Ford became the first major automaker to get into bed with Tesla after the US government pushed to make electric vehicle charging more widely available. The automaker has signed an agreement starting in the spring of 2024 so that some Ford electric vehicles can reduce power at certain Tesla Supercharger stations. As part of the pact, Ford said, starting with the 2025 model year, it will switch to Tesla’s open-source North American Charging Standard (NACS) on its vehicles. Meanwhile, existing models that still use the world-standard Combined Charging System (CCS) (more or less) will be able to take a Tesla-designed adapter to fill the gap.
The deal is surprising, especially given the relative power, size and prestige of the two companies involved. Ford, one of the world’s biggest automakers, is ceding control of its charger’s future to a relative minnow, despite having built up a massive own-brand charging network. Not to mention, it risks creating a NACS-CCS EV charging format war, which could erode consumer confidence in EVs. After all, if you stop at a gas station anywhere in the United States, there should be a one-size-fits-all way to get fuel into your tank without worrying about pipe size.
–Dan Cooper
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At least for those who signed up for the Search Labs waiting list.
At I/O, Google presented SGE, its experimental system for integrating generative AI into its search results. Now, the company’s response to Bing AI is open for testing, at least to users who signed up for Search Labs’ waiting list. Once they get the email saying they have access, they can type into the Google search bar – there’s no separate chat window like Bing – to get search results generated by the AI, which they can either expand on or choose to ask follow-up questions. .
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It’s a small but vital step on Elon Musk’s road to getting wires into people’s brains.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s controversial brain-computer interface startup, says the FDA has approved it to begin human trials. The regulator has yet to confirm the claim, and while the company said it is not yet recruiting for a human trial, this approval makes one possible. In a tweet, Neuralink wanted to celebrate the “incredible work” done by its team to get the FDA’s blessing, not mentioning that it was rejected in March after it was revealed that more than 1,500 animals implanted with technology were dead.
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$10 a month for three movies isn’t such a bad deal.
After months of testing, MoviePass’ all-you-can-eat movie subscription has relaunched in the United States. This new version will offer you a tiered subscription plan, with the lowest offering charging you $10 per month for three screenings. It might not be the crazy deal offered by the previous version, but it’s still a hell of a lot cheaper than most single tickets. And if you’re a real movie buff, you can pay up to $40 a month for 30 screenings, which is staggering per movie.
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The additional delay will allow the developers to polish the title.
Gearbox/Blackbird Interactive Edition
Homeworld 3, the long-awaited second sequel to the groundbreaking space RTS, has been further delayed until February 2024. This is the second time the title has been pushed back, with developers Blackbird Interactive asking for more time to tweak and refine the title. Given that Homeworld 2 debuted in 2003, the two-decade wait for a real follow-up (yes, I don’t know Kharak Deserts) will test the idiom “good things come to those who wait” to its limits.
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