Author Archives: Lawrence Bonk

Silo’s season 3 trailer takes us back to how it all began

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The relatively long wait for the third season of Silo is nearly over. Apple TV just announced the dystopian sci-fi hit returns on July 3, with episodes airing each Friday until September 4. We have long championed this show, calling it "another gem" for the platform.

The streamer has dropped a short teaser for the upcoming season and it confirms rumors of an increased focus on the "before times" via a storyline that was introduced in the finale of season two. The trailer depicts scenes from both time periods, as protagonist Juliette, played by Rebecca Ferguson, speaks in voiceover.

"Before we can know why we’re here. Before we can know everything is as it is. Before we know how it all will end, we need to understand how it all began,” she says, alluding to the creation of the various bunkers littered throughout the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

For the uninitiated, Silo is an adaptation of Hugh Howey's Wool series of books. It's primarily set in the titular silo, a society of around 10,000 people living deep underground. The show is sort of like Fallout, but without the radioactive monsters and nihilistic sense of humor.

Silo stars Ferguson, along with Tim Robbins, Common and Steve Zahn. Cast members joining the show for season three include Colin Hanks, Jessica Henwick and Ashley Zukerman. The show has already been renewed for a fourth and final season.

This is a busy summer for sci-fi on Apple TV. The second season of Dark Matter premieres on August 28, which is uncharted territory as the first season was based on a book that doesn't have a sequel. Star City, a spinoff of For All Mankind, premieres on May 29. This is the same day that For All Mankind concludes its fifth and penultimate season.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/silos-season-3-trailer-takes-us-back-to-how-it-all-began-171033410.html?src=rss

Samsung brings SmartThings integration to IKEA’s Matter devices

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Samsung is expanding the SmartThings connectivity platform to include many IKEA products. The company promises "seamless integration" with the furniture giant's Matter-over-Thread devices, which include stuff like smart lights, air quality sensors, remote controls and smart plugs.

This is great news for IKEA fans who want to bark orders at a smart assistant to turn the lights off and on, as Samsung says users will be able to "effortlessly incorporate" these gadgets into daily life. The SmartThings platform allows for advanced home automation routines.

A device within an app.
Samsung

Samsung says it "built enhanced integrations" for IKEA's devices and that the two companies "conducted multiple rounds of validation to enhance connectivity stability and implemented a dedicated user experience within the SmartThings app for full compatibility." This should translate into a plug-and-play experience with minimal frustration.

The caveat here is that Matter is already supposed to offer a plug-and-play experience, without the need for this kind of intensive platform-specific work to get things going. IKEA customers have had serious problems connecting the company's Matter devices to networks. Matter is supposed to offer a comprehensive smart home integration solution to manufacturers, but that doesn't look to be working out.

Samsung has steadily been improving the SmartThings platform. It recently integrated Siri voice commands.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/samsung-brings-smartthings-integration-to-ikeas-matter-devices-151819629.html?src=rss

Ubisoft will officially reveal the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake on April 23

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It's happening. Ubisoft has scheduled a livestream for April 23 at 12PM ET to discuss the long-awaited Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake. The showcase will be available to watch on the company's YouTube and Twitch pages.

It's officially called Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced and has been rumored to be in development for years. Ubisoft ended speculation by announcing the game last month.

We don't know anything about how the game will play or look, as Ubisoft has only dropped some promotional art featuring protagonist Edward Kenway lounging on a boat. The livestream should feature a trailer that will answer many burning questions.

For instance, rumors have been swirling that this is a total top-to-bottom remake and not a simple port. That makes sense given the continued popularity of Black Flag. It's also been rumored that this new version will cut out all of the modern day gameplay sections, with a total focus on pirate-themed action.

We don't have that long to find out. Maybe the livestream will also give us some information about that upcoming mainline franchise entry, which is currently being developed under the moniker Codename Hexe. Ubisoft has promised it will be a "unique, darker, narrative-driven Assassin's Creed experience."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-will-officially-reveal-the-assassins-creed-black-flag-remake-on-april-23-184729772.html?src=rss

The FAA grounds Blue Origin New Glenn rocket after failure to put payload in orbit

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket following an incident during Sunday's launch from Cape Canaveral, according to reporting by Orlando Sentinel and others. The rocket looked good on the way up but was ultimately unable to put its payload into the correct orbit.

The FAA is calling the incident a "mishap" and is beginning an investigation to "enhance public safety, determine the root cause of the event and identify corrective actions to avoid it from happening again." The organization said in a statement that a "return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety."

The company hasn't provided any information as to what happened with New Glenn that made it mess up the positioning. It was supposed to position a satellite into a 285 mile orbit after completing two burns, but telemetry data shows that the satellite only reached a 95 mile orbit, which is not sustainable.

This was New Glenn's third mission, and not the first time the rocket has been grounded by the FAA. Blue Origin was unable to land it after the debut launch and it wasn't allowed to fly again for nearly three months. The agency hasn't announced when the rocket will be cleared to fly this time, so we don't know if it will put a crimp in Blue Origin's plans to launch a bunch of Amazon Leo broadband satellites. That mission is currently scheduled for later this year and will use the New Glenn rocket.

The FAA has grounded several rockets due to mishaps in recent years, including the smaller Blue Origin New Shepard. It has also grounded SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Starship.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/the-faa-grounds-blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-after-failure-to-put-payload-in-orbit-173016117.html?src=rss

The Elden Ring movie hits theaters on March 3, 2028

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Bandai Namco and A24 have announced that the Elden Ring movie will hit theaters on March 3, 2028. Filming is set to begin in the next several weeks. The movie was first revealed over a year ago, so this is a welcome update. 

We also got a full cast announcement, though the companies haven't said who or what everyone is portraying. The cast includes Kit Connor from Heartstopper, Ben Whishaw from the beloved Paddington movies and Cailee Spaeny from Alien: Romulus. Peter Serafinowicz, Jonathan Pryce, Nick Offerman and Sonoya Mizuno will also appear in the film.

Elden Ring will be written and directed by Alex Garland, fresh off the harrowing Civil War. Garland has directed plenty of sci-fi, with credits like Ex Machina, Annihilation and the woefully underrated TV show Devs. He hasn't, however, made any legit fantasy, so we'll have to see how he handles the magic-filled continent known as The Lands Between.

In any event, we have nearly two years before finding out. By that time, theaters will have already experienced two new Avengers and Star Wars films. Elden Ring, the game, is getting some new DLC content this year with armor sets, weapons and skins.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-elden-ring-movie-hits-theaters-on-march-3-2028-154411670.html?src=rss

NASA restarts work to support Europe’s uncrewed trip to Mars after years of setbacks

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NASA has confirmed the pending launch of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover, which is being sent to Mars. The current plan is to launch via a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The timing is still being worked out, but the space agency says this won't happen until at least 2028.

This is a partnership between NASA and the ESA, with the European agency providing the rover, the spacecraft and the lander. The US will provide braking engines for the lander, heater units for the rover's internal systems and, of course, assistance with the actual launch.

The rover will be outfitted with scientific instruments to look for signs of ancient life on the red planet. These include a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer and an organic molecule analyzer, which will come in handy as the vehicle collects samples at the Oxia Planum landing site.

This is a mission that has suffered years of delays for all kinds of wild reasons. It was actually first conceived all the way back in 2001. The rover mission was originally scheduled for 2009, after NASA came on board. Budget constraints forced NASA to drop out in 2012, so Russia signed on as the ESA's launch partner.

During this period, the mission experienced technical malfunctions which forced additional delays. The ESA suspended its partnership with Russia in 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. This left the mission in doubt until 2024, when NASA came back into the fold.

However, the setbacks didn't even end there. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to end NASA's involvement with the project, and many others, via stark budget cuts. The current proposal was made while the Artemis II crew was on their mission around the Moon, according to a report by The Register. Here's hoping the launch actually happens in 2028.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-restarts-work-to-support-europes-uncrewed-trip-to-mars-after-years-of-setbacks-161524488.html?src=rss

The first real trailer for the Street Fighter movie is filled with crowd-pleasing moments

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We finally have a real-deal trailer for the upcoming Street Fighter movie, after a short teaser dropped at The Game Awards last year. This is nearly three minutes of fighting, silly dialogue and, of course, Easter eggs from the games.

To the latter point, there's a scene of Ken beating up a car like in the bonus stages from Street Fighter II and footage of Ryu powering up one of his famous Hadoken fireballs. There's even a cheeky reference to Chun-Li's notoriously-large and powerful thighs. This is all helped along by the fact that the actors all look very silly and mostly accurate to the games.

The plot looks to be fairly standard for this type of adaptation. There's a big, important fighting tournament and Chun-Li is recruiting people from around the globe, acting like the franchise's Nick Fury or something. Ken and Ryu are beefing, M. Bison is involved in a criminal conspiracy (big surprise) and everyone else is punching and/or making snarky asides. It looks campy as hell, which is a good thing.

Street Fighter is directed by Kitao Sakurai, who made the film Bad Trip and was heavily involved with The Eric Andre Show. It hits theaters on October 16.

The cast is actually stacked. Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji lead the film as Ken and Ryu, but Jason Momoa is playing Blanka and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is portraying Balrog. Other actors involved include David Dastmalchian, Callina Liang, Cody Rhodes and Orville Peck.

This is the third attempt at a live-action Street Fighter adaptation. The 1994 film is famous for Raul Julia's iconic performance as M. Bison and 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is famous for being very bad.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-first-real-trailer-for-the-street-fighter-movie-is-filled-with-crowd-pleasing-moments-153145868.html?src=rss

There’s yet another study about how bad AI is for our brains

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A group of researchers from across the US and the UK have conducted a study on what AI does to our brains and the results are, in a word, grim. These results were published in a paper called "AI assistance reduces persistence and hurts independent performance" which kind of tells you everything you need to know.

“We find that AI assistance improves immediate performance, but it comes at a heavy cognitive cost,” the study declares. Researchers went on to state that just ten minutes of using AI made people dependent on the technology, which led to worsening performance and burnout once the tools were removed.

The study followed people who use AI for "reasoning-intensive" cognitive labor. This refers to stuff like writing, coding and brainstorming new ideas, which are some of the most common use cases.

The researchers recruited 350 Americans, who were asked to complete some fraction-based equations. Half of the participants were randomly granted access to a specialized chatbot built on OpenAI's GPT-5 for help and the others had to go it alone. Halfway through the exam, the AI group had their access cut off.

This led to a steep decline in correct answers by the AI group and many instances of people simply giving up. This result, in which performance and perseverance both dropped, was repeated in a larger experiment with 670 people. Finally, the scientists performed one final experiment with reading comprehension questions, and not math. The results were more of the same.

“Once the AI is taken away from people, it’s not that people are just giving wrong answers. They’re also not willing to try without AI," Rachit Dubey, an assistant professor at the University of California and coauthor of the study, told Futurism. "People’s persistence drops."

Dubey went on to warn that rapid deployment of AI in the education sector could lead to a "generation of learners and people who will not know what they’re capable of, and then that will really dilute human innovation and creativity."

The study likens using the technology to the "boiling frog" effect, in which "sustained AI use erodes the motivation and persistence that drive long-term learning." These effects accumulate and "by the time they are visible, they will be difficult to reverse."

There are two caveats here. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed. Also, researchers found one tiny bright spot regarding the use of AI. People who used AI tools for hints and clarification had a much easier time once the chatbot was removed when compared to those who used the bot to essentially prompt the answers.

This is just the latest study trying to get to the bottom of what AI is doing to our collective noggins. It has been found to increase fatigue among full-time workers who rely on the tools, which led to the term "AI brain fry." To that end, researchers discovered that employees who use AI actually end up working harder and longer than those old-fashioned luddites.

The results are even starker in the world of education. Studies have found that AI use in school leads to poor social and intellectual development and that kids who rely on chatbots tend to do worse on tests.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/theres-yet-another-study-about-how-bad-ai-is-for-our-brains-183418494.html?src=rss

Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy

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The shoe company Allbirds, famous for its wool trainers, is pivoting to AI. You read that right. The San Francisco company has plans "to pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider." It's also changing its name to NewBird AI.

This is subject to shareholder approval, with a vote scheduled for May 18. Once approved, the company will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor to assist with this enterprise. This money will be used for the "acquisition and monetization of graphics processing units, related high-performance computing infrastructure capable to support high workloads and other related assets." In other words, all of the things one would need to start an AI compute company.

Allbirds has always been known as an eco-friendly shoe company and, well, there's no real way to do AI while protecting the environment. The company plans on getting rid of any eco-friendly branding, with stockholders being asked to approve a charter amendment proposal to "remove references to the company being operated for the environmental conservation public benefit."

Investors absolutely love AI, despite rising public sentiment against the technology. To that end, the announcement that Allbirds was transitioning from shoes, a product category it has a decade of experience in, to AI compute, a product category it has no experience in, shot the stock up by over 400 percent. Financial Times has suggested this uptick will be short-lived and that retail investors should stay away.

This pivot to AI cloud compute is surprising and, frankly, bizarre, but something drastic was bound to happen to Allbirds at some point. The shoe company was once riding high, with a valuation of around $4 billion as recently as 2021. It sold its shoe business and branding to an investment firm earlier this month for just $39 million.

Allbirds isn't the only company pivoting to compute in an effort to feed the hungry goblin called AI. Boom Supersonic is a startup trying to build the world's fastest airliner but has begun selling gas turbines to AI companies to power data centers. Many Bitcoin mining centers have pivoted to AI and it's worth remembering that NVIDIA's GPUs were once used primarily for PC gaming.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/shoe-company-pivots-to-ai-compute-in-sign-of-a-totally-normal-and-healthy-economy-161449196.html?src=rss

Microsoft raises prices on Surface PCs due to skyrocketing RAM costs

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The RAMpocalypse continues. Microsoft just revealed significant price increases across the entire Surface line of products, according to reporting by Windows Central. The updated pricing has already hit the official Microsoft Store, with other retailers expected to follow suit in the near future.

These are fairly significant upticks. For instance, the base model 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 now starts at $1,600. It cost $1,300 when the laptop was first released back in 2024. It did receive a price increase last year to $1,500, so today's increase tacks on another $100.

The cost balloons even further when upgrading components, as a top-end Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon X Elite, 64GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage now costs a whopping $3650. As a comparison, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD comes in at $3,300, and the M5 Pro blasts the Snapdragon X Elite out of the water.

An expensive gadget.
Microsoft

This trend continues with the Surface Pro line of hybrid computers. The 12-inch Surface Pro starts at $1,050, after launching at just $800. The flagship 13-inch Surface Pro cost $1,000 in 2024 and now starts at $1,500. That's a $500 increase in just two years, though the base hard drive did get a bit bigger.

These price increases are, of course, being blamed on generative AI's penchant for eating up RAM and related components. "Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio," Microsoft wrote in a statement.

Industry reports have also indicated that the company is currently readying refreshes across the Surface line. It's highly likely these new prices will stay in place if component prices don't decrease.

These aren't the first devices that have shot up in price due to AI. Motorola recently instituted increases that even impacted its budget-friendly phones. Samsung has also pushed up the cost for its Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The PS5 is now much more expensive when compared to the 2020 launch price, though Sony didn't explicitly blame these increases on RAM, but rather "continued pressures in the global economic landscape." There are also rumors that the continued RAM shortage has made it difficult for Valve to manufacture the Steam Deck and likely pushed back the release of the Steam Machine to 2027. 

SSDs have also shot up in price, with old-school HDDs not far behind. It's getting thorny out there. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-raises-prices-on-surface-pcs-due-to-skyrocketing-ram-costs-181648588.html?src=rss