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The UK's last coal plant will sigh out its final pollutants Monday before shutting down for good and officially ending the country's century and a half of coal production. Nottinghamshire's Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant was the last of its kind following Britain's 2015 commitment to close all coal power plants by 2025. Ratcliffe was originally scheduled to shut down in 2022 but stayed open after Russia invaded Ukraine and Europe entered a gas crisis. The Ratcliffe plant once had 3,000 engineers but only employs 170 staff now. That group will gather to watch a livestream of the plant being turned off, and over 100 of them are set to work on decommissioning the plant over the next two years. Many of the other employees will enter new jobs at different power plants owned by Uniper, Raticliffe's German owner, while others will enter training programs to work on other aspects of the industry. Britain opened the world's first coal power plant in 1882, London's Holborn Viaduct, with the help of Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Company. Coal has played a major part in the UK until very recently. According to a report from energy think tank Ember, coal was responsible for 39 percent of the UK's energy supply in 2012 but shrunk to just two percent in 2019. The decrease in coal production was reportedly equal to double the amount of all greenhouse gases used in the UK in 2023. Between 2012 and 2023, wind and solar generation also increased from six percent to a 34 percent share of the UK's energy. Britain still has a long way to go, but this step has made it the first G7 country to remove all coal power production.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-uk-says-goodbye-to-coal-production-114520865.html?src=rss
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Remember those rumors of an Apple smart display suspended on a robot arm? According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to debut the first device as soon as 2025, alongside a new operating system called homeOS. It could be a device with a robotic arm or a simpler HomePod-with-screen affair. Gurman elaborated on this, claiming two versions are in the works: a low-end display for the basics, like FaceTime and smart home controls, and a high-end robotic variant thatll cost upwards of $1,000. According to the report, Apple Intelligence will be a key part of the experience for both devices. Im intrigued to see how Apples flavor of AI can help me run my home. I literally have no idea how it would. Mat Smith The biggest tech stories you might have missed How to mirror your iPhone on macOS Sequoia Engadget review recap: iPhones, AirPods, Pixel Buds and an early look at the PS5 Pro YouTube blocks songs from Adele and Green Day amid licensing negotiations The 6 best cordless vacuums for 2024 Ditch the heavy machines and get a cordless stick vacuum. Engadget Old-school upright vacuums left a lot to be desired, and cordless models right many of those wrongs. Theyre thinner, lighter and easier to maneuver, and you dont really have to sacrifice suction power anymore. Dyson isnt your only option these days either there are dozens of cordless vacuums. After testing a bunch of the best cordless stick vacuums, weve come up with our top picks, including our best budget pick at $300. Continue reading. Fujifilm GFX100S II review Outstanding performance at a reduced price. Fujifilms original GFX100S was a popular alternative to the GFX100, offering the same picture quality in a slimmer body at a much lower price. It did have some flaws, though. Now, the company has released the $5,000 GFX100S II as a smaller, cheaper alternative to the $7,500 flagship GFX100 II. Its a big improvement on the original and offers the same picture quality as the GFX100 II for $2,500 less. It lacks all the video talents of the pricier camera, though. Check out our full review. A peek at how A Minecraft Movie will handle crafting A new clip of the film was teased during Minecraft Live 2024. Engadget A Minecraft Movie is slated for release in April 2025 and will star Jack Black as Steve, alongside Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks and Emma Myers. The team behind it shared a new clip during Minecraft Live, which expands on the brief crafting moment seen in the first trailer. The segment also gives us our first look at the movies interpretation of a Minecraft bee. Ill let you form your own opinions the teaser starts at 4:51. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-apples-rumored-smart-display-may-arrive-next-year-112222362.html?src=rss
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In What We're Listening To, Engadget writers and editors discuss some of the recent music releases we've had on repeat. This installment has everything from jazz standards to The Jesus Lizard. Lady Gaga - Harlequin I wasnt even a minute into Harlequin before I had the realization, Oh, I am going to become so annoying in my love for this. Unfortunately for everyone in my life (and doubly so because Im singing along), Ive had it blasting all weekend since the surprise drop on Friday. Gaga is a powerhouse, and as much as I adore her take on pop, Im always blown away when I hear her do jazz. And Harlequin is brimming with it. Harlequin is a companion album to a soon-to-be-released movie (Joker: Folie Deux) and almost entirely comprises cover songs a combination that might typically put me off. But Gagas breezy versions of classics like World on a String and Smile are almost chilling. Her energy in tracks like Gonna Build a Mountain is through the roof. I could have done without Oh, When the Saints, but Im really just nit-picking now. There are only two original songs on the album and they are completely different beasts, each impactful in its own way. Happy Mistake is a clear standout, and Ill be softly weeping to that one for years to come. Babe Haven - Nuisance On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, Ive been really into punk band Babe Havens most recent album, Nuisance, lately. Its 25-ish minutes of queer femme rage and I can't get enough of it. Check it out on Bandcamp. Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor The Jesus Lizard - Rack Even laudatory reviews of comeback albums lean on expectations tempered with preemptive apology or pity praise. A comparison to headier days of musical urgency is inevitable; it stings for the same reasons as hearing "you look great for your age." I wish there were some way to take stock of Rack without that baggage, because The Jesus Lizard doesn't merely sound better than a band which took three decades off has any right to, it simply does not sound as though time has passed at all. Rack broods with baffling inconspicuousness amid their oeuvre. Sure, "What If?" doesn't reach the slash and sprawl of earlier meanderings like "Rodeo in Joliet," but "Lord Godiva" glides on the most Duane Denison of Duane Denison riffs, lightning and crude oil. The manic physicality of David Yow's voice is unaltered neither more harried after 60+ years of swinging at ghosts, nor attenuated by the effort. So many bands seemingly frozen in amber reemerge denuded, as though covering themselves. They'd be frantically recapturing their glory days, if they had the energy to do anything frantic anymore. Rack, through sheer ferocity, is instead a band continuing to do exactly what it always has, just as well as it always has, and sounding really fucking cool doing it. Avery Ellis, Deputy Editor, Reports Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet There's a part of me that hates keeping up with pop music, and that's the part of me that cringes when I realize the last few albums I've listened to have been the ones by pop princesses Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and more. That's also the part of me that resisted listening to Sabrina Carpenter's latest album for months (and probably the part of me that refused to watch the incredible Schitt's Creek until this year). I say all that only to explain why I'm so late to appreciate the goodness that is Short n' Sweet. And the non-self-judgy part of me has unabashedly loved Carpenter's new music and been asking all my friends if they've listened to her songs. When I talked to my various friend groups about her, what became clear is how there's something for everyone, regardless of the variety in our tastes. I'm a fan of R&B, hip hop and basically anything I can dance or sing to. The tracks "bet u wanna," "Taste" and "Feather" have become highly repeated items on my playlist and yes, I did go back into her older discography for some of those titles. However, my current absolute favorite is "Espresso." It's got a catchy hook, clever lyrics and a groovy beat that delicately straddles the line between upbeat and lowkey. I love the wordplay and how, when woven with the rhythm and melody, it initially sounded to me like Carpenter was singing in a different language. And as someone who works in tech and is occasionally a gamer, I especially adored the use of the words "up down left right," "switch" and Nintendo. Truly, rhyming "espresso" with "Nintendo" wasn't something I would have expected to work, but work it did. But back to the point I was making earlier: Even if that sort of chill dance club vibe isn't your thing, there's plenty in Short n' Sweet that might appeal to you. I wasn't as huge a fan of "Please please please," for example, but I know friends who love it. And while "Bed Chem" and "Good Graces" aren't hitting my feels the same way "Espresso" is, those two are among her highest played songs on Spotify. I'm also starting to warm up to "Juno." All that is to say, we all have different tastes. Maybe you're more of a Chappell Roan fan. I like some of her latest tracks too, just not as much as I've enjoyed Carpenter's. I also really enjoy the brilliance that is "Die With a Smile" by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga, which is something I'll be adding to my karaoke duet repertoire, but am already playing less frequently nowadays. If you have a preference for music from the likes of Ariana Grande, NewJeans and Doja Cat, you'll probably have a good time with Sabrina Carpenter. And since I'm so late to the party, you probably have already. Cherlynn Low, Deputy Editor, ReviewsThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/what-were-listening-to-harlequin-or-lg-65-rack-and-more-003037241.html?src=rss
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