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Microsoft is in the midst of a deal that would bring the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant back to life, according to reporting by The Washington Post. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Pennsylvania plant was home to a partial meltdown of one of its reactors back in 1979.

The deal would make Microsoft the plant’s sole customer for 20 years, meaning it’ll hoover up 100 percent of the power all for itself. Why does the company need so much juice? You can guess. It’s for AI, which is notoriously power hungry. Look, if it takes an entire nuclear power plant so we can ask Bing to whip up an image of Steve Urkel in space riding a skateboard, then we gotta do it. It’s the future… or whatever.

Let’s break it down further. If this deal is approved by regulators, Three Mile Island will provide Microsoft with enough energy to power 800,000 homes. Again, no homes will be getting that energy, but don’t worry. Microsoft will be able to hold a live streaming event to show off some ghoulish new AI video generation tools or something.

I know I’m coming off as a real troglodyte here, but there is a silver lining. This could help Microsoft meet its pledge to power AI development with zero emissions electricity. It’s not as if these companies would give up on AI if there wasn’t a decommissioned nuclear power plant sitting around, so this move could help alleviate some of the strain that’s already being placed on our power grid due to ye olde artificial intelligence.

If approved, this would be a first-of-its-kind deal for a couple of reasons. A commercial power plant has never worked exclusively for one client before. It’ll also be the very first time a decommissioned power plant has come back online. It’s worth noting that the plant shut down five years ago for economic reasons, which has nothing to do with the partial meltdown from 1979. The current plan is for it to resume operations by 2028.

“The energy industry cannot be the reason China or Russia beats us in AI,” said Joseph Dominguez, chief executive of Constellation, the company that owns the plant. I’d take his jingoistic language with a grain of salt, however, as Constellation stands to make an absolute boatload of cash from this deal.

Let’s do some math. Yearly profits from a nuclear power plant averages $470 million. Microsoft will be the exclusive buyer of this energy for 20 years, which totals $9.4 billion. Constellation is spending $1.6 billion to get the plant going again, along with federal subsidies and tax breaks provided by the Inflation Recovery Act. This leaves $7.8 billion in sweet, sweet profit. That’s just a guesstimate, but you get the gist. The company does promise $1 million in “philanthropic giving to the region” over the next five years. That’s $200,000 a year.  

This isn’t a done deal. There are many regulatory hurdles that Constellation will have to jump over. This includes intensive safety inspections from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has never authorized a plant reopening. There’s also likely to be an inquiry into those aforementioned tax breaks, as all of the energy is going to one private company and not serving entire communities. But come on. Steve Urkel on a skateboard in space.

On the plus side, Constellation will need around 600 employees to run the plant, according to the New York Times. Jobs are good. Also, the company says it won’t be seeking any additional subsidies from Pennsylvania. The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan is also looking to reopen for business, but it plans on servicing the local grid and not the gaping maw of AI. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-plans-to-restart-the-three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-that-narrowly-avoided-disaster-161256442.html?src=rss 

You can save big today on the Elgato Stream Deck+ with $30 off the control panel on Amazon. Great for streamers or anyone who wants tactile shortcuts and dials for their workflow, the Stream Deck+ drops from its usual $200 to $170 with a discount and a clickable coupon.

Although the Stream Deck+ sacrifices some buttons compared to the cheaper Stream Deck MK.2, this model makes up for it with four dials and a touch strip. Each dial is customizable and clickable, allowing you to layer different dial shortcuts with each press inward. You can twist them to adjust things like volume, smart lights and in-game settings.

Its eight buttons are backlit and fully customizable. Streamers can use the Stream Deck desktop app to assign functions for things like muting mics, activating effects or triggering transitions. But you don’t need to be a YouTuber or Twitch streamer for it to be helpful. For example, I’m neither and use a Stream Deck daily to toggle preset macOS window arrangements through the third-party app Moom. It’s also handy for text expansion shortcuts or emojis.

The 4.2 x 0.5-inch touch strip displays labels and levels for each knob, giving you a clear visual cue about what you’re controlling with each twist. The touch-sensitive bar also supports custom long presses and page swipes.

Amazon’s sale covers both the black and white Stream Deck+ models. Make sure you click on the $10 coupon box on the product page to bring it down to $170.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice in the lead up to October Prime Day 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/elgatos-stream-deck-drops-to-a-record-low-of-170-in-this-early-prime-day-deal-163729012.html?src=rss 

The biggest theater chains in the US and Canada are giving their cinemas a major upgrade in hopes of enticing more people to watch movies outside of their homes. According to Variety, they’re planning to spend $2.2 billion to modernize 21,000 screens over the next three years — even adding activities audiences can do, like pickleball and ziplining. Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), told the publication that the industry feels it has “turned a corner” and that “audiences are coming back to the theaters.” However, they have to do more to make the shared cinematic experience more enjoyable. 

People have become used to waiting for films to come out on streaming over the past years, after all, and they’re not going out for movies they don’t feel compelled to see as soon as they come out. The total US domestic revenue for this year’s summer box office, for instance, is over 10 percent lower than last year’s. Variety says AMC, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus Theatres, B&B Theatres, Harkins Theatres and Santikos Entertainment have all told NATO that they’re investing money to better their facilities. 

The companies are expected to spend their budgets on upgrading their laser projectors and their sound systems, as well as on installing more comfortable seating, better AC, lighting and carpeting. And, yes, they’re adding new attractions like pickleball courts, arcades, ziplines and bowling alleys, which could change what it means to go to the movies. The image above is a pickleball court at a B&B Theatre cinema. “This investment of resources is the next step in our industry’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that going to the theater remains a unique and special experience for generations to come,” O’Leary said. Whether the strategy works or not remains to be seen, but that these companies are willing to spend a collective amount of $2.2 billion in upgrades signifies that they’re at least in a better place than they were in at the height of the pandemic. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/theater-chains-will-spend-22-billlion-to-lure-you-back-to-the-movies-140054935.html?src=rss 

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio simply cannot stop pumping out Like A Dragon (aka Yakuza) games. The studio and publisher Sega have revealed that the next entry will hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Steam on February 28, just 13 months after Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth debuted. The latest spinoff has a typically kooky twist that’s not exactly kept secret by its title: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

A seven-minute announcement trailer shown at the studio’s RGG Summit features Goro Majima, a regular of the series, explaining what’s been going on with him recently. About six months earlier, Majima washed up on an island near Hawaii with no memory of how he got there, only to be helped out by a child with a pet tiger cub. It didn’t take long until Majima ran afoul of some pirates and swiftly became a pirate captain himself.

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii takes place a year after the events of Infinite Wealth and Ichiban Kasuga’s exploits in that game. You’ll assemble your crew, upgrade your ship, engage enemy vessels and discover hidden islands. Majima will have two fighting styles that you can switch between on the fly. Opt for the Mad Dog option to vex enemies with “speed, agility and flair,” and then switch to Sea Dog to dual wield short swords and “pirate tools,” according to a press release. However you slice it, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii already looks way more fun than the 45 minutes I spent playing Skull and Bones.

While February 28 isn’t too far away in the grand scheme of things, there are plenty of other Like A Dragon-related things to help keep you occupied in the meantime. Like A Dragon: Yakuza, a live-action TV show based on the series, will debut on Prime Video on October 24. The franchise is also debuting on Nintendo Switch the same day with a port of Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the first game.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-next-like-a-dragon-game-recasts-a-series-regular-as-an-amnesiac-pirate-142935001.html?src=rss