A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off March 30 carrying 10 Iridium Next satellites. A new report, and other data, states that SpaceX has recently raised $500 million, a round the company has yet to publicly confirm. Credit: SpaceX WASHINGTON — A new report concludes space ventures raised nearly $1 billion in the first quarter of 2018, half of that as a new funding round for SpaceX that has the company has yet to publicly announce. The April 10 report by Space Angels, a fund that invests in early-stage space companies, concluded that there was $975.8 million in non-government equity investment in space companies in the first quarter of 2018. That would put the industry on a pace for nearly $4 billion for the year, a figure similar to the estimate made by Space Angels for investment in the industry in 2017. Just over half of that total for the first quarter, though, came from a single investment identified by Space Angels: a $500 million investment in SpaceX led by Fidelity Investments. That investment is intended “to drive development of their satellite communications network, Starlink,” the report stated. However, SpaceX and Fidelity have not disclosed this investment round, and SpaceX has not filed paperwork about it with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SpaceX declined to comment about the Space Angels report. Christina Mannatt, head of marketing for Space Angels, said April 10 said the fund included the investment in its report based in part on a March 16 report by the technology publication TechCrunch, which mentioned only “multiple sources with knowledge of the round.” She also cited inclusion of the funding in Pitchbook, an online database of investments, as well as “a number of our own confidential sources.” Recent media reports have also confirmed an investment in SpaceX of approximately $500 million. Those reports have said the round would value the company at between $24 and $27 billion, depending on the pricing of the shares. Equidate, a company that offers a market for shares of privately-held companies, lists a new Series I investment in SpaceX, valued at $510 million, as of this month. The share price of that investment values the company at $27.4 billion. That’s an increase of more than 25 percent over the previous funding round last year, where the company raised $450 million at a valuation of $21.5 billion. Other major founding rounds cited in the report include $150 million raised by satellite connectivity provider Global Eagle in March from Searchlight Capital Partners. Global Eagle said it would use the funding to pay off a line of credit and for growth initiatives. Spaceflight announced a $150 million Series C round in March as part of its joint venture with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio to develop the BlackSky imaging constellation. The quarter also marked the first investments in space companies by top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Andreesen Horowitz led an $18 million Series A round in Astranis, a San Francisco-based company developing small geostationary orbit broadband communications satellites. Accel Partners led a $26.5 million Series C round in World View, an Arizona company that builds high-altitude balloons for research and other applications, and eventually for tourism. The World View round was one of two Space Angels said it participated in during the first quarter. The other was a $1.6 million seed round it led in SkyWatch, a Canadian company developing a platform for satellite remote sensing data. Space Angels said it was optimistic about the remainder of the year, citing in particular the emergence of small launch vehicles by several companies that can support the growth of other companies planning smallsat systems. “The Space Angels team continues to see high quality investment opportunities across all sectors and we plan to increase both the number of deals and size of our investments in the year ahead,” it stated in the report.

Concept for the next-generation operational control system for GPS satellites. Credit: U.S. Air Force OCX is the poster child for military programs where “both the department and industry are behind the curve in terms of modernization of software practices.” WASHINGTON — Like other troubled military programs, the future version of the GPS control software is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. “It’s a program that I have spent quite a bit of time on,” said Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. The next-generation operational control system for GPS satellites, known as OCX, is an Air Force program but because of its poor track record the management was transferred to the Defense Department. Some Air Force officials privately have said they don’t want it back. Lord recently was part of a program review that included Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Will Roper and Tom Kennedy, the CEO of Raytheon, the prime contractor for OCX. During a meeting with reporters on Friday at the Pentagon, Lord characterized OCX as the poster child for military programs where “both the department and industry are behind the curve in terms of modernization of software practices.” Software development woes are not unusual in defense programs although OCX has stood out for its history of setbacks. The problems with DoD software acquisitions were laid out in a recent Defense Science Board report. A panel of advisers called out the Pentagon and its contractors for using outdated software development methods that the commercial industry abandoned decades ago. The industry has moved to so-called agile development, where engineers make rapid changes, ask for user feedback and adjust the software for the next increment. Most defense programs, meanwhile, continue to use traditional “waterfall” development — sequentially going from requirement to software development and then testing. Lord said OCX as of April 1 was transitioning to an agile approach. “I believe we are at an inflection point in terms of doing things differently,” she said. “We are pivoting from the traditional waterfall software development methodology to agile and devops. So we are coding every day, testing every night.” She said the program is getting high-level attention from the Air Force and from Raytheon, and changes are being made in areas like floor space design so engineers can collaborate in an open space. “We have indications that this program is making progress,” Lord said. “But we don’t have enough data yet to say we are entirely confident that we’re on the road to recovery,” she added. “Early indications are very good at this point.” Software is the “thread that runs through all of our programs,” said Lord. “It’s the functional area that I have focused on.” Lord announced on Friday that DoD hired the chief technology officer of Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute Jeff Boleng to help fix OCX and other challenged software programs like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Boleng is joining Lord’s staff as special assistant for software acquisition. There are today “islands of excellence” in software projects across DoD and the military services. “But we haven’t figured out how to focus that on major programs.” OCX will be the department’s first attempt at doing that in a major acquisition program. “I think we’re on our way,” said Lord. OCX has been “on a journey for over a year” trying to get back on track, said Lord. “I would say it’s probably more of a cultural than a technology transition. I think they’re over the 50 percent mark.” Is OCX out of the woods? By no means, Lord said. “The data has to speak for itself. We will be looking over the next several months to see how many lines of code are actually being developed and are working well.” Raytheon executives have been warned that “we have a high level of management vigilance on the program,” said Lord. “If they demonstrate through metrics that they are making progress in cost and schedule, we will begin to refrain from so many reviews and so forth. We’re closely monitoring where it goes.” In the latest DoD Selected Acquisition Reports mandated by Congress, the price tag for OCX soared by $665.3 million, or 12.3 percent — from $5.4 billion to $6 billion. If successful, OCX will command all modernized and legacy GPS satellites, manage all civil and military navigation signals, and provide improved cyber security and resilience for GPS operations. In November the Air Force accepted delivery of OCX Block 0 launch and checkout system from Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems.

Concept for the next-generation operational control system for GPS satellites. Credit: U.S. Air Force OCX is the poster child for military programs where “both the department and industry are behind the curve in terms of modernization of software practices.” WASHINGTON — Like other troubled military programs, the future version of the GPS control software is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. “It’s a program that I have spent quite a bit of time on,” said Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. The next-generation operational control system for GPS satellites, known as OCX, is an Air Force program but because of its poor track record the management was transferred to the Defense Department. Some Air Force officials privately have said they don’t want it back. Lord recently was part of a program review that included Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Will Roper and Tom Kennedy, the CEO of Raytheon, the prime contractor for OCX. During a meeting with reporters on Friday at the Pentagon, Lord characterized OCX as the poster child for military programs where “both the department and industry are behind the curve in terms of modernization of software practices.” Software development woes are not unusual in defense programs although OCX has stood out for its history of setbacks. The problems with DoD software acquisitions were laid out in a recent Defense Science Board report. A panel of advisers called out the Pentagon and its contractors for using outdated software development methods that the commercial industry abandoned decades ago. The industry has moved to so-called agile development, where engineers make rapid changes, ask for user feedback and adjust the software for the next increment. Most defense programs, meanwhile, continue to use traditional “waterfall” development — sequentially going from requirement to software development and then testing. Lord said OCX as of April 1 was transitioning to an agile approach. “I believe we are at an inflection point in terms of doing things differently,” she said. “We are pivoting from the traditional waterfall software development methodology to agile and devops. So we are coding every day, testing every night.” She said the program is getting high-level attention from the Air Force and from Raytheon, and changes are being made in areas like floor space design so engineers can collaborate in an open space. “We have indications that this program is making progress,” Lord said. “But we don’t have enough data yet to say we are entirely confident that we’re on the road to recovery,” she added. “Early indications are very good at this point.” Software is the “thread that runs through all of our programs,” said Lord. “It’s the functional area that I have focused on.” Lord announced on Friday that DoD hired the chief technology officer of Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute Jeff Boleng to help fix OCX and other challenged software programs like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Boleng is joining Lord’s staff as special assistant for software acquisition. There are today “islands of excellence” in software projects across DoD and the military services. “But we haven’t figured out how to focus that on major programs.” OCX will be the department’s first attempt at doing that in a major acquisition program. “I think we’re on our way,” said Lord. OCX has been “on a journey for over a year” trying to get back on track, said Lord. “I would say it’s probably more of a cultural than a technology transition. I think they’re over the 50 percent mark.” Is OCX out of the woods? By no means, Lord said. “The data has to speak for itself. We will be looking over the next several months to see how many lines of code are actually being developed and are working well.” Raytheon executives have been warned that “we have a high level of management vigilance on the program,” said Lord. “If they demonstrate through metrics that they are making progress in cost and schedule, we will begin to refrain from so many reviews and so forth. We’re closely monitoring where it goes.” In the latest DoD Selected Acquisition Reports mandated by Congress, the price tag for OCX soared by $665.3 million, or 12.3 percent — from $5.4 billion to $6 billion. If successful, OCX will command all modernized and legacy GPS satellites, manage all civil and military navigation signals, and provide improved cyber security and resilience for GPS operations. In November the Air Force accepted delivery of OCX Block 0 launch and checkout system from Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems.

The Air Force has deployed a high-orbiting space surveillance satellite known as the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, Credit: U.S. Air Force. “Trying to explain this to the public has been difficult,” said Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. WASHINGTON — So little is known publicly about the arms race unfolding in space that even retired four-star General Jim Mattis did not consider it a major issue until he became secretary of defense. “I will tell you I did not recognize the degree of the problem when I went through confirmation,” Mattis told Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee. “What you and your colleagues have done have brought it to our attention,” Mattis said during a committee hearing last week. Under Mattis, the Defense Department adopted a new strategy that regards space as a domain of warfare. The administration has increased the military budget for space programs by 14 percent. Outside national security circles, however, it is hard to grasp why space is “contested” or why the United States would have to worry about security threats in space. “Trying to explain this to the public has been difficult,” said Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. A former secretary of the Army and undersecretary of the Air Force, Fanning received many intelligence briefings on the subject. “What a lot of people don’t know is that this is not new,” he said in an interview with SpaceNews. “Those of us that have worked in government and have been briefed know what the threats are,” said Fanning. But access to information outside government is limited, he said. AIA, an organization that advocates for increased government investments in defense and space, helped fund a study that was released last week, “Space Threat Assessment 2018,” by the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project. The study lists potential U.S. adversaries’ space capabilities using unclassified open-source materials. It follows the release of a more in-depth study by the Secure World Foundation on counterspace technologies that are proliferating around the world. Fanning noted that the United States is hugely dependent on a “space architecture we designed a lot like the internet, not with threats in mind.” In the study, “we try to communicate that to the public, not only how vulnerable our assets are but what that means, not just for the military, but for things we do every day.” “It’s a struggle we’ve had as a community to figure out how to explain this beyond our community,” said Fanning. “We pulled the open source material to see if there’s enough out there to be made into a story that makes the case that we have to take this seriously.” In the study’s preface, retired Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, noted that the environment has changed dramatically since the end of the Cold War. Back then, “we expected and planned for the Soviet Union to employ its significant capabilities to disrupt or destroy our space assets,” Kehler wrote. “However, today’s problem is far more complex and potentially far greater in impact than the Cold War scenario. Given our dependence and that of our allies and partners on space, the loss of critical assets today could prove decisive to our ability to monitor critical events like missile launches or nuclear tests, or to successfully prosecute a military campaign.”

An illustration of MethaneSAT, a small satellite designed to track methane emissions from human activities. The spacecraft's design is still under development. WASHINGTON — An environmental group announced plans April 11 to develop and operate its own satellite to track one particular greenhouse gas, the latest sign of the proliferation of smallsat technology. In a presentation at the TED conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), said that his organization planned to develop MethaneSAT, a small satellite designed specifically to measure methane emissions from human activities. The satellite, the organization says, will be able to provide data on methane emissions, particularly from oil and gas facilities, with greater precision than existing satellites or other sensors. EDF plans to use the satellite to monitor 50 major oil and gas regions that account for more than 80 percent of global methane production, revisiting them on intervals of seven days or less. EDF will make data collected by MethaneSAT freely available. “Cutting methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry is the single fastest thing we can do to help put the brakes on climate change right now, even as we continue to attack the carbon dioxide emissions most people are more familiar with,” Krupp said in a statement. “By providing reliable, fully transparent data on a worldwide scale, MethaneSAT will help transform a serious climate threat into a crucial opportunity.” EDF has hired Tom Ingersoll, the former chief executive of Skybox Imaging, to help run the MethaneSAT project. At Skybox, he led the development of a constellation of high-resolution imaging satellites called SkySats. Skybox was acquired by Google in 2014 and renamed Terra Bella, and then sold to Planet in 2017. “Advances in space technology have put satellite projects within reach of any organization with the focus and the will,” Ingersoll said in the statement. “EDF has assembled the right partners with a strong vision and the ability to execute. The potential impact of the MethaneSAT mission has attracted the top talent in the industry to help successfully execute our vision.” Among those partners are Harvard University and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, who will develop the basic scientific and technical requirements for the mission. EDF expects MethaneSAT to be ready for launch in late 2020 or early 2021. EDF has disclosed few technical details about the mission. A rendering of MethaneSAT released by EDF shows a small spacecraft that looks superficially similar to the SkySat satellites developed by Skybox Imaging. EDF spokesman Jon Coifman said April 12 that Ingersoll is working on the technical specifications of the satellite as well as an estimate of its cost. “We’re a couple of months away from being ready to say more about the ultimate design, logistical or finance choices,” he said. The rendering of MethaneSAT, Coifman added, is based on the “best consensus opinion” of its ultimate design from involved in the project, and he said he was unfamiliar with any similarities in its design to that of the SkySats. Initial funding for MethaneSAT is being provided by The Audacious Project, an initiative established by the organizers of the TED conference for “collaborative philanthropy for bold ideas.” The initiative has raised more than $250 million to date, and MethaneSAT is one of five projects it announced April 11 it was backing. It did not disclose how much funding it was providing for the satellite. Coifman said the satellite project was “in good shape” financially thanks to The Audacious Project funding and other EDF donors but didn’t close specifics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The future of the landmark Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance and its survival may depend on the unlikely success of last-minute European interventions with President Donald Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to visit Washington separately later this month and, barring a sudden trip by British Prime Minister Theresa May, will likely be the last foreign leaders invested in the deal to see Trump ahead of his mid-May deadline for the accord to be strengthened. Trump has vowed to withdraw from the 2015 agreement by May 12 unless U.S., British, French and German negotiators can agree to fix what he sees as its serious flaws. Iran has said U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions would destroy the agreement and has threatened a range of responses, including immediately restarting nuclear activities currently barred under the deal. Negotiators met for a fourth time last week and made some progress but were unable to reach agreement on all points, according to U.S. officials and outside advisers to the Trump administration familiar with the status of the talks. That potentially leaves the Iran deal’s fate to Macron, who will make a state visit to Washington on April 24, and Merkel, who pays a working visit to the U.S. capital on April 27, these people said. “It’s important to them and I know they’ll raise their hopes and concerns when they travel here to the United States in the coming days,” Mike Pompeo, the CIA chief and secretary of state-designate, told lawmakers on Thursday. Pompeo’s testimony at his Senate confirmation hearing came a day after the negotiators met at the State Department to go over the four issues that Trump says must be addressed if he is to once again renew sanctions relief for Iran, officials said. Those are: Iran’s ballistic missile testing and destabilizing behavior in the region, which are not covered by the deal, along with inspections of suspected nuclear sites and so-called “sunset provisions” that gradually allow Iran to resume advanced nuclear work after several years, which are part of the agreement. Two senior U.S. officials said the sides are “close to agreement” on missiles and inspections but “not there yet” on the sunset provisions. “Malign” Iranian activities, including its support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen, were dealt with in a separate session that ended inconclusively, according to the officials, who like the outside advisers were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The two officials and two outside advisers said the missile and inspections issues are essentially settled, but would not detail exactly what had been agreed or predict whether it would pass muster with Trump, let alone his new national security adviser John Bolton and Pompeo. Both men are Iran hawks and share the president’s disdain for the deal, which was a signature foreign policy achievement of former President Barack Obama. Bolton and Pompeo’s voices on Iran could be heard as senior U.S. officials discussed Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes against Syria on Friday. In addition to punishing Syria for its apparent use of chemical weapons, the strikes were meant to send a message to Iran about its role in the country, the officials told reporters on Saturday. The officials and advisers said the main sticking point on the Iran deal remains the sunset provisions, with the Europeans balking at U.S. demands for the automatic re-imposition of sanctions should Iran engage in advanced nuclear activity that would be permitted by the agreement once the restrictions expire. To clear the impasse, one official and one outside adviser said a compromise is being considered under which sanctions would be re-imposed if Iran did enough work to reduce the time it would need to develop a nuclear weapon to less than a year. The current deal aims to keep Iran’s so-called “breakout time” to a year. But the expiration of the sunset provisions, the first of which is in 2024, means that the breakout time could eventually drop. The Europeans, who along with the Iranians, have said they will not re-open the deal for negotiation, are reluctant to automatically re-impose sanctions for permitted activity, but have agreed in principle that Iran dropping below a one-year breakout time should be cause to at least consider new sanctions, according to the official and the adviser. How that breakout time is determined is still being discussed, they said. Given the remaining differences, U.S. national security officials are stepping up planning for various “day after” scenarios, including how to sell a pullout as the correct step for national security, how aggressively to reimpose U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the agreement and how to deal with Iranian and European fallout from such a step.

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said April 12 that extending durations of crews on the International Space Station could help deal with any future delays in the development of commercial crew vehicles. Credit: NASA WASHINGTON — NASA is in discussions with its Russian counterparts about extending some upcoming space station missions as a way to buy more time for development of commercial crew vehicles. During an April 12 hearing by the commerce, justice and science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on the agency’s fiscal year 2019 budget proposal, NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said longer “increments” of crews on the ISS could be one way to provide more schedule margin in the event of additional delays by Boeing and SpaceX in the development of their crewed spacecraft. “Right now we don’t show a gap” in U.S. access to the International Space Station, Lightfoot said in response to a question posed by subcommittee chairman Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas). “But we’re looking at options at what can we do to not have a gap.” “We’re working with our partners, our Russian partners, on if we can have longer increments for crew members that go up,” he said. He revisited that later in the hearing. “One thing we have is a great relationship with our Russians partners, and we’re looking at other alternatives about potentially extending mission duration for the current missions that are there so that we don’t gap the ability to get there,” he said. NASA’s current agreement with flying astronauts on Soyuz vehicles expires next year, after the agency purchased three seats on Soyuz flights launching in the spring of 2019 and returning in the fall. It’s not clear what would be involved in extending ISS mission durations, such as any technical issues regarding how long a Soyuz spacecraft can remain docked to the ISS. NASA announced April 5 it had updated its existing commercial crew contract with Boeing to study modifications to the crewed test flight for the company’s CST-100 Starliner. Those modifications would include adding a third astronaut and extending the spacecraft’s stay at the ISS from two weeks to as long as six months. Those changes, Lightfoot noted at the hearing, were another way to mitigate the effects of additional development delays. At the hearing, Lightfoot said there was still schedule margin for the development of Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to be ready by the fall of 2019. Schedules last updated in January call for both companies to make uncrewed test flights of their vehicles in August. Boeing would then make a crewed test flight in November, followed by SpaceX in December. Lightfoot, though, hinted that those schedules would be delayed again. “We still expect to see the first test flights at the end of this year,” he said, later elaborating that these were the uncrewed test flights for both companies. Culberson asked when the crewed test flights would take place, and Lightfoot said he would take that for the record. “I’m focused on the uncrewed one right now,” he said. Juggling the SLS launch schedule Lightfoot also said at the hearing that NASA was revisiting the schedule for Space Launch System missions based on the unexpected windfall it received in the final 2018 omnibus appropriations bill. That bill, signed into law March 23, provided $350 million for NASA to build a second mobile launch platform for the SLS. NASA officials said last year a second platform could help shorten the gap between the first and second SLS launches, but did not include funding for it in its 2019 budget proposal, citing competing priorities. That second launch platform, which would be designed for the Block 1B version of the SLS with the larger Exploration Upper Stage, would reduce the 33-month “iron bar” in the schedule between the first two SLS missions created by the time needed to modify the current platform. That platform has been built to support the Block 1 version of SLS, which uses the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). Lightfoot said that having a second launch platform opens the door to launching a second SLS mission with the ICPS. That could be used, he said, to launch the Europa Clipper mission, which could be ready for launch as soon as 2022. NASA’s 2019 budget proposal, though, plans a 2025 launch of Europa Clipper using a commercially-procured launch vehicle rather than SLS. Another option would be to fly the first crewed Orion mission, known as Exploration Mission (EM) 2, on that second SLS Block 1. “If EM-2 flies that way, we would have to change the mission profile because we can’t do what we would do if we had the Exploration Upper Stage,” he said. “But that still gets humans in orbit and still allows us to check out all the systems that we wouldn’t check out on EM-1.” He indicated that the funding for the second mobile launch platform took the agency by surprise. “You’re going to have to give us a little time, because that was just a couple weeks ago that we found out that we were getting that,” he said. Defending budget cuts The two-hour hearing by the subcommittee was largely cordial, with members thanking Lightfoot for his record-setting service as acting administrator. Lightfoot announced last month he will retire from the agency at the end of April. He was called on by some members, though, to defend cuts in the 2019 proposal. That included NASA’s education office as well as four Earth science missions, all of which the administration sought to cut in 2018 but which Congress ultimately funded. Lightfoot said it was continuing to work on those programs funded in 2018 despite the administration’s new effort to cancel them. “We are ready to execute as we were asked to do in 2018,” he said. He added that NASA has looked at ways to make its education office more effective. That office, he said, will soon be renamed the “Next-Gen STEM Office” to focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education activities for the next generation. But, should the administration’s proposal to defund the office be approved, he said the agency would focus its education activities through its missions. “That’s going to be how were going to try to inspire the next generation as we go forward,” he said. “Admittedly, that’s going to be a concern whether that can actually fill the void or not,” he said later in the hearing. “As long as we’re getting appropriated the money, we will have an education office that executes what you guys have asked us to do.” Committee members also questioned plans to cancel the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) in the 2019 budget proposal, citing its inclusion as the top-priority large mission in the 2010 astrophysics decadal. Lightfoot said that, should WFIRST be cancelled, NASA would look at ways instrument technology developed for it could be applied to future missions. Culberson said his subcommittee planned to hold a hearing on issues with both WFIRST and the James Webb Space Telescope, whose launch NASA said last month would be delayed by about a year to May 2020. That hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 9, although Lightfoot said that ongoing reviews of JWST, including one by an independent review board established by NASA after the latest delay, will not be ready in time to support that hearing. Culberson also offered advice to members concerned about cuts to education or science programs in the administration’s proposal. “The budget, again, is just a recommendation,” he said. “We don’t get too worked up over the budget.”

Date: April 12, 2018 Source: Northwestern University 'Night owls' have higher risk of early death than 'morning larks.' Night owls" -- people who like to stay up late and have trouble dragging themselves out of bed in the morning -- have a higher risk of dying sooner than "larks," people who have a natural preference for going to bed early and rise with the sun, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom (UK). The study, on nearly half a million participants in the UK Biobank Study, found owls have a 10 percent higher risk of dying than larks. In the study sample, 50,000 people were more likely to die in the 6½ -year period sampled. "Night owls trying to live in a morning lark world may have health consequences for their bodies," said co-lead author Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Previous studies in this field have focused on the higher rates of metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, but this is the first to look at mortality risk. The study will be published April 12 in the journal Chronobiology International. The scientists adjusted for the expected health problems in owls and still found the 10 percent higher risk of death. "This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored," said Malcolm von Schantz, a professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey. "We should discuss allowing evening types to start and finish work later, where practical. And we need more research about how we can help evening types cope with the higher effort of keeping their body clock in synchrony with sun time." "It could be that people who are up late have an internal biological clock that doesn't match their external environment," Knutson said. "It could be psychological stress, eating at the wrong time for their body, not exercising enough, not sleeping enough, being awake at night by yourself, maybe drug or alcohol use. There are a whole variety of unhealthy behaviors related to being up late in the dark by yourself." In the new study, scientists found owls had higher rates of diabetes, psychological disorders and neurological disorders? Can owls become larks? Genetics and environment play approximately equal roles in whether we are a morning or a night type, or somewhere in between, the authors have previously reported. "You're not doomed," Knutson said. "Part of it you don't have any control over and part of it you might." One way to shift your behavior is to make sure you are exposed to light early in the morning but not at night, Knutson said. Try to keep a regular bedtime and not let yourself drift to later bedtimes. Be regimented about adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors and recognize the timing of when you sleep matters. Do things earlier and be less of an evening person as much as you can. Society can help, too "If we can recognize these chronotypes are, in part, genetically determined and not just a character flaw, jobs and work hours could have more flexibility for owls," Knutson said. "They shouldn't be forced to get up for an 8 a.m. shift. Make work shifts match peoples' chronotypes. Some people may be better suited to night shifts." In future research, Knutson and colleagues want to test an intervention with owls to get them to shift their body clocks to adapt to an earlier schedule. "Then we'll see if we get improvements in blood pressure and overall health," she said. The switch to daylight savings or summer time is already known to be much more difficult for evening types than for morning types. "There are already reports of higher incidence of heart attacks following the switch to summer time," says von Schantz. "And we have to remember that even a small additional risk is multiplied by more than 1.3 billion people who experience this shift every year. I think we need to seriously consider whether the suggested benefits outweigh these risks." How the study worked For the study, researchers from the University of Surrey and Northwestern University examined the link between an individual's natural inclination toward mornings or evenings and their risk of mortality. They asked 433,268 participants, age 38 to 73 years, if they are a "definite morning type" a "moderate morning type" a "moderate evening type" or a "definite evening type." Deaths in the sample were tracked up to six and half years later. The study was supported by the University of Surrey Institute?of Advanced Studies Santander fellowship and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant R01DK095207 from the National Institutes of Health.

People who are traveling a lot are usually forced to switch SIM cards and/or phones pretty often, but that doesn't help when there's no coverage at all, so that's where Thuraya's solution comes into play. According to Thuraya, the X5-Touch is world's first Android satellite smartphone. The device is aimed at customers who frequently move in and out of terrestrial coverage across, so it makes a perfect tool for those working in the government, energy projects, enterprise communications, and NGOs. The phone comes with two-SIM card slots and with dual-active mode that has the ability to have both its satellite and GSM (2G, 3G, or 4G) modes “always on” simultaneously. A dedicated SOS button is included as well, along with a range of connectivity features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC (Near Field Communication). Thuraya X5-Touch probably runs Android Nougat (there's no mention of Oreo) and sports a 5.2-inch display with full HD (1080p) resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass coating. Thuraya claims the X5-Touch is the most rugged phone in the MSS industry with an IP67 standard for full dust and water protection. It also complies with MIL standard. There's no mention of the battery capacity, but Thuraya says the smartphone packs a “high-capacity battery for extended talk time and standby time.” We have yet to learn when it will be available for purchase and for how much.

The LG V35 ThinQ is coming according to newly-leaked information. Back in February, LG announced the upgraded LG V30S ThinQ, which introduced a number of AI features, while only two days ago the company’s next flagship, the LG G7 ThinQ, appeared in a new press render alongside its official colors. Now, thanks to information obtained by AndroidHeadlines, it appears LG has plans for yet another device: the LG V35 ThinQ. The device itself appears to be yet another iterative LG V-line upgrade, featuring a large 6-inch display with a 3200×1800p (QHD+) resolution, although the panel itself will be of an OLED nature instead of POLED, as was used in the original LG V30. In addition, unlike the upcoming G7 ThinQ, this new smartphone isn’t expected to feature a notch, therefore continuing with the overall look of the V30 and V30S ThinQ while also reaching a screen-to-body ratio of 80%. In terms of the rear panel, a dual-camera setup will once again be present, comprised of a main 16-megapixel lens that features a f/1.6 aperture and a secondary wide-angle 16-megapixel sensor. Furthermore, a number of camera modes are set to be included such as Super Bright Mode that will improve image quality even in low light settings, as well as native support for Google Lens and a new feature dubbed “AI Cam.” Interestingly, both the camera setup and its features are also expected to be featured on the company’s upcoming LG G7 ThinQ. Working alongside the new camera experience will also be an improved audio one. As with the original V30, the line’s signature 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC will once again be making a comeback, which should ensure higher quality audio, while users will also have the option of adjusting settings and digital sound filters to their preferences. As an added bonus, the V35 ThinQ will make use of far-field voice recognition, just as is expected with the G7 ThinQ. This should ultimately improve the responsiveness of any digital assistants that may be included as they will now be able to hear users from up to seventeen feet, or 5.2 meters away. There is yet to be any confirmation as to when consumers can expect the LG V35 ThinQ to go on sale but considering the LG G7 ThinQ launch is set for May 2, it’s possible that the updated V-line device will also make an appearance. In any case, the new smartphone will initially be available in two glossy colors: Black and Grey.

One US retailer started unofficially taking pre-orders for Sony's Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact at the end of March, but now we have the official launch details for the Japanese company's latest flagship duo in the States. They will become available from Best Buy online on April 20. If you want to grab yours from a physical Best Buy store, you'll have to wait until May 6. Then, on May 20, the phones arrive at Amazon and "other participating retailers". Best Buy will be taking online pre-orders from April 13 to April 19. The XZ2's official US price is $799.99, while the XZ2 Compact will go for $649.99. We've already reviewed both the XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact, so if you're excited about them jumping across the pond to your neck of the woods make sure you read our assessments to know just what to expect.

OnePlus' teaser campaign for its next smartphone is already in full swing. Today we get a glimpse at the OnePlus 6's left side, courtesy of what has now become traditional for the company - namely, a shot of its current flagship sitting atop the yet to be released model. That's the OnePlus 5T's back you can see in the image, but underneath it is the upcoming OnePlus 6. And we can glance at its left side. There's only so much info we can gather from such a teaser, but if you look closely it does seem like the antenna bands are confined to the metal frame and don't slip over onto the phone's rear. That would sort of confirm the fact that the OnePlus 6 will have a glass back, adhering to one of the latest trends in the flagship realm. We already know it will come with a notched screen, a shot of which leaked just a couple of days ago. Oddly enough, the alert slider, long a staple of OnePlus designs, seems to be missing, or at least relocated compared to where it's at in the 5T, with the SIM card slot now taking that place. From this photo, the OnePlus 6 appears wider than its predecessor, but that's assuming they were placed exactly on top of each other. We wouldn't be so sure about that, since there's also the possibility that the company wanted to show off its side and couldn't do it this well if the phone was properly placed in such a way that the 5T would cover it completely. Given its past antics, we expect OnePlus to keep teasing its next device for a few more weeks, building up to the big announcement.

There’s no denying the fact that Samsung makes some of the best mobile displays in the world. The super AMOLED panels are the primary reasons many users opt for Samsung devices. However, AMOLED panels often come with their share of problems, ranging from burn-ins to colour banding and overly saturated colours. The Google Pixel 2’s OLED panel has had its share of issues as well and now it looks like it is the Galaxy S9’s turn. Despite the fact that Samsung has been continuously improving the quality of its AMOLED panels to stay ahead of the competition, some users are reporting issues with their Galaxy S9 displays. The problem isn’t widespread, and only a fraction of users are reporting it, but the numbers are not insignificant by any means. It’s impossible to determine how many devices are affected, as the problem will go unnoticed to the untrained eye. Several Galaxy S9 owners on forums such as Reddit, XDA Developers and the official Galaxy S9 community page, are reporting colour banding issues on their brand-new smartphones with dark/black images. The phenomenon is termed as the black crush. It happens when the screen has problems displaying shades of dark accurately, resulting int he blacks in videos turn out to be too blocky and grainy, thus depleting the quality of dark videos. Even the Google Pixel 2 initially was found to have problems rendering darker shades correctly, which was fixed via an OTA update. For now, there is no way to determine the scale of the problem, but we hope that Samsung takes notices and rolls out a fix via an update. Several users state that the problem was resolved simply by running the display at its native WQHD+ resolution. Another solution is to download third-party apps from the Play Store that will help you calibrate your panel to show dark shades better.

At its R&D campus in South Korea, LG has opened today the Software Upgrade Center which was built so that the manufacturer can start "providing customers worldwide with faster, timelier, smartphone operating system and software updates." Android users have had to cope with a system that tries to deal with so many different manufacturers and models, that as of February (the last data available), Android 8.0 and 8.1 together could be found on just .11% of active Android handsets. The first update to be handled by the Software Upgrade Center will result in Android Oreo being pushed out to LG's current flagship, the LG G6, later this month beginning in Korea. LG's goal is to come up with some kind of competitive advantage that it can use against Samsung's flagship phones, which have been outselling LG's top-of-the-line Android handsets for years. The manufacturer says that the Software Update Center will will help consumers to have a consistent user experience with their LG devices by continuously testing the compatibility between software and hardware after updates. "Aligning after-sales support with customers’ needs is a top priority at LG. Stable and consistent upgrades will demonstrate to our customers that LG smartphones have long and reliable lifespans."-Mr. Jo Seong-jin, CEO, LG Electronics Will LG be able to pull this off? And even if it does expedite the updating process, would it be enough to get consumers to buy LG's flagship phones instead of the competitions' models? While we might not know the definitive answers to those questions for some time, LG believes that its Software Upgrade Center will make enough of a difference to entice Android buyers to give LG handsets a try.

Last week, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive received an update that came with a massive change to skin trading. Skin trading and the economy around it are big parts of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for many players. If it’s not YouTubers scamming their viewers and endorsing gambling sites, it’s regular players whose livelihood relies on trading skins on third-party sites. It was only a matter of time before Valve did something about all that, and last week, it has. In an effort to prevent scams and cut down on fraud, Valve is extending its seven-day trade cooldown to CS:GO items (including skins) received in trades. In other words, players will have to wait seven days before the item they just received in a trade can be traded again or sold through the marketplace. Skins bought on the Steam Market already have this limitation, but trades between players were exempt from this cooldown. This allowed skin trading sites, fraudulent or not, to offer their customers instantaneous access to skins they bid on, win, or otherwise receive as part of trades. Bots would message players on Steam and complete these transactions quickly, ensuring the value of the item is not affected. The biggest reason why these exist in the first place is that they allow players who own expensive or rare skins to cash out. Instead of getting Steam Wallet funds by selling their items on the Steam Market, these sites instead offer PayPal transfers. This change will likely not remove the need for their existence altogether, but it will hit their business model hard, particularly when it comes to volatile prices for some skins. “Some of these third party services have become a vector for fraud or scams,” Valve said in a blog post. “Unlike players, these services rely on the ability to trade each item very frequently. In contrast, a given item moves between actual players no more than once a week in the vast majority of cases.” “We realise today’s change may also be disruptive to some players. We’ll continue to evaluate trading policies as time goes on,” added Valve. Predictably, this has not gone down well with a segment of the game’s player base. Many YouTubers and community traders whose businesses rely on the immediacy of trading have proclaimed it the end of CS:GO skin trading. Some started a petition asking Valve to reverse its decision, one that has amassed over 113,000 signatures at the time of writing. Others were quick to point out that this change won’t prevent scams. Only time will tell what the real motivation behind this change was, and if it is in fact changing the game’s lucrative skin trading forever.

Fortnite is evolving yet again. The game's v3.4 update has arrived on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile and makes a wealth of changes and additions. It adds a new weapon--the Guided Missile--and brings back an old limited-time mode to Battle Royale, while Save the World gets a new quest line and more. The Guided Missile was previously teased via the in-game updates screen, and it brings "remote control destruction from above." It comes in two rarities--Epic and Legendary--with those levels doing 105 and 110 damage to players respectively. The rocket also does 1000 damage to the environment and carries 100 health. Fans of the limited-time Sniper Shootout will be happy with this latest update, as the mode is back with a couple of tweaks. The Hunting Rifle and Crossbow have been added, while the Magnum Revolver has been removed. Interestingly, Fortnite's 30 FPS option has been removed. Epic states: "In v3.4 we made some significant GPU optimizations which improved visual quality, including resolution in 60 FPS mode, and we now feel there is very little reason to play at 30 FPS." Elsewhere, the update includes improvements to crossplay, multiple bug fixes, and a new quest line for Save the World called The Three Husketeers. Take a look at the full patch notes, via Epic, at the bottom of this article. While players' arsenals have expanded further with the Guided Missile's release, one thing that we still haven't gotten yet is the Jetpack. This was intended to have launched weeks ago, only for Epic to delay it at the last minute. We unfortunately still haven't gotten an update on where development on it stands, though this hasn't stopped Epic from releasing more new weapons, cosmetics, and limited-time modes like the just-concluded Blitz. Fortnite Update 4.3 Patch Notes General Next Phase of Crossplay Improvements on Console You can now add, remove, and manage Epic Friends from the main menu. You can now send, receive, and respond to crossplay Party Invites. Party Finder now includes Epic Friends on other platforms. Enabled toggling of full screen mode with Alt + Enter on PC, and Option + Enter on Mac. Increased the brightness and visibility of ammo boxes. Bug Fixes Fixed a rare bug where players could be launched up in the air after colliding with the world in tight spaces. Fixed the edit mode UI appearing over non-player built structures in some cases. Fixed other players not appearing to move smoothly while jumping. Fixed some keys on non-QWERTY keyboards becoming unbound after restarting. Fixed the Video Settings screen not updating properly after full screen mode is toggled. Known Issues Wanting to track the top community issues? Head over to our snazzy new Fortnite | Community Issues Trello board here. Battle Royale Weapons And Items Guided Missile added. Stats: Damage to Players: Epic - 105; Legendary - 110 Damage to Environment: 1000 Lifetime: 18 seconds Time Between Shots: 3.13 seconds Rocket Speed: 1300 units/second Rocket Health: 100 Take direct control of the missile after it's fired. Once you take on the missile's point-of-view, you're unable to move your character. Disconnect from the missile at any time, in which the missile will continue its trajectory. Moves slightly slower than a regular rocket but does the same damage. Epic and Legendary rarity. Uses Rocket ammo. Found in Treasure Chests + Supply Drops. Adjusted rarity colors on Shotguns to more closely represent their effectiveness. NOTE: Characteristics (such as weapon damage, drop chances) are completely unchanged. Tactical Shotguns are now Common/Uncommon/Rare (was Uncommon/Rare/Epic). Pump Shotguns are now Uncommon/Rare (was Common/Uncommon). The Egg Launcher has been added as a seasonal item that replaces the Grenade Launcher (only a cosmetic change). Increased Launch Pad drop rate by 25%. Bug Fixes Issues with the Boogie Bomb are fixed and this item is now re-enabled. Fixed an issue which caused spike traps to trigger when a player stands on top of the wall the trap is attached to. Fixed an issue which prevented players from entering ADS mode upon landing when they hold the aim button while jumping. Fixed an issue which caused the Hunting Rifle to fire inaccurately when crouched or at close range. The Remote Explosives detonator is now correctly removed from your inventory if another player destroys your placed explosives and you have no more in your inventory. Fixed a bug where players could remain in sprint while using the Remote Explosive detonator but not play the detonator animation. Gameplay Limited Time Mode: Sniper Shootout v2 Hunting Rifle and Crossbow added. Revolver removed. Downed state is disabled. Downed players are immediately eliminated. Legendary weapons can only be found in Supply Drops. Epic weapons can only be found in Treasure Chests. Heavy Ammo Drop Quantities: Floor: 6 Chest: 6 Ammo Box: 12 Supply Drop: 18 Llama: 90 Rearranged the order in which pieces fall off of player built structures as they are damaged. Increased the number of loot spawns on the warmup island. Removed 30 FPS mode from Xbox One and PS4. In v3.4 we made some significant GPU optimizations which improved visual quality, including resolution in 60 FPS mode, and we now feel there is very little reason to play at 30 FPS. - Developer Comment Bug Fixes Fixed opened treasure chests sometimes appearing as unopened when viewed from very far distances. Fixed an issue which caused revived players to become stuck in an invalid state if a building piece was placed between the two players in the middle of the revive. Bullseyes will no longer appear after the challenge has been completed. Fixed an issue that caused other player's headgear to appear to float above their heads. Fixed a rare issue that caused players to lose their ability to control their character after jumping from the bus. Fixed an issue that caused bushes and other environment objects to pop in and out of view at medium range. Mobile Added 'Unsupported Device' message at startup for certain devices. That message is: "We're sorry. Fortnite requires a device with 2GB of memory to run. Fortnite works with: iPhone SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X; iPad Mini 4, Air 2, 2017, Pro." Added new game data download system, which will allow us to make much smaller updates in the future. When you start up this new version of Fortnite, it will start downloading all the game data, which will be the full size (around 1.8GB). Antialiasing (4x MSAA) is now enabled on all supported devices. Whispers and Party Text Chat are now enabled on mobile. Added a quick tutorial for 'Tap to Swing' which appears upon first startup. Added a message informing players that jailbroken devices are not supported. Auto-opening of doors is now based on input instead of your player's current speed. Bug Fixes Continuously attacking with the Harvesting Tool is now more consistent when double tapping and holding the right side of screen. The left fire button is now more reliable and responsive. Opening treasure chests now feels more responsive. Fixed various inconsistencies with tap to shoot, making it more accurate. Fixed the minimap blocking movement and look input. Fixed an issue which caused misfiring when single tapping the screen and interacting with the HUD. Fixed some issues causing Tap, Tap + Hold actions to not register. Fixed longer than expected loading times on iPhone X. Fixed a crash that could occur when tapping the Epic Friends list rapidly. Fixed Impulse Grenade effects not being visible enough on Low settings. Turbo Building and Automatic Material Swapping settings now save correctly. Weapon and consumables dropped can no longer be auto-picked up by the dropping player. Performance Major netcode optimizations to reduce lag. Improved game responsiveness by updating all players on the server every frame. Previously, only 50 players could be updated each frame. Reduced lag at the beginning of the match by optimizing networking to improve overall server frame rate. Made significant improvements to visual quality on consoles, including resolution improvements and texture sharpness improvements. Improved texture filtering sharpness on PS4 and Xbox One. Increased texture resolution on Xbox One. Improved frame rate when many other players are nearby. Fixed hitching that could occur in game when encountering certain cosmetic items for the first time. UI Party Suggestions for your Epic Friends now appear in the lobby on consoles. Added a zoom feature to the map. Mouse Wheel will zoom in and out. Gamepad - Right trigger zooms in, left trigger zooms out. Touch - Pinch to zoom, swipe to pan. The elimination feed now displays the distance for shots that knock down or eliminate other players beyond 50 meters for all weapons. Bug Fixes Fixed an issue which caused downed squad mates to appear eliminated on the UI. Fixed an issue that prevented marker placement on the map if the map was opened while transitioning from the warmup island to the Battle Bus. Fixed an issue that prevented players from placing minimap markers close to the edge of the island. Game Mode selector will no longer reset to 'Squads' when a new party member joins while another mode was selected. Fixed an issue which caused the ping value to be inaccurate when 'Show Net Stats' was enabled. When using the inverted controls option, the mouse cursor will no longer be inverted while the map is open. Art And Animation Polished weapon particle effects for improved clarity: Bullet smoke trails are more detailed for rifles and pistols, making it slightly easier to determine the direction of shots fired across your view. Sniper rifle projectiles that hit the world have larger, more visible impact effects. Shotgun pellet trails and player hit effects have been adjusted to more clearly show the spread of each shot and make it easier to see how much of it hit an enemy. Suppressed weapons have a much more subtle muzzle flash and no longer show bullet smoke trails. Pump Shotgun and Hand Cannon fire animations have been polished, improving readability and snappiness. Bug Fixes Fixed the glow effect on some chests that were glowing white. Fixed an issue which caused the crossbow reload animation to play in situations where it wasn't actually reloading. Audio Removed the chirp sound from landing Supply Drops. Added hit notification sounds when the player you're spectating lands a shield, body, or headshot hit. Bug Fixes The tire pile bounce sound will now play while spectating players. Crossbow bolts no longer play valentine sound effects when hitting players. Search sound effects now persists for the full duration when searching Loot Llamas. Fixed an issue that made player landing sounds difficult to hear if footstep audio was also playing.

Indie studio PanicBarn has announced its next game is Not Tonight. The political satire pokes at an alternate Britain in which a collapse in Brexit talks has resulted in far-right extremists taking control of the government. Persons of "European Heritage" have been exiled and those remaining have designated roles and close supervision to be permitted to stay in the country. As one of these persons assigned as a bouncer, you have to scrape by on odd jobs and decide whether to keep your head down or join a resistance. You can put your pay slips toward upgrading your apartment, clothing, and equipment, all to be prepared for navigating this world safely. All this may sound dire, but the devs promise a touch of dark humor to pair with its political bite. Not Tonight will be launching on Steam sometime "soon," and then later this year on consoles. This will be the second game from No More Robots, which published the downhill mountain biking game Descenders. You can sign up for the Not Tonight beta at the Not Tonight Discord.

One could argue the artist got shafted. A five-story mural of a blue penis painted on a Stockholm apartment building is to be covered up after locals mobilized against it. The piece, by artist Carolina Falkholt, was up for only a week before neighbors began to take action. The company that owns the block, Atrium Ljungberg, told the local publication Aftonbladet they had received multiple complaints. Carolina Falkholt's piece is seen in Stockholm, April 11. “Culture and art are important in developing interesting urban environments,” Camilla Klimt, Atrium Ljungberg’s marketing manager, told Aftonbladet, according to The Guardian. “Of course, we care about artistic freedom. But at the same time, we must respect neighbors’ opinions.” Klimt added that they would let the penis remain for a short amount of time so others can enjoy the art before it’s painted over. The company reportedly didn’t know in advance that Falkholt was going to put a massive penis on one of its buildings. Falkholt’s phallic work has drawn public opprobrium before. In December, her depiction of a giant red penis covered the wall of an apartment building on Broome Street in New York. It was painted over three days later. Falkholt, who did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment, told The Guardian in 2017 that her work is meant to signify not feeling ashamed of our bodies or of sexuality. “I usually paint giant vaginas, pussies and cunts,” Falkholt told the publication. “And since I had just finished one on the side of a five-story building, I felt like a dick was needed. The wall space on Broome was a perfect fit for it. To paraphrase [the artist] Judith Bernstein, if a dick can go into a woman, it can go up on a wall.”

Thanks to strong word of mouth, John Krasinski’s horror film “A Quiet Place” is looking to top the box office for the second weekend in a row with $34 million from 3,589 domestic locations. Just behind the SXSW success story is Warner Bros.-New Line’s “Rampage” with $32 million from 4,101 sites. Friday’s estimates had adjusted the Dwayne Johnson-starrer’s debut to the $27-$32 million range, with earlier tracking forecasting an opening between $35 and $40 million. “Rampage” earned $11.5 million its opening Friday, including $2.4 million from Thursday previews. “Rampage” garnered $27.1 million on Friday from 61 markets and 38,100 screens. With that, the film has earned a cumulative $36.7 million overseas, opening at No. 1 in China as Warner Bros.’ third-highest debut in the country. Even with the international numbers, the film has a ways to go to recoup its $120 million production budget. Word of mouth could give it a push in the coming weeks, however; despite a lukewarm 50% Rotten Tomatoes score, audiences gave the film an A- CinemaScore. “A Quiet Place’s” take marks a strong hold after debuting to $50 million last weekend, with only a 32% drop. The Paramount film earned $10.5 million on its second Friday, which puts it on its way to a more than $100 million domestic total in its first 10 days. Emily Blunt also stars in the thriller, which follows a family trying to stay safe from monsters that can only find you if they can hear you. In the third place spot is another horror title, “Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare,” with $19 million from 3,029 locations. The Universal-distributed film stars Lucy Hale as a teenager who begins a game of truth or dare, but must struggle to survive along with her friends when someone starts picking off those who lie or refuse a dare. Critics have not loved the film, and it currently sits at a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes with a B- CinemaScore. This weekend’s take nonetheless marks a strong debut for the film, which was produced on a reported $3.5 million budget. The third frame of Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” nabbed the fourth place spot with $11 million from 3,661 locations, down 573 theaters from last weekend. The Warner Bros. film has earned $403 million globally in its first 16 days, thanks in large part to a strong international showing, particularly in China, where the film became Warner Bros.’ strongest-ever opening. Fifth place goes to the second weekend of Universal’s “Blockers,” which will earn $10 million from 3,418 locations. Kay Cannon’s directorial debut has earned critical and audience praise for its depiction of female sexuality, and has been likened to a women-led version of “American Pie.” “Blockers,” which stars John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz, has earned $40 million in its first eight days, with $10 million from international markets. Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” expanded to 1,939 locations and is headed for around $4 million this weekend. The film is enjoying a 91% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has so far generated just a bit less than Anderson’s last outing, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which had earned around $18 million in its first 22 days to “Isle of Dogs'” $15 million. Jon Hamm’s “Beirut” debuted Thursday at 755 sites and should bring in around $1 million. Set in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War, the Bleecker Street film stars Hamm as a former U.S. diplomat who returns to service to help save a colleague from the group that killed his family. Directed by Brad Anderson, “Beirut” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Shea Whigham, and Mark Pellegrino also star. The film, whose trailer received some criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of Arabs, is sitting at a 72% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Shia LaBeouf-starrer “Borg vs. McEnroe” saw a limited release this weekend at 51 theaters and brought in about $45,000. The internationally co-produced tennis film, distributed domestically by Neon, stars LaBeouf as legendary tennis player John McEnroe and Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason as Björn Borg. The film has received stellar reviews, with LaBeouf’s performance and Janus Metz Pedersen’s direction earning particular praise. “Borg vs. McEnroe” is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 82% rating. Indie animated film “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero” also debuted this weekend at 1,633 theaters and around $970,000. The Fun Academy film utilizes the voice talents of Logan Lerman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gérard Depardieu, and follows the true story of the most decorated canine in American history, a stray dog who became a hero during WWI

AUSTIN, Texas—Make no mistake, South by Southwest conference film darling Prospect takes place within a giant, intergalactic reality. Even lower- to middle-class adventurers like our heroes, Cee (Sophie Thatcher) and Damon (Jay Duplass), have a spacecraft and mostly functional equipment. And when this just-getting-by father and daughter duo takes an unexpected crash/detour that happens to land on a resource-rich planet littered with aurelacs (a valuable stone found inside some slimy pod that must be handled with care or "kaboom!"), Cee recognizes this as an opportunity. "$10,000?" she retorts after dad ballparks the first gem recovered. "That's enough to cover the loan... and the pod lease?" Their ship has been built with Kubrick-like attention for analog detail, with cheap-ish CRT displays punctuated by handwritten notes. The planet they're now on feels dream-like, a lush swampy Dagobah with a near-constant twinkle in the atmosphere. Nothing could happen from here and Prospect would still be worth watching for an hour-and-change of ambience and aesthetic alone. But as its initial 10 minutes show, this gorgeous-looking sci-fi flick has big subjects to match its style: intergalactic travel regulations, tiers of consumer goods, interplanetary trade standards. Yet Star Wars this is not. Prospect instead succeeds by tossing much of its thought-out big picture away and relegating the rest to background. This is a small story set in a galaxy far, far away. And, even if it meanders a bit at times, this narrow focus keeps Prospect from ever losing its propulsive tension or engaging picture. A different kind of one-horse town As you might guess, Cee and Damon do not stop after stumbling upon a single patch of aurelacs. Dad sees much more potential, including millions in possible profit given the stash, he insists. "We will never ever have a chance like this again," he says. But some remote, resource-rich planet with the potential for a futuristic gold rush can't stay remote for long. Cee and Damon quickly discover they aren't the only team on the ground with prospecting ambitions. (Ah, I see what they did there.) And opting to embrace this detour rather than getting back to orbit leads the pair into a simple saga with two motivations—first, grab the aurelacs and get out; second, stay alive while doing it. Prospect takes on a distinct Western vibe from here, becoming an adventure tale filled with colorful characters, otherworldly dialects, and ample close encounters. Our heroes gain a verbose companion named Ezra (Pedro Pascal, who, Variety correctly recognized, sounds straight out of Deadwood); they encounter packs of others who want to hold them captive and procreate or simply want to force them into aurelac-mining for others. Don't expect high-budget lightsaber battles or cutting-edge VFX aliens interspersed throughout that story, however. Prospect thrives more as a character-study due to the strength of its performances. In particular, Thatcher as Cee makes you feel each step of her transition from book-reading, punk-listening teen to cunning, hardened survivor who's capable of holding a rifle or stitching up a wound. She often becomes the most compelling thing in the film, much like other recent genre offerings succeeding on the strength of a young heroine (Thelma, Meerkat Moonship). "We maybe were a bit naive in the conception of this, putting the entire film on the shoulders of a teenage girl," Chris Caldwell, Prospect co-writer/director, tells Ars. "But she killed it, and in many cases she saved our ass." "In another movie, you might get 12 takes, but we’re in helmets that are hard to breathe in—you get four takes," adds Zeek Earl, co-writer/director and cinematographer. "She nailed it." Style via the Seattle-maker scene When Prospect started off as a humble short film Kickstarter back in 2012, the team stated its motivations clearly: "Our goal is to capture a piece of what makes 2001, Blade Runner, and the original Star Wars so awesome: texture," the pitch read. "Prospect will be real and tactile, building a robust world with custom props and costumes, rather than digital effects." That ethos earned them a short film (which debuted at SXSW 2014), and that short film eventually earned them a full-length film (which debuted at this most recent SXSW). "The theme was throwing stuff away," Earl says of Prospect's world-building. "You can’t get fixated on what’s going to make it into the movie. We’ve got beautiful stuff—we did a cigarette ad for a grimey dude’s T-shirt, and I love it. But it didn’t make it into the movie... We started with a Wikipedia of sorts, however, so if there was a character even only seen briefly, we figured out their backstory, home planet, cultural connections. We totally have ideas for how the economics work or how the government works for places not even mentioned." "We both grew up on the Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia; it’s about creating a taxonomy of world-building," Caldwell adds. "We were chasing that feeling of total immersion in a world. When you’re building something from scratch, something that's totally imagined, you don’t get the benefit of all the detail built into real-world objects." The project's newly found buzz—that same Variety review said "the standalone Star Wars movies should feel like [this];" Slashfilm called it the best indie sci-fi since Moon—validates this "good story shrinks in the wash" approach. And Caldwell and Earl did a remarkable job adding to that texture visually. Everything from Cee and Damon's uniforms to the various encampments they encounter make for wallpaper-worthy compositions, yet the cinematography never gets flashy enough to overshadow the action. This likely stems from the duo's insistence on an extreme DIY approach. Everything appearing on-screen happens through practical effects, and all props came from the hands of their fellow Seattle-makers. "It was a challenge, but it was the most fun thing to do," Earl said. "We had seven months, and my dream was to have a warehouse. We just got a shitty box and filled it with passionate people who wanted to make a world—that was absolutely thrilling. And every object was original; we’re not on Earth so, we have to make everything." "On the production design end of things, we had to build up our own shop," Caldwell explains. "We pulled from a majority of people who never worked on a movie before—they had worked on everything from cosplay to industrial design to carpentry. We’re pulling people from all kinds of backgrounds, and that diversity of perspective shows in how things materialized. We had a big focus on utility in design in the end, and having people used to building products instead of props really informed that." It's easy to feel like all sci-fi these days centers on big, heady concepts: time-travel, resource-stricken dystopias, artificial intelligence, and so on. Some of it is done well, and others get lost straight to Netflix. But that critical mass has created certain expectations for any sci-fi movie released in 2018; Prospect succeeds by nodding to all that came before, blazing a different trail.

After a bit of a controversy regarding whether it would be launched at all, and if so under what name, LG seems to have decided to call its next flagship G7 ThinQ. This was initially revealed through a leak a few days ago, and is now confirmed through the first shot you can see below. It shows a prototype G7 ThinQ's boot screen, with the name in full display. The phone is inside a non-removable bulky case that's meant to obscure as much of its design as possible. Img Even so, the screen notch is clearly visible, as is the fact that it has the power button on the right side and an additional button on the left side underneath the volume keys. That's apparently going to be some kind of AI-triggering button because Samsung's Bixby key exists and LG simply couldn't help itself. Img The G7 ThinQ is said to come with a 6.1-inch touchscreen, the Snapdragon 845 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. The prototype has allegedly been able to score 252,473 in the AnTuTu benchmark, outclassing the Samsung Galaxy S9 but not the Sony Xperia XZ2. Then again, it's running pre-release software so things may change once that's finalized. The device is expected to launch in May, so we should see a lot more leaks about it in the coming weeks.

The Essential Phone got the promised Android 8.1 Oreo update last month, but the US company behind the unique handset is now pushing out yet another build of the OS. The new update promised to add some security improvements, as well as other bug fixes and under-the-hood enhancements. First off, the new Android 8.1.0 Oreo build (141) brings the April security patch, the update that's been released by Google. But that's not all that Essential Phone owners get in this update. Some modem stability fixes have been implemented too, along with Bluetooth 5.0 certification and improved performance and bug fixes. For gamers, the update should make wonders since the Essential Phone will now handle external game controllers properly. The OTA (over the air) rollout has already begun, so you should see a notification on your Essential Phone soon. If not, try to push it manually by heading to Settings / About Phone / Software update.

The first Essential Phone, PH-1 wasn’t a success in terms of the numbers and it was plagued with a number of software bugs that should have seen a timely fix. Essential is a company launched by Android’s creator Andy Rubin in August 2017 and produced a well-crafted device that could not stand up to the other high-end competitors due to a small number of problems. Well, the good news is that Essential is going to work harder on its new phone, especially its camera. Second-gen Essential Phone Got the Build-Quality Right – Just Not the Software, Camera, and Customer Support The smartphone is made of titanium and ceramic and has a nearly bezel-less display, and we feel that the second iteration of the Essential Phone will come with the same design inspiration. Accessories, such as a 360-camera can be attached to the phone as well, with the device being a lot different than other smarphones in the market. The camera was certainly the Achilles heel of the Essential Phone. It has received negative reviews from a lot of key media outlets such as CNET and The Verge and the rollout of updates issued after the release of the phone couldn’t be the saving grace and the camera continued to perform poorly compared to other flagships such as Samsung Galaxy S9 and iPhone X. That does not mean it is a complete downer. The performance is satisfactory in well-lit environments, but as soon as the light goes down, so does the camera’s performance. The good news is that Essential has taken the feedback seriously and is now working to fix these issues with the successor of the first phone. It is not known yet when the second generation of the Essential Phone will be released. However, if the company follows the timeline of other manufacturers, we may see the phone this summer. Apart from the improved camera, the company hasn’t revealed what other changes we can expect to the see in the next-gen handset. There is an indication that the company will try to ensure that the new phone is less slippery and not so susceptible to fingerprints. The 360-camera of the phone can be used on all the future phones from the company, so if you do have one, rest assured it will not go to waste.

Hello , welcome aboard!

The last time I tried Solus, it was still in its infancy stages, and it wasn’t to my tastes really. I had been thinking of which Linux distro to take a look at next, and I wanted to pick something that wasn’t based off Debian / Ubuntu / Arch / Gentoo / OpenSUSE or any of the majors, so I decided to give Solus 3 a try, being a completely independent distro – And it wasn’t bad. Installation The Solus 3 installer, is actually probably the nicest I have used yet, and made the process of overwriting Linux Mint, extremely simple, and mostly automated – No manual partitioning needed, while keeping my Windows dual-boot. Installation was pretty quick, no errors, and I was up and booting into my new system in a jiffy. You can check out the official installation guide which walks you through the steps of getting the Linux distribution on a DVD or USB Flash Drive for installation. First impressions My first impression, was that everything was extremely attractive. Theme, wallpaper, icons, animations, menus...I just really enjoyed how it looked. Unfortunately, it was slow. I was using a laptop with a 4th Generation i5 processor, and 8 gigs of DDR3, with an SSD, and it still felt a bit...sluggish. The initial update was quite slow, but overall I just found that programs opened significantly slower than on other systems I have ran. Solus uses their own environment, called Budgie, and as stated before I think its absolutely gorgeous, but it reminds me of KDE with just how boggy it can be if your system can’t handle it right (or maybe that’s just how it is? You tell me.) Note that you may also download Solus GNOME or Solus Mate if you prefer these environments. Solus Mate especially may run better on older hardware according to the developers. As far as requirements go: Solus requires a minimum of 10 Gigabytes of space on a storage device, 2 Gigabytes of RAM for an optimal experience and a 64-bit process. Applications / Software Solus came with the typical LibreOffice suite, Rhythmbox, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gparted… Typically, all the things the casual user will need. However, I started noticing issues right away when installing new software. I installed Spotify from the “Third-Party” list of software from within the Software-Manager (which is gorgeous, and really well laid out!) and once it was finished, I had to logout and log back in, before it would appear in my Applications menu. This happened to me on a couple of other occasions as well. Overall, again, the sluggishness of applications loading on my machine was noticeable, but not unbearable. There was plenty of software available that I searched for in the repositories, and although I didn’t search for anything super obscure, I didn’t seem to have any trouble installing anything I needed; except Shutter. I was surprised to find that my typical go-to screenshot software was not available by default in the repositories. I did however find another application with a built-in editor to try, called Flameshot (which did not require a logout for menu addition) and I have to say, it definitely gives Shutter a run for its money. Last thoughts I can’t say that Solus blew me away or anything, but I can’t get over how attractive it was, and I really enjoyed the layout of things overall. If they could lighten Budgie up more to the level of MATE or XFCE while maintaining the overall style, I would consider using Budgie in the future regardless of Distro.