Xbox Series X review: Microsoft's high-end console will make you a believer
X marks the spot.
The election remains crazy. Science and technology remain as important as they were yesterday, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. Your time is precious; thanks for sticking with the Daily.
The answers to our question of the week can be found by scrolling to the bottom. We had some really good ones this time that you'll want to check out.
But now, onward with some of the most fascinating science and tech reporting online, onward with the Daily!
This is an adapted version of the Inverse Daily newsletter for November 6, 2020. Subscribe for free and earn rewards for reading every day in your inbox.
Today on The Abstract — Hitting the mental reset button during Covid-19
As the world continues to face a profound lack of faith in its leadership, experts say it is possible to rebuild a sense of trust. But it won’t be easy.
Strategic reflection can help us build the character needed to create trust. And as more people take the first steps toward self-improvement in the wake of Covid-19, the pandemic may prove to be the perfect time to hit the reset button.
In this episode of The Abstract, we discuss building character and taking care of our mental health during the pandemic.
Listen & subscribe:
Never a good sign — Feral wallabies are bouncing around Britain
If you live in Southern England or on the Isle of Man, you might have seen a strange creature hopping around in the last few years. That creature is a wallaby, a 3-foot-tall relative of the kangaroo. They're all over Britain. Surprisingly, they love the British environment. But the question remains: how did they get there? It's a story that winds through the 20th century that you'll have to read to believe.
Feral wallabies are bouncing around Britain →
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Chow time — Study offers solutions for one of the most challenging climate change drivers
Lost amidst election drama, a promise made by President Donald Trump four years ago finally became a reality — America is officially leaving the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. While the country may re-enter if Joe Biden becomes Commander-in-Chief, a new study shows the major challenges needed to hit the Agreement’s goals.
It is widely understood that major societal change is needed to hit the Paris Agreement’s goals of limiting rising temperatures to 1.5 degrees C, with a hard limit of halting the rise at 2 degrees. Changes are most visible in day-to-day experiences like transportation and construction. But hitting these goals will also require changes in specific industries, and a new study highlights a sector that doesn’t get the attention of the others: food.
Study offers solutions for one of the most challenging climate change drivers →
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Brain Stream — Studies prove 6 intriguing ways music affects the brain
Music can decrease stress levels, influence creativity, and become tied to memories that define who we are. Have the last few days been particularly stressful for you? Maybe you've turned on your favorite pop song or heavy metal dirge to help deal with the stress. While music remains something of a mystery to scientists (as it does to us all), here's what we know.
Whoa-oooooh / Listen to the music →
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Coming soon ...
Next week on Inverse, we report on some cutting-edge technology that feels straight out of Star Wars. Remember when Luke meets Leia? Not in person, but through a tiny hologram. We're getting closer and closer to that reality, and it could change mobile technology forever. Learn the scoop next week!
Can't knock the Hubble — Hubble takes on a new initiative cataloging the stars
Hubble is the Jay-Z of telescopes that the space observatory just can't seem to want to retire.
Although it was meant to hang up its mirror this year, the Hubble Space Telescope has taken on the daunting task of cataloging the stars in the Milky Way and other stars in nearby galaxies.
Hubble grinds on →
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X marks the spot — Xbox Series X review: Microsoft's high-end console will make you a believer
Microsoft's Xbox One currently trails a distant third in the video game console wars, with sales lagging far behind Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. With its new high-end offering, the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has created the most powerful home gaming console ever made, with an eight-core custom Zen 2 processor running at 3.8GHz and a GPU that generates 12 teraflops of processing power, on par with some high-end gaming PCs and outpacing the horsepower of Sony's PlayStation 5.
But it's not just about the specs. Microsoft, as associate editor Jen Glennon says, has made a vastly more accessible playing experience. It's clear the company wants to expand beyond its typical Halo fanbase while also bringing back those hardcore fans for more.
The Series X is "a huge step up" →
More like this:
- Xbox Series S review: Microsoft's budget offering redefines the next-gen console
- Xbox exec reveals how Microsoft finally fixed the worst thing about gaming
And now, the answers to our question of the week! We asked you about your favorite Star Wars-related viewing experience. The old-school clearly won this round, with many emails describing seeing the original trilogy for the first time.
Matthew Lake: “In 1977, we went as a family to see A New Hope in the theater. I was 8 and my sister 7, and I remember being scared during the trash compactor scene, but I remember best how we were all talking about the movie on our way to the car and the whole ride home and afterwards. I was hooked, and we saw all of the original trilogy together. This experience is what got me into reading science fiction and fantasy, and also classical music.”
“Years later, I got to take my dad to see the re-release of Empire Strikes Back when it hit theaters. My father has since passed, and I still think about this time we spent together.”
Kirk Barber: “I remember my Dad taking us to the ‘fancy’ theater far away with a bigger screen, huge sound, and all the bells and whistles to see the original Star Wars, back in '77. This was at the end of the drive-in era, and so it was all larger than life...along with the epic movie itself. A close second would be taking MY kids to enjoy the prequels (Episodes 1, 2, and 3) during their childhood.”
Andrew Swift: “I'm #OldSkool Star Wars OG -- I saw the original release late in the summer of 1977. I was 11 years old. I was with one of my parents and two friends, and we bought tickets at the Edens 1 Theater in Northbrook, Illinois. The building was round. When we arrived, the next screening was sold out (very common that year). We bought tickets for the following screening after that and joined the two hour-long line that circled the building (also very common). Star Wars was unlike any movie ever released until that time.”
Martin "Oz" LeVita: “My best Star Wars memory was the rare opportunity to see the original movie two weeks before its release, in the Twentieth Century Fox studio with the Los Angeles film critics, including the late Harlan Ellison. And it was literally jaw dropping! I've been a middle of the front row guy ever since!”
“BTW, I got said opportunity because of my prior participation running fan security at a number of early Star Trek conventions.”
“Sci-fi rocks!”
Couldn't agree more. And if you want to catch another, check out this dystopian sci-fi movie leaving Netflix ASAP.
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