Category Archives: Comes Next

Business, Comes Next, TechNews

Elon Musk: New Tesla will come in 2023

Tesla is one of the first addresses when customers go looking for a new electric car. A common point of criticism, however, is the small selection of models: If you don’t want a limousine shape, you don’t need to look around at Tesla. This is about to change soon.

Tesla isn’t the fast type when it comes to new models. The selection at the e-car pioneer is sparse. Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y, the manufacturer does not have any other wheels in its range. At least so far, because CEO Elon Musk has other plans in store , two of which are to be implemented soon.

Image: Red Tesla Model S, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

Tesla truck coming in 2022, Cybertruck will be delivered in 2023

These are not previously unknown electric cars. Rather, Musk finally wants to keep his promises and expand Tesla’s product range with the Cybertruck, which has been planned for a long time. In a recent tweet, the Tesla boss announced that the Cybertruck could be delivered in 2023. We are excited to see what will come of it. After all, until recently it was still said that customers could look forward to the massive electric pick-up this year.

The slot in the schedule will probably not be wasted at Tesla, because Musk announces the launch of another newcomer. However, it should hardly be something for the valued private customer: the semi truck will be Tesla’s first electric truck. The e-car manufacturer advertises it on its website as the “safest, most comfortable truck ever” – quite a statement.

In such a huge electric vehicle there is a lot more space for batteries and so the Semi should also achieve the longest range of all Tesla vehicles to date: Depending on the selection, there should be just under 500 km or just over 800 km per battery charge. According to Musk’s Twitter message, the latter version should be delivered later this year :

The promises of Elon Musk: please use with caution

As far as prices are concerned, Musk is keeping a low profile as usual. There is also no fixed date for the Semi or the Cybertruck. The range “in 2023” for the electric pickup is wide – and Tesla customers are used to the fact that Elon Musk cannot keep some delivery promises.

Business, Comes Next, Science, Security

With drones and trucks: How AT&T wants to keep the network stable in the event of disasters

Image: Radio Tower, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

AT&T is actually a normal telecommunications company that takes care that the network in the USA is and remains stable. But the North Americans are also preparing for the really big catastrophe.

Ever heard of a Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) program? The US network operator AT&T has set up a so-called NDR site in a warehouse just outside of Atlanta. Here, a group of volunteers are testing how to quickly bring connectivity back up if a local site is destroyed.

Similar disaster protection initiatives are also being driven by providers such as T-Mobile and Verizon. AT&T’s big advantage over the competition is that it has been training for emergencies since 2008. As reported by Engadget , the company has already spent more than 650 million US dollars to set up the NDR program in the USA.

Versatile options

Part of the contingency plan is a four-wheel drive Club Cab pickup truck packed to the roof with cellular equipment to help restore portions of a collapsed network. For several years, the company has also been using Flying Cell-on-Wings – drones that fly around 90 meters above the ground and can provide 5G coverage of around 25 square kilometers.

Looking to the future, AT&T has also patented a long-distance flight system that can pilot drones thousands of miles away, and is researching solar-powered units that can fly autonomously for days.

As NDR employees stated, Robodogs are currently being tested, which could be used in a variety of scenarios. The ideas range from rescue operations in forest fires to bomb disposal.

AT&T is also represented on the water. What looks like a red mini tank is an in-house amphibious vehicle that can easily make its way through the water thanks to its rear propellers. The vehicle could be used to transport people and payloads in areas devastated by hurricanes.

Ready for all scenarios

Besides all these future scenario toys, the core of the NDR work is the Colt, short for Cell on Light Truck. These trucks can tap into the company’s existing fiber optic lines and provide cellular connectivity in a matter of hours. If the local infrastructure has been completely paralyzed, there are also Satcolts that can connect to satellites.

The company also stocks thousands of generators. While the primary goal is to restore connectivity for first responders and customers, AT&T’s commitment to Firstnet also ensures interoperability with competing carriers.

Business, Comes Next, Gaming

Logitech is partnering with Tencent on a portable cloud gaming device

Logitech has announced it is working on a portable cloud gaming device in partnership with Tencent Games, making it the latest entrant to the portable gaming market.

The device won’t be a direct competitor for the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch, as it’s aimed at cloud gaming rather than on-device processing.

Fruit Pacman, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com
Image: Fruit Pacman, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

That means compatibility will be key. Logitech has confirmed that the device will at least work with Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce. Now when it launches later this year.

The launch date is a bit surprising as we are now in August and Logitech only just announced it without showing any pictures or any real details about the hardware.

However, the company has set up a website to sign up for updates about the device as they come out.

At the moment it seems to be called simply the Logitech G Gaming Handheld, but we can imagine that the name will change later on.

We expect to hear more about the device over the next few months if it does launch later this year, so keep your eyes peeled for more details.

Source: Logitech G and Tencent Games Announce Partnership To Advance

Comes Next, Gaming

No more Boys Club: Why the “GTA 6” release is further delayed

The game company Rockstar Games strives for fairer working conditions for its employees. This should also affect the next part of the “GTA” series.

Massive, beautifully animated worlds, innovative game principles and a hearty pinch of corrosively cynical humor – with games like the “Red Dead Redemption” series, “Max Payne”, “LA Noire” and of course the now five independent “Grand Theft Auto parts have made some of the most successful and important contributions to the computer and video game market. However, it is said to have been catastrophic working conditions under which these masterpieces were created. While attention is now paid to fair production in many areas of consumption, this has not played a significant role in the games industry so far.

Photo: Shutterstock/Rafapress

Rockstar Games: Overtime and Strip Club Field Trips

In 2018, the year the milestone “Red Dead Redemption 2” was released, several Rockstar Games employees spoke up. As the game magazine Kotaku reported, there were incredible working hours with 100-hour weeks before the release. This is so common in the industry that it even has its own name: crunch. Personal life, mental health and marriages have been sacrificed to meet the release date. Employees described the company’s former corporate philosophy to the news site Bloomberg as a boys’ club, with “boozes, fights and excursions to strip clubs”. Sexism and verbal violence were the order of the day. However, that is about to change.

Rockstar Games is contemporary – and so is “GTA 6”

The company, founded in 1998, has since fired some managers who are said to have behaved inappropriately towards employees. The gender pay gap is to be increasingly closed, and there are also additional benefits for the mental health of employees. Of course, this internal restructuring takes time, and according to some statements, certain processes have to be established first. This will primarily have one effect on the developers’ latest project: the release date will be pushed back further. Rockstar Games has been working on “GTA 6” since 2014 – and there is no end in sight, although experts expect it to be released in 2023/2024. But that’s not the only change the latest installment in the action series is set to see.

“GTA 6” for the first time with a female protagonist

For the first time, one of two main characters should be female. In a gaming world in which women have so far mainly appeared as sex objects, this can definitely be called progress. The protagonist, who will also have a Latin American background, is said to be part of a Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo. After New York City and Los Angeles, a fictional version of Miami is to be offered as a new location. Fans of the series should be reminded of “GTA Vice City”. In contrast to earlier times, however, in the future more attention will be paid to satirical content not to step down and thus create a mood against minorities. Whether and to what extent the new company philosophy is actually reflected in the game remains to be seen.

Comes Next, Security, TechNews

Infineon introduces battery-free electronic lock

A new chip from Infineon is powered via NFC via the smartphone – enough to open and close small locks

Infineon’s new NAC1080 chip makes it possible to open and close digital locks without their own power supply. Instead of an internal power supply, the user’s smartphone – which is also the key – supplies the power to open it, as the chip manufacturer reports.

Both data and energy are exchanged via NFC – a process that is used, for example, for payment transactions via smartphone. Data transmission is encrypted thanks to an integrated AES128 accelerator and a random number generator.

To open the lock, the smartphone must be held directly against the lock equipped with the chip, as with other smart locks. The lock then draws energy from the built-in NFC technology through so-called energy harvesting. On average, different devices can transmit around 20 milliwatts, according to Infineon, and significantly more with some models.

Use with smaller locks

A capacitor collects the energy; the chip uses them to check whether the user is authorized and to open the lock with a small motor. According to Infineon, the technology is particularly suitable for smaller locks on office cabinets, lockers, parcel boxes or mailboxes. The duration of the opening process should be around two seconds – depending on the smartphone used and the energy transmitted.

Larger, harder-to-move locks require more energy to be transferred, which takes longer. It is therefore more conceivable to use it as an emergency option for house or hotel doors if the lock’s own energy supply fails. According to Infineon, one would then have to wait a little longer for the opening, but at least this could save the expensive key service. The first products with the chip could be on the market next year.