Lifeboat Foundation

The rumors were true. Microsoft has announced an Xbox variant with no optical disc drive called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. It looks the same as any other Xbox One S with the important distinction that there’s no drive slot on the front. Microsoft will push game downloads, and it’s including a few of them free with the console. That might nudge some people to drop $250 on the device when it launches in a few weeks, but the pricing still seems too high.

Without the optical drive, Microsoft’s new game console won’t be able to play your existing game discs or Blu-ray movies. However, any digital Xbox content you own will be available on the All-Digital Edition. This seems mainly like a play to attract new gamers who don’t have a giant library of now-useless discs. It also ties neatly into the recently unveiled Game Pass subscription and xCloud game streaming tech.

The All-Digital Edition console comes with free downloads of Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 3, and Minecraft. Microsoft also stresses that all your games, saves, and backups are available in the cloud. You’ll just need a speedy internet connection to access them on short notice. You can at least pre-load new games on the All-Digital Edition to start playing them as soon as they’re live. That might be even faster than popping in a disc that requires installation and patching on launch day.

Continue reading “Microsoft’s All-Digital Xbox One S Is Finally a Reality” »

Rochester researchers have uncovered more evidence that the key to the “Fountain of Youth” may reside in a gene that is found to produce more potent proteins in species with longer lifespans. (Getty Images photo)

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This week, I discuss something rarely talked about, how human beings have an advantage over AI and automation and the great opportunities that this technology revolution will bring.

The good news is, this is a time of great opportunity, but it’s also a time of massive change and disruption for many people and a lot of companies.

Circa 2018

Lockheed Martin quietly obtained a patent for what could be a game-changing nuclear fusion reactor, one that could potentially fit into a fighter jet.

If the latest patent from defence manufacturing giant Lockheed Martin is anything to go by, nuclear fusion technology could revolutionise the future of travel.

Continue reading “Is Lockheed Martin working on a nuclear fusion-powered fighter jet?” »

Circa 2013

A team from MIT are developing thrusters powered by ionic wind as an efficient alternative to current conventional atmospheric propulsion technologies.

The health benefits of raw, unprocessed honey are well known, but in Australia, scientists recently made a startling discovery – that one particular, obscure type of honey is capable of killing just about everything scientists throw at it, including some of the worst bacteria known to man.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (June 2009 edition), and could hold special significance at a time when many of the world’s top antibiotics are failing, especially against resistant “superbugs”.

The honey in question is known as manuka honey, which is produced in New Zealand and also goes by the name of jelly bush honey.

Continue reading “Manuka Honey Is Killing Every Kind Of Bacteria Scientists Throw At It, Even The Super-Bugs” »

Researchers have built a quantum computer prototype that can show 16 possible futures at the same time.

Solid-state sodium-ion batteries are far safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, which pose a risk of fire and explosions, but their performance has been too weak to offset the safety advantages. Researchers Friday reported developing an organic cathode that dramatically improves both stability and energy density.

The improved performance, reported in the journal Joule, is related to two key findings:

The iron core of what was once a world has been found around a white dwarf star, shedding light on the final days of planetary systems—including our own.

• By Jonathan O’Callaghan on April 4, 2019