Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve been trying to buy a next-gen console, you’re no doubt aware that it’s been quite a challenge due to component shortages. However, Microsoft has done a great job making the Xbox Series S model available over the past few months, and now we’re starting to see our first real discounts. It’s on sale at Woot for $280, which is $20 or 7 percent off the regular $300 price. That’s not a lot, but given that they haven’t been available at all until recently, any discount is appreciated. 

Buy Xbox Series S at Woot – $280

We said that the Xbox Series S was a “formidable next-gen console wrapped up in an adorable package” in our Engadget review, while also noting that it was an “incredible value.” That’s thanks to the compact design (looking at you, Sony PS5), improved game performance and the huge backward-compatible library. 

More specifically, the console can handle games at up to 1440p and hit variable refresh rates up to 120fps, though not many games can do both at the same time. It can’t handle 4K like the Xbox Series X or PS5, but refresh rate is a more important issue for most gamers. You also get dramatically faster load times thanks to Microsoft’s new Xbox Velocity architecture and custom 512GB SSD, though the relatively paltry storage might be an issue for some users. 

Lack of storage aside, the Xbox Series S is already one of the best console deals out there, and even more so at the discounted $280 price. You’d better act quickly if you want one, however, as the deal is likely to disappear soon. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Blizzard Entertainment boss Mike Ybarra has promised in a blog post to “rebuild your trust” in the studio, marking his first comments since Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Blizzard Activision. The developer of blockbuster titles like World of Warcraft and Overwatch has been under pressure since it was sued by the state of California, which accused it of being a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.”

Ybarra promised new measures to improve the company’s culture, starting with tying executive and management compensation to “our overall success in creating a safe, inclusive and creative work environment at Blizzard,” he said. He also outlined new roles designed to address discrimination and other issues, including: 

“A Culture leader who will help us maintain the best aspects of what we have today, and change and evolve where needed to ensure everyone brings their best self to Blizzard; a new organizational leader for Human Resources who will build trust, empower our teams, and help foster a safe, positive work environment for everyone; [and] a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) leader solely focused on our progress across multiple efforts in this area.”

He said the company has tripled the size of its compliance and investigation teams, shared representation data internally, and created an “upward feedback program” to help employees evaluate managers. He didn’t share representation data in the blog, but Activision Blizzard’s workforce is reportedly around 80 percent male. 

Microsoft announced the acquisition while Blizzard Activision was at a point of weakness due to the misconduct scandal, as Bloomberg noted. Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer acknowledged the issues with the studio, saying “we’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.” Microsoft also recently launched a third-party review over its own harassment and discrimination policies. 

There are other unresolved issues with Blizzard, particularly around leadership. It’s still not clear if embattled CEO Bobbie Kotick will remain with the studio, or for how long. He addressed employees yesterday following the acquisition, but many weren’t impressed, noting that he didn’t acknowledge culture issues or potential layoffs, according to The Washington Post.

Ybarra, who only left Microsoft for Blizzard in 2019, was originally installed as Blizzard co-lead along with Jen Oneal to replace former president J. Allan Brack — who was named in California’s lawsuit. However, Oneal stepped down shortly afterward and reportedly said in an email to the company’s legal team that “it was clear that the company would never prioritize our people the right way,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ybarra also seemingly acknowledged recent delays to Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV. “We also know we need to deliver content to our players on a more regular basis and innovate both in and beyond our existing games,” he said. “We have some exciting things to announce, and I’ll be sharing more next week.” Microsoft’s acquisition of Blizzard is still pending approval by regulators. 

Google might have ditched its Daydream VR headset years ago, but that doesn’t mean it gave up on headsets altogether. The Vergesources claim Google is developing an augmented reality headset, nicknamed Project Iris, that it wants to release in 2024. The standalone wearable would use a custom Google processor, outward-facing tracking cameras and run Android, although a custom OS is a possibility given job listings. It might also rely on cloud-based rendering to overcome the processing power limitations of a headset.

Clay Bavor, the manager for the Project Starline 3D telepresence booth (also said due for 2024), is understood to be overseeing the highly secretive project. The tipsters also said the AR headset team included Google Assistant creator Scott Huffman, ARCore manager Shahram Izadi and Mark Lucovsky, the former leader of Meta’s in-house OS development. The Pixel division is also believed to be involved in some hardware work.

We’ve asked Google for comment, although CEO Sundar Pichai hinted in October that AR was a “major area of investment” for the company. The headset is supposedly very early in development without a clear market strategy, suggesting that the 2024 target isn’t firm.

The headset might seem unexpected from a company burned by its initial take on an AR wearable. It’s not a shock given the evolving landscape, however. Apple is widely rumored to be creating a mixed reality headset, while Meta hasn’t been shy about wanting to both develop AR hardware and jumpstart the metaverse. Google risks ceding the field to competitors if it doesn’t offer AR hardware or the platform to match, even if finished technology is still years away.

Intel has revealed its plans to build a massive semiconductor facility in Ohio to Time — one that company CEO Pat Gelsinger is expecting to become “the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet.” The company is earmarking $20 billion to build the site on a 1,000-acre land in New Albany, located on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. Intel’s initial plans include building two semiconductor fabrication plants (or fabs) on the property that would employ 3,000 people. Construction on the site is scheduled to begin this year, and Intel expects the fabs to be operational by 2025.

A Bloomberg report back in late 2021 claimed that the White House “strongly discouraged” Intel from ramping up chip production in China. The administration has been pushing for companies to manufacture chips in the US in order to address the ongoing global shortage. In turn, companies have been lobbying the president to fund semiconductor research and manufacturing. It’s worth noting, though, that since building new plants takes years, projects like this won’t be able to help address supply chain shortages anytime soon.

Intel said it looked at 38 different sites in the US for the facility but ultimately chose Ohio, because of all the space it could use. The company doesn’t want to build in places where it could displace residents, since that’s what ultimately killed Amazon’s plans to build a second headquarters in NYC. When the fabs are done, Intel will use them to manufacture both its own chips and chips for clients under the Intel Foundry Services. The company announced its foundry services when it revealed that it’s building two factories in Arizona, which will also cost Intel $20 billion, back in March 2021. 

According to Gelsinger, the chipmaker has the option to expand the Ohio site to 2,000 acres and to build as many as eight fabs in the future. “We helped to establish the Silicon Valley,” the CEO told Time. “Now we’re going to do the Silicon Heartland.”

A module that hosts a film studio and sports arena could be connected to the International Space Station by December 2024. Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE), which is co-producing a Tom Cruise movie that will partly be shot in space, is behind the project. If and when SEE-1 is up and running, it plans to host TV and film productions, as well as music events and some kind of sports, which can be filmed or livestreamed, according to Variety.

Axiom Space, which two years ago won a NASA contract to construct the first commercial ISS module, will build the station. All going well, SEE-1 will be connected to Axiom’s arm of the ISS. Axiom Station is scheduled to split from the ISS in 2028 with SEE-1 still attached.

Whether SEE and Axiom can make good on their plan remains to be seen. SEE hasn’t said how much the facility will cost, for one thing. It’s currently planning a fundraising round.

Last year, a Russian crew shot a feature-length fiction film in space for the first time, beating Cruise and his director Doug Liman to the punch. That film, The Challenge, is expected to be released this year. Cruise and Liman, meanwhile, are expected to shoot their movie on the ISS later in 2022.