NPR's podcast efforts have increasingly revolved around its paid, ad-free NPR+ service, and now it's offering stronger incentives to spend money. Axiosreports the organization will offer content available solely to NPR+ subscribers. The new show The Limits with Jay Williams, for instance, will offer a separate content release in its feed. NPR VP Joel Sucherman also said NPR might test perks like unedited interviews and member-only events.

You'll also have extra motivation to support local stations. NPR will launch a subscription podcast bundle in the second half of 2022 that gives station members wider access to an on-demand podcast library and other content. It's similar to PBS Passport, Sucherman said. The company is also adding more shows to NPR+.

The public broadcaster isn't ditching free, ad-supported podcasts any time soon. However, the shift isn't surprising. Podcasts help bring in a younger, more diverse audience than conventional radio, Axios said. A subscription drive like this could maintain listenership and funding even if fewer people tune into live programming.

Like many other PC manufacturers, MSI is refreshing its gaming laptops this week with the new CPUs and GPUs Intel and NVIDIA announced at CES 2022. Among the models the company is updating are its popular Stealth GS77 and Stealth GS66 laptops. New to the 2022 versions of the laptop is a more durable zinc alloy hinge. They also feature larger trackpads and keycaps for a more comfortable typing experience. Between the Stealth GS77 and Stealth GS66, MSI will offer 10 different configurations.

With the latter, the most affordable model will cost $1,799 and feature an Intel Core i7-12650H processor, NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of NVMe storage. It also comes with a 17-inch 360Hz Full HD display. If you want MSI’s most powerful GS77 model, you’ll need to set aside $4,199. That gets you a computer with a 14-core, 20-thread i9-12900H; NVIDIA’s new flagship laptop GPU, the RTX 3080 Ti; 32GB of RAM; and a 1TB M.2 drive. Instead of a Full HD or QHD panel, it comes with a 4K 120Hz display that covers the entire Adobe RGB color gamut.

Moving to the smaller GS66, your most affordable option here is a $2,499 model with an i9-12900H, RTX 3070 Ti, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of internal storage and a 15-inch 360Hz Full HD display. For $1,000 more, you can get the computer with an RTX 3080 Ti, 32GB of RAM and 4K display.

MSI

If one of MSI’s new computers comes with at least an RTX 3070 and Core i7 processor, it will feature a “Meta-Ready” sticker on its case to tell you you’re ready to experience the Metaverse at its best. The company doesn’t say who decided you need one of NVIDIA’s latest GPUs for a technology that is more an idea than a reality at this point.

One of the ways MSI hopes to differentiate its laptops from all the other Intel 12th-gen machines you’ll have the chance to buy in 2022 is through its new cooling technology. The Core i9 Stealth GS77 will come with a metal pad that melts when the computer reaches a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit. The liquid fills the space between the CPU and thermal block, leading to a more efficient transfer of heat, according to MSI. The company claims the technology allows for an up to 10 percent increase in performance.

MSI

MSI is also updating its Creator series of laptops, including the Z17, Z16P and M16. The highlight of the line is the Z17. It features a 17-inch 16:10 display with a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and 165Hz refresh rate. The base model comes with an RTX 3070 Ti, i7 12700H processor and 32GB of RAM for $3,249. We’re waiting on details for when MSI plans to release all the laptops it announced today.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Agricultural hardware giant and scourge of right-to-repair advocates everywhere John Deere is ready to show off its finished, fully-autonomous tractor. Here at CES, the company is saying that this unit is going to be put into large-scale production, and will be made available to farmers later this year. When in use, a farmer can set the hardware to work and then leave it running, allowing them to tend to vital work elsewhere. The idea, so the company says, is to help make farming more efficient and more robust in the face of ever-increasing demand and dwindling resources.

A progress video from John Deere's autonomous team from the start of 2020.

John Deere’s ambitions in this space have been running for some time, and the company was showing off an autonomous tractor at this show in 2019. Back then, it said that its technology — which combine land-based sensors and GPS — was accurate to around 2.5 cm, or 0.9 inches. This new model has six pairs of stereo cameras around the vehicle to help with object detection, which is then processed by a local neural network. This, combined with the aforementioned GPS technology, enables it to maintain its position within a geofence around an individual field.

John Deere

The model that Deere is showing off combines a Deere 8R Tractor, a TruSet-enabled chisel plow and the secret sauce contained within its navigation technology. It says that all a farmer needs to do is drive it to the start of a field, configure it for autonomous operation and then “swipe from left to right to start the machine.” Its progress can then be monitored from a mobile device, which can receive live video, data and metrics, allowing a farmer to adjust speed and drill depth from their phone.

We don't yet know how much the hardware is going to cost, but we can imagine that there will be plenty of interest from major farming companies both in the US and abroad as they look to cut costs on labor and search for efficiencies any way that they can. 

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Qualcomm's involvement with Microsoft is extending past chips for PCs. The two are partnering on a string of initiatives to foster augmented reality and the metaverse, including the development of custom chips for AR glasses. The companies were shy on the nature of the chips or the end products, but they promised "lightweight," energy-efficient wearables. You might actually want to use this eyewear for extended periods, in other words.

The team-up will unsurprisingly make use of software, including Microsoft's Mesh virtual collaboration tool and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces XR development system. There wasn't any mention of what platforms the glasses would support, although it's safe to presume they'll be Windows-friendly.

An alliance like this doesn't come as a complete shock. Microsoft has long discussed plans to make AR more accessible than its work-oriented HoloLens headsets. These chips won't necessarily reach consumer-oriented glasses, but they could represent a large step in that direction. For Qualcomm, this could also help it control the future of AR — it might not have to worry that Meta and other companies will dominate the metaverse and dictate its terms.

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Last July, Hideo Kojima's utterly bonkers animated philosophy movie and busywork simulator, Death Stranding, announced a director's cut edition with some additional goodies, which dropped for PlayStation 5 in September. PC gamers will now get to experience this version in the Spring of 2022, roughly two years after the base game was ported to Windows. 

Death Stranding Director's Cut on PC will make use of Intel's Xe Super Sampling to supposedly improve performance, graphical fidelity and frame rates. Ultra-wide monitors will also be supported, in case that's a concern of yours. And as Kojima mentioned above, the game will launch simultaneously on the Epic Game store and Steam. As with the PS5 version, Director's Cut will come with the same add-ons including new weapons, missions, boss battles and a racing mode. 

There's no exact date yet beyond the general "Spring 2022" window. If you're looking to scratch the itch of a bleak future where loneliness is only outweighed by tedium, perhaps watch Sion Sono's The Whispering Star while you wait. To my knowledge Kojima has never claimed the film was an influence on his game (which also revolves around a replaceable, emotionless protagonist essentially working as an Amazon Flex courier) but I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. 

After delivering an ambitious gaming convertible notebook last year, the svelte ROG Flow X13, ASUS is taking that concept even further with the Flow Z13 tablet. Think of it like a souped-up Surface Pro: the Z13 packs in Intel's new 12th-gen processors and up to NVIDIA's RTX 3050 Ti all in a sleek slate. Weighing in at 2.43 pounds, it's clearly not meant to replace smaller tablets like the iPad. Instead, ASUS sees it as a way to bring your PC games everywhere — say a cramped airplane tray table — without the bulk of a laptop.

Like the ROG Flow X13, the Z13 can connect to the ASUS XG Mobile external GPU, which supports up to AMD's Radeon RX 6850M in addition to NVIDIA's mobile RTX 30-series lineup. That eGPU still relies on a custom PCIe connection, which can reach up to 63 Gbps of graphics bandwidth, making it more capable than Thunderbolt 4's 40 Gbps. I was wary of the XG Mobile last year, given just how expensive and flaky similar eGPUs have been. And that was before we learned it would cost $1,500 with the 3080, and that it wasn't nearly as fast as reviewers would have liked. At the very least, the Z13 promises to be a better performer than the X13 with its built-in hardware, so maybe an eGPU would be unnecessary.

In person, the Z13 is exactly what you'd expect from an ROG gaming laptop to look like. The preview unit ASUS sent for me to borrow felt dense and sturdy, surprisingly so for its 12 millimeter thickness. Unlike iPads and other tablets, it feels strong enough to survive a backpack commute without a protective case. From the front, you could easily mistake it for a notebook. From the sides and back though, it's more like a Super Surface, with a flexible kickstand and keyboard cover.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

I wasn't able to run any games and benchmarks on the ROG Z13, unfortunately. (I'd wager ASUS's software and drivers aren't ready for serious testing yet.) But I could see why it could be compelling: An RTX 3050 Ti in a machine this size would be a dream for travel (at least, when that's safe again). And its 4K 13-inch display was perfectly fine for productivity tasks (there's also a 1080p 120Hz option). Given its size, though, the Z13 felt too heavy to use as a standard tablet. It's also not nearly as "lappable" as the Surface Pro devices; it's just too heavy to stay put while you're typing.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

ASUS deserves credit for actually including the keyboard case with the Z13, something Microsoft still refuses to do with the Surface Pro. And the typing experience actually feels pretty decent, so long as the Z13 is planted firmly on a flat surface. I could see it being a solid option for casual gaming, but the WASD inputs don't feel nearly as responsive as a basic desktop gaming keyboard. Basically, if you're expecting to compete while using the Z13, plan to bring along a separate keyboard.

You'll likely be able to connect most of your accessories to the Z13 as well, since it includes both a USB 2.0 Type-A connection, as well two USB 3.2 Type-C ports (one is hidden under the XG Mobile connection. There's also a microSD card slot, which is useful for throwing in additional storage or offloading media.

Without knowing the ROG Z13's price and testing it properly, it's hard to make any final judgements. Personally, I think most consumers would be better off investing in a gaming notebook, which would have bigger screens, faster hardware and more capable keyboards. But ASUS already makes plenty of those, including our beloved Zephyrus G14 and G15. The Z13, which is expected to land in the first half of 2022, is clearly meant for gamers who prioritize portability more than anything else. For them, this might be the tablet of their dreams.

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ASUS' gaming laptops have caught up to the work-from-home era. The PC maker has unveiled its ROG laptop line for early 2022, and the centerpiece for many is likely an updated Zephyrus G14 (shown above) that finally, finally includes a webcam — one with Windows Hello-friendly infrared, no less. ASUS told Engadget gamers didn't mind the absence of a camera in the past, but a combination of shrinking panels and smaller cameras made the inclusion possible. Whatever the reasoning, this will be welcome for anyone who had to forego the G14 (or buy an external webcam) to participate in virtual classrooms and meetings.

There are plenty of performance-related upgrades, of course. The reworked Zephryus G14 uses AMD's new Ryzen 6000-series chips (up to the Ryzen 9 6900HS), a maximum 32GB of DDR5 memory and dedicated Radeon graphics up to the RX 6800S. Cooling has improved, too, thanks to a new vapor chamber, liquid metal on the CPU and GPU, a dust filter and higher-airflow fans. You'll also find slimmer overall display bezels, a 50 percent larger trackpad and a flashier mini-LED lid with 19 percent more lights and smoother animations. It's too soon to say if the G14 will match ASUS' claims of 10-plus hours of video playback on battery, but USB-C fast charging and reduced GPU thermal design power (from 100W to 65W) should minimize the amount of time you need to plug in.

ASUS hasn't divulged pricing for the Zephyrus G14 as of this writing, but you'll have options for 144Hz 1080p and 120Hz 1440p screens, and you can spring for more frugal components like the Ryzen 5 6600HS or Radeon RX 6700S to keep costs down.

ASUS

There are other laptops in store. The new Zephyrus Duo 16 (pictured at middle) builds on the dual-screen concept with some unique display tricks. If you spring for the 120Hz 4K main panel, you can switch to 1080p at 240Hz thanks to a clustering technique — you can trade resolution for speed. You'll also find a tweaked second-screen mechanism that makes for a more "seamless" integration with the primary display. The G14's Ryzen 6000-series CPUs, liquid metal-enhanced cooling and the IR camera have made their way to the Duo, although you'll be using NVIDIA graphics (up to the new RTX 3080 Ti).

 Other laptops aren't quite as eye-catching, but might still scratch the itch for gamers on the move. The ROG Flow Z13 (at bottom) is a Surface Pro-like 13.4-inch detachable for the gamer crowd with up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i9, a 4K screen and RTX 3050 Ti video, while the Strix G15 and G17 are more conventional 15- and 17-inch gaming portables that leap to the newest AMD processors and NVIDIA graphics. While pricing and availability are unknowns here as well, we'd expect machines like the Duo and Flow to carry premiums given their still-rare form factors.

ASUS

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Volvo will use Qualcomm's Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms to beef up the infotainment systems in some of its upcoming models. Both the Polestar 3 and an electric SUV will harness the chipsets.

According to the automaker, Qualcomm partnership will bolster its Android Automotive-based infotainment system by making it more responsive and more than twice as fast. The chipset is said to be able to handle the graphics, audio and AI needs of an infotainment system with very low power consumption. Volvo notes that it'll be able to roll out over-the-air updates that should bring more improvements to the system in the future.

Qualcomm believes it can widen the field for semi-autonomous driving features, and it's launching a new platform to make that happen. The company has unveiled a Snapdragon Ride Vision platform that combines a 4-nanometer system-on-chip with Arriver's computer vision software to give automakers an "open, scalable and modular" way to build Level 2 driver assists and Level 3 partial autonomy into their cars.

Snapdragon Ride Vision can help cars detect road geometry, pedestrians and other cars using 8MP wide-angle cameras. It can also handle driver monitoring (to keep your hands or eyes focused on driving) and perception for near-field parking cameras. More importantly, the system is flexible — car designers can customize it to fit new vehicles and update features over the air.

The platform won't be ready for vehicle production until 2024. That's a long time to wait, particularly when Intel's Mobileye and NVIDIA are teasing chips capable of full self-driving. Still, Qualcomm might have an edge simply by making automated driving features more accessible. Snapdragon Ride Vision works with "virtually all" car price ranges and categories, Qualcomm said — this could be key to semi-autonomy in cars where the tech was previously impractical.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

The James Webb Space Telescope has completed one of the most challenging tasks involved in its mission to probe the depths of our universe. This week, NASA successfully deployed JWST’s 70-foot sunshield. The system is essential to the telescope’s operation. It will ensure its instruments don’t get hotter than 380 degrees Fahrenheit so that they’re cold enough to see the infrared light that Webb is designed to track.

NASA began deployment of the sunshield three days after the telescope’s successful December 25th launch. The entire unfolding process took the better part of eight days, with a single day pause for the agency to optimize Webb’s power systems and tensioning motors. When you consider all the components involved, it’s easy to see why NASA says the process was so challenging. In all, unfolding and tensioning the sunshield involved 139 release mechanisms, 70 hinge assemblies, eight motors, about 400 pulleys and approximately a quarter-mile of cabling. If any one of those components failed, they could have set the entire project back.

At best, it would have been another delay in a long line of setbacks. Following a redesign in 2005, NASA declared the JWST ready in 2016, but manufacturing complications delayed assembly to 2019. The coronavirus pandemic then led to further delays in shipping and testing the telescope. There’s still more work to be done before scientists can use Webb to study black holes and other celestial bodies. Over the next five and a half months, NASA has to deploy the telescope’s secondary mirror as well as align its optics. After all that, the world will get a chance to see the first images it takes.