SpaceX successfully completes static fire test of Starship’s Super Heavy booster

SpaceX has cleared an important hurdle that brings it closer to the Starship system’s first orbital flight test. The company has successfully completed a static fire test of the Super Heavy’s current prototype, the Booster 7, a month after its previous attempt ended up in in flames. SpaceX used the Booster 7 for this test again but fired only a single Raptor engine on the orbital launch pad, igniting it for a few seconds to give engineers a close look at how it’s performing. 

The Booster 7 is equipped with 33 Raptor version 2 engines meant to give it lift it needs to launch both the first stage itself and its upper stage companion, the Starship spacecraft. During the company’s previous static fire test attempt, the booster caught fire on the launch pad. Company chief Elon Musk revealed on Twitter back then that the issue had stemmed from the engine spin start test SpaceX had conducted and that going forward, the company “won’t do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once” anymore.

In addition to testing Booster 7, SpaceX also did a static fire test on two of the six Raptor engines on Starship 24. That’s the current prototype for the launch system’s upper stage, and it’s what will fly to space for the system’s first orbital flight test. It’s still unclear when SpaceX intends to send the Starship to orbit for the first time, but it likely has to conduct more testing before that happens, including static firing more of its Raptor engines. 

Sony 帶來全新 XE300、XE200 便攜藍牙喇叭，廣域放音、防海水保護

來到夏季，當然是出海、開派對的時候了（雖然香港這幾天都下大雨…），一台便攜藍牙喇叭就能為這些戶外活動增添聲色！Sony 全新的 XE300 和 XE200 就是針對這樣的玩法而來，而且更明言是能防海水的，讓大家可以玩得更放心盡興了。…

US Justice Department is reportedly poised to sue Google over its digital ad dominance

Google may soon be facing its second antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice. According to Bloomberg, the DOJ is gearing up to sue the tech giant as soon as September after a year of looking into whether it’s been using its dominant position to illegally control the digital ad market. The Justice Department’s lawyers have reportedly been conducting another round of interviews to glean additional information that could help make their case stronger. These new interviews are expected to build on previous ones conducted much earlier on in the investigation. 

The Justice Department first filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company back in 2020, accusing it of having an unfair monopoly over search and search-related advertising. For that particular case, the agency argued that forcing Android phone manufacturers to set Google as the default search engine prevents rivals from gaining traction and ensures that the company will earn an enormous amount of money from search-related advertising. 

In the same year, Texas filed a multi-state lawsuit against Google, with the state’s Attorney General accusing the company of using its “monopolistic power to control” ad pricing. The company’s ad practices are under scrutiny not just in the US but in other parts of the world: The European Commission also opened a probe to look into whether Google limits rival services’ access to user data for ad purposes last year. As a concession to the EU’s concerns, Reuters reported in June that Google may let rival ad platforms run ads on YouTube.

While the DOJ has yet to officially file its case, Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels defended the company’s ad business in a statement to Bloomberg, which says: “Our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world. The enormous competition in online advertising has made online ads more relevant, reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers.”

Blizzard 將於 8 月 30 日起停售《鬥陣特攻》的戰利品箱

今天開始一直到 8 月 30 日為止是玩家最後購買心儀的皮膚，或是賭賭看戰利品箱運氣的機會了 —— 8 月 30 日之後 Blizzard 將停售所有《鬥陣特攻》的戰利品箱，到時候要再取得某些造型可能就不容易了。…