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NASA’s Mars rover drops off Ingenuity helicopter ahead of historic flight

NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is currently roaming around Mars, has dropped off the mini helicopter Ingenuity ahead of the four-pound aircraft’s historic first flight. Ingenuity dropped four inches from the belly of Perseverance to the surface of Mars. While four inches might not seem like a very big drop, getting Ingenuity to successfully stick the… Read more

Waymo CEO John Krafcik steps down, replaced by two co-CEOs

Waymo CEO John Krafcik has announced that he’ll be stepping down from his role as CEO. Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s chief operating officer, and Dmitri Dolgov, the company’s chief technology officer, will work jointly as co-CEOs going forward. Krafcik didn’t provide a detailed explanation for his departure or what he’s planning on doing next. “After five… Read more

Microsoft won’t fully reopen its offices until September 7th at the earliest

Microsoft is delaying the full reopening of its offices — the company’s “Stage 6” phase of its hybrid workplace plan — until September 7th at the earliest. This marks a delay from its originally planned July window. “Based on our continued consultation with health and data experts, we’ve shifted our earliest date for the full… Read more

Former NASA chief Jim Bridenstine joins satellite internet firm Viasat’s board

Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is joining space-based broadband firm Viasat’s board of directors as his latest post-NASA gig, after joining a space-focused private equity firm in January. Wading into the world of satellite internet, he says he’s concerned about the digital divide and the future of humanity, and he wants to try something new…. Read more

Apple will use Tesla’s ‘megapack’ batteries at its California solar farm

Apple announced Wednesday that it’s building a big battery storage project at a Northern California solar farm it spearhead in 2015. But what the company didn’t share is that the battery packs will come from Tesla, The Verge has learned. The newly-announced setup, which will store up to 240 megawatt-hours of energy, was approved by… Read more

Arm Unveils Armv9 Instruction Set Architecture

Home News (Image credit: Qualcomm) Arm this week announced Armv9, its latest instruction set architecture that will power a broad range of processors and system-on-chips that will be launched in the coming years. The new ISA promises to enable designers to build SoCs with multiple special-purpose accelerators for artificial intelligence (AI), machine leading, digital signal processing (DSP),… Read more

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine highly effective in adolescents

The Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in 12- to 15-year-olds, the companies announced today in a press release. None of the children who received the vaccine in a clinical trial developed COVID-19, and they all developed strong antibody responses. There were no serious side effects. The study included 2,260 participants. Around half… Read more

Netflix planning to launch 40 anime shows in 2021

Netflix announced at Tokyo’s AnimeJapan 2021 Expo Saturday that it will launch 40 new anime titles in 2021, Bloomberg reported, following the success of its Blood of Zeus series last year. The new series to be released this year include an adaptation of the Japanese manga Record of Ragnarok, set to premiere in June; Yasuke,… Read more

Nerf is hiring a chief TikTok officer, and my inner teen is drooling

As a ‘90s kid, I used to dream of winning the Nickelodeon Super Toy Run — five minutes to fill a Toys R Us shopping cart with anything I liked. I had my route all planned out: stacks of video games, a few choice Lego sets, and then a fill-up at the Nerf aisle. The… Read more

Fnatic React+ Gaming Headset Review: Bargain Surround Sound With Premium Quality

Our Verdict With clear audio, a great microphone and an understated but attractive design, the Fnatic React+ is aimed at eSports gamers, but it’s a great all-around headset for media and working from home too. The bundled USB sound card adds great-sounding 7.1 virtual surround sound to PC gaming, and a 3.5mm jack means you… Read more

Windows 10 is getting new File Explorer icons as part of a visual overhaul

Microsoft is giving the File Explorer inside Windows 10 a visual overhaul with new icons. The software giant has started rolling out a test build of Windows 10 that includes changes to the system icons you’ll find in File Explorer, including the Recycle Bin, Documents folders, and devices like disk drives. “Several changes, such as… Read more

UK vinyl revenue to overtake CDs in 2021 according to British Phonographic Industry

Home News (Image credit: Elipson) Record collectors rejoice! Vinyl revenues in the UK are expected to overtake those of CDs in 2021, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)’s response to a new Official Charts report. Working from this Official Charts Company data, the BPI has revealed that UK music industry revenues rose 3.8 per… Read more

Qualcomm is reportedly developing a Switch-like Android gaming device

Qualcomm is reportedly working on an Android-powered, handheld gaming console that’s similar to a Nintendo Switch, according to Android Police and XDA’s editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman. The device would be powered by Qualcomm’s silicon, and could hit store shelves by next year — if it ends up being a real product at all. According to the… Read more

NASA reveals flight zone for historic helicopter flight on Mars

NASA has locked in a location on Mars for the first demo flight of its mini helicopter named Ingenuity, engineers announced on Tuesday. The four-pound rotorcraft is gearing up to attempt the first powered flight on another planet, demonstrating a new capability that could unlock access to hard-to-reach areas of other celestial bodies in the… Read more

Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset will reportedly weigh less than an iPhone

Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset could weigh less than 150 grams, which would make it much lighter than many other headsets on the market, according to a new research note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo seen by 9to5Mac. That lighter weight might mean Apple’s headset could be easier to wear for long periods of time…. Read more