Enlarge / China has cracked down on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a bid to limit capital outflows. (credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock Editorial ) China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies intensified today, with the country’s central bank announcing that all crypto-related transactions are illegal. “There are usually legal risks for individuals and organizations participating in virtual currency and […]
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Windows 11 hits the Release Preview Insider channel as official release nears
Enlarge / The “official” Windows 11 update, complete with the UI that regular people will see, is now available in the Release Preview channel for Windows Insiders. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Yesterday, Microsoft released a near-final build of Windows 11 to Windows Insiders in the Release Preview channel, which (as the name implies) is generally the […]
NASA seeks a new ride for astronauts to the Artemis launch pad
Enlarge / NASA first began using the 1983-model Airstream for space shuttle missions in 1984. (credit: NASA) NASA has asked industry with regard to ideas to develop an “Artemis Crew Transportation Vehicle” that will take its astronauts from suit-up facilities to the launch pad on launch day. The space agency, of course, has not launched […]
iPhone 13 and 13 Pro review: If you could have three wishes
Enlarge / The iPhone 13 Pro Max, photographed by the iPhone 13 Pro in low light. Imagine you were visited by a genie who would grant you three wishes, but they all had to be about what you want from your next smartphone. As market research and surveys tell it, almost everyone would make the […]
CDC director overrules experts, allows Pfizer boosters for health workers
Enlarge / CDC Director Rochelle Walensky testifies during a Senate committee hearing in July 2021. (credit: Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images) Just past midnight last night, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overruled a committee of independent advisers, allowing for use of a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine booster dose in people with increased risk of […]
Examining btrfs, Linux’s perpetually half-finished filesystem
Enlarge / We don’t recommend allowing btrfs to directly manage a complex array of disks—floppy or otherwise. (credit: Faustino Carmona Guerrero via Getty Images) Btrfs—short for “B-Tree File System” and frequently pronounced “butter” or “butter eff ess”—is the most advanced filesystem present in the mainline Linux kernel. In some ways, btrfs simply seeks to supplant […]
Rocket Report: Analyst dings Virgin Galactic, Astranis moves to Falcon Heavy
Enlarge / The Inspiration4 mission, inside a Crew Dragon, splashes down on Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean. Interest in such tourist missions is soaring. (credit: SpaceX) Welcome to Edition 4.17 of the Rocket Report! After the successful conclusion of the Inspiration4 mission this past weekend, we can now look ahead to some significant launches in […]
Death Stranding Director’s Cut review: More fun, just as divisive
Sam’s Odradek acts as a sensor for BTs. Death Stranding‘s release in 2019 was probably the most anticipated game of Hideo Kojima’s career. The Metal Gear director had arguably become the premiere auteur in video games. He had a reputation for convention-bucking design, meta-humor, and unapologetic cinematic influences. But this project was the first child […]
Apple turns post-lawsuit tables on Epic, will block Fortnite on iOS
Enlarge / A Fortnite loading screen displayed on an iPhone in 2018, when Apple and Epic weren’t at each other’s legal throats. (credit: Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images) Weeks after Epic’s apparent “win” against Apple in the Epic Games v. Apple case, Apple issued a letter denying Epic’s request to have its developer […]
Nintendo Direct highlights: N64 Online in October, Super Mario 2022 film cast
Get ready for the Super Mario film, hitting theaters in a little over one year. [credit: Nintendo ] Nintendo’s “winter 2021” direct-video presentation exploded on Thursday with reveals of serious fan service coming to not only Switch consoles but also movie theaters by the end of next year. The event’s biggest pop-culture announcement was the […]