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Showing posts with the label 2018 at 10:04PM Jon Fingas

New Horizons probe captures images at record distance from Earth

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Voyager 1 has held the distance record for a captured image for the past 27 years thanks to its legendary "Pale Blue Dot" photo (3.75 billion miles away from Earth), but that milestone just got smashed. NASA's New Horizons probe took pictures of Kuiper Belt objects at a distance of over 3.79 billion miles from our cosmic home on December 5th. They weren't technically the first images to break the record, though -- an image of the "Wishing Well" star cluster from two hours earlier (below) has that honor. The kicker? That record is likely to be broken again within a matter of months. Voyager 1's achievement lasted as long as it did because the mission crew shut off the camera shortly after capturing the Pale Blue Dot image. That won't be happening with New Horizons. The spacecraft is slated to swing by another Kuiper Belt object (2014 MU69) on January 1st, 2019 and record more imagery in the process. So long as the mission goes according to plan,...

Porsche and Audi will share an electric car platform

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Porsche and Audi are no stranger to sharing car innards (the Cayenne and Macan use the same basic chassis as the Q7 and Q5, for instance), and that's holding true in the electric era. Porsche's Oliver Blume and Audi's Rupert Stadler told Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview that the two Volkswagen-owned brands will jointly develop a common EV platform that will find its way into several models from 2021 and beyond. Audi is already expecting two sedans and two SUVs, while Porsche could build its first vehicle on the platform at the same factory as the Macan. This doesn't mean you'll see an electric Macan, but that suggests it isn't an electrified coupe . Which cars come first and when depends on CO2 emissions requirements, Blume said. It won't surprise you to hear why they're sharing resources: money. Blume said it would cost about 30 percent more for each brand to develop their own EV platforms. It won't be a trivial expense even then. Stadler e...

Broadcom hopes to woo Qualcomm with a higher takeover bid

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Broadcom clearly isn't taking Qualcomm's "no" for an answer. Reuters sources have claimed that the wireless chip giant is about to raise its takeover bid for Qualcomm from $70 per share to between $80 and $82 per share -- a huge increase for a deal that would have already set records . It would also include a "higher-than-usual" breakup fee in case regulators put the kibosh on the merger. While details are reportedly in flux, Broadcom would announce the sweeter offer on February 5th. Neither company has commented so far. This might work. Qualcomm originally rebuffed Broadcom because its first offer "significantly undervalues" a company that's considered a cornerstone of the cellular world. At the same time, this wouldn't address all of Qualcomm's gripes. Broadcom has sworn that it could wrap up a deal within a year, but Qualcomm has said it would more likely take 18 months and could easily run into trouble. A unified company wou...

'Overwatch' pro player suspended for homophobic slur

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The Overwatch League's honeymoon is over. Dallas Fuel player Felix "xQc" Lengyel has been suspended by both the League and Fuel after hurling a homophobic insult at the Houston Outlaws' openly gay player Austin "Muma" Wilmot. After Wilmot used one of Lengyel's signature lines to roast the Fuel following a victory, Lengyel responded on a personal stream suggesting that Wilmot "suck a fat..." you get the idea. The slur violated the League's Code of Conduct, which asks for professional conduct both inside and outside of games. The League initially suspended Lengyel for four matches and fined him $2,000. Fuel, however, followed by suspending him for the rest of Stage 1, which ends on February 10th. He'll also receive "additional resources, focus coaching, physical training and support" to help reflect the principles of the team and the League at large. Lengyel offered an apology to Wilmot, who accepted it. However, this is...