The Morning After: The best gear for grilling

And everything you need to know about gallium nitride (GaN) electronics.

Engadget
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In the US, we’re heading into a holiday weekend, so if you need some advice on gear for grilling or a socially distanced backyard party, then we have the appropriate recommendations. Speaker, grill, thermometer, whatever — Billy Steele outlines some of the best options.

Ribs
Ribs (Engadget)

Of course, if all you want is to try to keep your phone clean, then maybe Samsung putting its name on a combination wireless charger/UV cleaner is enough to convince you the devices are worthwhile.

— Richard

Will gallium nitride electronics change the world?

Engadget Upscaled: The science and engineering behind our favorite devices.

Upscaled
Upscaled (Engadget)

Gallium nitride (GaN) can build remarkably efficient power electronics, the circuits in a device or charger that convert your wall power into usable voltage. Some scientists are optimistic GaN might eventually outperform silicon power circuitry by a factor of a thousand, leading to ultra-efficient devices with chargers no bigger than a wall plug, and maybe even revolutionizing the power grid.

We spoke to two GaN researchers about their work and how gallium nitride might revolutionize electronics, telecoms, even space travel. As with any new technology that catches people’s attention, there’s a lot of promise, but also a lot of hype, and they were quick to tell us that these advances will take time.

Watch the video to learn more about what GaN is, what we can expect in the next few years and where the future might take us.
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'NBA 2K21' comes with a next-gen upgrade... if you spend $100

Choose carefully.

NBA 2K21
NBA 2K21 (2K)

When the next NBA 2K game arrives this fall, you’ll have some choices to make. If you’d like to buy it on current generation consoles, then the $60 version with Damien Lillard on the cover will get the job done. If you’d prefer to only play on PS5 or Xbox Series X, with super-fast load times and upgraded graphics, then you’ll need the $70 version with Zion Williamson on the front.

If you plan to play across both but remain within the same console family (PlayStation or Xbox) then the only way to do that is by grabbing the $100 Mamba Forever Edition that features Kobe Bryant and comes with a bunch of other extras as well. This setup is a bit different to what we’ve seen with some other games that provide free upgrades to cross the generation gap, and that $70 price could indicate a new standard mark for games going forward.
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Amazon's Windows 10 Prime Video app brings offline viewing to PCs

No such thing as too late, right?

It's been a long wait, but Windows 10 users can finally download Amazon Prime Video to their computer. The UWP app’s most notable feature is that you can download content for offline watching. That will be handy once it's safe to travel again.

The settings menu includes three download quality presets: Good, Better and Best. With the highest quality setting, one hour of video (up to 1080p resolution) takes approximately 2.4GB of internal storage — less of an issue with your PC versus your smartphone, which has had the same function for years.
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Walmart is turning some of its parking lots into drive-in theaters

It’s a theater of sorts.

Walmart Drive-in
Walmart Drive-in (Walmart)

In the face of social distancing and the slow return of movie theaters, Walmart will soon transform several of its parking lots across the US into drive-in theaters, in a partnership with the company behind the Tribeca Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The “safe, socially distanced drive-in events,” as Walmart describes them, will run from August through October at 160 locations. Customers will be able to order concessions for delivery to their vehicles. Kinda crucial details, like entry fees, the movie lineup and exact locations, haven’t yet been announced.
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