(Photo: @evleaks on Twitter)Logitech announced several weeks ago that it was betting on the future of with a new handheld that supports Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now. While Logitech gave the impression the device was still in the early stages, you won’t have to wait to get a peek — the Logitech G Gaming Handheld has leaked in all its glory. And it seems to have less of a cloud focus than expected. The leaked images come courtesy of @evleaks on Twitter. He , and Logitech filed a DMCA takedown just a few hours later. You can’t erase anything from the internet, though.
(Photo: Raphaël Biscaldi/Unsplash)French tax authorities are using AI to detect and tax homeowners’ dirty little secret: swimming pools. Using an algorithm developed by Google and technology consulting firm Capgemini, France’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has begun aerial images of residential lots and taxing homeowners accordingly. Add-ons like swimming pools, verandas, and home extensions all have the potential to increase the value of a property, resulting in increased taxes. Despite the fact that such add-ons are required to be reported within 90 days of completion, however, most aren’t. Some homeowners simply forget in the chaos of modifying their homes; others, it can safely be assumed, might want to avoid footing a larger tax bill.
The 2016 election is almost six years in the past, but the fallout is still top-of-mind for Facebook parent company Meta. Years of legal wrangling over the has put CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the congressional hot seat and forced numerous changes to Facebook’s privacy and security features. One of the most serious cases against Meta appears to be headed for a settlement. The company has entered into a preliminary agreement in San Francisco federal court that would save Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg from testifying. Facebook exploded in popularity throughout the mid-2000s, eventually becoming the world’s largest social network.
Gram-positive Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria. (Image: CDC)With the recent prevalence of COVID-19, monkeypox, and polio, many of us have germ control and personal health on the mind. While the spread of these viruses is inherently stressful, for once, there’s good news on the disease-fighting front: a new coating can keep surfaces germ-free for months after being applied. Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a durable that continuously kills both viruses and bacteria. It’s clear and can be brushed or sprayed onto a variety of surfaces. Though made with hospitals, airports, and other high-traffic areas in mind, the coating could be used to eliminate germs on touch screens, personal computer keyboards, and even cutting boards.
The White House has updated federal rules to close a loophole that enabled journals to keep taxpayer-funded research behind a paywall. This will end the current “optional embargo” that allows scientific publishing houses to paywall taxpayer-funded research behind a subscription to the whole journal. These costs add up quickly. For a college or university, even the bare minimum of journal subscriptions can add up to thousands of dollars a year, which is a hard sell on a limited budget. And that’s just the required reading. The new rule also expands the definition of a “scholarly publication” to include “not only peer-reviewed articles but also book chapters and conference proceedings.
The 2010s were a period of stagnating mobile development, but smartphones are getting exciting again, thanks in no small part to Samsung’s . Phones that fold in half might not be the end of mobile innovation for the South Korean technology giant, though. A new patent application teases a phone with two screens, but unlike the dual-screen Microsoft Duo, this one would have a secondary transparent display on the back. filed the patent with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in January of this year, and it was just published late last week. It describes a flat, non-folding phone that looks like any other from the front, but the party is around back in the form of a secondary screen covering almost the entire rear panel.
Android apps run on Android-based devices, obviously, but Google wants to connect apps to a wide range of platforms. Google has announced new “multi-device experiences” are coming to Android, and it’s handed developers a new SDK to make it happen. It has tools to simplify device discovery, connection, and authentication, allowing apps on your phone to reach out beyond the Android world. At least, that’s the goal. To start, cross-device apps will focus on linking multiple Android devices together to enable collaboration and sharing in new ways. Google first talked about the Cross Device SDK at I/O this past May, but it wasn’t one of the company’s keynote announcements.
The is changing the way we see the universe. The instrument’s and ultra-sensitive infrared imager can see even more detail than the aging Hubble Space Telescope, and astronomers recently turned it toward an object known as M74, or more stylishly, the Phantom Galaxy. This spiral galaxy was one of Hubble’s most famous shots, and now we’re seeing it in a whole new light. The Phantom Galaxy is about 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. It’s one of a sub-type of spiral galaxies known as a “Grand Design Spiral” because the whirlpool-like arms extending from the core are bright and well-defined.
Seasonal droughts have been with us forever. But, especially in the western US, they are of increasing duration and severity. Unfortunately, that trend is expected to continue. The result is less water that’s available for people to use—which means higher prices and, increasingly, various forms of rationing. Commercial-scale users have long had tools for monitoring their usage and allowing them to make smart reductions. Until recently, homeowners have mostly only had vague guidelines like “take shorter showers, water less often, get rid of lawns that need irrigation,” and so on. Flume has introduced a slick tool that will allow most homeowners to get a precise, real-time handle on their water usage.
