Last quarter moon and Spica mornings of January 6 and 7

Use the moon to guide your eye to Spica before daybreak on January 6 and 7, 2021, and look forward to this star’s all-night appearance in April. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-spica-from-late-night-till-dawn…

Forget the Streaming Wars — Pandemic-Stricken 2020 Lifted Netflix and Others

The past 12 months were billed as the year when a flood of new entrants would force streaming services to wage an all-out war for subscribers. Instead, incumbents and rookies alike feasted on a base of shut-in customers eager for more things to watch. From a report: The largest streaming services finished 2020 with combined U.S. subscriber numbers more than 50%…

Covid-19 successes: How schools and sports leagues tamed the virus

From social bubbles to sewage testing, these are the techniques that have helped business, universities and sports leagues to keep covid-19 at bay Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262845-covid-19-successes-how-schools-and-sports-leagues-tamed-the-virus/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Twitter Verification Returns Early Next Year

Twitter announced today that it would relaunch its verification process early next year along with brand-new guidelines for users seeking out that small, blue badge. From a report: Twitter’s announcement confirms earlier reporting in June from app researcher Jane Manchun Wong suggesting that the company was creating a new verification system. In Twitter’s Tuesday blog post, the company confirmed that this…

Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT Performance Marks AMD’s Return To High-End Graphics

MojoKid writes: AMD officially launched its Radeon RX 6800 and Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics cards today, previously known in the PC gaming community as Big Navi. The company claimed these high-end GPUs would compete with NVIDIA’s best GeForce RTX 30 series and it appears AMD made good on its claims. AMD’s new Radeon RX 6800 XT and Radeon 6800 are…

BMW Demos a Powered Wingsuit That Can Fly 186 MPH

Wingsuits normally create a wide surface area of fabric between a skydiver’s legs and from their legs to their arms, substantially slowing their fall. But to create a buzz for the unveiling of BMW’s new iX3 electric SUV, the company’s creative consultancy Designworks “has partnered up with Austrian stuntman Peter Salzmann to unveil a wicked-cool new electric powered wingsuit that can…

Blue Moon and red Mars on Halloween

The full moon of October 31, 2020 is the second full moon of a calendar month and therefore carries the name Blue Moon. It’s also the smallest full moon of 2020. And it’s near red Mars! Watch for it. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/blue-moon-and-mars-on-halloween…

Garmin Introduces Esports Fitness Smartwatch For Streamers

Garmin has launched the Instinct Esports Edition, a “rugged GPS smartwatch uniquely designed for esports athletes and enthusiasts to take their gaming performance to the next level.” How is that possible, you ask? Gizmodo explains: Well, for starters, the watch adds an esports activity for tracking so you can monitor your heart rate and stress during a game. Garmin also developed…

AT&T’s CEO Predicts That Millions More Will Cut the Cord

TV cord-cutting is picking up steam, and AT&T’s CEO predicts there’s a long way to go before it stops. From a report: On an earnings call Thursday, AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey said “we’re probably going to see a little bit of a plateauing” when the number of homes subscribing to pay TV hits 55 million to 60 million. Most…

The strange storms on Jupiter

At the south pole of Jupiter lurks a striking sight—even for a gas giant planet covered in colorful bands that sports a red spot larger than the earth. Down near the south pole of the planet, mostly hidden from the prying eyes of humans, is a collection of swirling storms arranged in an unusually geometric pattern. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-strange-storms-jupiter.html…