The Starlink satellite internet for boats will cost you $5,000 a month

Starlink has launched a ruggedized version of its dish for boats, ships and yachts, merely a few days after the FCC gave it permission to provide internet service to vehicles. The satellite internet provider says Starlink Maritime can deliver up to 350 Mbps download speeds while at sea, which isn’t bad at all for boats that didn’t have an internet connection to begin with. However, it doesn’t come cheap: The hardware alone will set customers back $10,000, which they have to pay for up front. 

The service itself costs $5,000 a month, though like Starlink for RVs, customers can pause it when it’s not in use. They can choose which billing cycle to begin their pause, but they’ll still have to pay for the full month whenever they switch the service on. In comparison, the residential Starlink setup’s hardware costs only $599, while the service costs $110 a month. 

SpaceX chief Elon Musk explained on Twitter that Starlink Maritime’s antennae differ from their residential counterpart. They’re “dual, high performance terminals,” he said, and have the power to maintain connection in choppy seas and heavy storms. The terminals were also designed to be able to withstand “relentless salt spray [and] extreme winds [and] storms.” Musk said SpaceX has been paying $150,000 a month for “a much worse connection” on its ships. 

The Starlink Maritime page also mentions that the service allows you to connect from the most remote waters across the world, but it’s worth noting that its coverage area is still limited. At the moment, it will only work in the coastal waters of the USA (not including Alaska), Europe (except most of Norway, Sweden and Finland), Australia, Brazil, Chile, most of the southern part of Australia and New Zealand. Starlink is expected to roll out connectivity to more locations in the fourth quarter of 2022 and next year.

SpaceX has long had plans to connect moving vehicles to the Starlink network and even previewed a ruggedized dish for boats and planes way back in 2021. It’s only just a few days ago, though, when the Federal Communications Commission authorized a new class of terminals for the satellite internet service “to meet the growing user demands that now require connectivity while on the move.”

North Korean hackers are using ransomware to attack healthcare providers, feds warn

State-sponsored North Korean hackers have been targeting healthcare providers since at least May 2021, according to the US government. The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of the Treasury have issued a joint advisory warning healthcare organizations about the attackers’ MO. Apparently, they’ve been using a ransomware called Maui to encrypt healthcare organizations’ computers and then demanding payment from the victims to get their networks unlocked. The agencies’ warning contains information about Maui, including its indicators of compromise and the techniques the bad actors use, which they got from a sample obtained by the FBI. 

The agencies said the attackers locked up healthcare providers’ electronic health records services, diagnostics services, imaging services and intranet services, among others. In some cases, the attacks kept the providers out of their systems and disrupted the services they provide for prolonged periods. 

According to the agencies’ advisory, the malware is manually executed by a remote actor once it’s in the victim’s network. They “highly discourage” paying ransom, since that doesn’t ensure that the bad actors will give victims the keys to unlock their files. However, the agencies admit that the attackers will most likely continue targeting organizations in the healthcare sector. “The North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors likely assume healthcare organizations are willing to pay ransoms because these organizations provide services that are critical to human life and health,” they said.

The agencies are now urging healthcare providers to employ mitigation techniques and to prepare for possible ransomware attacks by installing software updates, maintaining offline backups of data and concocting a basic cyber incident response plan. For those wondering what happens to the funds North Korea gets from operations like this: Earlier this year, a United Nations report revealed that the country has been using cryptocurrency stolen by state-sponsored hackers to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. 

Healthcare providers have been a prime target for ransomware-using bad actors for quite a while now, especially since the pandemic started. In 2020, FBI and CISA issued a joint advisory warning hospitals and healthcare providers that they’re in danger of being targeted by a ransomware attack. Russian-speaking criminal gang UNC1878 and other attackers targeted healthcare organizations in the height of the pandemic, giving some victims no choice but to comply with their demands as they struggled to save people’s lives.

This ‘sand’ battery stores renewable energy as heat

A company in Finland has created an an unusual storage solution for renewable energy: One that uses sand instead of lithium ion or other battery technologies. Polar Night Energy and Vatajankoski, an energy utility in Western Finland, have built a storage system that can store electricity as heat in the sand. While there are other organizations researching the use of sand for energy storage, including the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Finns say theirs is the first fully working commercial installation of a battery made from sand.

Similar to traditional storage systems for renewables, Polar’s technology stores energy from wind turbines and solar panels that isn’t used at once. To be precise, it stores energy as heat, which is then used for the district heating network that Vatajankoski services. Sand is inexpensive and is very effective at storing heat at about 500 to 600 degrees Celsius. Polar says its technology can keep sand “hotter than the stoves in typical saunas” for months until it’s time to use that heat during Finland’s long winters. 

As the BBC explains, the resistive heating process used to warm the sand generates hot air circulated inside the structure. When it’s time to use the stored energy, the battery discharges that heated air to warm water in the district’s heating system, which is then pumped into homes, offices and even pools. At the moment, Polar’s sand battery only serves a single city, and it’s still unclear whether the technology can be scaled up. The BBC also says that its efficiency “falls dramatically” when it comes to returning electricity to the grid instead. It’s early days for the technology, though, and other companies and organizations might be able to find solutions for those issues. 

Apple’s MacBook Air M2 ships July 15, with pre-orders starting July 8

Good news for those who’ve been waiting for Apple’s colorful laptops to come out: The new M2-powered MacBook Air will be available for pre-order starting on July 8th at 5AM PDT/8AM EDT. It was first introduced in June at WWDC alongside the redesigned 13-inch MacBook Pro that’s similarly powered by the tech giant’s new M2 chip, but Apple had released the latter first. Those who prefer the redesigned MacBook Air may not have to wait that long to get their laptops after pre-order begins, because it will start shipping to buyers worldwide on July 15th. 

The new MacBook Air design gets rid of the model’s signature wedge silhouette and swaps it for a squarer look close to its Pro-tier siblings. It has a larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, but it’s lighter than its predecessors and is 20 percent smaller in volume. It will also be available in four colors, namely Silver, Space Gray, Midnight (deep blue) and Starlight. The laptop has a full row of physical function keys instead of a Touch Bar and brings back the older models’ MagSafe charging port.

Of course, users can expect a boost in performance, thanks to the new SoC that gives it access to more memory bandwidth and more graphics cores. The laptop also supports fast charging and has a battery that Apple says can last up to 15 hours of web surfing on a single charge. Prices for the new M2-powered MacBook Air start at $1,199, and it will be available for purchase from Apple’s website and from retailers like Adorama and B&H.

Amazon’s smart thermostat falls to a new all-time low of $42 ahead of Prime Day

Amazon has already started selling a bunch of its smart home devices at a discount, almost a week before Prime Day even begins. One of the most notable deals that’s already available is Amazon’s smart thermostat, which you can get for $42 — as long as you’re a Prime member. That’s 30 percent off its regular retail price of $60 and a new all-time low for the device. Amazon’s smart thermostat debuted in September 2021, giving you an affordable option to control your home temperature. 

Buy Amazon Smart Home Devices – up to 67 percent off

It’s not quite as feature-rich as its more expensive counterparts, like the Google Nest thermostat. But it’s Energy Star-certified and can save you an average of $50 on your electric bills every year. Plus, it’s Alexa-compatible and allows you to use the voice assistant to set custom routines for heating and cooling. The thermostat itself doesn’t have a speaker or a microphone, though, so you’ll need to use the Alexa app or another Alexa-enabled device like an Echo speaker to do so. 

That brings us to another deal you can get right now: Amazon’s smart thermostat bundled with an Echo Dot speaker. The bundle with a fourth-gen Echo Dot speaker will set you back $62, or $48 off its usual price, which is the lowest we’ve seen for it on the website. Meanwhile, the smart thermostat bundle with a second-gen Echo Show 5 smart display is also on sale for $77, or $68 lower than its retail price. That’s also a new all-time low for the duo.

In case you’re mainly looking to buy Amazon’s Alexa-powered speakers, you can get a fourth-gen Echo Dot with an Amazon smart plug for $25. You’ll save $50 if you get the bundle, which typically sells for $75 and has never been discounted this deeply before. Amazon’s smart plug adds Alexa voice control to any outlet, allowing you to control any non-smart device plugged to it, such as lights, fans and other appliances. 

Finally, you can get the fourth-gen Echo Dot for Kids bundled with an Echo Glow multicolor smart lamp with Prime for $36. That’s 60 percent or $54 off its retail price and also includes a year-long Amazon Kids+ subscription. 

Get the latest Amazon Prime Day offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Amazon is giving Prime subscribers a free year of Grubhub+ deliveries

Amazon has announced a handful of new perks for Prime members ahead of Prime Day this month, including free deliveries from nearby restaurants. All Prime members in the US will now get access to a one-year Grubhub+ membership, which typically costs $10 a month, for free. Amazon used to have a restaurant delivery service of its own in an attempt to create a homegrown UberEats rival, but the company ultimately shut it down in the UK and the US. This time, it’s teaming up with an established delivery service.

Grubhub+ members enjoy $0 food delivery fees, so long as their orders go over $12. They also get rewards that include free food and discounts on their orders. Prime subscribers can redeem their free Grubhub+ membership by going to the official perk page on Amazon, activating the offer and then sharing their Prime status with the delivery service. Even existing Grubhub+ users can claim the freebie, with their free year kicking in after their current billing cycle ends. People who cancel their Prime membership will also lose access to their free year of Grubhub+, while those who stick around will be charged $10 a month for the delivery service after 12 months.

This partnership is part of the commercial agreement Amazon has entered with Just Eat Takeaway.com, the Dutch parent company of Grubhub. Under the agreement, Amazon will receive stock warrants worth 2 percent of Grubhub’s fully-diluted common equity. It follows a similar deal where Amazon invested in UK food delivery service Deliveroo and also offered UK Prime subscribers a full year of deliveries.

Grubhub says it “continues to actively explore the partial or full sale” of the company, but whether Amazon will swoop in with an offer remains to be seen. 

Adam DeWitt, CEO of Grubhub, said in a statement:

“I am incredibly excited to announce this collaboration with Amazon that will help Grubhub continue to deliver on our long-standing mission to connect more diners with local restaurants. Amazon has redefined convenience with Prime and we’re confident this offering will expose many new diners to the value of Grubhub+ while driving more business to our restaurant partners and drivers.”

Netflix says ‘Stranger Things 4’ racked up over 1 billion hours viewed

Stranger Things 4 has become the most popular English-language series on Netflix with the premiere of its last two episodes. The streaming giant has revealed that the show has racked up 1.15 billion hours of viewing time within the first 28 days of each part’s release. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the first seven episodes had a viewing time of 930.32 million hours within 28 days of the show’s debut. Meanwhile, episodes 8 and 9 reached 221 million hours viewed in the week of June 27th to July 3rd. 

That makes the series second only to Squid Game, which crossed 1.65 billion hours viewed within its first 28 days of release and which currently holds the title for the most-viewed show in Netflix history. It even has the potential to overtake the Korean hit, seeing as it has only been a few days since the last two episodes came out. 

Netflix, however, has yet to reveal whether Stranger Things 4’s popularity has had a significant impact on its subscriber numbers. In 2021, the company said it posted its best subscriber growth of the year during the third quarter, thanks in part to Squid Game. But in April this year, Netflix admitted that it lost about 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 due to several issues, such as stiffer competition and account sharing. The company said back then that it’s taking steps to turn things around, but we’ll have to wait for its next earnings report to find out whether Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins crew were of any help. 

Twitch’s latest test lets you preview channels without watching ads

Twitch has begun testing a new feature that could introduce you to great streamers you haven’t seen before. Channel Switcher shows random channels as a carousel at the bottom of the screen. When you click on any of them, you’ll be able to watch a one-minute preview of the streamer’s content, enough to give you an idea of what they offer. The previews have no ads either, so you can channel surf undisturbed until you find something to watch. As Twitch explains, the feature will make it easier to figure out if you like a specific channel before committing.

A Twitch spokesperson told The Verge that “only a small percentage of [randomly selected] users who are logged in” will get the chance to test out the feature. The company plans to end the test in July and then analyze its results. While it’s unclear if Channel Switcher will get a wide release at this point, the spokesperson told the publication that Twitch intends to roll out future iterations and is thinking of offering it as an opt-in discovery solution. 

Alongside Channel Switcher, Twitch also launched Guest Star, which allows up to five guests to join a host in a stream. It works similar to Clubhouse in that streamers can include other streamers and viewers in their broadcast, but it of course supports video and not just audio conversations. 

GM is ramping up Hummer EV production to address huge order backlog

General Motors has only been producing up to a dozen electric Hummers a day in its Detroit factory, according to The Wall Street Journal, and that’s far from ideal when the automaker has over 70,000 reservations. As The Drive notes, it would take GM 17 years to be able to fulfill all its orders at that pace. A GM spokesperson told The Journal, though, that the company’s output will increase sharply in the second half of the year. They said production has been slower than usual for the vehicle, because it was developed from scratch and was built on top the company’s new Ultium EV platform. The global supply chain shortage that’s been affecting the tech and auto industries may have also contributed to the issue. 

In the coming months, the automaker expects to fulfill deliveries at a much faster pace, particularly after it switches from using outsourced LG battery cells. GM aims to start manufacturing its own battery cells later this summer in its new factory in Ohio built in partnership with LG. The company has been building multiple Ultium factories in the US over the past year, including one in Tennessee and another in Michigan in addition to its Ohio plant, as part of its efforts to achieve its goal of making more than a million EVs in the US every year by the end of 2025. One of its short-term goals, however, is likely being able to supply the batteries its Hummer EVs need. That battery makes up a third of the vehicle’s weight, The Drive says, and is made up of materials that are high in demand. 

The spokesperson said:

“Our ability to satisfy that demand is only going to improve as we bring on vertical integration of battery cell production. You can expect to see hundreds of deliveries grow to thousands later this year.”

GM didn’t give out exact numbers, so those at the bottom of the waiting list may have a long wait ahead of them still. That said, they’re not alone in waiting for their new EVs and hybrids to be delivered. Ford recently told customers who reserved a hybrid Maverick for 2022 that it’s experiencing product delays due to the supply chain shortage and that they could convert their reservation into one for the 2023 model if they wish. The automaker also decided to invest more money and to close `orders for all F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E EV models due to the massive demand for them. 

Meta allows select creators to post their NFTs on Facebook

Non-fungible tokens have arrived on Facebook. Meta has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has started giving select creators in the US the power to post digital collectibles on their profiles. While it’s unclear if and when the feature will make its way to more users — Meta called the release a “slow rollout” — company CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said that Meta was going to test NFT support on the social network. Meta Product Manager Navdeep Singh has posted photos on Twitter of what NFT integration would look like on Facebook’s, and similar to Instagram’s implementation, creators will have a digital collectibles tab on their profile where they can show off their NFTs.

Creators will be able to post their collectibles as status updates that people can comment on and react to, and clicking on them shows information on the artwork. According to Decrypt, Facebook will allow users to link their compatible digital wallets with the website, similar to how they can do so on Instagram. At the moment, Facebook supports NFTs minted on Ethereum and Polygon, though it will soon support Solana and Flow NFTs, as well. 

Meta started testing NFT integration on Instagram in May, promising additional related features, such as allowing users to display their pieces as augmented reality stickers in Stories. NFTs are perhaps a more fitting addition to Instagram than Facebook, based on the platforms’ userbase, but Meta is determined to make them a part of its products. Zuckerberg wrote in the post announcing the arrival of digital collectibles on Instagram: “We’re starting building for NFTs, not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps.”