Gadgets & Tech – Spoken Edition

Just in time for its tenth anniversary, Apple might finally be killing the MacBook Air, according to a new report from Digitimes. If this is true, it’d be the first axing of a laptop line from Apple since the iBook and Powerbook were axed back in 2006. It would also be about damn time.

Google promised $20 million to the first private company that could land on the moon, roll around a few hundred meters, and then beam the achievement back to Earth. But it looks like none of the competing companies have landed on that sweet lunar surface—and Google isn’t going to give them more time.

The new “End of Ze World” video looks just like the original for exactly two seconds. A few moments later, the long-awaited sequel to what many call the world’s first viral video displays a collage of missiles, pumpjacks, a Nazi flag, a hurricane, and protest signs. Your eyes will immediately drop to the one that says boldly, “WTF?!” This is “End of Ze World… Probably for Real This Time,” and it’s haunting.

Astronaut Jeanette Epps, slated to be the first African-American crew member on board the International Space Station, will not be flying in 2018, according to an NASA announcement. Epps was slated to be a flight engineer on board the station in a mission scheduled to launch in May. She will instead assume duties in the “Astronaut Office,” and will be replaced by Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor.

A brutal storm crashed into the Dutch coast on Thursday causing gusts of wind up to 90 miles per hour. This might not have been so destructive in a place with some relief, like mountains and hills, but the Netherlands is famously flat. That led to many bad things happening to buildings and people. The storm is dangerous. So far, there have been two confirmed deaths in the Netherlands, one caused by a fallen branch and the other by a fallen tree.

It’s a sickness. Whether it’s repeatedly checking for new likes on a pic or mindlessly scrolling through your feed, Instagram can be a tremendously addictive app. And just in time to help feed your habit, Instagram has instituted a new “activity status” feature that shows you the last time someone was actively using the service.

Workers at Lesotho’s Letšeng mine have discovered an absolute whopper of a diamond, rated at 910-carats. Roughly the size of two golf balls, the precious gem has an estimated value of $40 million. The rock, uncovered in the landlocked southern African country of Lesotho, is a 910-carat, D-color Type IIa diamond. This type of diamond makes up about 1 to 2 percent of all natural diamonds, containing no measurable impurities such as nitrogen atoms.

Google Home and Chromecast devices are reportedly killing peoples’ Wi-Fi. The problem, first reported by Android Police, originally seemed localized to users of the Google Home Max speaker and the cheap, but usually excellent, TP-Link Archer C7 router. However since Android Police first reported the problem, it seems to have spread to other Google devices and TP-Link routers.

A flu strain called H3N2 has sent thousands to emergency rooms in California—so many that hospitals are erecting tents to accommodate the all the extra patients, reports the LA Times. Check out this picture from Fox 5 San Diego reporter Jamie Chambers: And this, from LA Times reporter Soumya Karlamangla: But it’s not just California where this virulent strain has struck—hospitals across the country report an uptick in cases, the CDC reports.

Last year I hit that birthday milestone when I’m apparently due to suffer a mid-life crisis and make some irrational purchase decisions. But as much fun as an exotic sports car might be, I don’t want that fiscal responsibility. I will, however, happily shell out $45 for Playmobil’s new Porsche 9111 GT3 Cup racer; a welcome addition to my toy-packed desk.