It’s time for more Marvel Cinematic Universe, more special effects, more families in danger and more sinister baddies, with a bigger role for Kang the Conqueror – the big cross-movie threat, a la Thanos – played by Jonathan Majors. Alas, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniasuffers from too many special effects, sadly.
It uses Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) StageCraft technology (AKA “the Volume”), which came to prominence in Star Wars series The Mandalorian. It’s a series of enormous LED walls that can display real-time footage, synchronized to interactive lighting to make it feel like actors are in these sci-fi landscapes, fighting these threats to humanity. Still, Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar says the tech, the actors and the narrative fail to convince.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.
Their age and Milky Way-like size make them an anomaly.
According to images taken near the Big Dipper by the JWST, scientists found six potential galaxies that formed just 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang. That they could be almost 13 billion years old isn't what makes them odd, though, it's that they could have as many stars as the Milky Way, according to the team's calculations. The scientists explained the galaxies should not exist under current cosmological theory because there shouldn't have been enough matter at the time for that many stars to form. Now, that sounds like the start of a MCU movie.
Google is bringing photo features once exclusive to recent Pixel phones to more devices. Magic Eraser, a tool to easily remove unwanted people or objects from an image, debuted in 2021 on the Pixel 6, and starting today, Google is rolling out Magic Eraser to Pixel 5a and earlier models. All Pixel models and Google One subscribers will also gain access to an HDR effect to boost the brightness and contrast to videos. The same goes for Google One subscribers. Members on all plans will have access to Magic Eraser through Google Photos, even if they're on iOS.
Despite raising North American prices a year ago, Netflix is getting cheaper in over 30 countries – just not in the US. The company has cut prices by as much as half in parts of the Middle East (Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran), Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya), Europe (Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria), Latin America (Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela) and Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). The company introduced a cheaper ad-supported plan in 12 countries last October – it’s clearly trying a bit of everything.
The CEO moved the company’s corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021.
Despite moving its corporate headquarters to Texas, Tesla now considers California its global engineering home base. Elon Musk said a Palo Alto engineering hub will be “effectively a headquarters of Tesla.” Tesla will use a former Hewlett-Packard building in Palo Alto as its new engineering headquarters. The move is an about-face from the CEO’s previous comments about the state: Musk didn’t mince words about California’s regulations and taxes when he moved Tesla’s official corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021, complaining about “overregulation, overlitigation, over-taxation.” But he’s back.
It’s time for more Marvel Cinematic Universe, more special effects, more families in danger and more sinister baddies, with a bigger role for Kang the Conqueror – the big cross-movie threat, a la Thanos – played by Jonathan Majors. Alas, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniasuffers from too many special effects, sadly.
It uses Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) StageCraft technology (AKA “the Volume”), which came to prominence in Star Wars series The Mandalorian. It’s a series of enormous LED walls that can display real-time footage, synchronized to interactive lighting to make it feel like actors are in these sci-fi landscapes, fighting these threats to humanity. Still, Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar says the tech, the actors and the narrative fail to convince.
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.
Their age and Milky Way-like size make them an anomaly.
According to images taken near the Big Dipper by the JWST, scientists found six potential galaxies that formed just 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang. That they could be almost 13 billion years old isn't what makes them odd, though, it's that they could have as many stars as the Milky Way, according to the team's calculations. The scientists explained the galaxies should not exist under current cosmological theory because there shouldn't have been enough matter at the time for that many stars to form. Now, that sounds like the start of a MCU movie.
Google is bringing photo features once exclusive to recent Pixel phones to more devices. Magic Eraser, a tool to easily remove unwanted people or objects from an image, debuted in 2021 on the Pixel 6, and starting today, Google is rolling out Magic Eraser to Pixel 5a and earlier models. All Pixel models and Google One subscribers will also gain access to an HDR effect to boost the brightness and contrast to videos. The same goes for Google One subscribers. Members on all plans will have access to Magic Eraser through Google Photos, even if they're on iOS.
Despite raising North American prices a year ago, Netflix is getting cheaper in over 30 countries – just not in the US. The company has cut prices by as much as half in parts of the Middle East (Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran), Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya), Europe (Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria), Latin America (Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela) and Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). The company introduced a cheaper ad-supported plan in 12 countries last October – it’s clearly trying a bit of everything.
The CEO moved the company’s corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021.
Despite moving its corporate headquarters to Texas, Tesla now considers California its global engineering home base. Elon Musk said a Palo Alto engineering hub will be “effectively a headquarters of Tesla.” Tesla will use a former Hewlett-Packard building in Palo Alto as its new engineering headquarters. The move is an about-face from the CEO’s previous comments about the state: Musk didn’t mince words about California’s regulations and taxes when he moved Tesla’s official corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021, complaining about “overregulation, overlitigation, over-taxation.” But he’s back.
Some YouTube viewers have reported seeing a new option for video quality in the website's drop-down menu. In addition to the basic 1080p playback option, they're also seeing another one labeled 1080p Premium with a note beneath it that says it offers "Enhanced bitrate." A spokesperson told The Verge that the website is testing the new video quality, which is currently available to "a small group of YouTube Premium subscribers." They described it as an "enhanced bitrate version of 1080p which provides more information per pixel that results in a higher quality viewing experience." Also, there's supposed to be no change to the quality of the standard 1080p resolution, which some people might not consider the good news YouTube deems it to be.
Based on several comments on the Reddit thread discussing the test, viewers find the standard 1080p resolution on the website to be poor in quality. But a higher bitrate, which is used as a measurement for the amount of video data transferred within a certain timeframe, could mean getting better images without having to bump up the resolution. As XDA Developers notes, switching to 4K would give users access to better and sharper-looking videos, but they'd have to stream a much bigger file that could cost them more or eat up more of their data allowance.
The enhanced 1080p option is just a test feature at this point, though, and YouTube might not approve it for a wide rollout at all. If it does make its way out of the experimental phase, only viewers paying for YouTube Premium will be able to access it. The subscription service will cost users $12 a month for an individual account or $23 a month for a family plan.
MediaTek is set to demonstrate its new technology that can put two-way satellite communications on smartphones at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), which will take place from February 28th to March 3rd. Some of the devices that will show whether the semiconductor's product actually works will come from Motorola. The manufacturer will debut two satellite smartphones, the defy 2 and CAT S75, as well as a Bluetooth accessory that comes equipped with MediaTek's chip at the event.
The company's response to Qualcomm's and Apple's satellite technologies is a standalone chipset that can be added to any 4G or 5G phone. It uses the 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network standard instead of proprietary technologies like Qualcomm's and Apple's do, which means it can be used with any network that complies with the standard. MediaTek teamed up with a company called Bullitt to use the latter's Satellite Connect service and enable the satellite messaging feature on the aforementioned Motorola devices.
Another difference is that MediaTek's chips connect to Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit satellites instead of to satellites in Low Earth Orbit. The chipmaker says its technology enables not just emergency SOS texts like Apple's can, but also full two-way messaging. That means it can actually receive messages sent via satellite connection and not just send them. The iPhone 14, which debuted Apple's satellite tech, can't receive messages without a traditional cellular connection yet. Meanwhile, devices using Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite tech will need to be manually refreshed for new messages.
The Motorola defy 2 smartphone and defy Bluetooth accessory will be released in the second quarter of the year across North America, Latin America and Canada and will be the first devices to offer MediaTek's satellite capabilities.
Why Samsung Electronics Have Chosen India A Key Destination for Investments
Around 1,397 semiconductor firms have lost their business in 2022, which escalated to 3,420 in 2021
As per reports, the South Korea based global electronics giant Samsung is investing massively in India and has also assured to manufacture its upcoming top-notch foldable smartphone in the country. Samsung wants to turn India into a chief manufacturing base of smartphones and other electronics.
Low-Power, NB-IoT industrial modules with GNSS geo-location capability for Cellular Tracking Applications
STMicroelectronics’ ST87M01 ultra-compact and low-power modules combine highly reliable and robust NB-IoT data communication with accurate and resilient GNSS geo-location capability for IoT devices and assets. The fully programmable, certified LTE Cat NB2 NB-IoT industrial modules cover worldwide cellular frequency bands and integrate advanced security features.
Understanding How a Single Channel Relay Module Works and How to Use it with Arduino to Control AC Loads
A single-channel relay is an electronic switch that can be controlled by a low-power electrical signal, such as the output from an Arduino microcontroller. By using an Arduino Uno and a single-channel relay module, you can control high-voltage or high-power devices, such as lights, motors, and appliances, from your computer or mobile device.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is accusing Google of routinely destroying internal messaging chat histories, which the company is required to preserve under federal rules for an antitrust lawsuit. Google is grappling with not just one, but a couple of antitrust lawsuits filed by the DOJ and groups of states. This particular case pertains to the lawsuit the department filed back in 2020 for "unlawfully maintaining monopolies" around search and search-related advertising.
In the DOJ's filing, it said company employees typically used their internal chatroom, which was set to delete history every 24 hours, to discuss "substantive and sensitive business." Apparently, the agency expected Google to change its chat history setting in 2019 when the company "reasonably anticipated [the] litigation," but it left the decision to individual employees. Only a few people deemed their chat histories relevant to the case and preserved theirs for the court, and Google continued deleting most people's chats even after the lawsuit was filed.
Despite that, Google reportedly told the government that it had already "put a legal hold in place" to suspend auto-deletion on its chat tool. The DOJ alleges that the company's claim was a lie and that it only truly stopped deleting chat histories this week after it was warned that the agency would file a motion for sanctions. It's now asking the court to rule that Google had violated a federal rule and to order a hearing that would determine how the company would be sanctioned. The DOJ also wants the court to order Google to provide more information about its chat practices.
Google, however, denies the DOJ's allegations. A spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal: "Our teams have conscientiously worked for years to respond to inquiries and litigation. In fact, we have produced over 4 million documents in this case alone, and millions more to regulators around the world."
You're forgiven if you've forgotten about Humanity, the game from Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's studio Enhance. However, it's finally close to launch — and it's receiving expanded platform support in the process. Enhance and THA have announced during Sony's State of Play event that the strange puzzle and platformer hybrid will arrive in May on PS4, PS5, PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2. A demo is also available today through the PlayStation Store, although you'll have to act fast when it's only available to play for a "limited time."
The premise is clearer. You play a Shiba Inu (yes, really) who places commands to guide human crowds to safety in pillars of light. And that's just the start — you can expect flying people and lightsaber battles with the mysterious "Others," among further oddities. There's a 90-level story mode, but you can also build your own maps to challenge other players.
Humanity has been in development for a long time, to put it mildly. The title was unveiled in September 2019, and was slated to come to PS4 and PSVR sometime the following year. It's not clear what prompted the three-year wait (the pandemic certainly didn't help), but it might be worth a look to see what took the developers so long.
