Jun 29
Studies show that reducing noise pollution by switching to electric vehicles could have a net positive effect on a person’s health.
Jun 29
The great thing about leveraging nostalgia to sell toys is that your customer base is all grown up with jobs and disposable money for making exorbitant purchases. This isn’t the first time Hasbro has resurrected the Cobra HISS tank from its classic G.I. Joe ‘80s toy line, but it is the first time the company has…
Jun 29
Xiaomi is gearing up to launch a new smartphone series, and it has officially revealed that the high-end flagship model will feature a huge Sony camera sensor.
Jun 29
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is laying off eight percent of its workforce, which is said to be around 85-90 jobs. The augmented reality game company has also canceled four projects. CEO John Hanke reportedly wrote in an email to employees that Niantic was “facing a time of economic turmoil” and had to “further streamline our operations in order to best position the company” to weather any future economic turmoil.
“We recently decided to stop production on some projects and reduce our workforce by about eight percent to focus on our key priorities,” a Niantic spokesperson told Bloomberg, which first reported the news. “We are grateful for the contributions of those leaving Niantic and we are supporting them through this difficult transition.”
One of the games that has been shelved is Transformers: Heavy Metal. Niantic and Hasbro announced that title in 2021 and had been testing it in some markets since last summer. Niantic has also canned an immersive theater project called Hamlet. It was working on that project with theater group Punchdrunk, which is behind an immersive production of Macbeth called Sleep No More. The other two shelved projects are called Blue Sky and Snowball.
Niantic hasn’t yet been able to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle success of 2016’s Pokémon Go. The company shut down an AR game based on Harry Potter earlier this year. Bloomberg notes that titles based on Catan (which shuttered last year) and Nintendo’s Pikmin haven’t been successful either.
News of the layoffs and project cancellations comes one day after Niantic announced NBA All-World, a basketball game it’s making in collaboration with the NBA and the league’s players’ association. Meanwhile, the company will soon release an app that will help Pokémon Go players chat with each other. It’s also working on an original game called Peridot and collaborating with other companies on AR apps.
Jun 29
Some Good News: Scientists Are Now Testing Out a Universal Flu Vaccine In People
Posted in: Today's Chili
The race to one of medicine’s elusive goals—a universal flu vaccine—is heating up. On Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health announced the phase I clinical trial of one such potential candidate, which will involve up to 100 adult volunteers. In early experiments, the vaccine appeared to protect animals exposed to…
Jun 29
The U.S. Department of the Interior is restarting sales oil and gas drilling leases on federal land this week for the first time since President Joe Biden took office—and after he promised on the campaign trail to end new federal fossil fuel leasing. Beginning Wednesday and Thursday, more than 140,000 acres of federal…
Jun 29
Hollywood is filled with fascinating “What if?” scenarios. So and so director almost made so and so movie. Actor X was the second choice for role Y. It’s an infinite rabbit hole and director George Miller is often a big part of it. He famously got very close to making a Justice League movie long before anyone else…
Jun 29
Trump’s Disgraced Former EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Gets Crushed In Senate Primary
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe Republican had a history of electoral success in Oklahoma and widespread name recognition, but didn’t get out of single digits on Tuesday.
Jun 29
Google’s Switch to Android app on iOS now works with all Android 12 devices
Posted in: Today's ChiliGoogle is making it easier for new Android users to transfer their data from an old iPhone. As of today, the company’s Switch to Android app on iOS will work with all Android 12 devices. Previously only compatible with Pixel phones, the software is useful if you’re about to move from iOS to Android.
Once you have your new phone, connect it to your old Apple one. Your best bet is a Lightning to USB-C cable, but you can also link the two devices together over WiFi. Once they’re connected, select what data you want to be moved over. Your options include apps, contacts, photos, videos, music and messages. At that point, the software will take care of the rest.
The timing of the wider availability of Switch to Android is interesting in part because WhatsApp recently made it easier for new iOS users to move their chat histories over from an old Android phone. Obviously, Google’s app won’t help if you switched to Android before today’s announcement, but if the headache of transferring your data is what held you back previously, now you have one less reason to wait.
Jun 29
Facebook’s new feature Channels looks a whole lot like Discord — made all the more evident by the brand’s use of gaming groups in official screenshots.
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