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— Richard

A typo created a 212-story monolith in ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’

Meet the monolith of Melbourne.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Ei Ito / Engadget

Making a small error while editing the OpenStreetMap database isn’t normally a significant issue. But if you’re nathanwright120, and you tagged a two-story building in Melbourne as being 212 stories, and you did that at the same time Microsoft decided to scrape the data for its new flight sim… then you get this, and it’s glorious.
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An AI pilot just beat a human in a simulated dogfight

Game over, man, game over.

AlphaDogfight TV

DARPA

DARPA’s AlphaDogfight Trials have ended, and Heron Systems saw its synthetic pilot come out on top, besting AI from Lockheed in the final round. After the AI vs. AI competition, its simulated F-16 went up against a human pilot and shot him down five times in five rounds. Are we doomed? We’re doomed.
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Sponsored by StackCommerce

StackCommerce

Razer made a dull keyboard and mouse for working from home

You could still play ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’ with them, though.

Keyboard

Razer

If you thought Razer couldn’t make PC hardware without a moody black base and technicolor lights, you were ri.. wrong. Its new series of mouse and keyboard peripherals have the color  palette of a mid-00s office, all grays and whites. So they will blend in but still pack ergonomic shapes, mechanical switches and the rest of the tech you’d expect from Razer.  

The $140 keyboard has wireless and Bluetooth connectivity for up to four devices, along with programmable keys that offer macro recording. As for the Pro Click mouse, it will cost $100 with  eight programmable buttons.

Both are available from Razer’s website today, and you can buy them through authorized resellers starting August 27th.
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I went through hell to make an HDR YouTube video so you don’t have to

Until Microsoft and Google get it together, HDR will remain a niche on YouTube.

Video edit

Engadget

Read along as Associate Editor Steve Dent battles with HDR settings, YouTube compatibility and every other video editing gremlin. In the process, he’ll give you everything you’d need to make your own high-contrast HDR content. It is not for the faint of heart.
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Panasonic made a $835 cubicle for your WFH future

I like it?

Panasonic

Panasonic

Panasonic, known best for its TVs and white appliances, is launching a work-from-home cubicle during this work-from-home boom. For 88,000 yen ($835 dollars), you can sit behind two wooden peg boards, and well, not all that much tech. I’m not really sure what you’re paying a premium for here, but I like the aesthetic. I apologize for nothing. For now, sadly, it appears to be a Japan-only arrangement.
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But wait, there’s more…

Google Maps is tracking the spread of America’s wildfires hour by hour

Polestar 2 first drive: A sporty EV with Android Automotive inside

A drive-through ‘Stranger Things’ experience in LA is coming in October

Android 11 will offer wireless Android Auto features on most phones

Sony’s cameras can now be used as webcams, too

Facebook’s ‘classic’ look dies in September

PS5 developers explain how the DualSense controller changes gameplay

‘Black Myth: Wu Kong’ looks like a gorgeous Monkey King-inspired game

Adobe Lightroom iOS update permanently deleted users’ photos

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Blue Origin team delivers full-scale lunar lander mockup to NASA

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Blue Origin and its “National Team” partners Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper have delivered their full scale lunar lander mock-up to NASA. The space agency will use the engineering prototype to simulate how it could get “crew, equipment, supplies and samples off and on the vehicle” in future moon missions, according to the press release.

While not a full prototype, the 40-foot-high mock-up does include the descent element based on Blue Origin’s Blue Moon cargo lander and BE-7 LOX/hydrogen engine. It also carries the ascent element developed by Lockheed Martin, including avionics, software, life support hardware and crew interfaces. Some of that tech is from Lockheed Martin’s human-rated, deep-space Orion vehicle that’s supposed to fly on NASA’s Artemis I and II moon test missions.

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News sites join Epic in fight against Apple’s high iOS Store fees

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For news apps that offer subscription services, the App Store normally takes a 30 percent cut in the first year, then a 15 percent cut thereafter. However, DCN is arguing that Apple gave more favorable terms to Amazon with its Prime Video iOS app, taking only a 15 percent commission from the start — as revealed during recent congressional hearings. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, which is part of the DCN group fighting Apple’s fees.)

“We would like to know what conditions our members — high quality digital content companies — would need to meet in order to qualify for the arrangement Amazon is receiving for its Amazon Prime Video app in the Apple App Store,” Kint wrote. “I ask that you clearly define the conditions that Amazon satisfied for its arrangement so that DCN’s member companies meeting those conditions can be offered the same agreement.”

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Epic Games’ #FreeFortnite Cup has 1,200 non-Apple prizes

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As for Epic, it sued Apple as a response and asked the court to force Apple to change its App Store policies. In particular, it wants the tech giant to take a smaller cut for in-app purchases and to change the rule that prevents developers from selling the same services outside of the App Store. A few days after the lawsuit was filed, Apple notified Epic that it will terminate all its developer accounts and cut the company off its iOS and Mac development tools on August 28th. Epic filed another lawsuit against the company, asking the court to stop it from pulling its developer tools.

True to its anti-Apple theme, the tournament features prizes intended to encourage players to use devices from brands other than Apple. Epic is giving away 1,200 pieces of gaming hardware, including the Alienware Gaming Laptop, Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, OnePlus 8, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X and Nintendo Switch, to the top players.

To participate, players can check the in-game Compete tab to see what time the Cup starts in their region. After the tournament begins, they have four hours to make their way to the top to win any of those devices and the Tart Tycoon Outfit: a skin featuring the Big Brother-like figure with an apple head that Epic used in its 1984 ad parody.

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A drive-through ‘Stranger Things’ experience in LA is coming in October

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There’s an upcoming Stranger Things interactive experience in LA that seems to be tailor-made for the social-distancing era. Netflix has teamed up with event curator Fever and immersive event company Secret Cinema to launch a Drive-Into Stranger Things adventure based on the third season of the series. Participants don’t have to step out of the car at all — the hour-long experience will have them driving from one Hawkins set to another, including the Starcourt Mall, the Russian labs and, of course, the Upside Down.

They’ll be divided into convoys with 24 cars each, with each convoy stopping at every set for an extended period to watch scenes from the show. Those scenes feature special effects and live actors playing characters we’ve come to know and love. The drive-into experience will open in October in downtown LA, but tickets will be available as soon as August 26th, 12PM PT. Ticket prices will start at $59 per car, and the event’s official website has a waitlist you can join to be notified when they become available.

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Heron Systems’ AI pilot just beat a human in a simulated dogfight

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Defense One reports that like many other artificial intelligence systems we’ve seen, progress in developing these pilots relied on deep reinforcement learning that trained by attempting their tasks over and over again in a virtual environment. Notably, the AI pilots weren’t allowed to use information gleaned from these battles to upgrade during the competition, which had a number of limitations separating it from real-life, like a lack of collision detection between the planes.

After their AI won the competition, Heron Systems developers gave a Q&A via YouTube (the entire event was conducted remotely via Zoom), explaining some of the behavior they saw and even some movements that were unexpected. According to Heron, their agent is capable of running (without real-time image recognition) on something as small as an NVIDIA Tegra chip.

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Facebook’s ‘classic’ look dies in September

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It’s been over a year since Mark Zuckerberg first showed off the new look of Facebook.com, but soon it will be the website’s only version for desktop users. It has been the new default since May, but users could opt-out. A notification on the page and support pages that told users how to switch back now indicate that the Classic Facebook is going away in September, and taking its old blue theme with it.

Facebook classic notification

Facebook

Designers and engineers explained their reasoning for the makeover to Engadget a few months ago. The stagnation preceding this revamp occurred while Facebook focused on mobile devices, but now it’s ready to push items like its Watch and Gaming sections, as well as the conspiracist-riddled Groups.

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Former Uber security chief arrested for covering up 2016 hack

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In addition to obstruction of justice, prosecutors charged Sullivan with failing to share knowledge of a felony. In total, he faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of both charges. 

“We expect good corporate citizenship,” said US Attorney David L. Anderson. “We expect prompt reporting of criminal conduct. We expect cooperation with our investigations. We will not tolerate corporate cover-ups. We will not tolerate illegal hush-money payments.” 

Bradford Williams, Sullivan’s attorney, told The New York Times there’s “no merit” to the charges. “If not for Mr. Sullivan’s and his team’s efforts, it’s likely that the individuals responsible for this incident never would have been identified at all,” he said. Williams added that Sullivan and his team worked closely with other Uber employees and followed the company’s policies.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Uber told The New York Times it continues to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into the 2016 hack. “Our decision in 2017 to disclose the incident was not only the right thing to do, it embodies the principles by which we are running our business today: transparency, integrity, and accountability,” they said.

Sullivan may become the second former Uber employee to end up behind bars. At the start of August, Anthony Levandowski, the engineer at the center of the trade secret legal battle between Waymo and Uber, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. 

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A typo created a 212-story monolith in ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’

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Microsoft’s latest Flight Simulator entry doesn’t do anything small. It’s a title that comes on 10 DVDs and allows you to explore the world in almost its entirety. It turns out that scale even extends to its accidental inclusions. Flight Simulator users recently found an unusual landmark: a 212-story monolith towering over an otherwise nondescript suburb in Melbourne, Australia. 

After some sleuthing, the title’s community found what had caused the tower to appear in Flight Simulator. When developer Asobo Studio built its detailed recreation of the globe, they pulled data from OpenStreetMap, a free map of the world to which anyone can contribute. About a year ago, a user named “nathanwright120” added a tag that said this one building in Melbourne had 212 floors instead of two. Based on their other contributions, it appears the edit was a simple typo, not them trying to mislead anyone.  The error was later corrected by another OpenStreetMap contributor, but not before it made its way into Flight Simulator. 



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Nintendo Switch games are up to 50 percent off in eShop sale

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The biggest first-party titles on sale are Luigi’s Mansion 3, which down from $60 to $42, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which is down from $60 to $40. You might not be able to invite many friends over for a “traditional” game night, but these titles remain solid couch co-ops that, if nothing else, you and your immediately family can enjoy together.

Nintendo also has a bunch of third-party games on sale: Burnout Paradise Remastered is $35, Overwatch: Legendary Edition is only $20 and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is down to $24. Also, Diablo III: Eternal Collection is on sale for $30, which is 50 percent off its normal price.

You can spend even less and grab a couple of indie games through the eShop as the Indie World Sale is also ongoing through August 30. Some of the highlights from this group of titles include Exit the Gungeon for $7, Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition for $14 and Hotline Miami Collection for $8.74.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.



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