Places and Things

Sony A1 review: The Alpha of mirrorless cameras Sony’s A1 is a showcase of technology including 8K video and up to 30 fps shooting with a 50-megapixel sensor. It’s very expensive, but its cutting-edge features are likely to trickle down to less-costly cameras down the road. Buy Sony A1 at B&H Photo: https://fave.co/32geOky Get More Engadge Continue Reading . . . https://youtube.com/watch?v=y69b6ozRFJo&feature=share

NASA’s Curiosity rover has captured amazing images of clouds on Mars According to NASA clouds are rare in the thin atmosphere of Mars, but usually form at its equator during its coldest time of year. Scientists noticed that last year — two years ago in Earth time— there were clouds beginning to form earlier than expected, so this year they were ready. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/29/22460017/nasa-curiosity-rover-captured-images-clouds-on-mars

New AI supercomputer will help create the largest-ever 3D map of the universe The newest big-name supercomputer might help solve some of astrophysics' most important questions. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/perlmutter-ai-supercomputer-3d-universe-map-200437484.html

NASA’s Mars helicopter had a midair brain fart NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter ended its sixth flight test on Mars earlier than planned last week after bugging out mid-flight, the rotorcraft’s chief pilot wrote in a blog post on Thursday. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/28/22457316/nasa-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-navigation-glitch-sixth-flight

The places paving the way to 100 percent renewable energy Shortly before Darren Springer interviewed for a job at the Burlington Electric Department (BED) in 2016, the city proudly proclaimed that it would become a “net zero energy city” by 2030. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/28/22457432/city-examples-renewable-energy-net-zero-climate-change-burlington

Microsoft reveals new phishing campaign by SolarWinds hackers The group behind the massive SolarWinds hacks has also been running a sophisticated email-based spear-phishing campaign, according to Microsoft. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-phishing-campaign-solarwinds-hackers-104543747.html

Senate committee moves to raise EV tax credit to as much as $12,500 New legislation could raise the US government's electric car tax credit beyond its current $7,500 cap — but only in certain circumstances. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/senate-clean-energy-for-america-bill-ev-tax-credit-144851759.html

SanDisk’s new card reader dock is all I could ever want and more Western Digital, owner of the SanDisk brand, has announced a new product called the Pro-Dock 4, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted in a card reading solution: it lets you mix and match four card reading modules, which can all be read simultaneously, and connect them all to your computer using a singl Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/26/22455534/sandisk-pro-dock-4-video-workflow-lexar-sd-cfast-cards-thunderbolt

Bose confirms ransomware attack that exposed employee data This year has seen hacking-for-ransom groups carry out a spate of high-profile attacks on businesses as varied as fuel supplier Colonial, laptop maker Acer and Irish and US health services. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/bose-ransomware-attack-employee-data-110550196.html

How to Do Storytelling With Your Images: 8 Useful Tips As a photographer of people and cultures, I spend a lot of time thinking about storytelling with my images – how I can convey emotions and narratives through a few simple frames. Beginners often fail to think about the storytelling aspect of photography, and that’s okay. Continue Reading . . . https://digital-photography-school.com/?p=132253

Google's Fuchsia OS debuts on the original Nest Hub More than four years since it was outed, Google is finally releasing its gestating Fuchsia software to the public. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-fuchsia-debuts-nest-hub-092348144.html

How futuristic floating wind turbines might ride the waves GE shared some new details today of a concept that might advance the development of futuristic floating wind farms. Floating turbines are engineering marvels — or nightmares, depending on how you see it — that could make massive swathes of deep ocean available to offshore wind development. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/24/22448187/ge-floating-turbine-offshore-wind-farm-energy

Netflix is holding a week-long ‘geek’ event in June about The Witcher, The Sandman, and more Netflix is announcing a new week-long virtual event, “Geeked Week,” where it will share information about upcoming titles like The Witcher, The Sandman, and The Cuphead Show. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/24/22448313/netflix-geeked-week-event-the-witcher-sandman-cuphead-resident-evil

Google Photos will help you delete blurry pictures and screenshots Google announced back in December it will no longer offer free unlimited backups of photos and videos in Google Photos as of June 1st. After that date, "high quality" media you upload will count towards the 15GB cap that's shared with Gmail and Google Workspace on standard Google Accounts. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-photos-unlimited-storage-high-quality-blurry-pictures-screenshots-191458720.html

Atomos AtomOS 10.64 for the Ninja V Matthew Allard is a multi-award-winning, ACS accredited freelance Director of Photography with 30 years' experience working in more than 50 countries around the world. He is the Editor of Newsshooter.com and has been writing on the site since 2010. Continue Reading . . . https://www.newsshooter.com/2021/05/24/atomos-atomos-10-64-for-the-ninja-v/

Apple releases tvOS 14.6 and HomePod 14.6 for all users Apple is releasing today tvOS 14.6 and HomePod 14.6 for all users. After a few weeks in beta, the software is now available through the set-top-box and the Home app. Different from tvOS 14. Continue Reading . . . https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/24/tvos-homepod-14-6-available-now/

The needless drama of buying a PS5 Securing a PS5 is not easy, and it feels like it could be. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/23/22434905/ps5-restock-best-buy-walmart-sony-playstation-5

These hilarious wildlife photographs will cheer up your day If you love cute photographs of animals then the annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are a must - and are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. The 2021 competition is well under way - with entries due to close on 30 June. Continue Reading . . . https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/these-hilarious-wildlife-photographs-will-cheer-up-your-day

What Is a TF Card and How Does it Differ to a microSD Card? When it comes to memory cards, there are many different options on the market targeting different devices. Among these options, TF cards and microSD cards are two of the most famous. Many different categories of gadgets use these cards as their primary or secondary storage devices. Continue Reading . . . https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-a-tf-card/

Tech Launches of The Week: Android 12, Apple Music Lossless Audio, Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G & More Every week, we see scores of tech launches across the world and across product categories. This week we saw one of the most important software launch of this year with Android 12. Continue Reading . . . https://www.news18.com/news/tech/tech-launches-of-the-week-android-12-apple-music-lossless-audio-qualcomm-snapdragon-778g-more-3766043.html

Apple says HomePod and HomePod Mini will support lossless audio after future update In a new support document on its website, Apple dives a little deeper into the details around the upcoming launch of lossless audio on Apple Music. Apple now says that both the HomePod and HomePod Mini will support lossless audio after a future software update. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/22/22448933/apple-music-lossless-homepod-mini-support-confirmed

China's first Mars rover has rolled onto the planet's surface A week after the China National Space Administration reported its Tianwen-1 mission had achieved a safe landing on Mars, the Zhurong rover has rolled off of its platform and onto the planet's surface. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/cnsa-zhurong-rover-095207429.html

DARPA helped make a sarcasm detector, because of course it did Between the rolled eyes, shrugged shoulders, jazzed hands and warbling vocal inflection, it’s not hard to tell when someone’s being sarcastic as they’re giving you the business face to face. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/darpa-helped-make-a-sarcasm-detector-because-of-course-it-did-193037356.html

How Apple built the new iPad Pro's Liquid Retina XDR display The M1 chipset. Loads of RAM. 5G. Thunderbolt support. All of these help make Apple’s new, 12.9-inch iPad Pro an almost startlingly capable tablet, one that seems well-equipped to compete against more traditional laptops. (Well, apart from iPadOS’s limitations, anyway. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/apple-ipad-pro-2021-liquid-retina-xdr-display-interview-190046399.html

Should Your Child Get the COVID Vaccine? The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. The Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 to 15 years of age on May 10, 2021. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-your-child-get-the-covid-vaccine/

The new Apple TV 4K lets you play any TV audio through a HomePod Apple might have discontinued the original, full-size HomePod smart speaker, but the company is continuing to add new functionality to it. The latest one relies on you also buying the new, second-generation Apple TV 4K, however. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/21/22447590/apple-tv-4k-homepod-hdmi-arc-audio-support

Ford received almost 45,000 F-150 Lightning pre-orders in under 48 hours Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning is already a hit. Enthusiasts made almost 45,000 reservations in less than 48 hours, according to CEO Jim Farley. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/ford-f-150-lightning-pre-order-reservation-jim-farley-162653871.html

PolarPro | Peter McKinnon Variable ND - Edition II - A Disappointment! Recently I got the PolarPro Peter McKinnon Variable ND - Edition II - ND 2-5 stops, I was going to get the 6-9 stop also but decided to try this one first, because with a price tag of USD 250, I wanted to try one before I got two! I kind of agree with most of the good things people have been saying Continue Reading . . . https://youtube.com/watch?v=2xCuveaBA84&feature=share

Audi is piloting battery-powered EV fast-charging stations Audi has unveiled an interesting high-speed, premium "charging hub" concept that will allow Audi EV owners to make a reservation for up to 300 kW charging speeds. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/audi-is-testing-high-speed-charging-hubs-lounges-100949218.html

World’s Largest Iceberg Breaks Off of Antarctica An enormous iceberg, a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island, has broken off of Antarctica. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/worlds-largest-iceberg-breaks-off-of-antarctica/

Google will open its first retail store in New York City this summer Google is moving beyond pop-up stores to launch a dedicated retail space of its own. The internet giant has revealed plans to open its first retail store, with a location in Manhattan's Chelsea district (part of the company's urban campus) opening sometime this summer. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-first-retail-store-143216473.html

Snap will launch a standalone iOS video editing app called Story Studio later this year Snap wants to be the company people think of when they go to edit videos on mobile, so during its annual partnership summit today, the company announced a new iOS app that’ll help it achieve that goal: Story Studio. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/20/22445373/snap-ios-story-studio-app-video-edit-app-spotlight

Qualcomm brings 10-gigabit 5G to laptops and home broadband Qualcomm wants to make its 10-gigabit 5G modem a practical reality in your PC or home internet service, and it's giving companies a helping hand to speed things along. The company has introduced an M. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/qualcomm-x65-5g-m2-modem-for-laptops-150010082.html

See the Most Bizarre and Beautiful Animal Eyes on Earth The first eyes probably appeared long before the Cambrian explosion that occurred from 541 million to 530 million years ago. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-the-most-bizarre-and-beautiful-animal-eyes-on-earth/

iPad Pro (2021) review: Apple’s hardware may have outpaced its software For the last week, I’ve been living with Apple’s new iPad Pro, and there are two thoughts I haven’t been able to shake. The first is that this might be the best portable computer Apple has ever made. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/apple-ipad-pro-2021-m1-review-liquid-retina-xdr-5g-features-price-130049005.html

Google wants to build a useful quantum computer by 2029 Google is aiming to build a “useful, error-corrected quantum computer” by the end of the decade, the company explained in a blog post. The search giant hopes the technology will help solve a range of big problems like feeding the world and climate change to developing better medicines. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/19/22443453/google-quantum-computer-2029-decade-commercial-useful-qubits-quantum-transistor

Google is finally bringing YouTube Music to Wear OS Big changes are coming to the Wear OS platform. Google announced that it developed the next version of Wear OS with Samsung at its I/O developer conference, where it also revealed that it's (finally!) launching a YouTube Music app for the operating system. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-youtube-music-app-wear-os-051417768.html

Windows 10 May 2021 Update now available, designed to improve remote work Microsoft’s next major Windows 10 update is starting to roll out to devices today. The Windows 10 May 2021 Update focuses on improving remote work scenarios, with changes like being able to use multiple Windows Hello cameras on a single machine. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22442134/microsoft-windows-10-may-2021-update-remote-work-features

Android 12 preview: first look at Google’s radical new design Google is announcing the latest beta for Android 12 today at Google I/O. It has an entirely new design based on a system called “Material You,” featuring big, bubbly buttons, shifting colors, and smoother animations. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/22439777/android-12-design-features-widgets-first-look-google

Google and Samsung are merging Wear OS and Tizen In yet another sign of the growing alliance between Google and Samsung, today both companies announced that they are essentially combining Wear OS — Google’s operating system — and the Tizen-based software platform that has been foundational to Samsung’s wearables for many years. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22440483/samsung-smartwatch-google-wearos-tizen-watch

Everything Google announced at I/O 2021 Google’s Sundar Pichai promised I/O 2021 would be full of new announcements and the company delivered. Across two hours, Google talked about upcoming features for most of its consumer-facing products, including Photos, Maps and Search. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-io-2021-supercut-210712143.html

Apple’s redesigned MacBook Pros with next-gen in-house chips could arrive early this summer The performance of Apple’s M1 chips exceeded our expectations and made the 2020 MacBook Air the most impressive laptop we’ve used in years (it’s also done wonders for the redesigned iMac). Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/18/22441805/apple-macbook-pro-2021-redesign-chip-magsafe-sd-card-slot-hdmi-port

Do People Who Enjoy Science Have a High Tolerance for Disturbing Ideas? What do you think of this month's cover image? We had a bit of a debate about it here at Scientific American's virtual HQ. The illustration is based on scanning electron microscope images of Aspergillus fumigatus, a ubiquitous fungus that can infect the lungs. Continue Reading . . . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-who-enjoy-science-have-a-high-tolerance-for-disturbing-ideas/

Lamborghini plans to launch its first fully electric car before 2030 Lamborghini stands out from other supercar makers for a lack of EVs or even hybrids across its lineup, but the Italian automaker has finally unveiled its electrification plans. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/lamborghini-will-go-fully-electric-in-the-second-part-of-the-decade-114537409.html

Amazon is reportedly negotiating to buy MGM GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty ImagesNow that the streaming video race is about as crowded as it can get, what can Amazon do to lock up more exclusive content? According to rumors reported by The Information, Variety and the New York Times, it's considering spending as much as $9 billion to buy MGM, which Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/mgm-amazon-prime-video-074510816.html

New Google Photos feature makes it easier than ever to search for images Google Photos is one of the most popular photo backup tools out there and its success can be attributed to more than free unlimited backups (only for some time more, though). The service has a powerful search engine that makes finding media as easy as describing it. Continue Reading . . . https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/05/17/new-google-photos-feature-makes-it-easier-than-ever-to-search-for-images/

Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming starting next month After clues in iOS 14.6 beta code and Apple Music for Android, and an intentional tease from the company, Apple has officially announced its spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/apple-music-lossless-dolby-atmos-131659010.html

Savings Snapshot – See This Week’s Special Pricing On Select Sony Gear Don’t miss this special pricing on select Sony gear for your opportunity to save. This week’s deals include $1000 off the Sony Alpha 9, $500 off the Sony Alpha 7R IV, Alpha 7R III or Alpha 7R II, and $300 off the Alpha 7 III or Alpha 7 III + 28-70mm Lens Kit. Continue Reading . . . https://alphauniverse.com/stories/savings-snapshot-see-this-weeks-special-pricing-on-select-sony-gear/

Google is teasing a big Wear OS update for smartwatches tomorrow at I/O A new tweet from the official Wear OS Twitter account is teasing an update tomorrow at I/O 2021 to Google’s frequently forgotten smartwatch operating system. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/17/22440834/google-wear-os-update-io-2021-smartwatch

The Best iPhone Camera Apps of 2021 Just as there is hardly a one-size-fits-all best DSLR or best mirrorless camera for any given user, there is certainly not any single best application for everyone. Users’ needs and preferences vary wildly, especially considering the extensive capabilities of today’s iPhones. Continue Reading . . . https://petapixel.com/2021/05/14/the-best-iphone-camera-apps/