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This inexpensive laptop brings back a buzzword that was once the talk of the tech industry
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I switched to a $150 Motorola phone for two weeks, and it went better than expected
Go Here to Read this Fast! The best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases of 2024: Expert recommended
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The best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases of 2024: Expert recommended
NASA confirmed on Friday that it’s developing a new lunar time system for the Moon. The White House published a policy memo in April, directing NASA to create the new standard by 2026. Over five months later (government time, y’all), the space agency’s confirmation states it will work with “U.S. government stakeholders, partners, and international standards organizations” to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).
To understand why the Moon needs its own time zone, look no further than Einstein. His theories of relativity say that because time changes relative to speed and gravity, time moves slightly faster on our celestial neighbor (because of its weaker gravity). So, an Earth clock on the Moon would gain about 56 microseconds a day — enough to throw off calculations that could put future missions requiring precision in danger.
“For something traveling at the speed of light, 56 microseconds is enough time to travel the distance of approximately 168 football fields,” said Cheryl Gramling, NASA timing and standards leader, in a press release. “If someone is orbiting the Moon, an observer on Earth who isn’t compensating for the effects of relativity over a day would think that the orbiting astronaut is approximately 168 football fields away from where the astronaut really is.”
April’s White House memo directed NASA to work with the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State and Transportation to plot the course for LTC’s introduction by the end of 2026. Global stakeholders, particularly Artemis Accords signees, will play a role. Established in 2020, the agreements include a growing collection of 43 countries committed to norms expected to be honored in space. Notably, China and Russia have refused to join.
NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program will lead the initiative. One of LTC’s goals is to be scalable to other celestial bodies in the future, including Mars. The time standard will be determined by a weighted average of atomic clocks on the Moon, although their locations are still up for debate. Such a weighted average is similar to how scientists calculate Earth’s Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
NASA plans to send crewed missions back to the Moon through its Artemis program. Artemis 2, scheduled for September 2025, plans to send four people on a pass around the Moon. A year later, Artemis 3 aims to land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-confirms-its-developing-the-moons-new-time-zone-165345568.html?src=rss
Go Here to Read this Fast! NASA confirms it’s developing the Moon’s new time zone
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NASA confirms it’s developing the Moon’s new time zone
In Hollowbody, an early 2000s-style third-person survival horror game by Nathan Hamley (the solo developer behind Headware Games), the true terror comes not from its hideous monsters, but from inhabiting a world where regular people are failed by the system and left to die.
Hollowbody is an homage to the PlayStation 2-era classics that helped define the genre. It also adds a “tech-noir” spin; think the first few Silent Hill games, namely Silent Hill 2, and a touch of Blade Runner. It goes heavy on atmosphere, relying almost entirely on tension-building rather than action to create a sense of palpable unease. And while the game resurrects PS2 graphics, it does not subject you to tank controls (unless you want them, then there’s a toggle for that, sickos).
It’s set in the not-too-distant future in a ruined city somewhere in the British Isles, decades after the region was struck by a supposed biological attack and later bombed while under quarantine. A brief introduction alludes to corruption and conspiracy around the true events of the catastrophe. The initial attacks targeted cities “plagued by economic hardship and depravity,” and the affected areas were walled off to contain the spread of any contagions — but not before people deemed to be “high value” citizens were allowed to escape to an artificial island with a suspiciously utopic name (Aeonis).
The game opens with a group of researcher-activists who have convened at an entry site to one of the exclusion zones, where they plan to go in search of answers. After one of them, Sasha, goes missing, her partner Mica sets out in a hover car to find her at any cost.
It’s in this early sequence that we really see the tech-noir part of Hollowbody’s description come through: Mica staring out the huge glass window of an apartment overlooking a densely packed city à la Blade Runner 2049; zipping between skyscrapers in a flying passenger vehicle; having a cheeky conversation with an intelligent navigation system. Naturally, Mica crashes on the ride in, loses contact with the one person who can help her and has to make her way toward Sasha on foot.
From then on, the tech-noir bit slips mostly out of focus until it swings back around at the end of the game, and Hollowbody takes on the more traditional survival horror mold of ‘science experiment turned local extinction event.’ There are some touches of that distinct tech-infused vision — at one point, Mica passes a broken-down mech the size of an apartment building, and there’s a glowing children’s toy in one room that looks vaguely robotic — but it’s not exactly pervasive. Mica’s personal gadgetry and the styling of the inventory menu serve as the only real reminders of that angle for most of the game.
There are a number of puzzles to solve as you explore derelict buildings and the city’s parks trying to figure out how to get the hell out of there. The solutions to most of these are fairly obvious once you’ve come across the clues sprinkled around each location, so the fun is more in the exploration.
There was an occasional head-scratcher that would send me in circles though. It didn’t help that the surfaces I was able to interact with would sometimes continue to display indicators like “Pick up” or “Seek” even after I took everything that could be used from them. In cluttered rooms, I found myself rechecking some spots over and over thinking I’d missed something. These prompts will also appear in some places just for the sake of having Mica make inconsequential observations, like commenting on the dirty dishes or sheets that have gone years unwashed, and she’ll say the same remarks repeatedly as she encounters the same setups in different apartments.
Thankfully, that doesn’t detract much from how unnerving the setting is. The music is haunting, and it combines with heightened environmental noises like rain, radio static and Mica’s echoing footsteps to create a really visceral soundscape. If ever Mica’s inside a building or underground structure, you can be sure it’ll be dark and labyrinthine. It always felt like a monster was going to jump out at any second, despite that not usually being the case. (It was sometimes, though.) Outside, Mica is exposed, and it doesn’t take long for monsters to notice her and start congregating around her.
The monsters themselves are wonderfully disgusting. There are bipedal abominations, some emaciated while others are top-heavy and headless, with gross tendrils flailing out from their upper halves. Hollowbody has some demon dogs, too, plus a few scuttling insectoid creatures that seemingly pose no threat beyond creeping you out. Cat-sized worm critters will slither right past you, and their hilariously clunky animation just might be the most PS2 thing about the entire game.
It’s not very combat-oriented — often, you can just run past the enemies — but there are guns to come by, and a few makeshift melee weapons. Using the latter felt somewhat stiff and slow at times, particularly when facing a group of beasts, but I was still able to make do favoring bludgeoning tools to conserve ammunition. And I delighted in the gushy thwack of my street sign ax connecting with monster flesh. I also loved that Mica can grab an electric guitar off the wall and use it as a weapon. It may not be the most pragmatic approach considering the heaviness, but the clang when it makes contact with its target is very satisfying.
There are bodies in various states of decay at every turn, and Mica’s scanner will give you an instant read on the deceased to get a sense of who they were and how they died. In many instances, the cause is nothing paranormal: dehydration, starvation, murder, etc. A backstory forms through documents and audio flashbacks that are activated at certain sites, telling of financial struggles and gentrification in the city long before the biological disaster, and the eventual desolation endured by the people in the quarantined area afterward, who could only survive as long as their dwindling resources allowed.
Mica finds a notice of impending rent hikes, a letter that mentions the disruption of construction going on at all hours of the night and a past due notice for unpaid utilities bills showing monthly prices had quadrupled. She comes across a note left behind by a dying man, wishing for a better future for his family and humanity. In one post-quarantine recording, starving civilians pleading to leave the city are gunned down by armed forces. It is all incredibly bleak, and I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief very much to envision a reality in which things would pan out like this.
But an explanation as to why there are horrid, fleshy humanoid monsters roaming the streets never fully reveals itself in a straightforward way. (At least, not with the ending I reached and all the materials I collected.) The most substantial hint on that front came from a single newspaper clipping, the contents of which I’d rather not spoil here. The article plants the seed of an idea, but it’s largely up to the player to fill in the blanks beyond that.
There are touching snippets of Mica and Sasha’s story as well, but the duo’s connection to this place and apparent significance within its present goings-on never quite got the neat wrap-up I was hoping for. While the ending was a beautiful, emotional scene that felt like it brought the story full circle thematically, it also left me with the feeling of, Wait, what just happened? It seems like there are other endings, though, which may prove more conclusive on subsequent playthroughs. Beating the game also unlocks a harder difficulty option and a first-person dungeon crawler mode, which immediately made everything feel scarier when I switched it on.
Even with its shortcomings, Hollowbody is a solid survival horror title that feels especially impressive when you take into account the fact that it was made by a solo indie developer. Vibes are part of what made its predecessors unforgettable, and Hollowbody’s oppressive mood hits all the right notes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/hollowbody-fills-the-void-left-by-ps2-survival-horror-games-160030810.html?src=rss
Go Here to Read this Fast! Hollowbody fills the void left by PS2 survival horror games
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Hollowbody fills the void left by PS2 survival horror games
Waymo and Uber are planning to bring their robotaxi service to more locales in the near future. Waymo One will arrive in Austin and Atlanta by early 2025. Folks in the two cities will be able to take a ride in Waymo’s autonomous, electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles via the Uber app.
Waymo employees in Austin are already using the service. The company will open up access to a limited number of public riders via the Waymo One app before moving the service to Uber early next year. The Atlanta public can start taking rides in the robotaxis in early 2025, and the companies plan to gradually expand Waymo One in that city.
The Austin operations have been a long time coming. Waymo first revealed plans to expand to the Texas state capital back in 2023, and it initially planned to do so that fall.
Waymo One riders currently take more than 100,000 trips each week across San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Waymo said in May it was facilitating 50,000 paid trips every week.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/waymo-and-uber-are-bringing-their-robotaxi-service-to-austin-and-atlanta-by-early-2025-154417860.html?src=rss
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Waymo and Uber are bringing their robotaxi service to Austin and Atlanta by early 2025
Anker’s 3-in-1 MagSafe foldable charging station has dropped to $88, which is a record low price. We haven’t seen it go this low since Amazon Prime Day. This is a discount of 20 percent.
As the name suggests, this is a 3-in-1 charging station that can simultaneously accommodate an iPhone, an Apple Watch and AirPods. It boasts 15W charging and is Qi2-certified, so you can expect things to move quickly. For instance, the company says it can get an Apple Watch Series 9 to 47 percent in just 30 minutes. It’s easy to see why this thing made our list of the best Apple Watch accessories.
It’s actually quite portable for a charging station. It only weighs 6.9 ounces and the whole thing folds up to around the size of a deck of cards. It also ships with the charger’s cable and a 40W power brick, so you’ll have everything you need to get those top charging speeds without having to splurge on anything extra.
While this is a great charger, especially for frequent travelers, the price has long been a sticking point for many. It’s tough to recommend any accessory like this at more than $100. The sale price of $88 makes things a bit more palatable.
October Prime Day 2024 is around the corner, serving as Amazon’s (un)official kickoff to the holiday shopping season. If you’re eager to snag some early holiday deals for those on your list (or yourself), here’s what we know so far about the next Prime Day shopping event.
When is October Prime Day 2024?
Amazon has not announced the dates of fall Prime Day 2024 yet, but we do know it will be returning sometime in October.
What is October Prime Day?
October Prime Day is an extension of the regular Prime Day sale held annually in July. It features exclusive deals on Amazon for Prime members, although not quite on as big of a scale as the main summer Prime Day.
How long is October Prime Day?
In years past, October Prime Day has been two days long, just like Prime Day in July.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/ankers-3-in-1-magsafe-foldable-charging-station-drops-back-down-to-its-prime-day-price-151850336.html?src=rss
Starting next week, Meta will no longer put an easy-to-see label on Facebook images that were edited using AI tools, and it will make it much harder to determine if they appear in their original state or had been doctored. To be clear, the company will still add a note to AI-edited images, but you’ll have to tap on the three-dot menu at the upper right corner of a Facebook post and then scroll down to find “AI Info” among the many other options. Only then will you see the note saying that the content in the post may have been modified with AI.
Images generated using AI tools, however, will still be marked with an “AI Info” label that can be seen right on the post. Clicking on it will show a note that will say whether it’s been labeled because of industry-shared signals or because somebody self-disclosed that it was an AI-generated image. Meta started applying AI-generated content labels to a broader range of videos, audio and images earlier this year. But after widespread complaints from photographers that the company was flagging even non-AI-generated content by mistake, Meta changed the “Made with AI” label wording into “AI Info” by July.
The social network said it worked with companies across the industry to improve its labeling process and that it’s making these changes to “better reflect the extent of AI used in content.” Still, doctored images are being widely used these days to spread misinformation, and this development could make it trickier to identify false news, which typically pop up more during election season.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-hides-warning-labels-for-ai-edited-images-143004313.html?src=rss
Go Here to Read this Fast! Meta hides warning labels for AI-edited images
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Meta hides warning labels for AI-edited images
Uh oh, it appears that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has leaked online a couple of weeks ahead of the game’s release date. Some new images and clips from the Nintendo Switch title are circulating online, per Nintendo Life.
YouTubers Nintendo Prime and Zelda Lore sounded the alarm, claiming that a ROM file of the game is already available and that some people are playing it via emulators. For what it’s worth, some of the more popular sites from which people obtain pirated Switch games don’t yet offer download links for the Echoes of Wisdom ROM, but it might take a little time for the leaked file to propagate on those.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a rare occurrence. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom leaked before its debut last year, with boss battles and other spoiler-laden footage popping up within a similar timeframe, around two weeks ahead of the release date.
As for how this latest leak happened, Echoes of Wisdom is set to arrive on September 26, so this is right around the time that Nintendo is likely to be sending out review copies. As such, someone with early access may have ripped the game and shared it online. In any case, it’s worth exercising some caution and maybe muting some keywords on the social media platforms you frequent if you don’t want any of the game’s surprises to be ruined.
It would be a real shame for fans to accidentally be spoiled on Echoes of Wisdom, since it marks the first time Zelda herself will be the main playable character in the series that carries her name. Any leak could also result in Nintendo being even more selective when it comes to providing review copies of games.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-may-have-leaked-already-142334680.html?src=rss
Go Here to Read this Fast! The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may have leaked already
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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may have leaked already