Technology

Early this morning, China launched a pivotal new rocket, carrying a prototype deep-space spacecraft. China declared the launch a success, and it now paves the way for a slew of critical launches over the next year. This latest launch from the Wenchang launch site in southern China sent a new rocket called the Long March 5B into orbit. A variant of China’s Long March 5, it’s a massive vehicle with four strap-on boosters that provide extra thrust at liftoff. On top of the rocket was a special prototype: a new crewed spacecraft somewhat akin to the deep-space Orion capsule that NASA has been developing to take people to the Moon and beyond. No people were on this flight, but the capsule could be used to ferry people to low Earth orbit or maybe around the Moon in the future. “It is designed to...

ESPN will air live NBA 2K League matches on ESPN2 on three Tuesdays in May, the sports network announced today. It’s the first time that the NBA 2K League, which is operated by the NBA, will have matches aired live on TV in the US, according to ESPN. Some league matches will also be shown on the ESPN app and ESPN.com, depending on the day of the week and when in the season you’re watching. On Tuesdays at 7PM ET, starting today through May 19th, you can watch NBA 2K League matches on ESPN2. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7PM ET, you can watch NBA 2K League games on the ESPN app and ESPN.com. ESPN has not yet announced the broadcast schedule for games that take place beginning May 26th. ESPN has aired more esports as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced traditional sports leagues to go...

Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court heard its first remote oral argument and streamed the event live online for the first time. The case was Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com, an intellectual property dispute that’s potentially important but not very flashy. But it was one of a handful of cases rescheduled for May after being indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it was a largely successful trial-run for a (relatively) high-tech experiment. Justice Sonia Sotomayor may have briefly forgotten to unmute her phone at one point during the hearing. Justice Stephen Breyer’s connection seemingly faltered for a few seconds, turning part of one question into a garbled mess. For most of an hour-plus debate over trademark law, though, the court made a successful first...

Since the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has overtaken the climate crisis as the most pressing existential threat for much of the world’s population. As we adapt to isolation, the warming planet has taken an understandable back seat in the news coverage, although scientists have noted the spread of the novel coronavirus instigating a fall in carbon emissions. But there’s a potential dark side to the virus-related reduction as China and countries across the globe seek to make up lost ground. Far from halting the climate crisis, coronavirus might just temporarily pause our emissions, albeit at different times and rates across the world. Once we get through this (whatever that ultimately looks like), its most alarming facts will still ring true: we only have 10 years to prevent cata...

Today’s best deals include all sorts of tech at different price ranges, including noise-canceling headphones, e-readers, gaming laptops, and even a 4K TV with Mini-LED backlighting. Starting with headphones, we’re seeing a big price drop on the Bang & Olufsen H9i wireless over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation. Normally retailing on Amazon at $500 (or around $300 if you buy from a third-party seller), they’re currently sitting at $200 — the single biggest price cut yet. This model debuted in early 2018 and features USB-C charging, a long battery life, and, according to a post from former Verge editor Vlad Savov, they’re very comfortable. Another perk you don’t usually see with headphones like these is a removable battery. If you aren’t near a power outlet to recharge it, yo...

If you’ve already streamed your favorite series for the third time, and you’ve hit a wall with your latest game, what should you do while you’re sheltering at home? Well, maybe pick up a new skill or hobby by taking a class. There is a huge number of courses available online, from coding to history to languages, and a lot of different resources to choose from. Below, we’ve listed some of the major sites where you can find online classes, some you can attend in real time and others you can pop into at your leisure. While many of these websites charge fees for memberships or specific classes, we’ve indicated which ones also offer free courses. Code Academy offers courses on computer science, data science, and web development. You can sign up for the free plan, which gives you access to 25 co...

<div data-filter_4=" Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen Nothing makes writing feel better than using a fancy pen, and Kaweco’s fountain pen is the perfect way to add some old-school charm to your note-taking, lease signing, or doodling without breaking the bank. Price: ~$19 Amazon Hario V60 Gooseneck Kettle There are many cheaper vessels for hot water, but Hario’s V60 Gooseneck kettle heats quickly, and rarely needs to be cleaned. What’s best, though, is that it delivers a perfect, measured pour so you don’t get carried away with a delicate drink.Price: ~$45 Amazon Dagne Dover Dakota Backpack If you’re going to carry your backpack all day, from home to the gym to work to dinner and home again, you’re going to want something that’s well-desig...

Crucible, a new free-to-play PC game from Amazon’s original game development arm, is launching later this month, the e-commerce giant announced on Tuesday. It’s Amazon Game Studios’ first big-budget original game, as the studio has focused mostly on tablet games released through its Android app store since the division’s launch back in 2012. The game is a sci-fi third-person shooter that mixes together a bunch of popular game designs including components of team shooters like Blizzard’s Overwatch, battle arena games like Valve’s Dota 2, and battle royale hits like Epic’s Fortnite and Respawn’s Apex Legends. The result sounds like it a combination of the game industry’s most dominant competitive titles of the last five years, which could position Crucible at the forefront of the Twitch and ...

William Wang, the CEO of Vizio, doesn’t give a lot of interviews. Earlier this month, he gave one to me. But he didn’t want to discuss the affordable, high-value smart TVs for which his company is best known. He wanted to discuss soundbars. That’s because Vizio is trying, harder than ever, to convince its customers to care about audio. Vizio is no stranger to audio. It was an early champion of providing 5.1 surround sound at an accessible price, making a splash in 2013 with its $330 Home Theater Sound Bar. And for several years, reviewers have recommended the company’s affordable Dolby Atmos products as the best budget soundbars you can buy. For those unfamiliar, Dolby Atmos is essentially the 4K of speakers — it’s really nice, but not all products support it (and neither does all content)...

Facebook is reportedly developing a second-generation version of its standalone Oculus Quest headset, with the successor potentially set to be smaller, lighter, and with a faster refresh rate than the original, per a report from Bloomberg. While there are apparently multiple versions of the Quest follow-up in the mix, it might be some time before the headset launches due to delays in both development and manufacturing caused by the pandemic. The $399 Quest was Oculus’ most console-like headset, promising a full-fledged, self-contained VR setup for a single price, without requiring customers to have a gaming PC setup or additional hardware to enjoy VR content. But the standalone design made it less powerful than traditional headsets, and it was uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time...

Billy Mitchell, who rose to fame hunting high-scores in classic video games, is suing internet game scoreboard Twin Galaxies over its decision to strip him of his records and ban him from its leaderboards, according to court documents seen by Ars Technica. Mitchell is arguing that Twin Galaxies’ statement was libelous, and implied that he was a cheater. A court hearing is currently scheduled for July 6th. Twin Galaxies announced its decision to strip Mitchell of his records back in April 2018 after its investigation revealed that he had not achieved his Donkey Kong high scores on original arcade hardware. While some in the community have accused Mitchell of using the arcade emulation software MAME, Twin Galaxies said it didn’t have enough evidence to support this claim. Guinness World Reco...

In the latest instance of unrest at the company, several thousand Amazon workers walked off the job Friday. The occasion was International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, and the Amazonians joined workers at Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart demanding better conditions for work that the government has deemed essential, and their own employers have frequently called heroic. The protests to date have drawn attention to widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 in Amazon warehouses, the lack of protective equipment for warehouse personnel, and the low pay and draconian sick-leave policies that workers in fulfillment centers have endured for years. And they’ve been effective in at least two ways. One, Amazon increased pay and expanded sick leave as the pandemic spread. And two, as I noted here...