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The Morning After: Is this the ultimate retro-gaming portable?

And the latest in spacesuit fashion.

richard lawler
Senior News Editor
·5 min read
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Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Say goodbye to Yahoo Groups and Google Daydream, and good morning to Volvo's first full EV. Also, the Vatican is going click-to-pray, and Under Armour has unveiled the latest in spacesuit fashion. Just another Thursday, right?

Your ancient posts will disappear on December 14th.Yahoo is shutting down its Groups website and deleting all content

Yahoo (owned by Engadget's parents at Verizon) is phasing out one of its longest-standing features -- Yahoo Groups. The site will close in a two-phase process. First, you'll lose the ability to post new content from October 21st, and Yahoo will delete all "previously posted" material on December 14th, marking the true end. Users can still connect to their groups through email, but the site will effectively be vacant. If you're at all interested in preserving your history on the site, you'll want to download your data either directly from posts or through Yahoo's Privacy Dashboard.

Yahoo hasn't formally explained the shutdown, but it follows the closure of GeoCities, another iconic Yahoo community that was sidestepped by the meteoric rise of social media and more agile rivals.

All of Volvo's electrified vehicles will be a part of its Recharge lineup.The XC40 EV is Volvo's first full-electric vehicle

Volvo's all-wheel-drive (AWD) XC40 Recharge pure EV debuted on Wednesday at an event in Los Angeles. It looks exactly like its gas-powered counterpart and will house a 78kWh battery pack under the passenger area. With DC fast charging, it charges to 80 percent from zero in 40 minutes, and Volvo is targeting over 200 miles of "mixed driving" range between charges.

Its dual motors pump out 402 horsepower and 486 foot-pounds of torque, and it's the first Volvo to run on Android's Automotive OS with support for OTA updates. The company is promising plug-in versions of every car in its lineup, with a year of free electric charging included. The XC40 EV will start under $48,000 after federal tax credits when it rolls out late next year.

The device is designed to teach young people about the Catholic faith.Vatican launches $110 'click to pray' wearable rosary

The Vatican is hoping to attract tech-savvy youth to the Catholic Church with the launch of a Click-to-Pray eRosary -- a wearable device that pairs to a phone app. It's made of 10 consecutive black agate and hematite rosary beads, plus a data-storing "smart cross." Once they've activated the beads, the wearer can choose to pray with the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary, which will be updated throughout the year. The device shows progress of each prayer and keeps track of each rosary completed. In recent years, the Catholic Church has attempted to court younger Christians by establishing a social network presence across Twitter and Instagram -- even offering Telegram messages to the faithful during Lent. The wearable on sale now for €99 ($110/£85).

Back to the future.Analogue's $200 Pocket could be the ultimate retro-gaming portable

The Pocket is a roughly Game Boy-shaped console that can play any Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance game, with support for Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx coming through add-on adapters.

While all-in-one consoles typically run games through software emulation, Analogue's party trick is and has always been its use of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA). The company develops its machines by examining the original hardware and circuitry of a console, and then coding an FPGA core to mimic it. The Pocket has two: one to support the various systems and games and a second that's a blank slate for developers to work with. Whether you just like playing old games, need perfect emulation for an archive or want to make chiptunes, the possibilities are vast.

An interview with the director about high frame rates and digital cinema.Ang Lee chases cinema's 120 fps future with 'Gemini Man'

As Gemini Man director Ang Lee explained in a roundtable interview, "High frame rates comes along with 3D, and it all comes from digital [filmmaking]. Once it's digital, it allows dimension unlike film." But, he added, shooting in high frame rates requires a fundamental rethinking of what we take for granted when making and watching movies. The immediacy this film's action scenes create provide a preview of why James Cameron will use the same technology for his Avatar sequels.

Athleisure for astronauts.Virgin Galactic passengers will wear these Under Armour spacesuits

Under Armour unveiled the space gear -- a base layer, spacesuit and boots -- that it's designed for passengers on Virgin Galactic flights. According to Under Armour, each spacesuit iteration underwent rigorous testing with pilots, spaceship engineers, medical professionals and astronaut instructors. It has functional features like an integrated communication system and plenty of pockets. It also has a clear pocket on the inside of the jacket (above the heart) for a photo of a loved one, and each suit will have a removable patch that can be transferred to flight jackets for everyday wear.

Something to consider.Pixel 4 pre-orders at Amazon include a free $100 gift card

Amazon is offering a $100 gift card to anyone who buys the Pixel 4 (starting at $799) or Pixel 4 XL (starting at $899) ahead of launch. Google also offers $100 when you pre-order from its store, but this might be better if you'd rather have a wider range of accessories or want to buy something else entirely.

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