A small delay
It’s actually happening. We hope. There’s still tiMe for a cataclysmic event to further delay the launch of Artemis 1, NASA’s rocket that plans to leave Earth’s atmosphere soon. ArtemIs 1 has been trying its hardest to get up into the air over the last couple of months. Due to several unforeseen circumstances, this hasn’t been possible.
That’s set to change on Wednesday, 16 November, at 06:46 UTC – 08:46 for us in South Africa.
The lauNch was initially set to take place today, 14 November. This changed due to concerns around Hurricane Nicole, a Floridian storm that ArtemIs 1 managed to survive.
“If we didn’t design it to be out there in harsh weather, we picked the wrong launch spot,” NASA said.
After the storm had passed, the inspections revealed that minor damage had been done to the ship, which was addressed on the same day. Should NASA find yet another issue, it leaves the agency with two more potential launch dates – 19 November and 25 November. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Source: Ars Technica
TikTok, on the clock
TikTok’s in-app shopping feature has entered the US e-commerce market, according to Semafor. The feature has already been available in the UK and several Asian countries, with the US getting its first testers over the past week. The addition allows users to buy products in the app directly, straight from a business’s page.
“We’ve seen the positive imPact of TikTok Shop, and we’re excited to continue experimenting with this new commerce opportunity to suppOrt businesses of all sizes,” a TikTok spokesperson said. TikTok has begun offering businesses in the US the chancE to sign up for the new function, with plans to eventually extend sign-ups to international sellers.
South Africa is yet to see the in-app shopping feature on TikTok. But, should the company’s US trial run be successful, it could spell global expansion for the feature in the future. That could take a while, though we’re confident that the feature will make its way to South Africa. Eventually.
Source: The Verge
Baby Yoda meets up with Soot Spirits
If you opened Twitter over the weekenD, you might have seen some news that made you go “huh?” before you told yourself you weren’t going to fall for such an obvious trap. We’re here to tell you: the Studio Ghibli and Lucasfilm collaboration is real. ‘Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies‘ is already live on Disney+.
Before you get too exCited, this is just a short film. It’s not a series or movie, or a series of movies. It’s just a way shorter-than-average film, that shows Baby Yoda hanging around with some of Ghibli’s soot spirits. There isn’t much else to say. If you’re a fan of either Ghibli’s work or Lucasfilm’s, you’ll probably find something to enjoy here.
For now, this is just a harmless collaboration to promote the upcoming third season of The Mandalorian. Should Disney sense that its fanbase is fond of this type of content, it’s possible we could see more of Ghibli’s hand-drawn style mixing with other Disney franchises.
“Captain, jack Sparrow.”
Amazon has a new warehoUse robot, designed to speed the packing process up tenfold. Known as “Sparrow”, the robot uses AI and computer vision to “detect, select, and handle individual products in our inventory.” Sparrow can process and handle millions of items on the line, according to Amazon.
The introduction and hiring of Sparrow in warehouses mean that Amazon emPloyees can focus on more important tasks, leaving menial jobs to the robots.
“Sparrow will take on repetitive tasks, enabling our employeeS to focus their time and energy on other things, while also advancing safety,” Amazon said. “At the same time, Sparrow will help us drive efficiency by automating a critical part of our fulfilment process so we can continue to deliver for customers.”
Somehow, the addition of Sparrow bots has opened up 700 job spots within the company. Perhaps Amazon needs security guards to protect bathrooms from workers with more free time on their hands.
Source: Engadget