You are only seeing posts authors requested be public.

Register and Login to participate in discussions with colleagues.


Technology News

GOG’s Preservation Program is the DRM-free store refocusing on the classics

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 08:31

The classic PC games market is "in a sorry state," according to DRM-free and classic-minded storefront GOG. Small games that aren't currently selling get abandoned, and compatibility issues arise as technology moves forward or as one-off development ideas age like milk.

Classic games are only 20 percent of GOG's catalog, and the firm hasn't actually called itself "Good Old Games" in 12 years. And yet, today, GOG announces that it is making "a significant commitment of resources" toward a new GOG Preservation Program. It starts with 100 games for which GOG's own developers are working to create current and future compatibility, keeping them DRM-free and giving them ongoing tech support, along with granting them a "Good Old Game: Preserved by GOG" stamp.

Credit: GOG

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

Firefly Aerospace rakes in more cash as competitors struggle for footing

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 08:20

Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based company resurrected from bankruptcy, is riding high these days. In a few months, Firefly will attempt to become the second company to safely place a commercial lander on the Moon. Firefly's Alpha rocket has reached orbit four times, and engineers are developing a larger medium-class rocket in partnership with Northrop Grumman, one of the largest US aerospace and defense contractors.

There's also an orbital transfer vehicle, named Elytra, in Firefly's diversified portfolio. This diversification is proving attractive to investors. Firefly announced Tuesday that it completed a $175 million Series D fundraising round, resulting in a valuation of more than $2 billion. This follows a banner year of fundraising in 2023, when Firefly reported investors funneled approximately $300 million into the company at a valuation of $1.5 billion.

"Firefly is extremely grateful for our existing and new investors whose support demonstrates a huge vote of confidence in our capabilities and future," said Jason Kim, who took over as the company's CEO in October. He replaced Bill Weber, who resigned as chief executive after reports of an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female employee.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

20 Best Early Black Friday Deals of 2024 to Shop Right Now

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 08:01
It doesn’t officially arrive until November 29, but the Black Friday deals have already begun.
Categories: Technology News

Google at APEC 2024Google at APEC 2024Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy

Google official blog - Wed, 2024-11-13 08:00
An overview of Google’s work at APEC and the public-private partnerships expanding AI’s benefits to more people.An overview of Google’s work at APEC and the public-private partnerships expanding AI’s benefits to more people.
Categories: Technology News

Tesla is recalling 2,431 Cybertrucks, and this time there’s no software fix

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 07:18

Tesla has issued yet another recall for the angular, unpainted Cybertruck. This is the sixth recall affecting the model-year 2024 Cybertruck to be issued since January, and it affects 2,431 vehicles in total. And this time, there's no fix being delivered by a software update over the air—owners will need to have their pickup trucks physically repaired.

The problem is a faulty drive unit inverter, which stranded a Cybertruck at the end of July. Tesla says it started investigating the problem a week later and by late October arrived at the conclusion that it had made a bad batch of inverters that it used in production vehicles from November 6, 2023, until July 30, 2024. After a total of five failures and warranty claims that the company says "may be related to the condition," Tesla issued a recall.

Tesla is often able to fix defects in its products by pushing out new software, something that leads many fans of the brand to get defensive over the topic. Although there is no requirement for a safety recall to involve some kind of hardware fix—20 percent of all car recalls are now software fixes—in this case, the solution to the failing inverters very much requires a technician to work on the affected trucks.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

Best Disc Golf Discs (2024): Disc Sets, Putters, and More

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 07:03
Here are the best disc golf discs that we've tested in the field.
Categories: Technology News

Discord admin gets 15 years for “one of the most significant leaks” in US history

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 07:00

Former US Air National Guard Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking confidential military documents on Discord.

Teixeira was arrested last year for sharing hundreds of pages of information online, some of which detailed national security secrets tied to US foreign adversaries and allies, including Russia, China, Ukraine, and South Korea. He secured the documents through his position at a Massachusetts military base, hoping to impress his young military-obsessed friends in a Discord group called "Thug Shaker Central."

Back in March, Teixeira pled guilty to six counts of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information." But in taking a plea deal, he got the government's bigger spy charges tossed, avoiding a much longer possible maximum sentence of 60 years.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

Teen in critical condition with Canada’s first human case of H5 bird flu

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:51

A British Columbia teen who contracted Canada's first known human case of H5 bird flu has deteriorated swiftly in recent days and is now in critical condition, health officials reported Tuesday.

The teen's case was announced Saturday by provincial health officials, who noted that the teen had no obvious exposure to animals that could explain an infection with the highly pathogenic avian influenza. The teen tested positive for H5 bird flu at BC's public health laboratory, and the result is currently being confirmed by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

The teen's case reportedly began with conjunctivitis, echoing the H5N1 human case reports in the US. The case then progressed to fever and cough, and the teen was admitted to BC's Children's hospital late Friday. The teen's condition varied throughout the weekend but had taken a turn for the worse by Tuesday, according to BC provincial health officer Bonnie Henry.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

Researchers Give Animal Cells the Ability to Photosynthesize for the First Time

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:45
A Japanese team has developed a technique to insert chloroplasts isolated from algae into animal cells, a feat that could revolutionize sustainable energy and how artificial meat and organs are created.
Categories: Technology News

New single-motor Polestar 3 SUV starts at $67,500, orders open now

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:39

Polestar's range expands a little more today. The Swedish spinoff announced that it is opening its order books for a cheaper, longer-range version of the Polestar 3 electric SUV that rather impressed us when we drove it earlier this year. The Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor will cost $67,500—well under the price cap for the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, for which it qualifies, as it is built in South Carolina.

Dropping the front motor/generator unit means that the Polestar 3 LRSM is a good deal less powerful than the Long Range Dual Motor version we've driven, but 296 hp (220 kW) and 361 lb-ft (489 Nm) should ensure that while it isn't as fast, it shouldn't be any kind of slouch.

And the boost in range should more than make up for any increase in 0–60 times. The Polestar 3 LRSM can go 350 miles (563 km) on a single charge of the 111 kWh battery, compared to 315 miles (507 km) for the Polestar 3 LRDM.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

6 Best Webcams (2024), Tested and Reviewed

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:38
You might see your coworkers in only two dimensions, but don’t let that stop you from looking your best.
Categories: Technology News

Seeking favor with Musk and Trump, advertisers plot return to X

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:15

Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump is set to boost X’s flagging business, with some marketers poised for a return to the social media platform in order to seek favor with the incoming administration.

Media executives told the Financial Times that some brands were preparing to advertise on X once again, as its billionaire owner was likely to gain an influential role within a second Trump White House.

The platform’s revenues have fallen dramatically since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition two years ago, with some investor estimates suggesting its current valuation is less than $10 billion.

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

Fitbit Ace LTE has new features to bring the whole family togetherFitbit Ace LTE has new features to bring the whole family togetherDirector of Product, Fitbit

Google official blog - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:00
New features for Fitbit Ace LTE helps bring the family closer together and gives kids new ways to move.New features for Fitbit Ace LTE helps bring the family closer together and gives kids new ways to move.
Categories: Technology News

SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds Review: Dongle Earbuds

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 06:00
Gaming headsets have long been the norm. Now it's time for gaming earbuds.
Categories: Technology News

The Best Sheets for Every Body, Bed, and Budget (2024)

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 05:31
Which material should you buy? Percale or linen? We tested dozens of sheets to find our favorites and break it all down.
Categories: Technology News

UK IT and security teams face mounting pressure from legacy technologyUK IT and security teams face mounting pressure from legacy technologyDirector, Google Workspace, UKI

Google official blog - Wed, 2024-11-13 05:30
This post explores the challenges UK IT and security teams face due to legacy tech and the rise of generative AI. Results reveal a surge in security incidents and burno…This post explores the challenges UK IT and security teams face due to legacy tech and the rise of generative AI. Results reveal a surge in security incidents and burnout among professionals, underscoring the urgent need for modern security solutions.
Categories: Technology News

Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment 50 years later

Ars Technica - Wed, 2024-11-13 05:00

In 1971, Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a notorious experiment in which he randomly divided college students into two groups, guards and prisoners, and set them loose in a simulated prison environment for six days, documenting the guards' descent into brutality. His findings caused a media sensation and a lot of subsequent criticism about the ethics and methodology employed in the study. Zimbardo died last month at 91, but his controversial legacy continues to resonate some 50 years later with The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth, a new documentary from National Geographic.

Director Juliette Eisner started working on the documentary during the pandemic when, like most people, she had a lot of extra time on her hands. She started looking at old psychological studies exploring human nature and became fascinated by the Stanford Prison Experiment, especially in light of the summer protests in 2020 concerning police brutality. She soon realized that the prevailing narrative was Zimbardo's and that very few of the original subjects in the experiment had ever been interviewed about their experiences.

"I wanted to hear from those people," Eisner told Ars. "They were very hard to find. Most of them were still only known by alias or by prisoner number." Eisner persevered and tracked most of them down. "Every single time they picked up the phone, they were like, 'Oh, I'm so glad you called. Nobody has called me in 50 years. And by the way, everything you think you know about this study is wrong,' or 'The story is not what it seems.'"

Read full article

Comments

Categories: Technology News

ICE Started Ramping Up Its Surveillance Arsenal Immediately After Donald Trump Won

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 04:00
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement put out a fresh call for contracts for surveillance technologies before an anticipated surge in the number of people it monitors ahead of deportation hearings.
Categories: Technology News

Bone Marrow Donors Can Be Hard to Find. One Company Is Turning to Cadavers

Wired Top Stories - Wed, 2024-11-13 03:30
San Francisco–based Ossium Health has carried out three transplants for cancer patients using stem cells from deceased donors’ bone marrow in recent months.
Categories: Technology News

Celebrating the National Gallery on Google Arts & CultureCelebrating the National Gallery on Google Arts & CultureDirector of the National Gallery

Google official blog - Wed, 2024-11-13 00:30
London’s National Gallery is celebrating 200 years with newly digitised artworks, curated stories and an interactive AI experience connecting art and music on Google Art…London’s National Gallery is celebrating 200 years with newly digitised artworks, curated stories and an interactive AI experience connecting art and music on Google Arts & Culture.
Categories: Technology News
Syndicate content

Cease fire banner, you don't speak for the people.