Connect with us

Technologies

Blue Origin sends Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan to space and back

Also aboard the successful third crewed flight: the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

Blue Origin successfully completed the 19th flight of its New Shepard rocket on Saturday, and for the first time a member of the Shepard family was aboard.

Laura Shepard Churchley, eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, the first American in space, joined former NFL titan and current Good Morning America host Michael Strahan as honorary guests for the flight. «It’s almost like an out-of-body experience,» Strahan told a reporter after the flight. «It’s hard to even believe it happened.»

Four paying customers were also in the crew cabin, marking the first time a full group of six passengers has made the trip to the edge of space and back with the help of billionaire Jeff Bezos’ side gig.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

The mission, dubbed NS-19, also featured four paying customers: space industry executive Dylan Taylor (CEO of Voyager Space Holdings and founder of nonprofit Space for Humanity); investor Evan Dick; and Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and Cameron Bess.

«Lane and Cameron Bess will become the first parent-child pair to fly in space,» Blue Origin said in a statement prior to launch.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

The New Shepard rocket blasted off from the company’s West Texas launch facility at 7 a.m. PT. The flight was originally set for Wednesday, but forecast winds delayed it.

Within minutes of launch, the booster stage lofted the crew capsule to a high altitude where it separated and continued on to more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth, the commonly accepted beginning of outer space (though that’s complicated).

While the crew enjoyed a few minutes of weightlessness and an unparalleled view, the booster returned for a successful landing near the launch pad. The newly minted astronauts then reentered earth’s atmosphere for a soft landing back in the high desert with the help of multiple parachutes.

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

The whole thing was over in just about 15 minutes, but Strahan tweeted that it was «surreal» and «unbelievable.»

window.CnetFunctions.logWithLabel(‘%c One Trust ‘, «Service loaded: script_twitterwidget with class optanon-category-5»);

NS-19 is the third launch of a New Shepard to carry humans to space. The first crewed launch carried Bezos, his brother, and aviation pioneer Wally Funk, along with one paying customer. The second saw a Blue Origin employee, two paying customers, and sci-fi legend William Shatner in the crew cabin.

No word yet on who might be up next.

Other players in the game of commercial spaceflight include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which in September sent the civilian crew of its Inspiration4 mission orbiting around the Earth nearly 50 times, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which in July sent the British billionaire and others on a brief jaunt to the edge of space.

Read more: FAA ends Commercial Space Astronaut Wings program

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders: New Tariffs Mean US Customers Will Have to Wait

We’ve got all the need-to-know details about the new console, but Nintendo’s recent announcement has caused some uncertainty.

It’s finally here. Well, almost. The Nintendo Direct event on April 3 gave us our first concrete information about its highly anticipated Switch 2 console. In addition to the official release date (June 5), we also got details about the specs, price and some hot new titles. Preorders were originally supposed to open on April 9, but the new tariffs mean that US customers will have to wait a little longer. Below, we’ve rounded up everything you want to know, including when and how you’ll be able to preorder one of these nifty new handhelds.

Where to preorder the Nintendo Switch 2

When can I preorder the Nintendo Switch 2

Preorders we’re originally set to open on April 9, and for most countries, that is still the case. However, in light of the new US tariffs, Nintendo has delayed preorders in the United States while it assesses «the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.» As of now, there are no details about when US preorders will start, but we’re closely monitoring the situation and will update this page as soon as new information is available.

Read More: How Nintendo is Combating Switch 2 Scalpers

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

The standalone console will start at $450, which is a $150 increase compared to the original console. You can also bundle it with Mario Kart World for $500, which saves you $30 compared to purchasing the game and system separately.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be released?

The Switch 2 will officially begin shipping on June 5. As of now, Nintendo has stated that the preorder delay in the US will not affect the release date.

When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 accessories?

Nintendo and several other retailers already have preorder pages for controllers, cases and other accessories, as well as games. It’s likely that preorders will begin at the same time as consoles, but there’s no official confirmation as of yet.

When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 games?

As with accessories, we expect that Switch 2 game preorders will be available when console preorders go live.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders: What are people saying?

Feeling about the Switch 2 are mixed — to say the least. While the new console certainly offers some nice upgrades over it’s predecessor, including a larger screen, improved Joy-Cons and boosted storage, many are wondering if it’s enough to justify a fairly significant price hike. Especially when you consider with the new $80 price tag of its two biggest launch-window games — Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. CNET gaming expert Scott Stein sums it up as a console that «feels a lot like an updated version of a system many people already own.» Additionally, the confusion about preorder availability has many gamers wondering if they’d be better off waiting a year or two and grabbing a refurbished console at a lower price.

Continue Reading

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 5, #1386

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,386 for April 5.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.


Still recovering from yesterday’s tricky Wordle? Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little easier, although the first letter isn’t one I often guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels and one sometimes vowel in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: Start letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter F.

Wordle hint No. 4: Under the sea

Today’s Wordle answer is sometimes associated with ocean waves, and also with soap.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to something that is frothy or creamy.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is FOAMY.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 4,  No. 1385 was KRILL.

Recent Wordle answers

March 31, No, 1381: BOOTY

April 1, No. 1382: JEWEL

April 2, No. 1383: CURSE.

April 3, No. 1384: SHEAR

Continue Reading

Technologies

These Noise-Canceling Earbuds Do Everything I Need, and They’re Less Than Half the Price of Apple’s AirPods 4

The Earfun Air Pro 4’s passive noise cancellation helps me read in my noisy house, and they’re 20% off their already discounted price.

I enjoy reading books on my Kindle, and my favorite place to do so is stretched out on a couch in my living room. But like most busy households, my living room can get pretty loud. And since I don’t really want to yell at everyone to keep it down so Daddy can enjoy his stories, the best solution I’ve found is to wear noise-canceling earbuds while reading. I’ll wear them in combination with playing white noise or nature sounds — my current favorite playlist is 10 hours of Thunderstorm Sounds on shuffle — to maximize the effect.

I like using my over-ear Sony headphones for work, but they’re bulky, so I started looking for an affordable pair of earbuds that offer decent noise cancellation. That’s how I ended up buying the Earfun Air Pro 4s, CNET’s 2024 Editors’ Choice for affordable in-ear headphones. In short, they’re great, and the black ones cost just $64 on Amazon right now when you apply the 20% discount at checkout. (All of the other colors are down to $77 when you apply a 15% discount, which is still a good price.)

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

How these earbuds silence the noise around you

I prefer in-ear headphones because they offer active, electronic and passive noise canceling. Passive noise cancellation basically consists of plugging your ears with the rubbery tips included with the earbuds. The Earfuns fit well for me when I use the second-largest of the five swappable ear tip sizes, and they stay sealed and comfortable for hours. Sometimes I have to reseal one after I yawn or something, but that’s the case with other in-ear headphones too.

For reading, I prefer Earfun’s «Strong ANC» noise-canceling mode, which makes a big difference when blocking out the noise around you, but there are a bunch of other noise-cancellation options. The Ambient Sound function is good for when I want to pay attention to my surroundings. Overall I found the app easier to use than Sony’s and just as capable. The main difference is that Sony’s app has a variable slider for ambient sound.

The Earfun app also includes a white noise section in the app. Normally I prefer Spotify for white noise (and I download my favorite playlists for offline listening) but this feature is useful for people who don’t have another music service. It includes birdsong, waves and rainfall, all of which are short clips that repeat automatically.

Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

See all photos

Why I chose these earbuds over AirPods

These headphones have every other feature I’d expect, including the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and programmable touch-sensitive controls on the buds. Plus, battery life has been more than ample for me even after a marathon reading session. 

There’s also a finder function if you misplace either earbud (unlike Apple FindMy, however, they have to be connected and in Bluetooth range). For actual music and voice calling quality, they sound fine, albeit not as good as my big Sonys.

I have an iPhone and briefly thought about buying Apple AirPods, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The AirPods 4 with noise cancellation cost $115 more than these Earfuns and have an open-ear design, so they rely entirely on the electronic (not passive) method. The AirPods Pro 2 are in-ear and superb, but I didn’t want to spend $250 on a pair of secondary headphones. 

Yes, I could probably save some money on an even less expensive pair of in-ear noise-canceling headphones, but I’m not sure I’d be as happy with their fit, long-term comfort, battery life and noise-cancellation performance. The Earfun Pro 4 buds help me relax and concentrate on my book, and for me that’s priceless.

For more savings, we’ve rounded up all the the best deals on headphones we’ve found. And if you’re getting a head-start on gift shopping for a new grad or Mother’s Day, check out our list of the best graduation gifts and best gifts for Mom.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media