Boeing’s Starliner has two more chances this week to make its first crewed flight

After yesterday’s launch of the first crewed Starliner mission was scrubbed, NASA, Boeing and ULA made the decision to wait a few days before making another attempt. Starliner was scheduled to finally lift off on Saturday afternoon after a series of delays, but this attempt was aborted due to a last-minute issue with a ground computer system that plays a key role in launching the rocket. While NASA and partners discussed possibly flying today following their assessment of the issue, they’ve decided to hold off until the next opportunities, either on June 5 or 6.

Saturday’s launch wasn’t scrubbed due to a problem with the Starliner craft itself, but because an automatic hold was issued by the ground launch sequencer for a then-unknown reason. In a press conference later on Saturday, Tory Bruno, president and CEO of ULA explained that it came down to a problem in verifying the launch sequencer’s redundancy. There are three large computers in this system, all of which are the same so it’s “triple redundant,” Bruno said. During the system health check in the minutes before launch, one of the computers came up slow, triggering an automatic hold.

NASA said the decision to forgo today’s launch attempt was made in order to “give the team additional time to assess a ground support equipment issue.” The launch window opens again on June 5, but no target liftoff time has been announced just yet. If Starliner doesn’t fly by June 6, it’ll be set back by at least another 10 days, ArsTechnica reports, as the ULA team will need to swap out the Atlas V rocket’s batteries.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/boeings-starliner-has-two-more-chances-this-week-to-make-its-first-crewed-flight-184739763.html?src=rss

Scavengers Reign Is Getting a Second Chance It Shouldn't Have to Ask For

Every once in a while, pockets of the internet collectively choose to put full weight behind reviving a show that was quite well-liked and got cancelled after a season or more. Jericho, Community, and Young Justice are just a handful of examples, and the newest show to join those ranks is last year’s animated sci-fi…

Read more…

The Dungeons & Dragons TV Show is Down, But Not Out

2023 was a pretty big, fairly messy year for Dungeons & Dragons. As Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast overstepped in their attempts to make the actual tabletop game into a massive brand, said brand had a pair of significant bright spots in the utterly massive Baldur’s Gate 3 and the pretty good live-action movie Honor…

Read more…

The Apple Watch Series 9 is $100 off right now

The newest Apple Watch is down to one of the best prices we’ve seen it go for yet, so if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, now would be the perfect time to do so. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS only) is $100 off on Amazon, bringing the price down to $299. There’s also a deal on the larger version (45mm), which is down to $360 from its usual price of $430. The full discounts apply to Series 9 in Midnight and Starlight, but there are varying deals on the other colors as well.

The Series 9 Apple Watch is the best Apple Watch you can get today, and our favorite smartwatch in general. It comes with some new features made possible by the S9 system-in-package (SiP) processor. With this model, Apple introduced the Double Tap gesture that allows you to carry out certain actions on the watch without touching the screen, like pausing your music. It also has on-device Siri and an improved version of “Raise to Speak” to more easily activate the assistant.

As with the other Apple Watch models, the Series 9 is water resistant and great for fitness and health tracking, though it currently doesn’t offer the blood oxygen monitoring feature that was initially touted, thanks to a patent dispute. It has an always on display with a peak brightness rating double that of the previous model, and twice the internal storage capacity.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-series-9-is-100-off-right-now-163927795.html?src=rss

The Dungeons & Dragons TV Show is Down, But Not Out

2023 was a pretty big, fairly messy year for Dungeons & Dragons. As Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast overstepped in their attempts to make the actual tabletop game into a massive brand, said brand had a pair of significant bright spots in the utterly massive Baldur’s Gate 3 and the pretty good live-action movie Honor…

Read more…

A First Look at Tiana's Bayou Adventure is Ready to Take You For a Ride

June has just started and that means it’s only a few weeks until the official debut of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Walt Disney World. Construction on the ride is officially complete, and Disney’s marked the occasion providing a 9-minute ride-through video showing the full breadth of what you can expect from the Prin…

Read more…

The Dungeons & Dragons TV Show is Down, But Not Out

2023 was a pretty big, fairly messy year for Dungeons & Dragons. As Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast overstepped in their attempts to make the actual tabletop game into a massive brand, said brand had a pair of significant bright spots in the utterly massive Baldur’s Gate 3 and the pretty good live-action movie Honor…

Read more…

Male Birth Control Gel Kicks in Sooner Than Anticipated, Study Finds

An emerging option for male birth control might be even more appealing to potential users than expected. Preliminary research released Sunday suggests that NES/T—a once-daily gel applied to the shoulders—can effectively suppress men’s fertility within a matter of weeks.

Read more…

Apple’s third-gen AirPods are back on sale for $140

You can get Apple’s third-generation AirPods for under $150 right now. In a deal on Amazon, the AirPods are back down to their record-low price of $140, a 17 percent discount. This model normally costs $170. The third-generation AirPods were released in 2021 and brought some big improvements over the previous version, with a more compact and comfortable design, and much better sound quality.

The third-generation AirPods earned a score of 88 in our review and marked a notable upgrade over their predecessors in the line of regular AirPods. They feature a shorter stem and more angled earbud placement that’s meant to give the sound a more direct path into your ear, on top of fitting more comfortably. They also brought an IPX4 rating to the regular AirPods, making the earbuds and the charging case sweat and water resistant.

This model is powered by Apple’s H1 chip, which allows for features like always-on Siri and one-touch fast pairing. The chip also enables some more advanced features in the sound department like Adaptive EQ, spatial audio and dynamic head tracking. Audio quality got a big boost in the third-generation AirPods. Engadget’s Billy Steele found that “the sound is bigger and more immersive” than with the earlier AirPods, which by comparison offer sound that seems “compressed and downright boring.”

The third-generation AirPods have pretty good battery life too, lasting about six hours on their own and up to 30 with the charging case. They also support quick charging with the case, which allows for about an hour of additional use after just five minutes in the case.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-third-gen-airpods-are-back-on-sale-for-140-145350582.html?src=rss

Acer launches a compact SpatialLabs camera for 3D photos and videos

Acer has unveiled the new SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera specifically for those who want to take 3D photos and videos. Users can not only use it to capture 3D content, but also to livestream in 3D on YouTube and other platforms, as well as to make 3D video calls on Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. The company describes the camera as “compact” and “pocket-sized,” with dimensions measuring 4 x 2.6 x 0.9 inches.

It has a resolution of 8 megapixels per eye and a built-in selfie mirror encased in a weather-proof shell. The more casual users can take advantage of its Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) feature, along with its auto and touch focus capabilities. But experienced photographers can customize their output as much as they want to in manual mode, which will allow them to adjust the camera’s ISO, white balance and shutter speed settings. 

The camera’s 3D livestreaming feature will be enabled by version 3.0 of Acer’s SpatialLabs Player, while high-resolution 3D video conferencing will be made possible through the company’s SpatialLabs video call widget. It will, of course, be compatible with Acer’s range of SpatialLabs devices, including laptops with glasses-free 3D screens. But you can view 3D content captured by the device even on other companies’ AR or VR headsets and 3D projectors. 

The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera will be available in the third quarter of the year with prices starting at $549 or €549 in the US and in Europe, respectively.

A person livestreaming with a camera in the foreground.
Acer

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/acer-launches-a-compact-spatiallabs-camera-for-3d-photos-and-videos-060035723.html?src=rss