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Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Theranos’ former chief operating officer, has been found guilty of all charges in his criminal trial. Balwani, whose trial began in March, was charged with ten counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He could face up to 20 years in prison for defrauding investors and Theranos patients.

The verdict comes nearly six months after Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding Theranos investors. She also faces up to 20 years in prison, but hasn’t yet been sentenced. During her trial, Holmes testified that Balwani had been controlling and abusive during their relationship. Balwani’s attorneys denied the allegations.

The case against Balwani was similar to the one against Holmes. Like Holmes, Balwani was charged with defrauding Theranos investors as well as patients. Holmes was found guilty on just four of the 11 fraud charges she faced, all of which related to Theranos investors. She was acquitted on charges of defrauding patients. 

Unlike Holmes, Balwani did not take the stand during his three-month trial. His lawyers argued that “he did not control Theranos” and that Holmes was ultimately in charge of running the company. Prosecutors maintained he worked hand-in-hand with Holmes to mislead investors, and that he was the executive responsible for erroneous financial projections claiming the startup would bring in $1 billion in revenue by 2015.

Balwani’s trial didn’t attract the same level of media attention as Holmes’, but his relationship with Holmes played a major role in the widespread fascination surrounding Theranos. Balwani joined Theranos as COO in 2009 and oversaw much of the day-to-day operations of the company’s lab. The two executives hid their longtime romantic relationship from other Theranos employees, as well as the company’s investors and board members. More recently, their relationship was a major focus of The Dropout, a Hulu miniseries about the rise and downfall of Holmes and Theranos.

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Skull and Bones, Ubisoft's long-awaited open-world pirate simulator, is coming out on November 8th, 2022. It's due to hit Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, Steam, the Epic Games Store, Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, as well as Ubisoft Connect. 

This release date has been a long time coming — Skull and Bones was announced at E3 2017 and it was even playable at that show two years in a row, but Ubisoft has kept fairly silent on the pirate sim since 2018. In today's stream, developers briefly explained what happened: Part-way through development, they rebooted the game as a grittier, more realistic experience than originally planned. Today, Ubisoft showed off the reimagined Skull and Bones with a live stream, cinematic trailer and gameplay video.

At its heart, Skull and Bones is an open-world, online experience with co-op elements, but players will be able to log into PvP servers as well. The core game is all about climbing the ranks to become an infamous pirate on the Indian Ocean, sailing, crafting, managing assets, battling and strategizing on the high seas during the golden age of piracy.

Players start with a small ship and as they progress, they're able to craft larger and more intricate vessels, customizing along the way. As captain, players have to manage the crew, and ensure they're well-fed and happy enough to stop any thoughts of mutiny. If the ship sinks, players start over and can recover their cargo, as long as another pirate doesn't get there first.

Ubisoft is set to host another showcase on September 10th, this one focused on Assassin's Creed and some of its other, less piratey, properties.

When Tesla first launched its network of Supercharger stations, it did so with little thought to interoperability, as the company was virtually the only serious EV automaker around at the time. But as other companies have entered the EV market in recent years, demand for charging station access has steadily risen, prompting Tesla to begin opening its existing charger network to third-party EVs. 

In 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company's open-access Supercharger pilot program — already in 13 European countries — would soon be coming to the US. A recent White House fact sheet, spotted by InsideEVs, suggests that it could arrive by the end of the year.

"Later this year, Tesla will begin production of new Supercharger equipment that will enable non-Tesla EV drivers in North America to use Tesla Superchargers," the fact sheet read. To access it, American EV owners will need to download the latest Tesla app and select the "Charge Your Non-Tesla" option from the menu, per the Verge.

Tesla has spend the better part of a year expanding access to its European charger network. However, despite operating in more than a dozen countries, only select stations within each nation are actually available to non-owners. Only in the Netherlands is every Supercharger open-access. To do the same in North America, Tesla will need to install adapters at its stations to get around the company's proprietary charging plug shape as well as ensure that the Supercharger's software can securely handshake with the new myriad non-Tesla EVs.  

Meta is changing course on its controversial requirement for users of its virtual reality headsets to log in with a Facebook account. Instead, they'll need a new Meta account, which won't need to be linked to Facebook. The company will start rolling out the new account next month for existing and new Meta Quest users. Those with a legacy Oculus account will need to have a Meta account to keep using their headset after January 1st, 2023.

The company stressed that a Meta account is not a social media profile, saying that it "lets you log into your VR devices and view and manage your purchased apps in one place." It noted that future devices will require Meta accounts too.

There is a social aspect to the new account type though, at least for VR headsets. When you create a Meta account, you'll need to create a Meta Horizon profile with the username, avatar, profile photo and so on that you'll use in the company's vision of the metaverse.

Oculus friends will become your followers and you'll automatically follow them back. You can, of course, unfollow people and stop others from following you. You'll still have the option of linking your Meta account to Facebook and Instagram, so you'll be able to chat with friends in the VR version of Messenger or find some buds to play games with. 

While Facebook has a one-account-per-person rule, the company is fine with you having multiple Meta accounts. Perhaps you'll have one for virtual meetings and another for hanging out with friends.

The new accounts will offer privacy controls, including the option to make your profile private and manually approve follower requests. Users aged between 13 and 17 will have private profiles by default.

This is an important shift for Meta as it continues to place more focus on its vision of the metaverse. However, Meta is said to have scaled back its metaverse ambitions in the last few months, having reportedly killed off some Reality Labs projects and put a planned dual-camera smartwatch on hold. 

Still, there are at least some positives of Meta divorcing VR from its social media apps. Folks who are interested in Meta Quest but want nothing to do with Facebook will no longer need an account for the latter.

Twitter is experimenting with a new feature that allows two accounts to co-author a tweet. The company is calling it a “CoTweet,” which it’s now testing with “select” accounts in the United States, Canada and Korea.

With a CoTweet, two accounts can be linked as the author of a single tweet, which will appear on both accounts’ timelines. Much like the collabs feature introduced by Instagram last year, CoTweets seem to be geared more toward brands and creators than the typical Twitter users.

“CoTweets help authors share the spotlight, unlock opportunities for engaging new audiences, and enhance their established partnerships,” Twitter explains on its website. The feature was first spotted earlier this year by reverse engineer and developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who shared some details about it back in February.

Now, Twitter has expanded the test, at least for now. A Twitter spokesperson said that CoTweets is currently a “temporary experiment,” but didn’t indicate if, or when, the feature may be more widely available. “We’re testing CoTweets for a limited time to learn how people and brands may use this feature to grow and reach new audiences, and strengthen their collaborations with other accounts,” the spokesperson said.

With supply chains still in disarray and the war in Ukraine wreaking havoc on EV battery component commodity prices, many forward-thinking automakers are scrambling to secure not only stocks of the valuable metals like cobalt, lithium and nickel that go into EV batteries, but also the means of of building the batteries themselves. On Thursday, Volkswagen Group held a groundbreaking at the site of its forthcoming EV battery cell plant in Salzgitter Germany and announced the formation of a new company, PowerCo, which will be responsible for handling the VW Group's burgeoning battery business. 

"Today is a good day for the automotive industry in Germany and Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during the event. "Volkswagen is showing how the future of sustainable, climate-compatible mobility could look. Together, we are laying the foundation for shaping this future to a significant extent in Salzgitter."

PowerCo will handle the Group's global battery activities, from producing the batteries themselves to conducting R&D on new battery technologies to "products such as major storage systems for the energy grid," per the announcement. Once the Salzgitter plant is operational, PowerCo will begin work on a second factory in Valencia, Spain with an eye on three further cell factories in Europe and potentially North America as well. Each of the European factories will reportedly operate using 100 percent renewable energy. In all, PowerCo aims to open a total of six battery factories in Europe producing a total of 240 GWh capacity every year (~6 million electric vehicles worth).

Stefan Warter

Operations across the various production facilities will be highly standardized. Everything from "equipment, buildings and infrastructure" to "products, processes and IT" will conform so that the entire production process can be more readily adapted to future "product and production innovations," per the release.

(c) Sebastian Dorbrietz

The Salzgitter plant is expected to create 5,000 new jobs when it begins operations in 2025 with an annual capacity of 40 GWh (~500,000 electric vehicles worth). Some 20,000 positions are will need to be filled once the other European factories open, Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG, said. 

Inscryption, one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2021, is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. So far, it's only been available on Windows, macOS and Linux but publisher Devolver Digital is bringing it to consoles.

At its core, Inscryption is a card game that's dripping with horror. You'll sacrifice certain animal-based cards to play more powerful ones against your opponent. There's so much more to it than that, though this is definitely one of those games where the less you know about it going in, the better. It's not too much of a spoiler to say things get pretty strange. Inscryption will absolutely mess with your expectations.

The roguelike deckbuilder scooped up game of the year honors from a few publications and it received some Game Awards nominations. Inscryption has been a hit with players too. It sold more than a million copies in less than three months.

Developer Daniel Mullins is adding some extra features to the PlayStation versions, particularly for the PS5's DualSense controller. There'll be haptic feedback and you'll hear audio from your companion, a talking stoat card, through your controller's speaker. Mullins also promises to bring atmospheric lighting to the controller through the light bar. There's no release date for PS4 and PS5 as yet, but here's hoping it's not too far away.

Chinese electric vehicle maker Human Horizons unveiled its second EV model on Wednesday, dubbed the GT HiPhi Z. This four-door grand touring sedan comes packed with gadgets and intelligent systems including the world's only "vehicle-grade" high-speed robotic arm, which HH claims "can move back and forth in place in less than a second and features control accuracy of up to 0.001mm."

The HiPhi Z features a hybrid steel-aluminum construction as well as the "world's first wrap-around Star-Ring ISD light curtain," a series of over 4000 LEDs that "interact with passengers, drivers, and the world around it." What's more UWB sensors embedded in the doors will allow for "automatic detection of people, keys, and other vehicles, resulting in a smart adjusted door opening in terms of both speed and angle."

It comes equipped with a 120 kWh high-performance battery pack that the company claims hits 100 kmh from a standstill in 3.8 seconds while offering a range of over 700 km on a full charge. An all-aluminum double wishbone front suspension and a five-link rear suspension keep the ride smooth and responsive. The rear wheels can turn as well, like the Hummer EV, drastically shortening the vehicle's turning radius to nearly that of a much shorter Mini Cooper, per the company. 

Human Horizons

The interior is akin to stepping into a Jetsons episode, if the company's PR is to be believed. Its "ultra-futuristic spaceship-like digital setup" centers around the HiPhi Bot, an on-board AI companion that can adjust virtually every aspect of the driving experience. You know, like HAL did. Still, you'll go out in style if HiPhi Bot ever does go rogue — the racing bucket seats are covered in vegan Ultrasuede, the Meridian sound system boasts 23 speakers, and the occupants can dictate their preferences for not just lighting, touch, and sound, but even the vehicle's fragrance too. 

But for as fantastical as this vehicle's loadout appears, Human Horizons is very much intent of actually bringing them the to Chinese market. "The HiPhi Z is a testament to the company's dedication to technological advancement, sparing no expense in testing the boundaries of creation," Ding Lei, CEO and chairman of HiPhi, said in Wednesday's release. "Through rigorous testing and development, the HiPhi Z has retained more than 95 percent of its production intents revealed previously."

The company expects the HiPhi Z to retail for $89,000 - $129,000 US. It will announce official rollout dates at the Chengdu Auto Show in August. 

Sennheiser has developed an approach to spatial audio that doesn’t require a surround sound system. The tech, called Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio, will work on standard stereo speakers, Sennheiser says. The company says Ambeo will deliver “an improved audio experience wherever stereo is delivered today, be it standard TV sets, stereo systems, headphones, tablets or laptops.”

A number of Sennheiser’s partners have worked with the company to fine-tune Ambeo. One of those is Netflix, which is the first streaming service to employ the tech. The first title that used Ambeo is season four of Stranger Things. Others include Red Notice, The Witcher and the upcoming live-action Resident Evil series.

As long as your device's audio output is set to stereo audio, you won't have to adjust any settings to try Ambeo. Netflix is making it the default setting for two-channel setups for certain titles (you can find those by searching for "spatial audio" on Netflix). 

Ambeo renders the full immersive audio mix into two channels. It uses existing industry standard file types and it doesn't need a separate mix. Sennheiser says the renderer offers granular control over spatialization.

​“What sets Sennheiser apart from other solutions is that the Ambeo rendering respects the original mix, tonal balance and dialog integrity, which is exactly what the re-recording mixer is looking for,” Dr Renato Pellegrini of the Ambeo team said in a statement. “The processing is in line with Sennheiser’s reputation to deliver tools that are ‘transparent’ and do not interfere with the original sound. In a nutshell: Sennheiser 2-Channel Spatial Audio seeks to translate mixer intent, not to overpower it.”

If Ambeo works as well as promised, this could be a solid solution for folks who don’t have sufficient equipment to take advantage of Dolby Atmos and other spatial audio tech.

CD Projekt Red has released another entry in its series of The Witcher games. The studio is billingGwent: Rogue Mage as a single-player expansion for Gwent, but it's sold separately. It's out today on PC, iOS and Android for $10. A $20 premium edition comes with perks for Gwent.

Rogue Mage was announced earlier this year under the working title of Project Golden Nekker. It takes place hundreds of years before the birth of Witcher protagonist Geralt of Rivia. You'll play as the mage Alzur, who is attempting to create the very first witcher to protect humanity from an onslaught of monsters.

Don't go into it expecting a ton of details that will play into the next mainline Witcher game, though. "While we have a story to tell about Alzur's obsession to create the first witcher, we do not treat this expansion as an official addition to The Witcher lore," game director Vladimir Tortsov told IGN. "We hope that players will get enough immersion to complement the gameplay-first formula, but we do not expect the story to be the main reason for players to appreciate this release."

The game is a roguelike deckbuilder. You'll move around a procedurally generated map and take part in card battles based on mechanics from the original Gwent. You'll be able to upgrade your army by collecting more cards and gear. There are dozens of difficulty modifiers too.

Tortsov says it will likely take players north of 30 hours to do and find everything in Rogue Mage, which is designed for gameplay sessions that take up to an hour. The game can be played entirely offline, though there are online features like leaderboards and cross-saves, so you can continue playing where you left off on other devices.

CDPR debuted the original Gwent in 2016. It's a free-to-play multiplayer title based on a minigame in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Rogue Mage isn't the first single-player take on Gwent, though. CDPR previously released a single-player campaign called Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales.