Puerto Rico is slowly recovering from an island-wide blackout

Puerto Rico is gradually recovering from an island-wide power outage that started on Wednesday evening. However, hundreds of thousands of people still lack electricity as the territory continues to struggle with its fragile power grid.

The outage was the result of a failed circuit breaker at Costa Sur power plant. According to The New York Times, the plant produces more electricity than any other facility on the island. Luma, a private Canadian-American entity that took over management of the power grid from a public utility last year, said there was “extensive damage” to the plant. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause, though it appears there was a fire.

According to poweroutage.us, a site that tracks power interruptions, more than 429,000 customers out of 1.47 million were without power as of 1:25PM Eastern time on Friday. As of Friday morning, Luma said it couldn’t provide an estimate on how long it would take to fully restore power.

Critical facilities such as hospitals are up and running, though public school service was canceled on Friday. Around 182,000 or 10 percent of water and sewer customers didn’t have water on Thursday.

When it started running the island’s power transmission and distribution, Luma said it would make blackouts less frequent. However, according to reports, outages have persisted and lasted longer than when the public utility was managing the grid.

After Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, there was a power outage across the island. Some folks had to wait for more than a year before electricity was restored, a situation that highlighted the precarious condition of the territory’s power grid.

The original ‘Angry Birds’ game returns to app stores

The original Angry Birds game is back. Sure, there are other, newer entries in the Angry Birds franchise out there — and even a couple of movies — but this one’s for those who have a special place in their hearts for the game that started it all. In a letter to fans published last year, Rovio explained that it had to take its older titles out of circulation, because they used outdated game engines and design. “Today’s mobile technology and games landscape has evolved to a place where supporting them was untenable,” the company wrote. The developer also couldn’t leave them up without updating them, because they’ll soon be incompatible with the latest mobile operating systems. 

Apparently, there was a “big outcry” for Rovio to bring back the older games, especially the original, so it decided to work on bringing the classic experiences back. The company said at the time that it has to figure out “what is possible and for which games,” so it’s unclear if other older titles will also get remakes. Rovio rebuilt the original Angry Birds from the ground up using Unity, which allowed the company to recreate the feel of the classic for newer devices. That’s a much more involved process than simply touching up older graphics or updating game mechanics. 

The new version of the game called Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, is now available from the Apple App Store and from Google Play. It will set you back 99 cents to download, but it doesn’t have in-app purchases and even makes the Mighty Eagle (an old in-app purchase) available at no extra cost. 

Netflix’s latest mobile game raises awareness for drinking water scarcity

Netflix is now using its growing mobile game collection to support a good cause. The streaming service has launched three Android and iOS games headlined by This Is A True Story, a game meant to raise awareness about the lack of safe drinking water. The team-up between Frosty Pop and Charity:Water is an educational RPG that challenges you walk miles in sub-Saharan Africa to find water while dealing with poachers, windstorms and other hazards. It’s a frank commentary on a dire state of affairs (771 million people don’t have access to clean water), although the hand-painted backdrops might keep you coming back after you understand the message.

The other games are less poignant, but may still be worth a try. Pik Pok has unveiled both Into the Dead 2: Unleashed, a sequel to its endless runner/shooter hybrid, as well as Shatter Remastered, a modernization of its brick-breaker/shoot-em-up crossover for the PS3.

All three games should be available on Android and iOS today (March 22nd) at 1PM Eastern. As with other Netflix games, the latest selection is ‘free’ once you’ve signed in with your account. These releases probably won’t convince you to sign up for Netflix. However, This Is A True Story might just use Netflix’s size to reach a large audience.

Xbox Cloud Gaming now works on Steam Deck through the web

Your Steam Deck can now double as an Xbox Cloud Gaming handheld, provided you’re willing to put in some work. The Vergereports Microsoft has brought Xbox Cloud Gaming support to the Steam Deck through a beta release of the Edge browser. You’ll need to run some command line tasks on top of installing Edge (Microsoft recommends a mouse and keyboard during the install), but after that you can play Halo Infinite and other titles anywhere you have a reasonably fast internet connection.

Community Manager Missy Quarry made clear this was “just the beginning” of gaming on Edge, suggesting the experience might get better. Microsoft’s team is open to feedback on Edge and the Xbox Cloud Gaming experience.

Microsoft has devoted significant energy to Steam Deck Support in recent days. On top of game streaming support, it outlined first-party game support for Valve’s handheld with word that titles like Deathloop and Psychonauts 2 are verified to play properly. Separately, Valve enabled basic Windows support by offering drivers.

It’s not shocking that Microsoft would support the Steam Deck despite its use of a Linux-based platform. Microsoft not only makes money from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription you’ll need to play, but gets you to try Edge and games you might have otherwise ignored. What the company might lose in immediate Windows sales it could gain in long-term customers.