Month: May 2018

Enlarge / Imagine if the default Switch dock looked something like this?

One of the few sour notes in our initial review of the Nintendo Switch last year was for the "surprisingly flimsy" kickstand. Not only does the thin, plastic, flip-down strip on the system's rear feel poised to snap off at the slightest pressure, but using the kickstand prevents you from simultaneously charging the system from the bottom-mounted USB port.

Nintendo seems to be acknowledging this problem after the fact, announcing a $20 Adjustable Charging Stand that will "enable longer play sessions" in tabletop mode starting July 13. Users will be able to charge the system via a USB-C plug on the side while tilting the stand "to create the best viewing angle for different environments," according to Nintendo's online shop listing.

Nintendo's solution for better tabletop play comes well after a number of similar third-party stands for the Switch have hit the market, many of which retail for less than $20. The "official" stand, though, benefits from an extremely compact design and the assurance that it will conform to the Switch's USB-C charging requirements (the stand doesn't seem to come packaged with an extra wall charger, though).

Enlarge / FCC Chairman Ajit Pai speaks to the media after the vote to repeal net neutrality rules on December 14, 2017. (credit: Getty Images | Alex Wong )

The repeal of net neutrality rules will finally take effect on June 11, six months after the Federal Communications Commission voted to eliminate the rules that prohibit Internet service providers from blocking and throttling lawful Internet traffic.

The repeal will get rid of "unnecessary and harmful Internet regulations," and help spur investment in 5G and other broadband networks, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement announcing the effective date.

"For months, many politicians and special interests have tried to mislead the American people about the Restoring Internet Freedom Order," Pai said. "Now everyone will be able to see the truth for themselves."

Enlarge / An Edith’s checkerspot butterfly. (credit: Walter Siegmund)

Humans, and the invasive species we bring with us, are frequently viewed as destroyers of ecosystems. But we alter them just as often, inadvertently picking winners and losers from among the species as we transform their environment. A paper out in today's Nature describes a case where our actions made a butterfly species a winner but then changed the game so fast that the local population went extinct.

All of this because one man died and his cattle ranch shut down.

The cast

This is a story with a lot of moving parts, so we'll take some time to introduce them. The protagonist is Edith’s checkerspot butterfly, or Euphydryas editha. A native to the US West Coast, one of its populations lived on a site called Schneider’s Meadow, named after the rancher whose cattle grazed there. These and other populations of the butterfly lay eggs on a plant called Collinsia parviflora. That plant provides a good growth environment for the butterflies' offspring, but the plant is a bit fickle, prone to sudden die-backs that lead to a reasonably high rate of caterpillar mortality.

Enlarge / The Block 5 rocket on the way to the launch pad. (credit: Elon Musk/Instagram)

6:10pm ET Update: Scrub! The Falcon 9 rocket aborted the launch of a Bangladeshi satellite at T-58 seconds for an unspecified reason. However, SpaceX seems to think it will be able to turn around the new Block 5 variant of the Falcon 9 rocket for a second launch attempt on Friday, at 4:14pm ET (20:14 UTC). We'll be watching then.

5:20pm ET Update: Fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket has begun, with a 5:47pm ET (21:47 UTC) launch time anticipated.

Original post: A Falcon 9 rocket has gone vertical on Thursday morning at Launch Complex 39A in Florida, and SpaceX is on track for the liftoff of a brand new version of its workhorse booster. The launch of the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 to geostationary transfer orbit is set for 4:12pm ET (20:12 UTC) Thursday, with a launch window that stretches for a little more than two hours.

Enlarge / I'll save you. (credit: Getty | Agency-Animal-Picture)

Dogs supposedly trained to detect and respond to potentially life-threatening blood sugar levels in people with diabetes were, in reality, often untrained, un-housebroken puppies with hefty price tags—currently set at $25,000. At least, that’s according to a lawsuit filed this week by Attorney General Mark Herring on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

According to the lawsuit, the non-profit company Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers and its owner Charles Warren Jr. made extraordinary claims about their “diabetic alert dogs.” The company and Warren said that the dogs were highly trained, and that their performance was “backed by science.” The SDWR website advertised the animals as being able to: detect low/high blood sugar levels through scents in skin and breath; retrieve needed food and medications, such as insulin; seek help when required; and even dial 911 in an emergency.

“Diabetic Alert Dogs are 100% accurate and often alert as much as 20-45 minutes before a meter shows there’s even a problem,” the company boasted. And customers were promised regular access to trainers as needed to help personalize the dogs' training.