Big quote: “I am honored to be designated as the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden. I thank the President for the opportunity to lead an agency with such a vital mission and talented staff. It is a privilege to serve the American people and... Read more

In context: Video games have a long history of geo-blocking (aka region locking). In many cases, the practice has legitimate uses, such as preventing software from running where it might be illegal or censored. However, in 2018, the EU imposed rules against “unjustified geo-blocking” and views it as a... Read more

Something to look forward to: Some gamers were disappointed when they discovered the next Half-Life entry was a VR-only game, but its success has spurred Valve into creating more games. That’s according to boss Gabe Newell, who also gave his opinion on Cyberpunk 2077 in a recent interview. Newell,... Read more

Bottom line: Arctic, the PC cooling specialist formerly known as Arctic Cooling, has quietly introduced a new version of its renowned MX-branded thermal paste that’s set to arrive in the coming months. It might not be worth upgrading if you already use a quality paste but if you’re running... Read more

What just happened? As his presidency comes to an end, Donal Trump has pardoned 73 people while another 70 have had their sentences commuted. Despite speculation that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht would be granted clemency, neither made the list. NSA whistleblower Assange, currently serving... Read more

Why it matters: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 isn’t the only new mobile SoC on track to grace flagship smartphones in 2021, nor is it the fastest or most advanced. Still, the new Snapdragon 870 could play an important role in Qualcomm’s product portfolio this year. The chipmaker on Tuesday formally... Read more

In brief: It’s no surprise that cases of depression and anxiety have increased since the start of the pandemic. Isolation, fear, loneliness, and lockdowns can erode even the strongest person’s mental health, but a wearable could benefit those who can’t or won’t seek help. Called the Moodbeam, the device... Read more

TL;DR: For the first time, Virgin Orbit’s customized Boeing 747 will escalate to 35,000 ft and drop a rocket carrying several small satellites for NASA, hoping to send them into orbit. This will be the startup’s first commercial flight and its biggest test since its failed mission last May.... Read more

Highly anticipated: Tesla has long overtaken the headlines around self-driving vehicles, but Intel’s autonomous vehicle division Mobileye is laying the groundwork to be its biggest competitor. Mobileye’s CEO revealed its upcoming lidar tech at CES 2021, and marked an exciting, differentiating strategy between the industry’s leading giants. The world... Read more

Something to look forward to: Microsoft’s initial plans for Windows 10X were derailed and then shifted last year, but the company is getting close to delivering a version for single-screen devices. A leaked build of the upcoming operating system shows a striking similarity to Google’s Chrome OS. Windows 10X... Read more