Valve developers discuss why Half Life 2: Episode 3 was abandoned
Anniversary doc also includes footage of unused ice gun, blob enemies. After Ars spent Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary week looking back at the game's history and impact, Valve mar.....»»
The amorous adventures of earwigs
Elaborate courtship, devoted parenthood, gregarious nature (and occasional cannibalism)—earwigs have a lot going for them. Few people are fond of earwigs, with their menacing ab.....»»
To invent the wheel, did people first have to invent the spindle?
The physics of spinning objects may have seeded concepts key to the wheel. Twelve-thousand years ago, people in a coastal village in the Levant used stone weights on their spindle.....»»
Study confirms Egyptians likely used hallucinogens in rituals
Special concoction also contained honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice, and grapes to make it look like blood. Last year we reported on preliminary research suggesting that an.....»»
Urban Arrow’s front-loader is a stylish, functional cargo/kid hauler
With either cargo or kids, the Family is impeccably designed and a smooth ride. So far, all of the cargo bikes we've tested have been what are called "long tails," which means the.....»»
SpaceX president predicts rapid increase in Starship launch rate
"It's going to be hard to catch us, but I certainly hope people try." As SpaceX made its final preparations for the sixth launch of its Starship rocket, the company's chief operat.....»»
Racing turns its back on heavy, expensive hybrids for sustainable fuel
Racing's experiment with hybrid powertrains isn't going great. Over the past decade, spurred on by series like Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship, the world of motorsp.....»»
April Fools’ joke results in Japanese firm making a beige ’80s throwback PC case
You can fit lots of modern hardware inside—and prop your monitor on top. Putting out a joke product on April Fools' Day can sometimes be a clever way to quietly gauge the reacti.....»»
Trump’s FCC chair is Brendan Carr, who wants to regulate everyone except ISPs
Carr says he wants to punish broadcast media and dismantle "censorship cartel." President-elect Donald Trump announced last night that he will make Brendan Carr the chairman of th.....»»
Explicit deepfake scandal shuts down Pennsylvania school
Parents test if school leaders can be prosecuted over failure to report AI nudes. An AI-generated nude photo scandal has shut down a Pennsylvania private school. On Monday, classe.....»»
Apple Intelligence notification summaries are honestly pretty bad
Summaries are often wrong, usually odd, sometimes funny, rarely helpful. I have been using the Apple Intelligence notification summary feature for a few months now, since pretty e.....»»
Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return
The end of Lightning is nigh. It's a bummer for folks with older phones, though. When Apple infamously ditched the headphone jack with the launch of the iPhone 7, it at least prov.....»»
Silo S2 expands its dystopian world
Ars chats with cinematographer Baz Irvine about creating a fresh look for the sophomore season. The second season of Silo, Apple TV's dystopian sc-fi drama, is off to a powerful.....»»
These are the lasting things that Half-Life 2 gave us, besides headcrabs and crowbars
Beyond the game itself (which rocks), Half-Life 2 had a big impact on PC gaming. It's Half-Life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, is the 20th anniversary of th.....»»
A lot of people are mistaking Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for UAPs
"We were able to assess that they were all in those cases looking at Starlink flares." SpaceX's Starlink Internet satellites are responsible for more and more public reports of un.....»»
As ABL Space departs launch, the 1-ton rocket wars have a clear winner
"Our path to making a big contribution as a commercial launch company narrowed considerably." A 7-year-old launch company that has yet to have a rocket successfully lift off annou.....»»
I, too, installed an open source garage door opener, and I’m loving it
OpenGarage restored my home automations and gave me a whole bunch of new ideas. Like Ars Senior Technology Editor Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opene.....»»
Review: Amazon’s 2024 Kindle Paperwhite makes the best e-reader a little better
If you use any Kindle other than the 2021 Paperwhite, this is a huge upgrade. I've never particularly loved Amazon, either as a retail behemoth or as a hardware and software compa.....»»
OpenAI accused of trying to profit off AI model inspection in court
How do you get an AI model to confess what's inside? Since ChatGPT became an instant hit roughly two years ago, tech companies around the world have rushed to release AI products.....»»
I played Half-Life 2 for the first time this year—here’s how it went
Wake up and smell the ashes, Ms. Washenko. It's Half-Life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, is the 20th anniversary of the release of Half-Life 2—a game of.....»»