Serif is determined to make its Affinity suite a more practical alternative for creatives who'd rather not pay for an Adobe subscription — or use a conventional PC, for that matter. The developer has released Affinity Version 2 apps that not only include major new features (more on those shortly), but the first edition of Publisher for the iPad. You now have all of the Affinity bundle on your tablet, and won't have to split your attention between your computer and iPad when it's time to design a page layout.

Regardless of platform, you should see some meaningful upgrades. Affinity Photo 2 now includes non-destructive RAW development, saved layer states, compound masks (that is, joining multiple masks together), live warping and live masks for elements like hue and luminosity ranges. Affinity Designer 2, meanwhile, adds non-destructive vector warping, a "knife" cutting tool, a shape builder and even tools for measuring lengths and areas. Affinity Publisher 2 now helps you add academia-friendly footnotes, endnotes and sidenotes. You can also create automatically repeating layouts and use a style picker. There's even a way to stitch multiple documents into a single book, although that's only available in desktop versions for now.

Some improvements are iPad-specific. A new radial menu provides access to common keyboard modifiers like Command and Option, while a quick menu offers clipboard options and nine customizable shortcuts. And if you're feeling the limits of your tablet screen, a compact mode keeps the brush and layer panels open while making more room for the image you're editing.

The one-time price may be more of a draw than before. You'd normally pay $170 for the entire Affinity suite across all platforms, but a launch sale drops that price to $100. That makes it relatively affordable compared to Adobe's Creative Cloud, which will keep you paying indefinitely. You can buy the individual Affinity Version 2 apps for $70 on the desktop ($41 on sale) and $20 (currently $12) on the iPad.

This outlay might not thrill you if you recently bought Affinity V1. You may likewise need to consider rivals like Adobe if you need further apps for animation, web design and other aspects of the creative pipeline. If these tools fit your workflow, though, the price is low enough that they should be reasonably easy to justify.

Two of the largest crypto exchanges have just announced one of the stranger tech mergers in recent memory (and that's saying something). Binance plans to acquire its rival FTX after a brief but very public dispute. As Bloombergexplains, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sold about $529 million in FTX's native token on November 6th in response to "recent revelations that came to light," particularly a CoinDeskreport that FTX was facing a liquidity crisis. That led to FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried accusing Binance of attacking his company with "false rumors," and maintaining that everything was "fine." By today, however, the two companies had reached a takeover deal while acknowledging that Binance would help resolve a "liquidity crunch" affecting FTX's transactions.

Data suggests FTX may have been in a particularly bad state. In a discussion with TechCrunch, CryptoQuant noted that FTX's net crypto asset holdings plunged 83 percent in just the past two days. That reportedly made withdrawals so difficult that FTX had to introduce stablecoin (crypto pegged to an external value) liquidity to process the moves through the markets or other exchanges. The company's stablecoin reserve has fallen by 93 percent in the past two weeks, and related withdrawals fell to near-zero by early this morning. The trouble prompted an investor "exodus," Bloomberg says.

The deal is non-binding, and the companies will only start conducting due diligence (that is, an appraisal) in the "coming days." If completed, however, the acquisition could shake up the crypto industry by eliminating Binance's main competitor. This won't overcome fears of a sustained crypto market downturn, but may give Binance a US presence it doesn't currently have.

That "if" is important, mind you. FTX's Bankman-Fried has been testifying in Congress, and Binance has reportedly faced investigations from both the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. The countries are concerned Binance isn't complying with regulations, and (in the US) possibly breaking the law. It's not guaranteed that regulators in either country will be keen on the proposed union, particularly when Binance's US affiliate was banned in 2019.

Tesla has at least one more recall in store this year, if not as large as the last one. As BBC Newsreports, the EV maker has recalled 40,168 Model S and Model X vehicles over a software defect that can reduce or cut power steering assistance when the car mistakenly treats potholes and other bumps in the road as steering assist torque. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned the sudden loss of help could be jarring enough to lead to a crash.

The flaw affects model years 2017 through 2021 for both cars, and first appeared with the 2022.36 firmware update. As with some of Tesla's recalls, the fix involves a software patch that has already rolled out. Over 97 percent of affected vehicles already have the new code, Tesla says.

This is the 17th recall Tesla has issued in 2022. It's not nearly as far-reaching as a September recall over faulty power window functionality, which affected almost 1.1 million cars in the US. Combined, however, the glitches have affected about 3.4 million EVs across the company's lineup. They've included problems with seat belt chimes, overheating infotainment systems and a Full Self Driving bug that let vehicles roll through stop signs. The company also had to change its Boombox feature over worries the external audio playback could override mandatory low-speed sounds.

The power steering defect also comes at a difficult moment for Tesla. The company's stock value has dropped sharply in recent weeks as investors fear Elon Musk's Twitter purchase may have distracted the entrepreneur. Tesla stock is hovering around $190 as we write this — lower than it was in May 2021. Factor in a tumultuous third quarter and it's clear the brand has lost some confidence, even if its sales are still very healthy.

Garmin already sells hybrid smartwatches like the Vivomove, but they're really not meant for hikes and other outdoor expeditions. The company is addressing that gap today with its just-launched Instinct Crossover. You'll get a familiar mix of analog hands with smartwatch features like activity tracking and notifications (on an actually-useful display that's rare for hybrids), but in a rugged design that can handle contact with nature. It reportedly meets US military standards for dust, shock, temperature and water resistance, and its 10ATM rating lets it survive dives down to 328 feet. There's even a Tactical Edition that supports dual-format GPS, night vision compatibility and a kill switch.

The battery life is also strong compared to other rugged smartwatches, and even some hybrids. Garmin claims the standard Instinct Crossover lasts almost a month on a charge with full smartwatch features, and 110 hours with GPS tracking. You can easily use this for a weekend camping trip. Not surprisingly, the Solar Edition lasts much longer. It can run for up to 70 days in smartwatch mode when there's adequate light, and it has effectively "infinite" longevity if you're willing to use a battery saver mode that limits you to basics like time and a stopwatch.

You can still expect the usual mix of health and fitness features, such as a pulse oximeter, VO2 Max (maximum oxygen use) and tools for training and hiking landmarks. And yes, Garmin Pay is available if you need to buy an energy drink after your adventures.

The Instinct Crossover is available now for $500 in its base version, $550 for the Solar model and $600 for the Tactical wristwear. That's on par with the Withings ScanWatch Horizon, but they're two very different devices. The ScanWatch is aimed at everyday users who want a reasonably posh-looking timepiece that happens to have a few smartwatch features. Garmin's hardware trades looks in favor of utility in harsh conditions. To some degree, it's a foil for the Apple Watch Ultra — you won't get the Ultra's full-color screen or sheer range of functionality, but you will get many outdoor-oriented features, longer battery life and a lower price.

MediaTek is still frequently associated with budget Android phones, but it's increasingly making its way into flagships — and its latest system-on-chip might help on that front. The company has introduced a Dimensity 9200 chip that, among other claims, is billed as the first SoC to be ready for WiFi 7. You'll need a phone with a compatible network chipset and a WiFi router to match, but this theoretically delivers speeds of up to 6.5Gbps on-device while improving reliability and reducing lag.

The Dimensity 9200 is also said to be the first mobile chip to use an ARMv9 Gen 2 architecture, and uses new cores to match. A "big" Cortex-X3 core handles the most demanding tasks with the help of three Cortex-A715 performance cores. Four Cortex-A510 low-power cores help with battery life. The combo delivers a modest 10 to 12 percent boost over the Dimensity 9000 in synthetic tests, but reportedly cuts power consumption by as much as 25 percent.

The largest speedups come with graphics. The Dimensity 9200 is one of the first chips to use ARM's new Immortalis-G715 GPU, bringing hardware ray tracing, three times the triangle throughput and greater efficiency. It's up to 32 percent faster than the GPU in the Dimensity 9000 while using 41 percent less power, MediaTek says.

Other improvements are subtler, but still useful. Unlike many MediaTek chips, the 9200 supports both sub-6GHz and millimeter wave 5G to provide fast cellular data in more parts of the world. The Imagiq 890 image signal processor is the first to support RGBW camera sensors, promising more brightness and detail in photos than plain RGB. It can counteract motion blur, too. You can also expect support for fast UFS 4.0 storage, the latest LPDDR5X memory (8.5Gbps) and 24-bit/192KHz audio.

The first phones using the Dimensity 9200 should be available by the end of 2022. This won't necessarily make Qualcomm sweat, especially with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 likely on the horizon. However, this could put MediaTek into more high-end phones — and that's good for both choice and competition.

Netflix's growing stable of video game adaptations now includes one of the Xbox's best-known franchises. The streaming service is teaming with series developer The Coalition to produce a live action Gears of War movie. There are no details for the cast, plot or release date, but Netflix is teasing an adult animated show and the possibility of "more stories."

The series revolves around the Locust, an aggressive species that has very nearly destroyed human civilization. The original Gears of War trilogy centers on grizzled veteran Marcus Fenix, but newer games and spinoffs have focused on his son JD, his frequent ally Baird and the rebel-turned-soldier Kait.

The timing is apt. The Coalition isn't unveiling its next game for a while. The Netflix productions give the Microsoft-owned studio a way to keep Gears of War in the limelight, not to mention spark renewed interest among gamers who have fond memories of chainsawing Locust drones. This is also part of Microsoft's answer to Sony's growing big screen ambitions, which now include planned Horizon and God of War shows as well as movies like Uncharted.

The question, as always, is whether or not the game collection translates well to a linear video format. While there have been some successes with game-based shows, such as Netflix's League of Legends series, these projects still don't have a sterling reputation — even the Halo adaptation garnered a mixed response. It's far too early to determine how Gears of War will fare, but it's safe to say there are plenty of challenges ahead. 

YouTube's attempt to mimic TikTok now extends to the living room. The company's vertical Shorts videos now have native support on TVs, with a player that makes better use of all that normally wasted horizontal space. It still feels like utter overkill to watch these mobile-oriented clips on the big screen (unless you have Samsung's rotating TV), but it's still much more elegant than trying to use the standard landscape player.

The feature is rolling out in the next few weeks. It be available on smart TVs made from 2019 onward as well as living room media devices and "newer" game consoles. YouTube suggested in an explanatory video (below) that Shorts might work with older sets, but that compatibility wasn't guaranteed.

It's not surprising that YouTube poured so much effort into adapting Shorts for TVs. TikTok's own TV app launched in November last year — this gives YouTube an answer to a major competitor. There's a significant audience for Shorts, too, with over 1.5 billion monthly active users as of this spring. And while TikTok is theoretically behind with 'just' 1 billion users (as of the third quarter of 2021), the gap is narrow enough that even a slight advantage in viewership could give one of them the lead.

Starlink raised its prices this spring, and now it's increasing the costs for its most demanding users. As The Vergereports, the SpaceX-run satellite internet provider is instituting a 1TB "Priority Access" monthly cap for data use between 7AM and 11PM beginning in December. Cross that limit and you'll spend the rest of the month relegated to "Basic Access" that, like with some phone carriers, deprioritizes your data when the network is busy. You might not notice much of a difference in typical situations, but this won't thrill you if you depend on sustained performance.

Service can get expensive if you insist on full performance around the clock. You'll pay 25 cents per gigabyte of priority data. As Reddit user Nibbloid pointed out, the math doesn't quite add up. It will cost you another $250 to get an extra 1TB of data — it would be cheaper to add a second subscription, at least if you don't mind the cost of an extra terminal. RV, Portability and "Best Effort" users also don't have any Priority Access.

Other users face tougher restrictions. Fixed business service has peak-hour caps ranging from 500GB to 3TB, with extra full-speed data costing $1 per gigabyte. Mobility users have no Priority Access for recreational use, while commercial and Premium/Maritime users have respective 1TB and 5TB caps. Those higher-end users will pay $2 for every gigabyte of priority data they need.

The justifications will sound familiar if you've dealt with data caps from Comcast and other land-based internet providers. Starlink maintains that it has to balance supply with demand to provide fast service to the "greatest number of people." This is ostensibly to keep usage in check on a "finite resource."

The decision to cap users comes as SpaceX has called for government help to fund Starlink service in Ukraine at a claimed cost of nearly $400 million per year. While Musk has said SpaceX will continue to pay regardless of assistance, it's clear the company is worried about expenses as demand increases.

You're about to get your last chance at witnessing a total lunar eclipse for quite some time. NASA has pointed out that the last such eclipse until March 2025 begins in the early morning hours of November 8th in North America. Parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America can also get a glimpse. The partial eclipse will start at 4:09AM Eastern, with totality lasting from 4:16AM through 5:42AM. The ending partial phase will finish at 6:49AM. Those on the eastern US coast will miss some or all of that last segment as the Moon sets. However, you might not have to venture outside if it's too chilly — there are ways to watch from the warmth of home.

Livestreams will be available. Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona will offer multiple telescope views of the total lunar eclipse starting at 4AM Eastern. Timeanddate.com will have streams in multiple cities, including its own view from Roswell, New Mexico as well as feeds from San Diego and Perth in Australia. The Virtual Telescope Project will also provide international coverage.

You'll want to have a look even if 2025 doesn't seem that far away. Total lunar eclipses (where the Earth sits directly between the Moon and Sun) earn their "blood Moon" nickname due to the optical tricks that paint the lunar surface a dramatic red. Where short-wavelength blue light tends to get caught in the particles of Earth's atmosphere, the longer wavelengths of red, orange and yellow help them complete the cosmic journey. It's a stunning effect you can see with your naked eyes. And if you have a telescope, you may even spot Uranus in the distance.

There will be partial and penumbral lunar eclipses during the interval. The first visible in the Americas will take place on October 28th, 2023, with others due on March 25th and September 18th the following year. You're not completely out of luck, then, even if those events won't be quite so eye-catching.

Microplastics are a bane that harms wildlife, but you may be staring at the solution to this problem in your breakfast. Princeton researchers have used egg whites to create a lightweight, porous aerogel that can remove microplastics and salt from seawater. When you freeze-dry and superheat the whites (up to 1,652F) in an oxygen-free space, their pure protein system produces a mix of carbon fiber strands and graphene sheets that can remove 99 percent of tiny plastics from water, and 98 percent of the salt. Even fried and whipped eggs work just as well.

As you might imagine, a readily available organic material like this has its benefits. It's cheap to make, and needs only gravity to work. It won't consume energy or excess water. Activated carbon is cheap, but it's not nearly as effective as the egg white gel. And while eggs from the grocery store prompted the breakthrough, you can use other proteins that won't cut into the population's food supply.

The aerogel isn't ready for widespread use just yet. Scientists need to refine the manufacturing process before mass production is possible. If that happens, though, the implications are clear. It would be comparatively easy to remove microplastics and otherwise purify water while minimizing the environmental impact. While the salt removal may create problems in oceans, it may be very helpful for desalinization in areas where fresh drinking water is difficult to find.

There are other purposes, for that matter. The gel might also be useful for energy storage and insulation, so don't be surprised if you one day find egg-like proteins in your walls.