Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s been buying up studios for the last couple of years, adding notable developers and game series to the Xbox, righting the wrongs of previous generations of the company’s console — namely the lack of exclusive games. And while the purchase of Bethesda last year seemed the biggest deal made in modern gaming, Microsoft picking up Activision Blizzard blows it out of the water. There’s been a mixed response, however.

First off, the studio is mired in multiple investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the company, with calls for CEO Bobby Kotick to step down. Further, as Senior Editor Jessica Conditt lays out, this puts an incredible amount of industry power — and titles — in the hands of one gaming platform. (Two if you include PC.)

Christian Petersen via Getty Images

And what about exclusivity? In his blog post about the acquisition, Xbox’s Phil Spencer didn’t address Sony or Nintendo platforms specifically, but he alluded to the possibility of cross-platform support. “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms, and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward,” he said, without getting into specifics. Spencer said similar things regarding Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls VI at first, only for his comments to change later.

— Mat Smith

Toddlers and their parents are mad about Google changing its white noise

Nest speakers are now playing a different, shorter sound.

Multiple users noticed that Google recently changed its white noise on its Nest speakers series. A new ambient noise was repeating every 10 minutes, when it used to repeat every hour, with the previously crisp sound file now apparently “muffled” and quieter than before.

There were at least 100 complaints on Nest community forums, with many people saying they use the white noise to get their babies or toddlers to sleep. The feedback reached Google, which has reverted the feature back to how it was. Rest easy, angry toddlers.

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COVIDTests.gov is now accepting orders for free rapid tests

You can request four tests per household, and the USPS will start deliveries later this month.

A little earlier than scheduled, folks in the US can now order free at-home COVID-19 tests from a United States Postal Service website. Households can each request one set of four rapid antigen tests. USPS will start shipping the kits later this month, usually within seven to 12 days of ordering.

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Garmin’s new Fenix 7 smartwatches have a flashlight built in

The premium multisport watch has been button-only until now.

Garmin

Garmin’s new Fenix 7 line will now include touchscreens — a first for this series. The great outdoors, with sweat, dirt, gloves and the rest, can usually mess with the proper workings of a touch interface, so it’ll be intriguing to see how this works out. The new watches also include a new multi-LED flashlight, which can alternate between red and white as you run, matching your personal cadence.

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Fortnite’s latest update adds climbable monsters

And Tilted Towers are coming back!

Epic

Say hello to Klombos. They’re climbable monsters with blowholes ion their heads to launch you into the sky. They also offer up items if you feed them. Provoke them, however, and they will attack. The latest update also revives Tilted Towers, arguably Fortnite’s best-known location. While there appear to be some cosmetic changes, you’ll have the chance to revisit the sniper-friendly clock tower.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

The Kingdom Hearts trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch on February 10th | Engadget

Weber’s 2022 smart grill lineup includes gas and pellet options

Logitech’s new Pen is a rechargeable stylus for classroom Chromebooks

‘OlliOlli World’ is a friendly but deceptively difficult skateboarding game

Roku is making a Weird Al mockumentary starring Daniel Radcliffe

Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ series premieres March 30th on Disney+

YouTube (mostly) abandons its original content ambitions

The comedian may have had the final funny say about a certain celebrity divorce on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

Roughly 400 million high-quality N95 masks will be made available to Americans for free from the Strategic National Stockpile, according to an announcement from the White House picked up by countless news outlets early Wednesday. And while that’s great news, the question remains: Why did it take so long?

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A new Canadian study has found that “space anemia” caused by weightlessness is not a temporary issue as once thought, the CBC has reported. “As long as you are in space, you are destroying more blood cells than you are making,” said the University of Ottawa’s Guy Trudel, who led a 14-astronaut study carried out by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). 

Normally, the body destroys and replaces two million red blood cells per second. However, the new study found that the astronauts’ bodies destroyed three million red blood cells per second during six month missions. “We thought we knew about space anemia, and we did not,” said Trudel.

A full year after returning to Earth from the ISS, the astronauts’ red blood cell levels had not returned to pre-flight levels, according to the study in Nature. “If you are on your way to Mars and… can’t keep up” with red blood cell production, “you could be in serious trouble,” said Trudel. That wouldn’t necessarily cause problems in a zero gravity environment, but could become an issue once astronauts arrive on Mars or when they return to Earth. 

[Anemia] is a primary efffect of going to space.

The researchers said that anemia could even be an issue for space tourism, if the potential travelers are at risk for anemia. The study also noted that “current exercise and nutritional countermeasures of modern space travel did not prevent hemolysis and post-flight anemia” with the astronauts tested. 

The study, first announced in 2016, drew from data gathered during Expedition 10 and 11 missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005. Anemia is defined as a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood, a condition that can result in pallor and weariness and affect endurance and strength.

The study didn’t say how such issues could be directly resolved, but suggested that doctors focus on anemia-related issues when testing candidates. “Medical screening of future astronauts and space tourists might benefit from a preflight profiling of globin gene and modifiers,” according to the study. It also suggested that post-landing monitoring should cover conditions affected by anemia and hemolysis.  

Back in 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that companies requiring employees to go into arbitration to settle disputes can add a confidentiality clause to the agreement. Now, the agency is rethinking its decision. The NLRB has posted an invitation for the public to submit briefs on whether it should adopt a new legal standard to determine if gag orders in mandatory arbitration agreements violate Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act, as well as other legal issues. 

Section 8(a)(1) states that it’s unfair labor practice for employers to “interfere with, restrain or coerce employees” when it comes to exercising their right to self-organization. As Bloomberg Law states, this could lead to arbitration agreements that are more worker-friendly, since the absence of confidentiality clauses means they can talk about their issue publicly and ask help from the appropriate administrative agencies if needed. 

Private arbitrations that force workers to keep mum about their issue and the proceedings are a controversial practice. They prevent workers who may be dealing with the same problem to connect, thereby preventing the public and the rest of a company’s workers to see emerging patterns. Companies have landed in hot water for forcing issues like sexual harassment into arbitration in the past, that some have chosen to end the practice. Over 150 Riot Games employees staged a walkout after the developer forced the women who filed sexism lawsuits against it into arbitration in 2019. In the same year, Google decided to end forced arbitrations for sexual harassment cases after a walkout involving 20,000 workers. Airbnb and Activision Blizzard are two other companies that decided to stop forced arbitration for sexual harassment cases.