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GM’s cheaper, adaptable Ultium batteries are key to its EV future

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Ultium batteries will normally support up to 200kW fast charging (slower than Tesla’s 250kW Supercharger V3, if still quick), but there will be 800-volt packs for trucks that will handle 350kW charging. They’ll be low-cobalt designs that are both cheaper than before (under $100 per kWh) and should raise fewer concerns about the labor required. Between the lower costs of the batteries themselves, the reuse of existing facilities and simpler car designs, GM expects its next wave of EVs to be “profitable” — it’ll have an incentive to sell them like any other car.

The self-driving Cruise Origin shuttle is GM’s first announced EV to use Ultium batteries, but it won’t be the last. You can also expect Cadillac to unveil an Ultium-powered Lyriq luxury SUV in April, while the Hummer EV will unsurprisingly use the tech as well. Not that GM is sitting tight otherwise. It’s planning a new version of the Bolt EV for late 2020 and the crossover Bolt EUV for summer 2021.

To some extent, the company doesn’t have much choice. Tesla has long claimed range as a central advantage, and it’s already getting nearly 400 miles from the Model S and X. If GM wants to be competitive, it’ll have to offer comparable abilities. And it’s not like other rivals are standing still — just ask Ford about the popularity of the Mach-E’s long range option. In that light, Ultium is less of a technical edge and more of a necessity.

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Easy-to-use mods brought me back to ‘Freespace 2’

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So how can you join in on the fun? First, you’ll need a retail copy of Freespace 2 ($10 on GOG and Steam). And for newcomers, the original campaigns are available with updated graphics and they’re still amazing.

I’d start with those to learn the ropes. Like most sim games, the control scheme for Freespace is extensive and complex, with dozens of hotkeys and at least 20 commands required for regular play. (Unlike many sims, this one probably plays best with a mouse, leave the flightstick under the desk.) Apparently these are all muscle-memory for me — I was able to jump back into the action, simultaneously adjusting my shield power while cycling primary weapons, engaging afterburners and targeting the ship attacking my objective, without a sweat.

Beyond the original campaigns, dive into the mod work and try Inferno Nostos, The Procyon Insurgency, and Wings of Dawn (though skip the cringey, optional, NSFW files for that one). The best fan-made campaign and, one of the most impressive mods I’ve ever seen, is the staggeringly ambitious Blue Planet. It’s essentially a whole new game, a pair of massive campaigns covering 50-missions with entirely new weapons and ships (and with serious Battlestar Galactica vibes). Or if you’d prefer full Battlestar, there’s Diaspora, and Beyond the Red Line, a pair of multi-campaign total conversion mods set within the world of the Syfy Battlestar Galactica reboot. For fans of 90’s space sims who feel left out, there’s even a full fan-made Wing Commander game with 50 missions on offer. If you miss space sims at all, it’s the best $10 you can spend.

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Tesla is using older hardware in Chinese Model 3 cars because of supply issues

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Understandably, a lot of the country’s Model 3 owners weren’t happy to find out their brand new car had left the Gigafactor 3 floor with older hardware. According to the BBC, the new chip is up to 21 times faster at processing images than its predecessor. A lot of that has to do with the fact Tesla built the new chip from the ground up to handle autonomous driving tasks.

Teslarati says Chinese Model 3 owners discovered the discrepancy after comparing vehicle controller hardware codes. Tesla, however, quickly apologized for the decision and said it will offer free upgrades to affected Model 3 owners once supplies become available. The coronavirus outbreak has had other effects on the company’s Chinese operation. Just a few weeks after it started producing vehicles at its new Gigafactory plant in Shanghai, Tesla had to pause work following a government-mandated order. It reopened the plant on February 10th.

Consumers outside of China have felt the effects of the coronavirus epidemic as well. For instance, Valve recently said supplies of its Index VR headset would be limited ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Half-Life: Alyx. Tech conferences have also had to adapt, with Google cancelling its annual I/O developer conference on Tuesday.

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‘Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’ unexpectedly arrives on mobile

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As The Verge notes, Symphony of the Night was the first Castlevania game from writer and director Koji “Iga” Igarashi. Its launch saw the series shift away from pure action to more exploration and adventure — a popular move that led to the production of countless homages from indie developers, and subsequently the ultra-successful Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night by Igarashi himself.

It’s not clear why the mobile offering has been kept under wraps, although Castlevania doesn’t need any hype to get its fans excited about a new game. Almost certainly, though, its release has been timed to coincide with the launch of season three of Netflix’s anime adaptation, which arrives on March 5th.

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‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ has a Tamagotchi that’s hungry for kills

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Your Tomogunchi is strapped to your wrist, and comes with four moods: hungry, dirty, unruly and sleepy. But instead of keeping it happy with tasty treats and hugs — à la the 90s — your little guy can only be satiated with kills, objective scoring, killstreaks and wins. If your combat rampages are successful, your Tomogunchi will grow into a child, a teen and then an adult. Fail, and it’ll wither and eventually die.

To get your own death-eating cohort, head to the Modern Warfare store and purchase the Tomogunchi Bundle. Yes, it’ll cost you 1000 CoD Points (around $10/£8). Then, during your loadout selection, go to the Weapons tab, locate the Watch Select menu, and equip your new pal. Here’s a tip: use the “Watch Interact” gesture to bank bonus charges to keep your pet happier for longer.

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The Morning After: Amazon’s accelerated one-day shipping

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Goodbye doesn’t mean forever.The gadgets that refuse to die

As Sonos most recently proved, your gadgets weren’t meant to live forever. Any Engadget editor will point out his or her drawer or cupboard (or wardrobe) filled with tech from yesteryear. Not every device is an iPhone or an Amazon Echo, and for things that didn’t quite make an impact (or get a second chance), once software or service support dies, the end is nigh. Well, most of the time. Nicole Lee discovers the gadgets that rose from the dead.

And, presumably, an updated keyboard.Apple may introduce a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro with a mini-LED screen

Now that Apple delivered a 16-inch MacBook Pro, the smaller Pro laptop is in line for an upgrade. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will replace the 13-inch MacBook Pro in 2020 with a 14.1-inch model using a mini-LED screen that would promise higher contrast ratios, wider color ranges and other image quality boosts.

A new generation of chips should add hyperthreading across the entire lineup.Intel’s 10th-gen desktop CPUs are coming soon, according to a Dell ad

Comet Lake CPUs from Intel appear to be just around the corner, ready to take on AMD’s Ryzen chips, according to a (now-removed) Dell video on YouTube. The trailer promoted a redesigned XPS desktop for 2020, which is interesting because so far, we’ve only seen 10th-gen Intel consumer chips in mobile form on laptops. Expect that to change soon.

Track Package-equipped sedans will start shipping in April.Tesla begins selling a $5,500 track package for the Model 3

The Model 3 Track Package comes with 20-inch Zero-G Performance wheels, stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and high-performance brake pads and will cost track enthusiasts $5,500, including installation. The company invited some YouTubers to test out the hardware upgrades and its Track Mode V2 software update with custom driving modes, hotlap recording and more.

The Big Picture.NASA maps show the effect of a quarantine on air pollution

Around the start of 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed a new coronavirus similar to those that caused the SARS and MERS outbreaks. By January 23rd, the government had shut down all transportation into and out of Wuhan, closing local businesses and factories in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. An additional effect of this was a significant reduction in air pollution.

NASA’s NO2 maps of the region during the same period show very light levels of pollution (as blue, rather than yellow and red) on the maps. Another key indicator of pollution, ozone, shows a similar result, according to NASA.

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SETI@Home ends its crowdsourced search for alien life after 21 years

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SETI@Home was born at UC Berkeley and released to the world on May 17th, 1999, using the university’s distributed computing platform, BOINC. Whenever people left their machine on, but weren’t using it, the program would take over and crunch data sent from UC Berkeley. In that way, the system created a giant, internet-connected supercomputer to grind through all of the information.

In a statement, project leaders say that the reason for the “hibernation” is that they’re “at the point of diminishing returns.” Fundamentally, so much information has already been processed that it’s now time to sift through it and look for any sort of conclusion. “We need to focus on completing the back-end analysis of the results we already have,” they continue, and then publishing a “scientific journal paper.”

While SETI@Home is closing, UC Berkeley’s other astrophysics projects that use BOINC will still harness your computing time, if you’re offering. Or, if you’re looking for another good cause to support, you could always support Folding@Home, which is still in operation. That platform offers distributed computing for disease research, drug design and other medical research, which recently began tackling COVID-19.



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Russian court says facial recognition tech does not violate privacy

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Activists had hoped the courts would ban the use of the technology, which was rolled out in the city throughout 2019 — the system cost at least 3.3 billion roubles ($50 million) and comprises more than 105,000 cameras.

The system — which remained operational throughout the legal proceedings — is now being used to ensure people are observing coronavirus quarantine, as well as to identify individuals at mass events and protests.

The case against Moscow’s Department of Technology (DIT) was filed by lawyer and activist Alena Popova, who had a previous lawsuit dismissed on the same grounds. As Reuters reports, the outcome of this case has disappointed those concerned with the country’s civil rights. “This ruling shows there are no legal defenses for facial recognition complaints,” said Popova’s lawyer, Kirill Koroteev.

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Amazon Prime Video will stream 21 Yankees games in four states

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The move seemed inevitable after Amazon bought a minority stake in the Yankee Entertainment Sports (YES) Network last year. The games on Prime Video will also be simulcast by other YES-affiliated terrestrial networks including PIX11. Prime Video users will gain access to Amazon’s X-Ray technology, which shows live in-game stats, real-time play-by-play and other information on iOS and Android devices during game broadcasts.

Amazon has already dipped its toe into major US sports, having streamed Thursday Night Football NFL games worldwide over the past three years. It also carries Premier League soccer matches in the UK and covers the UEFA Champions League in Germany.

The Yankees deal is the first time that Amazon Prime Video has limited streaming to such a narrow market, however. That might set an unwelcome precedent where its sports coverage becomes a regional patchwork, making it hard for Yankees fans elsewhere in the US (and world) to find games. Still, Amazon sees it as a victory. “This deal gives Prime Video the opportunity to work with the top regional sports network in America and one of the most beloved franchises in all of sports,” said Amazon global sports VP Marie Donoghue.

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The first ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ multiplayer DLC pack is now available

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If you purchase the first pack, you’ll get three new mini-games for the multiplayer ScreamPark mode: DodgeBrawl lets you play dodgeball with poltergeists, River Bank will have you dodging logs coming down a waterfall as you collect coins, and Tricky Ghost Hunt will have you battling ghosts while navigating a floor that can damage you with electricity.

You’ll also get three costumes for the co-op ScareScraper mode. Each costume comes with themed levels and ghosts, so you’ll see different environments and battle different enemies, depending on what you’re wearing. Finally, you’ll get a Flashlight Type-P, an in-game Polterpup light, that you can use in both modes. You can get a peek of what the DLC pack can add to your game below:

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