Hasta La Gadget!

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention.

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

Chuck Tingle may be best known for his oft-memed erotica titles, but the author has also been making a name for himself in mainstream horror in recent years. Tingle’s second full-length horror novel, Bury Your Gays, was released this week, and if the title didn’t make it abundantly clear, it calls out one of Hollywood’s tiredest tropes: queer storylines that inevitably end in tragedy or erasure.

In Bury Your Gays, bizarre circumstances befall the book’s protagonist, an Oscar-nominated scriptwriter named Misha, after he refuses studio executives’ orders to either kill off two lesbian characters “in a blaze of gay glory” or make them straight. It’s got monsters (not just the corporate kind), gore and basically all the ingredients for a great summer read. And, for anyone who prefers audiobooks, the narrated version of Bury Your Gays has a particularly stacked cast, including Mara Wilson and authors Stephen Graham Jones and T. Kingfisher.

Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change by Cady Coleman

If you’d asked me a few days ago how I thought astronauts sleep on the International Space Station — something I’ve never really given much thought to — I probably would have made a little joke about them floating around in sleeping bag cocoons, occasionally bumping into walls and furniture over the course of the night. Just one page into the first chapter of Sharing Space, former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman confirms this isn’t actually that far off from the truth, at least for some ISS dwellers:

Many astronauts hook their sleeping bags securely to the wall and slither inside each night, but I like to sleep with my bag untethered. I tuck my knees to my chest, zip the sleeping bag up so it holds me in a ball, and float off to sleep, literally. So when I wake up, adrift, it takes a minute to figure out where I am.

Spoiler: she wakes up under her desk. Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change is a glimpse into the life of an astronaut who’s traveled to space, and what it takes to get there. Coleman writes in a way that is instantly engaging, and this should be a fun read for anyone who is space-curious and seeking a bit of inspiration. 

Precious Metal by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram

This recommendation is kind of a two-fer. Precious Metal, from Image Comics, is a new sci-fi miniseries set in a future, (more) dystopian version of North America. It’s the much-awaited prequel to Little Bird, a critically acclaimed series about resistance under an oppressive regime that was published across five issues in 2019. While you could probably get away with reading Precious Metal without having first read Little Bird, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skipping over an impactful work of art, so make sure you check that out at some point too.

Precious Metal takes place 35 years before Little Bird’s story begins and follows a mod-tracker — a bounty hunter of sorts — named Max Weaver whose mission is derailed after he realizes his latest target, a child with special abilities, may be able to help him recover lost memories. It has hints of Blade Runner and the art is seriously breathtaking, with striking color work by Matt Hollingsworth. The first issue of Precious Metal, which is nearly 60 pages long, dropped in June, and the latest was released this week. The full run will have six issues in all.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-to-read-this-week-astronaut-sharing-space-queer-horror-bury-your-gays-sci-fi-130509825.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day is right around the corner so summer deal season is in full swing, including on some manufacturers’ own storefronts. Ooni is running a flash sale at the minute and the company has slashed 20 percent off the price of some of its pizza ovens, including the Karu 12 and Koda 12. The Karu 12 has dropped to $239, which is $60 off the regular price. The Koda 12, meanwhile, is $80 off at $319. The sale runs until July 17.

Ooni makes some of our picks for the best pizza ovens. While we generally recommend larger models, there’s no harm in going for the Karu 12 or Koda 12 if you prefer to make smaller pies or want a more compact model for camping trips .

The Karu is a multi-fuel oven that uses your choice of wood, charcoal or gas to cook pizzas. Bear in mind that you’ll need to purchase a gas burner separately if you prefer that fuel. The Karu 12 doesn’t come with a peel either, unfortunately.

Ooni says the Karu 12 can reach temperatures of up to 950°F or 500°C and that it can hit the optimal baking temperature of 850°F or 450°C in just 15 minutes. From there, it’ll take just 60 seconds to cook a pie. Along with baking pizzas, you can bake, roast and sear in the Karu 12. You can control the temperature by adjusting the airflow on the chimney. The oven weighs 26.lbs (12kg).

As for the Koda 12, that’s a gas-powered model that comes with a regulator and hose to hook up to your propane tank (you’ll still need to buy a peel separately though). It’s also more compact than the Karu 12, as it weighs 20.4lbs (9.25kg).

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/ooni-flash-sale-includes-20-percent-off-karu-and-koda-pizza-ovens-180029123.html?src=rss

There’s another chatbot in town. Amazon’s AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all US customers, albeit in a beta version. This follows a testing phase that began back in February. Rufus looks to currently be tied to the app and not the web version of Amazon.

So what does it do? It’s an Amazon chatbot so it helps with shopping. You can ask for lists of recommended products and ask what specific products do and stuff like that.

I’ve tooled around with it a bit this morning and it seems fine, though a bit boring. I will say that I cross-referenced some of the recommended products with the web version and Rufus does not automatically list promoted items, at least for now.

Amazon

It spit out a seemingly random list of well-reviewed products on several occasions. That’s fine by me, though I’m not about to buy something based on the word of a one-day old chatbot. You can also ask specific questions about products, but the answers seem to be pulled directly from the descriptions. As any regular Amazon customer knows, some of these descriptions are accurate and others aren’t. The chatbot is tied to your personal account, so it can answer questions about upcoming deliveries and the like. 

Amazon says that the bot has been trained on its product catalog, along with customer reviews, community Q&As and public information found throughout the web. However, it hasn’t disclosed what websites it pulled that public information from and to what end. It didn’t even confirm that these were retail-adjacent websites.

If you want to try it out, update to the latest version of the app and look for the colorful icon on the bottom-right. Maybe, if we all work hard enough at asking ridiculous questions, we can break it just in time for Amazon Prime Day.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-ai-chatbot-rufus-is-now-live-for-all-us-customers-190938911.html?src=rss

If you’re considering a premium foldable phone, these pre-order deals ahead of Prime Day may be the way to go. You can get a $300 Amazon gift card when you reserve the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and a $200 one with the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Both phones begin shipping on July 24.

The Samsung Z Fold 6 will typically cost $1,900 for 256GB of storage and $2,320 for 512GB. But Amazon’s deal gets you the 512GB with a $300 Amazon gift card for $1,900. (The 256GB model costs the same, so there’s no reason to go with it.) That’s still loads of money to spend on a phone, but if you were going the premium foldable route anyway, at least this offer doubles the storage and adds a nice chunk of store credit for the same entry price.

The Z Fold 6 has the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and more RAM than its predecessor. It also adds a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a brighter display (up to 2,600 nits).

In Engadget’s hands-on, Sam Rutherford found the phone to be sharper and sleeker than its predecessor. The Z Fold 6 has a new dual-rail hinge with Samsung’s enhanced Armor Aluminum for a lighter feel. The main screen’s slightly tweaked dimensions also improve the viewing experience. The phone even has a 60-percent larger vapor chamber to help cool the phone during intense gaming sessions.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

For the Z Flip 6, you can also pre-order the 512GB model for the same price as the 256GB model ($1,099), and you’ll get a $200 Amazon gift card with your purchase.

The smaller foldable had more changes in this year’s upgrades. These include the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM, a 4,000mAh battery (the largest on any Z Flip) and cameras to match the excellent ones on the Galaxy S24: a 50MP main one and a 12MP ultra-wide lens.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a 2024 flagship phone without AI features, and both phones have plenty. Carrying over from the Galaxy S24 series, both phones add generative tools like browsing assist, dictation, new translation tools and Circle to Search.

Both phones arrive on July 24, and the deal is only valid through July 23 or as long as supplies last.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-adding-a-free-300-gift-card-when-you-pre-order-the-samsung-galaxy-z-fold-6-193426527.html?src=rss

The controllers available for consoles like the Xbox Series X and the Nintendo Switch and even some for PC gaming are the peak result of an evolutionary ergonomic transformation. The days of boxy controllers like the NES GamePad and even the Atari 2600 joystick are almost gone from modern gaming but 8BitDo has done a great job of preserving those classic designs without totally sacrificing their functionality.

8BitDo has been making these modern throwback peripherals for 11 years and it’s marking this anniversary with a pair of limited edition gold and silver SN30 Pro controllers.

These controllers aren’t just matte painted in gold and silver. They are made with a “zinc-alloy metal” so they weigh a hefty 381 grams. They also cost just under $100 each. They are compatible with the Nintendo Switch and computers running Microsoft Windows, according to 8BitDo’s website.

The new gold and silver limited edition controllers have the same layout as the original SN30 Pro with a Super Nintendo-esque button layout and two analog sticks. A metal version may give it the little bit of extra weight the original needs so it feels a little more balanced. Plus, a metal controller that looks like gold or silver just makes you feel like a total baller. Such a confidence boost could transfer from your brain to your hands and may improve your game. So it could be an effective controller or just a cool looking paperweight that you might find on Elon Musk’s desk (assuming he stops tweeting long enough to notice it exists).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdo-marks-its-11th-anniversary-with-gold-and-silver-metal-controllers-195616688.html?src=rss