The last few days have been very busy when it comes to Apple news. Thats because the company has confirmed that the new Siri experience has been delayed while sources suggest that the new features promised at last years WWDC wont be ready any time soon. Given everything thats going on at Apple recently, theres one thing that could really help: another Snow Leopard.If youve been a Mac user for at least 16 years, you probably remember how important Mac OS X Snow Leopard was. At the time, Apple didnt usually release a new version of Mac OS X every year. And when Snow Leopard came out, Apple wasnt focused on introducing new features or design changes. Instead, the company put its efforts into improving the stability of the software.Why am I writing this now? Because I saw someone share a clip from WWDC 2009 when Mac OS X Snow Leopard was announced, and Bertrand Serlet (Apples former vice president of software engineering) made it clear on stage that the update had zero new features. It made me think about how Apple has changed a lot, and how the company could learn from its past.Apple has never liked to admit its wrong, but the company has done so when it had to. I once wrote about this here in the midst of the FineWoven accessories situation. Remember when Steve Jobs invited the press to a keynote just to discuss the iPhone 4 Antennagate scandal? Or when he admitted live that MobileMe wasnt that good and that the company wanted to change that?I miss this Apple, but its hard to imagine the modern Apple announcing something that has zero new features or admitting live to its customers that its products are susceptible to flaws.Apple needs to take a step back and fix its softwareBack to the present day, a new Bloomberg report has revealed that Robby Walker, senior director of Siri and Intelligence at Apple, said in a meeting with the Siri team that the Apple Intelligence delays were ugly and embarrassing.For context, Apple teased Apple Intelligence last June at WWDC 2024, but none of the features were ready for the first release of iOS 18 and macOS 15. While some of the features arrived months later, the new Siri which was even promoted in iPhone 16 TV ads never saw the light of day. But Id go further than that, as its not hard to find many complaints on the web about bugs in Apples latest software.First of all, Apple really shouldnt announce something that isnt ready (they shouldve learned from AirPower). But now that Apple has acknowledged that the new Siri isnt ready, Id really like to believe that the company will put all its efforts into fixing its software, and making all the features announced last year work as promised.Apple announcing the new Siri at WWDC 2024We shouldnt worry about having major software updates every year. Instead, it would be great if Apple engineers had more time to fix things before moving on with new features. Apple needs another Snow Leopard. Personally, I dont think its the right time to introduce a major redesign to iOS, as suggested by a recent rumor.What about you? Would you be okay with a year without new software features to focus on better stability instead? Let me know in the comments section below.Gadgets I recommendAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre 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. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Barcelona International Landscape Biennial is pleased to announce the open call for the 13th edition of the Manel Ribas Piera International School Prize, a prestigious award recognizing excellence in landscape architecture education.Organized by the Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech (UPC) and the Collegi dArquitectes de Catalunya (COAC), with the support of the Fundaci Banc Sabadell, the prize honours a set of five student projects from the same academic program that showcase innovative themes and methodologies with outstanding results.The winning university will receive an endowment of 1,500. Selected projects will be presented at the Biennial Symposium, featured in an exhibition at UPC (ETSAB School of Architecture of Barcelona), and included in the PAISATECA, the Biennials digital archive.An International Jury of ExpertsA distinguished international jury of leading professionals in landscape architecture and education will evaluate the submissions:- Gary R. Hilderbrand- Hayriye Ebah Tunay- Luis Callejas- Huang Wenjing- Eullia Gmez EscodaKey dates- Submission deadline: June 30, 2025- Finalists announced: July 2025- Biennial Symposium & finalist presentations: November 19-21, 2025, at the Petit Palau, Palau de la Msica Catalana- Award ceremony: 21.11.25Guidelines & Application Process- A faculty member must be responsible for submitting the school/programs application.- Entries must follow the official regulations- A tutorial is available for guidance on participation- A layout template is provided for submissionsThe Manel Ribas Piera Prize has become a key platform for recognizing the latest trends, social concerns, and professional contributions in landscape architecture.The top image in the article courtesy of Barcelona International Biennial of Landscape Architecture.> via Barcelona International Biennial of Landscape Architecturearchitecture competition

Three US departments are reportedly considering a ban of the popular routers due to ties to China-backed cyberattacks.

The melodrama of the 2024 F1 season -- both on and off the track -- comes back to bite in the latest installment of the hit Netflix show.

Mini CrosswordNYTIn case you missed Fridays NYT Mini, you can find the answers here:The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, youll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can't quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer.To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course):NYT Mini Crossword Clues And AnswersACROSS1) Hamburger meat, typically - BEEF5) Unit in photography ... or what a photograph might go in - FRAME6) Pens a letter to - WRITES7) Table manners? - WAITER8) Famed short story writer behind "The Gift of the Magi" - OHENRY9) "Time is ___" - MONEY10) Model in an anatomy classroom - BODYDOWN1) Spears who sang "Womanizer" - BRITNEY2) Restaurant - EATERY3) Gritty material on a nail file - EMERY4) Admit the truth, with "up" - FESS5) Someone added on Facebook - FRIEND6) "Whoopee!" - WAHOO7) Gestation station - WOMBMiniNYTThe only one I didnt know outright today was emery, which is apparently something on a nail file. The rest? Outside of the table manners pun I thought they were pretty straightforward. Kind of an odd Britney song to pick but I guess maybe they thought the others would have been too obvious. My favorite is Lucky. Going to go listen to that now, actually.Follow me , and .Pick up my sci-fi novels the and

How to solve today's Wordle.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesLooking for Fridays Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here:Saturday is here. A day dedicated to the ancient Roman god, Saturn. Its interesting that Saturn gets a day of the week but Jupiter does not. Indeed, in English Saturn is the only Roman god who gets a day at all. The rest are for the sun and moon and a handful of Norse gods: Tyr, Odin, Thor and Freya.Like every other day, we have a Wordle to solve. Lets do solve it.How To Solve Todays WordleThe Hint: Rather a large spoon.The Clue: Todays Wordle has a double letter.Okay, spoilers below!...The Answer:Today's WordleScreenshot: Erik KainWordle AnalysisEvery day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here. I picked DRAIN for no particular reason but it ended up being pretty good. Just 91 words remained. I juggled the two yellow boxes I had with PLEAD and came back with four. At this point, apparently I had two words remaining but I could only think of one: LADLE. Thank goodness it wasnt ADDLE or I would have been truly confused!Competitive Wordle ScoreToday's Wordle BotScreenshot: Erik KainI get 1 point for guessing in three and 1 point for beating the Bot. The Bot gets 0 points for guessing in four and -1 point for losing to me. This brings the monthly totals to . . . .My March Running Total: 17 points.Wordle Bots Running Total: 3 points.How To Play Competitive WordleGuessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your pointspositive or negative.You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!Todays Wordle EtymologyThe word "ladle" comes from the Old English hldel, which means "a ladle or a scoop," derived from the verb hladan, meaning "to load, draw out, or heap up." This root is also related to the word "load." Over time, hldel evolved into Middle English ladel, and eventually into the modern English "ladle."So, etymologically, a ladle is a tool for drawing out or loading liquid, which fits its function perfectly.Let me know how you fared with your Wordle today on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog where I write about games, TV shows and movies when Im not writing puzzle guides. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

Shortly before Daniel Kahneman died last March, he emailed friends a message: He was choosing to end his own life in Switzerland. Some are still struggling with his choice.

book 'em I threw away Audibles app, and now I self-host my audiobooks Stream your DRM-free audiobooks to devices yourselves, without the cloud's chains. Lee Hutchinson Mar 14, 2025 2:50 pm | 53 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWere an audiobook family at House Hutchinson, and at any given moment my wife or I are probably listening to one while puttering around. We've collected a bit over 300 of the thingsmostly titles from web sources (including Amazon's Audible) and from older physical "books on tape" (most of which are actually on CDs). I don't mind doing the extra legwork of getting everything into files and then dragging-n-dropping those files into the Books app on my Mac, but my wife prefers to simply use Audible's app to play things directlyit's (sometimes) quick, it's (generally) easy, and it (occasionally) works.But a while back, the Audible app stopped working for her. Tapping the app's "Library" button would just show a spinning loading icon, forever. All the usual troubleshooting (logging in and out in various ways, removing and reinstalling the app, other familiar rituals) yielded no results; some searching around on Google and DuckDuckGo led me to nothing except a lot of other people having the same problem and a whole lot of silence from Audible and Amazon.So, having put in the effort to do things the "right" way and having that way fail, I changed tacks and fixed the problem, permanently, with Audiobookshelf. Audiobookshelf! Behold, the unholy melding together of my wife's and my audiobooks. Credit: Lee Hutchinson Audiobookshelf! Behold, the unholy melding together of my wife's and my audiobooks. Credit: Lee Hutchinson AudiobookshelfAudiobookshelf is a self-hosted audiobook and podcast server, and after two weeks of use, so far it works vastly better than trying to stream within Audible's app. My wife can now actually listen to audiobooks instead of staring at a spinning loading icon forever.To get Audiobookshelf running, you need something to run it ona spare desktop or other computer you're not using should fit the bill, as Audiobookshelf's requirements are relatively meager. You can either install it via a Docker image, or on bare metal on Windows or several different Linux distros. (The Linux distro installations include a repository for handling updates via your system's update method, so you won't have to be manually installing releases willy-nilly.)Since I already have a Proxmox instance up and running on my LAN, I chose to install Audiobookshelf inside an Ubuntu 24.04 LXC container using the "bare metal" method. It's not particularly resource-intensive, using about 150MB of RAM at idle; as noted above, if you don't have a server handy, running Audiobookshelf via Docker on your desktop or laptop shouldn't be much of a burden on your memory or CPU. (It does suck up a fair amount of processing power when it's bulk-importing or matching books in your library, but these aren't things you'll be doing terribly often.) Audiobookshelf process resource utilization in htop. Credit: Lee Hutchinson Audiobookshelf process resource utilization in htop. Credit: Lee Hutchinson Getting it goingOnce you've got Audiobookshelf installed via your preferred method, your next stop is creating and then populating your library. You can do this directly in the application's web interface, if desired: You can populate your library via Audiobookshelf's upload page, if desired. Credit: Lee Hutchinson I chose to do it the old-fashioned way and copy files into the library location myself, which also works.There are a number of ways to make sure Audiobookshelf properly ingests and categorizes your books; first, it is aware of and respects metadata tags if your books have them. If your files lack tags, the Audiobookshelf docs provide several other methods of organization using file and directory structure. Between tags and being able to just name things per the guide, I had no problem uploading all 300-ish of my books into Audiobookshelf, with no misses or mismatches.Of course, this all presupposes that you've got some DRM-free audiobooks. There are plenty of sources where you can get books free of chargelike Librivox, for example. If you're using pay sites like Audible, you'll want to actually log in to your library via a web browser and download each audiobook locally; this will give you a pile of files in .AAX format or something similarwhich leads to a significant caveat.The DRM elephant in the roomWhile books that come on audio CDs don't have DRM embedded in them, files downloaded from Audible or other for-pay sources often do. Audiobookshelf won't play books with DRM, which means you need a method of stripping that DRM out.Unfortunately, here's where we run into a problem: removing DRM from your audiobooks is not universally legal. "In the US, the law against 'circumventing' effective DRM has no personal-use exemption. In Europe, it varies by country," explained the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Competition and IP Litigation Director Mitch Stoltz when Ars reached out for advice. "That's as silly as it soundsstripping DRM from ones own copy of an audiobook in order to listen to it privately through different software doesnt threaten the author or publisher, except that it makes it harder for them to charge you twice for the same audiobook. Its another example of how anti-circumvention laws interfere with consumers rights of ownership over the things they buy."And that means you're kind of on your own for this step. Should you live in a jurisdiction where DRM removal from audiobooks for personal use is legalwhich includes some but not all European countriesthen sites like this one can assist in the process; for the rest of us, the only advice I can give is to simply proceed in a legal manner and use DRM-free audiobooks to start with.Playing thingsOnce you've got Audiobookshelf set up and your DRM-free books stuffed into it, the last piece of the puzzle is an app to actually listen to books with. There is an official Audiobookshelf app, and if you're an Android user you can grab it right here. The iOS app is perpetually stuck in beta and requires Test Flight, but there are third-party alternatives.Personally, I've been using Plappa, and I've found it to be not just perfectly acceptable, but also more responsive and less prone to crashing than Apple's own Books app (not to mention there's no annoying in-app audiobook store page always trying to get in my face!).Administrating thingsAudiobookshelf itself has plenty of tunable options for the home system administrator who just can't leave well enough alone; I've found most of the defaults are exactly what I want, but there's tons of stuff to tweak if you want to do the tweaking.Notably, Audiobookshelf supports multiple libraries if you want more organizational options. It has accounts you can set up for different listeners, logging options, notification options, RSS support, and a whole mess of other things I honestly haven't even looked at yet. The good news for me is that you don't have to look at any of that stuff if you don't want toAudiobookshelf is set up to be workable right out of the box. Exploring the settings menu. Lee Hutchinson Exploring the settings menu. Lee Hutchinson The statistics page. Lee Hutchinson The statistics page. Lee Hutchinson Exploring the settings menu. Lee Hutchinson The statistics page. Lee Hutchinson But what if Im not home?Sharper readers might already have spotted a major problem with self-hosting audiobooks on one's LAN: How do you listen when you're not on the LAN?This is probably worth another article, but the way I'm tackling this particular problem is with a local instance of Wireguard and a VPN profile on my mobile devices. When I'm out and about or in the car or whatever, I can tap the "VPN" shortcut on my iOS home screen, and boomPlappa is now able to see Audiobookshelf, and streaming works just as well as it does at home.One potential concern for doing this is cellular data usage, but this fear seems minor. The biggest audiobook I've got is a cool multicast recording of Frank Herbert's Dune, which weighs in at about 2.4GBso, the most data I'm going to transfer even for my biggest audiobook is 2.4GB max, and that'd only be if I listened to all hillion-jillion hours of Dune at the same time. And depending on the app you're using for playback, you'll likely also have the option to download the books to your device and listen to them locally, without streaming. (This is true for Plappa, at least.)Self-hosting happiness achievedI glossed over a lot of the setup steps to keep this a relatively short piece, but even so, getting Audiobookshelf going is a relatively simple self-hosting task, as self-hosting tasks go.We also haven't talked about Audiobookshelf's other major feature: podcast hosting. I'm not a big podcast kind of guy (I tend to prefer audiobooks if I have time to listen to something), but Audiobookshelf is also (purportedly) great for hosting a giant pile of podcasts. If those are your jam, then that's another point for Audiobookshelf.I can't vouch for the podcasting bits, but I can say that it's gratifying to have solved a problemespecially one that was driving my wife crazy, and any day I can solve a problem for her via nerdery and server-wrangling is a good day. At least as of right now, the Audible app on her phone remains nonfunctional for reasons that are beyond me, but with luckand a bit of ongoing care and maintenance for the server in the closet where this stuff all lives nowneither of us will ever have to deal with that app again.Lee HutchinsonSenior Technology EditorLee HutchinsonSenior Technology Editor Lee is the Senior Technology Editor, and oversees story development for the gadget, culture, IT, and video sections of Ars Technica. A long-time member of the Ars OpenForum with an extensive background in enterprise storage and security, he lives in Houston. 53 Comments

off to the rcs RCS texting updates will bring end-to-end encryption to green bubble chats Lack of encryption was one SMS shortcoming that RCS was created to solve. Andrew Cunningham Mar 14, 2025 2:40 pm | 48 Credit: Apple/Andrew Cunningham Credit: Apple/Andrew Cunningham Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOne of the best mostly invisible updates in iOS 18 was Apple's decision to finally implement the Rich Communications Services (RCS) communication protocol, something that is slowly helping to fix the generally miserable experience of texting non-iPhone users with an iPhone. The initial iOS 18 update brought RCS support to most major carriers in the US, and the upcoming iOS 18.4 update is turning it on for a bunch of smaller prepaid carriers like Google Fi and Mint Mobile.Now that Apple is on board, iPhones and their users can also benefit from continued improvements to the RCS standard. And one major update was announced today: RCS will now support end-to-end encryption using the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, a standard finalized by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 2023."RCS will be the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between client implementations from different providers," writes GSMA Technical Director Tom Van Pelt in the post announcing the updates. "Together with other unique security features such as SIM-based authentication, E2EE will provide RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for stronger protection from scams, fraud and other security and privacy threats."Apple confirmed to The Verge and other outlets that it plans to support the updated RCS standard and end-to-end encryption over RCS "in future software updates." The company wasn't specific about a timeline, thoughthe change could come to an update to iOS 18 in the next few months, or it could be held for the iOS 19 update that Apple will probably release this fall.Google has supported end-to-end encryption over RCS for years now, but only for one-to-one conversations or group chats between Android users using the Google Messages app.Apple's iMessage service has supported end-to-end encryption since its creation, and it was one of the selling points of the service for the privacy-minded. Apple improved that encryption last year, adding a second layer of encryption (known as PQ3) on top of the encryption the service was already using. Alternate platform-agnostic texting services like Signal, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger also offer end-to-end encryption.Andrew CunninghamSenior Technology ReporterAndrew CunninghamSenior Technology Reporter Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue. 48 Comments

2025-03-15T02:46:06Z Read in app Amy Gleason, officially the White House DOGE office's acting administrator, says she doesn't work for or with Elon Musk. White House archives/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the White House DOGE office, said she doesn't work with Elon Musk.Gleason said in a court filing that Musk doesn't work at the office, she doesn't report to him, and he doesn't report to her.Though Trump says Musk is in charge, the leadership structure of the office remains murky.President Donald Trump last week said Tesla CEO Elon Musk runs the White House DOGE office but Amy Gleason, officially DOGE's acting administrator, swears they don't work together.In a court filing related to a lawsuit against the US DOGE Service by the nonprofit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Gleason said that Musk "does not work" for the US DOGE Service.While Gleason's statement outlined the official structure of the DOGE office, it remains unclear exactly how decisions are made at the agency and who must sign off on them. The White House DOGE office initiatives have ranged from dismantling agencies like USAID to slashing budgets and sweeping layoffs, many of which have been reversed by court order."Elon Musk does not work at USDS," Gleason's statement reads, referring to the US DOGE Service, which was renamed from the United States Digital Service via an executive order Trump issued on January 20."I do not report to him, and he does not report to me," Gleason continued. "To my knowledge, he is a Senior Advisor to the White House."Gleason, who in early March was identified as the acting administrator of the recently-renamed department, went on to clarify that she reports to the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, and Gleason herself oversees "all of USDS's employees and detailees to USDS from other agencies."A former colleague of Gleason previously told Business Insider that she is hardworking and apolitical, and had earned the nickname "the green dot" for being active on the office messaging system all hours of the day and night.The filing in which Gleason's declaration appears stems from a lawsuit against the DOGE office filed by the government accountability watchdog group CREW. The nonprofit described the lawsuit in a press release as an attempt to "compel transparency" at the department.The judge in the case this week ruled the DOGE office must release some records per Freedom of Information Act requests, describing the department as operating rapidly and with "unusual secrecy," Business Insider previously reported.The Friday filing featuring Gleason's declaration was a motion requesting the judge reconsider that decision "to prevent manifest injustice" and outlining the DOGE Office's plans to argue it is not subject to FOIA.Representatives for the White House, DOGE office, and CREW did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ktangalakislippert@businessinsider.com or Signal at byktl.50. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.