Month: May 2024
Jeep’s first EV is the 600 horsepower, 300-mile-range Wagoneer S
Jeep invented the luxury SUV in 1963. Now it’s made an electric one.
Enlarge / Jeep is ready to join the electric SUV fray with the new Wagoneer S, which goes on sale later this year. (credit: Jeep)
The Jeep brand has finally debuted its first purpose-built electric vehicle. It’s targeting the hotly contested SUV segment with the new Wagoneer S, which goes on sale this fall. But other than its name, it shares little with the gasoline-powered Wagoneer; the Wagoneer S uses the same EV architecture—called STLA Large—as the forthcoming electric Dodge Charger.
It looks like Jeep is using a similar playbook to Dodge and Ram as it introduces its electric models: Give them the same name and styling as a familiar bestseller to keep customers comfortable, then give them serious power output and some headline-grabbing numbers to generate a halo effect.
Powerful
That’s why the Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition will offer 600 hp (447 kW), 617 lb-ft (837 Nm), and a 0–60 mph (0-98 km/h) time of 3.4 seconds. It’s powered by a 100.5 kWh battery pack with nickel manganese cobalt chemistry operating at 400 V.
‘Quest 3S’ could be the name of Meta’s more affordable VR headset
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge
Meta appears to have confirmed the name of its next virtual reality headset: the Quest 3S. In a Quest Store listing spotted by UploadVR, Meta lists the Quest 3S as a supported device.
At this time of writing, you can see the Quest 3S listed alongside the Quest 3, Quest, Pro, and Quest 2 in the listing for the upcoming Alo Moves XR app. Other upcoming titles, such as Miracle Pool and Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition, also include the Quest 3S. The Verge reached out to Meta with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Image: The Verge
The Alo Moves XR app lists the Quest 3S as a supported headset.
The Quest 3S could be a more affordable version of the Quest 3 headset the company launched in October 2023, but there’s a lot unknown about the new device. In March, a leaked image shared by @ZGFTECH showed what could be the cheaper Quest 3 with no passthrough cameras. However, a more recent leak seems to contradict this, claiming it comes with two 4MP RGB passthrough cameras.
Last year, The Verge’s Alex Heath reported on an internal presentation made by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s vice president of VR, that referenced a cheaper Quest headset on the company’s product roadmap. During the presentation, Rabkin mentioned launching a more “accessible” headset codenamed Ventura. At the time, Rabkin said the goal was to “pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.”
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge
Meta appears to have confirmed the name of its next virtual reality headset: the Quest 3S. In a Quest Store listing spotted by UploadVR, Meta lists the Quest 3S as a supported device.
At this time of writing, you can see the Quest 3S listed alongside the Quest 3, Quest, Pro, and Quest 2 in the listing for the upcoming Alo Moves XR app. Other upcoming titles, such as Miracle Pool and Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition, also include the Quest 3S. The Verge reached out to Meta with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Image: The Verge
The Alo Moves XR app lists the Quest 3S as a supported headset.
The Quest 3S could be a more affordable version of the Quest 3 headset the company launched in October 2023, but there’s a lot unknown about the new device. In March, a leaked image shared by @ZGFTECH showed what could be the cheaper Quest 3 with no passthrough cameras. However, a more recent leak seems to contradict this, claiming it comes with two 4MP RGB passthrough cameras.
Last year, The Verge’s Alex Heath reported on an internal presentation made by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s vice president of VR, that referenced a cheaper Quest headset on the company’s product roadmap. During the presentation, Rabkin mentioned launching a more “accessible” headset codenamed Ventura. At the time, Rabkin said the goal was to “pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.”
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is $65 off at Wellbots for a limited time
The Pixel Watch 2, like the first-gen model, comes in just one size of 41mm that should fit most wrists. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is on sale for a new low price of $284.99 ($65 off) at Wellbots when you use code VERGEWATCH65 until June 16th — giving you ample time to pick one up for any Android phone-owning dads in your life, if you’re so inclined.
The moment the Pixel Watch 2 was released, it quickly became one of the best Android smartwatches around as well as one of the best Fitbit fitness trackers. That’s mostly due to the sophomore device maintaining the things that made the original compelling (like its svelte circular design) and fixing its biggest problem: battery life.
The Pixel Watch 2 can confidently get through a day of use (yes, that’s saying a lot compared to the first-gen), offering you ample notifications on your wrist and an array of fitness tracking through the Google-owned Fitbit app. It also supports Google’s excellent Safety Check feature, allowing a trusted contact to see your location for a limited time with just a few taps.
Another pretty good deal from Pixel land
The Google Pixel Tablet is also on a pretty good sale at Wellbots, knocking the base 128GB model down to $409 ($90 off) when you use code VERGEPIX90 and the 256GB configuration to $489 ($110 off) with code VERGEPIX110. We’ve seen better prices before on Google’s 11-inch slate and its handy speaker dock that doubles as its charging station, but it’s worth your attention if Android tablets are your thing.
The Pixel Watch 2, like the first-gen model, comes in just one size of 41mm that should fit most wrists. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is on sale for a new low price of $284.99 ($65 off) at Wellbots when you use code VERGEWATCH65 until June 16th — giving you ample time to pick one up for any Android phone-owning dads in your life, if you’re so inclined.
The moment the Pixel Watch 2 was released, it quickly became one of the best Android smartwatches around as well as one of the best Fitbit fitness trackers. That’s mostly due to the sophomore device maintaining the things that made the original compelling (like its svelte circular design) and fixing its biggest problem: battery life.
The Pixel Watch 2 can confidently get through a day of use (yes, that’s saying a lot compared to the first-gen), offering you ample notifications on your wrist and an array of fitness tracking through the Google-owned Fitbit app. It also supports Google’s excellent Safety Check feature, allowing a trusted contact to see your location for a limited time with just a few taps.
Another pretty good deal from Pixel land
The Google Pixel Tablet is also on a pretty good sale at Wellbots, knocking the base 128GB model down to $409 ($90 off) when you use code VERGEPIX90 and the 256GB configuration to $489 ($110 off) with code VERGEPIX110. We’ve seen better prices before on Google’s 11-inch slate and its handy speaker dock that doubles as its charging station, but it’s worth your attention if Android tablets are your thing.
The lack of a GTA6 PC announcement may be followed by an announcement, or it might not be – as Take Two’s CEO turns into The Riddler
Let’s look at what we know about Grand Theft Auto VI in relation to a PC version. We know there… Continue reading The lack of a GTA6 PC announcement may be followed by an announcement, or it might not be – as Take Two’s CEO turns into The Riddler
The post The lack of a GTA6 PC announcement may be followed by an announcement, or it might not be – as Take Two’s CEO turns into The Riddler appeared first on ReadWrite.
Let’s look at what we know about Grand Theft Auto VI in relation to a PC version. We know there has been no mention of one yet. We also know that Rockstar has an (annoying) habit of letting console releases settle in the wild for anything up to a couple of years before yelling “Surprise! Here’s the PC version!”. So with that in mind, we are expecting a PC version of GTA 6, even though none has been announced yet and likely won’t be for a good while considering we are still some way out from even a first look.
So what we would really like is for Take Two’s CEO, the amazing super-villain named Strauss Zelmick to give an interview where he is directly asked whether the lack of a PC announcement was set in stone, or maybe, just maybe, Rockstar would announce a PC version down the line.
Now, we didn’t really expect him to answer it, but, riddle me this, “Well, the lack of an announcement is not something that could be set in stone as near as I could tell, because the only thing that happens after the lack of an announcement is an announcement, I suppose, or a continuing lack of an announcement “
Firstly, I have never seen the word ‘announcement’ so many times, it makes me cross-eyed, and secondly, this is possibly the best answer to a pointless question in the history of mankind.
The interview was at a TD Cowen conference this week, as reported by VGC, and not surprisingly Zelnick did not slip up and just blurt out the PC date and put his head in his hands.
He continued on, “But Rockstar has an approach to platforms which we’ve seen before, and they will make more announcements in due time. I do believe that the right strategy for our business is to be where the consumer is, and historically what this company has done is address consumers anywhere they are, on any platform that makes sense, over time.”
Even that one could probably do with about 50% fewer words, but we are taking that as encouragement for the PC version. Sony has recently boarded the PC train realising that there is big business with good quality console conversions and indicating that PC versions make sense to more than just the people that buy them.
We would be hugely surprised if we are sat here in three years time still awaiting the announcement of an announcement of the PC version.
The post The lack of a GTA6 PC announcement may be followed by an announcement, or it might not be – as Take Two’s CEO turns into The Riddler appeared first on ReadWrite.
Recycling Old Copper Wires Could Be Worth Billions For Telcos
Increasingly redundant copper wires may be worth over $7 billion to telecommunications firms, should they take the trouble to recycle them. From a report: The estimate comes from British engineering company TXO, which claims there’s up to 800,000 metric tons of copper wiring that could be harvested in the next ten years. TXO claims over a dozen telcos are investigating extracting copper wires from old networks to sell on the open market. The need for copper wiring is declining as carriers adopt fiber optics, which have superior carrying capacity — one upcoming fiber technology is expected to increase the data capacity of undersea cables by 12 times.
While repurposing old stuff isn’t unusual, recycling copper can be particularly valuable as the conductive metal is a crucial material for things like solar panels and batteries, which rely on old-school electrical wiring. A 2022 report from S&P Global estimated demand for copper would double by 2035 — from 25 million metric tons in 2022 to 50 million — and since the copper mining industry reportedly won’t be able to keep up with demand, that means higher prices. Copper is already 50 percent more expensive since the COVID-19 pandemic, and prices will likely continue to increase.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Increasingly redundant copper wires may be worth over $7 billion to telecommunications firms, should they take the trouble to recycle them. From a report: The estimate comes from British engineering company TXO, which claims there’s up to 800,000 metric tons of copper wiring that could be harvested in the next ten years. TXO claims over a dozen telcos are investigating extracting copper wires from old networks to sell on the open market. The need for copper wiring is declining as carriers adopt fiber optics, which have superior carrying capacity — one upcoming fiber technology is expected to increase the data capacity of undersea cables by 12 times.
While repurposing old stuff isn’t unusual, recycling copper can be particularly valuable as the conductive metal is a crucial material for things like solar panels and batteries, which rely on old-school electrical wiring. A 2022 report from S&P Global estimated demand for copper would double by 2035 — from 25 million metric tons in 2022 to 50 million — and since the copper mining industry reportedly won’t be able to keep up with demand, that means higher prices. Copper is already 50 percent more expensive since the COVID-19 pandemic, and prices will likely continue to increase.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Spain blocks Facebook and Instagram from deploying election features
Spain has blocked Meta from rolling out election-focused features on Facebook and Instagram in the country. Data protection agency AEPD used emergency powers stipulated in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ban the Election Day Information and Voter Information Unit tools for up to three months as a precautionary measure.
Meta planned to deploy these tools ahead of the European Parliament election. The company said it designed them to “respect users’ privacy and comply with the GDPR” and while it disagrees with the AEPD’s stance, Meta told TechCrunch it will comply with the order.
The agency took aim at how Meta planned to process data via the tools. It said there was no justification for the collection of age data (due to an inability to verify the ages users have on their profiles) and it criticized Meta’s intent to retain the data after the June election. It claimed this plan “reveals an additional purpose for the processing operation.”
Other data that Meta planned to process via the election tools included user interactions with those features as well as gender information. “The agency considers that the collection and conservation of data planned by the company would seriously put at risk the rights and freedoms of Instagram and Facebook users, who would see an increase in the volume of information that it collects about them, allowing the creation of more complex, detailed and exhaustive profiles, generating more intrusive treatments,” the AEPD said in a statement translated from Spanish. It also cited concerns about such data being made available to third parties for “non-explicit purposes.”
The AEPD asserts that Meta plans to use the tools to remind eligible Facebook and Instagram users in the EU to vote. The watchdog claims that Meta will identify users as eligible voters based on IP addresses and profile data about where they live. However, to vote in the election, the only requirement is to be an adult national of any EU member state.
According to the AEPD, Meta’s approach targets non-EU citizens who live in member countries while leaving out EU citizens who don’t reside in the bloc. It called the company’s treatment of user data “unnecessary, disproportionate and excessive,” according to Reuters.
The European Commission has raised concerns about Meta’s approach to elections as well. In April, the bloc opened an investigation into the company over its election policies.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spain-blocks-facebook-and-instagram-from-deploying-election-features-145013368.html?src=rss
Spain has blocked Meta from rolling out election-focused features on Facebook and Instagram in the country. Data protection agency AEPD used emergency powers stipulated in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ban the Election Day Information and Voter Information Unit tools for up to three months as a precautionary measure.
Meta planned to deploy these tools ahead of the European Parliament election. The company said it designed them to “respect users’ privacy and comply with the GDPR” and while it disagrees with the AEPD’s stance, Meta told TechCrunch it will comply with the order.
The agency took aim at how Meta planned to process data via the tools. It said there was no justification for the collection of age data (due to an inability to verify the ages users have on their profiles) and it criticized Meta’s intent to retain the data after the June election. It claimed this plan “reveals an additional purpose for the processing operation.”
Other data that Meta planned to process via the election tools included user interactions with those features as well as gender information. “The agency considers that the collection and conservation of data planned by the company would seriously put at risk the rights and freedoms of Instagram and Facebook users, who would see an increase in the volume of information that it collects about them, allowing the creation of more complex, detailed and exhaustive profiles, generating more intrusive treatments,” the AEPD said in a statement translated from Spanish. It also cited concerns about such data being made available to third parties for “non-explicit purposes.”
The AEPD asserts that Meta plans to use the tools to remind eligible Facebook and Instagram users in the EU to vote. The watchdog claims that Meta will identify users as eligible voters based on IP addresses and profile data about where they live. However, to vote in the election, the only requirement is to be an adult national of any EU member state.
According to the AEPD, Meta’s approach targets non-EU citizens who live in member countries while leaving out EU citizens who don’t reside in the bloc. It called the company’s treatment of user data “unnecessary, disproportionate and excessive,” according to Reuters.
The European Commission has raised concerns about Meta’s approach to elections as well. In April, the bloc opened an investigation into the company over its election policies.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spain-blocks-facebook-and-instagram-from-deploying-election-features-145013368.html?src=rss
Why Spain just banned Meta’s new EU election voting features
Spain’s privacy watchdog has barred Meta from launching two features on Facebook and Instagram that the tech giant says were intended to encourage users to vote in the upcoming EU elections. The tools, dubbed Election Day Information (EDI) and Voter Information Unit (VIU), would send notifications to all eligible Instagram and Facebook users in the EU, reminding them to vote. Both features were set to be rolled out imminently across the EU (except for in Italy, which already has an ongoing dispute with Meta over the matter). You’d assume that the more people that vote, the better for democracy. But…This story continues at The Next Web
Spain’s privacy watchdog has barred Meta from launching two features on Facebook and Instagram that the tech giant says were intended to encourage users to vote in the upcoming EU elections. The tools, dubbed Election Day Information (EDI) and Voter Information Unit (VIU), would send notifications to all eligible Instagram and Facebook users in the EU, reminding them to vote. Both features were set to be rolled out imminently across the EU (except for in Italy, which already has an ongoing dispute with Meta over the matter). You’d assume that the more people that vote, the better for democracy. But…
This story continues at The Next Web