Tag: technews

Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb have transformed travel. They’ve made it easier for tourists to access personalised, private accommodations and for property owners to monetise their spaces.   With global tourism now on track for a full recovery post-COVID, Hostaway has secured a cool $365mn at a $925mn valuation as it looks to cash-in on the boom in short-term rentals. Hostaway is a property management system (PMS) and software marketplace for the short-term rental industry. It will use the cash to enhance its dynamic pricing tools, further integrate AI, and expand its presence in new markets, focusing on France, Italy, and…

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The space station will host its third and final spacewalk of 2024 on Thursday, December 19. Here’s how to watch it …

Steam Replay, Valve’s take on Spotify Wrapped for games you’ve played through Steam, is available now for your perusal. Valve’s offered the year-end presentation since 2022, and it can be a pretty revealing glimpse into how time-consuming most games have become in the last two years (or how much one game can really stick in your craw).

You can access the data dump directly through the Steam app, your Steam Deck or the web. For 2024, Valve tracked the number of games and demos you’ve played, the number of achievements you’ve unlocked, your longest gaming streak and the games you spent the majority of your time playing. The company also collected data on how much of your time spent playing was on Steam Deck, which genres you tend to prefer and shared some details on how the median Steam users plays. For example, the median Steam user only played four games this year, and unlocked 13 achievements.

Valve

According to my Replay, the majority of my time on Steam this year was spent playing 1000xRESIST, Arco, Animal Well and Balatro. Since I’ve basically treated the Steam Deck like a console from the moment I bought one, it’s also where I spent 100 percent of my time using Steam in 2024. I suspect that’s unusual for the average user, but it’s really the only surprise I found combing through Valve’s data.

If you dig up anything interesting in your Steam Replay, Valve has made it easy to make your Replay public so you can share with friends. If you’re particularly proud of how much you’ve completed in 2024, you can also attach an overview of your stats directly to your Steam profile.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/steam-replay-2024-is-available-now-so-you-can-compare-your-balatro-playtime-with-friends-234027828.html?src=rss

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved California’s plan to phase out and ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. ABC News reported the EPA gave California the waivers it needed to enact the Advanced Clean Cars II Regulations (ACC II) devised and approved by the California Air Resources Board in 2022.

The EPA also approved California’s plan to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in order to reduce the amount of smog in the air. The state will require an initial 75 percent reduction in NOx pollution followed by a 90 percent reduction a few years later.

The ACC II provides a year-to-year blueprint for phasing out the selling of combustion-engine vehicles. The plan sets a 2026 deadline by which 35 percent of the state’s car sales must be electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids or models with hydrogen fuel cells. Then by 2030, the electric vehicle sale threshold rises to 68 percent before reaching its ultimate 100 percent sale requirement by 2035. Consumers and dealerships will still be able to buy, sell and drive used ICE and hybrid cards until the ACC II. California Air Resources Board chair Liane Randolph estimated the ACC II could lead to a 50 percent drop in pollution by 2040.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed the decision and ACC II in a statement as evidence that “California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/epa-gives-thumbs-up-to-californias-new-gas-powered-car-sale-ban-232048688.html?src=rss