The Morning After: Disney’s immersive Star Wars experience is really expensive
Maybe I'll book a flight to Super Nintendo World in Japan. First class.
Disney's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is going to cost you. For two guests in a standard cabin for a two-night adventure, you’ll have to set aside just shy of $5,000.
Disney is promising it as "part live immersive theater, part themed environment, part culinary extravaganza, part real-life role-playing game." The company offers more details on how your story might unfold, with the ability to choose to side with the First Order (boo), or ally with the resistance.
There will also be lightsaber lessons, optional missions and the chance to interact with iconic SW characters who will, well, behave like video game NPCs. According to reports, each Starcruiser adventure is several months of salary one-of-a-kind, so if you can afford one journey on the cruiser, you can probably book a second, different, adventure.
The posit sounds very Westworld, and like that fictional theme park, it seems unashamedly aimed at only the wealthiest Star Wars fans. It also sounds like there will be no Star Wars experience like it. Temptation, however, might be outweighed by economic reality. Then again, it seems positively cheap compared to a ticket to actual space.
— Mat Smith
Google's upgraded Nest Cam and Doorbell are here
Floodlight options and battery-powered devices.
Google’s first battery-powered Nest Cam and Doorbell can be installed just about anywhere around your home, and you can even connect them to a wired power source, if you prefer. The battery life depends on how many recorded events the devices detect and factors like the temperature and settings. Google says the Doorbell’s battery will run for up to six months on a single charge, while the Nest Cam can run for up to seven months before you need to recharge it over USB. Continue reading.
Apple announces new iPhone features to detect child sex abuse
The Messages, Photos and Siri features will also come to watchOS and macOS.
Apple has detailed new features focused on child safety. With the release of iOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS Monterey later this year, the company says it will introduce a variety of child safety features across Messages, Photos and Siri.
To start, the Messages app will include new notifications to warn children, as well as their parents, when they either send or receive sexually explicit photos. When someone sends a child an inappropriate image, the app will blur it and display several warnings. Apple will also introduce new software tools in iOS and iPadOS that will allow the company to detect when someone uploads content to iCloud that shows children involved in sexually explicit acts. Rather than scanning photos when they're uploaded to the cloud, the system will use an on-device database of "known" images. These features and more will come to devices later this year. Continue reading.
President Biden wants half of new vehicles to be zero-emissions by 2030
Some carmakers and states want an even faster transition.
President Biden’s latest executive order sets a target for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to have some form of zero-emissions driving, whether it's a pure EV, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The move is meant to not only promote clean transportation and limit climate change but help the US "outcompete" a Chinese car industry that's quickly shifting toward electrified vehicles. It could be an ambitious target: EVs have represented about 2 percent of US car sales for the past three years, according to the International Energy Agency and Pew Research. Continue reading.
Nintendo's sales can't keep up with last year's lockdown boom
The success of ‘Animal Crossing’ makes business as usual look worse by comparison.
In Nintendo’s latest financial report, it posted an operating profit of 119 billion yen, roughly $1.1 billion. That is, however, a 17.3 percent drop compared to the 144 billion yen ($1.3 billion) posted this time last year, when Switch consoles were consistently sold out and most of us were trapped indoors, isolating. Nintendo didn’t release a game that could match the success of Animal Crossing the year before. Amusingly, the company made a graph to show that, if you remove the Animal Crossing spike, its software sales have constantly increased since at least 2018. Continue reading.
But wait, there’s more...
Senior Apple employee alleges sexism at work, is put on indefinite leave
Inside the sexual harassment lawsuit at Activision Blizzard
Paramount+ is getting 14 South Park movies starting with two this year
Elon Musk confirms Walter Isaacson is writing his biography
What you'll get in the 'Back 4 Blood' open beta
Amazon launches new resale programs following backlash over stock destruction
Virgin Galactic starts selling tickets to space again for $450,000 per seat
Peloton treadmill owners will be able to run again without a subscription
