Monthly Archives: November 2023

Qualcomm kills its copy of Apple’s satellite SOS after ten months

Posted on by
Qualcomm kills its copy of Apple’s satellite SOS after ten months

Enlarge (credit: Qualcomm)

One of the iPhone 14’s major new features was “Emergency SOS via satellite.” During normal usage, smartphones struggle to connect to something as far away as a satellite, but it’s possible to send out tiny bits of data under ideal conditions with the help of an aiming app. Apple turned this into a way to send a message to emergency services even when you’re off the grid, and the Android ecosystem immediately set about copying the feature. Qualcomm’s “Snapdragon Satellite” was announced in January 2023, and now, ten months later and with zero customers, the plan is dead.

Qualcomm’s satellite partner for the project, Iridium, announced the dissolution of the partnership in a press release, though Qualcomm says it still wants to work with Iridium for future projects. Iridium wrote:

Iridium previously announced that it entered into agreements with Qualcomm to enable satellite messaging and emergency services in smartphones powered by Snapdragon Mobile Platforms using Iridium’s satellite network. The companies successfully developed and demonstrated the technology; however, notwithstanding this technical success, smartphone manufacturers have not included the technology in their devices. Due to this, on November 3, 2023, Qualcomm notified Iridium that it has elected to terminate the agreements, effective December 3, 2023.

Essentially, the project is dying because Qualcomm couldn’t get a single Android manufacturer to add satellite messaging to a phone. Qualcomm’s satellite solution didn’t require much in the way of new hardware, so the rejection was apparently due to Qualcomm’s design of the feature and (presumably) any tack-on fees it was adding to the bill of materials. In a statement given to CNBC, Qualcomm says smartphone makers “indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions” for satellite-to-phone connectivity, a plan the company now wants to pivot to.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments



Source: Ars Technica – Qualcomm kills its copy of Apple’s satellite SOS after ten months

Tubi and the Black List Want to Read Your Sci-Fi Screenplay

Posted on by

With all the streaming news about price increases and content jumping around, here’s something both cool and unusual: Fox’s ad-supported free SVOD service, Tubi, is teaming up with screenwriting resource the Black List to select five genre scripts for development, production, and distribution.

Read more…



Source: Gizmodo – Tubi and the Black List Want to Read Your Sci-Fi Screenplay

Modern Warfare III Multiplayer Is A Helluva Nostalgia Trip

Posted on by

Say what you will about Modern Warfare III—it was developed in a confusing rush, hence why its campaign mostly sucks, and it’s currently the worst-rated Call of Duty game in the franchise’s 20-year history—but god damn, does its multiplayer make me feel like I’m in college again.

Read more…



Source: Kotaku – Modern Warfare III Multiplayer Is A Helluva Nostalgia Trip

A lithium mine for EV batteries is coming to Arkansas, says Exxon

Posted on by
Piles of harvested lithium salt in Bolivia

Enlarge / These are piles of lithium harvested in Bolivia; Exxon’s site in Arkansas will look almost entirely unlike this as it will use direct lithium extraction, not evaporation, to harvest the mineral. (credit: Getty Images)

Earlier this year, new electric vehicle tax incentive rules went into effect. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, an EV’s tax credit is now linked to the amount of domestic content in its battery pack, an amount that needs to increase year on year.

Automakers had an inkling that would happen, so we’ve seen a flurry of announcements for new battery plants in the United States that will make the cells and assemble the packs for future EVs, but we’ve heard slightly less about new local sources of lithium. But today, Exxon revealed it is about to extract the stuff from a rich deposit in Arkansas.

At one point, California’s Salton Sea looked like a promising source of lithium, but working with the corrosive brine has proven extremely challenging to industrial equipment.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments



Source: Ars Technica – A lithium mine for EV batteries is coming to Arkansas, says Exxon

Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 lead the 2023 Game Awards nominees

Posted on by

The Game Awards 2023 are almost upon us and this year’s nominations have been revealed. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 lead the pack with eight nods each. They’re both up for the top prize of Game of the Year alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (seven nominations overall), the Resident Evil 4 remake (four nods), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (five) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (five).

Nintendo snagged the most nominations of any publisher with 15, followed by Sony (13), Microsoft (10, including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard’s nods) and Epic Games (nine). There are 31 awards in total, including Best Adaptation. The nominees in that category this year are Castlevania: Nocturne, Gran Turismo, The Last of Us, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Twisted Metal.

A bunch of deserving indies picked up nominations as well, including Cocoon, Dave the Diver, Dredge, Tchia, Viewfinder, Pizza Tower and Hello Kitty Island Adventure. Meanwhile, continuing a redemption arc after its disastrous debut three years ago, Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 and its Phantom Liberty expansion racked up four nominations in total.

The results of a fan poll will be added to votes from a jury of more than 100 global media publications and influencer outlets to determine the winners. You can watch The Game Awards live on December 7, where the hosts will undoubtedly zip through many of the awards to get to the next big trailer (which may just include one for Grand Theft Auto VI).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baldurs-gate-3-and-alan-wake-2-lead-the-2023-game-awards-nominees-185729344.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 lead the 2023 Game Awards nominees

OpenAI Expects 'To Raise a Lot More Over Time' From Microsoft, Others To Build 'Superintelligence'

Posted on by

OpenAI plans to secure further financial backing from its biggest investor Microsoft as the ChatGPT maker’s chief executive Sam Altman pushes ahead with his vision to create artificial general intelligence (AGI) — computer software as intelligent as humans. From a report: In an interview with the Financial Times, Altman said his company’s partnership with Microsoft’s chief executive Satya Nadella was “working really well” and that he expected “to raise a lot more over time” from the tech giant among other investors, to keep up with the punishing costs of building more sophisticated AI models.

Microsoft earlier this year invested $10bn in OpenAI as part of a “multiyear” agreement that valued the San Francisco-based company at $29bn, according to people familiar with the talks. Asked if Microsoft would keep investing further, Altman said: “I’d hope so.” He added: “There’s a long way to go, and a lot of compute to build out between here and AGI… training expenses are just huge.” Altman said “revenue growth had been good this year,” without providing financial details, and that the company remained unprofitable due to training costs. But he said the Microsoft partnership would ensure “that we both make money on each other’s success, and everybody is happy.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – OpenAI Expects ‘To Raise a Lot More Over Time’ From Microsoft, Others To Build ‘Superintelligence’

Apple's iPhone 16 May Abandon Apple's Dynamic Island For This Instead

Posted on by

Apple's iPhone 16 May Abandon Apple's Dynamic Island For This Instead
It appears as if Apple is ready to move on from the Dynamic Island display feature it introduced just last year with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. According to Majin Bu, someone known for Apple rumors and leaks, Apple is internally testing a version of the upcoming iPhone 16 with a hole-punch cutout design. Majin Bu posted this

Source: Hot Hardware – Apple’s iPhone 16 May Abandon Apple’s Dynamic Island For This Instead

Rick and Morty Just Fired Its Canon in a Game-Changing Episode

Posted on by

It’d be hard to top last week’s Rick and Morty—the cleverly gruesome “That’s Amorte,” still season seven’s high point so far—but “Unmortricken” accomplishes an important task: addressing the show’s ever-looming canon by blowing it apart and changing it forever.

Read more…



Source: Gizmodo – Rick and Morty Just Fired Its Canon in a Game-Changing Episode

The Meta Quest 2 VR headset drops to an all-time low of $250 during Amazon's early Black Friday sale

Posted on by

If you’ve been waiting for a reason to finally grab a headset to watch 360-degree videos on YouTube or have an exceptionally immersive experience with first-person shooter games, Amazon’s early Black Friday sale on the Meta Quest 2 VR headset might be your gateway into the world of VR. The Quest 2 with 128GB of storage is getting a $50 price cut in a Black Friday pre-sale, bringing it to $250. This record low price, which normally sells for $300, is worth considering, especially since Engadget hailed it as one of the best VR headsets your money can buy.

Despite being an older model, we still consider the Meta Quest 2 the best budget VR headset, and for good reason. Most competitors, including its successor, start at around $500 and can go for as much as $1000. The Quest 2’s screen resolution of 1832×1920 per eye, when coupled with a 90Hz refresh rate, makes activities like gaming a more pleasurable experience. And because the Quest 2 operates using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 processor and packs 6GB of RAM, the device can dabble with more demanding games. If you are already a console user, things like Xbox Cloud gaming pair quite nicely.

The Quest 2 Active bundle, which includes the 128GB headset and accessories for VR workouts, is also on sale on Amazon for $319. But if you want to go big and invest in the 256GB version of the Quest 2, Amazon’s deal on that model will make the device $300, knocking off $50 bucks from its $350 starting point.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-meta-quest-2-vr-headset-drops-to-an-all-time-low-of-250-during-amazons-early-black-friday-sale-181828211.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – The Meta Quest 2 VR headset drops to an all-time low of 0 during Amazon’s early Black Friday sale

OBS Studio 30 Released With Support for Intel QSV H264, HEVC, & AV1 on Linux

Posted on by

OBS Studio 30 is now available for download, coming with exciting new features as well as numerous other changes and bug fixes for this popular free and open-source screencasting and streaming app.

The post OBS Studio 30 Released With Support for Intel QSV H264, HEVC, & AV1 on Linux appeared first on Linux Today.



Source: Linux Today – OBS Studio 30 Released With Support for Intel QSV H264, HEVC, & AV1 on Linux

Cybercriminal gang LockBit leaks alleged Boeing data

Posted on by

Ransomware group LockBit leaked data allegedly belonging to Boeing on Friday, about a week after the aerospace giant confirmed it had fallen victim to a cyberattack. The leak includes more than 43GB of backup files that LockBit says it stole from Boeing, according to Bleeping Computer. 

As of Monday afternoon, the Boeing services website remained out of order. A notice posted to the site acknowledged a cyber incident affecting Boeing’s parts and distribution business, but reiterated that it did not impact the safety of its aircrafts. “In connection with this incident, a criminal ransomware actor has released information it alleges to have taken from our systems,” a Boeing spokesperson told Engadget. “We continue to investigate the incident and will remain in contact with law enforcement, regulatory authorities, and potentially impacted parties, as appropriate.”

Boeing website reads
Boeing

The saga started on October 27 when LockBit listed Boeing as a victim on its website, saying that the company had until November 2 to negotiate a payment. While LockBit briefly removed Boeing from its list of victims on its website, the ransomware gang returned on November 7 stating that Boeing had ignored its attempts to negotiate. LockBit initially threatened to release 4GB of sample data before it decided to leak all of the data it had stolen on November 10. 

The Boeing backup data released by LockBit includes configuration data for IT management software, auditing and monitoring logs and some Citrix information believed to be connected to a previous exploit. 

LockBit has grown into a notorious ransomware gang since its first appearance on Russian cybercrime forums in January 2020. There have been about 1,700 attacks in the US linked to LockBit, with companies paying about $91 million in ransoms to the gang, according to the FBI. Victims include the Chinese bank ICBC, chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Canadian book seller Indigo Books and Music, among others. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybercriminal-gang-lockbit-leaks-alleged-boeing-data-180021333.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Cybercriminal gang LockBit leaks alleged Boeing data

NASA's Mars Fleet Will Still Conduct Science While Lying Low

Posted on by

Rovers and orbiters will continue collecting limited data during a two-week communications pause due to the position of Earth, the Sun, and the Red Planet. From a report: NASA will hold off sending commands to its Mars fleet for two weeks, from Nov. 11 to 25, while Earth and the Red Planet are on opposite sides of the Sun. Called Mars solar conjunction, this phenomenon happens every two years. The missions pause because hot, ionized gas expelled from the Sun’s corona could potentially corrupt radio signals sent from Earth to NASA’s Mars spacecraft, leading to unexpected behaviors.

That’s not to say those robotic explorers are on holiday. NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity rovers will monitor changes in surface conditions, weather, and radiation as they stay parked. Although momentarily grounded, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will use its color camera to study the movement of sand, which poses an ever-present challenge to Mars missions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Odyssey orbiter will continue imaging the surface. And MAVEN will continue collecting data on interactions between the atmosphere and the Sun.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – NASA’s Mars Fleet Will Still Conduct Science While Lying Low

Daycare TB case exposes over 500 babies, children; emergency declared

Posted on by
<em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>.

Enlarge / Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (credit: Getty | NIH/NIAID)

Health officials in Omaha, Nebraska, are wasting no time in testing over 500 infants, toddlers, and children who may have been exposed to an active tuberculosis case at a local daycare. The Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) declared a public health emergency Friday.

In a press release, DCHD said the exposures occurred at a daycare at the Westview YMCA, which provides “drop-in” care, allowing members to drop off their kids as they use the facility. The exposures occurred between May 21, 2023, and October 30, 2023.

Children’s Nebraska pediatric hospital quickly set up a clinic this weekend to test children ages 4 and under who were potentially exposed in the last 10 weeks. Children in this age group need “window prophylaxis” treatment to prevent the development of tuberculosis as testing is underway. Later this week, DCHD will set up a clinic to test children ages 5 and up who were potentially exposed.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments



Source: Ars Technica – Daycare TB case exposes over 500 babies, children; emergency declared

What to Expect During SpaceX’s Second Starship Test Flight

Posted on by

Later this week, SpaceX is poised for a highly anticipated, and undoubtedly exciting, second test flight of its Starship megarocket—provided it receives the final regulatory approvals. Here’s what you need to know about this critically important test.

Read more…



Source: Gizmodo – What to Expect During SpaceX’s Second Starship Test Flight

Remedy scraps plans for a free-to-play multiplayer game

Posted on by

Remedy’s latest title, Alan Wake II, is garnering rave reviews and is a surefire game of the year contender. The studio will be hoping to build on that success with the several other games it has in the works, including a Control sequel and co-op spinoff. However, Remedy is going back to the drawing board with another game it has been piecing together.

It emerged in 2021 that the studio was working on a free-to-play co-op shooter with Tencent. Given the uncertainty of the market for free-to-play multiplayer games, though, the two sides have decided to go in a different direction. They’re rebooting Project Vanguard as Project Kestrel, which will be a “premium game with a strong, cooperative multiplayer component.”

The game is going back to a concept stage with core leadership and some members of the team remaining on Kestrel. Other folks who were working on Vanguard are being reassigned to other Remedy teams. The studio says Kestrel will “lean more into Remedy’s core strengths.” It plans to repurpose many of Vanguard’s assets, features and themes for Kestrel.

“We have made some great strides in free-to-play and multiplayer development in Vanguard,” Remedy CEO Tero Virtala said in a statement. “After a lot of careful consideration, we believe that taking on a new direction where the game will be built more around Remedy’s core competences is the right way to go. We are creating another distinct Remedy game with Tencent’s continued support in making a great cooperative multiplayer experience.”

Changing tack feels like a smart move. The free-to-play multiplayer shooter market is saturated with high-profile competition such as Apex Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone and Overwatch 2. As a result, a number of notable live service shooters have been shut down or canceled this year. One of those was CrossfireX, a free-to-play shooter that Remedy worked on, so the studio may be forgiven for feeling wary about re-entering that fray anytime soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/remedy-scraps-plans-for-a-free-to-play-multiplayer-game-174701519.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Remedy scraps plans for a free-to-play multiplayer game