Category: Technology

AT&T just announced OneConnect, a new service that lets customers sign up for both wireless service and fiber home internet under a single subscription. Pricing starts at $90. This could end up saving some serious bucks, especially for those who are paying around $100 per month for each from separate providers.

These plans offer unlimited mobile data, which is great. The home internet speed caps at 1Gbps, which is a decent enough metric.

Pricing starts at $90 per month, which includes a single phone line, unlimited data. This plan also covers mobile data for three devices of the user’s choosing, like smartwatches and tablets.

Family plans shoot all the way up to $225 per month, but the pricier subscriptions increase the number of covered mobile devices to ten and allow up to ten concurrent phone lines. This could be a huge money-saving opportunity for large families.

The company hasn’t said anything about throttling users once they reach a certain cap on mobile data, which should please customers. This is similar to how T-Mobile handles its Magenta Max plan. Taxes and fees are included in the quoted prices, which means there shouldn’t be any surprises when the bill comes around.

We’re living in the golden age of retro console modding. If you have an old Game Boy Advance lying around, it’s possible to give it a new lease on life with aftermarket parts like an IPS display and USB-C charging. But as amazing as those mods are, most still require an original GBA motherboard with a working processor and RAM. That’s what makes the PlayStation Hybrid from YouTuber Secret Hobbyist so cool. Over the past couple of months, they’ve been working to design, prototype and build the ultimate PlayStation PCB, one that incorporates the best parts of different model revisions while adding a couple of modern conveniences.

The specific motherboards Secret Hobbyist’s PCB pulls parts from are the PM-41 v2 and the PU18, with the former being a PSOne board while the latter was sourced from a “phat” model. The decision to incorporate parts from different PlayStation variants makes a lot of sense if you know something about the history of the console. Between the release of the PlayStation in 1994 and the smaller PSOne in 2000, Sony made multiple revisions to the original design to address hardware issues and eke out cost savings.

One component that you can find on older models, but not the PSOne, is an Asahi Kasei-made digital-to-analog audio converter (DAC). Over the years, this DAC has gained something of a cult following among audiophiles, with some of the earliest models like the SCPH-1000 and SCPH-3000 being particularly sought after as CD players because they also came with RCA outputs, a feature Sony later cut from subsequent revisions. As for the PU18, it has a part that makes it compatible with the X Station, a CD replacement that allows a modded PlayStation to read games from a microSD card.

From the PSOne, Secret Hobbyist sourced the console’s GPU and CPU, which are more power efficient than the ones found on its older siblings. Lastly, they incorporated an FPGA chip from a Hispeedido mod kit to make their hybrid PlayStation capable of outputting video over HDMI.

The final result is a custom PCB that is even smaller than the PSOne’s PM-41 v2, draws less than two watts of power and works with modern displays. That power draw means the Hybrid PlayStation could be engineered to be a handheld. Secret Hobbyist still has yet to design an enclosure for their new Frankenstein console, but judging from the comments on their video, people are excited to see the final result. In the meantime, be sure to watch the full video to learn more about the project and see some incredible soldering work.

Your game collection says a lot about you. With a cute new game, you can also give your collection a space that’s just as personalized. BOXROOM is a building sim where the whole purpose is creating a space to show off your game library. You can select furniture, paint and lighting, then you choose games from your Steam library to display on your virtual shelves. Titles appear in game boxes, giving it a throwback feel to the days where a game collection had to be physical. Once complete, the room serves as a launcher, allowing you to boot up a title from the game box. The demo is available now, and the team said that BOXROOM will launch in early access soon.

This is a fun idea, although it’s unlikely that you’d fit your entire collection into even this virtual space if your Steam library starts to number in the hundreds, or even thousands, of games. As with an IRL space, you’d need a warehouse rather than a cute, cozy room. But if you wanted to have a curated selection of your go-to titles in a customized virtual space, this might be a fun addition to your already sizable collection. Or, if you want a virtual reality take on a similar idea, EmuVR might be worth a look.

Uber has acquired Blacklane, a Berlin-based startup that offers chauffeur services and bookings through its app, with plans to expand further into the luxury travel industry. Blacklane, founded in 2011, acts as a liaison between independent local chauffeur services and travelers looking for a more premium ride. According to Uber, the deal is subject to regulatory approvals but is expected to close by the end of 2026.

“This partnership marks a significant milestone in Blacklane’s next chapter and is a powerful step-change in introducing our service to new markets globally,” Jens Wohltorf, founder and CEO of Blacklane said in a press release. Uber didn’t disclose the acquisition details and it’s not clear if Uber Elite and Blacklane will compete against each other.

Currently, Blacklane is available in at least 500 cities across more than 60 countries. Besides on-demand chauffeur hailing, the startup offers long-distance rides from city to city, airport pickup with flight tracking, and by-the-hour bookings. Uber’s acquisition of Blacklane comes several weeks after it launched Uber Elite as an invite-only service for its “luxury ride experience.” Besides Uber Elite and Blacklane, another luxury hailing service has recently entered the US market. Earlier this month, Wheely announced its US debut with New York City as its first location, with five others to be announced in the coming years. Blacklane also currently operates in New York City, along with several dozen other cities in the US.

Microsoft’s Copilot is getting even better at research thanks to a new feature that combines the power of both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. In a blog post announcing Copilot Cowork‘s availability, Microsoft debuted the Critique feature that will be used in Microsoft 356 Copilot’s Researcher tool. Unlike the standard Copilot, Researcher is designed to tackle more complex tasks with multiple steps.

Now, Researcher is getting even better at that with the Critique feature that uses GPT responses, which are then refined by Claude. In a blog post, Microsoft said that, “this architecture creates a powerful feedback loop that delivers higher-quality results across factual accuracy, analytical breadth, and presentation,” adding that Researcher’s process is similar to what you see in “academic and professional research settings.” Microsoft claims the upgrade scores somewhat higher (compared to the most recent Perplexity Deep Research models) on the Deep Research Accuracy, Completeness, and Objectivity benchmark. On its own, Anthropic has a Research feature that can use multiple Claude agents to provide a comprehensive response to more complex requests.

If you prefer doing research with a little more autonomy, Microsoft also added the Model Council feature that’s available as an alternative option for Researcher. With Model Council, you’ll get side-by-side responses from both Anthropic and OpenAI, with a report that shows where the models agree and disagree. Both features are currently available in Microsoft 365 Copilot’s Frontier program, which acts as a early access space for the company’s AI innovations.

Microsoft has confirmed exactly when this year’s Xbox Games Showcase will take place. It will air at the usual time, 1PM ET on the Sunday (June 7) of Summer Game Fest weekend. In recent years, the company has offered a deeper dive into one particular game straight after the showcase, and it’s sticking to that format this time with a closer look at Gears of War: E-Day.

The showcase and Gears of War: E-Day Direct will be available in more than 40 languages, including American Sign Language and British Sign Language. A stream with English audio descriptions will be available as well. You can watch it on several of Xbox’s various social channels, including YouTube, Twitch and Facebook.

This is typically Xbox’s biggest showcase of the year. It will be the first Xbox Games Showcase with Asha Sharma at the helm of Microsoft’s gaming division. Perhaps we’ll hear some more details on the next Xbox (aka Project Helix), which is confirmed to be a system that will run PC games — much like the upcoming Steam Machine.

Along with more details about a brand-new Gears of War game, it seems likely that we’ll learn the release date for Fable during the Xbox Games Showcase. That game is slated to arrive this fall.

We don’t yet have exact release dates for Minecraft Dungeons 2 or Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the first Halo game’s campaign. Those are scheduled to debut this year as well, so they seem like prime candidates for showcase appearances. Microsoft also has Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3, OD (from Kojima Productions) and something new from Toys for Bob in the hopper.

In addition, Microsoft is promising the return of Xbox FanFest, an in-person fan event, to help mark the brand’s 25th anniversary. Sharma confirmed this will take place in Los Angeles, where all of the Summer Game Fest events are going down. “This year’s experience will include a look back at the last 25 years, alongside a forward view of what’s next,” according to an Xbox Wire blog post.

It’s safe to say that Project Hail Mary is a success. The movie has taken in over $300 million globally, making it the best showing for Amazon MGM yet, Variety reports. Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion in 2022.

Creed III previously held the record for Amazon MGM, having grossed $276 million. Notably, the achievement for Amazon MGM is just versus its own markers, rather than against other production companies. But it’s certainly notable given streamers aren’t known for focusing on theatrical releases.

With that said, Amazon MGM has pivoted recently, announcing last April that it planned to release 14 films in theaters this year. These titles include Is God Is (May 15), Masters of the Universe (June 5), and Verity (October 2).

Project Hail Mary is based on a 2021 novel by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. It follows Ryan Gosling as high school teacher Ryland Grace, who wakes up on a spacecraft with no idea who he is or why he’s there. It has garnered mostly positive reviews and a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The fighting game community is going to have their hands full this summer between the release of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game. The studio behind the 2D fighting game based in the Avatar universe announced that a July 2 release date with a trailer that shows off new gameplay and a base price of $29.99.

The game will launch with 12 characters, encompassing both the heroes and villains from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The game’s developer, Gameplay Group International, said that there are more than 900 hand-drawn frames for each character, which makes the game look like it came directly out of the beloved TV series. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game will feature both casual and ranked matches, using a rollback netcode to ensure smooth frame-by-frame action between players, along with crossplay across PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.

For those more interested in the lore, there will be a single-player story mode and a gallery mode with “never before seen art.” Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is currently available for pre-order, starting at $29.99, but there’s a $59.99 deluxe edition that includes a digital art book, music soundtrack, unique HUDs and a Year 1 Pass, which adds five additional characters that will be released in the future. Those who pre-order will also get a Samurai skin for Appa, exclusive character colors and voting privilege for the Year 1 Pass characters.

It’s a sad day for the dozens of players still grinding The Elder Scrolls: Blades. Bethesda announced that it’s permanently shutting down the servers for its free-to-play mobile spinoff on June 30. First spotted on Reddit, The Elder Scrolls: Blades has already been delisted from the App Store and Google Play store, and is currently unavailable on the Nintendo Store.

In the meantime, players will receive a free bundle of Gems and Sigils, while all items in the in-game store are available for just one Gem or Sigil each. With a server shutdown imminent, The Elder Scrolls: Blades‘ will at least cross its six-year mark since its official release was in 2020 for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch. The dungeon-crawling spinoff did see early success when more than one million iOS users downloaded the game during the first week of its early access period, but it never amounted to the commercial success of Bethesda’s mainline titles.

In the end, The Elder Scrolls: Blades ended up with a “Generally Unfavorable” score on Metacritic, with critics calling it “repetitive” and filled with microtransactions. The shutdown doesn’t come as a total surprise, since Bethesda also killed off its other spinoff, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, by halting development in 2019 and ultimately taking the game’s servers offline in January 2025. For anyone who still wants to play a mobile spinoff of Bethesda’s fantasy world, there’s still The Elder Scrolls: Castles.