Latest News - Page 1298

A married US couple has been arrested on espionage-related charges, with Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, both of Annapolis, Maryland arrested in Jefferson County, West Virginia by the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) after they tried to sell data on nuclear-powered warships to a foreign government.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland explains: "The complaint charges a plot to transmit information relating to the design of our nuclear submarines to a foreign nation. The work of the FBI, Department of Justice prosecutors, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Department of Energy was critical in thwarting the plot charged in the complaint and taking this first step in bringing the perpetrators to justice".

The couple are in big sh*t, with Jonathan Toebbe being an employee of the Department of the Navy, where he was a nuclear engineer and worked on the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, which is known as the Naval Reactors. Toebbe had an active national security clearance through the US Department of Defense, which let him have access to the Restricted Data he tried to sell to a foreign government.

Nintendo's new Switch OLED dock has an embedded ARM microprocessor but it does not enable 4K upscaling.

As we predicted, the Switch OLED's dock features extra chips that aren't in the base 2017 and 2019 remissions. According to recent teardowns, the dock's board utilizes an STM32F070 RBT6 chip, a microcontroller with up to 128kb of flash storage, 16kb of SRAM, and a 32-bit CPU that operates at 48MHz. In fact, the IC uses an ARM Cortex-M0 CPU, a low-cost and power-efficient chip that's used for more simple data processing and I/O control tasks. It's not used for video output or 4K upscaling--that kind of technology is handled by the more advanced Cortex A-series, which helps power higher-end devices like the upscalers in premium 4K UHDTV sets.

Our research shows the Cortex-M0 CPU is likely utilized for the dock's new ethernet connectivity as well as low-powered state functions--e.g. being able to download games via ethernet while the Switch is docked and turned off. It is used for ultra-low power applications and simple I/O control tasks, and features the smallest instruction set of all M-series cores with 56 instructions.

Eyes open, no fear: a massive solar flare will be smashing the planet today, with possibly power grid disruption and even seeing Northern Lights as far south as New York.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said that a geomagnetic storm could cause power grid fluctuations, as well as satellites possibly being affected too. NOAA added that satellites could experience "orientation irregularities" that would force ground control to manually redirect them -- as well as anything else in low-Earth orbit.

NOAA explained: "Event analysis and model output suggest CME arrival around midday on 11 Oct, with lingering effects persisting into 12 Oct". Meanwhile, the Met Office added: "Aurora is possible through [the] 11th across much of Scotland, although cloud amounts are increasing, meaning sightings are unlikely".

Magic Leap's CEO, Peggy Johnson, announced on her LinkedIn account that she would be a guest on CNBC's PowerLunch today. Along with the post, she shared a screenshot of the company's next-gen AR headset, Magic Leap 2.

Magic Leap has not shared details about its next headset. The company has said that it will be an enterprise-focused device and plans to launch an early-access program in Q4 2021. The company also said the new headset would be smaller, lighter, faster, and cheaper. Now that we're well into October, we expect that details about Magic Leap 2 to come soon.

In the meantime, we can learn a bit of Magic Leap's new design language from the screenshot that Johnson shared today. The new headset appears to be a much sleeker device than the original Magic Leap headset. The first one had a bizarre shape that was sort of bulbous and goofy looking. The new design is much more modern, with sharp edges and sleek features.

Activision just released a new story campaign trailer for Call of Duty Vanguard that shows amazing-looking visuals.

Call of Duty Vanguard's latest video shows just how far Sledgehammer's games engine has come. The game highlights a number of immaculate-looking cinematic sequences, complete with high-def textures, realistic reflections, shadows, and lighting, and even fine details like small facial hairs. The footage also has in-engine gameplay interspersed with the storyline captures, presenting a grim and brutal experience set across multiple theaters of war.

The trailer reinforces Vanguard's alternate-history storyline. The game is based around a parallel dimension World War II where Germany didn't surrender after Hitler's death; instead, German forces are rallying behind Hitler's successor who is establishing the Fourth Reich. Gamers play as the vanguard, a dream-team of Allied special forces who travel across the Eastern, Western, and Pacific Fronts as well as North Africa in a bid to stop the Axis powers from conquering the world.

According to YouTube ratios, fans are much more excited about the new PS2-era GTA trilogy remaster collection than they are for GTA V E&E.

The new Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition (what a name) is absolutely annihilating Grand Theft Auto Expanded & Enhanced in terms of ratings and fan sentiment. The GTA trilogy announcement trailer on YouTube currently has 225K likes out of 230.6K total ratings, making for a 97.6% like ratio. 12.8% of viewers liked the video.

GTA V's E&E PS5 trailer is another story. The footage triggered controversy within the GTA community with lots of criticism being levied at Rockstar for things like GTA V E&E graphics, accusations of cash grabs, and lack of transparency on new included features. At the time of writing the GTA V E&E trailer has 253K dislikes out of 285K total ratings, which is an 88.8% dislike ratio. 9.4% of the trailer's total 2.6 million viewers disliked the trailer.

The new Grand Theft Auto PS2-era trilogy remaster collection should have a physical release in stores this Christmas, sources tell PPE.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition's boxed retail version will release December 7, 2021 across PS4, PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, retail sources have told game site PPE. This is nearly a month after the game's expected November 11 digital release on all platforms, as per Tom Henderson.

Rockstar Games has yet to announce full release details nor has it talked about pricing yet. One retailer has the trilogy collection listed for $69.99 on next-gen consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, whereas the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch versions are priced at typical $59.99 MSRP. Fans aren't happy about this potential price hike and have spoken up on social media.

UPDATE: Blizzard customer service acknowledges the server issues and had this to say:

Diablo 2 Resurrected's US servers are having issues once again, marking the second day in a row where players have faced connection issues.

Blizzard is once again facing issues with D2Rs servers. While the developer has yet to announce the news on its customer support Twitter, gamers are having trouble connecting to servers and playing with their online characters. The official Battle.net client also warns users:

The International Space Station (ISS) is an incredible vantage point to observe Earth, and sometimes astronauts aboard the ISS take images of the surface.

The ISS is essentially a floating laboratory, and due to its altitude, it's quite useful at spotting things down on Earth's surface. Recently, ISS astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped an image of a "very rare" glow that was happening above Europe, more on that story here. Now, fellow ISS astronaut Megan McArthur has snapped a picture of Earth's surface, and to her surprise, she was able to spot an airplane soaring through the skies over Alberta, Canada.

McArthur posted the awesome image to her personal Twitter account, where she said that she "laughed out loud" when she spotted the airplane. Due to the ISS's altitude of 253 miles, astronauts aboard the floating laboratory rarely see any human activity on the surface, so it's quite an event when they do. According to Twitter users who used McArthur's timestamp and location from the image, the flight was Atlas Air 5Y8052/GTI8052 that was going from Anchorage, Alaska to Miami, Florida.

Observing objects out in space with telescopes has its challenges, and sometimes astronomers come across that are much further away than anticipated through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.

Gravitational lensing ocurrs when a large object such as galaxy is between Earth and an object much further away. Due to the immense gravity of the object, spacetime is warped, and when astronomers peer out into the void to observe the distant object, the warped spacetime acts as a magnifying glass, allowing researchers to see much further than what they originally would be able to.

While gravitational lensing can certainly be useful for researchers, it can sometimes raise more questions about what's being observed rather than answers. For example, back in 2013, astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to observe two objects that appeared to be perfectly mirrored. According to astronomer Timothy Hamilton of Shawnee State University, who spotted the two objects, "We were really stumped".

A new study has been published in Nature Geoscience, and it details Earth's oxygen levels eventually running out, causing most life on the planet to suffocate.

Around 2.4 billion years ago, Earth underwent the Great Oxidation Event, which was when Earth's shallow ocean and Earth's atmosphere first began experiencing a rise in oxygen levels. According to the researchers behind the paper, Earth's atmosphere will eventually run out of oxygen and essentially revert back to what it was before the Great Oxidation Event.

Additionally, the researchers say that atmospheric oxygen is unlikely a permanent feature of any habitable worlds, which throws a wrench into human civilizations' search for life outside of Earth. The researchers expect that this drop in oxygen levels throughout the atmosphere will occur after about one billion years or so, and while that is definitely an extremely long way away, when the change in the atmosphere's oxygen levels happens, it will happen relatively quickly.

The Sun is entering the most intense part of its 11-year cycle, which means we can expect much more activity from our star.

Activity from the Sun can come in various ways, and it's very important that researchers keep a close watch on our star for any dangerous charged particles heading our way. On October 10, researchers observed an M-class solar flare that caused the eruption of a coronal magnetic ejection (CME) that's headed towards Earth. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers have forecasted the arrival of the CME for October 11.

According to Spaceweather.com and SpaceWeatherNews.com, the CME that is on its way to Earth is expected to spark G1 to G2-class geomagnetic storms. Additionally, reports indicate that if a moderately strong G2-storm happens, residents in the United States may see auroras as far south as a line connecting New York to Oregon. It should be noted that this CME has an extremely low chance of affecting electricity grids on a global scale. On top of that, this is CME is classified as a "halo CME" as CMEs heading directly for Earth cause a 360-degree halo around the Sun.

A civilian astronaut that was aboard SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission has talked about her experience being in space for three days.

Dr. Sian Proctor was joined by three other crew members for a three-day mission in space, marking the very first all-civilian trip to space. The Inspiration4 mission consisted of zero astronauts, and according to Dr. Proctor, who spoke to National Geographic, the first two days of the trip, she felt quite sick. Dr. Proctor said, "Space sickness is one of those things that a lot of people suffer from. You're just not on your game." So, what causes "space sickness"?

Humans are very well adjusted to the Earth's gravity, but when venturing off-planet with no gravity, you experience weightlessness, which can lead to variable levels of motion sickness. This is quite common, according to Dr. Proctor. Luckily, this feeling is usually temporary as the astronaut starts to adapt and adjust to the new environment. "But man, I woke up the third day, and I was humming, and everything was perfect. I had adapted, I was good, and I was like, 'What? I have to come home?! No, no, no!'" said Dr. Proctor.

Last week it was announced that Star Trek's Captain Kirk, played by actor William Shatner will be going to suborbital space with Blue Origin.

The announcement from Shatner and Blue Origin came after the bombshell news that Blue Origin employees reported the work environment at Blue Origin was "toxic" and uncomfortable for women. Shatner will be joined by Blue Origin vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, but unfortunately, the launch has now been officially delayed due to bad weather.

The launch was scheduled for October 12, but according to Blue Origin representatives, the launch will be pushed back by 24 hours due to unfavorable winds. When Blue Origin launches Shatner and the other crew members into suborbital space aboard the New Shepard vehicle, Shatner will hold the crown for the oldest person to ever go into suborbital space. The new launch date has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT) on Wednesday.

Western Digital has just launched its new WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD, which won't break the bank but it will break through some speed barriers.

The new WD Blue SN570 NVMe SSD arrives in an M.2 2280 form factor on the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface and will come in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities. Western Digital has up to 3.5GB/sec (3500MB/sec) sequential reads, and up to 3GB/sec (3000MB/sec) on the 1TB model, while the 250GB model still has an ultra-fast 3.3GB/sec (3300MB/sec) reads and 1.2GB/sec (1200MB/sec) writes.

I don't know why you'd buy the 250GB model for $54 when the 500GB model costs $60... and includes the faster reads and writes with up to 3.5GB/sec (3500MB/sec) reads and 2.3GB/sec (2300MB/sec) writes for $6 more. For $110 you can have the 1TB model, with up to 3.5GB/sec and 3GB/sec reads and writes, respectively.

Bloober Team plans to release two big AAA projects in the next 3-4 years, the company has announced.

Tencent just acquired 22% of Bloober Team, and nestled in the press release announcement is confirmation of the Polish studio's future plans. The developer says it plans to release two major games by 2025, which are presumably the games being published by Konami and Take-Two Interactive's Private Division. The Konami game is believed to be Silent Hill, and the other should be a new Layers of Fear game built with Unreal Engine 5.

"We enjoy the incredible trust and support of both players and business partners, which allows us to become one of the leaders in horror in the world. Over the next 3-4 years, our goal is to work and deliver two exciting titles that will lead us to the level of AAA production,"Bloober Team president Piotr Babieno said in the release.

Squid Game. Everyone's talking about it, and if you've seen it, you know. If you haven't...well, you might be able to play a battle royale based on the series sometime soon.

According to Tom Henderson, a games industry figure with knowledge of goings-on in the shooter space, a video game adaptation of Squid Game could be in the works. It's unknown which companies are involved, however it's highly likely that Netflix has secured the rights for future adaptations.

Netflix is starting to toe-dip into video games and this kind of huge project could propel their games business into the lucrative battle royale space that's dominated by billion-dollar hits like Fortnite, PUBG, Warzone, and Apex Legends. Squid Game has become one of Netflix's most-watched series of all time and it's possible a second season could be produced.

Today is the last day to buy the classic GTA Trilogy on Steam and the PlayStation Store before the new remastered collection releases.

Starting tomorrow, October 11, Rockstar Games is delisting the original Steam ports of Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas, and the GTA trilogy on the PS Store. The developer confirmed the news in a recent support page post:

The new Grand Theft Auto trilogy remaster could be a full-priced $69.99 next-gen game on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition has been listed for standard MSRP on Base.com's website, hinting Rockstar and Take-Two could be selling the anticipated remasters as a full-priced bundle. The retailer lists the collection for the following prices:

Rockstar has yet to announce pricing for the game, however sources say the collection should release next month so we should get an updated soon.

Valve warns gamers not to use any M.2 2230 SSD to upgrade their Steam Deck storage--in fact they don't even want you opening up the system yourself.

The Steam Deck is basically a PC, and like a PC, users can swap out parts. It's not just a PC, though: it's also a handheld with a very delicate assembly and incredibly tight fits. Valve says that all of the Steam Deck's components have been chosen to specifically fit and work well with every other part, and this goes double for tech like the custom SSD assembly (well, it's a custom heat sink design).

Valve tells gamers that the Steam Deck doesn't necessarily play nicely with other consumer-grade parts. The SSD isn't soldered and can be swapped out, but Valve says replacing the built-in M.2 drive with an off-the-shelf product could cause issues in four separate ways.