To get started with competitive Pokémon battles, all you need is your phone. But to compete at the highest level, like at the Pokémon World Championships, you’re going to need a Switch. And there doesn’t seem to be a good reason why. Battle simulator Pokémon Champions originally launched on the Switch and Switch 2 in … Read more
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on e-bikes, power stations, and how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. With a deep breath, I took the cable seething … Read more
A prominent US senator is asking the National Security Agency to provide guidance to the general public on best practices for using virtual private networks to secure their communications from spying by foreign adversaries. VPNs funnel all of a user’s Internet traffic through an encrypted connection to a remote server. The design provides strong assurances … Read more
Data deluge The outbreak began in December 2022 at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center in Madison. Non-human primates are natural hosts for Shigella, like humans, and it’s not uncommon for outbreaks to flare at such facilities now and then. But it is unusual for an outbreak to be so big and last so long. … Read more
In 2020, Microsoft announced that Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions would include unlimited access to its new Xbox Cloud Gaming service (then still known as Project xCloud). Now, that kind of streaming buffet service is coming to an end, as Microsoft announced strict new limits on how much streaming is included in its various Game Pass subscriptions. … Read more
“We know that after about three years, it will be wise to replace your battery with a new one,” said Hatton. “Batteries aren’t meant to last forever, but your phone on the whole can last a lot longer than a battery.” While the Fairphone is designed to be disassembled, what about the long haul? The … Read more
Galactic Energy’s Pallas-1 launches on first flight. Chinese commercial launch company Galactic Energy announced it successfully launched its first Pallas-1 rocket Monday, with future flights to attempt first stage recovery, Space News reports. The Pallas-1 is the sixth new Chinese rocket to debut this year, and the fifth with a potentially recoverable and reusable booster … Read more
The normally genteel world of international space policy turned ugly this week as several prominent US space companies—including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, K2, and Starcloud—pulled out of a high-profile French space summit organized by the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron. Politico first reported the diplomatic turmoil, saying that the White House “pressured” US space companies … Read more
Two more news organizations are suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the supposed use of their journalism to train AI. A lawsuit filed by The Seattle Times and Newsday argued that with the advent of AI, the journalism industry could become “broken beyond repair.” The lawsuit described generative AI as “a snake eating its own tail” … Read more
I love field recordings. I love making them. I love them when they’re incorporated into my ambient music. They’re great background noise for working or sleeping. But they’re also great for active listening, focusing in on the fine nuances of burbling brooks or urban chaos. Earth Garden gives you a globe to explore with real … Read more