The House of the Dragon Finale Teaser Crashes the Coronation

We’ve got a lot of Marvel rumors and hints to share, including some choice words from Mark Ruffalo about the possibility of a World War Hulk movie and Jonathan Majors regarding what a Kang is (seriously). There’s also a spooky/creepy/freaky new trailer for American Horror Story: NYC. Cast off, spoilers!

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DOJ Seeks 6 Month Prison Sentence For Steve Bannon

The ex-Trump adviser was convicted of criminal contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena related to the assault on the U.S. Capitol last year.

16-Bit Gamers Rejoice! Analogue Is Making One Final Batch of Its SNES and Genesis Consoles

Although Analogue has been making retro console clones for 11 years now, its portable Pocket garnered the company thousands of new fans now desperate to get their hands on its older hardware which is often hard to come by. But an announcement made by the company over the weekend should have 16-bit gaming enthusiasts…

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The Dell XPS 13 Plus Buries its Hardware Upgrades in a Contentious New Design

For years, Dell’s XPS line has presented some of the most compelling thin-and-light laptops on the market. While these machines always came at the higher end of the price spectrum for their category, they offered exceptional design and build quality. The new Dell XPS 13 Plus takes design to another level with a…

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Mercedes-Benz is the first to roll out Apple Music's Spatial Audio in cars

After announcing it nearly a year ago, Mercedes-Benz is finally rolling out Apple Music’s Spatial Audio in select electric and luxury vehicles. The Dolby Atmos-powered surround sound audio already works on multiple Apple devices including the HomePod speaker, Apple TV and AirPods headphones, but it’s the first implementation in vehicles.

“Mercedes-Benz drivers who are already subscribed to Apple Music gain immediate access to an ever-growing selection of songs and albums available in Spatial Audio,” the companies said in a press release. And if you’re not an Apple Music subscriber, select Dolby Atmos content will be available from Universal Music as well. 

The feature will be available in the select EQS and EQE sedans and SUVs (including the new EQE SUV), along with Mayback and S-Class vehicles. To use it, you’ll need to own a vehicle with the MBUX interface and optional 31-speaker Burmester 3D or 4D sound systems, an option that starts at $4,550 on top of the price of the vehicle (the 2023 EQE 350 sedan is expected to start at $70,000 or so). The technology will come to other models “soon,” according to Mercedes.

Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos implementation creates a 3D soundstage by spreading sounds across different channels, though the level of the effect depends on a song’s mix. In the Mercedes implementation, the spatial audio effect will come from six of the 31 speakers located above the driver. Other speakers include four near-ear speakers in the front seats, eight sound transducers (two per seat) and two amplifiers that pump out 1,750 watts of power. 

Kanye West Set To Buy Right-Wing Social Network Parler After Anti-Semitic Flameout

The musician offered to buy the right-wing friendly network shortly after being blocked from the more popular social media sites for making antisemitic posts.

Kanye West Says He's Buying Parler Because 'Conservative Opinions Are Considered Controversial'

Kanye West says he’s buying Parler, the right-wing social media app that bills itself as an “uncancelable free speech platform” and known for its lax moderation policies. The move comes a little more than a week after Instagram restricted West, who legally changed his name to Ye, on the platform and Twitter locked him…

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Inside the 20th Century's Weirdest Architectural Breakthrough

Buckminster Fuller, one of the most eccentric designers and futurist thinkers of the 20th century, helped define what “the future” meant for a generation of people trying to find their place in the world. And perhaps none of Fuller’s countless ideas have captured the spirit of that struggle better than the inventor’s

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The Morning After: SpaceX will keep paying for Ukraine's access to Starlink

SpaceX sent a letter to the Department of Defense last month, asking the Pentagon to take over paying for Ukraine’s use of its Starlink satellite internet. According to CNN, SpaceX told the department that continued access would cost the company over $120 million for the rest of 2022 and almost $400 million over the next 12 months. “We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” the company wrote.

Now, company chief, Elon Musk, seems to have backtracked, writing on Twitter that SpaceX will “keep funding” the service in Ukraine.

The Pentagon confirmed after the letter became public that it’s been discussing payments with SpaceX, but it’s also looking into alternatives. Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said: “There are other entities that we can certainly partner with when it comes to providing Ukraine with what they need on the battlefield.”

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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‘Dead Space’ hands-on: The return of gruesome sci-fi horror

It won’t be in time for Halloween, sadly.

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EA

The original Dead Space came out 14 years ago, immersing us in ravaged corridors in the middle of space. Dead Space was a terrifying space horror. And this is what the remake has to compete with. Engadget’s Jessica Conditt thinks the new Dead Space nails it – mostly. The game hits PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on January 27th, 2023.

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Google Fiber will offer 5Gbps and 8Gbps internet plans in early 2023

Your cable provider’s best plan suddenly seems mediocre.

Google Fiber’s sudden revival will include a dramatic boost to internet speeds. Google has revealed it will offer 5Gbps and 8Gbps plans in early 2023 at monthly rates of $125 and $150. Both tiers will include symmetric upload and download rates, a WiFi 6 router and up to two mesh network extenders. It’s a big jump from the previous-best 2Gbps service Google introduced in 2020 and could make a big difference if you’re a gamer or thrive on cloud computing.

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Razer’s cloud gaming handheld will cost $400

It’s expected to launch in January.

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Razer

The Razer Edge is a handheld console for cloud gaming. (Yes, it’s a trend now.) The Edge has a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz and a Full HD+ resolution of 2,400 x 1,080. Razer claims the display has 87 percent more pixels than competitors’ devices. The Steam Deck’s screen, for instance, has a 1,280 x 800 resolution. The Edge comprises an Android 12 tablet inside the new Razer Kishi V2 Pro controller. Initially only available in the US, it will come with dedicated launchers for Epic Games, Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now pre-installed. You’ll also be able to access remote play services, such as Steam Link, Moonlight and Parsec.

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Acer’s cloud gaming Chromebook is a solid laptop

Even if you don’t game.

Last week, Google and hardware partners ASUS, Acer and Lenovo announced a somewhat surprising initiative to build Chromebooks expressly for cloud gaming. (Yes, just after Google gave up on its own Stadia game service.) While many Chromebooks are a riff on the classic 13-inch laptop, the first round of these devices have large, high-resolution screens with fast refresh rates, anti-ghosting keyboards and powerful processors. Nathan Ingraham, Engadget’s Chromebook expert, is loving the premium screen and keyboard.

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Report: Trump Fundraising Overhead Soaks Up 91 Cents Of Each Donor Dollar

The former president is hauling in record donations, but he’s spending most of it on expenses as his troubles mount.