Light Start – Updated Xbox One, space inflators, Titanfall 2, and old Nokia is dead
Brett Venter
Rumours of new Xbox One consoles abound, one for 2016 and another for 2017
If you’re considering finally jumping on the Xbox One bandwagon, you… may want to wait a while. There are several reports claiming that Microsoft has something new coming for their console series. First up is an apparent ‘Xbox One Slim’ which might be making an appearance on the market later this year. It’d be a conventional move for Microsoft. There were several Xbox 360 redesigns before it was finally put to bed. Even though this Slim console is said to have a new controller design (and a 40% thinner profile), you might still want to hang on. There’s talk of another console, called Project Scorpio, launching in 2017. This’ll also be an Xbox One but with a hardware update. The console will reportedly be 4K-capable (more or less) and able to support the Oculus Rift, depending on where you’re getting your information. Microsoft, of course, hasn’t said much about either console rumour but we don’t have long to wait to put the reports to sleep. E3 takes place in just a couple of weeks.
NASA’s streaming the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module inflation today
NASA has sent an inflatable Space Station module, made by Bigelow Aerospace, into space and today is that day that we all find out if it works as intended. NASA will, of course, be live-streaming the event. Assuming everything goes to plan and the BEAM doesn’t just pop, it’ll spend two years in space as part of a long-term test. It’ll remain inflated for a while but astronauts will only get inside on 2 June this year. Hey, if we were testing an experimental module in space, we’d wait a while in case it fails too. They won’t be spending much time inside during the test period, however. That comes much later. If you’re keen on checking out Bigelow’s project going live, you can find the live stream at the link below. It starts just before 11:30 this morning, local time.
Titanfall 2 might want to get its (grappling) hooks into you soon
We all know that 2015’s gaming themes was huge open worlds. What with Uncharted 4‘s recent success it might signal that 2016 is going to be the year of the grappling hook. That is, of course, subject to internet rumour about Titanfall 2 being true and some of those people believe that Donald Trump is a rational human being. But the latest on the futuristic shooter involving jet-packs, giant robots and wallrunning is that a grappling hook will be in play. Giving infantry an opportunity to flow more through a stage could only be a good thing (for the skilled among us). If the rumour is correct, we could be playing it as soon as October this year. Will internet rumour prove true? We should find out next month, when the official reveal will be taking place.
Microsoft just put a bullet into what was left of the original Nokia
Like a majestic phoenix rise from its own ashes, Nokia is being reborn. The company has only just announced that they’re going to be making smartphones again and they’re just in time. Microsoft has just torched what was left of the original Nokia. We can’t say we’re surprised. The company recently sold off the feature phone (remember those?) division and now they’ve gone nuclear on the rest of the Windows Phone by writing off $950 million and cutting some 1,850 jobs from the division. Most of these are based in Finland and since Nokia itself might be looking to hire again… hopefully they all make out okay. It does seem to signal the end for Microsoft’s phone experiments though. The company has said that they’re not abandoning the platform altogether, they’re just “…focusing our phone efforts where we have differentiation — with enterprises that value security, manageability and our Continuum capability, and consumers who value the same.”
