Blue Origin is planning to open new launch sites outside the US

The billionaire space race is continuing to expand across the globe. Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin has announced plans to expand its operations to “Europe and beyond,” the Financial Times reports. Part of this growth hinges on finding a site for an international launch facility — the company has already put down roots in Texas, Washington, Florida and Alabama — but the new location hasn’t been chosen yet. It’s also actively looking for fresh acquisitions and partnerships outside of the US in areas such as manufacturing and software.

“We’re looking for anything we can do to acquire, to scale up to better serve our customers,” Bob Smith, Blue Origin CEO, said. “It’s not a function of size — rather how much it accelerates our road map of what we’re trying to get done.” Last year, Blue Origins bought New York-based Honeybee Robotics, a move that appears successful: The space-based robotics company was part of the Blue Origin team that recently received $3.4 billion to build the lunar lander for NASA’s third Artemis mission. Blue Origin’s biggest competitor, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is handling the first and second Artemis moon landings.

Though Blue Origin was the first to launch, land and reuse a rocket successfully, it has fallen behind its rival due to hold-ups with building its launchers. Blue Origin’s plans for a more global footprint might help them catch up with SpaceX’s progress. Amazon’s Project Kuiper also plans to use Blue Origin’s rocket New Glenn for at least 12 launches between 2024 and 2029 after a few years of delays.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blue-origin-is-planning-to-open-new-launch-sites-outside-the-us-122518232.html?src=rss 

Robert De Niro’s Grandson Dead At 19, Teen’s Mom Confirms: ‘I Wish I Was With You’

Robert De Niro’s daughter, Drena De Niro, revealed the news about the tragic death of her ‘darling’ 19-year-old son, Leandro, in a devastating message.

Robert De Niro’s daughter, Drena De Niro, revealed the news about the tragic death of her ‘darling’ 19-year-old son, Leandro, in a devastating message. 

The Morning After: Twitter limits unverified users to seeing 600 posts a day

In a baffling move over the weekend, Elon Musk said the company would restrict unverified accounts to reading 600 posts per day – and new accounts to only 300 tweets daily. Meanwhile, Twitter will allow verified accounts to read 6,000 posts each day. For most people, that means, short of paying for Twitter Blue, they can spend about a minute or two on Twitter before encountering a “rate limit exceeded” error. Less than two hours later, Musk said Twitter would “soon” ease the limits to 8,000 for verified accounts and 800 for those without Twitter Blue.

Musk claimed the “temporary” limits were in place to address “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation.” The day before, Twitter began preventing people not logged into the site from viewing tweets. Musk did not say what “new” means in the context of an account, nor did he say how long Twitter plans to restrict users.

It’s a challenging change to Twitter when it’s courting advertisers and paid users. Fewer eyes for ads and fewer benefits for paying users.

– Mat Smith

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Apple’s next AirPods Pro could feature a built-in temperature sensor

The company is also reportedly working on new hearing-health features.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is working on bringing new health features to its AirPods family. The first could be a hearing test. Already, AirPods support audiogram profiles, so iOS can tune earbuds to adjust for hearing loss. Some apps, like Mimi, already tap into this feature. Gurman added Apple is exploring how to market the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid since the FDA made it easier for Americans to buy over-the-counter options last year.

Apple is also working on an earbud feature to measure your body temperature. The company already introduced a built-in temperature sensor with the Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra. But a sensor can get a more accurate temperature reading from the ear canal than the wrist. However, Gurman warns both features are “several months or even years away.”

Continue reading.

Cowboy Cruiser e-bike offers a more upright ride

The new model allows for a Dutch riding style and has a wider saddle.

Cowboy

When Cowboy introduced its Adaptive Power update earlier this year, I wondered when a new model would arrive. The answer is, well, today. The new variant encourages a more upright design for a relaxed Dutch riding position. It also has a wider saddle — a feature at the top of our wish list for the Belgian company’s latest iteration. The e-bike has a wireless charging phone mount, and, like all its models, its companion app integrates with Google Maps. The Cowboy Cruiser is available for an “introductory price” of £2,690 (roughly $3,400) in black or white.

Continue reading.

Gfycat is shutting down on September 1st

Nothing lasts forever on the internet.

Gfycat is shutting down. Snap, Gfycat’s parent company, said it plans to shut down the GIF database and delete all user content in a few short weeks. “The Gfycat service is being discontinued,” a notification at the top of the website reads. Gfycat’s impending demise won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has tried to use the site in recent months. In May, Motherboard reported Snap had allowed Gfycat’s security certificates to expire. The oversight meant the platform temporarily became inaccessible to most internet users.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-twitter-limits-unverified-users-to-seeing-600-posts-a-day-113153535.html?src=rss 

Amazon is offering a $5 credit when you buy a $50 eGift card for Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day starts on July 11th, and based on the early access deals we’ve seen so far, you can expect some exceptional savings. Now, the retailer is adding a small additional Prime Day bonus with a $5 promo credit if you purchase a $50 Amazon eGift Card for someone special (yourself included).

You’ll want to check the lengthy terms & conditions, but the basic idea is this: If you purchase a $50 (or higher) eGift card between today and July 10th at 11:59 PST, you’ll get a $5 promotional code that must be cashed in by August 25th, 2023. The main things to note are that it can only be applied to products sold by Amazon.com (not third parties) or any e-books, and that you won’t be refunded the $5 promo credit if you return or cancel that order. 

If you’re good with all that, there are already a number of options to use it. For example, Amazon’s Fire HD tablet is $75 or half off the regular price, and other Amazon products like its all new Echo Buds and Eero Pro mesh WiFi router carry significant savings. Other stellar deals include the 2023 Motorola Razr+ flip phone at $850 ($150) off and the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) at $199 ($50 off). If you really want to max out that $5 promo in terms of percentage, you can get Samsung’s Pro Plus 128GB microSD memory card for $9 ($14 – $5), making it exactly half off. 

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-offering-a-5-credit-when-you-buy-a-50-egift-card-for-prime-day-094827231.html?src=rss 

‘The Idol’ Ending Explained: Did Jocelyn Dump Tedros For Good?

After 5 truly wild episodes, ‘The Idol’s first season has come to an end. Jocelyn had to make massive decisions about her future as her career reached a turning point. Here’s how it all went down.

After 5 truly wild episodes, ‘The Idol’s first season has come to an end. Jocelyn had to make massive decisions about her future as her career reached a turning point. Here’s how it all went down. 

Cowboy Cruiser e-bike offers a more upright ride

When premium e-bike maker Cowboy introduced its Adaptive Power update earlier this year, Engadget’s Mat Smith wondered when a new model would arrive. We have the answer today as the company announced the Cowboy Cruiser. The new variant encourages a more upright design for a relaxed Dutch riding position. It also includes a wider saddle — a feature that was at the top of our wish list for the Belgian company’s latest iteration.

The Cowboy Cruiser weighs 19.3 kg (42.5 lbs) and includes comfort grips and a “distinctive raised and curved handlebar to facilitate a natural hand position.” Its saddle is wider and has an increased gear ratio compared to previous models. The e-bike has a wireless charging phone mount, and, like with all of its models, its companion app integrates with Google Maps. In addition, it has a removable battery, carbon belt, mudguards and “puncture-resistant” 47mm tires. Of course, all of the company’s models have crash detection.

Cowboy

With its lineup getting more crowded, Cowboy renamed its existing e-bikes, “making it easier for customers to find the e-bike which best suits their personal needs.” The original C4 model is now called the Cowboy Classic, and the C4ST becomes the Cruiser ST.

The Cowboy Cruiser is available starting today for an “introductory price” of £2,690 ($3,393.43). You can buy it in black and sand colorways from the company website or any of its 300 retail partners across Europe.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cowboy-cruiser-e-bike-offers-a-more-upright-ride-000010102.html?src=rss 

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Spotted Holding Hands In Santa Barbara: Photos

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were apparently leaving an office building and were laughing and chatting with each other during the stroll.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were apparently leaving an office building and were laughing and chatting with each other during the stroll. 

Valve won’t publish games that feature copyright-infringing AI assets

Earlier this week, reports began surfacing that Valve was refusing to publish games with AI-generated art and other content. Over the weekend, the company finally commented on the matter. In a statement shared with IGN, Valve spokesperson Kaci Aitchison Boyle said the company is not trying to “discourage the use of [AI] on Steam.” Aitchison Boyle attributed the confusion to Valve “working through” how to account for the technology in its existing review process, which is a “reflection” of current copyright law.

“Our priority, as always, is to try to ship as many of the titles we receive as we can,” Aitchison Boyle said. “We welcome and encourage innovation, and AI technology is bound to create new and exciting experiences in gaming. While developers can use these AI technologies in their work with appropriate commercial licenses, they can not infringe on existing copyrights.”

Aitchison Boyle added that Valve has been refunding submission credits to those who ran afoul of the company’s current rules on account of their game’s use of AI-generated content. It’s not surprising to see Valve attempt to get ahead of what is quickly becoming one of the thorniest issues in tech. We’ve already seen generative AI create headaches for the music industry. In April, for instance, streaming services like Spotify and YouTube spent the better part of a week responding to a copyright claim from Universal Music Group after someone uploaded a viral AI-generated Drake song to their platforms.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valve-wont-publish-games-that-feature-copyright-infringing-ai-assets-204703804.html?src=rss 

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