After Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to almost 11 years in prison last month, yesterday it was the turn of her business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. The former COO and president of Theranos was handed a sentence of just under 13 years in prison, following his conviction in July. Theranos infamously claimed to have developed a machine that could test for a litany of diseases using just a few drops of a patient’s blood, but it later emerged that it had vastly overstated what its technology was capable of.
In lighter news, a host of interesting updates have released for some older games this week. Portal’s new ray tracing update is releasing for free today, giving the 15-year old title a high-tech glow-up (provided you’ve got a PC powerful enough to run it), and there’s also new content available for Elden Ring. Personally, I also spent most of last night trying out Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s eight new downloadable tracks, which include the frankly fantastic Rainbow Road from the 3DS entry in the series.
Anyway, here’s a silly tweet:
Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Friday, December 8th, 2022.
Dec 8, 2022, 11:52 PM UTCJay Peters
How to watch The Game Awards 2022
Geoff Keighley’s awards and announcements extravaganza streams live on Thursday, December 8th.
Dec 8, 2022, 10:34 PM UTCTom Warren and Jay Peters
The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase
It’s a major challenge to Microsoft’s planned $68.7 billion acquisition of the massive gaming company.
- EToday in “when faculty brats break bad.”
Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, parents of Sam Bankman-Fried, won’t be teaching at Stanford next quarter.
The two taught at Stanford Law School. This news was first reported by the Stanford Daily, and Fried told those journalists that it has “nothing to do with anything else going on.” Just a normal retirement, sure.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Parents Stop Teaching Law at Stanford[Intelligencer]
- RFrom YouTube to HBO: here’s the trailer for Channel 5’s January 6th documentary.
HBO will present This Place Rules, the report by gonzo-style journalist Andrew Callaghan of an RV journey through America in the months leading up to the mob attack on the US Capitol, on December 30th — here’s the trailer.
Dec 8, 2022, 7:49 PM UTCAllison Johnson
The latest Motorola Moto G Play is a 4G-only phone for $170
There’s at least one non-5G phone debuting next year.
- UThat gold-plated Dolby Atmos lifestyle.
It’s one that French audio company Devialet could sell you on, with its new $2,900 Dione Opéra de Paris soundbar.
This version has a 22-carat “moon gold” finished layer that its weird orb center channel speaker is nestled into. Considering you’re getting something “inspired by the gilded interiors of Paris’ Opéra Garnier,” it’s probably worth it, right?
Add gold versions of the new Mania and Phantom to complete your life.
Devialet’s $2,900 special edition Dione Opéra de Paris soundbar. Image: Devialet Dec 8, 2022, 7:24 PM UTCAlice Newcome-Beill
Sega superstars ToeJam and Earl are finally getting a movie
The extraterrestrial duo are shuffling onto Amazon.
Dec 8, 2022, 6:38 PM UTCJay Peters
Pixel Fold renders arrive with detailed size and spec rumors for Google’s foldable phone
It could be a really big phone.
Dec 8, 2022, 6:36 PM UTCMitchell Clark
Tech companies fueled the rise of Homeland Security and domestic surveillance, report finds
Cities need funding for emergency response, but some researchers have pointed out how it can come with unpleasant strings attached.
Dec 8, 2022, 6:12 PM UTCMia Sato
Amazon is adding a TikTok-like feed of shoppable content to its app
A new scrollable feed called Inspire is coming to US app users. The short videos showcase products the retailer thinks you might be interested in.
Dec 8, 2022, 5:12 PM UTCMonica Chin
Broadway’s K-pop musical showed how hard it is to create internet fame
A Broadway musical tried to court extremely online fans of artists like BTS and Blackpink. It didn’t quite succeed.
Dec 8, 2022, 5:00 PM UTCJess Weatherbed
Google’s latest Chrome browser modes can boost battery life and free up memory
New Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes can extend battery when a device is low on power and reduce memory being hogged by tabs.
Dec 8, 2022, 4:28 PM UTCCameron Faulkner
Audeze’s $300 gaming headset promises comfort and multipoint Bluetooth
Audeze has released another $300 gaming headset ($330 if you game on Xbox). This one has a more understated look than the 2021 Penrose, and it promises improvements to comfort and battery life.
Dec 8, 2022, 3:49 PM UTCJon Porter
Google is bringing together its Waze and Maps teams as it pushes to reduce overlap
Google says that no layoffs are planned after the transition, and Waze will continue to exist as a standalone app.
Dec 8, 2022, 3:16 PM UTCJess Weatherbed
The $949 price for Dyson’s air-purifying headphones is more absurd than the device itself
Almost $1,000 to look like the love child of Daft Punk and Bane. Available to preorder in the US starting March 2023.
- RGreen light.
Say hello to a long-legged Symfonisk and a deadline for phones to use USB-C in the EU.
Tonight we’ll be covering The Game Awards, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30PM ET.
Dec 8, 2022, 12:30 PM UTCElizabeth Lopatto
How CoinDesk’s FTX scoop left a hole in its corporate overlord
What happens when a story has impact?
Dec 7, 2022, 11:26 PM UTCMitchell Clark
Former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani is sentenced to almost 13 years in prison
The former Theranos president and COO was convicted of misleading both investors and patients.
Dec 7, 2022, 10:18 PM UTCAsh Parrish
Elden Ring adds new hairstyles, still forgets the Black ones
Elden Ring’s new patch also includes a PVP colosseum and some weapon balance changes.
- JMario Kart is a godless place.
The third wave of DLC tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are out, and to celebrate Nintendo has released a new feature for the game that lets players customize exactly which items appear in each race. Naturally, the first thing people are trying are blue shell-only races.
The results (as you’d expect) are pure carnage. Nov 29, 2022, 2:37 PM UTCJon Porter
Portal’s free ray-tracing DLC will release on December 8th
The 2007 first-person puzzler is getting an RTX facelift.
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