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Unity Plans to Add Native Support for Nvidia DLSS by the End of the Year

Nvidia announced that native support for its Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology would be added to the Unity game engine by the end of the year. That integration will make DLSS part of two leading engines—Unity and Unreal Engine—used to develop games for practically every device on the market. DLSS was introduced in 2018… Read more

For many, COVID-19 vaccines come with a side of side effects

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine comes with a lot of benefits. There’s the protection against a world-altering virus, the ability to travel more safely, and hanging out in people’s houses again. There are also doughnuts. But there’s also a pretty good chance that a vaccine will be accompanied by a few unwelcome side effects. Most of… Read more

How tech companies are ignoring the pandemic’s mental health crisis

There is plenty that scientists don’t understand about the long-term effects of COVID-19 on society. But a year in, at least one thing seems clear: the pandemic has been terrible for our collective mental health — and a surprising number of tech platforms seem to have given the issue very little thought. First, the numbers…. Read more

Apple says iMessage on Android ‘will hurt us more than help us’

Apple knows that iMessage’s blue bubbles are a big barrier to people switching to Android, which is why the service has never appeared on Google’s mobile operating system. That’s according to depositions and emails from Apple employees, including some high-ranking executives, revealed in a court filing from Epic Games as part of its legal dispute… Read more

U.S. Blacklists Two Major Chinese CPU Developers

Home News (Image credit: South China Morning Post) The U.S. Commerce Department has added seven Chinese entities to the DoC’s Entity List, essentially barring these companies and organizations from obtaining almost all advanced technologies developed in the U.S. Among the entities are two major CPU developers from China: Tianjin Phytium Information Technology and Sunway Microelectronics (or Shenwei Microelectronics). The Department of Commerce’s… Read more

Could a ‘Crypto Climate Accord’ erase cryptocurrencies’ carbon footprint?

A newly announced “Crypto Climate Accord” aims to erase cryptocurrencies’ legacy of climate pollution. That’s a tall order considering the enormous amounts of energy that the most popular cryptocurrencies — bitcoin and Ethereum — consume. The loose goals laid out in the plan so far face potentially insurmountable challenges. The “accord” is led by the… Read more

Raspberry Pi Pico POV Display Spins Out a Dazzling LED Show

Home News (Image credit: Home Made Garbadge) We’ve seen makers develop some pretty cool Raspberry Pi Pico displays, but this is the first POV Pico display we’ve seen! POV stands for persistence of vision and refers to a technology that works by flashing LEDs on a rotating string. Through careful timings, the lights can flash… Read more

Tim Cook says Apple wants to use AR to make conversations better

Apple CEO Tim Cook rarely provides details on unannounced products, but he offered some hints about Apple’s thinking on augmented reality and cars in an interview with Kara Swisher for The New York Times this morning. When it comes to augmented reality, he agreed with Swisher’s framing that the tech is “critically important” to Apple’s… Read more

The visual jazz of Genesis Noir

Genesis Noir is set at the start of existence, reimagining the Big Bang and the natural expansion of the universe as the violent end result of a love triangle gone wrong. It’s a marriage of jazz and film noir in a point-and-click adventure game that sometimes works better as an audiovisual plaything than it does… Read more

Google’s next Pixels will reportedly switch to a custom in-house GS101 processor

Google’s next Pixel flagship — the presumably named “Pixel 6” — will reportedly feature a Google-designed GS101 “Whitechapel” SoC (system on a chip), a first for the company, as reported by 9to5Google and XDA-Developers. 9to5Google’s report claims Google is working on two phones that will feature the Arm-based GS101 — presumed to be a flagship… Read more

TSMC to Invest $100 Billion in Fabs and R&D Over Next Three Years

Home News (Image credit: TSMC) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. via Yahoo Finance / Bloomberg today said it would invest $100 billion over the next three years in new manufacturing capacities as well as research and development (R&D). The investments in advanced fabs will increase TSMC’s lead over rivals and will ensure that the company introduces… Read more

9 brilliant albums recorded in self-isolation

Home Features (Image credit: The Streets) Novelty of working from home wearing a little thin? Children climbing the walls? Missing those carefree double-kisses and bear hugs from relatives and acquaintances? Or are you feeling something else? Whisper it lest she disappear, but might that something actually be the muse descending? “An artist is always alone… Read more

Apple won’t give Siri a female-sounding voice by default anymore

Apple will remove the female voice as the default for its Siri assistant, according to TechCrunch. The change is effective as of today’s release of the sixth iOS 14.5 beta. Once this latest update is publicly released to all customers, iPhone and iPad users will be prompted to choose their preferred Siri voice during device… 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

Gocycle’s folding G4 e-bikes promise more power and less noise

Gocycle, the maker of some of the most eye-catching and adaptable electric bikes on the planet, is back with its fourth-generation e-bike. The G4 series brings a new motor, better tires, lighter carbon-fiber components, and more to improve upon what’s already one of our favorite e-bikes. But before you get too excited, know that the… Read more