Month: July 2021

Enlarge / Google's second-generation Nest Hub in its ideal environment, bedside. (credit: Corey Gaskin)

Google’s second-generation Nest Hub, like much of the company’s hardware these days, looks a lot like the previous version. But in this case, I don’t mind so much.

This is a purpose-built smart display with a camera-less design aimed at maintaining privacy and bedside utility. That second use case gets one of the biggest additions on the second-gen model: a new sleep tracking function. As for privacy, the Nest Hub doesn't add much new, though the sleep tracking feature introduces some new precautions. The most notable change, however, is a lower price—down from $130 to $99.99 (and sometimes on sale for less). Combined with this unique (for a smart display) ability to track sleep accurately, the value here easily makes the new Nest Hub a top pick for smart displays.

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  The speakers have 50% more bass, which is noticeable and appreciated, though it can still does well with hotword detection. [credit: Corey Gaskin ]

Sleep, soundly

Enlarge / Space shuttle Atlantis launched on Friday, July 8, 2011, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This was the final launch of the space shuttle program. (credit: NASA)

Welcome to Edition 4.06 of the Rocket Report! After years and years of promises, the era of suborbital space tourism is really and truly upon us. What a weekend we have coming up in launch: Richard Branson is set to make his long-awaited spaceflight board the rocket-powered VSS Unity on Sunday morning. I'll be on site, in New Mexico, to take in the scene and report back.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Astra unveils plans for growth as it goes public. One week has passed since Astra became a publicly traded stock as part of a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. (The company's stock, ASTR, is up about 10 percent during that time). In an interview with Ars, Astra chief executive Chris Kemp said the company is using the funds raised from this transaction—about a half-billion dollars—to continue operations, accelerate growth toward a larger launch vehicle, and to become a space services company. The company's next launch of its Rocket 3 series is on track for later this summer, and there are plans for two more launches this year. The company hopes to reach a monthly cadence by the end of 2021, Kemp said, and it is targeting a total of 15 launches next year.

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  Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) meet after a long separation in this week's Black Widow. [credit: Marvel Studios ]

This week's Black Widow may have put a new hit Marvel franchise in motion.

It's intimate, aggressive, funny, and brutal in every PG-13 sense possible. It's an Eastern European Marvel superhero tale that gives hearts to heartless characters without falling into the typical Marvel trap of ending with a neatly tied bow. And the entire cast nails this balancing act.

Perhaps best of all, star Scarlett Johansson (playing the titular character) finally gets to deliver on her Marvel hero status, instead of serving as a crutch for a randomly selected male Avenger. She doesn't waste this opportunity, yet she still proves generous as a co-star, so much so that she helps launch Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) as the Marvel universe's most compelling new hero in years.