Author: easyfilo

Enlarge (credit: Qualcomm)

Protocol reports that Qualcomm will finally jump on the AV1 video codec bandwagon next year. AV1 is the web’s next open, royalty-free video codec, and widespread adoption will require hardware support from the world’s chip vendors.

Qualcomm’s 2022 flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, doesn’t support AV1. Samsung’s Exynos 2200 managed to ship the video codec this year in international versions of the Galaxy S22, while the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 SoC has been shipping in phones for over a year now with AV1 support. Apple is a founding member of the AV1 Alliance, but its devices also don’t support the codec yet.

The report says Qualcomm’s “upcoming flagship Snapdragon mobile processor”—model number “SM8550″—will support AV1. That would probably be called the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2” SoC, due out in 2023.

Enlarge / The Cruise Origin. (credit: Cruise)

GM’s Cruise subsidiary has petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for permission to put the driverless Cruise Origin into commercial service. Cruise announced the filing of its petition for approval on Friday, saying the car is “a zero-emission, shared, electric vehicle that has been purposefully designed from the ground up to operate without a human driver. This means it does not rely on certain human-centered features, like a steering wheel or a sun visor, to operate safely.”

Cruise said its petition, filed together with parent company GM, “demonstrates how the Origin achieves safety objectives of existing standards and helps enable future AV [autonomous vehicle] regulations.” The vehicles will be manufactured at GM’s “Factory ZERO” in Michigan, Cruise’s announcement said. “Production is expected to begin in late 2022 in Detroit at a GM factory with vehicles delivered in 2023, Cruise said Friday,” according to Reuters.

The Cruise Origin interior. (credit: Cruise)

US law allows companies to seek temporary exemptions from safety rules to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles. GM previously sought an exemption for an earlier design based on the Chevy Bolt; the NHTSA took public comment on the request for an exemption in early 2019, and GM withdrew the petition in 2020.

HP’s Pro c640 G2 enterprise Chromebook is expected to get Steam support. (credit: HP)

HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Asus are expected to be among the first companies to release gaming Chromebooks. A code change in the Chromium Gerrit suggests the vendors are working on Chrome OS devices that will support Steam.

In January 2020, Google said it would bring Steam to Chromebooks, and the plan may be starting to take shape. 9to5Google spotted a code change on Saturday showing a list of what appears to be Chromebook models that will support Steam:

• Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1H)
• Acer Chromebook 515
• Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)
• Asus Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)
• Asus Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)
• HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook
• Unknown Chromebook from Lenovo

When asked about the report, Acer told Ars Technica that it’d “need to defer to Google on the minimum requirements/plans for Steam on Chrome.” No other laptop maker contacted got back to us in time for publication. Google has told Ars Technica in the past that a lot of experimentation happens in the Chromium Gerrit, so things can look different by the time changes hit consumers.

Enlarge (credit: Meta)

In December, 43-year-old doctoral researcher Nina Jane Patel put on a headset and entered Meta’s virtual world to see what was happening that day. “Within seconds of being there, there were three avatars near me,” she says. “Suddenly they were taking selfies… I couldn’t see at first that they were groping the avatar’s upper body… They were yelling at me, ‘Don’t pretend you don’t like it, this is what you came for.’”

The incident took place in the metaverse, an immersive virtual world accessed via wearable technology in which tech groups expect us to spend a far greater proportion of time in the future, both playing and, crucially, working.

When it comes to employment laws, however, it is unclear what rules of engagement apply in a universal digital realm. What counts as harassment in the metaverse? Can an avatar be discriminated against, or worse? Will national legislation protect employees or does working in the metaverse require a new rule book altogether?

Enlarge / Russia President Vladimir Putin and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin shake hands during a meeting at the Konstantin Palace. (credit: Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Images)

Last week, European astronauts issued a call for the continent to develop its own independent means of launching humans into space. As part of their reasoning, the astronauts said that Europe should not depend on other countries or private companies for human access to space because there are “no guarantees that our needs and values will be a priority” for the transportation provider.

Essentially, the astronauts feel that Europe’s human spaceflight program should not be subject to the whims of others. “Power is the capability and the capacity to act: only then, as fully fledged global partners, we will have a seat at the decision-making table,” they wrote.

The leader of Russia’s space program, Dmitry Rogozin, decided to offer a solution. In a series of three tweets, Rogozin suggested that Europe should use the venerable Soyuz rocket and spacecraft to get its astronauts into space. The vehicle, he said, might launch from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, much as another variant of the Soyuz rocket already does for cargo missions.

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Update (2/21/22 9:40 am EST): We’ve updated our deals roundup to ensure all prices and links are up to date for Presidents Day itself. We’ve also added a few new offers, including an Apple Gift Card promotion at Target and a good price on a Eufy indoor security camera we like. Our original post is below.

Original post (2/19/2022 11:56 am EST): While Presidents Day weekend isn’t known as an especially bountiful time for tech deals, the Dealmaster has dug up a few actually good discounts on worthwhile gadgets, gear, and games all the same.

Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes the best price we’ve tracked on Bose’s QuietComfort 45. The noise-canceling headphones are down to $279, which matches the price we saw on Black Friday and marks a $50 drop from Bose’s MSRP. While not our top pick among wireless noise cancelers (that honor goes to Sony’s WH-1000XM4), the QuietComfort 45 are an alternative pair we recommend to those who are willing to trade some battery life and extra features for a lighter and more comfortable design. Bose also addressed one of the headphones’ shortcomings this past week by adding a customizable EQ feature, which lets users adjust the QuietComfort 45’s sound profile more to their liking.