Aviation Regulators Push for More Automation so Flights Can Be Run by a Single Pilot

Regulators are pushing the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to examine ways of making single pilot operations the eventual norm in commercial flights. From a report: In a working paper filed with the aviation standards body, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requested on behalf of member states that the “necessary enablers” be created “for a safe and globally harmonized introduction of commercial air transport (CAT) operations of large aeroplanes with optimised crew/single-pilot operations while ensuring an equivalent or higher level of safety compared to that achieved in current operations.” There are two obvious drivers for the proposal — cost cutting and crew shortages. Technology has over decades reduced the need for more people in the cockpit and the hope seems to be that further improvements can pare the current two down to one.

“One of the driving factors for the industry to propose taking advantage of the introduction of these new concepts of operations is a foreseen reduction in operating costs,” the paper says, though it does note: “Potential additional costs related to higher-level ground support and two-way communications should also be considered. On the aircraft manufacturer side, the development and certification of new cockpit designs and associated systems may require significant investment, although these will likely produce safety benefits and savings in the medium/long term.” The requirements for a full flying license are also incredibly onerous, which creates a bottleneck in the supply for qualified pilots. For most European airlines, you need 1,500 hours flight time before you get a full license. Until then, you’re on provisional terms and need a fully qualified pilot operating alongside you.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Aviation Regulators Push for More Automation so Flights Can Be Run by a Single Pilot

Amazon Plans to Close Up Shop on Wickr’s User-Centric Encrypted Messaging App

A little more than a year ago, Amazon, specifically Amazon Web Services, flashed its stacks of cash as it announced it was buying up the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Wickr. AWS users could suddenly use Wickr’s services, and some reporters speculated Amazon could have been trying to make a move in the…

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Source: Gizmodo – Amazon Plans to Close Up Shop on Wickr’s User-Centric Encrypted Messaging App

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Latest DLC Is Loaded With Classic Courses

Just in time for the holidays, perennial best-seller Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting upgraded again with its latest batch of DLC tracks. Booster Course Pass Wave 3 goes live on December 7, and will add the golden autumn Maple Treeway track from Mario Kart Wii in addition to original tracks from the mobile spin-off

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Source: Kotaku – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Latest DLC Is Loaded With Classic Courses

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4 with 256GB storage is $300 off ahead of Black Friday

If Samsung’s foldable smartphones have caught your eye, perhaps for yourself or as a gift for someone else, now might be the right time to take the plunge. The 256GB model of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has dropped to $760 at Amazon, which is an all-time low. That’s a considerable $300 (or 28 percent) off the regular price. What’s more, this variant is currently cheaper than the 128GB model. That’s also on sale at the moment, but it’s $800.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 at Amazon – $760

We gave the Galaxy Z Flip 4 a score of 86 in our review. We liked the improved battery life compared with older generations (it generally lasted for a full day) and the hands-free applications. The matte finish makes it less slippery than previous models, which is a definite plus. It also has a smaller and seemingly sturdier hinge, while the shell is scratch resistant. However, we did have some reservations when it came to the durability prospects in terms of how well the device will hold up after years of use, as well as the quality of low-light photos.

The 1.9-inch cover display gained more functionality, including ways to control smart home products and a quick reply option for messages. Flex Mode, which comes into play when the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is half-opened, is handier too — you’ll be able to use the lower half as a touchpad while looking through photos on the top side of the screen. You can prop the device up without a stand as well, which is useful for hands-free video calls.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.



Source: Engadget – Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 with 256GB storage is 0 off ahead of Black Friday

What's new in Fedora Workstation 37

Fedora Workstation 37 is the latest version of the Fedora Project’s desktop operating system, made by a worldwide community dedicated to pushing forward innovation in open source. This article describes some of the new user-facing features in Fedora Workstation 37. Upgrade today from GNOME Software, or by using dnf system-upgrade in your favourite terminal emulator! […]

Source: LXer – What’s new in Fedora Workstation 37

AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs Get Huge Black Friday Price Cuts To Compete With Raptor Lake

AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs Get Huge Black Friday Price Cuts To Compete With Raptor Lake
Call it an early wave of Black Friday discounts or a price correction in light of the competition, but whatever the case, every Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPU is significantly cheaper than they were at launch. Discounts range from 14 percent on up to 28 percent, the biggest of which applies to AMD’s flagship Zen 4 chip, the 16-core/32-thread

Source: Hot Hardware – AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs Get Huge Black Friday Price Cuts To Compete With Raptor Lake

Rings of Power's Answer to Lord of the Rings' Special Features Appendices Is Here

Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power may have wrapped up its first spectacular season, but there’s still a lot more to explore in Middle-earth. Amazon has just released an X-Ray version of its sweeping epic fantasy series—basically a behind-the-scenes overlay that will pop up on screen to give you an inside look at some…

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Source: Gizmodo – Rings of Power’s Answer to Lord of the Rings’ Special Features Appendices Is Here

This Club Only Lets You in If You're Really Good at Video Games

So, I’m really bad at video games. Elden Ring proved too much for me: I couldn’t stop dying. Everything I tried, every path I took, seemingly placed me in front of enemies that would best me at every turn. I imagine, then, that I won’t be invited to join one of gaming’s most exclusive clubs. It’s not enough to beat a…

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Source: LifeHacker – This Club Only Lets You in If You’re Really Good at Video Games

The best Black Friday 2022 TV deals we could find

You may be focused on getting gifts for others right now, but the Black Friday and the holiday shopping period is one of the best times of the year to pick up an upgrade for your living room. This year is no different, with a bunch of TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony and others already dropping in price, and we’re also already seeing discounts on things like streaming devices, soundbars and more. While you pick up things like the Chromecast with Google TV or a Fire TV Stick for friends and family, consider investing in something new for your home entertainment system while you can do so without breaking the bank. Here are the best TV and home entertainment deals we found for Black Friday 2022.

Samsung TV deals

SAMSUNG 85-Inch Class QLED Q60B Series - 4K UHD Dual LED Quantum HDR Smart TV
Samsung

Now’s a great time to grab a Samsung TV for much less than usual. Whether you’re interested in one of the more affordable Q60B or Q80B sets or a higher-end Neo QLED TV, there are a bunch of good discounts to consider. This 65-inch OLED model is 40 percent off and down to $1,800, while this massive 85-inch QLED set is on sale for only $1,600. There are even a few Frame TVs on sale as well, including this 55-inch 2022 model for less than $1,000.

Shop Samsung TV deals at Amazon

Sony TV deals

65-inch Sony A95K Bravia XR OLED TV
Sony

Sony has discounted a number of its higher-end 4K TVs and a few OLED sets as well for Black Friday. One of the best values overall is this 65-inch Sony X80K 4K smart TV for just under $700. It’s a 2022 TV that has the company’s 4K HDR Processor X1 that produces smooth, clear video, and it has support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, too. On the OLED side, you can pick up this 2022 65-inch A95K Bravia XR OLED set for $1,000 less than usual. 

Shop Sony TV deals at Amazon

LG TV deals

65-inch LG G2 Gallery Edition OLED TV
LG

Both 2021 and 2022 LG TVs have been discounted for Black Friday. If you have your heart set on an OLED, this 65-inch LG G2 Gallery Edition OLED TV is just over $800 off and down to $2,200. While that’s still expensive for a TV, the Gallery Edition sets are some of the best that LG makes. On the more affordable side of things, this 55-inch QNED80 Mini-LED smart TV is $150 off and down to just under $650.

Shop LG TV deals at Amazon

Hisense TV deals

Hisense's 43-inch R6-Series Roku TV
Hisense

Most of Hisense’s TVs are on sale for the holiday shopping season. If you’re looking to spend as little as possible on a still-decent TV, then you can’t get much better than Hisense’s 43-inch R6-Series Roku TV for $200. It supports 4K content and Dolby Vision, plus it runs on Roku’s smart TV operating system. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can get the 75-inch A6-Series 4K Google TV, with support for Dolby Vision HDR, DTS Virtual X and built-in Chromecast, for only $500.

Shop Hisense TV deals at Amazon

Chromecast with Google TV

Both the 4K and HD Chromecasts with Google TV are on sale for Black Friday, coming in at $40 and $18, respectively. These two streamers are essentially the same, expect for the resolution that each support: the higher-end model with stream 4K content, while the other tops out at 1080p. They share a compact design and both come with a handy remote that makes navigating the Google TV interface much easier. Plus, you can speak to the Google Assistant through these dongles, calling about it to search for things to watch, answer questions and more.

Buy Chromecast with Google TV (4K) at Amazon – $40Buy Chromecast with Google TV (HD) at Amazon – $18

Roku Streambar

Roku Streambar soundbar on a white table.
Valentina Palladino / Engadget

The Roku Streambar has been discounted to $80 for Black Friday, which is $50 less than usual and a record low. It’s one of the easiest ways to up your TV’s audio game, and get 4K streaming technology as well. The compact Streambar offers much better sound quality than most TV’s built-in speakers can provide, plus it’ll turn your set into a Roku smart TV as well. And if you want to use it as a Bluetooth speaker, you have that option as well.

Buy Roku Streambar at Amazon – $80

Roku Ultra

Roku Ultra 2022
Roku

Roku’s 2022 Ultra set-top box has dropped to a new low of $70 for Black Friday. The actually box itself hasn’t changed much since the previous version: it still supports 4K HDR10+ content, Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. Most of the upgrades are in the Voice Remote Pro that comes bundled with the streamer. The new remote has a 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening, two programmable shortcut buttons and a mic-disable button.

Buy Roku Ultra at Amazon – $70

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Roku Streaming Stick 4K
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $25 right now, or half off its usual price. This small dongle connects directly to your TV’s HDMI port and streams content in 4K, supports Dolby Vision and offers voice command capabilities via its remote. This updated model also has fast, long-range WiFi and a private-listening feature that lets you listen to your TV’s audio video the Roku mobile app.

Buy Roku Streaming Stick 4K at Amazon – $25

Roku Express

Roku Express
Roku

Roku’s Express has dropped to only $18 for Black Friday, which is one of the best prices we’ve seen. If you just want an inexpensive streaming device with basic features, the Express is a solid option. It comes with a high-speed HDMI cable to connect it to your TV, and it supports HD content plus private listening via Roku’s mobile app.

Buy Roku Express at Amazon – $18

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite
Amazon

Amazon’s most affordable streaming stick is on sale for only $15 right now, which is half off its usual price. This is a good option if you want to upgrade an old, “dumb” TV in your home into a smart one. The Fire TV Stick Lite provides access to Amazon’s Fire TV OS, through which you can access services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and others. The TV Stick Lite supports FHD content, and you can use the included Voice Remote Lite to ask Alexa to show you the content you want to watch. If you want to upgrade a bit to Dolby Atmos, you can get the standard Fire TV Stick for only $5 more.

Buy Fire TV Stick Lite at Amazon – $15Buy Fire TV Stick at Amazon – $20

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
Amazon

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K has dropped to $25, which is 50 percent off its normal price. This dongle provides 4K streaming support with Dolby Vision and HDR10+, plus Dolby Atmos audio capabilities. Also, if you have Alexa-compatible home security cameras set up, you can use the streaming stick’s live picture-in-picture feature to check out those camera feeds directly from your TV.

Buy Fire TV Stick 4K at Amazon – $25

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max
Amazon

Amazon’s most capable streaming stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, is down to only $35 for Black Friday. It has all of the features of the standard Fire TV Stick 4K: UHD streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support, and the live picture-in-picture feature. But on top of that, it has WiFi 6 support and a bit more RAM than all other Fire streaming sticks, improving its overall performance.

Buy Fire TV Stick 4K Max at Amazon – $35

Amazon Fire TV Cube

Amazon Fire TV Cube streaming device.
Nicole Lee / Engadget

The previous-generation Fire TV Cube has been discounted to $60 for Black Friday, which is 50 percent off its usual price and a new record low. This set-top box supports 4K, HDR content with Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus hands-free Alexa commands. There is a newer version available now, which adds things like WiFi 6E capabilities, a speedier processor and additional HDMI and USB ports, but it’ll cost you $140.

Buy Fire TV Cube (previous gen) at Amazon – $60

Vizio V21t-J8 soundbar

Vizio V21t-J8 soundbar
Vizio

Our favorite budget-friendly soundbar is on sale for only $120 right now, which is 25 percent off its usual price and a near record low. You’re getting a 2.1-channel setup with this accessory, plus a 4.5-inch wireless sub along with it. It may not have WiFi connectivity, but that’s the main tradeoff you’ll have to make. Otherwise, it supports HDMI ARC/eARC, DTS Virtual:X and Bluetooth, and it has a 3.5mm aux jack as well.

Buy Vizio V21t-J8 at Amazon – $120

Vizio Elevate soundbar

Vizio Elevate soundbar
Vizio

Vizio’s Elevate soundbar is $300 off and down to $500 for Black Friday. This is a great pick for movie lovers or anyone who wants a cinematic audio experience in their home. The soundbar system has adaptive height speakers that automatically rotate upward or forward when playing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. Plus, it has a redesigned wireless subwoofer and integrated tweeters and woofers, as well.

Buy Vizio Elevate soundbar at Amazon – $500

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.



Source: Engadget – The best Black Friday 2022 TV deals we could find

The Red Sea's Coral Reefs Defy the Climate-Change Odds

As warming waters devastate coral around the world, the sea’s stunningly colorful reefs have been remarkably resilient. But pollution, mass tourism and overfishing put them at risk. From a report: The vast majority of the world’s coral reefs are likely to be severely damaged in the coming decades if the planet keeps warming at its current rate. But the wildly colorful coral reefs in the waters outside the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, where the annual United Nations climate conference is taking place, are an anomaly: They can tolerate the heat, and perhaps even thrive in it, making them some of the only reefs in the world that have a chance of surviving climate change. There is a limit to how much they can take, however.

Mass tourism at Egypt’s beach resorts, overfishing, overdevelopment, pollution, occasional failures of the sewage system, sediment from construction and oil spills from tankers or terminals have put them at risk, according to marine biologists who study the Red Sea. “If not the last, this could be one of the last coral refuges worldwide,” said Dr. Mahmoud Hanafy, a marine biology professor at the Suez Canal University in Egypt. “Protection of this reef is not a national responsibility or a national task. It’s a global task.” The exquisite beauty of the more than 200 species of coral, living in crystal clear waters of the northern Red Sea in temperatures that can top 85 degrees Fahrenheit, has made the area a scuba diver’s paradise. Throughout the two-week climate meeting, conference attendees — including John Kerry, the United States climate envoy — took a break from the conference halls to experience the corals for themselves.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – The Red Sea’s Coral Reefs Defy the Climate-Change Odds

The 7 Deadly Sins of Decorating Your House for the Holidays

It’s almost time for you to drag out the lights and the plywood angels and tell the world you’re a festive person by decorating the outside of your home for the holidays. The traditional of holiday-centric self-expression dates back at least to Ancient Roman Saturnalia displays, and so does the tradition of completely…

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Source: LifeHacker – The 7 Deadly Sins of Decorating Your House for the Holidays

The FCC's new, more accurate broadband maps may lead to improved coverage

The Federal Communications Commission has finally published new broadband maps after a protracted development process. The “pre-production draft” release, as the FCC describes it, promises much more accurate representations of fixed internet coverage across the US. Earlier maps would only show service at the census block level, sometimes ignoring large gaps in real-world connectivity. The new maps are accurate enough that you can search by address to see which carriers are available, including the maximum claimed speeds.

The updated maps could help would-be subscribers make more informed choices about broadband service, the FCC says. They’ll also theoretically add “market pressures” to internet providers who may have considered an area served if just one home in a census block was connected. Now, they may be compelled to flesh out coverage in a town or neighborhood.

The data could also prove crucial to the federal government’s funding strategy. The US has yet to portion out the $42.5 billion in broadband spending from President Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. With more accurate maps, officials can now make better-informed decisions about where that money goes. It may be particularly important for upgrading rural broadband, which has historically been inconsistently available and slow.

The FCC cautions that there’s more work to be done. The draft status indicates that the mapping work is “far from over,” according to the regulator. The agency warns that this may only be effective if there’s constant input from everyone involved, ranging from customers through to local governments and companies. Poor updates will render the maps ineffective, in other words.

There are also questions surrounding long-term funding and policy. While the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law may help, there are no guarantees of further commitments in the years ahead. The broadband maps only promise to show where coverage falls short — it’s up to politicians, regulators and companies to address any shortcomings.



Source: Engadget – The FCC’s new, more accurate broadband maps may lead to improved coverage

The best gifts for gamers in 2022

Let’s face it, buying a gift for someone who loves gaming is tough. Almost every day brings with it a handful of new releases, and everyone has different tastes. Plus, if they’re a fan of a particular style or genre of game, there’s a good chance they’re already bought the new hotness. To save you that trouble, here are some gifts that are a bit different but should be appreciated all the same. You may also find something that will pique your interest.

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels
Engadget

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in video games. Across 268 captivating pages, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier shares how some of the most influential games of the past decade were made. Featuring interviews with the people who were there – including The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann and Eric Barone, the creator of Stardew Valley – the stories that populate Blood, Sweat, and Pixels shed a light on just how fraught the process of creating a game can be during even the best of times. It’s riveting reading for anyone who wants a more informed perspective on the craft.

Buy Blood, Sweat and Pixels at Amazon – $14

Logitech G305

Logitech G305
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Don’t let the Logitech G305’s affordable $40 price fool you, it’s a gaming mouse almost any gamer would happily add to their collection. At 99 grams, it’s one of the lighter mice in Logitech’s stable, and you can program all six buttons to your liking. It also includes the company’s fast and responsive Hero optical sensor and Lightspeed wireless technology for “wired-like” performance. A single AA battery provides the G305 with up to 250 hours of life, and you can get as much as nine months of use with some tweaking. Best of all, the G305 is available in a few different colors, including a handful of cheerful pastels. There’s even a K/DA version for fans of Riot’s virtual K-pop group. That versatility makes a perfect gift for a PC gamer.

Buy Logitech G305 at Amazon – $50

Backbone One

Backbone One
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

If you’re buying a gift for someone who primarily plays games on their phone, consider treating them to the best mobile gamepad on the market. At $100, the Backbone One is pricey, but it easily surpasses competitors like the Razer Kishi in build quality. It also comes with a surprisingly robust companion app that makes capturing screenshots and clips from your play sessions a breeze. Each new Backbone One controller also comes with complimentary access to services like Xbox GamePass, giving owners a few different ways to add to their game library.

Buy Backbone One at Amazon – $100

Hades soundtrack

Hades soundtrack
Engadget

As Supergiant’s staff composer, Darren Korb has written some of the most memorable video game soundtracks in recent memory, but his work on Hades may be his best yet. From start to finish, the Hades Original Soundtrack is filled with tunes like ”Out of Tartarus” and “The Unseen Ones” that will make you stand up and shred an air guitar. It’s the perfect gift for fans of Hades (and there are many of those), but you can also give it to someone who hasn’t experienced the game yet. It might just convince them to play one of the best indies of the last few years.

Buy Hades soundtrack at Bandcamp – $10

Epos PC38X

Epos PC38X
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

With the popularity of multiplayer games, you may want to consider gifting your friend or family member a gaming headset. For an affordable option that features a clean sound signature that’s tuned for first-person shooters, it’s hard to go wrong with the Drop and Epos PC38X.

You may not be familiar with Epos, but you’ve definitely heard of Sennheiser. The historic audio brand founded Sennheiser Communications as a joint venture in 2003. In 2020, the subsidiary rebranded to Epos and went on to take over Sennheiser’s gaming portfolio. That history should tell you what to expect from the PC38X. It’s a headset that has more in common with classic headphones like the HD600 than its gaming peers. An open-back design helps the PC38X produce an immersive sound stage that can give you an edge in games like Valorant and Modern Warfare II. The built-in microphone is one of the best ones you’ll find on a gaming headset at this price, producing warm and natural tones when you speak into it. It’s a wired headset too, meaning you don’t have to worry about battery life and compatibility. Best of all, Drop frequently discounts the PC38X below its usual $169 price.

Buy Epos PC38X at Drop – $169

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight

Okay, I lied. We do have one straightforward recommendation: Hollow Knight. Team Cherry’s debut title is one of the best games made in the past five years. It combines the exploration of a 2D Metroid-like title with a challenging combat system that is reminiscent of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. Add to that a beautiful soundtrack, art style and story, and it’s easy to see why so many people are eagerly waiting for Hollow Knight’s upcoming sequel, Silksong. While we’re here, go the extra mile and gift your friend or loved one a physical copy of the game. It comes with a beautiful map of Hollow Knight’s world.

Buy Hollow Knight at Amazon – $35

Steam Gift card

Steam Gift card
Engadget

It’s not creative, but if you want a safe option, it’s hard to go wrong with a gift card. We’re highlighting Steam here, but all the major gaming platforms offer their own take on the format, including Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, and do so in amounts that should fit any budget. Some of those same companies offer digital versions of their gift cards, making it easy to ensure your friend or family member can enjoy them, even if you can’t see them in person.

Another option if you’re buying for someone with an Xbox or PC is a one- or three-month Game Pass gift card. Microsoft’s subscription service is widely considered one of the best deals in gaming and is a great way to discover new titles to check out.

Shop Steam gift cards

Laudate Luna

Laudate Luna
Laudate

This gift will only appeal to fans of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, but let me tell you, if the person you’re buying for falls in that group, they will love you for it. Laudate Luna is a beautiful 12- by 36-inch print of Lordran, the setting where the first game takes place. Anyone who has fond memories of Dark Souls will be able to retrace their journey to Anor Lando and find all the places where they died repeatedly trying to conquer the game’s punishing combat.

Buy Laudate Luna print at Fangamer – $36

SanDisk microSD card

SanDisk microSD card
SanDisk

If buying a gift for someone who enjoys gaming on their Nintendo Switch, there’s a good chance they’ll appreciate it if you get them more storage. The beauty of microSD cards is that they’re affordable. A company like SanDisk offers 512GB models for less than $100. That’s enough to install about 20 to 30 games. SanDisk sells Switch-specific models, but any UHS-1 compatible microSD card that offers transfer speeds of at least 60 MB/s will do.

Buy SanDisk microSD card (128GB) at Amazon – $35

Xbox Elite Controller Series 2

Xbox Elite Controller
Microsoft

After more than two decades of iteration, it’s hard to find a fault with Microsoft’s Xbox controllers. The latest Series X/S version refines a design that was already excellent with the Xbox One, but what it lacks is customization. That’s something you can get with Microsoft’s Elite Wireless controller. The Series 2 model comes with six different thumbsticks, four separate paddles and a set of two d-pads. With all those components included, even the most discerning players should be able to tune the controller to their liking.

Buy Elite Controller 2 starter bundle at Amazon – $180



Source: Engadget – The best gifts for gamers in 2022

Stagnant Scientific Productivity Holding Back Growth

Funding for scientific research has become risk-averse, favoring established researchers pursuing incremental discoveries, critics say. From a report: In August President Biden signed into law a massive boost to scientific research: roughly $200 billion, when fully funded, over the next several years. The bipartisan law’s premise is straightforward. In the long run economic growth depends on innovation, which in turn flows from how much we spend on research and development. The problem with that premise is the U.S. already spends plenty on R&D, about 3% of gross domestic product in recent years. That exceeds the peaks of the early 1960s during the space race. But the fruits of that effort have been elusive. Total factor productivity, the best metric for innovation’s contribution to growth, grew just 0.5% a year over the past decade, half its rate of the 1960s. Other evidence suggests breakthroughs, such as new drug discoveries, are becoming more expensive and time-consuming, and researchers spend ever more years acquiring training and experience before achieving novel discoveries. In other words, the U.S. is getting progressively less bang for its scientific buck.

Patrick Collison, the Irish-born co-founder of payments technology company Stripe, has spent a lot of the past five years pondering the problem of declining scientific productivity. One popular theory he rejects: the most important discoveries have been made and new insights are more incremental and difficult. That might be true of individual fields, such as physics, but can’t be true generally, he argues. “Every discovery opens up new frontiers and new questions and new possible avenues of investigation,” he said in an interview. “The surface area of our knowledge is continually expanding. Just like we are not exhausting the creative possibilities of the English language, because words can be combined in an infinite number of ways, it does not seem to me we are running out of possibilities of discovery in computer science.”

Research inputs — dollars and hours spent — are a lousy measure of innovation, he added. It doesn’t require more resources to make a hit movie or bestselling novel than a dud. The most innovative companies aren’t necessarily the biggest spenders. Tesla’s R&D spending in the past three years is 13% of that of General Motors and Ford Motor combined. Yet Tesla’s market value is more than five times its two rivals.’ Clearly, scientific productivity has something to do with how research is done, not how much. One culprit, in the view of Mr. Collison and many others, is that the institutions that fund science have become process-oriented, narrow-minded and risk-averse. Wary of failure, they favor established researchers pursuing narrowly focused, incremental ideas over younger scientists with more heterodox agendas.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Stagnant Scientific Productivity Holding Back Growth

The Epic Gains Made In 5 Years For AMD EPYC 7601 Naples vs. Newest 4th Gen EPYC Genoa

The AMD EPYC 4th Gen “Genoa” processor performance has been outright phenomenal. These new AMD server processors have shown stunnning performance with up to 96 cores per socket and beyond the increased core count is now up to 12 channels of DDR5-4800 memory and most significantly in the HPC space is the introduction of AVX-512 support with Zen 4. Even the 32-core high frequency Genoa performance has been dominating against Intel’s current Xeon Scalable competition. While AMD EPYC Genoa brings very impressive gains generation-over-generation and against the current Xeon Ice Lake CPUs, curiosity got the best of me for seeing how the new AMD EPYC CPUs compare to AMD’s original EPYC 1st Gen “Naples” flagship – the EPYC 7601 2P. Here are Genoa benchmarks showing how far the AMD server/HPC CPU performance has evolved over the past five years since Naples.

Source: Phoronix – The Epic Gains Made In 5 Years For AMD EPYC 7601 Naples vs. Newest 4th Gen EPYC Genoa

The Easiest Way to Zip and Unzip Files on Your iPhone

Zip files are a useful but cumbersome solution to compressing multiple files together. They come in different ways—an archive of photographs for a project, or the need to compress a file that just won’t fit in Gmail’s archaic 25MB file limit. It’s one thing to deal with zip files on a computer, but when you see them…

Read more…



Source: LifeHacker – The Easiest Way to Zip and Unzip Files on Your iPhone

Crucial's 1TB MX500 drive drops to a new low of $68 for Black Friday

The holiday shopping period is a great time to stock up on what might be some less-than-exciting gadgets like storage drives to keep your machines running smoothly. We typically see some of the best storage deals of the year around this time, and the brand Crucial has kicked off Black Friday early this year by discounting a number of its internal and external drives. A long-time favorite, the MX500, is on sale for only $68 for the 1TB version. That’s 32 percent off and the lowest price we’ve seen, by far.

If you have an aging computer that could benefit from extra storage, the MX500 is a good option. It has a 2.5-inch design that should fit most laptops and desktops, and it supports read speeds up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 510MB/s. Along with AES 256-bit hardware encryption, it also has integrated power loss immunity, which should save your work if your power gets cut unexpectedly. We also appreciate that the MX500 comes in a number of capacity options. The 1TB is arguably best for most people, but you can get it as low as 250GB or as high as 4TB — and all configurations are discounted right now.

Also included in this sale are Crucial P3 and P5 Plus internal drives. The latter earned a spot on our list of favorite drives for the PS5 as a solid budget option. It’s on sale for $94, which is a new record low, but just keep in mind that you’ll need to provide your own heatsink if you intend to use it with Sony’s console.

As for portable drives, but the X6 and the X8 have been discounted to $122 and $140, respectively, for their 1TB models. Their designs are slightly different, with the X6 being more square-shaped and the X8 leaning rectangular, but the bigger difference comes in their max speeds. The X6 can hit up to 800MB/s in read speeds, while you’ll get up to 1,050MB/s on the X8. Both of them are designed to work across a bunch of different platforms, including Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, Android and others, and they both have decent durability with drop, shock and vibration protection.

Buy Crucial P5 Plus (1TB) at Amazon – $94Buy Crucial X6 (2TB) at Amazon – $122Buy Crucial X8 (2TB) at Amazon – $140

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Source: Engadget – Crucial’s 1TB MX500 drive drops to a new low of for Black Friday

Here are all the best early Black Friday deals live now

Here are all the best early Black Friday deals live now

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Black Friday week is here, and a barrage of early Black Friday deals has gone live over the weekend. Black Friday and the ensuing days/weeks create a notoriously hectic and overloaded shopping event, but it’s also the best time to find year-long low prices on some of our most highly recommended tech. Naturally, we’ve done days of research and hunting to deliver the best tech deals this event has to offer, and we’ll continue to do so as things change shape through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Each brings its own cascade of new deals.

The biggest retailers and manufacturers, like AppleMicrosoftAmazonBest BuyTarget, and Walmart, have all posted early Black Friday deals lists. There’s already a lot to highlight for big-ticket items like 4K TVs, Apple iPads, MacBooks, and Surface devices. A range of 4K TVs made our list, from higher-end offerings from Samsung and LG to more reasonably priced options from Hisense and TCL, and much more. All of which received strong reviews from trusted sources like Rtings.com, among many others. If you’re looking for smart home devices like smart speakers, video doorbells, and streaming sticks, Amazon and Google have large chunks of their lineups on sale, matching or beating record lows. Likewise with robot vacuums from Roomba.

As for smaller items, Target’s buy-two-get-one-free deals on books and video games are an excellent value, packed with a good mix of new releases and modern classics. Xbox and Playstation have also launched video game sales in their respective stores, bringing down prices often by 50 percent on a number of in-demand titles. For stocking stuffers, we have deals on our favorite chargers from Anker, as well as microSD and SSD storage solutions from SanDisk, Western Digital, and Samsung.

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Source: Ars Technica – Here are all the best early Black Friday deals live now

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Benchmarks: Qualcomm's New Flagship Android Platform Tested

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Benchmarks: Qualcomm's New Flagship Android Platform Tested
Qualcomm had a lot of new technology to roll out at its annual Snapdragon Summit this year in Maui, HI.  teased a new custom CPU core, announced a hardware platform for smart glasses, and of course, unveiled the latest flagship Snapdragon chip—the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This new ARM processor will begin appearing in phones at…

Source: Hot Hardware – Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Benchmarks: Qualcomm’s New Flagship Android Platform Tested