During an event last summer, Sony introduced Stray, a new game that will arrive on the PS4 and PS5 consoles in 2022. The game's main character is a stray cat, which players take control of to navigate through a futuristic cyberpunk city while injured. Fast-forward to this week and we've gotten our first long look at the game via a gameplay trailer.
On July 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. According to the CDC, this report contains the data that resulted in the agency's decision to once again revise its mask mandate, encouraging people in places with high virus transmission to wear face masks indoors even if they're fully vaccinated.
Right up against the weekend here in late July, 2021, Microsoft released the first official Beta for Windows 11. This release is available to anyone who wishes to join the Windows Insiders program, and the software can be found in the Windows Beta Channel right this minute. As it is with any pre-release software, it's important to run this update ONLY on a machine that does not contain any important data.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published its response to Blue Origin's and Dynetics' protests over the lunar lander contract granted by NASA to competitor SpaceX. The protests were filed in late April, resulting in NASA temporarily pausing the lunar lander contract given to SpaceX while the GAO resolved the two formal protests.
According to newly published research, dogs are sensitive to lies. More specifically, evidence was found that pet dogs have mechanisms underlying sensitivity to others' beliefs. It seems likely that dogs have what it takes to sense whether a person speaking with them is being deceptive, whether they believe what they are saying is true. Tests were run on a group of 260 dogs to see if they were able to distinguish between human true (TB) and false beliefs (FB).
Many people around the world turn to caffeinated beverages to get a boost of energy in the morning or to help them focus on a difficult task. According to a new study from the University of Greenwich, caffeine offers similar benefits for bees, at least when it comes to getting their work done. Such caffeine solutions may help bees better pollinate crops.
On June 15, Disney World dropped its face mask required for guests who had been fully vaccinated. Fast-forward a little over a month and the same face mask requirements have been reinstated, meaning every visitors must wear a mask even if they've received both shots of the vaccine.
Sega has revealed that two big promos are launching in Two Point Hospital today. With the first one, we'll see a variety of Sonic the Hedgehog items go live in the game in celebration of Sonic's 30th anniversary. The second is a free-to-play promo that will allow newcomers to the game to check it out without paying for the privilege first.
Google's quantum computer has been used to build a "time crystal" according to freshly-published research, a new phase of matter that upends the traditional laws of thermodynamics. Despite what the name might suggest, however, the new breakthrough won't let Google build a time machine.
![Is the McDonald’s PS5 controller legit, or just clowning? [UPDATE: Real, sort of]](https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/mcdonalds-ps5-controller-australia-1280x720.jpg)
This week an apparent McDonald's Sony PlayStation collaboration surfaced in Australia. This collaboration appears to have resulted in a fancy new McDonalds Australia 50th birthday celebration PlayStation 5 controller. The odd bit about this situation isn't that the controller exists, but that it appears to exist without any promotional support from McDonald's Australia, Sony Australia, or any of the game streamers supposed to be taking part in the release.
Yesterday, Sony launched its very first PS5 system software beta. It's a big one, too, as it enables the PS5's M.2 expansion slot that has sat dormant since the console released late last year. For now, M.2 support for the PlayStation 5 is only in beta, and while anyone with a PS5 can register to receive beta software, it's probably best to hold off on adding an M.2 SSD to your console.
The QR code system was originally invented back in the year 1994, pre-dating the smartphone by a decade and a half. The QR code (Quick Response code) that was once mainly aimed at identifying products for stores in a way that was more versatile than the more popular barcode system - UPC barcodes. It doesn't take much more than a camera and a bit of software support to allow a smartphone to use a QR code - so why isn't it a more popular system of communication?