The M4 and M3 MacBook Pro models share an impressive 14.2-inch mini LED ProMotion display, boasting a crisp resolution of 3,024 x 1,964 pixels and a smooth refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. However, the M4 takes display quality a step further with its enhanced maximum SDR brightness of 1,000 nits, surpassing the M3’s […]
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GitHub has unveiled GitHub Spark, a new AI tool set to transform the landscape of personalized application development. This innovative platform enables you to create, deploy, and share fully functional apps across both desktop and mobile environments with unprecedented ease. By streamlining backend setups and deployments, GitHub Spark significantly simplifies the entire application development lifecycle, […]
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Have you ever looked at a hot glue gun and wondered if it could do more than just stick things together? What if it could actually create something entirely new, layer by layer, just like a 3D printer? This intriguing idea is exactly what Proper Printing explores, diving into the world of 3D printing with […]
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The US presidential election is in its final stretch. Before election day on November 5, Engadget is looking at where the candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, stand on the most consequential tech issues of our day.
While the environment and climate change are standard fare for elections, the 2024 campaign has put a surprising amount of focus on EVs. Cars and trucks are some of the biggest contributors to global warming, spewing millions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere every year. So it’s no shock many believe transitioning from traditional combustion engine vehicles to electric will be key to reining in climate change. Of course, an electric car is only as clean as the energy used to charge its batteries, so the Biden administration has also put a lot of effort into expanding clean-energy initiatives in the US. Kamala Harris is widely expected to continue Biden’s work promoting EV adoption and clean energy technology. While Donald Trump has, unsurprisingly, run on a promise to undo it all.
On the campaign trail, Harris hasn’t announced any new major policy initiatives regarding EVs or clean energy. Mostly her comments on the matter have been broad but seek to build on the work done by the Biden administration. Between the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the government invested hundreds of billions of dollars in charging stations, EV tax credits, EV manufacturing, wind and solar.
Earlier in her career, as a senator from California and as a candidate in 2020’s presidential primary, Harris staked out a particularly aggressive stance on EVs and clean energy and made them a core part of her political identity. She supported the Green New Deal and was a cosponsor of the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019, which would have required all passenger vehicles sold in the US to be zero emissions by 2040.
Harris has since backed off many of those stronger proposals but remains a staunch proponent of using federal resources to build out EV and clean-energy infrastructure. She was the tie-breaking vote for the IRA, which included directives to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and included $370 billion for wind, solar, battery and EV production. Much of the $1.1 trillion IRA money remains unspent, but the administration has sped up efforts to use those funds ahead of the election.
That money has been used to expand charging station infrastructure, begin transitioning the USPS to electric delivery vehicles and increase the amount of electricity produced by wind and solar. Through investments and tax breaks, IRA funds have been used to encourage companies to manufacture more EVs, solar panels, batteries and related components in the US. That includes $100 million announced in May for small- and medium-sized car companies to upgrade their factories for EV production. Harris and Biden have also talked up the fact that the IRA has created 170,000 clean-energy jobs in just one year. The administration also placed stiff tariffs on EVs (100 percent) and solar cells (50 percent) imported from China.
Another key component of the legislation are consumer tax credits for the purchase of electric heat pumps, rooftop solar, batteries and EVs. The EV tax credit also comes with specific requirements regarding vehicle eligibility to encourage US manufacturing throughout the supply chain. Buyers can only claim the credit if the car was assembled in the US, has a certain percentage of battery components built in North America and a minimum amount of minerals extracted either in the United States or a country it has a free trade agreement with, or that have been recycled in North America. And each year those requirements increase, ultimately reaching 100 percent of battery components in 2029 and 80 percent of critical minerals in 2027.
It might seem glib, but Trump’s policies regarding EVs and clean energy can essentially be boiled down to lifting regulations and “drill, baby, drill.” The former president has said repeatedly he would repeal almost all of the Biden administration’s rules regarding emissions, fuel standards and the environment. He also suggested he might get rid of the EV tax credit, which he tried and failed to do during his first term, claiming it unfairly influenced the market, primarily benefited the rich and increased our reliance on China. Considering the price cap on eligible vehicles and requirements regarding component and mineral sourcing, that argument seems on shaky ground. Since securing Elon Musk’s endorsement, Trump has softened some of his anti-EV rhetoric. However, he’s given no indication he’s actually reversed any of his positions.
Trump has also said he will immediately rescind new fuel efficiency and emissions standards established by the Biden administration. He has argued the efficiency requirements are simply impossible for gasoline-powered cars to meet and effectively create a mandate that 67 percent of auto sales in the US be EVs by 2032.
Trump has been even more hostile to clean-energy initiatives. Neither his platform nor the Republican Party’s official platform document mention solar energy at all. And wind energy is only mentioned on the Trump site to deride the Biden administration’s “insane wind subsidies” and generally dismiss windmills as dangerous and inefficient. The bulk of the Trump campaign’s energy policies are focused on expanding oil and natural-gas drilling and investing in nuclear power plants. But he is unlikely to try to end all the IRA’s clean energy and EV initiatives as they often lead to job creation in red states.
In general, Donald Trump is skeptical of climate change and efforts to limit humans’ impact on the environment. He has pledged to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord (again) and called for building hundreds of new power plants, including coal, hydro and nuclear, but wind and solar farms are noticeably absent from his plan for American energy independence.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/election-2024-what-are-the-candidates-policies-on-evs-and-clean-energy-133030889.html?src=rss
The automotive world is abuzz with the arrival of the all-new Škoda Kodiaq RS, a vehicle that is set to redefine power and style in the highly competitive SUV segment. At the heart of this dynamic vehicle lies a robust 2.0 TSI EVO petrol engine, capable of delivering an impressive 195 kW (265 hp), making […]
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Imagine being able to gather detailed insights about anyone, anywhere, without spending countless hours sifting through endless streams of information. In our hyper-connected world, where time is a precious commodity, the ability to efficiently research individuals can be a fantastic option. Whether you’re a recruiter seeking the perfect candidate, a salesperson looking to understand potential […]
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Handheld gaming devices are quite the fad these days, especially now that major PC makers have all joined the bandwagon. Although we’re reaching a point where all internal specs are becoming identical, there’s still a variety of designs and features available. Just like laptops, however, these designs are fixed and you can only select from what others have already made.
Embodying the spirit of desktop computers, this latest DIY project enables you to build your own Steam Deck clone, presuming you have the parts and skills to assemble one. Unlike other configurations, however, this isn’t relying on some low-power computer like the Raspberry Pi but instead leans on the power provided by a modular laptop design.
Designer: Beth Le
There is no shortage of mods and projects to build custom handheld PCs, whether for gaming or light computing, but the majority of these use small but under-powered single-board computers or SBCs. These are cheap, easy to cram into small shells, but will hardly be able to play any games outside of retro emulators. The problem is that there isn’t an SBC powerful enough to support that use case.
That’s where the Framework modular laptop comes in. Thanks to its modular design, it is possible to actually purchase the mainboard of such a powerful computer, and the 13-inch variant happens to be an adequate size to stuff inside a 3D-printed gaming handheld shell. Although it doesn’t exactly have gaming-worthy specs, it’s still powerful enough to run some AAA games with low settings.
The Beth Deck, which is the name for this hot new build-it-yourself handheld PC, doesn’t stop there. It also uses a matching Framework 13 battery and many off-the-shelf parts. Everything that can’t be bought can be 3D printed, and the claim is that you barely need to solder anything. You could almost say it’s like playing with LEGO, except with computer parts instead of bricks.
It’s not the perfect handheld design, of course, since the Framework 13 mainboard isn’t designed for that purpose. It does, however, reveal the possibilities available with such a modular component available for as low as $199. It might even inspire other designs that customize not just the appearance but also the controls. After all, if you can easily make a Steam Deck clone, why stop at being just a Steam Deck clone?
The post Make your own Steam Deck handheld gaming PC using a modular laptop first appeared on Yanko Design.
TikTok currently faces lawsuits from 14 states alleging the platform damages young users' mental health and they're not the only ones who think it. It turns out that Apple apparently privately pressed TikTok to raise its age recommendations from 12 and over to 17 and over, The Washington Post reports. The comments from Apple showed up in South Carolina's compliant against TikTok and were supposed to be redacted but, oops, they were accidentally made public.
Let's dive into what was said, shall we? In 2022, Apple had a team review TikTok's age rating and found the platform had "frequent or intense mature or suggestive content." Apple added, "We hope you will consider making the necessary changes to follow the App Store Review Guidelines and will resubmit." We don't know all the details of what Apple requested as only some of the redacted content was made public.
Yet, there's plenty of evidence in these momentarily not-redacted documents about TikTok being not so age appropriate. In fact, outsiders and TikTok's own employees found issue with what the company did to reduce content like profanity and eating disorders. The former was found in one out of every 50 pop-up alerts that minors in the US and UK received within a month's time. Advocacy group Accountable Tech found the inadvertently public information and shared it with The Post.
The accidentally public bits of South Carolina's complaint further claimed TikTok sought to "leverage goodwill in lobbying efforts" by donating to organizations like parent-teacher associations. The company also sponsored events for politicians, like an event for the foundation of South Carolina Democratic Representative James E. Clyburn, the former House majority whip. For the record, Clyburn joined the minority in voting against TikTok being sold or banned in the US.
Unsurprisingly, TikTok wasn't so happy about having this information made public (it's all back behind black marks now). TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek called publishing the redacted information irresponsible, claimed "many of these issues have already been addressed" and stated that the company “has always enforced strict policies against nudity, sexually explicit content, and solicitation."
South Carolina isn't the only state that's lawsuit had a revealing redaction mistake. Kentucky's accidentally public documents revealed that TikTok had reportedly found "compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety." TikTok also reportedly knew its time limit tool wouldn't be effective for minors (average daily use decreased by one minute and a half after implementation). Then there was another document which allegedly said "across most engagement metrics, the younger the user, the better the performance." Don't you just love when companies have its users' best interests in mind?
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-urged-tiktok-to-increase-its-age-recommendations-redacted-documents-show-131501139.html?src=rss
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 has introduced a suite of innovative features that are set to transform the way we approach hearing health and personal audio technology. With the integration of hearing tests and hearing aid capabilities, these earbuds offer a comprehensive solution for users looking to enhance their listening experience and address mild to moderate […]
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Nintendo has launched its own music streaming service that caters to fans of its games, including Mario and Animal Crossing. Fans will be able to listen to their favorite game tracks on their phones through the new Nintendo Music app, which has a user interface that pretty much looks like Spotify. The tracks are organized by game, so people can play the whole OST for specific titles if they want, but they can also listen to character playlists like a selection of songs performed by Animal Crossing's K.K. Slider.
If they're in the mood for certain songs, they can hit up one of the pre-made themed playlists, which put together tracks for themes like "boss battle" and "victory." The app offers mood playlists, as well, that groups tracks with similar vibes, such as soft, relaxing songs for bedtime listening. One feature that's probably unique to the service is spoiler prevention. If the listener adds a certain game to the setting, the app will hide the soundtracks that could give away a surprise ending or an unexpected final boss, among other potential spoilers. They can also extend a single track and keep it playing on repeat for up to an hour if that's all they want to listen to.
Fans can access the new Nintendo Music service with a Switch Online membership, though they can start listening to game tracks even if they're still on free trial. Every member on a Switch Online Family membership can also access it, so they don't need to pay for an individual subscription.
Nintendo Music, a new smart-device app exclusively for #NintendoSwitchOnline members, lets you stream or download music from Nintendo’s library of soundtracks!
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 30, 2024
Nintendo Music will be released later today! Learn more: https://t.co/X5uL1ThupO pic.twitter.com/2NOu7k22zf