‘Her Story’ creator Sam Barlow delays ‘Immortality’ to August 30th

Immortality, the next game from Her Story and Telling Lies creator Sam Barlow, has been delayed. Previously scheduled to arrive on PC, Xbox and mobile on July 26th, the game will now launch on August 30th. Barlow announced the delay on Twitter.

“Today we’re pushing back the release date for Immortality to August 30th, 2022,” he said this week. “It has taken decades for Marissa Marcel’s work to find the light of day, so we’re happy to spend a month more to ensure the experience is as polished as possible.”

Like Barlow’s past projects, Immortality is a full-motion video game. You’ll need to find out what happened to actor Marissa Marcel by watching lost footage from three films she starred in before her disappearance. Barlow hired Allan Scott and Amelia Gray – best known for work on Queen’s Gambit and Mr. Robot, respectively – to help with the project. Barlow previously hinted Immortality would make its way to other platforms after its initial release.

Dbrand’s ‘Something’ skins make your phone look like a Nothing Phone 1

Most reviews agree: the Nothing Phone 1 is a striking device. But thanks to limited availability, good lucking buying one – especially if you live in the US or Canada. Enter Dbrand. The accessory maker has announced a new “Something” line of skins that promise to transform your iPhone 13 Pro Max, Pixel 6 Pro or Galaxy S22 Ultra.

You might think Dbrand is playing with fire here, and you’re probably right. “Some might accuse us of theft. Here’s our counter: we stole nothing,” the company says on its website. “That’s not theft – it’s plagiarism, which is definitely not a crime. We checked,” Dbrand adds after noting it spent “a lot of time” taking apart electronics, an investment the company says makes it “uniquely qualified to rip off an industrial design and ‘creatively reinterpret’ it for other devices.” 

Dbrand is no stranger to these kinds of marketing stunts. At the end of last year, the company made headlines when it stopped selling custom PlayStation 5 faceplates following a cease-and-desist letter from Sony. Days later, the company announced a new version of its “Darkplates” it claimed Sony would not have a legal case against. We wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Nothing founder Carl Pei is involved. Pei is widely credited for the guerilla marketing strategy that put OnePlus on the map.  

Something skins are available to buy through Dbrand’s website. You can get one for $24.95. 

Elon Musk asks court to delay Twitter trial start to February 2023

Elon Musk’s lawyers allege Twitter is pushing for an unreasonably fast trial over allegations the Tesla and SpaceX CEO improperly ended his $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform, reports Bloomberg. “Twitter’s sudden request for warp speed af…

FCC needs additional $3 billion to help US carriers replace Huawei and ZTE equipment

Removing Chinese equipment from American wireless networks will cost more than anticipated. On Friday, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told Congress the agency needs an additional $3 billion to reimburse carriers that “…

US and Russia agree to swap seats on space station flights

The US may have imposed economic sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, but in space, the two countries are finding ways to continue working together. NASA and Roscosmos have signed a long-awaited agreement to swap seats on flights to the International Space Station. After the space shuttle program shut down, NASA relied on Russian Soyuz flights for years to ferry its astronauts to the orbiting lab. That is, until SpaceX succeeded in getting the Crew Dragon certified for human spaceflights. Now, the agency will again be securing seats on the Soyuz, while Russian cosmonauts will be flying aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon flights. 

NASA said in a statement provided to The New York Times:

“Flying integrated crews ensures there are appropriately trained crew members on board the station for essential maintenance and spacewalks. It also protects against contingencies such as a problem with any crew spacecraft, serious crew medical issues or an emergency aboard the station that requires a crew and the vehicle they are assigned to return to Earth sooner than planned.”

In other words, the agreement will ensure that both the US- and the Russian-operated segments of the station will never be unmanned in case of canceled flights or other emergencies. The agency also said that the first integrated flights will take place in September, with Anna Kikina being the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on a Crew Dragon. She will be joined by NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, as well as Japan’s Koichi Wakata. Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio will be heading to the ISS aboard a Soyuz flight. In the spring of 2023, Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev and NASA’s Loral O’Hara will also be swapping seats. No money will change hands under the agreement, unlike in the past when NASA paid Roscosmos around $56 million a seat.

The announcement comes at the same time as Dmitry Rogozin’s dismissal as the head of Roscosmos. Rogozin had made controversial statements and decisions for years, but especially in recent months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After the European Space Agency formally backed out of the ExoMars joint mission with Russia, for instance, Rogozin said he ordered the Roscosmos crew to stop working with the European-made robotic arm on the ISS. Roscosmos, under his leadership, also distributed images of cosmonauts holding the flags of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. NASA issued a statement afterward, saying it “strongly rebukes using the International Space Station for political purposes to support [the] war against Ukraine.”

The Times said Kremlin’s spokesperson clarified that Rogozin’s dismissal has nothing to do with his performance. According to Space, Latvia-based news outlet Meduza reported that Rogozin would be assigned as Putin’s chief of staff or as an administrator overseeing the Ukraine territories Russia had occupied, but neither rumor has been confirmed just yet. 

Recommended Reading: Apple’s self-driving struggles

Inside Apple’s eight-year struggle to build a self-driving car

Wayne Ma, The Information

By now, you’ve likely heard at least some of the rumors about Apple’s secretive automotive ambitions. The Information spoke to nearly two dozen people about the self-driving car project to chronicle all of the development, demos, prototypes and staff departures along the way. 

How Elon Musk damaged Twitter and left it worse off

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Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter not only hasn’t resulted in an acquisition, but it put a spotlight on some of the social platform’s biggest issues. 

Burning down the House: How ‘Game of Thrones’ enters a new age with ‘House of the Dragon’

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If you’re eagerly awaiting the debut of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series next month, EW has a preview of what to expect with commentary from the show’s cast and creators. 

Putin signs law prohibiting crypto payments in Russia

People in Russia will soon no longer be allowed to use digital assets as a form of payment. Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law prohibiting the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrency and NFTs, to pay for goods and services. In addition, as Protocol notes, the new law also requires crypto exchanges and providers to refuse transactions in which digital transfers can be interpreted as a form of payment. The new law states:

“It is prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets as a consideration for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services, as well as in any other way that allows one to assume payment for goods (works, services) by a digital financial asset, except as otherwise provided by federal laws.”

As a New York Times report said earlier this year, US authorities believe that some Russian companies affected by sanctions imposed against their country after its invasion of Ukraine could be using cryptocurrency to circumvent those limitations. The value of Bitcoin even surged for a few days after the invasion started in February.

That said, Russian authorities aren’t quite keen on digital assets: The Central Bank of Russia called for an outright ban on cryptocurrency. That most likely didn’t happen, because Russia’s Finance Ministry was opposed to the idea and believed it was necessary to allow crypto technology to develop. In 10 days’ time, the law will take effect and will make paying with crypto illegal in the country. According to Decrypt, though, Russians can still invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and presumably continue mining them as well.