iFixit and Google launch official Pixel parts store

iFixit promises more parts in the future, including a “full selection” for the Pixel 6a.

iFixit and Google launch official Pixel parts store

Enlarge (credit: iFixit)

The iFixit and Google partnership that was announced in April is now live. iFixit says that genuine parts for Google smartphones are now for sale in "the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and European countries where Pixel is available."

It looks like iFixit is offering screens, batteries, and rear camera assemblies for most models of the Pixel phone, along with smaller odds and ends like adhesive and cooling graphite tape. Despite the official partnership with Google, we wouldn't call the iFixit Pixel store a comprehensive source of Pixel parts. For the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro—which are currently in production and should have tons of available parts—you can't buy replacement glass back panels, charging ports, front cameras, or any of the delicate cables you could accidentally rip while you're taking the phone apart. Just compare the official Pixel 6 Pro parts list, which has only six items, to any of the iPhone part lists, which have about 30 parts, and you can see there are a lot of missing items.

iFixit says it's just getting started, though, and that it will "continue to add more types of parts to our catalog" for the Pixel 2 and later. For the Pixel 6a, which comes out at the end of July, iFixit is promising "a full selection" of parts "as soon as possible."

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Until demand drops, Amazon limiting Plan B purchases to 3 per week

Some “morning-after pill” brands are available in larger quantities than others.

Until demand drops, Amazon limiting Plan B purchases to 3 per week

Enlarge (credit: areeya_ann | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

With abortion access becoming more limited throughout the US, demand has spiked for emergency contraceptive pills that can help prevent pregnancy up to 72 hours after sex. This week, in an effort to maintain supply, Amazon joined retailers like CVS and Walmart by placing temporary limits on the number of “morning-after pills” that can be purchased.

CNBC reports that Amazon customers will be capped at a maximum purchase of three units each week of emergency contraceptive brands like Plan B, which is the most widely available option. However, if you shop around, you can find “varying quantity limits” for different brands. A generic option like My Choice can still be purchased in higher quantities, up to 30 units at once.

At CVS, temporary limits are no longer in place because demand dipped back down to normal levels. Walmart said that purchase limits can fluctuate with demand in its online stores, but the company has no policy to limit sales of emergency contraceptive pills.

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Raspberry Pi Pico W is a $6 IoT board with WiFi support

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a $4 IoT board featuring a low-power RP2040 microcontroller. When the little board first launched about a year and a half ago it featured a micro USB port and GPIO pins, but what it didn’t have were any wireless capabili…

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a $4 IoT board featuring a low-power RP2040 microcontroller. When the little board first launched about a year and a half ago it featured a micro USB port and GPIO pins, but what it didn’t have were any wireless capabilities. Enter the Raspberry Pi Pico W. It’s a new model […]

The post Raspberry Pi Pico W is a $6 IoT board with WiFi support appeared first on Liliputing.

The 2023 Polestar 2 Single Motor proves “basic” doesn’t mean “boring”

Polestar’s entry point is fun to drive, but 270 miles on a charge might be hard.

A white polestar 2 parked in the shade of some evergreens. The sun has hit the camera lens and created a rainbow next to the car

Enlarge / You're unlikely to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but you might encounter a Polestar 2. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Polestar is riding pretty high right now. Now listed on the NASDAQ exchange, the company is preparing to introduce three new electric vehicles over the next three years: a large SUV in 2023, a smaller crossover in 2024, and a flagship (read: expensive) four-door coupe in 2025. In March, the company introduced a new variant of the Polestar 2 fastback sedan, the $48,400 Polestar 2 Long Range Single motor.

And after a few days of driving one, I think it's another data point in favor of the argument that less power sometimes means more fun when it comes to EVs. But I must confess I'm scratching my head about the "long range" part, given the useable capacity of the battery pack and the EV's energy efficiency.

As the name suggests, the biggest mechanical change compared to the dual-motor version we drove in 2020 is the loss of the rear motor. Polestar has also made some changes to the way it sources and makes components like the aluminum alloy wheels and the battery case; the company says these changes reduce the carbon footprint of the car's manufacturing by just under 3,000 lbs (1,350 kg).

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Supreme Court severely limits the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions

EPA can compel lower emissions on existing sources, not drive a shift to renewables.

The sulfer-coal-burning John E. Amos Power Plant in West Virginia.

The sulfer-coal-burning John E. Amos Power Plant in West Virginia. (credit: Cathy)

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling in a case that will severely hamper the ability of the US to limit its carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. In an unusual move, the court kept a case alive that was focused on an emissions plan formulated by the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency—even though that plan was discarded and replaced by both the Trump and Biden administrations.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the EPA has only been granted the power to control emissions from existing facilities—it cannot force utilities to shift to different, cleaner-generating technologies. This will make it extremely difficult to use the Clean Air Act to compel a shift from coal to renewables, and it raises questions about whether the Clean Air Act can be used to set effective climate policy at all.

Twists and turns

The case is a product of a legal back-and-forth that started nearly two decades ago. During the Bush Administration, the EPA decided that the Clean Air Act did not give the agency the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. A number of states sued, and the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the EPA's claim was incorrect: the Clean Air Act required it to determine whether greenhouse gas emissions posed a threat to the US public.

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