Modders Delca and Trxye have spent years pouring their hearts into a fan project that reimagines legendary Tomb Raider adventures in side scroller fashion, which is a tall job for anyone, but they’ve pulled it off with flying colors. They’ve created 11 levels inspired by the series’ first three games, and you’ll be guiding Lara Croft through reinvented places such as Peru, Greece, Venice, and the sunken ship the Maria Doria, all of which have been updated with a 2D twist.
NASA’s Curiosity has returned some interesting images from Mars, including shots of rock surfaces that have a striking similarity to dragon scales. Across the ground, dozens of interconnected honeycomb patterns spread as far as the rover’s mastcam can see. The rover captured these photos as it approached Antofagasta, a tiny crater with a diameter of around ten meters. NASA scientists refer to these interconnected patterns as honeycomb-shaped polygons, and what’s particularly remarkable is that they appear to be all over the place here, which we haven’t seen on previous rover trips.
Framework’s Laptop 13 Pro is a nice move in the right direction for users who want a laptop that won’t turn into a pile of outdated tech in a few years. Engineers took everything they learnt from the original, which is now five years old and still going strong, and transferred it immediately to the new model. So the aluminum casing is now carefully CNC machined to make it extremely sturdy without adding bulk. A new graphite finish adds a deep black tone to the exterior, which many users will prefer over the earlier silver option.
Bigme unveils the HiBreak Dual smartphone, a true game changer that features a full-size E Ink display on the front and a small but perfectly functional LCD display on the rear. The device is 80.9 x 159.8 x 8.9 millimeters and weighs 213 grams, making it as comfortable to carry in one hand as possible.
Rooms come alive as thousands of LEDs illuminate in perfect time over a large 50×50 panel. Chris Maher took on this task by converting regular light strips into that massive display without breaking the bank or requiring several controllers. His finished presentation plays well on a single 12-volt power supply and some pretty tiny gear, offering professional-looking animations, text, and patterns.
Apple announced a huge leadership shake-up earlier today. Tim Cook will step down as CEO of the company he has headed for nearly 15 years on September 1st. That post will be filled by John Ternus, who has been with Apple for 25 years, essentially crafting out the modern product line itself. Cook is leaving down but will remain executive chairman, where he will oversee global policy and board activities.
Photo credit: 2 Warps to Neptune
In 1974, Nintendo kicked off their coin-operated arcade era with Wild Gunman. This game required players to step up, pull a handgun from a holster, and face off against some unfriendly live-action gunslingers on a projection screen. Footage came from authentic film reels filmed on site in Japan, capturing the wild west-style shootouts in all their gritty grandeur. Timing was everything here. You could only draw and shoot after your eyes flashed and the word “FIRE” appeared on the screen. Get it right, and you’ll come out on top. If you mess up, draw too soon, or miss your shot, you will lose the duel.
Smartglasses seldom stay in style for this long, but the first Ray-Ban Meta model, priced at $247 (was $329), continues to draw those looking for the full experience without breaking the bank. Let’s start with how they look, because that’s the first thing that may turn some people off, but these frames fit just like old Ray-Bans, so if you put them on, no one will notice.
A recent project by Double M Innovations takes a really simple concept and turns it into something rather unique by sandwiching some tritium vials between conventional solar cells to create a self-contained nuclear power source.
