Latest News - Page 1637

Scientists have made some progress in understanding the Sun's surface, and as technology advances, humans can begin to take more high definition images of the surface - unlocking more knowledge about how it all works.

Now, astronomers have released some of the sharpest images yet taken of the sun's atmosphere, and as you can see in the above image, the sun's is covered in extremely hot plasma threads. These fine threads of plasma aren't tiny, in fact, the smallest of the strands measure in at 200km wide, and some of the biggest being recorded to be roughly 513km in diameter. Up until now, scientists couldn't view inside the solar corona, so they didn't know that these fine filaments were there.

Amy Winebarger, a solar physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, "We're seeing threads pop out where we see nothing in other instruments." These extremely sharp images were taken using NASA's High-Resolution Coronal Imager, or Hi-C for short. NASA sends this small telescope up into space aboard a rocket, and then it floats around in space taking photos of the sun for about 5 minutes, then it falls back to Earth. If you are interested in checking out a close-up video of the Sun's surface, check out this link here. An extremely high-resolution image can be found here too.

CD Projekt RED has been having a joyous week, with the tease of the custom Cyberpunk 2077 PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers by BossLogic -- and then the tease and official reveal of the custom Cyberpunk 2077 themed Xbox One X console that glows in the dark.

But now, Seagate has joined the Cyberpunk 2077 hardware hype train with the just-revealed Cyberpunk 2077 Game Drive. The new drive is designed as an external storage solution for the Xbox One, and is inside -- identical to Seagate's current Xbox Game Drives, but the new Cyberpunk 2077 infused one is offered in up to 5TB -- oh, and it looks awesome.

Seagate will be offering its new Cyberpunk 2077 Game Drive in two capacities: 2TB and 5TB for $99 and $150, respectively. They will be launching in June in limited qualities, so if you wanted one you're going to have to dive in very quickly.

President Donald Trump has just tweeted that he will be signing a new Executive Order (EO) that will "temporarily suspend immigration" into the United States over the coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump tweeted: "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" We don't know what the US government will do in the form of halting immigration for now, but I'm sure that will be detailed very shortly.

We should expect some big backlash over his new move, and some more details on the actions that President Trump's upcoming Executive Order will bring.

If you remember all the back in February 2015, I wrote one of the first articles about Grand Theft Auto 6 reporting that Rockstar had said it had some "ideas" on what GTA 6 would be like.

Well, now there's new chatter from Chris Liberty who has said that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in pre-production since 2014 -- months after my post on that where I reported that Rockstar Games President Leslie Benzies said: "We've got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do. We don't know what GTA 6 will be, but we've got some ideas".

Liberty added that his sources have told him that last week's reports saying Grand Theft Auto 6 would have a "moderately-sized" map are wrong, and that Rockstar is working on a gigantic beast-sized map for the next-gen GTA 6 game.

If you thought the future of controlling your smartphone, TV, thermostat or car with just thoughts, was far away -- think again, it's far closer than you think.

According to new work by researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, the issues surrounding the brain-computer interface (or BCI) in order to control and use prosthetic devices with their thoughts.

The researchers have created a new AI algorithm that stops devices from needing to be re-calibrated in order to understand the human brain and its ever-changing neuronal activity. A normal BCI would have to be calibrated to a specific body part -- in most cases, a limb that is missing -- but now scientists and researchers have worked out how to use those same brainwaves to control virtually any device in the world.

NVIDIA has been losing game developers for its game streaming service GeForce NOW ever since it launched, with another two stepping away from GeForce NOW on April 24.

The company has announced that all games from Warner Bros. and Xbox Game Studios, as well as Codemasters and Klei will disappear on April 24. NVIDIA has lost games from publishers such as 2K Games, Activision and Bethesda -- while gaining CD Projekt RED and its upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 on GeForce NOW the day it launches.

The news of more publishers removing their games from GeForce NOW was included in a new update on 4/20 for GeForce NOW, where the post explains: "We're transitioning as many games to GeForce NOW as possible over this time. For those leaving, we'll give gamers as much notice as possible. Games from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, XBOX Game Studios, Codemasters and Klei Entertainment will be removed from the service on Friday, April 24. We hope they'll return in the future".

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has explained in a letter to all staff that there will be no job losses at any level of the company during the COVID-19 outbreak, and instead will be getting raises to staff faster than before.

There are 13,775 employees that work for NVIDIA, so there would be a lot of happy people and families in Team Green now -- especially in the wake of millions of job losses and the further fear of industry-wide job losses in the near future. NVIDIA is doing some great work here for its staff.

In the letter, Huang writes: "Immediately I received questions about whether we are also planning a layoff. NO - precisely the opposite. We are accelerating your raise to put some extra money in your hands. We can put tens of millions of more dollars in the hands of our families in the coming months".

Skilled programmer Kaze Emanuar recreates Super Mario Odyssey with old-school retro N64 charm.

Love Mario 64? Wish modern Mario games kept that awesome polygonal style, mid-90s textures, and 3D platforming? Then we have something special for you. Introducing Mario Odyssey 64, a new demake fan hack created by Kaze, the same modder who brought you Mario 64 Land. The name basically says it all: It's Mario Odyssey with N64 graphics. signature Mario 64 character models, textures, and environments, and ye olde physics from the classic 64-bit adventure.

The levels are from Mario Odyssey, ditto with the moon-collecting action and enemy possession. It's pretty radical and hilarious. The only downside is you need a ROM file of Mario 64 to run the hack.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will change console gaming forever, and developers are extremely excited for the hardware upgrade. It's a leap from the Stone Age right to the Iron Age.

Current-gen consoles are massively outdated. They run on slow 5400RPM HDDs, have underwhelming Jaguar SoCs, and with the exception of the Xbox One X, aren't synergized all that way. But the PS5 and Xbox Series X will trigger an evolution of the console market with ultra-fast SSDs, powerful Navi GPUs, and beefy Zen 2 CPUs for improved FPS.

The SSDs mean devs don't have to massively replicate data assets, the higher-end GDDR6 RAM and storage memory controllers give speedy avenues to transfer data, and the CPU and GPU can process data at lightning-fast speeds with exceptional efficiency and power. The result is games that not only look and play great, but are easier to make.

Following a botched mixing job on the official soundtrack, Mick Gordon could be done working with Bethesda on future Doom games.

Doom Eternal's soundtrack is amazing, and I couldn't imagine the game without Mick Gordon's killer riffs. But the metalhead might not work on the next game. The reason? A falling out with the game's soundtrack. Doom Eternal's official soundtrack apparently is quite different than the in-game music rips, which, up until now, have been the only available Doom Eternal tracks.

According to findings on Twitter, the OST was neutered by bad mixing, leading to stunted sound wavelengths that ultimately affects the range of the instrumentals themselves. Mick Gordon actually responded to the thread and says he's not responsible for those edits, and that he only mixed a few songs on the OST including Meathook and Command and Control.

Lots of automakers and companies who aren't automakers want into the electric vehicle market. A new SUV has turned up from a privately-held solar company called Triton Solar based in New Jersey. The company is making a massive leap from the solar power world into the electric vehicle world with a new EV that it calls the Triton Model H SUV. The company has shown off some renderings and made some bold claims about the vehicle.

Triton says that it is using proprietary 200 kWh battery packs that allow the full-size SUV to offer a 700-mile driving range on a single charge. Being able to drive 700 miles on a charge would give it the longest driving range for an SUV powered by batteries currently available. Triton says that it can seat eight adults and still accommodate 200 cubic feet of cargo. The Model H looks very similar to the Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Yukon.

Other than the large 200kWh battery pack, the company promises that the vehicle will use four wheel-attached motors to give the Model H 1500 horsepower. It will also have the ability to haul heavy loads and cruise comfortably around the city. The vehicle has a 130-inch wheelbase and a curb weight of 5300 pounds.

Hideo Kojima's collectibles are usually pretty expensive, but this Death Stranding jacket takes the cake. But it's actually pretty damn tactical and would serve any post-apocalyptic Amazon delivery man quite well.

The new jacket is already sold out, but it costs a hefty 1752 Euros (about $1900 USD) and is guaranteed to protect you from Timefall rain. Joking aside, the jacket is actually high tech and is something Sam Porter Bridges would be proud to hear. It's made by German "apparel and systems design" company Acronym, and comes packed with a ton of features. To be clear, this is a custom Bridges version of ACRONYM's J1A-GT jacket system (yes, it's a system due to its complex amount of zippers and straps) that was created closely alongside Hideo Kojima and game art director Yoji Shinkawa.

The jacket is made of next-generation GORE-TEX tech and comes with 9 pockets, a storm hood, a back sling to help secure backpacks and cargo, a dual front zipper, a flak pocket, and a myriad of buttons. There's even gravity pockets and sleeve zippers too. And more...a lot more.

A new rumor is going around that Motorola has a pair of new smartphones coming later this year for Android fans to enjoy. According to the rumor, the Motorola One Fusion series will include the Motorola One Fusion, which carries a codename Titan. The other device will be the Motorola One Fusion+, which carries the codename Liberty. Both the devices (not pictured) were tipped by well-known leaker Evan Blass.

According to Blass, both devices will land at the end of Q2, meaning they should turn up within the next couple of months. Other leaks have hinted at the hardware that would be found inside the Motorola One Fusion+ smartphone. The leak claims that the device will use a Snapdragon 675 processor paired up with 4GB to 6GB of RAM.

Storage is said to be 64GB or 128GB, and the smartphone is said to use a 12MP primary camera, support dual SIM cards, and lack NFC connectivity. Past reports have indicated that the smartphone will turn up in both India and the United States. The Motorola One line of smartphones has always been a mid-range segment making them affordable for people to buy. The smartphone world could use more mid-range devices with decent performance.

The iPhone remains incredibly popular among smartphone users around the world. Those invested in the Apple ecosystem tend to stay with Apple products. Sticking with the Apple ecosystem is particularly true with earbuds since modern iPhone models lack a headphone port. A new rumor has surfaced that claims Apple will be launching refreshed AirPods in May.

Rumors suggest that there will be several new models (not pictured) added to the AirPods lineup, including the "AirPods Pro Lite," the "AirPods X Generation," and the over-ear headphones that have long been rumored to slot into the line. These devices were expected to have launched in March, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed that. The new rumor started with Jon Prosser, a leaker with a history of accuracy with things related to Apple.

Prosser says that the new AirPods that were supposed to have launched in March are now ready to go. He says that they will probably launch alongside the new MacBook Pro next month. Prosser doesn't get specific on which version of the AirPods he is talking about in his tweet. There's a chance he could mean all of the rumored new models.

The Tor Project has been around since the mid-1990s and started with people who had a common belief that all Internet users should be allowed to have private access to an uncensored web. The project focused on onion routing, which is a way for people to use the Internet with as much privacy as possible. This routing process sends the traffic through multiple servers and encrypts it at each step of the way. The Tor Project says that is still a straightforward explanation of how Tor works today. As with other companies around the world during the coronavirus pandemic, Tor has announced that it has been forced to make cutbacks with its staff.

The Tor Project has announced that the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to let go of "13 great people" that it says help make Tor available to millions of Internet users around the world. Moving forward, The Tor Project will have a core team of 22 people that it says will remain "dedicated" to continuing to work on the Tor Browser and the Tor software ecosystem.

The project says that the world won't be the same after the coronavirus pandemic crisis passes, and the need for privacy and secure access to information will become "more urgent." The Tor Project says that being online is critical, and many people around the globe face obstacles getting to and sharing information. The layoffs were done to help "ensure the Tor Project continues to exist and our technology stays available."

Microsoft could retire the Xbox One X console soon as it preps for its new next-gen beast.

It looks like the Xbox One X is on its way out the door. Today Microsoft confirmed the new Cyberpunk 2077 special edition Xbox will be the last custom Xbox One X console ever made. It's not a direct confirmation the Xbox One X is being discontinued, but it's a strong hint, and it makes total sense with the next-gen Xbox Series X on the horizon in holiday 2020.

The Xbox Series X will be pretty expensive to produce, and may retail for as low as $500 and as high as $549. Internal estimates from Bloomberg pinpoint both the PS5 and Xbox Series X cost $450 to make, and developer sources and analysts approximate a $499 retail consumer MSRP. This raised prices put more stress on Microsoft's manufacturing processes and will likely squeeze out the Xbox One X from its new middle-tier position, leaving the cheaper and more flexible Xbox One S as the entry point for the system.

Smartphone makers have been moving away from using processors designed by industry giants like Qualcomm, instead choosing to make their own chips to help set their devices apart from the competition. Designing and building their own chips also means that the companies are more independent and have more control over their devices. Google has announced that it's creating its own chip with Samsung producing the processor.

The self-developed SoC has been taped out and is expected to come first to the Google Pixel line of smartphones. The project is being operated under the code-name "Whitechapel" and is expected to be an eight-core CPU built using the Samsung 5nm process. Competition in the smartphone market is more robust than ever, and Google decided to develop its processors to help it fight the competition. In years past, major smartphone manufacturers all used the same processors from Qualcomm, such as the Snapdragon 865+ expected to be launched this year.

By building their own processors, Google and other smartphone makers can integrate features that work better for their hardware, giving them a possible leg up on the competition. Samsung builds chips for many companies, including Qualcomm's X60 5G modem. Samsung also manufactures the chip used inside the Apple iPhone, and the Exynos chips use inside the Samsung smartphone range.

With millions of people around the world stuck at home because of the coronavirus outbreak, businesses and workers from all sorts of fields have turned to videoconferencing apps such as Zoom. Zoom has been one of the highest-profile videoconferencing companies to gain popularity during the coronavirus outbreak. It's also had some very notable security issues. While end-users have been surprised by the security issues presented by Zoom, a new report claims that Zoom's business partners knew the company had security problems.

A new report claims that Zoom partner Dropbox knew for months that Zoom had security issues. The report, from the New York Times, claims that Dropbox knew a year ago that there was a significant security vulnerability in the videoconferencing app, which was used by Dropbox employees. The vulnerability was discovered by a pair of Australian hackers while on a flight to attend a live hacking competition sponsored by Dropbox in Singapore.

The major security issue with Zoom the hackers discovered could have allowed an attacker to take control of certain users' Mac computers without the users knowing. The NYT cites three unnamed former Dropbox engineers who say that the vulnerability the hackers found was precisely what Dropbox feared. Since Zoom was so widely used by Dropbox, the company took on the policing of security practices for the videoconferencing app itself.

Apple moved to the USB-C port on the iPad Pro series, and fans loved the change. Apple typically uses its proprietary Lightning port to charge and sync its devices. The move to USB-C on the iPad Pro devices had many Apple fans anticipating the same change on the iPhone. However, when the iPhone 11 line landed, the devices still used Lightning to charge. Those hoping for USB-C with the iPhone 12 may be disappointed if a new leak is correct.

The iPhone 12 leak originated with Jon Prosser, a leaker who has a history of accuracy with things related to Apple. Prosser accurately predicted the rollout of the iPhone SE 2020 smartphone. He tweeted, "I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but no - there's absolutely not USB-C in iPhone 12." He continued, "Apple will go portless before they go USB-C."

It's a mystery as to why Apple would be willing to use USB-C on the iPad Pro line, but not on the iPhone line. Going portless may be a better option, particularly if Apple decides to bundle in a wireless charger. Fiddling behind the bed for wires when you're ready to go to sleep is a task that most everyone would be willing to give up.

Facebook is still trying to do it's best to compete with video game streaming giant Twitch, and its new weapon against the Amazon-owned streaming platform is a dedicated app.

Facebook has recently spoken to the New York Times, and has announced that it will be released a new app dedicated to gaming, and more specifically - live streaming. This app will be releasing on April 20th, and it will include some casual games users can play, but it will mostly be funneling users to live streamers who are streaming on Facebook. It will also be encouraging people to take up live streaming on mobile.

This new app from Facebook will also not include in ads, which is a massive bonus for viewers. Instead, the app will rely on viewer "stars", which is basically Facebook's version of Twitch bits. At the moment, the app will be rolled out to Android devices on April 20th, and the iOS version is currently undergoing approval from Apple, so once that is given the thumbs up, it will be released on the App Store for download.