Image: Blue Origin It’s been over a year and a half since Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket failed mid-flight, and more than two since its last crewed flight. Now, the company is go to launch six human beings into space. The company’s launch window begins at 6:30AM PT / 9:30AM ET, but will start streaming 40 minutes ahead of time on its website. Blue Origin also normally streams its launches live on its YouTube channel, so it’s a pretty safe bet it will do so for its NS-25 mission tomorrow. Assuming the launch goes as planned, it will carry six passengers aboard, including the 90-year-old Ed Dwight, who was America’s first Black astronaut candidate but has never been to space. The other passengers are Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol... Continue reading…

Is this a Game Boy Advance SP or Nintendo DS Lite? Who can say? | Image: Retrohai hai Softbank Have you ever looked at a Nintendo DS and thought it would be cooler if the top screen was swapped for the Game Boy Advance SP’s? Or looked at a Super Nintendo controller and wished it had a GBA SP screen bolted onto the back? Whether you have or not, Hardware modder Hairo Satoh, aka Retrohai hai Softbank, has you covered with some truly cursed reimaginings of Nintendo’s portable consoles. (Recall their portable emulated PlayStation built into the Takara Roulette Controller.) Let’s go on a little journey through Satoh’s Instagram account. Before we get into my favorite mutated Nintendo handhelds — frankententos, if you will — know that Satoh also does some very pretty custom jobs on the company’s various portable consoles. And they’re m... Continue reading…

The 13-inch OLED iPad Pro with the screen removed. | Screenshot: iFixit Apple’s newest iPad Pro is remarkably rigid for how thin it is, and apparently also a step forward when it comes to repairability. iFixit shows during its teardown of the tablet that the iPad Pro’s 38.99Wh battery, which will inevitably wear down and need replacement, is actually easy to get to. It’s a change iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari says during the video “could save hours in repair time” compared to past iPad Pro models. Getting to it still requires removing the glued-in tandem OLED screen, which iFixit notes in the video and its accompanying blog isn’t two panels smashed together, but a single OLED board with more electroluminescence layers per OLED diode. With the screen out of the way, iFixit was essentially able to pull the battery... Continue reading…

Surprisingly, Ecobee’s smartest thermostat also makes for a decent air quality monitor / smart speaker. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge The temperatures are about to soar now that summer is almost upon us — and so are our cooling bills. If you want to keep comfy while saving money on your energy bills, it’s worth investing in Ecobee’s Smart Thermostat Premium now that it’s down to its best price of the year. Normally $249.99, right now you can buy it at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Ecobee for $219.99, which is $10 shy of its all-time low. Ecobee’s smart thermostat is our favorite on the market, one that goes beyond your typical heating and cooling needs. It can adjust your HVAC system based on where you are in your home (if you’re home at all), and even keep your pets safe as you travel thanks to its support for various temperature alerts and reminders — a... Continue reading…

The GE Profile is a smart indoor smoker — designed to keep smoke inside the oven, not in your kitchen. Wi-Fi connectivity means it works the Smart HQ app for remote control, but there’s no magic sauce here to make you BBQ whizz. The GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker delivers on its promise of bringing smoking indoors, but sadly its smarts didn’t make me a better pitmaster. Continue reading…