Month: March 2016

The Sun sets over the US South Pole station for the last time until this fall. (credit: NOAA)

The first day of spring causes most people in North America to think longingly of warmer days ahead in the summer months. But at the southern edge of the world—specifically, the US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station—a northern spring marks the last time southern researchers will see the sun for six months.

On Sunday, NOAA posted a haunting photo of the last sunset at the research station, where a few dozen researchers will spend the next six months in darkness. It's so cold, with temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit, that airplanes will not return to the site until October at the earliest.

But the experience is not without its amusements. As the Atlantic described in a 2015 article, many South Pole winter denizens will attempt to join the 300 Club, in which one enjoys a 200-degree sauna and then streaks naked to the South Pole itself in -100 degree conditions. Most participants wear nothing but a scarf.

Glass! It's back! (credit: A-to-Z Pawn Brokers)

We're still not sure what Alphabet, Google, or the X division will call any new wearable headset unit to follow 2013's Google Glass, but we know something is in development—and now, at least one piece of unannounced hardware could be yours for the low, low price of $3,250 and counting (as of press time).

Another shot from the eBay listing, which was still live as of press time.

2 more images in gallery

9to5Google spotted an eBay auction on Saturday with the simple title of "Google Glass (black)," and the images revealed an unreleased model that shares apparent similarities with a December FCC filing for a new headset—particularly new-to-"Glass" features like a folding hinge, an outward-facing LED light, and a different charging interface. Additionally, we see the all-caps word "GLASS" printed on the inside of the black-plastic hinge, and the letter A in particular has an artful slant to it—which makes us wonder why Google blacked out its Glass-related social media channels in January. With no confirmation from anyone in the Google or Alphabet camps, we can only go on how much this pawn shop’s hardware resembles that in the December FCC filing—meaning, if this headset is a hoax, it’s an impressive one.

Attempts to contact the San Francisco pawn shop in question, A-to-Z Pawnbrokers, were not fruitful, as the business is not open on Sundays. The Verge also couldn't get a response from the shop about the hardware's origins.

If game companies won't embrace emulation themselves, this kind of thing will have to do... (credit: Frank Cifaldi)

For years now, "emulation" has been a dirty word in the video game industry, regarded by many companies as nothing more than an illegal, piracy-fueling technology that represents an existential threat to the gaming business. In a passionate presentation at the Game Developers Conference this week, though, gaming historian and developer Frank Cifaldi made a well-reasoned case for the industry at large to embrace emulation as a way to capture its heritage.

"I think emulation has gotten a bad rap over the years," Cifaldi said. "I think our industry and consumers have a really bad misconception of what emulation is. Emulation is just software that makes a computer act like a different computer."

Cifaldi traces emulation's bad reputation in the game industry back to a 1999 Macworld conference keynote by the late Steve Jobs. Saying that he wanted to make the Mac "the best game machine in the world," Jobs introduced the Connectix Virtual Game Station, a $49 piece of third-party software that "turns your Mac into a Sony PlayStation."

VirZoom's VR exercise bike technology sports a sleek new look at GDC. If you don't mind looking silly, it sure beats fighting cars to pedal around in the cold and rain.

27 more images in gallery

In the midst of all the technical talks and indie game demos at the Game Developers Conference, you'll find the show floor, a place where serious companies try to grab your attention in decidedly non-serious ways. Every year as the GDC winds down, we like to make a circuit of the show floor to see what new techniques middleware companies are using to grab show-goer attention. This year's show floor, in the cavernous Moscone Center in San Francisco, did not disappoint.

A number of companies tried their best to latch on to the emerging virtual reality trend with new controllers and accessories. These aren't the well-funded, big-name head-mounted displays from the likes of Valve or Oculus, but often gimmicky prototypes trying to add a novel twist to the way you interact in virtual reality.

(video link)

In terms of mere height, the SLS rocket will end up nearly 38-stories tall. Building and assembling something that unfathomably massive and unique (remember, it must traverse treacherous space environments) requires equally impressive tools. Luckily for NASA, that's exactly what its Michoud Assembly Facility can offer.

(credit: Apple)

Apple's next press event happens on Monday, March 21 at the company's campus in Cupertino, California. We're going to be in the audience to report all of the announcements as they happen.

We've already talked about what to expect, but to recap: Apple is expected to announce a new 4-inch iPhone that combines the size of the iPhone 5S with features from the iPhone 6 and 6S. It will also supposedly be upgrading the 9.7-inch iPad, giving it updated internals, a Smart Connector, and Apple Pencil support imported from the iPad Pro. The Apple Watch may get some love in the form of new band colors and combinations, but rumors say not to expect a full hardware refresh just yet.

We'll probably also hear about a smattering of minor software updates, including iOS 9.3, OS X 10.11.4, tvOS 9.2, and WatchOS 2.2. Follow along by visiting the link below. The event begins at 10am PDT (1pm EDT, 5pm GMT).