It’s not just the dark web marketplace operators who face the law — sometimes it’s the people who facilitate access to those marketplaces. Israeli national and Brazil resident Tal Prihar has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his alleged role in a dark web money laundering scheme. He and co-defendant Michael Phan reportedly received the equivalent of $8.4 million in Bitcoin kickbacks for agreeing to link illegal dark net marketplaces from their news site DeepDotWeb. To hide the cryptocurrency’s origins, Prihar laundered the money by transferring payments to other Bitcoin accounts and conventional bank accounts tied to shell companies.

Prihar pleaded guilty in March 2021, and had already agreed to forfeit $8.4 million. Phan is still in the midst of extradition from Israel to face a money laundering charge.

The relatively stiff sentence might be a message to others who’d serve as brokers for illegal dark web outlets. If you knowingly point users to contraband (including illegal guns, hacking tools and drugs) and receive payment for it, you’re apparently as culpable as anyone selling those underground items. Whether or not this is an effective deterrent, it’s clear the feds don’t want to look soft.

Source: Engadget – Dark web news site owner sentenced for role in .4 million kickback scheme

Back in 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that will ban the sales of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in the state by 2035. While California already represents half the EV market in the US, the state’s officials know that they have to offer help and incentives to accelerate EV adoption and reach an all-electric future. They need to take steps so that removing gas vehicles from the market wouldn’t hurt consumers. California committed $3.9 billion for its EV-related initiatives last year, and Newsom recently proposed the addition of $6.1 billion to the state’s zero-emission vehicle package to bring the total to $10 billion. Now, the governor has detailed what he plans to do with the money.

First off, Newsom is hoping to make EVs more accessible by putting aside $256 million for low-income consumer EV purchases and spending $900 million on deploying affordable charging options to low-income neighborhoods. Another $935 million will also be spent to add 1,000 zero-emission short-haul trucks and 1,700 electric buses to the state’s fleet. $1.5 billion will be used to electrify school buses, while $1.1 billion will be used to buy trucks, buses, off-road equipment and fueling infrastructure. California will spend $400 million on the electrification of ports and $419 million to support projects that increase access to zero-emission transportation in low-income communities, as well.

Alvaro Sanchez, Vice President of Policy at The Greenlining Institute non-profit org, said in a statement:

“To achieve California’s climate goals we must focus on the needs of the most polluted and underserved neighborhoods. Governor Newsom’s ZEV investment proposal recognizes this reality. We’re excited to work with the Governor and the Legislature to prove to the rest of the country that we can not only advance our climate agenda but also advance equity.”

You can read more information about the proposal on the governor’s website.

Source: Engadget – California governor details billion plan to boost electric vehicle adoption

Warner Bros. and New Line are creating a sequel to the Mortal Kombat film with Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater onboard, Deadline has reported. It will follow up the original R-rated film that did decent box office numbers ($83 million world wide) considering the pandemic, and was HBO Max’s most successful film to date when it launched last April. 

On top of creating Moon Knight (with Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke), Slater is working on Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers adaptation for Universal and an upcoming Netflix movie directed by Travis Knight. He also developed The Umbrella Academy for Netflix. 

The original film was as gory as you’d expect considering the violence of the game, but screenwriter Greg Russo also tried to inject some humor. It’s not known if Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid will be involved again, but last year he said a sequel could happen “if the fans want another one.” 

The original did seem designed to set up another sequel, though, with one one critic describing it as “the homework you have to do before the fun.” It received a middling 54 percent Rotten Tomato critic rating, but was appreciated more by audiences that gave it an 86 percent score. 

Source: Engadget – The ‘Mortal Kombat’ movie is getting a sequel

Graphics cards are fetching prices normally reserved for limited-run sneakers — even what you might have paid for the rest of your PC. Beyond gamers and power users, cryptocurrency mining has meant unprecedented demand. Coupled with a global chip shortage and supply chain issues, GPU scalpers and resellers are having field days every time a new card appears.

Enter NVIDIA’s $250 RTX 3050. With 2,560 CUDA cores, a boost speed of 1,777 MHz and 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, it’s the company’s cheapest GPU yet with ray tracing. However, as Devindra Hardawar notes, it’s unclear if the 3050 will actually sell for $250 once it hits stores. It’s meant to come in less than the existing RTX 3060, which launched at $329 but now goes for around $1,000 if you shop around online. Yeesh.

Devindra puts the card through its paces right here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest news stories you might have missed

• Disney+ will expand to 42 countries this summer

• Reddit tests NFT user profile pictures, just like Twitter

• Spotify will remove Neil Young music following Joe Rogan dispute

• Apple marks Black History Month with a Black Unity watch strap

• YouTube bans Fox News host Dan Bongino for evading suspension

• Kia’s EV6 pricing will start at $42,115 when it goes on sale in the coming weeks

Amazon’s ‘pay-to-quit’ program won’t cover most US workers this year

It could be due to staff shortages caused by COVID-19.

According to The Information, Amazon has paused its “pay-to-quit” program for the majority of its workers for 2022, and it’s unclear if it will be reinstated. The publication has obtained a copy of Amazon’s message to its employees, which was then verified by a spokesperson from the company. Typically, Amazon pays its warehouse workers up to $5,000 to quit their jobs after peak seasons as a way to pare down its workforce in the slowdown that follows.

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Streamers can now get pedals to control their feed

Elgato strikes again.

Elgato has released a Stream Deck Pedal that provides three customizable foot pedals to steer your apps and other broadcasting tools hands-free. You can manage Twitch or YouTube, change cameras and start an OBS transition, all with your feet. The set sells for $115, meaning it’s probably not for beginners. But don’t let that stop you!

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You can shut up Google Assistant by saying ‘stop’

Shush.

You can now get Google Assistant to stop talking with just one word: “Stop.” That’s it — you don’t even have to say “Hey, Google”. The official Google Twitter account has announced the small but necessary quality-of-life improvement for the company’s speakers and smart displays.

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The ‘Legacy of Thieves Collection’ is a no-brainer for Uncharted fans

For newbies, this collection is a good place to start.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection arrives for the PS5 this Friday, almost five years after Naughty Dog last released a new game in the series. The $50 collection features a number of technical and visual enhancements, but the games themselves are identical to the PS4 versions. Visuals-wise, there are three modes, all of which improve over the original PS4 game. A fidelity setting keeps the frame rate at 30 fps but renders the games in full 4K resolution. Performance mode, on the other hand, runs the games at 60 fps with variable resolution. There’s also a Performance+ mode for people with 120Hz TVs — the games run at 120 fps, but locked at 1080p resolution.

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Android apps come to Windows 11 in ‘preview’ next month

The free upgrade period for Windows 11 is ending soon, however.

Microsoft’s Panos Panay has teased the release of a Windows 11 public preview in February that will bring Android apps to the Microsoft Store. The company didn’t say how many apps would be available in this test, but they’ll be titles found in the Amazon Appstore.

The preview will also include taskbar upgrades that include call mute controls, simpler window sharing and weather. Microsoft has redesigned the Media Player and Notepad apps, too.

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Valve’s Steam Deck goes on sale February 25th

Units will begin shipping February 28th.

After a two-month delay, Valve’s Steam Deck will launch on February 25th. In a blog post, Valve said it would open orders to the first batch of reservation holders that day. They’ll have 72 hours to purchase the gaming handheld, and if they don’t, Valve will release their spot to the next person in the reservation queue. Pricing for the Steam Deck starts at $399.

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Source: Engadget – The Morning After: NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 GPU has landed