It’s time, once again, to get the best console on the planet — the Xbox Series X — and save a wad of cash

It’s another big week of deals, spearheaded by Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, which means Xbox Series X hunters are in for a treat of savings once again. But it’s not just Amazon that’s pushing out hot deals this week.  There are steals to be had elsewhere right now, like this $50 reduction on a new […]

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How to Stay Cool Without Warming the Planet

There is an insidious irony to climate change: as it gets hotter, more and more people are cranking up their air conditioners, which in turn contributes to global warming. Air conditioner (AC) sales are booming worldwide, especially in emerging economies such as China, India and Indonesia where rising incomes make them more affordable and a […]

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This upcoming Xbox / PC RTS is an insane mix of ‘Age of Empires’ and the BBC’s ‘Planet Earth’

What you need to know A new trailer for Empire of the Ants, an upcoming real-time strategy game based on the 1991 novel by Bernard Weber, was unveiled at GDC 2024. The game has the player assume the role of an ant on a mission to help its colony build a new home and protect […]

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This upcoming Xbox / PC RTS is an insane mix of ‘Age of Empires’ and David Attenborough’s ‘Planet Earth’

What you need to know A new trailer for Empire of the Ants, an upcoming real-time strategy game based on the 1991 novel by Bernard Weber, was unveiled at GDC 2024. The game has the player assume the role of an ant on a mission to help its colony build a new home and protect […]

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“We lost it…” Helldivers 2’s fan-favorite Malevelon Creek planet has fallen, but a counter-offensive to take back “Robot Vietnam” is already underway

What you need to know One of the toughest planets to fight on in Helldivers 2 is Malevelon Creek, an Automaton-controlled world with dark and hazy blue skies, dense jungles, and deep bodies of water. It’s been lovingly dubbed “Robot Vietnam” by the game’s community, with a few dozen thousand dedicated players often battling the […]

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Forget Carbon Offsets. The Planet Needs Carbon Removal Credits

We can reverse climate change if we redefine what carbon neutral looks like, said Gabrielle Walker, cofounder of carbon removal startup CUR8, at WIRED Impact in London in November 2023. Scientists define net zero not just as the reduction of carbon emissions, but the removal of carbon from the atmosphere too—a complete negation of the […]

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The most challenging race circuit on the planet returns in Forza Motorsport’s latest update

What you need to know Forza Motorsport (2023) has received its fifth major post-launch content update. This update includes the Nürburgring Nordschleife racetrack, new Career Events, new cars to unlock and drive in, bug fixes, and more. Forza Motorsport (2023) is a soft reboot of Xbox Game Studio’s popular racing series, Forza Motorsport, released in […]

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Why Rain Is Getting Fiercer on a Warming Planet

One of the weirder side effects of climate change is what it’s doing to rainfall. While most people think about global warming in terms of extreme heat—the deadliest kind of natural disaster in the United States—there is also an increasing risk of extreme precipitation. On average, it will rain more on Earth, and individual storms […]

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Starfield player steals an entire pirate space station, then lands it on a planet: ‘They let me buy their base’

What you need to know A Starfield player has somehow managed to buy and register The Key as one of their spaceships. The Key, a large space station, is the headquarters of the Crimson Fleet pirate faction. The player even managed to move around the station’s modules in the Ship Builder and land it on […]

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To Save the Planet, Start Digging

[Music] Gideon Lichfield: Lauren, have you ever met someone with an idea that seems completely out there, and then when you talk to them they convince you it’s actually totally reasonable, and then a little while later you find yourself thinking it’s still outlandish, but you actually can’t explain why. Lauren Goode: Yes. I work […]

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Xbox’s Planet of Lana is beautiful, wondrous, and a bit unfinished

Lana’s sister is all the family she has left in the world. When a mysterious army of musical machines rains down from the skies and begins systematically capturing all life on the planet — including the humans — Lana suddenly finds herself completely alone. She embarks on a desperate quest to save her sister and […]

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The Planet Can’t Sustain Rapid Growth Much Longer

Half a century ago, a small group of esteemed thinkers that called itself the Club of Rome got together to chew over a thorny question: What would happen if humanity continued to consume the world’s finite resources as if they were limitless? Their efforts generated the now-famous 1972 paper “The Limits to Growth,” in which they […]

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The Far North Is Burning—and Turning Up the Heat on the Planet

The far north is both a massive carbon sink and a potent environmental time bomb. The region stores a huge amount of CO2 in boreal forests and underlying soils. Organic peat soil, for instance, covers just 3 percent of the Earth’s land area (there’s some in tropical regions too), yet it contains a third of its terrestrial […]

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Climate Freeloaders Are Destroying the Planet

“We see that play out perfectly in Australia: strong attention on reducing domestic emissions, and policy shying away completely from addressing the export side of things,” says Jotzo. The Australian government elected in 2022 has set a target of net zero emissions by 2050, but it refuses to ban any new coal or gas projects. […]

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Semtech Unveils New Brand Reflecting Company’s Vision to Enable a Smarter, More Connected and Sustainable Planet

Semtech Corporation unveiled a refreshed brand reflecting the company’s redefined identity and vision following its acquisition of Sierra Wireless. With the acquisition of Sierra Wireless, Semtech’s portfolio now includes a broad Cloud-to-chip portfolio of products and services including a wide range of semiconductors, cellular modules and routers, software, and connected services to simplify and accelerate […]

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Samsung Galaxy S23 comes to Minecraft through Diamond Planet 23

Samsung is celebrating the launch of the Galaxy S23 series not only in the real world but also in the beloved virtual environment of Minecraft. The company announced a new Minecraft server called Diamond Planet 23, where players can play mini-games and participate in challenges and activities. Prizes are also involved. Players hopping onto Diamond […]

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The Planet Desperately Needs That UN Plastics Treaty

This week in Uruguay, scientists, environmentalists, and government representatives—and, of course, lobbyists—are gathering to begin negotiations on a United Nations treaty on plastics. It’s only the start of talks, so we don’t know how they will shape up, but some of the bargaining chips on the table include production limits and phasing out particularly troublesome chemical […]

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Diverse Teams Are Needed to Save the Planet

Engineering has a white-male problem. Women make up just 14.5 percent of the engineering workforce in the United Kingdom, with ethnic minorities constituting just 8 percent. For Lila Ibrahim, chief operating officer at DeepMind, and Hayaatun Sillem, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, being both female and people of color meant the odds were […]

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New York Voted to Protect the Planet. California Did Not

But in a move that puzzled many of the state’s progressives, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, joined the California Republican Party to oppose the measure because of Lyft’s involvement. He called it “a special interest carve-out” and a “cynical scheme devised by a single corporation to funnel state income tax revenue to their company.” The governor […]

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Minecraft: Education Edition gaining five new worlds inspired by Frozen Planet II

What you need to know Minecraft: Education Edition encourages learning across a plethora of topics all over the world. On Wednesday, Mojang Studios announced an educational collaboration with BBC Earth and the new Frozen Planet II documentary. The collaboration will bring five unique worlds to Minecraft: Education Edition exploring the importance of frozen ecosystems, the […]

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