Tag: built
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Built a History-Making Multiverse
‘Manufacturers will put a screen on anything’ I say staring at a distro plate with a 7-inch monitor built in
‘Luxury £1.5m shopping hub’ built after London riots abandoned with just one shop left
You can now fly the largest aircraft ever built in ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’
One year ago today, the largest aircraft ever built was destroyed during the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, the Antonov An-225 Mriya is once again taking to the skies — albeit in Microsoft Flight Simulator. What’s more, if you buy the add-on, you could help restore the only real-life Mriya that was ever completed.
The Ukraine-built Mriya was an ultra-heavy lift jet transport aircraft with six engines. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built and it had the largest wingspan of any plane at 290 feet. The Mriya, which had its first flight in 1988, was used to transport things like Soviet space shuttles, tanks, diesel locomotives and dozens of cars at a time.
A second Mriya was in the works, but it was never finished. There are plans to reconstruct the plane by using parts of the destroyed Mriya and pieces from the unfinished airframe. The project is expected to cost over $500 million.
The Microsoft Flight Simulator version of the Antonov An-225 Mriya is available in six liveries, including an Xbox Aviators Club one. It’s in the in-game marketplace on PC today and will be available for the Xbox Series X/S and cloud versions later this month. The Mriya costs $20, with all proceeds going to the Antonov Corporation’s Mryia reconstruction efforts. Meanwhile, iniBuilds, the team behind the virtual Mriya, has released a manual and other details about the plane on its forums.
The Nokia G22 is HMD’s first phone built with repairability in mind
Just ahead of Mobile World Congress, HMD Global has announced a trio of Nokia phones, including the first one it built specifically with repairability in mind. The company has teamed up with iFixit to offer official repair guides and parts to help people fix issues such as a busted display, kaput battery or wonky charging port on the G22.
The device has a plastic rear casing made entirely of recycled materials, and comes with the promise of two years of Android updates, three years of security patches and a three-year warranty. The G22 is very much an entry-level phone — it has a Unisoc T606 CPU and tops out at 128GB of internal storage (though that’s expandable via microSD). It has a 6.5-inch HD display with a 90Hz refresh rate. There’s a 50MP camera, 2MP depth camera and 2MP macro sensor. The device supports 20W fast charging, though it runs on Android 12 rather than the latest OS.
The G22 embodies the drive HMD has been making to become more environmentally friendly. With other manufacturers such as Apple, Google and Samsung offering official repair guides and parts so consumers can resolve issues by themselves, it makes sense that smaller brands would do the same.
You’ll be able to pick up a G22 in gray or blue starting on March 8th. It starts at £150 ($179) or you can snag one through HMD’s Circular subscription service. To fix certain issues, you can snap up a Fit Kit (i.e., the tools) from iFixit for £5. A replacement battery will cost £23, a display £45 and a charging port £19.
HMD also announced the Nokia C32, an Android 13 phone with “stellar imaging algorithms” and a 50MP main camera. The company says it offers the best image quality of any C-series device to date. The C32 has an octa-core, 1.6Ghz CPU, up to 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. There’s a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a notch for the 8MP selfie camera. The £130 ($155) device will be available in charcoal, green and pink, and it will land in the UK this spring.
In addition, there’s the Nokia C22. Like the other new models, it has IP52 splash and dust protection, a microSD slot and (HMD claims) a battery that can run for up to three days on a single charge. The C22 has a dual 13MP camera and a rugged metal chassis, along with Android 13, a 6.5-inch display and an octa-core, 1.6Ghz CPU. Internal storage tops out at 64GB. Again, this is a budget-friendly phone — it starts at £110 ($131). It comes in black and sand colorways and it will be available in the spring.
On top of all that, HMD wants to bring manufacturing to Europe. “In the first stage of this journey, the company is developing capabilities and processes to bring 5G Nokia device production to Europe in 2023,” it said in a press release. The fact that the European Union is aiming to manufacture more chips in the region rather than relying on parts from Asia could make HMD’s plan more viable. Making phones in Europe primarily for a European market falls in with HMD’s environmentally friendly mission too.
Families would be average of ‘£600 better off’ if Britain built more houses
FAMILIES would be an average of £600 better off if Britain builds more houses, Rishi Sunak has been told.
Former Housing Minister Brandon Lewis today came out swinging against politicians who hate new homes.
Families would be an average of £600 better off if Britain built more houses[/caption]
In the midst of a chronic housing shortage, he urged town halls to let developers build so increased supply can drag prices down.
Mr Lewis said if 400,000 more homes were built every year, the economy would grow by £17.7bn – an increase of £600 in GDP per household.
And at least an extra 250,000 families at least would finally be able to buy a house per year, with landlords, movers and second home owners filling the rest.
In a new report for Policy Exchange the ex-minister also argued for a major expansion of social housing and for councils to be more upfront about what developers must do to secure planning approval.
The average UK house currently costs an eye-watering nine times average earnings.
It’s the worst prices have been since 1876.
Last year Housing Secretary Michael Gove watered down mandatory building targets after caving to NIMBY MPs.
Mr Lewis said: “To fulfil our country’s great potential, we must give young people cause to believe that, like their parents, securing a good job will enable them to buy a home of their own, and to settling down and have children.
“These ambitions depend on us delivering more homes. Addressing the UK’s housing shortage is a huge challenge, perhaps the greatest that we face as a country.
“At the same time, though, solving the crisis holds out the dual prospect of placing rocket boosters under our economy and selling a new generation on the British dream of homeownership.”
£25million Holocaust memorial to be built outside Parliament after ministers stepped in to override planning laws
A £25MILLION Holocaust memorial will be built outside Parliament after ministers stepped in to override planning laws.
The monument and education centre in Victoria Gardens has been slammed by residents and heritage groups who say it will ruin the green space.
And last year the High Court ruled it couldn’t go ahead.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove introduced a Bill to override historic laws stopping the large gold structure from being approved.
The minister insisted the monument will serve as an important reminder of the horrors of anti-Semitism.
He said: “As a nation, it is vital we learn from the past to build a future which is free from prejudice and hatred.
“This memorial will rightly sit at the heart of Westminster, alongside other great symbols of our democracy, and will act as an inspiration to the whole nation for generations to come.
“Today’s Bill is timely as the remaining survivors are becoming older and fewer in number, meaning it is vital that we push ahead with the Memorial – we owe it to the six million Jewish people who were murdered.”
Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation car OS is built around paid software bundles
Mercedes-Benz is developing a new in-house operating system to power its next generation of electric vehicles. Announced today at an event the automaker held in California, Mercedes said MB.OS – short for Mercedes-Benz Operating System – will deliver enhancements in safety, automated driving and navigation.
The automaker is working with several partners to build its new software stack, including NVIDIA, Luminar and Google. Mercedes will lean on NVIDIA for the company’s software, data and AI expertise. The GPU maker’s Orin chipset will also power the first generation of electric cars Mercedes builds based on its upcoming Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) platform. The automaker expects the first MMA EV to arrive by mid-decade.
As for Luminar and Google, the former will provide Mercedes with its LiDAR technology, while the latter will work with the company to build a branded navigation experience incorporating features from Google Maps. In the meantime, Mercedes is partnering with Google to bring the company’s “Place Details” data to all cars that sport the latest version of its MBUX infotainment system. You can use the integration to look up a local business, find out when it opens, and see photos of the inside and what other Google users have to say about it. Mercedes plans to open MB.OS to other partners as well, including TikTok, Zoom and even Angry Birds developer Rovio.
All MMA EVs will ship with the hardware needed for Level 2 automated driving. Mercedes is also working with NVIDIA and Luminar to offer Drive Pilot, a Level 3 automated driving system. The software will arrive later this year in 2024 EQS and S-Class models. Naturally, MB.OS will also enable Mercedes to deliver over-the-air updates, allowing it to add new features to existing cars.
The company isn’t shy about the fact that some upgrades may cost a one-time fee or come as part of a subscription package. In fact, Mercedes has already announced a handful of software bundles it will offer to owners of cars with MB.OS. MB.Connect, for instance, will bring together the company’s navigation, entertainment and communication features in one package. Other bundles, such as MB.Charge, will provide customers with priority access to Mercedes-Benz charging stations. The automaker says it will allow drivers to explore and buy upgrades for their Benz online, through the Mercedes mobile app and directly from the car.
“The company is confident that this strategic approach to software and hardware development will be the basis for lifetime revenues as well as additional contributions,” Mercedes said, adding it expects software revenue from bundles like MB.Connect to contribute “a low-to-mid single-digit billion euro figure” to its bottom line by mid-decade.