SpaceX’s massive Starship vehicle could launch on its first-ever orbital test flight next month, but that timeline is far from a sure thing.
A senior NASA official suggested that SpaceX wants to fly one of its Starship prototypes into space for the first time in December, according to Reuters (opens in new tab).
The agency has a stake in Starship’s progress; NASA picked the giant rocket as the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis program of moon exploration. If all goes according to the current plan, a Starship will put boots down near the moon‘s south pole in 2025 or 2026, on the Artemis 3 mission.
“We track four major Starship flights. The first one here is coming up in December, part of early December,” Mark Kirasich, deputy associate administrator for Artemis campaign development, said during a livestreamed NASA Advisory Council meeting on Monday (Oct. 31).
No Starship prototype has taken flight since May 2021, and all of its jaunts so far have reached a maximum altitude of just 6 miles (10 kilometers) or so. SpaceX’s desire to fly an orbital mission with Starship prompted a lengthy environmental review by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and there are still several things to finish up, Reuters reported.
That FAA review, called a programmatic environmental assessment, examined Starship activities at Starbase, SpaceX’s facility near the city of Brownsville in south Texas. The FAA concluded the assessment in June, following numerous delays from late 2021 due to the need to consult with other agencies and deal with public comments. The FAA said this summer that SpaceX needs to take 75 actions to reduce its environmental impact on the area.
Despite SpaceX founder Elon Musk saying several times that Starship would be ready to go orbital soon — Musk recently said the target was November — it seems that SpaceX hasn’t quite finished with those FAA action items.
An FAA spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the agency will grant an orbital launch license “only after SpaceX provides all outstanding information and the agency can fully analyze it.” The FAA did not provide more information in the report about what items are outstanding, and SpaceX did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The coming mission aims to heft a prototype 165-foot-tall (50 meters) Starship vehicle into orbit atop a Super Heavy booster that has a height of 230 feet (70 m). The stacked hardware is the tallest rocket system ever. (Starship consists of Super Heavy and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, both of which are designed to be reusable.)
SpaceX has already conducted a number of static fire tests in 2022 to get Starship ready for the approximately 90-minute mission that, if successful, would see the spacecraft splash down off the coast of Hawaii. It’s unclear how much prep work remains before SpaceX is ready to launch the mission, however.
SpaceX’s Human Landing System contract with NASA requires several successful spaceflight tests before Starship will be authorized to put astronauts on the moon. NASA is also seeking a second vendor for crewed Artemis landing missions, but more options won’t be ready until Artemis 5 at the earliest, putting SpaceX in line for landings on Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 in about 2025 and 2027, depending on how earlier missions go. The first mission of the program, the uncrewed Artemis 1, is targeted to lift off on Nov. 14.
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab)or Facebook (opens in new tab).
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Android released its Google Play Games launcher beta to western audiences Tuesday, claiming you can save your progress between multiple devices.Gif: Google
Are you growing tired of staring at your 5 by 2 inch screen to play Android mobile games? Well, on Tuesday, Google’s Android Developers blog announced that the company’s launching a new beta for a platform that will let users play their Android games on PC.
The company had already launched its beta for the Google Play Games launcher back in January, though it restricted the product to some Asian markets such as Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. Oh, and also Australia. Now the developers are opening it up to players in western markets, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, as well as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. People can sign up for the beta here.
The 85 games on the beta Google Play Games platform include 1945 Air Force, Cookie Run: Kingdom, and Evony: The King’s Return. In the release, the company said the minimum specs required are a PC running Windows 10 or 11, an integrated graphics card and a 4+ core CPU. On the Google Play Games page however, the company claims users need a solid state drive with 10GB of available storage space, 8GB of RAM and an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU or comparable. The ram and solid state requirements are surprising, especially considering how many non-desktop gamers might be running much older computers or laptops that do not have access to even those relatively minimal standards. HDD users are out of luck, though maybe the requirement for an SSD is to make sure PCs running these games will have more parity with phones.
The platform itself appears to be akin to many other game launchers, such as the Epic Games Store or GOG Galaxy. Users can browse games, purchase them, and install them onto the desktop. The games should be compatible with keyboard and mouse.
“Our broader goal continues to be meeting players where they are and giving them access to their games on as many devices as possible,” Google Play Games Director Arjun Dayal wrote in the blog post. He further wrote the main hope is that players will be able to sync progress between devices.
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As little attention it gets in the broader gaming scene, the mobile gaming market remains one of the biggest motivators for major companies, and lately it’s become a bigger part of many major tech companies’ market strategy. Microsoft recently told the UK in a regulatory filing that it wants to create its own Xbox mobile gaming app, thanks in part to its pending $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The company revealed that it sees mobile gaming as by far the biggest driver of gaming revenue, more than both PC and console sales combined.
Microsoft, for its part, is also separately working to bring Android games to PC, specifically Windows 11, thanks to a partnership with Amazon to list the apps on the Amazon Appstore. Microsoft has been constantly updating its page describing the Windows Subsystem that makes these Android apps compatible with Windows 11. The feature is still in a kind of beta, though Microsoft has been labeling it a kind of “preview.” Gizmodo has its own guide for those curious enough to try and put Android apps on their PCs.
So, as much as Google’s effort may be trying to catch up to Microsoft’s own, rather subdued efforts to bring Android games to other devices, the company may be trying to make up for its own, recently deceased Google Stadia. In September, the company announced it was killing off its game streaming platform, saying it just didn’t gain enough “traction.”
Not to mention, more and more companies are coming out with devices that claim they’ll let you play your mobile games in a much more comfortable way than clamping down to your thin rectangle while huddled on a cramped subway. Logitech has its own Steam Deck-like platform promising Android game support, and Verizon and Razer has a similar kind of device in the works.
Six months ago, after the news broke that changes were coming to Twitter’s policies against disinformation and hate speech, I decided to give Mastodon a try. Unfortunately, I didn’t stick with the app long enough to develop a habit of using it. After returning to it once again this week, that’s something I’ve come to regret. In the few days since (mostly) ditching Twitter, I’ve gained a new respect for the platform, which is decidedly less toxic and is far more conversational and troll-free. I’m hoping this very brief guide will serve new users as well as those hearing about it for the first time.
Randall Park’s Favorite Superheroes
Monday 5:02PM
Let’s dig in.
So what is Mastodon, anyway?
Basically, Mastodon a Twitter alternative with a few special distinctions worth learning about upfront. Mastodon has most of the basic functionality you get with Twitter (known on Mastodon as “the birdsite”): It has a timeline made up of what are basically tweets, called “toots,” that are posted by the users you’ve chosen to follow. You can fav these toots or “boost” them to your own followers instead, just like retweeting. You can toot at other people, and these posts will appear in the timelines of users who follow both you and the person you’re tooting at. You can also bookmark toots and create lists of users showing only their toots — features you’re likely accustomed to as a Twitter user.
At time of writing, there are approximately 5.8 million Mastodon users, with a couple hundred thousand new profiles created in the last ten or so days alone, part of what the internet has dubbed the Great #TwitterMigration. (Note: This sudden massive influx of users has led to a number of server issues this week; however, most admin report that they’re working diligently to upscale their servers to handle the load.)
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Screenshot: @mastodonusercount@bitcoinhackers.org
If you’ve used Twitter at all for more than a few days, all of these features will seem familiar. What’s likely to cause some confusion, though, is the fact that this network is decentralized — which is to say, Mastodon is not operated by any one company.
Whereas Twitter runs on servers controlled exclusively (now) by Elon Musk, who alone sets the rules, Mastodon runs on thousands of servers, each owned and operated by… well, anyone. Anyone can create a Mastodon server and craft their own rules for the people using it, deciding who’s allowed to join and how content will be moderated. The key thing to know here is, all of these servers are capable of communicating with each other. That means if you join one server, and a friend joins another, you can still follow each other and share each other’s toots. (Boy, that’s fun to say.)
This is what’s known as a “federated” network — known on Mastodon as the Fediverse. The most common metaphor for explaining this is a cellular network. Perhaps you get cell service through AT&T and, let’s say, your neighbor has T-Mobile. That doesn’t mean you can’t call each other. Email also works this way because providers share the same protocol, allowing accounts hosted by different providers to speak the same language. Social media, generally speaking, doesn’t. Instagram and Facebook accounts can share content, but that’s because they’re owned by the same parent company. You can’t, however, speak to Facebook users using a Twitter account. Mastodon does work this way, though, and because it is decentralized — not owned by any one company — a single, very wealthy individual can’t just swoop in and buy it.
For the same reason, Mastodon is (hallelujah) ad free. And with no ads, there’s no reason to collect data on users. This is one of the core benefits to using Mastodon over apps like Twitter and Instagram.
Moderation-wise, the owners of each server set their own rules. And while, yes, this technically means they’re free to allow any kind of content they wish, there’s nothing forcing one Mastodon server — known as an “instance” — to connect to another. If an admin of one instance chooses to block another, such as to protect their users from harassment, they’re free to do so. This creates a natural incentive for admins to enforce a certain amount of etiquette, since the more an instance gets blocked, the less access its users ultimately have to the Fediverse.
To quote Feditips: “The worse a server behaves, the more other servers will block it, and the very worst-behaved servers will find themselves completely isolated.”
How do you join Mastodon?
You can check out this website for a list of ways. (As an iPhone user, my personal preference so far is the Toots app versus the official Mastodon app.)
One thing few people realize is that Mastodon is just one part of a much larger open-source community known collectively as the Fediverse. There are many different kinds of apps in the Fediverse, and almost all of them use the same protocol as Mastodon, known as ActivityPub, which allow for different degrees of interoperability. The chart below shows some of these apps, which include platforms for writing, hosting videos, music, and books, and even include a few paid subscriber-based services.
The many branches of the FediverseIllustration: Axborn (CC-BY-NC)
Below are a few additional things you might need to know prior to before taking the plunge.
What server should you join?
As we’ve discussed, Mastodon operates across a large number of servers —colloquially known as “instances.” If you decide to give it try, picking an instance to join is one of the first decisions you’ll have to make. You’ll find a list of open instances at joinmastodon.com, but be aware some may be locked down, likely while admin work to expand capacity and prevent lag amid the influx of users
Instances are often distinguished by common interest, region, or language. If you’re into a specific type of tech, such as Linux, or programming language, like Ruby, there may a dedicated server. There are servers dedicated to serving the queer community, musicians, painters, gamers, and, of course, furries.
Each instance is run by a different person who decides the rules. Check the “about” page on each before joining to make sure you’re comfortable with the rules before making a decision. That said, in the settings, you’ll find an option that allows you to transfer your account to another server if you so desire. I believe you can do this once every 30 days.
In addition to your “Home” timeline, which shows only toots from people you follow, you’ll gain access to a “Local” timeline, which show public messages from everyone on your instance. And this is the big advance of picking an instance that comports with some personal interest. (Additionally, on the web-based platform, and in apps like Tootle for iOS, you’ll see a “Fediverse” timeline, which displays posts from across many instances. This Fediverse timeline isn’t visible in the official Mastodon phone app, however.)
You may encounter some limitations in interacting with accounts on other instances, like not being able to look at the list of accounts they’re following. Just know that this is normal.
What’s the vibe of Mastodon?
I’m going to refrain from trying to characterize Mastodon in political terms because few people on the network would say that’s appropriate. That said, the Fediverse is a very inclusive place and I haven’t seen any instance willing to put up with bigotry of any kind. It’s also more common among people with technical careers and hobbies, and there’s been a recent wave of scholars joining the network.
Another feature, which users seem encouraged to apply very liberally, is the content warning. You can hide any media behind a warning and people use them for all sorts of reasons. (There’s almost no reason not to.) The warnings just blur images and allow users to decide whether or not they’d like to see them.
A lot of people are using content warnings to hide posts about Twitter, and a common experience after joining Mastodon is the realization of how damaging Twitter has been for people’s mental health. Users are waking up to the fact that they’ve been addicted to the birdsite and that it encouraged them to behave poorly toward others. So while it’s still common to see screenshots of tweets on Mastodon, at least some users are kindly doing what they can to help others move on and restore emotional balance to their lives.
Why is it slow?
Instances cost money to run, so admin usually only pay to accommodate the volume of users they have at any given time. The Great Migration has seen a huge influx of new accounts, leaving admin scrambling to scale up their instances to make room for all the new people. My best advice here is just to have patience. (If you only try Mastodon out during a big migration, and quit because it’s slow, you’re cheating yourself out of a new experience.)
It’s also worth noting, while Mastodon may look like Twitter, people use it very differently. A bit of helpful advice I received early on was to try and refrain from replying to every post I saw. The pace is generally much slower. And for that reason, it’s also less addictive. When I use Twitter, it’s nearly always open on my screen and I’m checking it constantly. Conversely, I only check Mastodon once every few hours. The community on my instance (mastodon.lol) seems to actively encourage this, and there’s a big emphasis on how this is much better for your mental health.
As one user wrote yesterday:
“this site is so weird. how do I know how many internet points I won? how do I know what to be outraged about? I feel like I could just put it down at any moment and go to bed at a reasonable hour, and then check it again tomorrow if I felt like it, in a healthy way. what the fuck”
If you end up finding a server you really enjoy and are in a position to do so, consider checking to see if the admin has a patreon or is raising funds some other way to help cover the cost of keeping it running. This is entirely voluntary, of course, so don’t feel obligated if it’s something you can’t afford.
Why can’t I quote other posts?
Everyone asks this. It’s almost like a right of passage. This isn’t a missing feature. The lack of a QT-like ability was an intentional decision. Here’s the lead developer’s explanation (via fedi.tips):
Another feature that has been requested almost since the start, and which I keep rejecting is quoting messages. Coming back to my disclaimer, of course it’s impossible to prevent people from sharing screenshots or linking to public resources, but quoting messages is immediately actionable. It makes it a lot easier for people to immediately engage with the quoted content… and it usually doesn’t lead to anything good. When people use quotes to reply to other people, conversations become performative power plays. “Heed, my followers, how I dunk on this fool!” When you use the reply function, your message is broadcast only to people who happen to follow you both. It means one person’s follower count doesn’t play a massive role in the conversation. A quote, on the other hand, very often invites the followers to join in on the conversation, and whoever has got more of them ends up having the upper hand and massively stressing out the other person.
How do I get followers?
Like birdsite, Mastodon uses hashtags, which are a great way to gain a few followers and find people to follow. Your instance probably has an “Explore” tab showing the most popular hashtags. You should make a post to #introductions when you get started. #TwitterMigration is pretty hot right now.
A large of number of academics seem to have flocked to the Fediverse recently, and they’ve been creating and putting out lists to attract followers. Here’s a few I’ve found over the past couple of days:
One of the more advanced features on Mastodon, which you won’t find on Twitter, is the ability to auto-follow accounts by importing lists. But by the time you get the hang of using Mastodon you should have no trouble figuring out how to do this.
Can I get verified, and does it cost $8?
Because there’s no central authority, it is not possible to verify accounts. However, there’s still a way you can verify yourself if you have your own website.
Thanos was right again.Image: Unknown
In your profile settings, you should find an option for “Link verification.” This will explain that you can add a line of code to your personal website, and then add that link to your profile under “Profile Metadata.” Mastodon will check the link for the code, and after finding it, add a verification tag next to the link in your bio. It only takes about five minutes, and it costs you nothing.
Is there a video I can watch that explains this a bit better?
Tons. Feel free to browse around on YouTube. There are a lot of explainers out there. But here are two short little videos that should help you conceptualize how Mastodon and the Fediverse work a little bit better.
For additional tips, try browsing the #feditips hashtag or following the Feditips account on Mastodon. And otherwise, just ask around. Users are very friendly and are quick to respond to inquires.
Twitter is increasing the price of its subscription service. Moving forward, Twitter Blue will cost $8 per month in the US, with pricing in other countries adjusted for the purchasing power of consumers in those markets, Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk announced today. The $3 jump from Blue’s current $5 per month fee amounts to a 60 percent price increase.
At the same time, Twitter plans to add new perks to the service. As a subscriber, you’ll see fewer ads and have the ability to post longer videos and audio — which Twitter had tested prior to Musk’s takeover. It will also give you priority in replies, mentions and Twitter’s search feature, perks Musk claims are essential to reducing the amount of spam on the platform. "Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit," Musk said, all but confirming verification will be tied to Twitter Blue subscriptions. Lastly, Twitter Blue will include the ability to bypass paywalls — though that will come later and will depend on Twitter forging the necessary publisher partnerships.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after days of speculation on how Twitter could change under Musk’s ownership. On Sunday, two separate reports said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was considering increasing the price of Twitter Blue to as much as $20 per month and making the subscription a requirement for verification. Musk appeared to reconsider pricing after a tweet from author Stephen King criticizing the plan went viral. "We need to pay the bills somehow," Musk said. "Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?"
Musk claimed the changes to Twitter Blue would also give the company a way to support content creators. On Monday, the owner of Nibellion, one of Twitter’s most prolific and popular gaming news accounts, said he was abandoning the platform, citing Musk’s takeover of the company and the difficulty he encountered monetizing his work.
“I have miscalculated the value of my Twitter activity and realize that it is nothing worth supporting by itself for the vast majority of people," Nibel said. "It is not me who is popular, but it is that work that is useful. It is not valuable by itself, but a comfortable timesaver, and I get that now.” Accounts like Nibel are the lifeblood of Twitter. While they only represent about 25 percent of the user base, they account for more than 97 percent of tweets you see on the platform.
Tweaks to Twitter Blue are likely only the start of the changes Musk has planned for Twitter. According to The New York Times, Musk has ordered company-wide layoffs that could affect as much as 50 percent of Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce. He is also reportedly considering bringing back Vine, the company’s long-defunct short-form video service. In the meantime, Musk did not say when the changes to Twitter Blue would begin rolling out.
Last week, Elon Musk officially completed his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. But Musk’s path from Twitter super-user to Twitter owner and CEO was anything but straightforward.
While he’s long been known as a prolific tweeter, it was a surprise to most that he was interested in exterting an even bigger influence on the platform. After quietly acquiring a majority stake in the company, he offered to buy the whole thing — even though it wasn’t for sale.
Twitter’s board seemed hesitant at first, but Musk’s money was hard to turn down. In a matter of days, the company agreed to alter its path entirely. Then Musk changed his mind… multiple times. First, the deal was “on hold.” Then, he wanted out entirely. Twitter sued, kicking off a massive legal battle in a Delaware court. But just before the trial was scheduled to begin, Musk said he would honor the deal after all.
Now, there are fresh questions about what exactly Twitter will look like under Musk. He’s proposed numerous changes, including changing Twitter’s moderation rules and reversing permanent bans. He also has a new plan to charge for verification. These decisions are only just beginning to play out, but have already caused massive upheaval both within the company and on the platform itself. Watch the video above for the full story.
In March of this year, Steam arrived on Chrome OS machines as an alpha. This week, it’s beta time. Google announced that with ChromeOS 108, Steam for Chomebrooks brings broader availability, improved user experience, better performance, and increased compatibility.
This is a big deal because for many, using ChromeOS’s Dev Channel comes with inherent instability risks, so now that Steam has been made available via the beta channel, it opens up the service to a much wider range of users. The team also states that they have added support for devices with AMD Ryzen 5000 C-Series and Intel 12th Gen Core CPUs, as well as lowered the minimum CPU requirement to i3 and Ryzen 3. This simply means even more people can play their Steam titles via a Chromebook.
A full listed of the supported Chrome OS machines can be viewed here. For the detailed changelog of alpha to beta, look here.
