging have almost completely automated one of the fundamental tasks of seismology: detecting earthquakes. What used to be the task of human analysts—and later, simpler computer programs—can now be done automatically and quickly by machine learning tools.
These machine learning tools can detect smaller earthquakes than human analysts, especially in noisy environments like cities. Earthquakes give valuable information about the composition of the Earth and what hazards might occur in the future.
Zwift Unlocked Stage 1
Double XP 
