The Morning After: Monday, February 13 2017
Wakey wakey.
It's Monday, and over the weekend Intel says its chips are getting (predictably) better, although not to a revolutionarily degree. We play with the ultimate, if unofficial, NES, and see a streaming-only album win a Grammy.
The Analogue Nt Mini wants to be the last NES you'll ever buy
Trying to play an NES cartridge on Nintendo's original, 30-year-old hardware can be an exercise in frustration. The console's ancient composite cables offer terrible image quality on modern televisions, and getting games to actually run is a ballet of resetting, jostling and, of course, blowing on game cartridges. While Nintendo's own NES Classic Edition and the Wii U and 3DS virtual consoles offer refuge for the casual gamer's nostalgic yearnings, collectors looking for a more authentic experience have had to compromise. Is it better to play on the original, but unreliable, hardware, or an NES clone plagued with compatibility issues? Sean Buckley says that with the Analogue Nt Mini, you may not have to tolerate either.
Intel's 8th-gen Core processors won't be revolutionary
Intel has revealed that its 8th-generation Core processors, due in the second half of 2017 will be built on a 14-nanometer process for the fourth time in a row. The company is shy on what these new chips will entail, but it's claiming that it'll manage another 15 percent performance improvement -- in tests at least -- like it did with the 7th-generation Core designs you see now.
NASA's tiny airborne probes could help improve weather forecasts
It's not easy to gather airborne weather data beyond major airports. Airliners have had a sophisticated probe system (TAMDAR Edge) for over a dozen years, but that doesn't help much in those remote areas where you may only see smaller airplanes or drones. NASA is close to covering this gap. It recently started test-flying a relatively tiny, lightweight version of TAMDAR Edge aboard an Ikhana drone. The tech promises real-time weather data on virtually any aircraft, filling in local atmospheric conditions even in barren places like the Arctic.
Drone Racing League lands a title sponsor for the 2017 season
It doesn't have the cachet of something like the Winston Cup (yet), but the Drone Racing League says its 2017 campaign will be called the Allianz World Championship Series. In another move cribbed from traditional motorsports, the drone pilots will have sponsors too. This season is airing on TV again with 12 hour long episodes that will come to ESPN/ESPN2. Those identical DRL Racer 2 drones will fly through 3D courses at more than 90mph, with the league promising bigger courses and faster drones this season.
