Month: March 2022

Enlarge (credit: Apple | Getty Images | Aurich Lawson)

With the new Mac Studio and Studio Display, Apple has essentially told enthusiasts and professionals that if they want higher-performance computing, they’ll need to move on from the 27-inch iMac all-in-one. That means buying two separate products that are made in two separate locations, shipped on two separate planes and trucks and arriving in two separate boxes.

If you’re an enthusiast or pro who is looking to maximize performance while minimizing your climate impacts, that doesn’t seem to be a winning combination. But according to Apple’s environmental reports, the combination of a Mac Studio and Studio Display produces nearly 50 percent fewer carbon emissions over its lifetime than the iMac Pro.

How did that happen?

Enlarge / Samsung OLED (S95B) TV. (credit: Samsung)

Samsung revealed new details for its highly anticipated QD-OLED TV on Thursday. The company’s first OLED TV in a decade costs $2,200 for the 54.6-inch model and $3,000 for the 64.5-inch model.

Samsung hadn’t released an OLED TV since 2012, but in January, the company announced its reentrance into the market. Samsung is getting around LG Display’s hold on OLED panels by going with a proprietary OLED technology called QD-OLED. QD-OLED applies quantum dots to OLED to deliver greater color coverage that is more consistent across brightness levels, as well as more detailed highlights and improved shadows.

The Samsung OLED (S95B) series, as it’s now called, costs more than many OLED TVs, putting it in line with LG’s high-end G-series of (non-QD) OLED TVs. LG hasn’t revealed pricing for its 2022 G2 TVs in the US, but in Europe, the 55- and 65-inchers have been announced at 2,500 euros (about $2,758) and 3,600 euros (about $3970), respectively. The LG G1 55-inch model debuted at $2,000, with the 65-inch coming in at $2,800. LG’s flagship C-series, meanwhile, costs $1,250 for 55 inches.

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  For the first time, a fully stacked Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday evening. [credit:
  Trevor Mahlmann ]

On Friday morning, NASA’s titanic Space Launch System reached the launch pad. The rocket is not yet ready to fly, and it may not lift off the planet for several more months. But as the fully assembled, skyscraper-sized rocket rolled into a serene Florida evening on Thursday at Kennedy Space Center, no one could deny that it is finally here.

Frankly, it is hard to know how to feel about this rocket. Certainly, one cannot help but be awed by a rocket that is as tall as a US football field is long. Designing, building, and testing such a large and complex machine represents a significant engineering achievement. But it’s impossible to have a rational discussion about the Space Launch System rocket and its payload, the Orion spacecraft, without considering its enormous expense, ongoing delays, and looming obsolescence.

One thing seems clear: although this fully stacked SLS rocket and Orion crew capsule have set the stage for the uncrewed Artemis I test launch later this year, the rollout does not mark the end of the beginning for this launch system. Rather, it’s the beginning of the end. This is probably the last gasp of the Apollo era of NASA that has gripped the space agency for six decades.

Enlarge / A driver turns left at an intersection. (credit: ImageegamI/Getty Images)

It’s a dangerous time to be on American roads, and that’s especially true if you’re on foot.

Pedestrian deaths on our roads went up by more than 50 percent in a decade, and it looks like last year may have been even worse than 2020. The problem is complex, as road design, poor standards of driving training, and inadequate enforcement of existing traffic laws all contribute to the death toll.

But a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has figured out why drivers of some types of vehicles are disproportionately more likely to hit pedestrians. Previous research has shown that cars are much safer for pedestrians than light truck vehicles, a catch-all category that includes SUVs, pickups, and vans (mini- or otherwise). And there has been speculation that the high fronts of these vehicles are more likely to mangle a pedestrian.