Civilization 6: Gathering Storm Won't Be Coming to iOS

In Polygon‘s review of Civilization 6: Gathering Storm, it sounds like the expansion pack won’t be coming to iOS. I find this incredibly sad because I love the game and I was looking forward to Gathering Storm. The iPad version also doesn’t include the Rise and Fall update which came out last year.

So I’m going to just say that if you’re looking for a better, more advanced, more complicated Civ 6, then Gathering Storm is just fine. But if you’re looking for value, if you don’t want to feel like you’re being gouged and punished for being a fan, I’m inclined to suggest you wait for a price cut.

MindFi Mindfulness Lifetime Subscription: $39

We have a deal on a subscription to MindFi, a mindfulness app created by top meditation teachers and neuroscientists. It’s designed to help you improve your focus, reduce stress, and improve your relationships through mindfulness exercises. A lifetime subscription is $39 through us.

The Success of AirPods and Apple's Product Strategy

But fast-forward to 2019 and, somehow, the £159-a-pair little pods have transformed into a bona fide status symbol.

I’m not so sure AirPods are a status symbol, and definitely not a millennial one (The word millennial isn’t even mentioned in this article except the headline). But the AirPods are a great example of Apple’s product strategy: Enter a market with crappy products with a better designed, easy-to-use product, and reap the rewards.

President Trump to Sign Order Launching U.S. AI Initiative

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign an Executive Order Monday launching a government AI initiative. According to the MIT Technology Review, the plan has five key aims: Redirect funding, create resources, establish standards, retrain workers, and engage internationally. However, the initiative, details of which were released ahead of President Trump’s signing, reportedly failed to provide much substantive detail or cash.

The initiative is designed to boost America’s AI industry by reallocating funding, creating new resources, and devising ways for the country to shape the technology even as it becomes increasingly global. However, while the goals are lofty, the details are vague. And it will not include a big lump sum of funding for AI research

Mars One Ventures is Bankrupt

LONDON – Mars One, the company that wanted to colonize the red planet, has gone bust.  Its for profit arm has been declared bankrupt. The non-profit foundation is unable to act without further investment, Engadget reported. The company wanted to document the process of colonizing one of the planets nearest to Earth in a reality tv show. Not surprisingly, the finances turned out to be something of a challenge and it looks like the project is no more. In July 2018, an investment deal with Phoenix Enterprises was announced, that was set to inject $12 million into the firm over the coming year.

Mars One was split into two ventures, the non-profit Mars One Foundation and the for-profit Mars One Ventures. The Swiss-based Ventures AG was declared bankrupt by a Basel court on January 15th and was, at the time, valued at almost $100 million. Mars One Ventures PLC, the UK-registered branch, is listed as a dormant company with less than £20,000 in its accounts. There is no data available on the non-profit Mars One Foundation, which funded itself by charging its commercial partner licensing fees. Speaking to Engadget, Bas Lansdorp said that the Foundation is still operating, but won’t be able to act without further investment.