Tag Archives: author_name|Andre Revilla

SpaceX acquires $2.6 billion more in spectrum licenses from EchoStar

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SpaceX is acquiring more spectrum licenses from EchoStar in exchange for about $2.6 billion worth of shares in Elon Musk's aerospace company. The transaction is an expansion of the $17 billion deal struck between the companies in September. SpaceX had previously said it would use these licenses for its Starlink satellites as it works to build out the network's 5G connectivity.

The AWS-3 spectrum licenses changing hands include frequencies used in the US for commercial wireless services such as mobile and satellite communications. The distribution and use of spectrum are overseen by the federal government, which also lays out requirements for the use and development of spectrum for the benefit of consumers.

EchoStar had been facing pressure from the FCC to either use its substantial spectrum stockpile or seek divestment. This deal encompasses all of EchoStars' remaining unpaired AWS-3 spectrum holdings. Earlier this year, the company sold $23 billion worth of licenses to AT&T in addition to its deals with SpaceX. The FCC ended its investigation into EchoStar after these sales. Today’s deal is pending regulatory approval and no precise closing date was shared.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/spacex-acquires-26-billion-more-in-spectrum-licenses-from-echostar-170233413.html?src=rss

Xbox Game Pass is adding COD: Black Ops 7 and ten other titles in November

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Microsoft has announced its latest batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in November. Monthly subscribers have a lot to look forward to, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on day one of its release.

Kicking off the release slate is Dead Static Drive on November 5. This indie survival-horror game takes players on a 1980s-style road trip across the country. Dead Static Drive will share its date with Sniper Elite: Resistance, a tactical third-person combat game with rich sniper mechanics that sports a co-op campaign for playing with friends.

The very next day will feature the real star of this month's Game Pass releases, and no, I don't mean COD. I'm talking about Egging On, the platformer where you play as a literal egg trying to escape your hen house. You'll have to traverse harrowing obstacles and terrifying heights armed with little more than your fragile shell. Whiskerwood, a strategy and worldbuilding game where mice must build and manage colonies at the behest of a feline overlord, will be available on the same day.

The games keep coming over the following days with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and Pigeon Simulator available on November 11. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 drops on November 14 and will feature 16 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch.

Microsoft recently raised the price on the highest tier of the Xbox Game Pass subscription to $30 per month from $20 per month. That made Game Pass Ultimate 50 percent more expensive than previously. The tiers also underwent some rebranding as well, but the big thing to note is that you’ll need that $30/month Ultimate tier to play games on release day. This came after price increases in 2024 as well.

See the full list of Xbox Game Pass additions below, as well as a list of games leaving on November 15. The list also specifies which tier of Game Pass you'll need for each title.

November 5

  • Dead Static Drive— Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Sniper Elite: Resistance — Game Pass Premium

  • Egging On — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Whiskerwood — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Voidtrain — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Premium

  • Great God Grove — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Premium

  • Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Premium

  • Pigeon Simulator — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Relic Hunters Legend — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Premium

  • Winter Burrow — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

  • Blacksmith Master (Game Preview)

  • Football Manager 2024

  • Football Manager 2024 Console Edition

  • Frostpunk

  • Spirittea

  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-game-pass-is-adding-cod-black-ops-7-and-ten-other-titles-in-november-193151259.html?src=rss

Google Maps is adding live lane guidance for the Polestar 4

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Google is bringing live lane guidance to Google Maps in cars with the company’s built-in infotainment system, starting with the Polestar 4. Using the vehicle's front-facing camera, Google Maps will be able to "see" the road just as the driver does. It will then create more detailed depictions of which lane a driver should be in and guide them using visual and audio cues.

Google says the new feature uses AI to analyze lane markings and road signs, which it then integrates in real time with Google Maps' navigation system. Google paints a picture of fewer missed exits, as its navigation system reminds drivers in the left lane that their exit is coming up on the right side of the highway.

Details are scarce on where exactly this will function. In Google's blog post announcing the feature, the company says it will expand live lane guidance to "more road types" in the future. We've reached out for clarification.

Live lane guidance with Google Maps will be rolling out on the Polestar 4 in the US and Sweden over the coming months. Google says it will expand to include more cars in partnership with other automakers.

Update Nov 4 3:39 PM EST: Google says the feature will only work on highways for now.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/google-maps-is-adding-live-lane-guidance-for-the-polestar-4-192705050.html?src=rss

Waymo is launching in three new cities next year

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Waymo has announced the launch of its robotaxi services in three new cities. San Diego, Las Vegas and Detroit will play home to the driverless cars as the company continues its aggressive expansion.

In a series of blog posts, the Alphabet subsidiary said Detroit residents can expect to "soon" see Waymo vehicles on the streets, mapping out the service areas before launching to the public. Timing for San Diego was more vague, with "plans to begin serving the city next year."

Waymo's service area in Las Vegas will include the Strip, with plans to expand to the airport "eventually." The company currently operates in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin. It also recently announced expansion to Miami and Washington, DC.

Waymo also has its sights set on international expansion with a planned London launch next spring. This comes as the UK's Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 begins to take effect, allowing autonomous vehicles to operate in the country for the first time. The company also recently announced it would be partnering with DoorDash to conduct food deliveries in Phoenix.

The autonomous taxi market has been heating up lately with Tesla's Robotaxi expanding in Austin and San Francisco. Uber and Lucid will also be launching an autonomous taxi partnership in the Bay Area next year using the automaker's Lucid Gravity SUV.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-is-launching-in-three-new-cities-next-year-182515034.html?src=rss

Creative Labs is crowdfunding a modular Sound Blaster audio hub

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Creative Labs, the maker of Sound Blaster audio cards, has launched a Kickstarter for a modular audio hub called Sound Blaster Re:Imagine. The universal hub, which is reminiscent of Elgato's Stream Deck, is meant to allow routing from any input to any output with the press of a button. Users can connect their gaming consoles, PC and musical instruments to the Re:Imagine, as well as speakers, wired headsets and wireless headphones, transitioning seamlessly between them.

The system uses magnetic modules including a 3-inch smart screen, four-button pad, rotary knob and dual sliders that can all be rearranged on the base unit. The Horizon base with five slots is the default design for the Kickstarter project, with an expanded six-slot Vertex base listed as a stretch goal.

Re:Imagine sports an octa-core ARM processor with a small NPU, 8GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and is expandable thanks to a microSD card slot. The hub's audio prowess is powered by a high-resolution 32-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The hub runs on Linux and can be used in a standalone setup, or as a PC-tethered audio hub.

The Re:Imagine also comes with an AI DJ that can generate music, a built-in DOS emulator for retro gaming, one-tap audio recording and more. The modular hub is also developer-friendly, with an included SDK and sample source code that encourage users to build their own custom apps and then share them with the Creative Labs community.

The Kickstarter campaign will run through December and lists an estimated shipping date of July 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/creative-labs-is-crowdfunding-a-modular-sound-blaster-audio-hub-161957129.html?src=rss

Mixed Reality Link for Windows 11 and Meta Quest headsets is now available to everyone

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Immersive productivity for Windows 11 is now available on the Meta Quest 3 and 3S with the latest release of Meta's Horizon OS. The feature, called Mixed Reality Link, was available on a limited basis after public previews began last year. The Windows virtual desktop experience is now rolling out to all users.

After installing Mixed Reality Link on their Windows 11 PC, users will pair the machine with their Meta Quest headsets. Mixed Reality Link also supports portable, cloud-based solutions such as Windows 365 Cloud PC, Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Dev Box and others. The virtual environment, which displays the equivalent of multiple high-resolution monitors, is similar to the Apple Vision Pro.

The stark difference in cost between the headsets makes this a far more approachable virtual working tool for the average consumer. The Meta Quest 3S starts at $300, while the Apple Vision Pro comes out of the gate at a hefty $3,500.

Facebook parent company Meta has been investing heavily in virtual reality and augmented reality technology. The company recently teased a futuristic VR headset that it says will offer VR experiences “indistinguishable from the physical world” as well as Ray-Ban smart glasses with Meta AI live translation and 3K video recording.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/mixed-reality-link-for-windows-11-and-meta-quest-headsets-is-now-available-to-everyone-165545794.html?src=rss

US government is getting closer to banning TP-Link routers

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A number of US government agencies are backing a potential move by the Commerce Department to ban TP-Link routers, according to The Washington Post. Multiple sources familiar with internal deliberations spoke with the publication on the condition of anonymity, including a former senior Defense Department official.

A months-long interagency process involving the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Defense took place this summer to consider the sweeping move. Investigations into the company stemming from national security concerns have been taking place since at least last year.

At the heart of the potential ban is a concern that TP-Link retains ties to China, despite splitting from Chinese corporation TP-Link Technologies to become a standalone entity in 2022. A spokesperson for TP-Link denied any Chinese ties, saying "any adverse action against TP-Link would have no impact on China, but would harm an American company."

US officials told The Washington Post they are concerned because under Chinese law, TP-Link must comply with Chinese intelligence agency requests and may even be pressured to push malicious software updates to its devices. US-based TP-Link Systems said the company is “not subject to the direction of the PRC intel apparatus.”

TP-Link routers are among the most popular in the United States, with the company claiming 36 percent of US market share. Earlier this year however, former American cybersecurity official Rob Joyce testified before Congress that TP-Link’s market share was roughly 60 percent, thanks in part to selling its equipment below cost in order to drive out competition.

The potential ban of TP-Link products is another in a long list of bureaucratic moves or discussions that have come against the backdrop of trade negotiations between the US and China. While a potential breakthrough in these talks was achieved today, a source for The Washington Post said a ban on TP-Link products remains a bargaining chip for the administration.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/us-government-is-getting-closer-to-banning-tp-link-routers-145528317.html?src=rss

Toyota brings Apple Maps EV routing to its newest models

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Toyota battery electric vehicles (BEV) owners can now have Apple Maps help them plan charging stops along their route via CarPlay. Alongside an announcement that the Toyota bZ is now on sale, the automaker says all 2023 and newer battery-electric vehicles can now integrate real-time battery information to help drivers with iPhones find compatible chargers. In the US this would simply mean the bZ4X, which is being replaced by the bZ. 

Apple Maps will take into account factors like battery performance and elevation changes when estimating battery percentages on arrival and charging times.

CarPlay is Apple's in-car infotainment system offering maps, music, calendar tools, Siri and more. While it's currently compatible with over 800 car models, EV-charger routing requires access to the car's battery info, which means automakers must work with Apple to enable the feature.

The integration's rollout remains pretty limited, and before today's announcement the only compatible vehicles were the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the F-150 Lightning and the Porsche Taycan.

Toyota also said the 2026 bZ will have access to the Tesla Supercharger network, opening up more than 25,000 charging locations for the new model. The bZ features the NACS charging standard, first created by Tesla before being open-sourced for the entire industry.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/toyota-brings-apple-maps-ev-routing-to-its-newest-models-164103063.html?src=rss