Tech
Judge Shuts Down 2,200 Miles Of Off-Road Trails To Preserve Endangered Species
Off-roading is a beloved pastime for many in the United States, and some off-road trails have become legendary among enthusiasts. Off-roaders in the Mojave Desert, however, will have to contend with shorter trails, as a judicial decision has prohibited off-roading on roughly 2,200 miles of trail in the desert. This leaves avid off-roaders in the area with approximately 3,800 miles of legal trails to traverse. Behind this decision is a long legal struggle over the defense of the endangered tortoise population in the area.
As reported by publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Judge Susan Illston of California ordered the Bureau of Land Management to close down these thousands of miles of trail in January 2026. Illston’s ruling also gives the Bureau until 2029 to revise its off-road routes in the Mojave area. Estimates suggest that the Mojave Desert tortoise population has declined by about 90% since the mid-1980s, with the hope being that restricting vehicle access will help the population bounce back. Despite this, some note that drivers tend to go off-trail anyway, potentially leading to the destruction of tortoise habitats regardless.
As mentioned, debate and legal contests over the Mojave and how the land should be utilized have extended for years. As far as those in the off-roading community, they maintain that their hobby hasn’t led to decreases in the tortoise population.
Off-roaders deny being the cause of the tortoise’s decline
In response to Judge Susan Illston’s ruling, off-roading enthusiasts have come forward to contest it. The prevailing sentiment is that off-roading as a whole doesn’t negatively impact the Mojave tortoise population and that the ruling unfairly punishes those involved in such recreational activities. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Ben Burr, executive director of off-roading nonprofit the Blue Ribbon Coalition, claimed that off-roaders “think [the ruling is] an overreach and this judge went a little too far.” The group has turned to the U.S. Department of Justice to appeal Judge Illston’s decision, even circulating a petition to prevent this perceived overreach.
While conflict endures over how much off-roading has impacted the Mojave Desert tortoise’s population, research has found that it’s a multifaceted issue. Cameron Barrows, a desert researcher at the University of California, Riverside, explained to NPR that the tortoises’ natural predators, nearby military bases, and drought have all played a role throughout the years. Climate change is arguably the biggest roadblock to getting tortoises on the right track. Hotter climates and extended droughts negatively impact tortoise health and reproduction, making population growth a serious challenge.
Regardless of the exact reason or reasons for tortoise numbers dropping in the Mojave Desert, the fact remains that, for the time being at least, off-roading trails in the region have been significantly reduced. At least there are multiple apps to find new off-roading trails for drivers whose favorite areas are no longer accessible after this ruling.
Tech giants like Meta, Google, and X are investing heavily in AI tools designed to detect fake news. It sounds reassuring, but according to a new study from the Université de Montréal, these tools have some serious drawbacks hiding behind impressive-sounding accuracy numbers.
Doctoral researcher Dorsaf Sallami examined AI fake news detection systems and found that they don’t actually fact-check anything. They calculate probabilities based on their training data. Think of it less like a journalist verifying a story and more like a mirror reflecting whatever it is shown, including the same biases and blind spots.
According to Dorsaf Sallami, a system that scores 95% accuracy in a lab setting can still fail in the real world, and that gap is a serious problem.
The bias problem nobody is talking about
Beyond accuracy, Sallami found that many of these systems carry embedded biases that largely go unnoticed. Some models are more likely to flag women as sources of misinformation. Others are biased against non-Western sources or reproduce political prejudices.
There’s also a deeper issue with how these systems are trained. They rely on labels from fact-checking organizations, many of which lack transparency and some of which are for-profit businesses. The entire system is built on a shaky foundation.
Add to that the rise of tools like ChatGPT that make fake content easier to produce than ever, and detection systems trained even a few months ago can quickly become obsolete.
A better approach
Sallami’s solution is Aletheia, a browser extension that explains why content might be suspect rather than just saying whether it is true or false. In tests, it achieved 85% reliability, outperforming many existing tools. What makes it different is its philosophy. Instead of handing you a verdict and expecting you to trust it, Aletheia shows its work.
It pulls evidence from available online sources, presents it in plain language, and lets users make the final decision. It even includes a live feed of recent fact checks and a community forum where users can share and discuss findings. The takeaway is simple: AI should assist your judgment, not replace it.
Tech
Contractors sue Modern Hydrogen, alleging the Bill Gates-backed startup left their final invoices unpaid
John Hinkey knew there was a risk to doing contract work for startups — sometimes their finances go south and his mechanical design firm might go unpaid. But Modern Hydrogen felt like a safe bet. The company had public support from Bill Gates, raised $125 million from investors, and was on the cusp of shipping a commercial device to produce hydrogen fuel.
Then, at the end of October, Hinkey — owner of Geminus Technology Development — and other contractors received notifications from Modern Hydrogen abruptly terminating their contracts, citing “general policy and economic conditions.”
Now four contractors have filed a joint lawsuit, while another has filed separately, claiming the Seattle-area clean energy company hasn’t paid their final invoices. The suits allege Modern Hydrogen owes a combined $363,458 plus interest and attorneys’ fees.
“I would warn all other small entities,” said Hinkey, that just because someone like Bill Gates is backing a company, if the project stops “that doesn’t mean that they’re going to pay their bills.”
Modern Hydrogen’s downturn coincided with Gates pulling back from his climate efforts — paring down his Breakthrough Energy initiative and posting a memo just days before the contracts were terminated in which he further signaled a shift in priorities. “Although climate change will have serious consequences… it will not lead to humanity’s demise,” Gates wrote.
Steven Brncic, a plaintiff in the joint suit, took note of Gates’ shift on climate at the time.
“I remember thinking, ‘oh, you know what we’re doing is basically alternative energy,’” Brncic recalled. When the cancellation notifications came, he wondered about the connection.
Neither Modern Hydrogen co-founder and CEO Tony Pan nor Gates responded to GeekWire’s requests for comment.
It’s unclear what role if any Gates may have played in Modern Hydrogen’s sudden slowdown. The company launched in 2015 at Intellectual Ventures, an innovation hub created by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold with Gates’ backing. The Microsoft co-founder backed the startup through Gates Frontier, his private investment arm, but was not a board member or advisor with the company.
A promising pivot, then silence
The startup initially focused on generating electricity from heat recovered from appliances. It pivoted three years ago to splitting natural gas to produce hydrogen fuel and solid carbon, which has industrial uses including as an asphalt additive.
Gates visited the company’s Woodinville, Wash., facility in 2024, grabbing a wheelbarrow and shovel to fill a parking lot pothole with carbon-infused asphalt.
When Modern Hydrogen halted its normal operations last year, it was nearing completion of its first commercial unit for a Texas customer, having already finished pilot projects with utilities in Portland and Miami.
Hours before learning his contract was canceled, Brncic had been assigned more work on the project. The change “was very, very abrupt,” he said.
Modern Hydrogen has not said if it is permanently closing. It laid off most of its employees by early December.
Small firms, big exposure
Hinkey founded his Seattle firm more than two decades ago and worked on Modern Hydrogen projects over the course of a year. One of his three employees had been assisting with the mechanical design and thermal analysis of the company’s reactor vessel, collaborating closely with their team several times a week.
Geminus is part of the joint lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, with a claim of $81,500.
“That’s potentially a going-out-of-business deal,” Hinkey said. “That’s how bad that hurts.”
Brncic Engineering says it is owed $18,000 — the largest sum the Missouri-based firm has lost in 15 years of operations. Two additional contractors in the joint suit claim smaller losses. A separate suit was filed by D&D Welding of Mukilteo, Wash., which claims it’s owed $244,992 for building structural metal frames.
Hinkey sometimes requires new or early-stage clients to pay 50% upfront — but Modern Hydrogen, with its significant funding and roughly 80 employees, could dictate its own terms, he said.
“If you get too pushy on these contracts, they don’t hire you,” Brncic added. “They go to the next guy.”
A thank-you note, then a legal fight
On Oct. 30, one of Hinkey’s employees received an email from Amir Moftakhar, Modern Hydrogen’s chief financial officer, saying the contract was over.
“This decision is part of a broader restructuring effort which is being developed and does not reflect on your work,” Moftakhar said. “We want to sincerely thank you for the professionalism, dedication, and quality you’ve shown throughout our collaboration and for your understanding.”
Modern Hydrogen’s attorneys struck a different tone in an initial response to the joint lawsuit. “Plaintiffs failed to perform and complete all work and services contemplated under the Agreements to Defendant’s satisfaction,” said the court document. A trial is set for February 2027.
Hinkey dismisses the idea his firm didn’t finish its work.
“We absolutely did,” he said, “up until you told us to stop.”
Apple has updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip. Here’s how it compares to the preceding model with the M4 Pro.
M5 Pro MacBook Pro vs. M4 Pro MacBook Pro: Specs, performance, cost
Following the debut of the standard M5 chip in October 2025, the more powerful M5 Pro has made its way to the MacBook Pro. The early 2026 launch of the M5 Pro chip was to be expected, as product identifiers provided to AppleInsider back in July 2025 indicated the hardware was in the works.
Though Apple’s latest high-end laptops look identical to their M4-based counterparts, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Per Apple’s website, the M5 Pro delivers significant performance improvements, making it an even better option for users who need plenty of processing power.
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Tech
Google Pixel Watch 3 Brings Smarter Fitness Tracking and Brighter Display to Your Wrist for the Lowest Price Yet
Google’s Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) is the best non-flagship smartwatch you can buy right now, especially for $169.99. That’s a significant drop from the original $249.99 MSRP, and surprisingly, it packs more punch than you’d expect for the price.
Google has finally nailed the display, and the 41mm version now has 10% more screen space thanks to those sleek new bezels, and the brightness is sufficient to see everything clearly, even on a bright day. Swiping through notifications or looking at a map is effortless. The always-on display does not deplete the battery rapidly, and the curved glass gives it a smooth, premium appearance that fits under a cuff or shines out on its own.
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- Maximize your performance with advanced running features; build custom run workouts and get real-time guidance and advanced form tracking[3]
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The battery life is rather realistic, so you can expect to get a whole day out of it with the always-on display and even 36 hours in the saver mode. Charging is extremely fast, reaching up to 50% in only 24 minutes, so a quick top-up during a shower or coffee break will cover the remainder; no more worrying about finding an outlet in the midst of the day.
Fitness tracking incorporates some of Fitbit’s best features, and heart rate monitoring is incredibly precise whether you’re jogging, swimming, or hitting the gym. New tools can assess workout intensity and cardiac load, providing a much more accurate picture of how you’re performing. Runners, in particular, will appreciate the flexibility to create custom routes and even receive suggested plans based on how you’re performing. Furthermore, sleep data is quite detailed, providing you with all of the information you need to begin improving your sleep habits.
Compared to the competition, this is where the Pixel Watch 3 truly shines, as it provides all of the everyday smarts and great health tools without being too large or expensive. The final touch is comfort, as it weighs 31 grams without the strap and is virtually undetectable on your wrist, even when sleeping or wearing it all day. The adjustable straps suit most users, and the dome design eliminates sharp edges that could grab on anything.
Tech
Audeze CRBN2 Electrostatic Headphone at CanJam NYC 2026: Is This the Best Headphone in the World?
Back in 2021, Audeze invited members of the eCoustics team to a private demonstration of something very different. The company’s engineers had been quietly working on a new electrostatic technology called CRBN, a carbon nanotube based driver design that would ultimately become the foundation for a breakthrough medical imaging headphone system. It was ambitious, complicated, and unlike anything the brand had attempted before.
While COVID sent demand for headphones through the roof as millions of people suddenly found themselves working and listening at home, Audeze kept its focus on the bigger picture. The CRBN technology would eventually lead to two of the most ambitious headphones the company has ever produced, including the Audeze CRBN2 electrostatic headphone.
More than a year ago, I asked eCoustics Headphone Editor Will Jennings a simple question: what is the best headphone in the world? Jennings has listened to more headphones and IEMs than anyone in the industry that I’ve met over the past 28 years. The only people who might rival him are Jude Mansilla and Ethan Opolion from Head‑Fi and CanJam. What separates Will from most enthusiasts is that he truly understands the engineering behind these products. Not just the sound, but the science.
He also knows I have a weakness for electrostatic designs. I’ve owned five pairs of MartinLogan electrostatic loudspeakers going back to 1989.
So when I asked the question, he didn’t hesitate.
“Have you read my review?”
Of course I had. I spent the better part of a morning editing it.
“You already have your answer.”
Big City Lights and the CRBN2
New York City and I have a complicated relationship. The good. The bad. And more than a little ugly. Some of my best moments happened here. Some of the worst too. Most of those were self-inflicted. On myself and others. There isn’t enough biltong in the world for me to flog myself with to make the punishment fit the crime.
Living almost 60 miles away now along the Jersey Shore, I don’t come into Manhattan very often anymore. These days I’m more likely to drive down to Philadelphia, stay local by the ocean, or catch a flight to my place in Florida. New York used to be a regular stop. Now it’s more of an occasional reminder.
But the city has a way of changing your perspective when you look at it from the right angle. Forty five floors above the street, the noise fades and the chaos turns into something else. Lights everywhere. Windows glowing. Traffic moving like veins of electricity through the grid. From up there, the city looks almost calm. Order hiding inside the madness.
Listening to the Audeze CRBN2 at CanJam NYC felt a little like that. The glare disappears. The edges sharpen. Details that were buried down at street level suddenly come into focus. A different kind of illumination. Not brighter. Just clearer. And once you see it that way, it’s hard to go back to the street.
The Audeze booth is always packed. Think Penn Station on St. Patrick’s Day, which I’ve survived once and highly recommend avoiding if you value your sanity. So Chris Boylan and I had to circle back more than once to get time with the new Audeze Maxwell 2 gaming headset and the Audeze CRBN2.
I’ve seen the CRBN and CRBN2 paired with the Linear Tube Audio electrostatic headphone amplifier at other shows, but patience has never been one of my defining character traits. Waiting more than five minutes in a drive thru is already pushing it. I’m probably on a few watch lists at Starbucks, Dunkin, and my local deli.
But then something unexpected happened.
The Simpsons comic book store guy who had been glued to the listening spot like a barnacle on a boat suddenly got up and moved. No warning. No explanation. Maybe he spotted another forum user he wanted to antagonize. Or hug.
Same energy, really.
Lost in the Light
For those familiar with the original Audeze CRBN, the Audeze CRBN2 won’t look radically different at first glance. You still get the aluminum travel case and a pair of white gloves, which feels appropriate for a $5,995 electrostatic headphone. Inside the box are the headphones with the attached cable and a desiccant pack. The headband, suspension system, gimbals, and overall cup shape remain largely the same, although the CRBN2 does show off a bit more gold trim around the cups and hardware.
The first real sign that something has changed is the size of the earcups. They’re larger and deeper than the first model, which contributes to a slight increase in weight. The CRBN2 comes in at 480 grams compared to 470 grams for the original. Not a huge jump, but noticeable on paper. The attached cable is also thicker and retains the same 5 pin DIN connector used with electrostatic energizers.
The driver technology remains the core of what makes these headphones unique. Audeze’s carbon nanotube impregnated diaphragm places the current carrying elements directly inside the membrane itself. Unlike electrostatic designs that rely on coatings that can eventually delaminate, this approach embeds the conductive structure into the diaphragm. The company’s research also suggests that this produces a more uniform diaphragm thickness and therefore more consistent movement across the surface.
The big engineering change is something Audeze calls the Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator, or SLAM. It’s a passive acoustic structure designed to improve low frequency performance, specifically in the 10Hz to 50Hz region where electrostatic headphones traditionally struggle. According to Audeze, the system delivers roughly a 6dB increase in output between 20Hz and 30Hz compared to the original CRBN.
And that matters because bass has always been the Achilles’ heel of electrostatic designs. Since their inception, electrostatic headphones and loudspeakers have excelled at transparency, speed, detail, and a massive sense of space. The presentation can feel almost supernatural. But critics have long argued that something is missing. Call it weight. Call it soul.
The sound is often described as ethereal. Beautiful. Haunting even.
But sometimes it feels like there’s no flesh on the bones. Nothing that grabs you by the collar and forces you to feel something. Angst. Joy. Ecstasy. Anger. Fear.
Just light.
The system was not the one I had seen paired with the Audeze CRBN2 at other shows. In previous demos, Audeze often relied on amplification from Linear Tube Audio and a rather serious digital front end from dCS. Neither was in use this time.
Instead, the headphones were driven by the Eksonic Aeras Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier ($7,000). The amplifier is the result of a collaboration between engineers in the United States and Greece, with the company headquartered and manufacturing its products in Athens. It’s a compact but very serious electrostatic energizer designed specifically for demanding headphones like the CRBN2.
The Aeras accepts balanced XLR inputs with an input impedance of 50K x2 and delivers a gain of 1000x. Frequency response is specified from 10Hz to 30kHz with a maximum peak to peak voltage of 1600VAC and a maximum RMS voltage of 1100VAC. Output is handled through a single Stax Pro Bias connector. The amplifier uses four 6S4A vacuum tubes and consumes roughly 100W of power.
Physically, it measures 19 cm x 34.3 cm x 14.2 cm (7.5 x 13.5 x 5.6 inches) and weighs approximately 5.5 kg (12 pounds), making it relatively compact for a tube based electrostatic design.
The digital front end was also different from the typical multi box stacks seen at many CanJam demos. The source was a laptop feeding the $12,000 Imersiv D1 DAC from Millennia Media, which then passed signal to the Eksonic amplifier. Millennia Media, based in California, is best known in the professional recording world for its ultra transparent microphone preamps and mastering grade audio equipment.
Light, Finally With Blood in It
Chris from Audeze left me alone with the rig and I did the only sensible thing. I hit play. First Tool. Then Deadmau5. Closed my eyes.
The first thing that hit me was the bass. Real bass. Through electrostatic headphones. Sub bass information was absolutely there. No, it wasn’t the kind of blunt force slam some dynamic or planar designs deliver, but the mid and upper bass had weight, speed, and definition that made it impossible to ignore. Impactful. Transparent. Lightning fast. Defined. Juicy. Like smoked wings that have been on the grill just long enough to make you forget every other meal you’ve ever had.
Everything I’ve always loved about electrostatics was there. The transparency. The speed. The sense that every tiny detail is floating in its own pocket of air. But now there was texture too. Depth. Emotion. Presence. The kind that makes the music feel alive instead of just technically impressive.
I found myself tapping my fingers on the table while staring straight through the crowd of attendees moving around the room. Hundreds of people. Noise everywhere.
Didn’t matter.
For those few minutes, I was alone with the music.
Switching to vocals changed everything. I could feel Amy in the room. Close enough that it almost felt like her hand was resting against my face. I could practically smell the cheap cigarettes and bad decisions. I probably would have let her kiss me. After she had her shots.
That sense of presence carried through with almost every vocalist I threw at the system. Male. Female. Didn’t matter. They were just there. Standing in front of me like the band had wandered into the room and decided to stay a while. I half expected Elvis Presley to pull up a chair and start talking about Cadillacs and the cost of fame.
And then my mind drifted somewhere else entirely. Upstate New York. Cold air. Used bookstores that smelled like dust and forgotten paperbacks. I remember the way she gripped my fingers as we drove away. My heart was racing so hard I thought the steering wheel might start shaking.
That’s what listening to the Audeze CRBN2 felt like.
Utterly there.
The kind of presence that digs under the ribs and reminds you that some memories never really leave. No matter how painful.
Where to buy: $5,995 at Audeze
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Apple’s MacBook lineup now includes devices designed for both premium users and budget buyers. The new MacBook M4 Air has a lot to offer with its Apple M-series chip, while the new MacBook Neo has focused on usability. Although they belong to the same family, they have been designed for very different users. Let’s compare them.
Design and Display
The MacBook M4 Air retains its signature design profile: a slim, light aluminum unibody that is just as portable as ever. The 13.6-inch display features a bright, colorful Liquid Retina display, perfect for work, play, and all forms of creativity.
The MacBook Neo, meanwhile, takes a more conservative approach with design. Its 13-inch LCD display is not a Retina display, and while it is perfectly suited for everyday use, it is not quite as bright or colorful as the M4 Air.
In simple terms, the MacBook M4 Air focuses on a premium display experience, while the MacBook Neo prioritizes affordability.
Performance and Processor
The major difference between the MacBook M4 Air and the MacBook Neo is the processor. The MacBook M4 Air is powered by the M4 chip, which has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.
Meanwhile, the MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip, which has a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU. The MacBook Neo supports everyday activities like web browsing, streaming media, document creation, and online meetings. Therefore, the MacBook M4 Air is suitable for professionals, while the MacBook Neo is suitable for students.
When it comes to memory and storage, the MacBook M4 Air provides more flexibility. The laptop starts with 16GB of unified memory and can be expanded up to 32GB. Storage options range from 256GB to 2TB, which is useful for professionals who need extra space for files and applications.
The MacBook Neo keeps its configuration simpler. It comes with 8GB of memory and storage options of 256GB or 512GB. These specifications help students and casual users manage documents, applications, and media comfortably.
Overall, the MacBook M4 Air handles heavier loads better than the MacBook Neo.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The MacBook M4 Air takes the game to the next level in terms of connectivity. It has two Thunderbolt ports and Apple’s MagSafe charger. The MacBook M4 Air’s Wi-Fi 6E connectivity delivers fast internet speeds.
The MacBook Neo takes a simpler approach. It mainly includes standard USB-C ports and basic wireless connectivity. Some premium connectivity features available on the MacBook Air are not included in this model.
In terms of battery life, both laptops perform well. The MacBook M4 Air can last up to 18 hours on a single charge. The MacBook Neo is designed to last an entire day, though it does not match the MacBook Air’s battery life.
Price Comparison
In terms of price, there is a significant difference between the MacBook Neo and the MacBook M4 Air. While the MacBook M4 Air is priced at approximately Rs 90,068, the MacBook Neo is priced at Rs 69,990. This is the reason why the MacBook Neo is a good option for anyone looking for a budget-friendly computer.
To summarize, the best MacBook for you will depend on your intended use. The MacBook Neo is good for students and new users, while the MacBook M4 Air is good for professionals.
Photo credit: Android Headlines | OnLeaks
The Pixel 11 Pro Fold enters familiar ground, with new CAD renders providing the best look yet at what Google has in mind for its next book-style foldable. These photographs, leaked by a reputable source, OnLeaks, in partnership with Android Headlines, reveal a smartphone that moves forward quietly rather than trying to shake things up with crazy innovation.
Measurements reveal a considerable but mild slimming, with the phone measuring 10.1mm when folded, down from 10.8mm on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and 4.8mm when unfurled (down from 5.2mm the previous time out), but the height remains constant at 155.2mm and the unfolded width remains at 150.4mm. When folded, the width is approximately 76mm. These little changes improve the phone’s feel in the hand, but it still falls short of the elusive sub-9mm zone claimed by some of its competitors.
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The design remains largely unchanged, with the cover screen featuring a centered hole-punch camera and rounded corners, while the inside display has a top-right hole-punch selfie cam and uniform bezels that help keep things safe when closed. A shiny metal frame replaces the previous models’ matte finish, giving it a cleaner overall appearance. The buttons are in their typical positions, with the power and lock buttons above the volume rocker.
The changes on the back are really catch your eye, as the camera island has been reworked to accommodate the LED flash and microphone in a pill-shaped cutout alongside one lens, giving it a more integrated and modern appearance. The lenses now protrude out in a tiered arrangement rather than lying flat, and the module as a whole appears bigger and sleeker, similar to camera enhancements seen on previous flagships. The backplate remains completely flat, with the Google logo staying securely centered.
The panels are quite similar to last year, with an 8-inch LTPO OLED panel handling the primary unfolding surface with a refresh rate of 1-120Hz, and a 6.4-inch outside OLED running at 120Hz. Don’t expect any size increases or significant panel enhancements.
Performance is a different story, as the Tensor G6 chipset is now in control, developed on a 3nm process that should make it more efficient and snappy, and we may see a transition to a MediaTek modem from the previous Samsung component. RAM is anticipated to remain at 16GB, while storage options range from 256GB to 1TB; the battery is still around 5,000mAh and does not appear to have increased in size. IP68 protection, Qi2 wireless charging, and all of that remains on the table.
The camera hardware is likely to receive the most significant boost; while we don’t know what’s changed beneath the hood just yet, we anticipate a few tweaks borrowed from the non-foldable Pixel siblings, which may help close some of the gaps in areas such as ultrawide performance.
Google often releases its August flagships in late summer, so we can expect the Pixel 11 Pro Fold to follow suit later this year. As for the price, that’s where things get tough, but predictions are that it will cost slightly more than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, given all of the tariffs and component costs.
[Source]
Gordon Murray’s goal was to create a race car for the track that prioritizes driver connection above all else. This culminated in the GMA T.50s Niki Lauda, a beast of a car that recently demonstrated its capabilities at the Bahrain International Circuit by lapping it faster than any other GT3 race car has ever done.
Dario Franchitti, a development driver and racing veteran with multiple championship victories, set a lap time of 1:53.03 in the closing rounds of testing. This not only broke the GT3 standard by more than seven seconds, but production approval followed immediately, with all 25 examples sold and deliveries expected by mid-2026.
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The engine is a 3.9-liter V12 designed by Cosworth. It’s basically a well made work of art. They experimented with the cylinder heads, camshafts, and intake to see what worked best. They even managed to fit a ram air scoop onto the roof. This yields a whopping 761 horsepower at 11,500 rpm, with 367 lb-ft of torque available around 8,000 rpm. This beast is both a screamer and a lightweight, weighing only 166 kg.
When wet, this beauty weighs just under 900 kilograms. The monocoque, body panels, and the majority of other important pieces are made of carbon fiber. The suspension is equipped with adjustable R53 dampers for compression and rebound, as well as carbon-ceramic brakes and magnesium wheels, to reduce unsprung mass. They were able to get the most out of it by employing slick Michelins specifically designed for circuit work.
They replaced the road car’s manual transmission with an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox. It’s not that the road car’s manual was horrible, but the paddles on the new one deliver quick, positive changes, and the entire transmission is lighter by about 5 kilograms. It all adds up to shifts that feel F1-like, keeping the driver completely focused on the road ahead.
Then there’s the aerodynamics, with the rear fan reaching 7,000 rpm even at low speeds, pulling air through the underbody and producing a remarkable 2,645 pounds of downforce. Combine that with an aggressive front splitter, dive planes, a rear diffuser, and a fixed wing, and you have a rocket that stays planted at high speeds no matter how soon the driver decides to push the throttle after a corner.
Apple released the PowerBook Duo 230 in October 1992 at a hefty $2,610 ($6,050 today), and what a powerhouse it was. This small laptop, weighing only 4.2 pounds and measuring 1.4 inches by 10.9 by 8.5 inches, fits neatly into a briefcase or bag, eliminating the bulk that made other portables of the time difficult to transport. The reason for its slim appearance is that the internal floppy drive had just been removed totally, and engineers went to town on reducing weight wherever possible, a move that reflected what they had done previously with the PowerBook 100, but on a whole new level.
The real genius was in how it dealt with expansion. Apple included a convenient 156-pin docking connector on the back of the Duo 230. Put it in the full-sized Duo Dock, and it instantly transforms into a full-fledged desktop machine with all the bells and whistles. The dock itself included a 1.4 MB disk drive, additional serial ports, a sound output, an ADB port for keyboards and mice, a DB-15 video connector for connecting to an external monitor, and even NuBus expansion slots. You could add a floating-point unit for faster calculations, extra video RAM, a second internal hard drive, or pretty much anything else you needed to complete the job. This configuration allowed the Duo 230 to act as both a lightweight travel companion on the road and a full-fledged workstation when connected at home or in the workplace.
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Without the dock, the laptop remained light on its feet. You had a single mini-DIN-8 serial port to perform printer or modem chores, and the internal slot accepted a proprietary modem card up to 57.6 kbps (but some variants reached as fast as 14.4 kbps). The base unit did not have any built-in SCSI, ADB, or video interfaces, so docking was required for any real work. The trackball was slightly smaller than on full-size PowerBooks, and the keyboard was roughly 88 percent of a regular desktop layout, but with little effort, you could get used to it.
A 33 MHz Motorola 68030 processor powered the system, with 4 MB of RAM that could be expanded to 24 MB via a single dedicated card slot. Storage comes via an 80 MB or 120 MB hard drive, which was quite generous for 1992. The 9.1-inch Supertwist passive-matrix screen displayed 640 by 400 pixels in four-bit grayscale with 16 shades, which was quite impressive given the limitations of passive displays at the time. The battery life of the nickel-metal hydride pack ranged between two and four hours, which was reasonable for the period.
People who owned this machine frequently used it with the Duo Dock for everyday desk work before removing the laptop and transporting it. Honestly, the design of this thing was extremely ahead of its time; it even predated current docking stations by years, but it all relied on an old-school mechanical connection that provided that reassuring click as you secured it firmly into place. To get the most out of their hardware, some eager owners went so far as to overclock it or add more memory. The support extended from System 7.1 to Mac OS 8.1, therefore the Duo 230 lasted far longer than many expected.
Although Apple discontinued this model in July 1994, its concepts had a long-lasting impact on subsequent laptops. The PowerBook Duo 230 demonstrated how a compact laptop might shrink drastically while still providing desktop-style flexibility, owing to some innovative expansion concepts.
Most Americans spend much of their income on necessities: housing is typically their biggest monthly expenditure, followed by transportation, and then food. On average, a roof over our heads, a way to get to work or school, and groceries take up almost half of our income. We spend what’s left on a variety of things, from insurance to entertainment, and hopefully have enough left over for a vacation. Those that are lucky enough to have a budget for luxury items typically focus on small items like footwear or watches, not high-end cars or yachts. While many Americans own a boat, about 95% of those are considered small craft at less than 26 feet long. Larger, luxurious yachts are out of reach for most of us, but a Chinese company hopes to change that, at least in China.
Richard Liu, the founder of online Chinese retailer JD.com, recently launched a new brand called Sea Expandary in the hopes of opening up the country’s leisure vehicle industry to consumers that many not otherwise be able to afford luxury boats, planning to sell yachts for what Americans may pay for a used car. He will invest about $723 million in the venture and is strategizing with two coastal cities in the province of Guangdong for research and development, manufacturing, sales, and after-sales services. At a signing event for the new company, Liu told reporters, “Yachts should be affordable for ordinary salaried workers and everyday consumers.”
Are accessible yachts a reality?
The word yacht brings to mind wealth and a lavish lifestyle most of us can only dream about. In fact, according to U.S. News & World Report, the average cost of a yacht in 2023 ranged from $500,000 to $10 million or more, with super yachts like those owned by billionaires ranging in the hundreds of millions. It’s hard to imagine the words “yacht” and “affordable” existing in the same sentence, but Liu hopes to build yachts that will sell in the same price point as inexpensive cars, for about $14,500 in U.S. dollars.
The yacht industry is booming in China, increasing from around 4,500 to nearly 10,000 over the past three years, and is expected to continue growing for the foreseeable future. That number may sound small, but the middle class is a rapidly growing sector in China, and is a demographic that Liu clearly hopes to tap into.
The manufacturing of pleasure vehicles lags behind commercial shipbuilding, however — more than half of global shipbuilding is done in China. The country hopes to see growth in tourist industry beyond making yachts more affordable for the average joe, with plans to expand yacht tourism routes and programs. What does this mean for Americans? Not much for now, especially with the Trump administration’s sky-high tariffs on Chinese imports, but if affordable yachting takes off in China, it has the potential to boost industry growth elsewhere.
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