Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s M1 Macs are formidable personal computers by many metrics, but their Gaming capabilities aren’t one of them. So far, Windows Gaming PCs have been a far superior gaming platform to the chagrin of some Mac users.

The availability of NVIDIA’s GeForce Now 2.0.40 to Apple Silicon Macs might be a lifeline for aspiring hardcore gamers as it allows one to execute PC games inside a datacenter to stream them at high interactive framerates back to the Mac.

That’s particularly attractive since you have access to a GeForce RTX 3080 equivalent with the new subscription option. It’s more gaming power than any M1-powered can sustain, but cloud gaming does require a very good Internet connection. Fortunately, there’s a free GeForce Now test if you want to check things out.

Beyond the raw virtual GPU power, it’s really a matter of platform. Game developers don’t invest much time in macOS and the Metal graphics API. Instead, they have historically preferred Windows, OpenGL, Vulkan, and DirectX as they help with PlayStation and Xbox code compatibility.

In my experience, GeForce Now runs very well if you have a good internet connection, and it feels very much like having a gaming PC. It’s not a complete replacement, but it is very close.

Additionally, the $9.99/mo subscription is significantly cheaper than buying a gaming PC, especially if you don’t play on a regular basis. I’m curious to see how many Mac users will bite, but that’s a lovely option to have.

GeForce Now Gives PC-Like Gaming To M1 Macs

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Airbnb bookings made on or after May 31st will no longer be eligible for refunds for COVID-19-related issues. The upcoming change to the extenuating circumstances policy will apply to cases where a host or guest contracts COVID-19.

The company says the host’s standard cancellation policy will apply instead. It says nearly two-thirds of active offer policies that allow guests to cancel up to five days (under the moderate policy) or up to 24 hours before check in (as per the flexible policy).

Reservations made before the end of next month may still be eligible for a COVID-19-linked refund if they meet the terms of Airbnb’s policy. There are exceptions for domestic reservations in South Korea and mainland China. Airbnb said refunds will still be available there for some COVID-19-related circumstances for the foreseeable future.

“Some in the travel industry stopped this type of policy months ago, while others didn’t provide one at all,” Airbnb wrote in a blog post. “After consultation with our medical advisors, as well as our community, we feel the time is now right to take the same step.”

For what it’s worth, Airbnb will soon start offering travel insurance. The product will be available in the coming months. Until then, the company says, those concerned that COVID-19 may disrupt their travel plans can buy insurance elsewhere.

The onset of the pandemic devastated the travel industry and Airbnb wasn’t immune from the impact. The company laid off 25 percent of its workforce, or around 1,900 jobs, in May 2020. It seems Airbnb is hoping to get back to business as usual. It noted that “many countries have now implemented living with COVID-19 plans.”

Still, the pandemic is not over. Around a third of the global population has yet to receive at least one vaccine dose. Data shows that, on average, 629,798 cases have been recorded worldwide in each of the last 14 days.

Lucid’s Air is giving the Tesla Model S a run for its money — by besting it in categories including maximum range and vehicular comfort.

This April, I was lucky enough to partner with both my local movie theater (shout out to Story Screen Beacon) and a good friend (Alana Sawchuck) to host a talkback series featuring five of Guillermo del Toro’s monster flicks (stylized as MONSTER FLICKS… get it?).

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In many emergency or extreme situations, access to drinking water is a non-trivial life or death problem. Yet it’s still a tough problem to solve, so good logistics and infrastructure remain the best water supply solution.

That might change with new research from the MIT, where Jongyoon Han and other co-authors have described the techniques and materials used to build a 10Kg portable desalination unit that turns seawater into drinkable water “at the push of one button.”

According to the researchers, the device uses little energy and could be powered by a small portable solar panel worth about $50. Our colleagues from techxplore estimate that this package would vastly “exceed World Health Organization quality standards,” which is impressive.

To reach such low energy requirements, the desalination process does not use a typical system that requires water to be pushed through filters at high pressure. These classic techniques also prevent the miniaturization of the whole machinery.

Instead, the device repels particles of salt (but also bacteria and viruses) using an electric field, thus isolating them in water that will be discarded later. Using this technique, they can create 0.3L of drinking water per hour using about 20W of electricity.

At the moment, it’s not a commercial product, but the prototype works as intended and lays the groundwork and proof of concept for future optimizations.

Some questions remain about how the device would perfom with filthy water and what maintenance would be required. Finally, there’s the matter of cost, and more research will be needed before this could be mass-produced at a reasonable price.

In time, it could change everything for explorers, crisis relief personnel, and even the military by relieving some of the logistical cargo required to sustain some operations.

Ultra-Portable Desalination Unit Well Above WHO Quality Standards

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