GM's Cruise division doesn't want to rely on third-party manufacturers for the chips powering its autonomous vehicles — so, it's making its own. Based on what Carl Jenkins, the company's VP for Hardware Engineering, told Reuters, the main motivator for the switch is the lofty costs associated with paying for other companies' chips. 

"Two years ago, we were paying a lot of money for a GPU from a famous vendor," Jenkins told the news organization, referring to NVIDIA. He explained that Cruise couldn't negotiate because it wasn't mass manufacturing autonomous vehicles just yet. Its technology is still in its experimental stages, and while it recently became the first company to secure permission to charge for driverless rides, its operations remain limited. By making its own chips, Cruise — like Tesla, Apple and Volkswagen before it — is taking its future into its own hands. 

Jenkins has revealed that Cruise had already developed four chips at this point, starting with Horta, which was designed to become the main brains of the vehicle. Dune will process data from sensors, while another chip will process information from the radar. Yet another one will be announced at a later date. These components will power the Cruise Origin, the self-driving electric shuttle the company first announced back in 2020. The Cruise Origin will have no steering wheel or pedals and will instead have four seats inside facing each other. It's intended to be used as a shareable vehicle that's on the road at all times, shuttling passengers to their destinations.

Company executives didn't say how much they spent on the chips' development, but they believe they could recoup their investment once Cruise starts scaling up production. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said the company's in-house chips would help Origin "hit that sweet spot from a cost perspective" by 2025 and that they make purchasing fully autonomous vehicles for personal use viable. It's unclear if that means Cruise intends to sell the Origin to individuals, but GM chief Mary Barra announced at CES this year that the automaker wants to sell personal autonomous vehicles by the middle of the decade.

Cyberpunk 2077 now has an official modding tool. CD Projekt RED has launched REDmod, which provides players integrated support to easily install and load mods onto the PC version of the action RPG. As the developer's official announcement notes, it will also allow players to modify and personalize their game by using the custom sounds, animations and scripts that come with the tool. CD Projekt Red promises to update the tool alongside future patches to ensure that it remains compatible with the game. It is a free DLC, though, and players don't have to install it at all if they don't want to.

As popular mod website Nexus Mods clarifies, while new mods are required to use a specific format to be compatible with REDmod, old mods will continue to work just fine. Older mods that aren't compatible with the tool simply won't show up in the new REDmod menu. That's also were players can toggle mods that are compatible with the tool on or off. 

The free DLC is now available for download from the official Cyberpunk 2077 website, but players can get also get it from GOG, Steam or Epic.

A judge recently ruled that Elon Musk can use the allegations made by Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko as part of the arguments in his countersuit against the company. As it turns out, Musk intends to use not just Zatko's claims to win his case, but also the fact that the former Twitter executive received a settlement to get out of the $44 billion acquisition deal he made with the social network. As The Washington Post reports, Musk's lawyers sent a letter to Twitter, telling the company that the severance payment worth $7.75 million that it made to Zatko in June violated a provision in their sales agreement. 

In the letter uploaded to the SEC website, Musk's lawyers cited Section 6.1(e) of the merger agreement, which says Twitter promised not to "grant or provide any severance or termination payments or benefits to any Company Service Provider other than the payment of severance amounts or benefits in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and subject to the execution and non-revocation of a release of claims in favor of the Company and its Subsidiaries." Former employees are considered Company Service Providers.

Musk and Twitter entered the purchase agreement in April, and it wasn't until June when Zatko received his severance pay. The company didn't seek Musk's consent before making the payment or notify him of the transaction, the lawyers said in the letter. Musk apparently only found out about the settlement when Twitter included the information in its court filing on September 3rd. As such, Musk's camp argues that the settlement serves as an additional basis to terminate the parties' purchase agreement. As The Post notes, it's now up to Twitter to prove that such a big payout to a former employee wasn't out of the ordinary. We've reached out to Twitter for a statement, and we'll update this post when we hear back.

Also known as "Mudge," Zatko accused the the social network of having "extreme, egregious deficiencies" in security. He said in a complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Twitter violated the terms it had agreed to when it settled a privacy dispute with the FTC back in 2011. The whistleblower also claimed that he couldn't get a direct response from Twitter regarding the actual number of bots on the website. If you'll recall Musk previously accused Twitter of fraud for hiding the real number of bots on its platform and told the court in a legal filing that 10 percent — not just 5 percent as the social network maintains — of its daily active users who see ads are inauthentic accounts.

Twitter and Musk are set to face off in court in a five-day trial scheduled to start on October 17th.

Language purists will have to get real cool with internet buzzwords and slangs those "darn kids" make up really quickly, because Merriam-Webster has legitimized a bunch by adding them to its dictionary. The addition of "metaverse" comes as no surprise, seeing as companies like Facebook have been all about the virtual environment recently in meatspace. Yes, "meatspace" is a term now used to describe physical space and environment. "Altcoin" has also been added to describe alternatives to established cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. 

People have been saying "laggy" and "pwn" for a very, very long time now, but now those words have their own pages on the dictionary's website. And those who want to tell someone on the internet that they're "virtue signaling" or "greenwashing" something can now simply link them to those terms. 

When the game Among Us rose in popularity, so did the slang "sus," which means suspicious or suspect, so it's not a mystery why Merriam-Webster has officially recognized it. The word "lewk," as in fashion looks, is now officially a word, as well. We hope nobody "cringes" or "yeets" whatever it is they're holding, but "adorkable" has also been added to the dictionary. (Yep, "cringe" and "yeet" get their own dictionary entries, too.)

The list of new words includes additions that clearly illustrate how these past years have gone for everyone. "Booster dose," which became a commonly uttered phrase because of the pandemic, gets its own Merriam-Webster page, so do "false positive" and "false negative" lab test results. The words "shrinkflation," the practice of reducing a product's amount or volume while offering it at the same price, and "side hustle" are also part of the list and will serve as reminders for years to come about the state of the economy in 2022. 

Merriam-Webster has posted the full list of new words, which also include some delicious entries like "pumpkin spice" and "birria," on its website.

US authorities, with help from blockchain analyst Chainalysis, have recovered $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Axie Infinity in March. It's but a fraction of the $625 million the play-to-earn game lost to the North Korean-linked hacking unit known as the Lazarus Group, but it's a significant achievement for law enforcement and the crypto community. Chainalysis says this is the first time that cryptocurrency stolen by a North Korean hacking group has been seized.

As the analyst explains, North Korea-linked groups typically use Tornado Cash to mix Ether, but the sanctions the US imposed on the mixer forced them to employ alternative techniques. They now use blockchain bridges to switch between different kinds of digital coins in an effort to obscure the source of their funds, and the analyst had the tools necessary to trace those cross-chain movements.

Apparently, most of the funds stolen from Axie Infinity remain in the blockchain, showing that the bad actors are having a tough time moving stolen assets around and converting them into fiat currency. Chainalysis seems confident that this won't be the last time stolen funds would be recovered from these hacking groups.

According to Bleeping Computer, news about the fund retrieval was announced at the ongoing AxieCon event. The game's publishers have revealed that the money authorities recovered will be gradually moved into Axie Infinity's treasury and then back to its player community. However, it won't be a quick process, and it could take several years to accomplish.

More Uber Eats customers would be getting their orders from vehicles with no delivery personnel in sight. That's because Uber has signed a 10-year partnership with Nuro to use its autonomous, electric vehicles to deliver food orders in the US. They'll start in Houston, Texas and Mountain View, California this fall before eventually expanding their service to the greater Bay Area.

According to TechCrunch, customers won't get to choose and won't even know if their order is being delivered by a Nuro bot when they make their purchase. That also means they'll be charged the same rates for delivery regardless of what the delivery method is. Also, they'll get a refund for their tip if they choose to give one via the app and a Nuro vehicle shows up instead of a human worker. They do have to walk outside to get their order themselves, though, and that could be quite a hassle in the rain. 

Based on the video the companies released to show what a Nuro delivery would look like, customers would have to key in a code to open the vehicle door and get their order. Nuro introduced its third-gen delivery vehicle, which comes with an external airbag to protect pedestrians, earlier this year. Since it has yet to formally launch its new vehicle model, it will initially use its second-gen cars called the R2 for the partnership. The R2 was designed to be completely driverless and is equipped with 360-degree and thermal cameras, lidar and radar to effectively navigate roads on its own. 

Nuro's vehicles have been making deliveries in Houston since 2019 for other companies like Walmart. In California, it was granted the state’s first Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Permit in 2020, giving it the authority to operate a commercial autonomous vehicle service. As TechCrunch notes, that would allow Nuro to receive a fee for every Uber Eats delivery in the state. 

Nuro isn't the only autonomous delivery firm Uber Eats has an agreement with. The food delivery service launched a pilot with Motional in May for orders in Santa Monica, California, though those deliveries made by an autonomous vehicle will still have a safety driver behind the wheel. Uber Eats also launched a pilot service with sidewalk delivery firm Serve Robotics in the same month for short delivery routes in West Hollywood.

The House of Mouse is celebrating Disney+ Day today, and that means exclusive content and releases if you're already a subscriber, as well as a discount if you're not a member yet. If you're a new customer or have previously let your subscription lapse, you can now get a month of Disney+ for only $2. The discounted price will only apply to your first month of membership, after which you'll have to pay $8 a month to keep your subscription active. Still, that's 75 percent off the service's regular price and a great opportunity to test it out or regain access to its movies and shows.

This year's Disney+ Day also marks the streaming premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder and Pinocchio, as well as of new series and originals like the computer animated show Cars on the Road. Brie Larson's hybrid docuseries Growing Up, which features coming of age stories, and National Geographic's Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory that will take you on journeys to capture real-life animal stories in some of Earth's harshest environments are now available on the platform, as well. And if you're a parent, I wish you luck and hope you have the fortitude to be able to withstand repeated plays of Let It Go, because there are new sing-along versions of Frozen and Frozen 2.

The $2 Disney+ offer ends before midnight on September 19th, so may want to sign up soon or set a reminder if you don't want to miss it.

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The Artemis III mission will take humanity back to the Moon and will have two astronauts conducting up to four spacewalks on its surface. Now, NASA has picked the company that will be building the spacesuits Artemis astronauts will wear when they leave their spacecraft and explore the lunar landscape. The agency has announced that Axiom Space will develop the mission's moonwalking system and has been awarded an order with a value of at least $228.5 million.

Axiom is one of the two companies that NASA named as its official Artemis spacesuit partners back in June, with the other one being Collins Aerospace. For this particular order, the agency said it reviewed proposals from the two vendors and had decided on Axiom to design, develop, certify and ultimately produce Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) spacesuits and equipment for Artemis III. 

Axiom's xEVAS will build off on NASA's Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuits that the agency designed for Artemis missions. They will accommodate a wide range of crew members, the company said in its announcement, and will be built with increased flexibility and specialized tools for exploration. 

That Axiom is building the spacesuit to accommodate a wider range of bodies is of particular importance as we prepare to explore the Moon and other deep space locations. If you'll recall, a planned all-female spacewalk back in 2019 was cancelled due to the lack of properly fitting gear, and it put a spotlight on spacesuit design and the availability of various sizes. Artemis III is intended to put the first woman on the lunar surface, and Axiom has confirmed in its announcement that it will be making an xEVAS spacesuit for that female astronaut.

Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space President & CEO, said in a statement:

"Our modernized, evolvable spacesuits will enable rapid upgrades to implement better, safer technologies over time, ensuring our astronauts are always equipped with high performing, robust equipment. We look forward to providing our space pioneers with advanced tools needed to further humanity's permanent expansion off the planet."  

This particular order is for the Artemis III landing only. The vendors are expected to compete for future task orders that include spacesuits for recurring lunar landings, as well as the development of spacesuits for use outside the ISS in low-Earth orbit.

You can now enjoy surround sound while streaming YouTube TV content on your Apple TV and Fire TV devices. As The Verge reports, the streaming television service has expanded the list of devices supporting its shows and movies with 5.1 audio after rolling out the capability to Android TV, Google TV and Roku devices back in June. YouTube TV first started testing 5.1 channel audio for those first three devices back in March, while also promising to work on support for Apple TV and Fire TV devices, as well as for gaming consoles. This rollout covers two out of those three — a tweet on the official YouTube TV page says the service is still in the process of bringing the capability to consoles.

The Help page for YouTube TV doesn't explicitly mention Apple TV as a supported device yet, but it does list the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick with 4K Ultra HD. To note, surround sound isn't available for all YouTube TV content, only those that have it. So long as a user is streaming on a compatible device, 5.1 audio will be automatically switched on. That said, those who want to make sure that it's available for a specific video can do so by playing it, going to "More" under player controls and selecting the "bug" icon. YouTube TV's "Stats for nerds" will be displayed at the top of the video, and it should show AC-3/EAC-3 in the codecs section if it has surround sound.

Microsoft Xbox has launched a new Elite Series 2 controller with a white cover plate, and it's now available for pre-order. Like its black counterpart, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Core in white was designed with competitive gamers in mind, with its wrap-around rubberized grip, shorter hair trigger locks and 40 hours of battery life. It's now available for pre-order from the Xbox website and select retailers for $130. That's much cheaper than the black version that has a standard retail price of $180, because it doesn't come with a case and other spare parts needed for customization. 

Instead, Xbox is selling a separate Complete Component Pack, which is also available for pre-order, for $60. The pack includes a carrying case, a thumbstick-adjustment tool, a charging dock, two classic thumbsticks, one tall thumbstick, one dome thumbstick, one cross-shaped D-pad, two medium and two mini paddles, as well as a USB-C cable. By selling the pack separately, that means those who already have all those components from the black Elite Series 2 will be able to buy the new controller on its own at a cheaper price. However, that's $10 more than the black version for those who want to get both the white controller and the component pack.

In addition to announcing its new products, Xbox has also revealed that it's adding the Elite Series 2 Controllers to the Xbox Design Lab this holiday season. That means players will be able purchase personalized controllers designed with various colors and patterns of their choosing, so they can go beyond these current black and white options.