In a Japanese press release reported by 4Gamer, SEGA (the game's publisher in Japan) and Avalanche Software have revealed some technical details of the Nintendo Switch 2 port of Hogwarts Legacy. Enhanced Visuals Experience deeper immersion with significantly upgraded graphics, including NVIDIA DLSS support, improved lighting and shadow animation quality, and anti-aliasing. Experience up to 1440p resolution in TV mode and 1080p and HDR in handheld mode. Smooth Movement Move seamlessly through the open world, including Hogsmeade and its shops, without loading screens. Smooth Flight Thanks to the improved performance of the Nintendo Switch 2, not only is the frame rate higher than the Nintendo Switch version, but the loading times are also shorter. You can fly around the Hogwarts grounds and beyond comfortably. Supports mouse operation with Joy-Con 2 Supports mouse operation with Joy-Con 2 controller. Enjoy your preferred play style. The Nintendo Switch 2 hardware supports NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution, but developers can choose whether to actually use it or not. It honestly seems like a no-brainer, though, especially for games that have already implemented the feature on the PC version, like Hogwarts Legacy or Cyberpunk 2077. The Switch 2 also technically supports ray tracing, but there's no mention of it being implemented in this game, even though the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions (and, of course, the PC version) support it. Indeed, it's highly unlikely that open world games will implement ray tracing in any capacity on the hybrid console, as it would simply be too taxing on the hardware. It could, however, be supported for simpler, smaller games. Anyway, the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Hogwarts Legacy will be available at the console's launch (June 5). The game size is 24 GB. For our original review of the game, go here. For Wccftech's info roundup article on the Nintendo Switch 2, click here.

Vex Member Oct 25, 2017 25,520 ...And one of them comes out next year. So that leaves one left. Are you ok??? .... GTA SA 2004 GTA 4 2008 GTAV 2013 GTAVI 2026 ...that's a 13 year difference give or take for the latest ones. Most of us are in our mid thirties. And some of y'all pushing 40 and up. Source: ERA age, how old are you? I was just curious on the overall age range of this forum and all. I'm 22, how about you guys? www.resetera.com Get rekt. Are you ok with the thought that you may not live to even see GTA7? We are getting up there. And even if you do, you may not live long after? Let's face it, some of us aren't even going to make it to the maximum age of ~72. Source: Life expectancy - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org So don't try to argue with me. Just answer the question. Assuming the next GTA takes longer than 13 years (since each mainline GTA takes progressively longer to develop), that would mean 20+ years until the next game (GTA7) at the very least? This would put most of us at age 50+. You're done. Let me do the math for you who don't understand; 35+13 = 48. And that's being nice about it. Again, they take longer each time. Let's say... 20 years this time for gta7. 35+20= 55 for gta7. Think on that. And that's a conservative number. For example: I'm 37. So GTA7 basically represents death for YOU. GTA 7 is the grim reaper game because it represents the end of your life. It's the last GTA you will ever see. You're not going to see GTA8 20+ years later. It is YOUR DEMON DOOM GAME OF DEATH. TLDR; GTA7 = GRIM REAPER Wow, -Vex  Strafer The Flagpole is Wider Member Oct 25, 2017 30,747 Sweden Im going to freeze myself demolition man   KZXcellent One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 4,168 I'm just trying to make it to VI personally.   Ant_17 Member Oct 28, 2017 2,870 Greece Don't fear the reaper.   BAW Member Oct 27, 2017 2,116 I wouldn't be so pessimistic, now that they have the tech in place they will be able to develop them much more quickly.   Patitoloco Member Oct 27, 2017 27,959 I'm extremely okay with this. Also, I don't plan to die at 43?  OhhEldenRing Member Aug 14, 2024 2,712 Bit of a shit framing. You know you're gonna die too someday. Signed Older fella  Killyoh Member Oct 28, 2017 1,775 Paris, France I'm 33, if it's exponential the next one should be out when I'm around 60, then the one after hmmm if I do the math... Yeah I'll be dead.   Bansai Teyvat Traveler Member Oct 28, 2017 14,048 Keep talking sheep and see what happens!   LiK Member Oct 25, 2017 34,396 GTA is just another video game.   Kyusha Member Jun 14, 2022 533 Ant_17 said: Don't fear the reaper. Click to expand... Click to shrink... hell yea   MessyLessy Member Oct 30, 2017 408 Silly of you to think the earth will be anything but a nuclear wasteland by then.   Buttonbasher Member Dec 4, 2017 5,716 Yeah, I don't think about anything this way. I don't care.   pksu Member Oct 27, 2017 1,627 Finland There are other, more interesting series already dead I'd swap places with GTA immediately   OP OP Vex Member Oct 25, 2017 25,520 BAW said: I wouldn't be so pessimistic, now that they have the tech in place they will be able to develop them much more quickly. Click to expand... Click to shrink... We said that about GTAV!!!!   Patitoloco Member Oct 27, 2017 27,959 Ant_17 said: Don't fear the reaper. Click to expand... Click to shrink... but i'm not seasons   JusDoIt ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 25, 2017 43,395 South Central gonna get blood transfusions from my son just to prove you wrong   Mary Celeste Member Oct 25, 2017 14,215 I'm more concerned with how few Kojima/Kamiya/Mikami games we have left   ara Member Oct 26, 2017 13,690 Sure   Chaserjoey Keeper of the White Materia Member Oct 27, 2017 9,841 That's true for anything. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9GpgSQZ4J4&ab_channel=ThingsICantFindOtherwise Killyoh said: I'm 33, if it's exponential the next one should be out when I'm around 60, then the one after hmmm if I do the math... Yeah I'll be dead. Click to expand... Click to shrink... 33!? You should have been gommaged.   J75 Member Sep 29, 2018 7,823 Too distant and uncertain to care. I feel worst for the GTA fans that were around in 2013 but won't/didn't make it for when VI releases.   Killyoh Member Oct 28, 2017 1,775 Paris, France Chaserjoey said: 33!? You should have been gommaged. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Putain   Wallace Member Oct 25, 2017 27,865 Midwest I'd say earth has roughly 6 years before total annihilation so I'm ok with it.   Jiraiya Member Oct 27, 2017 10,846 This is the last one. And it'll be future proof up scalable. Online will eventually include multiple full scale cities from all their previous titles. It's modder scene will rival and/or surpass the most capable titles seen today. No story dlc though.  zeknurn Member Oct 25, 2017 1,483 You will be too busy fighting in the great fresh water wars to be caring about grand theft auto 7 and its sequels.   Blackpuppy Member Oct 28, 2017 5,019 Ya know, I've never really played a GTA game before apart from the 1st couple of missions in GTA: Chinatown on the DS… I think I'll survive   Shadow One Winged Slayer Member Oct 28, 2017 4,779 I went without playing GTAV until it was free on Epic (ok I played the first mission my brothers gameshare on Xbox in 2019, but that was more like a demo). I think I'll be okay!  Mekanos ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 17, 2018 48,405 zeknurn said: You will be too busy fighting in the great fresh water wars to be caring about grand theft auto 7 and its sequels. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yet people will still be waiting for Half-Life 3   ClivePwned Member Oct 27, 2017 4,180 Australia I'm more of a CoD fan and so the lack of GTA games released for the rest of my life will more than be offsett by the next 20 Call of Duty games.   Javier23 Member Oct 28, 2017 3,184 I really don't mind, not to downplay the vast amounts of work and artistry behind every GTA release and how monumental of an achievement they are, but games that I find far more interesting to engage with keep being released at a neck breaking speed. I'd be far more heartbroken over needing to wait that long before a hidden gem like Blue Prince comes out of nowhere again, or replace that with any one of many other indie titles like Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, etc etc that have unexpectedly become one of my favorite games ever in the last however many years. BAW said: I wouldn't be so pessimistic, now that they have the tech in place they will be able to develop them much more quickly. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Realistically speaking, what they're setting up with GTA 6 is a base platform for an ever expanding new GTA Online. You're not gonna get GTA 7 any faster than you got 6, and I wouldn't even put money on single-player DLC (but who knows).   RaySpencer Member Oct 27, 2017 5,710 Whatever. GTA is fun, I've been playing them since the first one, and I'm looking forward to playing 6. But if I never play one (even including 6) ever again, I don't really care. Way too many other games out there. I'll survive.  TissueBox Member Oct 25, 2017 12,394 Urinated States of America You think GTAVII is bad, imagine Elder Scrolls VII. (Reference: - 13 years between GTAV and GTAVI. - 14 years since Skyrim, and counting - On that logic, Elder Scrolls VII will be 2045+, and Elder Scrolls VIII will be 2060's)  Gavalanche Prophet of Regret Member Oct 21, 2021 25,595 There is no escape from deaths embrace, though you lead it on a merry chase.   Fevaweva Member Oct 30, 2017 7,511 I think, if we survive, society would've gone beyond Grand Theft Auto type games and we'd be in a world filled with peace and tranquility.   Dogui Member Oct 28, 2017 10,833 Brazil Really don't care about GTA, but I don't think I do this with series I care, either. The worst thing will be dying between the announcement of a game you're hyped and its release. I imagine sometimes, Capcom announces Breath of Fire VII to release in 2 years, then I get something and doctor says I have only 1 year to live. There's a lot of time until GTA VI, though. Who knows we won't all die in some nuclear winter thing in 2 months?  Dervius Member Oct 28, 2017 6,301 UK Too many unsupported assumptions in here so I reject the premise. I know it's largely meant in jest about just how long this game has taken o come out, but it also feels a bit mean spirited in a way I'm just not giving with. World's in a tough place atm, so, joke or not, having a 'you're gunna die soon ya old fucks!' thread just doesn't hit quite the same.  noffles Uncle Works at Nintendo Member Nov 10, 2017 1,219 if i started thinking about my life expectancy in terms of videogames it would be a grim day indeed however, fuck you, i feel old now  Aarglefarg Member Oct 27, 2017 4,199 I'm approaching 40 and there are 4 more GTAs on a 13 year schedule (including next year's) between my age and the life expectancy.   Gelf Member Oct 27, 2017 6,118 Look I've had some fun playing the previous games but I could very easily live without any more of them. I didn't play GTAV until many years after it's first release anyway. There's so much more to play out there. Maybe I'll get to VI in 2030 or something.  Doctor_Thomas Member Oct 27, 2017 11,424 Meh. There's other, better, games to play. GTA for me is something that is always something I enjoy to a degree but I don't get hyped or excited or whatever.  dreamfall Member Oct 25, 2017 7,297 I just gotta make it to this one! Survival is key, counting down the days!   Friendly Wizard Member Oct 31, 2017 143 It's just a game, relax.   tiebreaker "This guy are sick" Member Oct 25, 2017 14,467 What if GTA 7 never releases? Will I live forever?   The Quentulated Mox Corrupted by Vengeance Member Jun 10, 2022 6,531 you have no idea how many more cars i can steal before death takes me   JCal Member Oct 27, 2017 9,544 Los Alfheim Perfectly okay with it. What I'm not okay with is leaving this world without playing Mega Man X9 I won't... I WON'T, DAMN YOU  m_shortpants Member Oct 25, 2017 15,226 I posted this in the trailer thread. If I'm lucky, I got two more in me after 6. If they take 20 years that is. Again, assuming I still have my mental faculties and any desire to play games in my 70s, if society hasn't collapsed.  Blade30 Member Oct 26, 2017 5,943 I played a couple of them, they are alright. I'm ok with no GTA.   P-MAC Member Nov 15, 2017 5,334 I don't necessarily care about GTA specifically, but the more general version of this problem is definitely depressing. For example, there is zero possibility I will ever clear my backlog. There are games I'd love to try NOW, that I will die without ever getting the chance to. Even if I dedicated myself to work through my backlog in 100% of my free time, I don't think it would ever be possible to play every game I want to. But then again, this goes for every other experience in life too so it is what it is I guess  7thFloor Member Oct 27, 2017 7,171 U.S. TissueBox said: You think GTAVII is bad, imagine Elder Scrolls VII. (Reference: - 13 years between GTAV and GTAVI. - 14 years since Skyrim, and counting - On that logic, Elder Scrolls VII will be 2045+, and Elder Scrolls VIII will be 2060's) Click to expand... Click to shrink... No way are they going to repeat that kind of gap again   unicornKnight ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 27, 2017 14,641 Athens, Greece I don't think I've ever played GTA. I once downloaded V from GP but deleted before I even booted it up.  

News Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Gameplay Showcases Combat, Stealth, and New BTs Check out some of the new bosses that Sam will have to fight, including a giant mech launching cars with its octopus-like tendrils. Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 09th, May. 2025 Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding 2: On the Beach received tons of new details courtesy of various hands-on previews (which spent a hefty 30 hours with the game). However, there’s also new gameplay, highlighting several features and improvements. Check out a 15-minute showcase below, courtesy of Famitsu. The visuals are immediately striking, especially the mountain ranges, which Sam can roughly navigate (and observe phenomena like landslides). Other hazards like a duststorm and sudden water level changes must also be dealt with carefully. Then there’s the combat, with headshots triggering brief slow-motion for lining up your next shot. If you’re more keen on sneaking, non-lethal bolas guns are available. Alternatively, chuck an electric rod at an enemy, dealing damage in an area to stun them (though it will make noise and draw attention). The new BT, Watcher, is also briefly showcased, visually spotting Sam and pursuing him through the tar. There’s also a giant desiccated skull with tendrils that serves as a boss (with a weak point that’s tricky to hit) and an octopus-like mech that chucks cars at you. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is available on June 26th for PS5. Head here to learn more about other new features or check out its limited edition DualSense. Tagged With: Elden Ring: Nightreign Publisher:Bandai Namco Developer:FromSoftware Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More DOOM: The Dark Ages Publisher:Bethesda Softworks Developer:id Software Platforms:Xbox Series X, PS5, PCView More Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Publisher:Sony Developer:Kojima Productions Platforms:PS5View More Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out! Frostpunk 2 Update Adds New Sandbox Map, Heating Overhaul, Serenity Mode, and More A classic map from Frostpunk 1 returns, Tales from the Frostland adds narrative quests for Utopia Builder and ... Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Gameplay Showcases Combat, Stealth, and New BTs Check out some of the new bosses that Sam will have to fight, including a giant mech launching cars with its o... 15 Brutal Shooters to Play Before DOOM: The Dark Ages Drops What are some of the best Doom-like titles to play before DOOM: The Dark Ages arrives on May 15th? Check out o... The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim – Should Bethesda Remaster It Like Oblivion? After the success of Oblivion Remastered, should Bethesda give its most successful Elder Scrolls title the sam... Blades of Fire – Everything You Need to Know MercurySteam's newest title arrives on May 22nd and pays homage to a cult classic. Check out everything to kno... Mafia: The Old Country’s Combat Has a “Life-or-Death” Vibe, Encourages More Tactical Play Protagonist Enzo Favara is "proving himself with guns," which means a "scarcity of resources" and the need for... View More

The Trump AI chip policy reversal announced this week signals a shift in how advanced computing technologies will flow in global markets, as the administration prepares to dismantle Biden’s complex three-tier regulatory framework.Set to take effect on May 15, 2025, the Biden administration’s Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion would have created a stratified global technology landscape with significant implications for international trade, innovation, and geopolitical relationships.According to a Commerce Department on Wednesday, the Trump administration views the existing approach as fundamentally flawed. “The Biden AI rule is overly complex, overly bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation,” a Commerce Department spokeswoman told Reuters.“We will be replacing it with a much simpler rule that freees American innovation and ensures American AI dominance,” they said. The policy shift comes months after the Biden administration finalised an export control framework during its final week in office.That framework represented the culmination of a four-year effort to restrict China’s access to cutting-edge chips while maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence technology. The decision to rescind the rule reflects the Trump administration’s different approach to balancing national security concerns with commercial interests.<Understanding the three-tier systemThe soon-to-be-eliminated rule had established a hierarchical structure for global technology access. In the first tier, 17 countries plus Taiwan would have enjoyed unlimited access to advanced AI chips.A second tier of approximately 120 countries would have operated under strict numerical caps limiting their imports. The third and final tier – including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – would have been completely blocked from accessing these technologies.The structured approach aimed to prevent advanced technologies from reaching countries of concern through intermediaries while still allowing access for allies and neutral nations. However, critics argued the complexity of the system would create significant compliance burdens and push international partners toward alternative suppliers.<The new approach taking shapeInstead of the tiered system, sources cited by Reuters indicate the Trump administration is considering implementing a global licensing regime supported by inter-governmental agreements. The approach would potentially offer more flexibility and maintain controls over sensitive technology.The timing of the announcement appears strategically significant. Bloomberg reported the changes are developing as President Trump prepares for a trip to the Middle East, where countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have expressed frustration over existing restrictions on their acquisition of AI chips.The Commerce Department’s decision could be announced as soon as Thursday, according to a source familiar with the matter.<Market reaction and industry impactNews of the policy reversal has already sent ripples through financial markets. Shares of Nvidia, the dominant manufacturer of chips used for training AI models, ended 3% higher on May 7 following the announcement, though they dipped 0.7% in after-hours trading, according to Reuters.The company has consistently opposed the growing number of US restrictions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues that American companies should be able to sell into China, which, he predicts, will become a $50 billion market for AI chips in the next couple of years.However, it’s important to note that the Trump AI chip policy shift does not signal a complete abandonment of export controls. The administration has already demonstrated its willingness to take strong action against China, specifically, by banning Nvidia from selling its H20 chip there – a move that cost the company $5.5 billion in writedowns, according to Bloomberg.<Global winners and losersThe policy reversal creates a complex map of potential winners and losers in the global technology landscape. Countries like India and Malaysia, which hadn’t faced chip restrictions before the Biden rule was unveiled in January, will see temporary relief. In Malaysia’s case, this could particularly benefit Oracle Corporation, which has plans for a massive data centre expansion that would have exceeded limits established by rules governing AI hardware distribution.Middle Eastern nations also stand to gain. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have faced chip export controls since 2023, may now be able to negotiate more favourable terms.Trump has expressed interest in easing restrictions for the UAE specifically and could announce the beginning of work on a government-to-government AI chip agreement during his upcoming visit to the region from May 13 to 16.The UAE’s aggressive pursuit of such an agreement, backed by its pledge to invest up to $1.4 trillion in US technology and infrastructure over the next decade, exemplifies how high-stakes these negotiations have become for countries seeking to establish themselves as AI powerhouses.<According to Axios, the Trump administration is currently developing a new control scheme, which could emerge as either a new rule or an executive order. The transition period creates significant uncertainty for companies like Nvidia regarding the regulatory environment they’ll face in the coming months.While the new framework takes shape, the administration has indicated it will continue enforcing existing chip export controls. One potential element of the new approach might involve imposing controls specifically on countries that have diverted chips to China, including Malaysia and Thailand, according to a source familiar with the matter.Industry stakeholders remain divided on the issue. While chip manufacturers have lobbied aggressively against strict export controls, some AI companies, including Anthropic, have advocated for maintaining protections that safeguard US intellectual property and technological advantages.<Balancing competing prioritiesThe Biden administration’s export controls were designed to limit access to chips needed for cutting-edge AI development, with a particular focus on preventing Chinese firms from finding indirect routes to technology that existing export controls prevented them from importing directly.Creating a balanced approach that addresses national security concerns while promoting US commercial interests presents significant challenges. Establishing agreements with a wide range of countries eager to purchase advanced AI chips would require navigating complex diplomatic relationships and potentially creating dozens of separate policy frameworks.The Commerce Department has not provided a specific timeline for when any new rules are to be finalised or implemented, only indicating that debate continues on the optimal approach forward.The shift in Trump AI chip policy reflects the administration’s broader emphasis on American competitiveness and innovation while still maintaining control over technologies with national security implications.As officials work to craft a replacement framework, the global AI chip market remains in flux, with profound implications for technological development, international relations, and corporate strategies in the evolving artificial intelligence landscape. also: US-China AI chip race: Cambricon’s first profit landsWant to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Google released a new report on Thursday highlighting how it has been combating online scams across its different products using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The report specifically focuses on how AI technology is being implemented in Search, Google Chrome, and Android. The Mountain View-based tech giant said that generative AI is enabling it to detect and stop even previously unheard-of scams. Notably, the company is using the on-device Gemini Nano AI model in the Chrome browser to deal with website-based scams.New Ways Google Is Fighting Scams Using AIIn a blog post, the tech giant announced that it has published a new Fighting Scams in Search report. The report details how Google has improved its AI-powered scam detection systems and classifiers, and claims that the new system can spot 20x the number of potential scamming websites compared to before.Website-based scams typically use fake or compromised websites to trick users into giving away money, personal information, or login credentials. While the way these scams are conducted can differ, their goal is generally to deceive users through imitation, urgency, or offers that seem too good to be true. Some examples of such scams include phishing sites, online shopping scams, investment and crypto scams, tech support scams, clone websites, and subscription traps.In Search, Google says it has improved its classifiers that detect and classify scams using AI. With these improvements, the tech giant can now de-rank these scams before any users can see them. Highlighting an example, the post mentioned that Search detected an increase in scammers impersonating airline customer service providers. The company claimed that these scams have been reduced by more than 80 percent in Search.Google Chrome has also improved the Enhanced Protection mode of Safe Browsing. The mode now supports Gemini Nano, the on-device large language model (LLM) on desktop, to add an extra layer of protection for users. The model can detect potential phishing sites and inform Google to take action on them. The company said Gemini Nano can even detect scams that have not been previously seen by distilling the complex nature of websites.“Our goal is to expand this protection to Android devices and even more types of scams in the future,” Google said.However, this does not mean the company has not added any new threat protection system on Android. Google Chrome on Android is getting a new feature to protect users from malicious website-based notifications. If the browser detects any notification from a website that can be a scam, it will instead show a warning labelled “Potential scam detected,” with an option to either unsubscribe or view the notification.If users trust the website and believe the AI-powered feature made a mistake, they can view the content that was blocked. They can also choose to allow future notifications from the website.

NEVER HAPPENED exhibition at POP&ROLL Gallery

Nature, Published online: 07 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01371-xFive gene clusters have been integrated into the bacterium Vibrio natriegens to engineer a strain that can remediate five organic pollutants — toluene, phenol, naphthalene, biphenyl and dibenzofuran — in industrial waste water and saline soil.

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but (discounting that vinegar is actually a great way to trap fruit flies), there’s an even better method: smell like rotting meat. As a subset of flowering plants figured out long ago, many flies and some beetles are drawn to the putrid and foul over the pretty and floral. Exploited correctly, these insects‘ instincts can make them great pollinators. But how does a flower conjure up the odor of decaying flesh? For a long time, scientists haven’t been quite sure. One persistent theory was that plants produce these compounds passively, through oxidation of more common precursor chemicals, or that these plants partner with bacteria to produce their stenches. Yet new research indicates that, actually, many plants have everything they need to actively stink it up solo. Flowers across at least three stinky families share a similarly evolved genetic pathway to carrion mimicry, according to a study published May 8 in the journal Science.With a few small modifications, a single gene that’s present in most plants and animals can turn flowers into stink factories. The altered gene works by generating a specific enzyme. That enzyme subsequently transforms a common protein byproduct into dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), a strong-smelling chemical that’s created when bacteria break down rotting flesh.  Depending on the context, DMDS’s odor also suggests notes of fermented, pickled radish, dried meat, or human feces, says Yudai Okuyama, lead study author and an evolutionary biologist who studies plants at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. “It’s a very bad smell,” he notes. But Okuyama and his colleagues managed to follow that stink to a beautiful set of discoveries.  A crimson flower of wild ginger. Image: Gunter Marx Photography The scientists began their research by surveying plants in the genus Asarum, commonly known as wild gingers. Across 30 species, they found that many of them produce DMDS at high levels–higher than what could be reasonably generated passively. Then, they used RNA sequencing to determine which genes correlated best with high DMDS expression. They narrowed the search down to a handful of candidates, which the researchers then inserted into E. coli bacteria. They fed the E. coli  the precursor chemical to DMDS, and homed in on the gene that actually contributes to DMDS generation. Additional work showed that this gene is present in nearly-identical form in the skunk cabbage genus (Symplocarpus) and another species of plants common in Japan, Eurya japonica. All three plant groups are in distantly related families. (Corpse flowers, however, seem to rely on a slightly different strategy). “I think it’s an excellent piece of work,” says Lorenzo Caputi, a chemical ecologist who studies the compounds plants make at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Caputi wasn’t involved in the new research, but co-wrote an accompanying commentary article about the study, also published in Science. “I like this paper because it actually puts what happens between plants and insects into evolutionary context,” he says.  Caricature of the floral mimicry of carrion and dung achieved with oligosulfides.Credit: 2025 National Museum of Nature and Science, drawn by Yoh Izumori Usually, plant-pollinator interactions are mutualisms. Plants advertise their nectar and pollen with a sweet, enticing odor. Insects visit, harvest what they need as food, and then spread that pollen around. In the case of carrion mimicry, however, plants are generally tricking their insect visitors. Foul-smelling plants don’t offer a reward to flies or beetles, but they do reap the benefit of mobile insects spreading their pollen around where a plant couldn’t on its own.  The research findings show just how much selective pressure plants face to attract new pollinators. Competition over insects is fierce enough that the same stinky mutation has emerged multiple times–showing up in three disparate families. Perhaps these plants emerged in an environment where flies were more abundant than butterflies and bees. Or, perhaps the nectar market was already saturated. Regardless, it “means that evolution really pushed very hard for these plants to start making this compound,” Caputi explains.  The gene in question, a form of selenium-binding protein, abbreviated SBP, has a long history among animals, plants, and bacteria. It’s an “ancient” bit of DNA code that’s clearly been important enough to stick around as species shifted and diverged, says Okuyama–though all of the other critical functions the gene performs aren’t yet clear. In humans, a couple of studies indicate our version of SBP acts as an antioxidant, breaking down harmful waste products into benign, easily excreted chemicals. Yet, when a mutation goes awry and SBP malfunctions in people, it becomes a case of clinically bad breath and body odor, as unprocessed smell compounds seep into the mouth and through the skin. It goes to show that one species’ maladaptive malodorous B.O. can be another species’ genetic win. 

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Kross House / FIGR Architecture & DesignSave this picture!© Tom Blachford Architects: FIGR Architecture & Design Area Area of this architecture project Area:  380 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2024 Photographs Photographs:Tom BlachfordMore SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. This single-storey residence offers a contemporary reimagining of pavilion-style living, sensitively integrated within its sloping coastal site. Anchored by natural rock formations and supported by a prominent V-shaped steel column, the house appears to float above the landscape. Divided into a series of distinct pavilions, the design provides separate living spaces and dedicated guest wings, balancing privacy and flexibility within a cohesive architectural form.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Drawing on the nostalgia of coastal living, the design evokes elements of traditional beachside dwellings while offering a sophisticated reinterpretation of contextual forms. Central to the plan is a multi-functional cross that organises the layout along north-south and east-west axes. This spatial intersection, reminiscent of the local Mount Martha boardwalk, creates an experiential journey through the house and site.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The 'in-between' zone formed by this cross functions as both an internal breezeway and an outdoor deck, facilitating a seamless connection between interior and exterior environments. This transitional space enables the house to expand or contract in response to seasonal conditions and changing functional needs, exemplifying flexibility in modern coastal living.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The material palette is dominated by timber, extensively used to clad both the external walls and interior surfaces. This approach fosters a strong sense of cohesion between the built form and the surrounding natural landscape. Beneath the floating structure, the undercroft has been reimagined as a secret garden, a secluded and contemplative space that utilises a typically underused area. This garden enhances the house's relationship to the landscape, creating opportunities for informal, spontaneous activities and reinforcing the dwelling's connection to the natural environment.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!A series of operable sliding doors extends the living areas onto a triangular northern deck, allowing for true indoor-outdoor living. When opened, these doors blur the boundaries between the interior and exterior spaces, enhancing the sense of connectedness to the site. By positioning the main floor at the highest point of the site, the design captures sweeping views of the Mount Martha foreshore, while also accommodating an 18-metre lap pool beneath the house, extending along the north-south axis to the rear yard.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The design promotes sustainability, not only in its environmental considerations but also in encouraging an active lifestyle. Movement and exploration are facilitated through a series of pathways that engage the site. Sustainability features include timber-framed windows, double glazing throughout, a 20,000-litre water tank, solar panels, and battery storage.Save this picture!The house is constructed using sustainable, locally sourced materials, with an emphasis on timber cladding, the elimination of plasterboard, and the use of low-VOC finishes. A native landscape garden has been designed in collaboration with MUD Office, incorporating coastal plant species to support and promote local flora and fauna. This approach fosters ecological resilience and contributes to the reestablishment of the local environment, enhancing both the sustainability and the experiential quality of the project.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less About this office MaterialWoodMaterials and TagsPublished on May 09, 2025Cite: "Kross House / FIGR Architecture & Design" 09 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029876/kross-house-figr-architecture-and-design&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Reports of the GOP establishment’s death have been somewhat exaggerated.In his second term, President Donald Trump has filled his administration with many hard-line ideologues, personal loyalists, and more recent converts to his cause — spurring many to conclude that this was a fully MAGA White House.But, going against that trend, certain establishment figures continue to hold key administration posts — and their importance and influence have risen in recent weeks, as they’ve won internal battles and steered Trump’s policies in their preferred direction.Take Scott Bessent, a financier close to Wall Street who Trump named Treasury secretary.During and immediately after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which made little rational sense, Bessent often appeared hapless and at a loss. But Bessent eventually convinced Trump to pause many of the tariffs and has since clearly taken the lead in the administration’s trade negotiations — sidelining hardliners like Peter Navarro, at least for now. He even took on Elon Musk and won, getting Trump to retract an acting IRS commissioner appointment that Musk had sneaked through without Bessent’s knowledge.Or take Marco Rubio, a more traditional GOP hawk Trump named secretary of state. The knives were out for Rubio from the start, with much of Washington joking about how he’d inevitably be fired. He too seemed hapless at first as Musk took a wrecking ball to USAID, real estate developer Steve Witkoff took over key foreign negotiations, and Vice President JD Vance gleefully helped scuttle a minerals deal with Ukraine that Rubio had championed — a deal that was, effectively, the hawks’ effort to win Trump over on a more supportive posture toward Ukraine.But last week, when Trump suddenly needed an interim national security adviser, he turned to Rubio, giving him now two of the administration’s most prominent foreign policy jobs. Rubio also recently got White House permission to fire Pete Marocco, the hardliner who carried out the USAID cuts (in what a Politico source called “the first MAGA world killing from inside the White House”). And that US-Ukraine minerals deal? It was just finalized.The dynamic is broader than Bessent and Rubio. In contrast to many policy areas where the hardliners are clearly ascendant — immigration, the “anti-wokeness” culture war, Trump’s retribution agenda — there’s something more akin to a tug of war on economic and foreign policy, with dueling factions seeking Trump’s favor.Trump himself doesn’t yet appear to be ready for a “full MAGA” administration on these fronts. At times, he favors disruption and drama — but at other times, when he decides things have gotten too messy, he returns to establishment figures like Rubio and Bessent to help clean things up. What the establishment has learned from Trump’s first termThe establishment pushback isn’t happening quite the same way as in Trump’s first administration, when his position as leader of the GOP seemed more tenuous. Back then, you had incidents such as National Economic Council chair Gary Cohn physically taking trade papers off Trump’s desk to prevent him signing them and causing a crisis.This time around, Trump signed the papers on “Liberation Day” and caused the crisis. Yet a similar situation unfolded, in which Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly waited until anti-trade hardliner Peter Navarro was sidelined in a meeting far from the Oval Office, then made a beeline for Trump to urge him to lift some of the tariffs — and succeeded.There’s an important difference in those two anecdotes. Cohn took a decision out of Trump’s hands, because he didn’t believe he could be trusted to make good decisions. Bessent and Lutnick, however, fully accepted that Trump was the decider — and instead focused on convincing him to make what they thought was a better choice. A similar shift has occurred on foreign policy. In Trump’s first term, establishment hawk officials like John Bolton often seemed to be focused on carrying out their own preferred policy rather than Trump’s. Top Defense Department officials and generals, meanwhile, repeatedly slow-walked and stymied Trump’s efforts to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan.Rubio, in contrast, has tried to make it very clear that he’s a team player — by, for instance, helping execute very harsh immigration policies like deporting people to an El Salvador prison and revoking the visas of foreign students criticizing Israel. When Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, so did Rubio.Yet the big blowup with Vance and Zelenskyy in February was not actually followed by a total US-Ukraine breach, as many in the MAGA base wanted (and as many US allies feared). The minerals deal was revived, and Trump has taken a more critical line toward Putin in recent weeks, giving the Russian president some of the blame for prolonging the war as a peace deal remains elusive.Now, it would be too much to characterize any of this as a GOP establishment victory. Trump has already moved policy far away from their preferences with regards to tariffs and Russia and Ukraine, and he could at any point bring the chaos back. What it does show, though, is that the establishment has a pulse — and can still convince Trump that going full MAGA is a mistake. At least sometimes.See More:

Speakers like Michael Arougheti, the CEO of Ares Management, shared the stage with Saratoga water bottles at the Milken Institute Global Conference. Mike Blake/REUTERS 2025-05-09T07:00:02Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Saratoga Spring Water, in its distinct blue glass bottle, was everywhere at the Milken conference. The brand went viral earlier this year because of influencer Ashton Hall. The CEO of the brand's holding company spoke at the power-player-packed conference. Last spring, billionaire Michael Arougheti had two light beers in hand and a good reason to celebrate — he had just become the co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles.Arougheti, the CEO of investment manager Ares, was in Pickles Pub, a popular bar for fans near the team's iconic stadium, offering to buy everyone a beer.The short video of a joyous Arougheti in Pickles was played Tuesday to the amusement of his fellow panelists, Todd Boehly and Michael Milken, at the latter's namesake global conference. Milken, a big healthcare donor who George Washington University's public health school is named after, had one critique. "We're going to try and give you more healthy things to hold up," Milken said.After spending three days traipsing around the ritzy Beverly Hills hotel where the conference is held, it was pretty obvious what that drink would be: Saratoga Spring Water.The glass blue bottles — a 24-pack of 12-ounce bottles costs more than $40 on Amazon — were omnipresent during the conference, with tables laden with them around every corner. Panelists, including Boehly and Arougheti, sipped them onstage. Hotel employees clearing trash cans in common areas sometimes needed backup to get the glass-filled utility trash bags out of their containers. Hotel staff used luggage trolleys to move boxes of Saratoga water. Bradley Saacks The brand, which is a part of the beverage conglomerate Primo Brands, went viral earlier this year thanks to influencer Ashton Hall, whose alleged morning routine includes dunking his face into a bowl filled with several bottles of the distilled spring water. The company's chief marketing officer previously told Business Insider that Hall's use of their product was not an ad, but they were enjoying the attention nonetheless. Hall's TikToks didn't come up during the conference, but the conglomerate's CEO, Robbert Rietbroek, spoke on a panel at Milken. CNBC anchor Sara Eisen introduced him by noting that "we're all drinking his waters."Rietbroek said, "Our mission is to hydrate a healthy America," and that the decrease in alcohol consumption has given Saratoga a boost, he said, sitting next to a small side table with several of his "beautiful blue bottles" on it."We're seeing an expansion of bottled water through the first quarter of this year," he said, despite economic worries.He said consumers are on the hunt "for alternate drinks," but at Milken, they were the house pour. Recommended video

GOT OPSEC? DOGE software engineer’s computer infected by info-stealing malware The presence of credentials in leaked "stealer logs" indicates his device was infected. Dan Goodin – May 8, 2025 2:27 pm | 52 Credit: Getty Images Credit: Getty Images Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Login credentials belonging to an employee at both the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Government Efficiency have appeared in multiple public leaks from info-stealer malware, a strong indication that devices belonging to him have been hacked in recent years. Kyle Schutt is a 30-something-year-old software engineer who, according to Dropsite News, gained access in February to a “core financial management system” belonging to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As an employee of DOGE, Schutt accessed FEMA’s proprietary software for managing both disaster and non-disaster funding grants. Under his role at CISA, he likely is privy to sensitive information regarding the security of civilian federal government networks and critical infrastructure throughout the US. A steady stream of published credentials According to journalist Micah Lee, user names and passwords for logging in to various accounts belonging to Schutt have been published at least four times since 2023 in logs from stealer malware. Stealer malware typically infects devices through trojanized apps, phishing, or software exploits. Besides pilfering login credentials, stealers can also log all keystrokes and capture or record screen output. The data is then sent to the attacker and, occasionally after that, can make its way into public credential dumps. “I have no way of knowing exactly when Schutt's computer was hacked, or how many times,” Lee wrote. “I don't know nearly enough about the origins of these stealer log datasets. He might have gotten hacked years ago and the stealer log datasets were just published recently. But he also might have gotten hacked within the last few months.” Lee went on to say that credentials belonging to a Gmail account known to belong to Schutt have appeared in 51 data breaches and five pastes tracked by breach notification service Have I Been Pwned. Among the breaches that supplied the credentials is one from 2013 that pilfered password data for 3 million Adobe account holders, one in a 2016 breach that stole credentials for 164 million LinkedIn users, a 2020 breach affecting 167 million users of Gravatar, and a breach last year of the conservative news site The Post Millennial. As Lee notes, the presence of an individual’s credentials in such logs isn’t automatically an indication that the individual himself was compromised or used a weak password. In many cases, such data is exposed through database compromises that hit the service provider. The steady stream of published credentials for Schutt, however, is a clear indication that the credentials he has used over a decade or more have been publicly known at various points. In the event, however, that Schutt used the same or similar credentials in systems or machines during his work at CISA and DOGE, attackers may already have been able to access sensitive information he’s privy to. And as Lee noted, the four dumps from stealer logs show that at least one of his devices was hacked at some point. DOGE critics said Lee’s findings are consistent with other operational security gaffes by the office, such as a website that could be edited by anyone and unprecedented and extraordinarily broad access to government data like that stored in the federal payroll system. “At this point it's difficult not to suspect their awful 0pSec is a choice, and that there are specific people (*ahem* *cough cough* the Russians *cough*) to whom they're leaking secrets, with incompetence being merely plausible deniability for their true, treasonous agenda,” one critic wrote on Mastodon. Representatives at CISA and the Department of Homeland Security—the agency that oversees CISA—didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation of the report. Dan Goodin Senior Security Editor Dan Goodin Senior Security Editor Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Dan is based in San Francisco. Follow him at here on Mastodon and here on Bluesky. Contact him on Signal at DanArs.82. 52 Comments

Table of Contents Table of Contents What’s changing? What are your options? Microsoft just put up an updated slate of Surface computing machines on the pre-order shelves, offering a fresh design language and a lower asking price with its new tablet and laptop. While at it, the company has also pulled the entry-level Surface Pro and Laptop models from its website.  Right now, the Microsoft online store only shows the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite variants starting at $1,199. Likewise, the price of the Surface Pro now sits at $1,199.99 on the Microsoft Store for its cheapest configuration. Recommended Videos For the 15-inch Surface Laptop, the cost of entry has climbed to $1,499. Microsoft’s storefront currently lists the starting price at $1,299 for this one, but the 256GB storage variant is currently out of stock. Luke Larsen / Digital Trends In fact, you can no longer buy a 256GB storage variant of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop (13.8-inch and 15-inch) from Microsoft’s website. When these two devices were introduced last year, both carried a starting price worth $999 in the US market. Related This is not a price hike, per se, as Microsoft has merely yanked a low-storage option from its storefront. The price barrier for buyers has gone up, nonetheless. In a statement shared with Engadget, the company says you can still buy the $999 models from third-party sellers. The outlet, however, notes that the price of charging accessories has gone up by 33% under the Surface label. The 127W charger now goes for $175, up from its $125 hit not too long ago. The 65W charger has climbed from $60 to $90 on the official store.  Luke Larsen / Digital Trends It is unclear how long the supplies of the $999 Surface Pro (13-inch) and Laptop (13.8-inch) will last and whether Microsoft will restock the 256GB models on its online shop. The latter seems unlikely, as Microsoft is offering the new 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop at a lower asking price. For the 13-inch Surface Laptop, do keep in mind that the choice is between SSD and UFS storage, and the modules are not user-replaceable, either. The new Microsoft tablet starts at $799, which gives it a lot of breathing space against the larger Surface Pro. It introduces a fresh design language for the slate as well as the keyboard. This one offers Qualcomm’s mid-tier Snapdragon X Plus silicon, 16GB of RAM, and a new magnetic charging system for the stylus.  Coming to the 13-inch Surface Laptop, it’s a MacBook Air wannabe with a similar design, the same memory and processor situation as its 12-inch tablet sibling, and a price tag worth $899 in the US. It, however, misses out on a fast refresh rate screen and doesn’t stray too far from its rival’s limitations.

Korean audio brand Astell&Kern has announced the launch of its flagship DAP made from fine materials and packed with advanced audio technology for music on the go.

Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation plans to expand on the success of its first driverless commercial launch and add night driving to its operations. Aurora said Thursday in the second half of 2025 it will start sending its self-driving trucks out at night and during adverse weather conditions like rain or heavy wind. The company, which provided the update in its first-quarter shareholder letter, also plans to expand its driverless trucking route beyond Dallas to Houston, and into El Paso and Phoenix. Aurora already runs freight with self-driving trucks in those conditions, but with a human safety operator behind the wheel. The company said it has completed more than 4,000 miles in a single self-driving truck without a driver ruuning freight for its launch customers Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight.  In the week since Aurora’s commercial launch, the company has already expanded to two driverless trucks operating on a daily basis, and says it expects to operate “tens of trucks” by the end of 2025.  The milestone, and future plans come alongside another major shift at the company: the resignation of co-founder and chief product officer Sterling Anderson. Aurora shared new details Thursday in its first-quarter shareholder letter about plans to grow its autonomous freight service, signaling it will offer more specific timelines for key milestones as it expands. Aurora reported $211 million in operating expenses, including $153 million for R&D. It used $142 million in operating cash and $8 million in capex in the first quarter, ending with nearly $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments. Aurora expects to spend $175 to $185 million per quarter for the rest of this year. The company didn’t provide revenue figures in its Q1 report. Techcrunch event Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 BOOK NOW In the short-term, Aurora plans to own, operate, maintain and insure its own trucks – made available on the Uber Freight network – for customers. The company is working with partners Paccar and Volvo Trucks to build self-driving trucks at scale. Starting in 2027 or earlier, Aurora expects customers to buy those trucks directly from manufacturers so it can shift to a driver-as-a-service model.

A "cross-buy" offer.Deltarune will be releasing the same day as the Switch 2 and ahead of the big launch, Toby Fox has provided an update in his latest newsletter about how you'll be able to access his game on your new Nintendo system.If you've already bought the game on the original Switch, or plan to get it on this platform any time soon, you'll be able to get it at "no additional cost" on the Switch 2. You'll need to be using the same Nintendo account on both systems and this offer excludes Japan, where a small payment is required.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

When Adam Mosseri took over Meta-owned Instagram as CEO in 2018, the app was experiencing what he’d later call “concerning” drops and plateaus in user engagement, thanks partly to fierce competition from a new app: TikTok. Instagram estimated in 2019 that 23 percent of the decline in time spent on Instagram in the US was due to TikTok. Bytedance’s video app kept expanding through the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. “We can’t explain it all, but what’s clear at this point is that we need to adapt, and do so quickly,” Mosseri wrote to his team in March 2020. Instagram needed to recover, he testified Thursday in a DC courtroom, because “you’re either growing, or you’re slowly dying.”Mosseri described the dire situation while testifying in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust trial against Meta, where the government alleges the company illegally monopolized the market for personal social networking services, a category that it says includes Snapchat but not more entertainment-focused apps like YouTube or TikTok. Mosseri’s testimony highlighted how much Instagram sees itself as in competition with TikTok, but it also showed that even as entertainment content becomes a larger portion of its offerings, connecting with friends is still a central part of its service — meaning it may still be a relevant market for the court to find it monopolizes.Since his March 2020 warning, Instagram has seen more success, thanks in part to improved AI recommendations for Reels. But TikTok still represents “the fiercest competition that we have faced.” As Instagram has sought to compete more effectively with TikTok in building out Reels, TikTok has become more similar to Instagram, Mosseri testified. While he used to consider TikTok a more of “lean-back experiences” where users passively watch videos, he now sees it as “every bit as participatory as we are at this point.” TikTok is actively trying to engage users’ connections with their friends, he testified, noting it’s rolled out a feed to watch friends’ videos. (A TikTok executive testified earlier in the trial that only 1 percent of videos watched on the platform are through that tab.)Meta has emphasized throughout the trial that connecting with friends and family has become a smaller part of its business in the face of competitive pressures. But Mosseri’s testimony highlighted that helping users engage with their friends is still a core use case for Instagram today, and a way it sees itself being differentiated from rivals. Mosseri said in a 2024 video on his own Instagram account that the reason the app wouldn’t expand into long-form video was because it wasn’t as conducive to sharing with friends. “I still think friends are an important part of the experience,” he testified, though he also shared that as the app has grown overall, “the percentage of the app spent on friend content has gone down.”“Instagram will always need to focus on friends,” Zuckerberg wrote in a 2018 email to Mosseri. Even as it grows to include more entertainment, he added, it “can never exclusively be for public figures or it will cease to be a social product.” Mosseri also bridged the gap between earlier testimony from Zuckerberg, who testified about all the ways Facebook helped Instagram grow, and Instagram co-founder and former CEO Kevin Systrom, who testified that eventually, Zuckerberg pulled back resources from Instagram in favor of Facebook. Mosseri took over as CEO when Systrom left in 2018, and he gave a third perspective on the key question of whether Meta helped grow Instagram in ways it couldn’t have otherwise, or whether it bought it to squash a nascent competitor and later deprive it of resources. Mosseri came over to Instagram from a role at Meta, so he was familiar with the cultures and gripes in both organizations. “As a new member of the Instagram team and a previous member of the Facebook team, I sat right in the middle of it,” he testified. Mosseri observed that in some ways, Instagram had “drifted culturally a bit too far apart in my opinion. We used to refer to Instagram as its own company, and it’s not.” He could see why Instagram’s founders were upset with some of the changes Facebook made to reduce promotion of Instagram from Facebook, but he saw both sides. “I disagreed with some of the changes personally, but I also thought they were being made more of than they needed to be.”Ultimately, Mosseri testified, Facebook’s decision to buy Instagram could go down as ​​“one of the best acquisitions of all time.” Instagram got to access Facebook’s resources and experience, and Facebook got to access the Instagram founders’ unique talent for coming up with innovative products — something Meta would need to stay ahead of competition in years to come. Both companies, he said, “benefited greatly.”See More:

How to Create a Realistic River Landscape In Blender By Yeho Studios on May 9, 2025 Timelapse Yeho Studios writes:Have you ever struggled creating a nature scene in blender? What about a river? In this blender tutorial I will show you how to create a realistic river landscape in blender from absolute scratch, if you have ever struggled to create a nature scene in blender, then this tutorial is for you.

Wondering how to clean laminate flooring and keep it looking as great as it did upon installation? Even though your laminate wood floors may look as good as hardwood floors, polishing planks is not exactly the same as when you clean laminate flooring.Laminate planks need special care when dealing with stains, scuffs, or other damage. To avoid pricey repairs and replacements, it’s critical to keep up with maintenance—especially in high-traffic areas.Don’t worry, keeping your floors looking good doesn’t take a lot of time, work, or elbow grease. “Mop every two months,” says Marco Carmo, owner of Maid to Shine and member of the Thumbtack Pro Advisory Board. “But a deep cleaning should be added to the cleaning schedule. I usually recommend a deep clean every six to nine months.”Since laminate isn’t solid wood, you can’t refinish it, so the goal is always to treat the stain or scuff gently and effectively without wearing down the protective top layer, says Myles Robinson, home expert and founder of UK Composite Doors in Wakefield, England. Follow our step-by-step method on how to clean laminate floors, remove stubborn stains and pet hair, and banish scuffs once and for all.Learn the best ways to clean laminate floorsHow do laminate floors differ from wood floors?Laminate floors are synthetic alternative to wood floors. Photo: Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty ImagesLaminate floors are synthetic products that mimic the look of wood floors, which are made from natural timber. Generally, laminate floors are more cost-effective and popular choices for those who want the aesthetic of hardwood floors without the cost.Laminate flooring is made from three layers:The core layer: This layer supports foot traffic or any other weight that is applied to the flooring by homeowners. It can be made from high-density fiberboard (HDF) or medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which are both engineered wood made from wood fibers. Some low-quality laminate floors could have a core layer that is made from cardboard, which could lead to uneven floors.The decor layer: This layer creates laminate flooring’s woodlike appearance. It is placed on top of the core layer and is usually made from paper printed with a wood pattern.The wear layer: This top coating provides protection and scratch resistance. On higher quality laminate, this layer may be textured to give the appearance and feel of a wood grain.How to clean laminate floorsBefore you get cleaning, consult the manufacturer’s instructions for your floors. The brand may have specific recommendations based on the materials used. Most companies have detailed product guides and instructions on how to clean laminate floors on their websites. Read carefully, as using harsh or abrasive cleaning products can null the warranty.Step 2: Learn the right cleaning agentWhat you use to clean your laminate floors depends on the state of your floors. For routine upkeep, a microfiber dry mop can do the trick. (We recommend the Casabella baseboard cleaning mop because the microfiber traps dirt and because it has an edge, tackling annoying baseboard dust.)For routine upkeepFor stubborn stains or deep cleansProducts to avoid on laminate floorsMicrofiber dry mopAll-purpose, pH-neutral cleaning spray and cleaning cloths, or dish soap and warm water-Bleach and ammonia-based cleaners, and steam cleanersIf you have a stubborn stain, you might need more arsenal like an all-purpose cleaning spray and cleaning cloths. You want to avoid bleach or ammonia-based cleaners because the harsh chemicals can strip the protective layer. “Products that are safe to use are pH-neutral floor cleaners, like Bona or Zep, but you can also DIY a cleaner by mixing a few drops of dish soap in warm water,” Carmo says. Another thing you want to skip is a steam cleaner. “The heat and moisture can cause the laminate to warp or buckle,” he adds.Step 3: Start by removing the loose dirt and dustDust and debris loves to hide in the corners of the room, and should be removed at least once a week. A microfiber mop, broom, or vacuum should do the trick. For a particularly stress-free clean, consider a robot vacuum.Mop every two months or so. Photo: energyy/Getty ImagesStep 4: Spot treat stainsThe best cleaning method for tough stains like candle wax or ink is usually a spot treatment. For things like dried-on chewing gum or candle wax, apply a bag of ice to the spot and wait for it to harden. Then remove it with a plastic knife, scraper, or credit cards. Stains from paint, ink, nail polish, and crayons can usually be removed with rubbing alcohol.Step 5: Go over with a wet mopDon’t douse your laminate floors with water, but you can use a damp microfiber mop. “It’s gentle and won’t leave excess water behind, which can damage the laminate over time,” Carmo says.

Mafia: The Old Country will launch for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 8th August, publisher 2K has now officially confirmed. Read more

OpinionMay 8, 20255 min readIndia and Pakistan Remind Us We Need to Stop the Risk of Nuclear WarThe U.S. needs to set an example for the rest of the world by taking our nuclear missiles off hair-trigger alert and negotiating a reduction of our arsenalBy Alan Robock & Lili Xia zpagistock/Getty ImagesWe are living in a scary time. After a terrorist attack that killed at least 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, in Kashmir in April, India blamed the attack on Pakistan, threatened to cut off that nation’s water supplies and followed up in May with airstrikes. Pakistan has promised a “measured but forceful response,” threatening a wider war endangering everyone.India and Pakistan each have about 170 nuclear weapons. A nuclear war between India and Pakistan would produce smoke from fires in cities and industrial areas. That smoke would rise into the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer above the troposphere where we live, which has no rain to wash out the smoke. Our research has found that the smoke would block out the sun, making it cold, dark and dry at Earth’s surface, choking agriculture for five years or more around the world. The result would be global famine.Like it or not, humanity still has a nuclear dagger pointed at its throat. But there is another choice that starts with the U.S. If we take our land-based missiles off their hair-trigger alerts and negotiate with Russia to reduce our nuclear arsenal, we could set an example for the rest of the world. If we eventually sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the U.S. could provide an example to Iran and other nations with an interest in building their own nuclear arsenal.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.The alternatives are terrifying. One of us (Robock) published an article in Scientific American 15 years ago describing how a war in South Asia, like the one now possible between India and Pakistan, could produce global climate change and threaten the world’s food supply, but we did not know how large that threat would be. In the years since then we have calculated, for a range of smoke amounts released from nuclear war, the specific effects on agriculture in each nation. From there, we estimated how the people would fare under the assumption that their stored food was gone, trade was halted, and they kept the same agricultural activity. A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could kill one to two billion people through starvation in the two years after the war.The U.S. and Russia have more than 8,000 nuclear weapons. A nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia could kill more than six billion people around the world in the following two years. The direct impacts of blast, radiation and fire on those attacked by nuclear weapons would be horrific, as we know from what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, but 10 to 20 times more people would die from famine.Many people assume that there will never be another nuclear war, since it has now been 80 years and several generations since the last one. They also have been told that nuclear deterrence must be maintained to keep us safe. Yet threats to use nuclear weapons from Russia and North Korea, and even from the U.S. president, have worried many. The New START treaty, the only remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, expires next year. China is rapidly increasing its nuclear arsenal.President Trump just proposed a budget for the next fiscal year with a 13 percent increase for the Defense Department. This is exactly the wrong direction for the U.S. A substantial part of the defense budget is for a “modernization” of our nuclear arsenal. Our nuclear “triad” is composed of land-based missiles, submarine missiles and nuclear bombs that could be dropped from airplanes. We already have all of these, and they cannot be used without the risk of killing almost all the people on the planet. They need to be removed, not modernized.Deterrence is a myth. The theory is that we will not be attacked because we will attack an enemy if they attack us, thus deterring them. But in order for it to work, they have to believe that we will act as a suicide bomber. That is, that we will attack an enemy, producing so much smoke that we will be unable to grow any crops for more than five years and thus all starve to death. This is not mutual assured destruction (the so-called “MAD” theory). It is self-assured destruction (SAD).The upcoming Independent Study on Potential Environmental Effects of Nuclear War, a report from the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine due out this summer, the first such report since 1985, will make this danger more plain.The rest of the world well understands the risk we all face. In 2017, after three international conferences on the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, including the indirect effects on food supply based on our work, the United Nations passed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits possession, manufacture, development and testing of nuclear weapons, stationing and installment of nuclear weapons or assistance in such activities, by its parties. The treaty came into force on January 22, 2021. There are currently 94 signatories and 73 states parties, but the nine countries, notably including the U.S., with nuclear weapons have not signed it and are trying to ignore the will of the rest of world.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which led the effort to get this treaty, was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.”For deterrence to succeed, there must be no use of nuclear weapons by accident, terrorists, computer malfunctions, hackers or unstable leaders. We have come close many times. As Beatrice Fihn, executive director of ICAN, said in her Nobel Peace Prize Lecture on December 10, 2017, “If only a small fraction of today’s nuclear weapons were used, soot and smoke from the firestorms would loft high into the atmosphere—cooling, darkening and drying the Earth’s surface for more than a decade. It would obliterate food crops, putting billions at risk of starvation. Yet we continue to live in denial of this existential threat.… The story of nuclear weapons will have an ending, and it is up to us what that ending will be. Will it be the end of nuclear weapons, or will it be the end of us? One of these things will happen. The only rational course of action is to cease living under the conditions where our mutual destruction is only one impulsive tantrum away.”When Carl Sagan, a leader in early nuclear-winter research, was asked if he didn’t want to keep our nuclear weapons as a deterrent, he said: “For myself, I would far rather have a world in which the climatic catastrophe cannot happen, independent of the vicissitudes of leaders, institutions, and machines. This seems to me elementary planetary hygiene, as well as elementary patriotism.” We agree.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

He also saw the movie Conclave, plays Words with Friends and is a Chicago White Sox fan.

The Modernist townhouse is part of a cluster of nine properties, including five homes originally designed by South African architect Ted Levy, Benjamin & Partners in the late 1960s. Externally, each of the existing houses is uniformly designed with subtle references to Cape Town’s coastal developments of the 50s and 60s. Since the 60s, their interiors have been sporadically renovated with most of them stripped of their Modernist character. Pine Heath is one of the last remaining townhouses to retain many of its original features.Advertisement Emerging architecture and interiors practice Studio Hagen Hall was briefed by the client to revive the five-storey terraced home, and to upgrade its overall energy efficiency and performance. The studio has redesigned its layout, making the entrance, kitchen and living areas more connected, as well as introducing storage into the communal spaces. An additional fourth guest bedroom suite-cum-gym has been created in the basement, turning the three-bed home into a five-bedroom one. A new office and sleeping pod have also been added into the eaves. Taking reference from the existing aged Parana pine of the home’s material palette, Studio Hagen Hall has worked hard to preserve these details, restoring the original central stairwell and timber-clad ceilings. In the bedrooms, old doors and openings have been replaced with floor-to-ceiling pocket doors, realigned to allow perfect views all the way through the house.Advertisement A tile grid continues throughout the house: window sills, joinery and spaces with angular changes are cut at 45-degree angles. Period details of the original Modernist kitchen have been accentuated for contemporary use: stippolyte glass cabinetry with a curved timber fascia now envelopes the kitchen. Custom mechanical louvre windows have been installed above the sink to provide privacy. All joinery has been faced with a veneer, stained to match the existing Parana pine. To upgrade the home’s thermal performance, single-glazed windows have all been replaced and insulation added internally to the key areas of concrete and brick structure to reduce cold-bridging. Trickle and adjustable air vents in each room provide fresh airflow via a centralised mechanical extract ventilation system. In addition, there are PVs, an air-source heat pump, underfloor heating and full roof insulation. Architect’s view Pine Heath is one of our favourite projects to date. Originally designed by Ted Levy, Benjamin & Partners in the late 1960s, the scheme epitomises our practice's commitment to enhancing and respecting post-war residential architecture, both in London and beyond. Our refurbishment and reconfiguration promote a rich and harmonious dialogue between the existing character and new interventions, introducing rationalised circulation routes while improving the functionality of communal and living spaces to elevate usability and comfort. We were careful to retain the Modernist character that makes the house so special, a core theme running through our projects. This approach results in a minimal yet warm and textured interior that seamlessly integrates with its new bespoke furnishings. We also prioritised significant upgrades to thermal performance and energy efficiency, implemented in a way that is virtually imperceptible. The rejuvenated home is now perfectly attuned to its new owners, Steve and Laura, through its sensitively crafted and contextual response which brings the property up to modern standards. Much like with Canyon House, we hope that as a studio we continue evolving in this scale of design, honouring our commitment to preserving and upgrading post-war typologies across the UK. Louis Hagen Hall, director, Studio Hagen Hall   Client’s view I have always admired Studio Hagen Hall's ability to combine classic post-war aesthetic principles with considered detailing and a rich application of materials to create something contemporary yet timeless. We briefed Louis and his team to help us restore and enhance our home’s original mid-century detail, while simultaneously making significant upgrades to the energy performance of a house that was largely unchanged since it was built. We wanted the look of a case-study house, with the performance of a passive one. The studio was quick to find the best possible layout, opening the property up internally to create new dramatic space with varied sightlines and considered datums throughout. Our new home is private and tranquil, yet bold and surprising. It’s a wonderful space for entertaining, and we look forward to growing into it as a family in the years to come. Steve Ackroyd, client   Project data Local authority Camden Council Location Hampstead Start on site date January 2023 Completion date November 2023 Gross internal floor area 224m² Gross (internal + external) floor area 284m² Architect Studio Hagen Hall Interior designer Studio Hagen Hall Form of contract  Traditional Client Steven Ackroyd and Laura Goulden Structural engineer Blue Engineering M&E consultant EPC Improvements Principal designer Studio Hagen Hall Approved building inspector All Building Control Main contractor Michal Madejczyk CAD software used VectorworksEnvironmental performance data Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >2% Not supplied Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >5% Not supplied On-site energy generation 40% Annual mains water consumption 46 m³ per occupant Airtightness at 50pa Not supplied Heating and hot water load 26.7 kWh/m²/yr Overall area-weighted U-value 0.643 W/m²K Design life 60 years Embodied / whole-life carbon Not supplied Annual CO2 emissions Not supplied

May 09, 2025Ravie LakshmananArtificial Intelligence / Online Fraud Google on Thursday announced it's rolling out new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered countermeasures to combat scams across Chrome, Search, and Android. The tech giant said it will begin using Gemini Nano, its on-device large language model (LLM), to improve Safe Browsing in Chrome 137 on desktops. "The on-device approach provides instant insight on risky websites and allows us to offer protection, even against scams that haven't been seen before. Gemini Nano's LLM is perfect for this use because of its ability to distill the varied, complex nature of websites, helping us adapt to new scam tactics more quickly," the company said. Google noted that it's already using this AI-driven approach to tackle remote tech support scams, which often seek to trick users into parting with their personal or financial information under the pretext of a non-existent computer problem. This works by evaluating the web pages using the LLM for potential signals that are emblematic of tech support scams, such as the use of the keyboard lock API. The security signals are then extracted and passed to Safe Browsing to determine if the page is likely a scam. "In addition to ensuring that the LLM is only triggered sparingly and run locally on the device, we carefully manage resource consumption by considering the number of tokens used, running the process asynchronously to avoid interrupting browser activity, and implementing throttling and quota enforcement mechanisms to limit GPU usage," Jasika Bawa, Andy Lim, and Xinghui Lu of the Google Chrome Security team said. Google said it intends to expand this feature to detect other kinds of scams, including those related to package tracking and unpaid tolls. The feature is also expected to be rolled out to Chrome on Android later this year. As part of the announcement, Google also revealed that it has enhanced its AI-powered scam detection systems to ensnare 20 times more deceptive pages and block such pages from search results, reducing schemes that impersonate airline customer service providers by over 80% and those that mimic official resources like visas and government services by over 70% in 2024. Lastly, Google said it's launching a new warnings feature for Chrome on Android that uses an on-device machine learning model to alert users of unwanted notifications sent by malicious sites that aim to trick them into downloading suspicious software or providing sensitive data. "This new feature uses on-device machine learning to detect and warn you about potentially deceptive or spammy notifications, giving you an extra level of control over the information displayed on your device," Chrome Security's Hannah Buonomo and Sarah Krakowiak Criel said. "When a notification is flagged by Chrome, you'll see the name of the site sending the notification, a message warning that the contents of the notification are potentially deceptive or spammy, and the option to either unsubscribe from the site or see the flagged content." The features come a little over two months after Google rolled out AI-powered scam detection features in the Messages app for Android. Last year, the company unveiled similar ways to flag scam calls. The updates also arrive as Google appears to be readying an Advanced Protection feature in Android 16 that, in some ways, mirrors Apple's approach by turning off JavaScript, disabling 2G connections, and activating a number of security features by default, such as Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, Android Safe Browsing, spam protection in Messages. Google has also been spotted working on a feature to detect scams that coax victims into opening their banking apps during phone calls, Android Authority reported earlier this week. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

A slain Arizona man's family used AI to bring him back from the dead for his killer's sentencing hearing — and the judge presiding over the case apparently "loved" it.As 404 Media reports, judge Todd Lang was flabbergasted when he saw the AI-generated video of victim Chris Peskey that named and "forgave" the man who killed him in 2021."To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the video, which Peskey's sister Stacey Wales generated, intoned. "In another life we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness, in God who forgives, I always have. And I still do."Found guilty earlier this year, Horcasitas' sentencing was contingent, as many cases are, upon various factors, including impact statements from the victim's family.As Wales told 404 Media, her husband Tim was initially freaked out when she introduced the idea of creating a digital clone of her brother for the hearing and told her she was "asking a lot."Ultimately, the video was accepted in the sentencing hearing, the first known instance of an AI clone of a deceased person being used in such a way.And the gambit appears to have paid off."I loved that AI, and thank you for that," Lang said, per a video of his pre-sentencing speech. "As angry as you are, and as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness, and I know Mr. Horcasitas could appreciate it, but so did I.""I feel like calling him Christopher as we’ve gotten to know him today," Lang continued. "I feel that that was genuine, because obviously the forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today."Lang acknowledged that although the family itself "demanded the maximum sentence," the AI Pelkey "spoke from his heart" and didn't call for such punishment."I didn’t hear him asking for the maximum sentence," the judge said.Horcasitas' lawyer also referenced the Peskey avatar when defending his client and, similarly, said that he also believes his client and the man he killed could have been friends had circumstances been different.That entreaty didn't seem to mean much, however, to Lang. He ended up sentencing Horcasitas to 10.5 years for manslaughter, which was a year and a half more than prosecutors were seeking.It's a surprising reaction, showing that many are not only open to AI being used this way, but also in favor of it — evidence that the chasm between AI skeptics and adopters could be widening.Share This Article

Looking for a weekend escape? The first two episodes of Long Way Home, the latest installment in Apple TV+’s best travel series, have just dropped — and it’s the perfect watch if you’re craving a scenic adventure. The docuseries reunites Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman for another cross-country motorcycle journey that’s less about bikes and more about friendship, discovery, and breathtaking landscapes. For me, the Apple TV+ original season — Long Way Up — coincided with my own foray into motorcycling during the early days of the pandemic. And while motorcycles are the vehicle of choice, the real draw is the duo’s chemistry and the stories they uncover along the ride. To support the launch of Long Way Up in 2020, Apple TV+ brought the series’ first two adventures — Long Way Round and Long Way Down — to its streaming platform. That season saw McGregor and Boorman ride electric motorcycles from the southern tip of South America all the way to California. Now, Long Way Home takes the pair across 17 European countries on what Apple describes as “cranky old bikes.” It’s a return to their roots — with new roads, familiar charm, and plenty of detours along the way. Here’s the trailer for the Long Way Home season: The first two episodes of the latest season are streaming now on Apple TV+. Check out these iPhone apps and accessories Follow Zac Hall: X | Threads | Instagram | Mastodon Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel