Sean Hollister

Senior Editor

Sean HollisterFeb 13, 2024

SpaceX will dispose of 100 orbiting Starlink satellites because of an undisclosed glitch.

[T]he Starlink team identified a common issue in this small population of satellites that could increase the probability of failure in the future. The satellites will follow a safe, circular, and controlled lowering operation that should take approximately six months for most of the vehicles.

It’s a small fraction of the 5,828 Starlink sats in orbit, and SpaceX says it’s deorbited 406 sats previously. Unusual to decommission so many at once, though.

“Commitment to Space Sustainability” (pdf)

[SpaceX]

Amazon Prime Video drops Dolby Vision and Atmos unless you pay extra

Sean HollisterFeb 13, 2024

Sean HollisterFeb 9, 2024

I guess we’re about to test the Infinite Monkey Theorem.

Sam Altman, ChatGPT’s master and would-be chip czar:

openai now generates about 100 billion words per day.
all people on earth generate about 100 trillion words per day.

Lego’s next limited-edition sets could include an Elven Castle and this Sushi Restaurant

Sean HollisterFeb 9, 2024

Sean HollisterFeb 8, 2024

Ubisoft won’t increase VR investment after Assassin’s Creed disappointment.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot:

We have been a bit disappointed by what we were able to achieve on VR with Assassin’s Creed, it did okay, and it continues to sell, but we thought it would sell more, so we are not increasing our investment on VR at the moment, because it needs to take off. We have been very impressed by what Apple came with, and we think it’s fantastic hardware, but we continue to look at this VR business as something that we have to look at but not invest too much in, until it grows enough.

Totilo’s right: no publisher has supported VR like Ubisoft. But it reportedly canceled Splinter Cell VR, and now this...

Sean HollisterFeb 8, 2024

Lego’s new Medieval Town Square is packed with personality.

Maybe not the GOAT, but it comes with a goat... and you can put a cheesemaker, shieldsmith, town guard, weaver, carpenter, minstrel, and barkeep to work in their own little shops and posts. Then rob them blind with the thief or the tax collector. Hey, somebody’s gotta pay for that castle, right?

The buildings are hinged like the castle, too, opening up for play. $229.99, coming March 1st.

1/16

Sean HollisterFeb 8, 2024

After $74,500 in damage, Cablemod is fully recalling its Nvidia 12VHPWR GPU power adapters.

Technically, it began a voluntary recall in December — “STOP USING THEM IMMEDIATELY,” it wrote — but now the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is involved. Full refunds or $60 store credits are available. 25,300 units were sold, with 272 reports of loose, overheated, and melted adapters. Nvidia’s own adapter had a similar issue in 2022.

Two of the recalled Cablemod adapters.

Image: Cablemod / US CPSC

I see your 67W USB-C charger and raise you one with a tiny Macintosh screen

Sean HollisterFeb 7, 2024

After server errors, Lego’s limited-edition fan designed BrickLink sets are live.

They’re all still available for the moment, but the Mountain Fortress in particular is going fast... Update: That’s one’s sold out. More about these unofficial official Lego sets in my story. You’ll need a BrickLink login and a Lego login to snag one. Checkout seems to be working: I successfully nabbed a Parisian Street.