Disney finally called Uncle on its immersive Galactic Starcruiser experience. For those unaware, it was a 3-day stay on a “starship” in Florida with a visit to Baatu (AKA Galaxy’s Edge) but cost about $5,000. It looked amazing but ultimately it closed. So what was it like to be on board? YouTube channel Ordinary Adventures has you covered. Over the course of four visits, channel hosts Kitra and Peter filmed and cut together the entire experience. This spans across the 4 storylines you could participate in: Jedi, Resistance, First Order, or Smuggler. The complete video is four hours but immensely…
Author: Aaron Crocco
Color me more than surprised about this out-of-nowhere announcement from Apple. Let’s cut to the chase: late next year Apple will replace SMS with RCS on iPhone later next year. I have thoughts. Firstly, this is not replacing iMessage. There will still be green bubbles. iMessage will still be the default when messaging another person with an Apple ID. However, the fallback messaging with Android phones will now be via RCS. Back in August I declared “I would never bet Apple adopts RCS. They won’t. The only way is if SMS becomes deprecated and no longer supported by carriers in a few…
Original Post
Read to the end for a post about catching all the Taylor. Editor’s Note: I’m always looking to make this newsletter better. That’s why I’m inviting you to participate in the TimeMachiner reader survey. Every qualifying person who completes it can be entered in a raffle to win a YETI Hotshot or Tumbler! This survey is really important. It’s my #1 way to know what is important to you and how to make TimeMachiner better. Please take a few minutes to fill it out. Thank you! We’re officially in the ‘fast-forward’ part of the year. In some ways it’s nice…
Generally, we think of coastal rivalries involving sports teams or rappers, but in a twist, there is also a difference in the world of butter. That’s right, butter, which I have never thought about in any way except when I need to use it or buy more, has a whole different look on depending on where you live in the US. Luckily, the butter itself is basically the same. The biggest difference is whether you want salted or unsalted, which is the same choice in New York and California. The size, weight, and shape are what sets it all apart.…
Apple’s transition to their own in-house chips, Apple Silicon, has been a humongous boon for the Mac. For years the Intel-powered computers were good but Apple was at the mercy of Intel’s roadmap. And many times it was underwhelming. The first M1 computers were stellar in every way, none more striking than the redesigned iMac. But lost in all the excitement was a simple observation: Apple seems disinterested in the iMac altogether. The M-series iMac was released in May of 2021. Apple redesigned the whole thing. They went back to a set of colors, invoking the whimsy of the original.…
Original Post
Read to the end for a post that’s late, but still funny about the house. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hate when Daylight Saving Time ends. I hope you have a great week. -Aaron PS: If you’re enjoying my work here on TimeMachiner, please forward this email to…
If you could take two very different genres of bands and mix them together, what would it sound like? Mac Glocky over on YouTube has done just that. He has combined the B-52’s classic Rock Lobster with the sound of System of a Down. Yes, that ‘System’ which has such amazing songs as Chop Suey and Aerials. As most readers have found out, I love hearing reimagined and innovative takes on classic music. This mash-up is certainly a great one, especially if you like both System and the B-52’s like I do.
Reinforcing my number one reason I won’t enroll in the CLEAR program for flying or to ever submit my DNA for genetic testing is this report from Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai over at TechCrunch detailing 23andMe’s data breach. The same hacker who leaked a trove of user data stolen from the genetic testing company 23andMe two weeks ago has now leaked millions of new user records. On Tuesday, a hacker who goes by Golem published a new dataset of 23andMe user information containing records of four million users on the known cybercrime forum BreachForums. TechCrunch has found that some of the newly…
While there have been efforts for decades to stop polluting Earth, nobody said we can’t do it off-world. So, sure, why not? That’s basically what’s been going on as a certain someone endlessly launches satellites into low orbit, NASA and other organizations work to explore space, and we build a hodgepodge of infrastructure in zero gravity. But what happens when all that stuff becomes junk? Well, debris in space is supposed to be ‘deorbited’. However, it seems that Dish Network didn’t quite do that to their decommissioned equipment, and the FCC is none too pleased. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy at The…
Original Post
Read to the end for a post about Botany Horror. I don’t know why, but I feel the need to preface this post with this fact: I am by no means a “Swiftie” but I am someone who listens to almost every genre of music. I appreciate the art and can acknowledge talent even if it’s in songs or areas that I don’t listen to too often. Taylor Swift has dominated 2023. I want to say that’s overstating things or a generalization but her music is everywhere. Every. Freaking. Where. Her Eras tour, as expected, is a massive event and…
It’s no secret I’m an Apple fan and generally support what the company does. Today is certainly not that day. Buried in the plethora of Apple TV+ content is the fantastic show The Problem With Jon Stewart. It’s a topical half-hour show that’s a cross between the Daily Show and Last Week Tonight. Stewart doesn’t pull any punches, as is his personality. But it seems there’s a line that was crossed… by Apple. Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge has more. Along with concerns about some of the guests booked to be on The Problem With Jon Stewart, Stewart’s intended discussions…
More dominoes have fallen in the auto industry’s switch to NACS, the Tesla plug for EVs. Toyota, who has basically zero EVs, has joined the club in adopting the North American Charging Standard in 2025. Of course this means future Toyota cars will also get access to the supercharger network too. Umar Shakir at The Verge has more. One of Toyota’s first vehicles to include a NACS connector is a future three-row SUV it is planning for 2025, which will be assembled at the automaker’s plant in Kentucky. Toyota is currently light on EV options compared to most other automakers…
Read to the end for a post about Kirk’s Spooky Plans. So let’s call last week what it was: a missed week of TimeMachiner. It’s something I’m not fond of and generally I miss weeks when there’s a holiday or when I’ve had too much going on. Last week’s non-issue was mainly that second point. I’ve been mentally exhausted a lot more lately with my not-so-new job I landed a few months ago. The mental energy it takes leaves less room for writing and sharing the internet with you all. But that doesn’t mean I’m stopping. It simply means I…
Twenty years ago the ‘promise land’ for TV was not only cutting the cord but getting access to only the channels or networks you wanted. The Ala Carte model was a pipe dream until Netflix kicked off the streaming revolution. Fast-forward to today and you have a plethora of streaming services to choose from: Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Hulu, YouTube TV, Paramount+, HBO Max, and on and on. But in a cruel twist of fate, it’s now even more expensive to watch this content than traditional cable. Ben Lovejoy at 9to5Mac has more. As little as a year ago, a…
Leave it to creative and ambitious amateur radio operators to do things I never thought possible. Earlier this year an amateur radio operator was able to make contact with the International Space Station using nothing more than a handheld antenna. The radio operator, KB8M, recorded the interaction and it’s below. Also something very cool is the card shown at the end. A comment on Reddit sheds some light onto it. For those unfamiliar with amateur radio, the card shown at 2:41 of the video is a QSL Card. These are little post cards that are normally sent through the mail…
Read to the end for a post about train senses. Are you an artist and open to commissions? I have some ideas I’d like to have created. If you’re looking for some work, let me know by replying to this email. Let’s talk! It looks like the Writer’s Guild strike has officially ended. That’s great news for us as fans of movies & TV shows but it’s also great news for people who create this entertainment for us. Based on reporting, it looks like they got what was deserved: higher pay, minimum staffing in writer’s rooms, and more data on…
Vegas is no stranger to spectacle. The whole town is about excess, but there’s something that is jaw-dropping even in a place numb to the idea. A new venue called The Sphere is spinning things in a new direction. The building is a giant round venue that holds over 18,000 people and is lined inside and out with huge screens and LEDs. Together this takes a concert and turns it into an experience. Legendary band U2 opened the venue the other day and there is no shortage of video on YouTube. One is linked below. It’s not only the incredible…
Speedrunning, the technique of completing a video game as fast as possible, is a niche hobby in the video game realm. People focus on a game and look to exploit it as much as possible in order to break records for the shortest completion time. Nintendo’s 1985 masterpiece Super Mario Bros is one such game. The game may be 30+ years old but there is a whole new generation attempting to shave fractions of a second off records. Kyle Orland at Ars Technica has more of how humans are almost beating times only thought achievable by machines. Niftski’s new record…
Social media is one of those technologies where you can find beautiful places in this world. But conversely you also learn about beautiful places in this world… to visit. And that’s where the reality of human behavior meets the road. This is why the town of Pomfret, Vermont is closing its roads to leaf-peeping tourists. They can’t behave. Lisa Rathke at AP News has more. In recent years, social media users and photographers have clogged the narrow road for selfies and fall foliage shots of the scenic private property, drawn by its colorful hillside trees, the barn and classic New…
Read to the end for a post about Photoshop Cooking. I’ll start off today’s issue asking if there’s any artists in the house. I have some cool ideas I’d like to perhaps get created. I thought asking you, my readers, if this was something anyone would be interested in doing. If you’re open to commissions, let me know by replying to this email. The past week has been one of gulping down TV shows. Namely Ahsoka and season 3 of The Orville. I’ve spoken about both before and it’s so interesting to see the difference in the two. The Orville…
The age old saying “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” has no better example than this: Getty Images has announced it is releasing its own AI Image Generator that’s been trained on its own images and will be exclusive to its service. Matt O’Brien at AP News has more. CEO Craig Peters said the new service, called Generative AI by Getty Images, emerged from a longstanding collaboration with California tech company and chipmaker Nvidia that preceded the legal challenges against Stability AI. It’s built upon Edify, an AI model from Nvidia’s generative AI division Picasso. It promises “full indemnification…
I know we all thought it was long gone already, but it’s only now that Netflix is winding down its DVD rental service. Those once-ubiquitous red envelopes are no more and it’s been a good run. But after this week, Netflix has informed customers still getting those round piece of plastic to simply keep ’em. Jay Peters at The Verge has more. Netflix won’t charge DVD.com customers for any discs they still have after September 29th, the company announced. That generous offer, combined with Netflix’s recent announcement that it may send customers as many as 10 extra discs from their queues, means that…
If you’re going to have an internet outage, and you live in Canada, there is no better way than this: a beaver causing a small British Columbia town to lose connectivity. Kaitlyn Bailey at CTV News has more. The beaver gnawed its way through an aspen tree which then fell on both BC Hydro lines and a Telus fibre-optic cable line strung along BC Hydro poles between Topley and Houston. The resulting power outage affected just 21 customers but the fibre optics damage affected Telus customers in Burns Lake, Granisle, Haida Gwaii, the Hazeltons, Kitimat, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Smithers,…