The Morning After: Fortnite returns with Baby Yoda and a subscription service
Now this isn't podracing.
Fortnite’s new season is keeping the battle royale title close to its Disney ally. Following all the Marvel nods, we’re back to Star Wars. This time around, it’ll include the latest main characters, Din Djarin — the Mandalorian himself — and the probably-more-popular Baby Yoda.
The map has been refreshed yet again, and there’s a new twist to the game, too, with people earning bounties in-game towards recruiting characters — presumably an attempt to keep players engaged. Epic recently announced its Crew subscription, which also launched yesterday, aimed at its die-hard fans.
The last season ended in a climactic battle between Iron Man, Thor and Galactus; an incredibly big budget set-piece for a free-to-play game. Let’s see how Baby Yoda saves the multiverse.
But if Star Wars leaves you cold, there’s always the character with pancakes for a head.
-Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief
China's lunar sampling robot beams back its first full-color moon shots
The Chang'e-5 gently set down Tuesday in the Oceanus Procellarum.
Earlier this week, China’s Chang’e-5 robotic lunar lander successfully set down on the moon’s surface, marking humans' first soil-sample collection mission in four decades. And yesterday, the Chang’e-5 was able to transmit a full-color recording of its descent. The lander has already begun taking samples on the surface, and on Thursday, the Chang’e-5 will attempt to rendezvous with an orbiting spacecraft before handing off the materials for transport back to Earth.
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Uber may sell its flying taxi division
The company appears to be focusing on safer bets as it seeks profitability.
Uber is in advanced talks with Joby Aviation to sell its flying taxi division, Axios reports. An Uber spokesperson declined to comment to Engadget on the possible deal for Uber Elevate. However, the sale could be confirmed within the next few weeks. Joby Aviation previously agreed to partner with Uber on air taxi services. It ran a helicopter service in New York City, but Uber put that on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Virgin Galactic may attempt a rocket-powered test flight next week
It's the first rocket-powered Unity test from its new Spaceport America New Mexico base.
Virgin Galactic is planning its first rocket-powered test flight of the VSS Unity spacecraft as early as next week. It could launch December 11th and would be the first rocket-powered Unity flight since it took a passenger to the edge of space in February 2019.
So far at its New Mexico spaceport, Virgin Galactic has only conducted Unity glide tests, not rocket-powered ones. It had planned to start rocket tests last month, but these were pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flight team has a number of objectives in mind, “including testing elements of the customer cabin as well as assessing the upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls during boost.”
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From TVs to game consoles, discover the gifts techies really want
Apple's top apps of 2020 highlight life during the COVID-19 pandemic
The winners include Zoom and Disney+.
Along with its top podcasts and books of the year, Apple has revealed the winners of its App Store Best of 2020 awards. The company named an app and game for each of its core devices, along with an Apple Arcade title and a few apps that best exemplified this year's trend of helpfulness. Apple also commended Niantic for adapting Pokémon Go's gameplay so gamers could still play even during stay-at-home measures.
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But wait, there’s more...
Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro sports an updated design in leaked images
My return to ‘No Man’s Sky’ was a reminder of death and the void
Discovery+ starts streaming in the US on January 4th for $5 per month
The gold 8th-generation iPad returns to $299 at Amazon
iPhone exploit gave hackers control over WiFi without your input
Google's Shopping Gift Guide will show you what everyone's buying
Amazon's Fire TV Cube can now handle two-way video calls
Hacker faces three years in prison for child porn, Nintendo data breaches
