Month: February 2023

Enlarge (credit: MZLA Technologies)

"Why does Thunderbird look so old?"

That's one of the most frequently asked questions about Thunderbird, according to Thunderbird Project Design Manager Alessandro Castellani (along with "Is Thunderbird Dead?"). And it's one he seeks to answer definitively in a new blog post about Thunderbird's planned 2023 release, codenamed Supernova.

Among other features, the Supernova release will include an overhaul of Thunderbird's user interface. Castellani didn't share screenshots, but he indicated that the new UI would be "simple and clean" and targeted mostly at new users. For "veteran users," the interface will also be "flexible and adaptable" so that people who prefer the way Thunderbird looks now can "maintain that familiarity they love."

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  The overall color and design scheme means there's no mistaking that this is a PlayStation 5 accessory.

This week, well over six years since we last opened a virtual reality headset from Sony, the PlayStation VR2 has arrived at the Ars Orbiting HQ. And while our full review of the hardware and software will have to wait until next week, we can give you some general first impressions of the out-of-the-box fit and finish right now.

Anyone who remembers the mess of wires and junction boxes included with the original PSVR headset will marvel at just how little is included in the PSVR2 box. There's the headset itself, of course—with its single USB-C connector permanently attached—alongside two specially made PSVR2 hand-tracking controllers (finally replacing the downright ancient PlayStation Move controllers that had been adapted for the original PSVR's hand-tracking). There's no more fiddling with a maze of connections or hooking up a separate camera to your console—the new hardware has a plug-and-play simplicity that was sorely lacking in 2017.

The box also includes a specially designed set of earbuds, which are set inside a solid band that clips onto the back of the PSVR2 head strap. The loose, wired earbuds hang off the sides of the device just far enough to fit into your ears and slot into a couple of head strap divots when not in use.