Geek News

Bitcoin mining is a weird industry. Vast banks of dedicated computers solve complex equations to generate hashes worth a fraction of a coin, consuming huge amounts of power in the process. For such operations to be economically feasible nowadays, miners need the cheapest electricity possible. Energy is cheap in certain regions of Asia but many nations there are becoming increasingly hostile to cryptocurrency. China, for instance, is concerned that a sudden Bitcoin collapse could cause economic chaos. More importantly, it wants to cut off cryptocurrency operations near coal-fired energy plants that cause extra pollution in an already-polluted country. The answer, for many bitcoin miners, is to be found in Quebec. The Canadian province has some of the lowest electricity prices in North America, and produces an energy surplus that amounts to 100 terawatt hours over a decade -- enough to supply 6 million homes in a year, according to Global News . As such, rather than turning away ...

If you're watching the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics on TV like a normal person, you may not realize there's another option. I viewed the opening ceremonies, skiing, curling, figure skating and other events in virtual reality on my Samsung Gear VR (2017) headset via NBC's app. I didn't expect the coverage to be as smooth as TV, but I thought it would be a cool way to watch the events as if I were a live spectator. Sadly, with one exception, the experience was spotty and disappointing. During the Rio Games in 2016, NBC broadcast the Olympic opening ceremonies in virtual reality for the first time, so I tuned in to have a look. It was a solid start: Despite problems like poor resolution, I felt like I was there, not watching on TV. Two years is a long time for tech like VR, so when NBC and Intel announced they'd cover the opening ceremonies and several live events once again in 2018, my expectations were higher. Accessing the Games in VR in the US is relat...