Atari just announced that it has acquired the Intellivision brand, along with more than 200 games from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. This puts an end to the very first console war, as Atari and Intellivison were bitter rivals going all the way back to 1979. The original Intellivision console, released by Mattel, went up against the Atari VCS (later named the 2600) a full decade before Nintendo and Sega started their beef.

“Uniting Atari and Intellivision after 45 years ends the longest-running console war in history,” said Mike Mika, the studio head at Atari-owned Digital Eclipse.

The deal doesn’t include the long-delayed Intellivision Amico retro console. Intellivision Entertainment LLC will continue working on the Amico as a separate and rebranded company and will use a license provided by Atari to release Intellivision games on it. The company has had a difficult time getting the console funded after originally announcing it back in 2018. It did manage, however, to release a truly bizarre app for iOS and Android devices that requires two smartphones or tablets to work. One device displays the game and the other acts as a controller. It’s a weird idea and, according to Kotaku, "one janky piece of crap."

As for Atari, it’s already making use of the Intellivision brand by adding items like t-shirts to its online store. Atari CEO and chairman Wade Rosen said on X that the acquisition presented a “very rare opportunity to unite former competitors and bring together fans of Atari, Intellivision and the golden age of gaming.” The ColecoVision, another console from the early 1980s, was also part of this golden age of gaming, but has yet to be snatched up by Atari.

LG’s latest OLED smart TVs are on sale via Amazon. These are the C4 models and not the pricier G4 flagship displays, but they still boast plenty of bells and whistles for the discerning couch potato. The deals apply to just about every size, from 42-inches all the way up to 83-inches.

The best discount for most people, however, is for the 55-inch evo C4. This model is available for $1,697, which is 15 percent off. The 65-inch model is also 15 percent off, bringing the price down to $2,297.

No matter which size you choose, this is a lot of TV bang for your buck. The LG C4 evo series feature powerful Alpha Gen 7 chips, improved brightness when compared to previous generations and plenty of built-in AI for upscaling and the like. They also include gorgeous OLED panels.

The brightness levels on these panels hit nearly 1,000 nits, which is a fantastic metric for OLED screens. It’s not as bright as Mini LED TVs, but it’s getting there. In addition, these TVs support 144Hz refresh rates for gaming and compatibility for both G-Sync and AMD Freesync. These sets can even pair wirelessly with compatible LG soundbars, for a hassle-free way to experiment with surround sound.

As previously mentioned, all C4 sizes are discounted, but that doesn’t mean they are budget-friendly. Even with today’s discount, the 83-inch model clocks in at a whopping $5,000. The 77-inch model comes in at $3,297 and the diminutive 42-inch version costs $1,297.

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You can pick up a specced-out version of last year’s MacBook Pro M3 for cheaper than ever right now, at $1,800. This is a discount of $200 for Apple’s flagship laptop with 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM. This deal is only available for the 14-inch Space Gray model. The silver model is also on sale, but with just an eight percent discount.

As for the computer itself, it’s the MacBook Pro M3. It’s one of the best laptops you can buy, particularly for people who do intensive creative work on a computer, like video editing and music-making. The 14-inch screen is gorgeous, the M3 chip is both fast and efficient and the keyboard and trackpad are excellent. It’s heavier and a bit bulkier than the just-released MacBook Air M3 models, but it also boasts more memory, a better selection of ports and a more efficient cooling system.

There are a couple of minor nitpicks here. Like all Apple MacBooks, you won’t be able to make adjustments to RAM or internal storage after the fact, so double-check before smashing that “buy” button. This model is also much more expensive than the Air, though today’s deal makes that a bit easier to swallow.

Speaking of the MacBook Air, there’s also a decent deal to be had for one of those via Amazon. The 2022 M2 model is available for $850, which is a 15 percent discount. This deal is for the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM. If you don’t work in the creative arts and use a laptop just to write, watch content or surf the web, this is a fantastic choice.

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Disney+ has greenlit a standalone show for Marvel’s Vision, as reported by Variety. Paul Bettany will return to portray everyone’s favorite android/synthezoid and reporting indicates that the story will pick up after the events of WandaVision. We have a long time to wait, however, as it won’t air on the streaming platform until 2026.

This tracks with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent announcement that it would start being much more picky when it comes to Marvel content. The current plan is to reduce the number of shows from four per year to two. 

As for Vision, it’s not being helmed by Jacqueline Schaeffer, who created WandaVision. Showrunning duties fall to Terry Matalas. He created the criminally underrated 12 Monkeys TV show and acted as showrunner for the final season of Star Trek: Picard, which was miles better than those early seasons. Schaeffer was working on an earlier version of the concept before moving to the forthcoming spinoff Agatha All Along.

While the presence of Matalas may be good news for Marvel fans, it’s bad news for Star Trek fans. Ever since the breakout success of Picard’s final season, fans have been pushing Paramount to greenlight a show they have been calling “Star Trek Legacy” with Matalas at the helm. This would be a continuation that follows the events of Picard season three, spotlighting Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Nine and other returning characters from the 1990s era of the franchise. Now that Matalas has been snatched up by Marvel, this is unlikely to happen. Between that and the recent cancellation of Star Trek: Lower Decks, it looks like 90s Trek is just about over and done with. 

New research indicates the sun’s magnetic field originates close to the surface and not deep within the star, according to findings published in the journal Nature. This upends decades of prevailing scientific thought that placed the field more than 130,000 miles below the surface of the sun. It also brings us closer to understanding the nature of the sun’s magnetic field, which has been on scientist’s minds since Galileo.

The study, led by Northwestern University and a team of international researchers, suggests that the magnetic field actually generates 20,000 miles below the surface. This was discovered after the team ran a series of complex calculations on a NASA supercomputer. It’s worth noting that these are just initial findings and more research is required to confirm the data.

The sun’s magnetic field fluctuates in a cycle that lasts 11 years. During the strongest part of this cycle, powerful winds and sunspots form at the solar equator, along with plumes of material that cause the aurora borealis here on Earth. Previous theories that place the magnetic field deeper within the sun have had a difficult time connecting these various solar phenomena. Scientists hope that, given further study, they’ll be able to use this theory to not only explain the creation of solar events, but more accurately predict when they will occur.

This could lead to more than just earlier predictions of the next aurora borealis event. The sun’s intense magnetic energy is also the source of solar flares and eruptions of plasma called coronal mass ejections. When these ejections travel toward Earth, all kinds of bad things happen. This famously occurred back in 1859, when a giant geomagnetic storm created the largest solar storm in recorded history.

This is called the Carrington Event, attributed to British astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington. The solar flare, which was actually a magnetic explosion on the sun’s surface, briefly outshone the sun and caused colored lights to erupt all over the planet, similar to the aurora borealis. It also supercharged telegraph cables, shocking operators, and set telegraph paper on fire. It was pretty nasty.

Now, this was 1859, before the modern use of electricity and before computers and all related technologies. If something like the Carrington Event were to occur today, we’d have it much worse. The emitted X-rays and ultraviolet light would interfere with electronics, radio and satellite signals. The event would cause a solar radiation storm, which would be deadly to astronauts not fully equipped with protective gear.

It would also lead a coronal mass ejection to bump up against Earth’s magnetic field, which would shut down power grids, cell phone satellites, modern cars and even airplanes. The resulting global power outages could last for months. Last month’s smallish (relatively speaking) storm messed with electronics and that was no Carrington-sized event. Even worse? We are absolutely due for this to happen. It’s basically a ticking time bomb.

So these findings could, in theory, be used to prepare new early warning methods for large-scale solar flares hitting Earth. Someday, we might have solar flare warnings alongside hurricane warnings and the like. The research has already demonstrated some interesting links between sunspots and the sun’s magnetic activity.

“We still don’t understand the sun well enough to make accurate predictions” of solar weather, lead study author Geoffrey Vasil of the University of Edinburgh told The Hill. These new findings “will be an important step toward finally resolving” this mysterious process, added co-author Daniel Lecoanet of Northwestern University.

Chatting it up with a fake ScarJo not doing it for you? Why not try a conversation with the leader of China? There’s a new chatbot in town and it's based on Xi Jinping. As a matter of fact, it was trained using the ‘thoughts’ of the Chinese leader. I put thoughts in quotes because researchers didn’t use some kind of new mind-reading technology. Chinese officials just used a bunch of his books and papers for training purposes, according to a report by The Financial Times.

His political philosophy is collectively known as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” or, simply, “Xi Jinping Thought.” This ideological doctrine has been created during his tenure as leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). With that in mind, the chatbot was trained on official literature that falls under that umbrella, including more than 12 books allegedly written by Xi Jinping himself. The training set also includes government regulations, policy documents, state media reports and other official publications.

A single document examined by The Financial Times used to train the chatbot contained over 86,000 mentions of Xi Jinping, with language that urges citizens to “ensure that in thought, politics, and action, we are always in high alignment with the Party Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core.” This chatbot must be really fun at parties.

The technology hasn’t rolled out to the general public yet. It’s being used at a research center under the purview of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), though it may eventually be released for wider use. The model can answer questions, create reports, summarize information and translate between Chinese and English. It’s a basic chatbot, though one that’s likely to disseminate Xi’s ideas on politics, economics and culture.

This move comes amid extensive efforts by Chinese officials to promote the philosophies of Xi and his authoritarian state. As previously mentioned, more than a dozen books are attributed to the leader and they typically take center stage at the country’s book fairs. Popular news apps from companies like Tencent and Netease reserve slots at the top of feeds for articles from official state media, and most of these posts feature Xi. Children as young as ten are required to study his political philosophy, so the chatbot could find a use there.

The major Western AI models aren't available in China, as the CAC mandates that generative AI providers “embody core socialist values” and that the output from any chatbot must not “contain any content that subverts state power.” So there’s no ChatGPT, Google Gemini or anything like that. Chinese companies like Baidu and Alibaba must ensure that their models strictly control generated content related to Xi or any sensitive issue.

This is a huge challenge for these companies, as most groups train their models with some English language data. This introduces the potential for responses that run afoul of the country’s speech regulations. To get around this, Chinese chatbots will typically restart the chat when asked about sensitive topics. The country is, however, leading the way in the “chatbots based on deceased relatives” department. With that in mind, Xi Jinping could very well espouse his philosophy from now until the end of time.

Twitch has updated its filtering tools to allow the exclusion of livestreams that feature mature themes, like sexual, violent and profane content. In other words, you won’t have to sift through hundreds of gross streams just to find someone innocently drinking soda pop and playing through Hades 2.

These new filter settings let people opt out of specific content labels, per the platform’s recently-introduced Content Classification Guidelines. These guidelines require creators to appropriately label livestreams if they include stuff like sexual imagery, depictions of violence, gambling, excessive profanity and drug use. These labels also apply when streaming mature-rated games.

This will allow for a more curated experience, as people will be able to hide entire categories when searching for something to watch. Previously, these content labels were only used as data points to help Twitch users make informed viewing decisions.

Twitch

The content classification filters are found in profile settings under Content Display Preferences. Once turned on, the filters will apply to all recommendations and search results, in addition to streams that pop up when aimlessly browsing. The system will remember preferred filter adjustments, so it should be a one-and-done trip to the settings page. For those under 18, Twitch automatically applies the vast majority of these filter settings.

There’s also another semi-related tool rolling out today. Preview thumbnails can now be blurred for streams labeled as having sexual themes. This feature will be turned on by default and can be toggled on or off via settings. However, if you follow a channel the thumbnail won’t be blurred, even if your classification labels rule out sexual content.

Twitch has been trying to nail down its policies regarding sexual content for a while now. It recently opened up the platform to nudity, as long as it was properly labeled, before changing its mind. Currently, the platform requires streamers to cover up their buttocks, genitals and (for female-presenting streamers) the nipples and underbust areas. Visible outlines of genitals are also prohibited, though all of this is liable to change.

We’ve all been there. You see something cool on Kickstarter. It’s reasonably priced and made by reputable folks. You fully intend on backing it, but life gets in the way and the campaign ends, leaving you out in the cold. Kickstarter just solved this very specific problem by continuing to allow financial backing after a campaign finishes.

The new tool is appropriately-named Late Pledge and will only be available to creators who hit their initial goal. It’s been in the testing phase since April and Kickstarters says it has allowed creators to raise an additional 35 percent over that initial goal, according to reporting by TechCrunch.

Late Pledge has exited the testing phase and is now available to all creators worldwide. This is good for creators, good for backers and, of course, good for Kickstarter, as users won’t have to head to a third-party payment platform when a campaign has ended.

The company has also announced a new in-house marketing unit to help creators promote their campaigns. Kickstarter says that this team “provides support every step of the way, from creative services and pre-launch marketing support to ad measurement and execution.” This service has been in the testing phase for a while and has helped creators raise around $1 million in additional pledges.

There’s more to come. Kickstarter unveiled a more robust survey tool for reward fulfillment purposes and announced the forthcoming ability to pay for shipping and tax via the mobile app.

We might just be living in the ultimate golden age of portable gaming. There’s the Switch for Nintendo first party games and indies, the Steam Deck and its rivals for modern PC titles and, of course, a whole bunch of systems intended for retro gaming. Ayaneo has been one of the leaders of this retro resurgence and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. As a matter of fact, the company just announced a whole bunch of new products, including two incredibly cool-looking Game Boy-inspired consoles. As a note, the company has yet to release pricing or availability information for any of the following items.

Ayaneo

The Pocket DMG is basically the pre-existing Pocket S but with a different form factor and screen. There’s an OLED display, which is something old-school portables never had, so retro titles should absolutely pop. Ayaneo also stuffed this handheld with the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chipset, which is the same processor found with the Pocket S.

It’s also extremely attractive, with a classic Game Boy-esque design and some modern aesthetic flourishes. For instance, there’s a classic D-pad and ABXY buttons, but also a joystick on the left and a cooling vent on the side.

Ayaneo

The Pocket Micro takes its design cues from the Game Boy Micro, which was the most budget-friendly way to play GBA titles back in 2005. It boasts the same rectangular design and horizontal form factor, but with a sturdy aluminum frame and a stretch-free full-screen 960x640 display. The layout is also familiar, with a D-pad and ABXY keys, though Ayaneo’s console adds two joysticks.

Despite the extremely cute and compact form factor, this thing is surprisingly powerful. It features a Helio G99 processor, which should excel with your favorite retro titles that you totally already own and have merely copied a ROM from the actual cart.

Ayaneo’s Remake collection isn’t just for Game Boy-inspired portable consoles. The company also announced a new mini PC to add to the lineup. The Retro Mini PC AM01S is an update to the AM01, with dual-fan cooling and laptop-grade processors. It looks like the mini PC will come in two tiers, one with the Ryzen 7 8845HS and the other with the Ryzen 9 8945HS. As for the design, it’s still Mac-inspired, though now includes a tilting screen. This allows the display to sit at multiple angles, so it can act as a digital clock.

Finally, there’s the Starship Graphics Dock AG01. As the name suggests, this thing looks like a retro starship from the 1970s version of Battlestar Galactica or something. This is the company’s first-ever mobile dock and comes loaded with the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT mobile graphics card. It’ll be available in red and gray, at first, but Ayaneo wants fans to vote on more colors.

Sure, you could spend the summer grilling up burgers and dogs, but wouldn’t pizza be a nice change of pace? Ooni has discounted its pizza ovens by up to 30 percent as part of a Memorial Day sale.

The most notable item here is the Ooni Fyra 12 wood pellet pizza oven, which is $245 as part of the sale. This is a discount of 30 percent, or $105. That’s a fantastic deal for one of our very favorite pizza ovens. As an aside, Amazon has price-matched this particular deal, if you don’t feel like filling out payment information on yet another website.

The Fyra 12 won our award for the best compact pizza oven, and for good reason. It’s just over 20 pounds and doesn’t take up that much space when compared to rival models. It runs on wood pellets instead of chunks, so there’s much less tending to the fire. This oven excels with high-heat bakes, up to 950 degrees, which can fully cook a pizza in around a minute. This should provide plenty of char, which is pretty much the best part.

The compact footprint does have one downside. You see that “12” in the name? This oven maxes out at 12-inch pizzas. However, it can crank them out in a minute, so that’s two minutes for two pizzas. Delivery services used to brag about getting a pizza to your home in 30 minutes or less, but you could have 30 pies down the ole’ gullet by then.

Ooni’s sitewide sale isn’t just for pizza ovens, though there are plenty of them available. You can also snatch up discounted accessories, like charcoal, pizza steels, aprons and even branded t-shirts. The savings continue until May 27. 

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