cobalt
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Apple's batteries will use 100 percent recycled cobalt by 2025
Apple has pledged to use 100 percent recycled cobalt in device batteries by 2025.
Chinese battery maker says it's ready to produce cobalt-free EV power packs at scale
A Chinese company called SVOLT claims it’s ready to start producing a cobalt-free battery at scale.
IBM’s cobalt-free EV battery uses materials extracted from seawater
Electric vehicles will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they are not yet a perfect solution. Today, most EVs run on lithium-ion batteries made with heavy metals like cobalt, of which there is a limited supply and less than ideal mining conditions. The IBM Research Battery Lab may have a solution: a new battery built without heavy metals. It's made, instead, with materials that can be extracted from seawater.
Volvo will use blockchain to prove its cobalt wasn’t mined by children
The dark side of electric vehicle production is that the lithium ion batteries most EVs run on require raw materials like cobalt, and cobalt mines have become notorious for using child labor. Now that Volvo has revealed its first fully-electric car, the XC40 Recharge, the automaker wants to ensure sure that the raw materials in its lithium ion batteries are sourced responsibly. For that, it's turning to blockchain.
Researchers suggest 100 percent renewable energy isn’t very green
In order to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we'll need to rely on renewable energy, electric vehicles (EV) and battery storage. But creating that infrastructure will dramatically increase our need for metals like cobalt and lithium. A report released this week cautions that a spike in demand for those and other metals could drain the planet's reserves and lead to dire social and environmental consequences.
Apple is making it easier to recycle iPhones in the US
With Earth Day just around the corner, Apple announced it's quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their iPhones for recycling. The company's recycling robot, Daisy, will now disassemble select iPhones returned to Best Buy stores in the US, KPN retailers in the Netherlands, as well as those recycled at any Apple Store or online through the Apple Trade In program.
Suspect arrested for cyber bank heists that amassed $1.2 billion
Europol announced today that the suspected leader of an international bank heist scheme has been arrested. The arrest was a result of an investigation that involved a number of cooperating law enforcement groups including the Spanish National Police, Europol, the FBI and the Romanian, Belarusian and Taiwanese authorities. The person was arrested in Alicante, Spain.
Apple may secure its own battery materials to avoid shortages
Cobalt is an essential component in lithium ion batteries, making it a crucial material in the production of smart devices and electric vehicles. But, as battery-hungry cars go mainstream, there's a risk that the world's supply will be eaten up by cars, which poses a problem for all of the other things we use. It's why Apple has reportedly entered into direct talks with cobalt miners in the hope of securing a supply of the material itself. Bloomberg reports that the company, which has previously left the effort to its battery manufacturers, has now taken a more active role.
Apple, Samsung and Sony linked to child labor in Africa
A new report from Amnesty International claims that some of the world's biggest technology and automotive companies are failing to check whether cobalt mined by children is being used in their products. Its joint investigation with African Resources Watch (Afrewatch) suggests that Apple, Huawei, Lenovo, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony are linked to the sale of cobalt used in lithium batteries in smartphones, notebooks and tablets, from mines in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where children as young as seven are put to work.
Mojang's next game is 'Cobalt,' a 2D platformer due in October
Mojang isn't just focused on shipping endless variations of Minecraft -- it can publish other games, too. As proof, the Microsoft-owned team has announced that Cobalt, an Oxeye-developed 2D platform game for Mac, PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, will finally arrive (it was unveiled in 2012) in October. The title has you employing hacks and stealth to learn why a human colony vanished on an alien world. It's big on multiplayer, too, with cooperative play, six competitive multiplayer modes and 30 dedicated maps. If you're eager to give Cobalt a shot before the fall, you can try pre-release Mac and Windows versions today.
Mojang's Cobalt on its way to Xbox One, 360
Cobalt, the platforming action game published by Minecraft machine Mojang, is coming to Xbox One and Xbox 360, Microsoft announced at its Gamescom press conference today. Cobalt is a single- or multiplayer game that involves robots, rockets and slowing down time – all the finer things in life. Cobalt launched as a PC alpha in December 2011, from developer Oxeye Game Studio.
University of Cambridge chip moves data in 3D through magnetic spin
Chips that have 3D elements to them are very much real. Moving data in 3D hasn't been truly viable until now, however, which makes an experimental chip from the University of Cambridge that much more special. By sandwiching a layer of ruthenium atoms between cobalt and platinum, researchers found that they can move data up and down an otherwise silicon-based design through spintronics; the magnetic field manipulation sends information across the ruthenium to its destination. The layering is precise enough to create a "staircase" that moves data one step at a time. There's no word on if and when the technique might be applied to real-world circuitry, but the advantages in density are almost self-evident: the university suggests higher-capacity storage, while processors could also be stacked vertically instead of consuming an ever larger 2D footprint. As long as the 3D chip technology escapes the lab, computing power could take a big step forward. Or rather, upward.
DarbeeVision announces Cobalt video processor set to enhance any consumer's content
If you are not a videophile, then you've probably never heard of the Darblet video processor. While those obesesed with the best picture quality money can buy, were head over heels for the little box that you put in-line between your HD set-top and your HDTV, via HDMI, the $349 retail price deterred most. The company is back with a more consumer and gamer focused model, the Cobalt. At $269 this phone sized box has modes for video, gaming and "Full Pop" and is only HDMI 1.3 compatible -- the original Darblet is 1.4 so it supports 3D and Deep Color. Although this price point makes it more interesting, it isn't exactly affordable enough that everyone will think the picture quality improvement is worth the cost of admission. The press release that follows includes even more details, but if you are really interested you might want to go ahead and pre-order one as it is expected to be available late this month.
Mojang's next work-in-progress, Cobalt, now available
You already kinda sorta knew about Cobalt, Mojang's first game launch as a publisher, but did you know that it'd be totally out today in Alpha form? Oh, yeah, okay, you already kinda knew that too. Well now it's official and has a price (€9.95/$13), but beyond that, we've also got a whole mess of info about today's launch. For one, the game will only be available on Windows PC initially, with OS X and Linux support arriving in "Beta." Moreover, there is no "single-player" version of Cobalt, only multiplayer and co-op modes -- according to Mojang, "hot seat" multiplayer is available on the PC and it's "theoretically limited by the number of USB controllers you manage to forcefully plug in to your poor computer." We're gonna go ahead and suggest no more than four, just to be safe. The game's Alpha also comes with a level editor, which Mojang hopes players will use to "create everything from single maps to whole campaigns from scratch." That isn't to say that the dev team at Oxeye Game Studio are sitting on their hands and waiting for the user-generated content to populate their game, however -- the announcement promises that the team "will continue adding their own maps and game modes to the game as well as continue work on the main campaign." Like with Minecraft before it, purchasing Cobalt in Alpha (or "pre-ordering" the final build, if you will) nets you access to all future builds of the game, barring the possibility of console or mobile ports. While there is no timeframe for the completed game's launch, the devs set a handful of milestones for themselves, such as the main campaign not showing up until after the game goes "Gold" (read: finished). In the meantime, we'll be sure to let you know when people start creating incredible homages to things they love within Cobalt, as with Minecraft before it.
Mojang aiming to publish Oxeye's 'Cobalt' on Friday
Usually, we receive a bit of lead time when it comes to release date announcements. "Oh, that game you're looking forward to," it usually goes, "that one won't be out til Q3 2014." We all know that anything past next spring is practically forever away -- fortunately, Mojang has announced that the excellent-looking Cobalt is going to drop this coming Friday, God willing and the creek don't rise. "We haven't told anyone [about the release date] yet because we're aiming for Friday, but we don't know if we can make it," managing director Carl Manneh told Edge Online in a recent interview, "but I think we can." We do too, Carl. We believe in you.
Indie Game Music Bundle adds 4 more albums, today is the last day
Okay, maybe 17 indie game music albums for $10 – including the likes of Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, Minecraft, VVVVVV, A.R.E.S. and many more – just wasn't a sweet enough deal for you. Okay, how about 21 albums for $10? The Indie Game Music Bundle is now offering just that, thanks to the addition of four new albums: Circle (soundtrack for an unreleased game), Cardboard Box Assembler, Songs for the Cure and Bite Jacker. For the pay-what-you-want price of $10 or more, you get downloads of all 21 albums from Bandcamp, including high quality FLAC files for all the audiophiles out there. You'd best snag 'em quick though – as of this post, the sale only has about 12 hours to go.
MineCon attendees get alpha codes for Cobalt, Scrolls
Mojang Specifications is making a pretty big assumption about the character of the folks who are attending the first MineCon expo: That they enjoy playing Mojang's games. Frankly, we think this disposition seems a little presumptuous, but nevertheless, the successful indie studio has announced that it will hand out vouchers to download alpha code for Scrolls (its next first-party title) and Cobalt (its first third-party title) to all of the event's attendees. Now that we think about it, Mojang's missing out on some pretty great contest opportunities by just giving those things away. Why not hide them inside of cuboid trees, and give attendees axes, and just tell them to go crazy? Or bury them far, far below the earth, perching them precariously over a pit of awaiting lava? Or hide them in Notch's hat!
Cobalt preview: Chaotic and robotic
There's a lot going on in Cobalt. Like, a lot. In fact, as much as I detest "it's like this but this," I feel like that's the best place to start. The best way I can describe Cobalt (the first third-party release from Minecraft's Mojang) is as a curious mix of John Woo, Super Meat Boy, Contra and (most prominently) Super Smash Brothers. Like I said ... a lot going on. %Gallery-131035%
Mojang unveils first third-party game, Cobalt
Mojang may only be known for Minecraft right now, but the studio's looking to branch out from blocks with its first third-party release: Cobalt, developed by Oxeye Game Studios. ... OK, so one of the pieces of concept art we were sent may just be a giant picture of a block made from many other blocks. But it's neon! Good luck finding that in Minecraft. Kidding aside, Mojang's flagship seems to bear little resemblance to Cobalt, described as "an action game of running, jumping, rolling, shooting, throwing, dancing, hacking, rolling, flying, sliding, climbing, looting, deflecting, racing, piñata-ing, passing, scoring... and even more rolling." Speaking of overlong quotes that we wouldn't dare attempting to condense, here's what we know of Cobalt's story: "It's hard to be a metal face. Agent Cobalt has learned as much after finding the Space Exploration Foundation's lost colonization ship The Seed at planet X9CSEC5.5B-blue, Trunkopia. It was once built by a one million strong development team back on Earth, but disappeared merely 30 minutes after its subspace jump. Whatever happened on board during its misadventure, sanity was not invited." So ... robots? The future? Your guess is as good as ours. Hopefully, all will be made clear when the game arrives this fall on Windows, followed by Mac and Linux versions. %Gallery-131035%
Insider Trader: Patch 3.2 keeps getting better
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.I love it when a content patch includes some professions love. As the details keep surfacing, patch 3.2 is looking better than ever. In fact, with the upcoming patch, Engineers will finally be able to drop their Gnomish and/or Goblin specialties ("for a fee")! This has been one of those issues, like ugly and buggy cat forms, that has dragged on and on. The materials for Jeeves have also been updated (get the schematic!). If you're wondering just what you should be saving, hop on through the break for that and other patch 3.2 news!
