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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    So Mark Zuckerberg walks into West Coast Customs...

    ...and leaves with two Porsches. The car customizer has continued operations long after its four-season association with MTV’s Pimp My Ride, and now Meta’s chain-wearing CEO is a customer.

    Along with a GT3 Touring, the Zuckerbergs obtained a Porsche Cayenne SUV that’s stretched out and now features sliding doors.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    We’re so (on our way) back.

    This morning, the European Space Agency launched its Hera mission, which will revisit Didymos, the asteroid system that NASA’s Dart operation punched in 2022.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    343 Industries becomes Halo Studios and teases Unreal Engine 5-powered Halo experiences.

    Last year’s “Tatanka” rumor of a technology switch is confirmed, with these clips from a new “research project” dubbed Project Foundry and a new studio name.

    According to Halo Studios head Pierre Hintze, the UE5 move “allows us to put all the focus on making multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible,” while this preview shows what to expect in future projects.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    It is Bandcamp Friday.

    For another 8 hours or so, it’s still time for the monthly event where Bandcamp foregoes its revenue split with artists. It’s also now a sponsored event if that matters to you, but the music probably still sounds the same.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    GM is looking “aggressively” to build a Level 3 autonomous system.

    So what’s next after Super Cruise? GM exec Dave Richardson tells TechCrunch the company could follow Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot by also offering a hands-off, eyes-off system:

    We’re looking aggressively to make that an L3 solution, where you don’t even have to look at the road anymore.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    “Google did not request that Samsung create their Auto Blocker feature.”

    That’s according to Google’s head of Android security, David Kleidermacher, who is publicly pushing back on the claims made by Epic Games in its new lawsuit against Google and Samsung.

    Earlier, Samsung said it plans to “vigorously contest Epic Game’s baseless claims.”

    That’s why Google offers its own safety features such as Google Play Protect, which checks for harmful apps on a user’s device, regardless of where the app was downloaded. Android device makers are free to innovate and design additional safety features for their devices. To make this about access to a game is deliberately misleading; this is about user safety. And Epic’s lawsuit puts their corporate interests above user protections.
    Screenshot: @daveksecure (X)
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    “Blackout zones” created by Hurricane Helene connect via temporary cell towers, Starlink.

    A report by CBS 17 in Raleigh goes into how some of the communities in North Carolina’s mountains are communicating after the floods.

    In Asheville, they said some people and organizations with Starlink satellite dishes have set them up at shelters so others can get online, along with “Satellite Cells on Light Trucks” and other temporary cellular towers.