Sam Rivers, a founding member of Limp Bizkit, has passed away at 48. Learn more about his life, including his career, health battles, and lasting legacy.
Sam Rivers, a founding member of Limp Bizkit, has passed away at 48. Learn more about his life, including his career, health battles, and lasting legacy.
Thieves just pulled off a bold daylight heist at Paris’ Louvre Museum, stealing priceless jewels from the French Crown collection. Here’s what we know so far.
Thieves just pulled off a bold daylight heist at Paris’ Louvre Museum, stealing priceless jewels from the French Crown collection. Here’s what we know so far.
The late Limp Bizkit bassist had a liver transplant years before he died. Here’s what we know about his health.
The late Limp Bizkit bassist had a liver transplant years before he died. Here’s what we know about his health.
Techtober is a busy time for our reviews team as a deluge of new devices arrive before the holiday season. We’ve been hard at work conducting our in-depth testing, but it’s understandable if you missed a review or two over the last few weeks. Read on to catch up all the reviews you might’ve missed, including the latest trio of Google Pixel devices.
Earlier this month, a trio of new Pixel devices arrived for us to put through their paces. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold headlines the group, but the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Buds 2a are also highly capable devices in their own categories. Senior reviews writer Sam Rutherford wrote that Google has removed one of the last remaining issues with foldable phones: durability. “The addition of proper dust and water resistance on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has removed one of the last two shortcomings of modern foldables, which is no mean feat,” he said. However, at $1,799, the price barrier is still hard to overcome for most folks.”
The second-gen Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses may be the best option for most people right now, but the Meta Ray-Ban Display is the more exciting product for many. If you can get past the chunky look and in-progress features, you still have to contend with limited availability and a $800 price tag. “The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, on the other hand, still look very much like a first-gen product,” senior reporter Karissa Bell wrote. “There are some really compelling use cases for the display, but its functionality is limited.”
Microsoft’s collaboration with ASUS has produced a compelling gaming handheld that’s decidedly Xbox. The combination of familiar controls and a full-screen Xbox experience give this device an advantage over its Windows-based competition. “While Microsoft’s first real foray into PC gaming handhelds isn’t upending the status quo and it’s way too early to say if this gadget will save Xbox as a whole, it is bringing some notable advancements,” Sam said. “The new full-screen experience makes launching and playing games on Windows-based devices so much more seamless that it’s kind of wild it took so long to get here.”
Bose never leave the top few spots on our best noise canceling headphones list, but its refresh of the QC Ultra Headphones put the company firmly back in first place. Updates to active noise cancellation, sound performance, battery life and power management are enough to recommend this model over the previous version and the Sony WH-1000XM6. “Similar to the second-gen QC Ultra Earbuds over the summer, Bose didn’t make huge upgrades for the updated version of the QC Ultra Headphones,” I explained. “But what you do get here is a decent improvement over its predecessor.”
Razer’s massive 18-inch gaming laptop has impressive performance, but it’s size and limited battery life don’t offer a lot of convenience. “Personally, if I had to choose between Razer’s current lineup, I’d go with the Blade 16 so that I could actually carry it around and occasionally use it as a productivity machine,” senior reviews editor Devindra Hardawar wrote. “Not so with the Blade 18 — its short two hour and 17 minute battery life (in PCMark 10’s battery benchmark) means you’ll always need to lug around its beefy power adapter.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-new-pixel-devices-meta-ray-ban-display-asus-rog-xbox-ally-x-and-more-130000215.html?src=rss
Rivers’ bandmates Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Lethal paid tribute to the bassist in an emotional statement.
Rivers’ bandmates Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Lethal paid tribute to the bassist in an emotional statement.
Here are some recently released titles to add to your reading list. This week, we read Near Flesh, a collection of short stories by the late Katherine Dunn, and 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun, the revival of the hit horror series.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-near-flesh-and-the-return-of-30-days-of-night-215141747.html?src=rss
It’s been 40 years to the day since the Nintendo Entertainment System made its US debut, and to celebrate, gaming accessory maker 8BitDo has unveiled a line of NES-themed products. The NES40 collection includes a limited edition version of the company’s Ultimate 2 controller that comes with an NES Retro Receiver, so it can be used with the classic console. There’s also the NES-inspired Retro Cube 2 speaker and Retro 68 Keyboard, the latter of which sports a full aluminum alloy build and an eye-watering $500 price tag. All are available for pre-order now.
The Ultimate 2 controller is one of our favorite controllers for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and the NES40 version comes with all the same features, including TMR joysticks, Hall Effect triggers with mode switching and lots of customization options. But with this one, you also get the NES Retro Receiver (a transparent black version that’s exclusive to this drop), four custom joystick caps and a robot keychain that pays homage to Nintendo’s R.O.B. toy robot. The controller set costs $80 and will ship November 18. It’s compatible with Switch 1, 2 and Windows, as well as the original NES using the receiver accessory.
The Retro 68 Keyboard is 8BitDo’s first 68-key keyboard, and it’s made entirely of aluminum alloy. That includes the shell, keycaps and buttons, according to the company. It uses Kailh Box Ice Cream Pro Max switches. The keyboard features the NES colorway (like its similar, much less expensive Retro Mechanical Keyboard) and comes with programmable wireless dual Super Buttons. 8BitDo says it gets up to 300 usage hours on a charge thanks to its 6500mAh battery. It’s compatible with Windows and Android, and is expected to ship in January 2026.
The Retro Cube 2 speaker isn’t just a cosmetic update to the original Cube Speaker, but brings some improvements in battery life and functionality too. The dual-speaker system has three connection modes — Bluetooth, 2.4G wireless and wired USB — and comes with a charging dock. It has a 2000mAh battery that gets up to 30 hours of use between charges. Like the earlier version, it has D-pad controls for volume, playback and pairing. The $50 speaker ships on December 12.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/8bitdo-drops-an-nes-inspired-collection-for-the-consoles-40th-anniversary-183932844.html?src=rss
NVIDIA has taken a big step towards strengthening its domestic chip manufacturing, revealing the first Blackwell wafer made in the US. The hardware company assembled the wafer, which is the base material for NVIDIA’s AI chips, in TSMC’s semiconductor manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
NVIDIA revealed its Blackwell platform last year, boasting a goal of revolutionizing the AI industry through tech giants like Amazon, Google, OpenAI and others who already committed to adopting the next-gen architecture. NVIDIA said the latest platform was more powerful and translated to 25x less cost and energy consumption compared to its predecessor. Now that Blackwell wafers can be made at the TSMC plant, NVIDIA can better insulate itself from the ever-evolving tariff situation and geopolitical tensions.
“It’s the very first time in recent American history that the single most important chip is being manufactured here in the United States by the most advanced fab, by TSMC, here in the United States,” Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, said at the celebration event.
With NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture ready for the volume production stage, the company is still working on expanding its manufacturing footprint across the US. Earlier this year, NVIDIA said it had plans to funnel half a trillion dollars towards building AI infrastructure in the US through partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn and other companies.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/nvidia-shows-off-its-first-blackwell-wafer-manufactured-in-the-us-192836249.html?src=rss
To meet its massive energy demand for its AI and cloud services, Amazon is investing in nuclear power as a cleaner option. After signing agreements to help build nuclear energy projects last year, the tech giant revealed plans for an upcoming small modular reactor, or SMR, in Richland, Washington. Amazon is working with Energy Northwest, Washington state’s utilities agency, and X-energy, an SMR developer, to build the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility.
The SMR has a smaller footprint than traditional nuclear reactors, but will still offer a modular design that can pump out up to 960 megawatts of power. Amazon is planning to help develop four SMRs in the first phase of the Cascade facility that will provide an initial power capacity of 320 megawatts. After that, the facility has the option to expand to 12 units for the maximum energy output. According to Amazon, construction on the project will start sometime before the end of the decade, while operations are expected to start in the 2030s.
Amazon isn’t the only big tech company to lean into nuclear energy to power its AI operations. In October of last year, Google partnered with a nuclear energy company called Kairos Power to construct seven SMRs across the US. A month later, Meta was also looking to build an AI data center powered by nuclear energy, but reportedly ran into a discovery of a rare bee species that held up plans.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-reveals-what-one-of-the-us-first-modular-nuclear-reactors-will-look-like-180721637.html?src=rss
Texas could have a serious legal battle on its hands thanks to an age verification law for app stores that it recently enacted. In response to the Texas App Store Accountability Act, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed a lawsuit that argues the new order goes against First Amendment rights. The not-for-profit trade association has Amazon, Apple and Google amongst its members.
The law goes into effect on New Year’s Day and requires app store users to verify their age before downloading apps or making in-app purchases. If underage, users have to get parental consent each time they want to download an app or make another in-app purchase. Along with those stipulations, the suit claims that there’s an additional burden on developers, who have to “age-rate” their apps for different age groups.
“This Texas law violates the First Amendment by restricting app stores from offering lawful content, preventing users from seeing that content, and compelling app developers to speak of their offerings in a way pleasing to the state,” Stephanie Joyce, senior vice president and chief of staff for the CCIA, said in a press release.
Along with CCIA, a student advocacy group called Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) filed a similar lawsuit objecting to Texas’ upcoming app store requirements. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, the firm representing SEAT and the two high school students named in the lawsuit, said the law “violates the First Amendment by imposing sweeping restrictions on access to protected speech and information.” The law firm also noted the potential dangers associated with collecting personal information, like government IDs, when it comes to verifying identity.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/texas-hit-with-a-pair-of-lawsuits-for-its-app-store-age-verification-requirements-164940290.html?src=rss
