SpaceX has been offering Starlink internet service since 2020, and subscribers have reported a slow but as Elon Musk’s rockets continue filling the sky with new satellites. Starting soon, even faster speeds will be available, but you’ll need to subscribe to the new . It will cost a whopping $500 per month, and the hardware isn’t cheap, but you do get roughly twice the bandwidth. The standard Starlink service costs $99 per month and offers up to 250Mbps speeds, but it’s closer to 100Mbps for most users. Starlink Premium has a maximum throughput of 500Mbps. Starlink promises the same network latency of 20-50ms.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are the latest hot button issue in the gaming world. Game publishers have begun singing their praises and calling them the future of gaming. In response the gaming community (including game developers) have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the concept. Since NFTs are officially in the gaming Zeitgeist, it was an expected topic in Electronic Arts’ (EA) earnings call on Tuesday, and surprisingly the company’s CEO says they’re not that into them, for now at least. In the call, which was transcribed by , CEO Andew Wilson was asked, “We’ve seen a lot of venture capital funding into blockchain and NFT gaming, wondering how you’re thinking about those channels eventually and it’s easier to build from within?” Though Wilson waxed corporate for quite some time, he eventually discussed the notion of games having unique, collectible items, and said, “I believe that collectability will continue to be an important part of our industry and the games and experiences that we offer our players.
AMD’s Q4 2021 earnings have been tallied up, and the result is exactly what you’d expect from a company that is selling every single piece of hardware it makes, often at increased prices due to the various shortages roiling the industry. AMD not only had a record breaking fourth quarter, but a record breaking year too, with its revenue increasing an astonishing 68 percent year-over-year. The company released its financial results ahead of its scheduled earnings call, which was transcribed by . On the call, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su had an upbeat message to deliver. “2021 was an outstanding year for AMD, as we exceeded our aggressive growth goals and delivered another record year.
Professor Hanein preparing BBC reporter Natalie Lisbona for her lie detection test. (Photo: Tomer Neuberg/BBC)Researchers in Israel have developed technology that may someday replace the “lie detector” tests we know today. Professor Yael Hanein, an electrical engineer and nanotechnologist at Tel Aviv University, has worked with colleague Professor Dino Levy, a psychobiologist, to create a lie detector system that uses a test subject’s microexpressions to determine the truthfulness of a statement. Using electrodes attached to the subject’s face, the test looks for involuntary eyebrow and lip movements—two signs that Hanein and her colleague say occur with a majority of liars.
(Photo: Greg Bulla/Unsplash)Now that Facebook is officially called Meta, the company has officially split into two factions: the Virtual Reality (VR) side of the operation, and the “apps” side. The VR side is the Meta part of the company (formerly Oculus), and includes its Reality Labs business, and the other half is called Family of Apps (FoA), which includes WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Since they’re separate now, the company has begun reporting revenue for each side of the business. In this week’s quarterly (with an annual summary) earnings call from the company we got our first look into how its Metaverse operation is going.
Once upon a time, Google cared about Android tablets. Then it didn’t. Then it did. After a few more back and forth cycles, now Google is releasing a new version of Android soon with optimizations specifically for larger devices, and it’s even hiring high-level employees to oversee Android tablets. But is it too late to compete with the iPad? Google ramped up its focus on Android tablets last year when it began work on Android 12L. This is the first time since Android 8.1 Oreo that Google has released a major midcycle OS update. Android 12L will include optimizations for large-screen devices like foldables and tablets.
There are almost three and a half million apps in the Play Store, and despite Google’s alleged best efforts, malware still slips through every now and then. One recently removed app was particularly malicious, masquerading as a two-factor code manager. Known simply as , the app picked up more than 10,000 installs until security researchers . We (and others) are always recommending two-factor authentication (2FA) as one of the best ways to secure your online accounts. Some services rely on one-time SMS codes, but 2FA apps like Google Authenticator and Authy make it easier to manage multiple 2FA tokens.
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is having difficulties with its solar panels. The spacecraft launched on Oct. 16th without incident, and successfully unfolded both its solar panels. But only one of its panels successfully latched into position. Telemetry via NASA’s Deep Space Network shows that Lucy as a whole is still safe. All other systems are normal. Nevertheless, mission engineers are on the problem. Initially, NASA acknowledged the issue in a , saying, “In the current spacecraft attitude, Lucy can continue to operate with no threat to its health and safety. The team is analyzing spacecraft data to understand the situation and determine next steps to achieve full deployment of the solar array.
(Photo: EVGA)PC component and accessories maker EVGA has pulled the wraps off its all-new E1 open air PC “concept” design, and the “sports car adjacent” gaming rig is every bit as enticing as a Formula 1 prototype. Though EVGA isn’t known for producing entire PCs, much less exotic ATX chassis, the E1 is like nothing we’ve ever seen. We say that not because of its open air design, which is nothing new, but because of its extensive use of carbon fiber as well as the fact that instead of mounting the motherboard to the case like most cases, the E1 uses steel cables to suspend the motherboard in the center of the contraption.
