Month: May 2021

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Today's Dealmaster is headlined by a new deal on Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, as new users can get three months of the video game subscription service for $1. We've seen Microsoft offer this deal before, but it still represents a $30 savings. (The company typically gives new users one month of service for $1 before bumping the cost up to $15 per month.) Those who currently subscribe or have previously subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate aren't eligible for the discount.

As a refresher, Game Pass Ultimate pairs Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service—which is required for online play with most Xbox games—with its all-you-can-eat Game Pass subscriptions for Xbox consoles and PC for one monthly fee. A membership also includes access to the company's cloud gaming platform (which is out on Android and semi-available on iOS and Windows) and a subscription to EA's Play service.

The general consensus is that Game Pass Ultimate is one of gaming's best deals, and the Dealmaster is inclined to agree. The service's library now covers hundreds of games across genres: there's the expected Microsoft-made series like Halo, Forza, and Gears, but also titles from newly-acquired studio Bethesda, major sports games like MLB The Show and FIFA, larger-scale "triple-A" games like Destiny 2, Control, and Outriders (some of which arrive on release day), older classics like Banjo-Kazooie and various Final Fantasy games, and indie gems like Subnautica, Celeste, and Outer Wilds, among many others. Games rotate in and out of the service over time, and you'll get the most out of it if you're constantly looking for new titles to sample. But it's not hard to see the value if you are that type of player (and own an Xbox).

Several years ago, amateur astronomers first spotted a rare type of aurora nicknamed "the dunes" because of its luminous, rolling wave patterns. Last year, astronomers proposed a possible underlying mechanism—an increase in the density of oxygen atoms—although the theory was admittedly speculative. Now, a new analysis by researchers at the University of Helsinki provides evidence to confirm that explanation, according to a recent paper published in the journal AGU Advances.

Most people have a passing familiarity with the atmospheric phenomenon known as aurora borealis, aka the northern lights (or the southern lights if they appear in the southern hemisphere). The spectacular kaleidoscopic effects are the result of charged particles from the Sun being dumped into the Earth's magnetosphere, where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen molecules—an interaction that excites those molecules and makes them glow. Auroras typically present as shimmering ribbons in the sky, with green, purple, blue, and yellow hues. The lights tend to only be visible in polar regions because the particles follow the Earth's magnetic field lines, which fan out from the vicinity of the poles.

Discoveries of possible new types of auroras are rare. Back in 2016, enthusiasts observed a different kind of aurora that was visible at more southern latitudes. The aurora looked like a ribbon of pink or mauve light, sometimes with "picket fence" columns of green light passing through the ribbon.

Enlarge / Interior of a Tesla Model 3. (credit: Tesla)

The California Highway Patrol said it arrested a man seen riding in the back seat of a Tesla Model 3 that had no one in the driver's seat. Param Sharma, 25, was arrested "and booked into Santa Rita Jail" on counts of reckless driving and disobeying an officer, the department said in a statement Tuesday. Sharma was arrested after multiple 911 calls on Monday around 6:30 pm reported a driverless vehicle "traveling eastbound on I-80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toward the city of Oakland," police said.

Sharma spent a night locked up, and he "committed the same crime shortly after being released from jail," according to a story yesterday by KTVU Fox 2:

Param Sharma met KTVU's Jesse Gary in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, not far from his mother's high-rise apartment. After getting out of jail on two counts of reckless driving, he pulled up sitting in the back seat of a Tesla with no one in the driver's seat.

When asked if he purchased a new Tesla after the previous one was impounded he said, "Yeah, I'm rich as [expletive]. I'm very rich."

"I feel safer back here than I do up there," Sharma also told KTVU from the right-rear passenger seat.

Enlarge / If you've been vaccinated, the CDC now says you can skip the mask and spacing. (credit: Luis Alvarez / Getty Images)

As part of an ongoing press conference, the Centers for Disease Control responded to recent data on the effectiveness of vaccines and updated its guidance on mask use and physical distancing. Under the new guidance, anybody who is fully vaccinated (meaning two weeks after the final dose of their vaccine) can now skip mask use and social distancing both indoors and outdoors.

"Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities—large or small—without wearing a mask or physical distancing," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. There are some limits to the locations where this applies, like hospitals, airplanes, and other forms of public transport. But, for the most part, people who have been vaccinated can return to normal activities.

The press conference is ongoing, and we'll update this story once it's over.

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  The Microsoft Surface Duo. It's very big. [credit: Ron Amadeo ]

We're about seven months into the life of Microsoft's first-ever self-branded Android phone, the Microsoft Surface Duo, and that means it's time for fire sales! Microsoft's dual-screen device is now selling for 50 percent off its original $1,400 sticker price at $699. The Surface Duo never projected itself as a strong seller—the device had a $200 price drop just one month after launch—but this is easily the lowest price ever for the device.

Microsoft tried something different with the Surface Duo and turned in an ultra-thin, dual-screen Android device that let you either use two apps side by side or flip the 360 hinge around into single-screen mode. The device was not reviewed well, though, thanks to its awkward form factor, buggy software, stratospheric price, and weird spec decisions.

The nicest thing you can say about the Surface Duo is that it's an absolutely beautiful device. It's probably the thinnest Android device of all time at only 4.8mm thick when open. Two perfectly flat, uninterrupted panes of glass make up the front and back of each half of the device, giving the whole thing a lovely minimalist notebook vibe.