Tesla's Powerwall is already sold out through middle of 2016

Tesla's Powerwall is already sold out through middle of 2016

On Tesla's quarterly earnings call, CEO Elon Musk announced "crazy off the hook" demand for its just-announced Powerwall battery product. He said over 38,000 reservations have been received, which should take up the expected production through mid-2016, and demand is high enough to account for all of the Gigafactory's production if they devoted it just to stationary batteries. That includes some 2,500 companies that are interested in the commercial-ready Powerpack (with orders averaging around 10 units each), and Musk said he estimates that commercial interest in Tesla Energy will account for 5-10 more megawatt hours than residential. To clear up one question about the Powerwall, he mentioned that while it doesn't have a DC-to-AC inverter included, it does have a DC-to-DC unit built in.

'Halo' tournament canceled because Xbox One game is still broken

Halo: Combat Evolved may have been one of the first console shooters to hit the competitive gaming circuit but a recent tournament was derailed because almost six months later, The Master Chief Collection is still broken. The official Halo eSports league, Halo Championship Series, had to cancel the first online cup of the regular season over the weekend due to connectivity issues. Seriously. As Eurogamer reports, games took place on Saturday but went off the rails on Sunday for the competition's conclusion.

We've reached out to Microsoft for more details and will update this post should any arise. For now, perhaps put those dreams of a pro Halo career on hold until Halo 5: Guardians hits. Maybe. Who knows. The beta ran well enough during our stream, but there are a lot of variables at play here. At least we have free ODST coming to distract us in the meantime, right?

YouTube is reportedly gearing up to take on Twitch game streaming

YouTube is reportedly gearing up to take on Twitch game streaming

After Google's failed attempt to acquire the live game streaming company Twitch (whichwent to Amazon instead), it's now aiming to relaunch YouTube's streaming feature with a focus on games and eSports, reports The Daily Dot. YouTube's been in the live streaming market since 2010, and it's scored some major events like the State of the Union and the League of Legends Championship Series

but it's not nearly as robust and easy to use as Twitch. That site has basically has become the de facto way to share gaming experiences over the past four years. In fact, it's grown so large that even the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One include Twitch integration and apps (and it's also powering all of Engadget's game streams). Sources say Google has already built up a team of 50 engineers to revamp YouTube's live component, and it could make an official announcement during the E3 gaming convention in June.
Of course, none of this is entirely surprising. After Amazon swooped in to scoop up Twitch, it was only a matter of time until Google came up with an alternative. And while it would have been easier to snap up the biggest live gaming platform around, it's not as if Google doesn't know how to build large video networks. While Twitch has made itself a gaming staple, it's also worth noting that pretty much every game console has a YouTube app now. It wouldn't be too tough for Google to update those apps to highlight its own live game streams.

I tried to live with a high-end feature phone. I can't.

I tried to live with a high-end feature phone. I can't.

The feature phone. Still big in Japan. Still being sold in the millions. Still relevant, though? And does it even matter what a 30-something tech writer at a Western tech site thinks? Japan's large elderly population -- people who haven't even heard of Angry Birds, Gmail or Uber -- they're the ones sticking to their flip phones. Hardy, easy to use and cheaper than an iPhone. (If you need a primer on the phenomenon of gara-kei, you should probably read up on that here, but in short, it's how Japan's mobile phone market sped ahead with early technologies, then faltered when smartphone competition arrived.) So let's try using one. The best and newest feature phone available in Japan, no less. It's pitched as bringing the best smartphone features to the flip form factor. Is it better than a plain, old smartphone? Good lord, no.

After picking Japanese carrier KDDI's brains about why the country was still infatuatedwith the feature phone, I requested the company's AQUOS K feature phone to try out. Let's start with why it's a step above existing feature phones: This handset taps into LTE, meaning not only is everything faster, but also the phone is capable of displaying the kind of internet we use on PCs (and er, smartphones and tablets too, but anyways). This also facilitates more downloading, of course, and the AQUOS K can indeed download apps... it just can't download many. There are roughly 20 to choose from, but I was hard-pressed to find many I actually wanted. I picked up a puzzle game as well as one to help me navigate Tokyo's metro, but I was left aching for the apps I open weekly, if not daily: Instagram, Tinder (don't judge), Kindle, Fitocracy, Spotify, WhatsApp, Line. Well, actually, Line messenger is here.

How a handless gamer dominates 'League of Legends'

How a handless gamer dominates 'League of Legends'

Gamer Massimiliano Sechi has achieved "diamond" status at League of Legends, reserved for just a fraction of the game's estimated 67 million regular players. The kicker is that Sechi (aka MacsHG) was born without hands and one leg, putting him at a distinct physical disadvantage to other gamers, according to Razer's Character Selectdocumentary. Lest you fear the video is some kind of pity piece, however, it's actually an uplifting laugh-a-minute thanks to the mocking rapport between Massimiliano and his brother, Simon -- who occasionally resorts to cheating at Legends because "I can't lose against my brother." Sechi is also an institution on his home turf in Sardinia, Italy, where he works as a car salesman and inspirational speaker.