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Elon Musk will be the owner and CEO of Twitter, taking on all the heat
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently purchased Twitter, and after he completes the $44 billion dollar deal for the world's second largest social media company, he will take on another CEO position.
A new report from CNBC has revealed that Musk secured funding for Twitter via handpicked investors whose investments ranged in from billions to millions of dollars. Some of the investors named in the SEC filing showcase the disparity of the investments, as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison pledged $1 billion, and Honeycomb Asset Management, who has previously invested in SpaceX, invested $5 million.
Notably, the report from the outlet states that Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of Twitter after the deal is officially closed. It's unknown how long the exact period will be, or if this plan is set in stone. It has previously been reported that Twitter employees have been concerned about their positions at the company since Musk made his purchase.
Continue reading: Elon Musk will be the owner and CEO of Twitter, taking on all the heat (full post)
NVIDIA H100 SXM in the flesh: 4nm Hopper GPU + 80GB HBM3 memory
NVIDIA's next-gen Hopper H100 SXM has been spotted in the flesh, and until now... we've only seen renders, so this is the first real pics of the H100 GPU.
The next-gen Hopper H100 SXM GPU was pictured in the flesh by Patrick Kennedy from ServeTheHome, with a device with a board model of "PG520". Inside, the NVIDIA H100 GPU is using TSMC's very latest CoWoS packaging technology, with a huge 814mm2 H100 GPU die with 6 memory modules around it: 80GB of ultra-fast HBM3 memory to be exact.
NVIDIA's new H100 GPU itself comes in two forms with two counts of CUDA cores: 16896 FP32 CUDA cores for the SXM variant and 14592 cores for the PCIe-based model. The model that we have here is the SXM variant, so we have the full 16896 FP32 CUDA cores and 80GB of HBM3 memory.
Continue reading: NVIDIA H100 SXM in the flesh: 4nm Hopper GPU + 80GB HBM3 memory (full post)
NVIDIA GeForce NOW upgraded: 4K streaming on PC + Mac, 120FPS mobile
NVIDIA is celebrating in a big way today with some rather big upgrades for GeForce NOW in May, with 27 new games hitting the game streaming service, 4K streaming on the PC and Mac, and more.
If you are gaming away on the RTX 3080 membership of GeForce NOW, then you're going to enjoy up to 4K 60FPS gaming from the PC or Mac with native GFN apps. Not just that, but NVIDIA DLSS helps out with 4K streaming performance since it'll tap the dedicated Tensor Core AI processors on RTX GPUs.
NVIDIA says that its RTX 3080 members can "enjoy the benefits of ultra-low latency that rivals native console gaming. They can also enable customized in-game graphics settings like RTX ON, taking games to a cinematic level, and experience the maximized eight-hour play sessions".
Continue reading: NVIDIA GeForce NOW upgraded: 4K streaming on PC + Mac, 120FPS mobile (full post)
Microsoft's xCloud streaming is a boon for discovery and game sampling
New metrics from Microsoft underline just how powerful xCloud is for discovery, access, and game sampling.
Game streaming offers two distinct advantages: Instant access to gameplay and being able to play anytime, anywhere. Microsoft has shared some interesting figures that show how its xCloud game streaming network is organically synergizing with its billion-dollar subscriptions and content empire.
The data is pretty clear. xCloud is being used as a very powerful tool that promotes more games being played for longer periods.
Continue reading: Microsoft's xCloud streaming is a boon for discovery and game sampling (full post)
WWE 2K22's strong sales helps boosts WWE company earnings
Take-Two Interactive's big investment on WWE 2K22 has apparently paid off big time.
WWE 2K22 sales have helped boost the WWE's consumer product revenues by over 50% year-over-year, the company today announced in its Q1 earnings report.
"Revenue increased 53%, or $11.2 million, to $32.2 million, primarily due to higher sales of the Company's licensed video games, including our franchise game WWE 2K22, as well as higher venue merchandise sales driven by the return to ticketed live events. These items were partially offset by a decrease in eCommerce merchandise sales due, in part, to a difficult comparison to elevated COVID-related sales in the prior year period," the report reads.
Continue reading: WWE 2K22's strong sales helps boosts WWE company earnings (full post)
Microsoft's mergers F2P with free-to-stream in new cloud power play
Microsoft's cloud infrastructure makes one of the most popular video games on the planet playable anytime, anywhere.
Fortnite is not only free-to-play, but it's now also free-to-stream. Thanks to Microsoft's xCloud technology, gamers can stream Fortnite on mobile devices, consoles, tablets, and even PCs completely for free. One of the most accessible games in the industry just opened up even more.
Fortnite is the first free streamable game offered on Microsoft's xCloud network. Outside of Fortnite, all other games require an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription in order to stream on the service.
Continue reading: Microsoft's mergers F2P with free-to-stream in new cloud power play (full post)
Mafia 4 happening amid 2K Games management shake up
2K Games developer Hangar 13 loses two high-profile leads as the studio starts work on the next Mafia game.
Hangar 13, the developer behind the popular Mafia games, is getting a core leadership shake up as the studio pivots from original IPs over to its mainstay hit mobster franchise. A new Mafia game built on Unreal Engine 5 is currently in early stages of development, sources tell Kotaku. The project is supposedly a prequel.
Today the studio announced that Haden Blackman, who served as president of Hangar 13 for 9 years, is leaving. Haden says he "built Hangar 13 from one individual developer into a talented, cross-functional team operating across locations in California and the Czech Republic," helping oversee development of Mafia III and the ambitious remaster collection.
Continue reading: Mafia 4 happening amid 2K Games management shake up (full post)
Square Enix owns IP rights of People Can Fly's new Project Gemini game
Square Enix will retain IP and publishing rights to People Can Fly's new game Project Gemini, new financial documents reveal.
Today we reported that Outriders wasn't profitable in 2021, and that People Can Fly didn't receive royalty payments from the game throughout the year. As per the contract agreement People Can Fly signed with Square Enix, the developer surrendered both IP and publishing rights to the Outriders franchise and will not receive post-release compensation until the game makes a profit.
The same terms will apply to People Can Fly's new game Project Gemini, which is also being published, marketed, and distributed by Square Enix. The Japanese publisher will own all IP and publishing rights to Project Gemini just like it does with Outriders. People Can Fly signed the Project Gemini agreement with Square Enix in 2020.
Continue reading: Square Enix owns IP rights of People Can Fly's new Project Gemini game (full post)
Outriders didn't make a profit in 2021, People Can Fly confirms
Following substantial combined $200 million losses on Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy games, Square Enix has also made a loss on its new multiplayer looter-shooter Outriders.
Outriders didn't break even throughout 2021, new financial reports from People Can Fly have confirmed. The game was released in April 2021, and despite being on the market for three quarters of the year, Square Enix has yet to make revenues from the game that exceed its development, marketing, and distribution budget.
While Square Enix has yet to make a formal announcement--and they likely won't outside of their upcoming full-year 2021 results report on May 13--the loss is inferred by People Can Fly's latest documents. Square Enix has previously said that Outriders exceeded their expectations on many metrics including digital sales and active users.
Continue reading: Outriders didn't make a profit in 2021, People Can Fly confirms (full post)
Chinese games titan NetEase launches game studio in U.S.
NetEase, China's second-largest video games company, has opened a new studio in the United States.
As Square Enix pulls out of the West, other major players are just getting started in the region. NetEase today announced that it has opened a new first-party game studio with one of the industry's most prominent live experts at the helm.
NetEase's new Jakalope Games is based in Austin, Texas and will be led by games veteran Jack Emmert, who spent decades crafting premiere live games like Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and CD Universe Online.
Continue reading: Chinese games titan NetEase launches game studio in U.S. (full post)
These sealed lunar samples are finally being examined 50 years later
Lunar samples taken on the Apollo 17 missions from 1972 are finally being studied.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has received the samples after being transported from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they were brought to and stored in a freezer in December 1972 after Apollo 17 astronauts returned to Earth.
The samples were consolidated at Goddard over four years as researchers from Johnson began designing and retrofitting a facility where the samples could be processed. The samples are being studied as part of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA) to produce research to aid the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon's South Pole.
Continue reading: These sealed lunar samples are finally being examined 50 years later (full post)
Unique 'black widow' discovered in space devouring its companion
A study on the binary system titled "A 62-minute orbital period black widow binary in a wide hierarchical triple" has been published in the journal Nature.
MIT astronomers have detected a "black widow binary" star system candidate approximately 3,000 light years from Earth, named ZTF J1406+1222. The star system comprises a pulsar (a rapidly spinning neutron star) and a smaller companion star that the pulsar is slowly consuming, like its namesake, the black widow spider, does to its mate.
Two dozen other black widow binaries have been observed throughout the Milky Way. However, this candidate is unique in that it appears to have a third star associated with the system, circling the two inner stars from afar every 10,000 years. The inner pair of stars also has the shortest orbital period of any known black widow binary, circling each other every 62 minutes.
Continue reading: Unique 'black widow' discovered in space devouring its companion (full post)
Earth's water has been stolen over billions of years by the Moon
A study on the Moon titled "Distribution of water phase near the poles of the Moon from gravity aspects" has been published in the journal Nature.
Water has been found on the Moon, and some of this lunar water likely originated from asteroid and comet collisions that brought water to it. However, a new study suggests that another water source is from the Earth itself, up to as much as 3,500 cubic kilometers (840 cubic miles) of it.
Hydrogen and oxygen ions in Earth's upper atmosphere may have passed over to the Moon as the Moon passes through the tail of Earth's magnetosphere for five days out of every lunar month. Solar wind from the Sun breaks the magnetic field lines on one side of Earth, creating the magnetotail the Moon passes through to pick up these ions.
Continue reading: Earth's water has been stolen over billions of years by the Moon (full post)
Russian cosmonaut quits to avoid having to 'work for the Americans'
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov was interviewed by Russian news outlet Moskovskii Komsomolets to explain his retirement.
Skvortsov explained that a culmination of factors has led to his decision to retire from the space program, such as his age, and that there isn't a lot of interesting work to keep him busy on the International Space Station (ISS). Therefore, continuing to work aboard the space station would see him working alongside American astronauts, which he has "no proper motivation" to do.
Continue reading: Russian cosmonaut quits to avoid having to 'work for the Americans' (full post)
A piece of this spacecraft just fell off on its way to the launchpad
Boeing's Starliner has had another worrying hiccup on its final stretch to launch.
The Starliner spacecraft is making its way to the Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for its second attempt at launching to the International Space Station (ISS). However, in an awkward turn of events, a protective window cover fell off the spacecraft as it made its way there.
Boeing confirmed to William Harwood of CBS that a window cover did indeed fall off, but there is no problem with the spacecraft, and its second unpiloted Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) is still set to go ahead. OFT-2 is planned to launch at 22:54 UTC on May 19th with docking at the ISS expected for around 11:07 UTC the next day.
Continue reading: A piece of this spacecraft just fell off on its way to the launchpad (full post)
US military aren't taking UFO sightings seriously, says US senators
US lawmakers are receiving secret briefings on the progress the US military is making in uncovering the origins of mysterious, highly advanced aircraft violating protected airspace.
According to a new report from Politico, members of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Service committees have received classified reports showing the progress the Pentagon and other agencies have made on investigating UFOs reports. The news comes from three people that have direct knowledge of the situation, according to Politico.
An aide of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who is a member of both the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committee, said under anonymity that Gillibrand "believes that the DoD needs to take this issue much more seriously and get in motion. They have had ample time to implement these important provisions, and they need to show us that they are prepared to address this issue in the long-term."
Continue reading: US military aren't taking UFO sightings seriously, says US senators (full post)
Meteorite pieces from 55,000 mph fireball discovered, NASA confirms
On April 27th, 2022, a fireball into the Earth's atmosphere over southern Mississippi and caused a sonic boom that was heard by dozens.
NASA confirmed the existence of a space rock estimated to be approximately a foot in diameter and entered Earth's atmosphere about 54 miles above the Mississippi River near the town of Alcorn. The space rock was estimated to be traveling at around 55,000 miles per hour, and throughout its journey, it began disintegrating with fragments of it breaking off before it finally exploded.
Previously, NASA estimated that as the meteor heated up, it generated the same amount of energy as 3 tons of TNT. Furthermore, NASA said that this generation of energy created shock waves that propagated to the ground and produced sonic booms/vibrations that were felt by many.
Continue reading: Meteorite pieces from 55,000 mph fireball discovered, NASA confirms (full post)
NASA captures the Sun releasing a strong solar flare on video
NASA has recorded the Sun releasing a powerful solar flare that officials have categorized as the most intense class of solar flare.
NASA has taken to its blog to detail a strong solar flare that occurred on May 3rd, 2022. the flare happened at 9:25 a.m. EDT and was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which constantly watches the Sun for any events such as these. As explained by the space agency, solar flares are strong, powerful bursts of energy that can certainly have an impact on Earth, depending on the intensity.
Solar flares can impact radio communications, electric power grids, and GPS satellites. Additionally, flares and coronal mass ejections from the Sun can also pose a danger to spacecrafts and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Notably, officials at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said the flare that was recorded on May 3rd was classified as an x-class flare, the most intense categorization for a solar flare.
Continue reading: NASA captures the Sun releasing a strong solar flare on video (full post)
Russia says Ukraine's military is practicing satanic 'black magic'
Russia has claimed that Ukraine's military is using black magic to stop president Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Russian state media outlets have reported that Ukraine's Armed Forces throughout the eastern Donbas region are practicing black magic. Reports from the media outlets feature photographs by the Russian military of "signs" of black magic used inside Ukrainian military headquarters. The outlets described one of the signs as a "satanic seal" that was found on the walls.
Continue reading: Russia says Ukraine's military is practicing satanic 'black magic' (full post)
NASA official says astronauts don't want to get 'stuck' on the moon
NASA is planning on using the Moon as a launchpad to go to Mars and will be setting up a temporary presence on the surface of the Moon.
In a recent interview with NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, the space agency discussed the process of landing on the surface of the Moon while maintaining the goal of eventually reaching Mars. Cabana was asked what a "sustainable" presence on the Moon looks like and replied that the goal isn't necessarily about "permanently staying there with a specific set of people for a long period of time."
"We don't want to get stuck on the Moon. We wanna learn what we need to know in order to be able to move onto Mars," added Cabana. To achieve these goals, NASA is planning on launching the Lunar Gateway project and the Human Landing System with SpaceX. The idea behind these projects, and others, is eventually to establish a reliable commercial presence between the lunar surface and Earth, which will act as a launchpad for developing appropriate technology, and space travel understanding that will lead to achieving the ultimate goal of reaching Mars.
Continue reading: NASA official says astronauts don't want to get 'stuck' on the moon (full post)






















