Places and Things

California formally bans the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 The California Air Resources Board has issued a rule (PDF) that formally bans the sale of fully gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/california-gas-powered-vehicle-sale-ban-2035-161505630.html

Nintendo says it has ‘no plans’ to increase Switch prices Nintendo’s Switch console won’t be added to the list of price-hiked tech products impacted by inflation. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/26/23323138/nintendo-switch-console-price-increase-inflation-no-plans

Google is taking reservations to talk to its supposedly-sentient chatbot At the I/O 2022 conference this past May, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company would, in the coming months, gradually avail its experimental LaMDA 2 conversational AI model to select beta users. Those months have come. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/google-begins-taking-reservations-for-its-upcoming-ai-test-kitchen-210023173.html

The O․MG Elite cable is a scarily stealthy hacker tool I didn’t think I would be scared of a USB cable until I went to Def Con. But that’s where I first learned about the O.MG Cable. Released at the notorious hacker conference, the Elite cable wowed me with a combination of technical prowess and its extremely stealth design. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/23321517/omg-elite-cable-hacker-tool-review-defcon

Splatoon 3 puts online play, fashion, and hair front and center Despite feeling uncannily similar to play as past installments, Splatoon 3 is packed with smart changes and updates that will likely lead to people — or at least, me — keeping the game in rotation for much longer than before. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23309837/splatoon-3-hands-on-campaign-turf-war-salmon-run-online

Google admits its Google TV software is too slow Google has been working on making its TV experience faster, more responsive, and less of a hassle for users. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/22/23316875/google-tv-performance-improvements-storage-free-up-space

Android 13 arrives for Pixel phones starting today This year’s major Android update, Android 13, is officially releasing today for Google’s Pixel phones, the search giant has announced. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/15/23306058/android-13-release-date-pixel-devices-features