Month: August 2024
Rocket Report: Blue Origin flies six to space; when will Starship launch again?
It seems like we’ll have to wait a bit for ABL to put another rocket on the launch pad.
Welcome to Edition 7.09 of the Rocket Report! When will SpaceX launch the next test flight of Starship? It certainly doesn’t look to be imminent, with SpaceX ground teams in Texas feverishly working to beef up the launch pad in preparation for an attempt to catch the rocket’s massive Super Heavy booster when it returns to the launch site on the next flight. Meanwhile, the FAA is reviewing SpaceX’s proposal to recover the booster on land for the first time. And on Thursday, a NASA official monitoring SpaceX’s Starship effort said the next test flight was scheduled for launch in the “fall,” suggesting it could be a month or more away. Also, we’ve listed the next three launches as “TBD” (To Be Determined) because SpaceX is waiting for FAA approval to resume Falcon 9 launches following a booster landing failure this week, and the Polaris Dawn mission is on hold due to an unfavorable weather forecast.
As always, we welcome reader submissions. If you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Firefly has a new chief executive. Jason Kim, former head of Boeing-owned satellite maker Millennium Space Systems, has been appointed CEO of Firefly Aerospace effective October 1, Aviation Week & Space Technology reports. Kim joins Firefly as the ambitious space transportation startup, which has raised close to $600 million from investors since its 2021 founding, looks to launch a commercial lunar lander for NASA before the end of the year. Firefly is also working on a medium-lift rocket in partnership with Northrop Grumman, with the goal of competing for missions to resupply the International Space Station and launch payloads for the US military and commercial customers.
The Trademark Tug-of-War Over ‘Demure’ Shows a Massive Meme Power Shift
Going back to the days of “on fleek,” creators have had a hard time benefiting from their memes. TikTokker Jools Lebron is poised to change that.
Going back to the days of “on fleek,” creators have had a hard time benefiting from their memes. TikTokker Jools Lebron is poised to change that.
Uber backs Wayve as it targets level 4 autonomous vehicles
Uber has made an investment in Wayve, as the ride-hailing giant positions itself to profit from the moment when (or if?) autonomous vehicles finally go mainstream. The undisclosed investment is an extension of Wayve’s massive $1bn funding round, announced in May. Under the deal, Uber has taken a minority stake in the London-based self-driving startup. “Wayve’s advanced embodied AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric, and autonomous,” said Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve fits a regular car with a range of cameras and…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Uber
Uber has made an investment in Wayve, as the ride-hailing giant positions itself to profit from the moment when (or if?) autonomous vehicles finally go mainstream. The undisclosed investment is an extension of Wayve’s massive $1bn funding round, announced in May. Under the deal, Uber has taken a minority stake in the London-based self-driving startup. “Wayve’s advanced embodied AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric, and autonomous,” said Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve fits a regular car with a range of cameras and…
This story continues at The Next Web
Or just read more coverage about: Uber
Lower Refi Rates for Homeowners: Current Refinance Rates on Aug. 30, 2024
Several key refinance rates ticked downward. Refinancing makes sense if you can get a lower interest rate on your home loan.
Several key refinance rates ticked downward. Refinancing makes sense if you can get a lower interest rate on your home loan.
Home Loan Rates Move Down for Borrowers: Today’s Mortgage Rates for Aug. 30, 2024
Quite a few important mortgage rates are seeing dips. Here’s where experts say rates might be headed this year.
Quite a few important mortgage rates are seeing dips. Here’s where experts say rates might be headed this year.
Groov-e’s wildly cheap noise-cancelling earbuds have a feature I wish AirPods would steal
Groov-e’s new Ultra Buds are outrageously affordable and have a super-useful feature your AirPods don’t support.
Groov-e has just launched a new set of true wireless, noise-cancelling earbuds called the Groov-e Ultra Buds, plus some noise-cancelling over-ear headphones called Groov-e Harmony. I’ll run through the specs below, but the headline-grabber is that both models cost just £34.99 in the UK – so around $46 or AU$68, if and when the models arrive on those shores.
If Groov-e isn’t a name that immediately fills you with confidence for an audiophile-grade experience, know that for us that’s been changing recently – earlier this year, we liked the Groov-e Serenity Sound Machine so much, we wrote a dedicated feature on how much it helped us catch some shut-eye.
Then there’s the company’s reliable, feature-packed and oh-so affordable Groov-e Zeus DAB radio clock, which also gained a very respectable four-star review, plus some crazy-cheap 2023-issue soundbars. So even though the 2019 Groov-e SoundBuds did not receive rave reviews from us under intense review (I helped test them for TechRadar’s sister publication, What Hi-Fi?, and our review of the SoundBuds echoed these sentiments) there is a back catalog of sonic hits there.
A Groov-e feature I wish Apple would implement
The Groov-e Ultra Buds boast 28 hours of wireless audio playback including the charging case (stamina per bud isn’t listed, but based on those figures I’d guess it’s around seven hours, plus three extra full charges in the case) and active noise cancellation – which is rarely seen at this ultra-budget level.
You also get on-ear touch controls and an integrated mic for calls, but the big draw for me is the clear LCD display on the case. No, it’s not a JBL Live Beam 3-esque smart screen, but it does offer a detailed, numerical battery life in each bud. This is far better, in my opinion, than the now-common four-LED light strip on most sets of the best budget earbuds, which can only give you vague estimates of remaining playtime to the nearest 25%.
And, as any AirPods Pro 2 owner knows, you only get one LED on your AirPods case – which means interpreting what green, amber, white, or a flashing variation of the above means for your battery status (unless you dig out your phone).
I’ve spoken at length with our regular contributor and reviewer Tom Bedford about this excellent perk (he owns a set of earbuds that tote a digital display), and what it comes down to is this: it doesn’t matter how effective the ANC is or how good the sound quality, if your earbuds run out of battery 20 minutes after you leave the house and you felt under-warned about it, you’ll be annoyed. And when you consider that when AirPods Pro 2’s head tracking, Spatial Audio and noise-cancelling features are all on, you’ll get about 5-6 hours between charges, I really wish Apple took AirPods’ battery life clarity even more seriously, so you don’t have to rely on your phone to know what it is.
The Harmony over-ears also offer active noise cancelling plus something Groove calls “super bass technology” for a more immersive sound experience. You also get voice assistant compatibility via a built-in mic and a 3.5mm audio cable if you want to listen using wires. They list a 25-hour playback per charge and unlike some of the market in 2024, the design folds nicely too.
Again, Groov-e Ultra Buds are available now with an MSRP of £34.99 (so roughly $46 or AU$68, although availability here is yet to be confirmed) in black and will be launching in white too at third-party retailers from October. Groov-e Harmony are available now, also for £34.99, in gray from Groov-e and will be launching in black at select retailers from October.
How good are they? Check back with us soon…
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Amazon to Launch New AI-Powered Alexa Using Anthropic’s Claude
Amazon is set to release a revamped version of its Alexa voice assistant this October that will be powered by AI models from Anthropic’s Claude, rather than Amazon’s in-house AI technology, reports Reuters.
Amazon’s Echo device with Alexa
The decision to use Claude’s AI models comes after Amazon’s internal software reportedly struggled with performance issues during initial testing. Sources who spoke to Reuters claim that early versions using Amazon’s own AI had difficulty responding promptly, sometimes taking up to 6-7 seconds to acknowledge and reply to prompts.
This new AI-enhanced “Remarkable” Alexa is expected to offer more advanced capabilities compared to the current version. Users will reportedly be able to engage in more complex, context-aware conversations with the assistant.
Some potential features include providing shopping advice for specific scenarios like vacation clothing recommendations, aggregating news stories, executing multi-step tasks from a single prompt such as ordering food or drafting emails, and enhanced home automation with improved ability to remember and apply user preferences.
Amazon plans to offer this upgraded “Remarkable” Alexa as a paid subscription service, with pricing anticipated to be between $5 to $10 per month. In other words, it won’t be included in existing Prime memberships. The existing “Classic” Alexa service will remain available for free.
The move to partner with Anthropic for AI technology contrasts with Amazon’s typical strategy of relying on in-house developments, but similar partnerships such as Microsoft and Apple’s collaborations with OpenAI for ChatGPT integration indicate a broader shift in the tech industry.
Amazon has invested $4 billion in Anthropic, which may have influenced this decision, but the full details of the agreement between the two companies regarding the use of Claude in Alexa have not been disclosed.
Industry analysts estimate that there are approximately 100 million active Alexa users. If 10% of these users opt for the paid version, it could potentially generate at least $600 million in annual revenue for Amazon, assuming the lower end of the expected price range.
The launch of this new Alexa comes at a critical time for Amazon’s voice assistant division. Despite Alexa’s widespread adoption, with Amazon claiming 500 million Alexa-enabled devices sold, it has struggled to generate significant revenue. Amazon’s leadership has reportedly emphasized that 2024 is a crucial year for Alexa to demonstrate its ability to drive meaningful sales.
While Amazon has confirmed its use of various AI models, including its own Titan model and those from partners, it has not specifically commented on the use of Claude for the new Alexa. The official unveiling of the new AI-powered Alexa is expected to take place at Amazon’s annual devices and services event, typically held in September. Tags: Alexa, Amazon, AnthropicThis article, “Amazon to Launch New AI-Powered Alexa Using Anthropic’s Claude” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Amazon is set to release a revamped version of its Alexa voice assistant this October that will be powered by AI models from Anthropic’s Claude, rather than Amazon’s in-house AI technology, reports Reuters.
The decision to use Claude’s AI models comes after Amazon’s internal software reportedly struggled with performance issues during initial testing. Sources who spoke to Reuters claim that early versions using Amazon’s own AI had difficulty responding promptly, sometimes taking up to 6-7 seconds to acknowledge and reply to prompts.
This new AI-enhanced “Remarkable” Alexa is expected to offer more advanced capabilities compared to the current version. Users will reportedly be able to engage in more complex, context-aware conversations with the assistant.
Some potential features include providing shopping advice for specific scenarios like vacation clothing recommendations, aggregating news stories, executing multi-step tasks from a single prompt such as ordering food or drafting emails, and enhanced home automation with improved ability to remember and apply user preferences.
Amazon plans to offer this upgraded “Remarkable” Alexa as a paid subscription service, with pricing anticipated to be between $5 to $10 per month. In other words, it won’t be included in existing Prime memberships. The existing “Classic” Alexa service will remain available for free.
The move to partner with Anthropic for AI technology contrasts with Amazon’s typical strategy of relying on in-house developments, but similar partnerships such as Microsoft and Apple’s collaborations with OpenAI for ChatGPT integration indicate a broader shift in the tech industry.
Amazon has invested $4 billion in Anthropic, which may have influenced this decision, but the full details of the agreement between the two companies regarding the use of Claude in Alexa have not been disclosed.
Industry analysts estimate that there are approximately 100 million active Alexa users. If 10% of these users opt for the paid version, it could potentially generate at least $600 million in annual revenue for Amazon, assuming the lower end of the expected price range.
The launch of this new Alexa comes at a critical time for Amazon’s voice assistant division. Despite Alexa’s widespread adoption, with Amazon claiming 500 million Alexa-enabled devices sold, it has struggled to generate significant revenue. Amazon’s leadership has reportedly emphasized that 2024 is a crucial year for Alexa to demonstrate its ability to drive meaningful sales.
While Amazon has confirmed its use of various AI models, including its own Titan model and those from partners, it has not specifically commented on the use of Claude for the new Alexa. The official unveiling of the new AI-powered Alexa is expected to take place at Amazon’s annual devices and services event, typically held in September.
This article, “Amazon to Launch New AI-Powered Alexa Using Anthropic’s Claude” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
Microsoft’s new RAM-limiting feature for Edge in Windows 11 could make me drop Google Chrome for good
Microsoft might have just found a way to get me to ditch Chrome for Edge – and put an end to my tab hoarding.
Microsoft is testing a new way to limit the amount of RAM its Edge web browser uses – and it could sway people from the market leader Google Chrome.
As websites get more complex (and stuffed with adverts), they use more system memory on your desktop PC or laptop. If you often browse with lots of tabs open at once, and have a few browser extensions installed, the amount of RAM used by your web browser can quickly balloon – and this can result in your PC slowing down, and your laptop battery depleting faster.
Chrome is a notorious RAM hog – though Google has been adding features to address that – so Microsoft clearly sees an opportunity to get more users to switch to Edge. Despite Edge using the same Chromium technology as Chrome, and having the advantage of being installed in Windows 10 and Windows 11 by default, Microsoft’s web browser has struggled to chip away at Chrome’s formidable market share.
So, any advantage Edge can offer over Chrome will be very welcome. While Edge already gives users a way to manage RAM use, as Windows Latest reports a new ‘Canary’ build – which is an early version released to testers – has tweaked the way users can set RAM limits.
Rather than the current slider, there is a drop-down menu that offers the following choices:
No limitMinimal (8GB)Moderate (6GB)Aggressive (4GB)Most Aggressive (2GB)
User friendly FTW
While this new drop-down list doesn’t give you the same level of granular control that the current slider does, it’s a more convenient and user-friendly way to impose limits on the browser, especially for people who might not be sure how much memory they should give Edge.
One thing to note is that Microsoft isn’t kidding when it labels the 2GB limit as “Most Aggressive.” While this mode will be handy if you’re using an older machine with not much RAM to spare, I’d advise against picking it if you have a modern PC with 8GB or 16GB of RAM, as the 2GB limit will decrease the amount of tabs you have open at once, and could impact browsing performance.
Limiting Edge to 4GB or 6GB should see good results, and may free up your PC’s memory for other applications to use, improving their performance.
Being able to set the limit to only turn on when playing PC games is a nice touch as well. It won’t transform your gaming experience, but could make things smoother. Windows Latest also claims that Microsoft is looking into ways to integrate Edge with Windows 11’s Energy Saver tool.
I’ve been stubbornly refusing to use Edge for years, but adding features like this could make me finally ditch Chrome. I often browse with loads of tabs open at once, and while most of the time I use desktop PCs with plenty of RAM to spare, I’m still not a fan of just how much memory Chrome continues to suck up. Plus, when I switch from my gaming PC with 32GB of DDR5 RAM to a work laptop with 8GB of slower RAM, my tab-happy browsing habits start causing problems.
If using Edge means my laptop performs better, and its battery lasts longer, then I might not just use the browser to download Chrome. I’m still not a fan of how Microsoft tries to force Edge on me when using Windows 11, but adding features that actually make my online life better will do more to convince me to switch web browsers than any heavy-handed nagging pop-ups will.
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Understand your body better with the wearables of the future
The Huawei wearable technology that knows your body better
When historians of the future look back at today’s technology, the most important one may well be wearables. That’s because wearable devices are already helping millions of people live better. They’re helping people achieve their fitness goals, and to understand their bodies better. And for people with particular health conditions they’ve helped manage those conditions and deliver much better information to healthcare providers.
One of the most important players in wearable technology is HUAWEI, whose wearable devices provide powerful healthand fitness monitoring features for all kinds of bodies and activities. From the IDC global wrist-worn wearable 2024 Q1 data, Huawei achieved No.1 with 17.1% market share. And now HUAWEI is about to change the world of wearables again forever.
That’s because in August HUAWEI will unveil HUAWEI TruSense, the peak of HUAWEI’s detection and monitoring technology for wearable devices. It’s the technological equivalent of sharpening our human senses, and it takes everything that’s great about HUAWEI’s health and fitness tracking and makes it even better.
HUAWEI’s wearables are the ones to (smart)watch
HUAWEI’s health and fitness products are designed for everyone from enthusiastic amateurs to professional athletes and anybody who wants to get key insights into their health and activity. In the recent year alone HUAWEI has introduced four major new products: the HUAWEI WATCH GT4, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 3, the calorie-tracking StayFit app and the HUAWEI WATCH 4 series.
(Image credit: HUAWEI)
Tracking your vital signs plays a crucial role in both health and fitness. It enables you to track your fitness goals more accurately, and it plays a crucial role in assessing and managing chronic health conditions. Take atrial fibrillation, for example: it’s a condition where an irregular heartbeat can increase the risk of stroke, heart failure and other life-threatening complications. In a study of 6 million people, HUAWEI’s health devices were so good at identifying AF episodes and predicting future ones that the European Society of Cardiology used the study as a reference.
That’s just part of the HUAWEI health picture. The firm has been working in partnership with medical researchers all over the world: cardiovascular specialists in Greece and in China; hypertension experts in Malaysia; with stroke experts in England; and with many more experts around the globe.
(Image credit: HUAWEI)
With wearables, accuracy is everything
Huawei wearables have received medical certification for On-Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor (both in China and other select countries), ECG Analysis reminder (both in China and select countries), Pulse Wave A-fib and premature heartbeat detection Prompts (only within China), and sleep apnoea screening software (only within China), reaching medical-grade standards.
The HUAWEI TruSense System builds on these foundations by delivering the most accurate health and fitness trackingyet. It overcomes technical challenges such as skin colour differences, wrist size variations, temperature changes, and irregular exercise-induced heart rate fluctuations. The monitoring system employs a new multi-spacing optical path architecture, multi-region optical path design, and ultra-opaque glass processing, alongside upgraded self-developed intelligent algorithms.
These advancements enhanced the monitoring accuracy of basic indicators like heart rate, blood oxygen, and respiratory rate to industry-leading levels. Running scenario heart rate accuracy has increased to over 98%, which only has a ±5BPM percentage of error when compared to gold standard levels of heart monitoring technologies. Additionally, the heart rate monitoring feature especially performs well in complex environments such as low temperatures.
(Image credit: HUAWEI)
Investing in the future of health and fitness tech
There are lots of firms making wearables with health features. But HUAWEI has invested in multiple HUAWEI Health Labs around the world to carry out cutting-edge research into health, fitness and technology. HUAWEI’s Health Labs play a crucial role in enhancing consumer sports health experiences, acting as hubs for product research, standards development and testing certification. Their goal is twofold: to set international standards in sports health technology innovation, and to advance the technology of smart wearables.
For example, the multi-million pound Songshan Lake Health Lab features highly advanced laboratories to research how blood oxygen affects our bodies in different altitudes and climates.More than 520 million people have benefited from HUAWEI’s health and fitness features already. And now HUAWEI is taking that tech and making it even better. That’s because HUAWEI’s health labs have made a significant breakthrough in fitness and health monitoring technology, and they’ve built it into something called HUAWEI TruSense.
Introducing HUAWEI TruSense, the smartest tracking system
HUAWEI TruSense System is the most precise, comprehensive, and rapid vital signs monitoring technology to date. It enhances the six key features of HUAWEI’s powerful vitals monitoring technology: accuracy, speed, comprehensiveness,flexibility, openness and scalability. Together they deliver everything you need to understand your body better.
(Image credit: HUAWEI)
With TruSense, HUAWEI delivers massive improvements not just to the accuracy of its tracking but to the intelligence of its algorithm. That’s the enormously powerful system that takes all of your health and fitness data and delivers the key insights and information that you and your healthcare provider need. HUAWEI TruSense makes it faster, more accurate and more useful than ever before.
HUAWEI will launch a range of smart wearables built around the cutting-edge HUAWEI TruSense system this September, to bring a brand new health and fitness monitoring experience to everyone. And that’s just the beginning. HUAWEI is creating the future of health and fitness technology to help all of us understand our bodies better.