GoKawiil
Tech News
Icelandair reportedly turned down a proposal from its aircraft mechanics on Tuesday, setting the stage for a possible indefinite strike beginning September 23. The mechanics' union has set a deadline of midnight local time Tuesday (8:00 p.m. EDT) for the airline to reach a deal before the walkout begins.
A UX designer describes an eight-week collaboration with Raph Koster, author of 'A Theory of Fun,' to study how video game design principles could inform app UX beyond traditional gamification tactics like achievements. The piece explores the initial tension between game design's use of 'juicy' visual feedback and tension-building mechanics versus UX design's typical goal of minimalism and simplicity.
A player analyzed Factorio's Space-Age DLC quality system, which uses a pseudo-random number generator rather than true randomness to determine item and building quality upgrades. The write-up documents an in-game implementation that exploited this predictable RNG, though it notes the technique breaks under Factorio version 2.1 due to changes in how the RNG is invoked, while the underlying algorithm remains the same.
A physics team led by Ron Folman at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, working with researchers from Germany, the UK and the US including Roger Penrose, has built an interferometer that splits a single atom into two simultaneous paths—one falling freely and one held still—that reconverge at the same point. This setup lets them measure how free fall changes the atom's quantum phase, something theorized nearly a century ago but never directly tested due to the need for ultracold atoms and a way to compare phase differences.
The piece revisits a 2009 essay musing on why intellectual acknowledgment that a theory is wrong doesn't translate into the same urgency as a real anomaly demanding explanation. It draws on a Zen dialogue about conviction and quotes Eliezer Yudkowsky's fictional 'beisutsukai' story about physicists who failed to overturn quantum mechanics despite knowing something was off. The author admits the essay never fully came together but explores the gap between knowing something is wrong and having the drive to fix it.
A WIRED science feature uses the classic double-slit experiment—first demonstrated with light by Thomas Young in 1801 and later with subatomic particles by Claus Jönsson in 1961—to explain why quantum mechanics defies human intuition. The piece argues that while physicists can mathematically predict quantum outcomes with great precision, the underlying behavior, such as particles acting simultaneously like waves and discrete objects, cannot be visualized in everyday terms.
Rockstar co-studio head Rob Nelson told IGN that Grand Theft Auto VI will replace the series' simple hotwire button with varied theft methods tied to each vehicle's make and model. Some cars will require tools like key cloners, others will demand careful speed control to dodge GPS tracking, and an in-game app will help players identify what's needed and what a car is worth. Players can still carjack any driver directly, but stealing parked vehicles will be gated by story progress and acquired equipment.
SKC's Absolics unit told investors on July 27 that embedded glass substrate samples from its Covington, Georgia plant are undergoing package-level reliability testing in Taiwan, with results expected by year-end. Meanwhile Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Sumitomo Chemical's Dongwoo Fine-Chem finalized a $310 million joint venture on July 2 aiming for production in late 2027, while Intel, the technology's original champion, has pushed back its own rollout to around 2030 and shifted toward licensing patents instead.