Like a lot of people, I have an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and some AirPods and they all need to be charged. Normally, that means three cables and three AC outlets, but that doesn't have to be the case.Satechi Q2 Trio review: There's something magical about charging three things at once.Wireless charging stations have been around for a long time, and some of them are pretty great. With the launch of Qi2 in 2024, many of them have been refreshed with the upgraded spec including the Satechi Trio.As the name suggests, this device can wirelessly charge three things simultaneously: an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods. It does it quickly, and dare I say, it does it in style to boot. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Bloombergis reporting on the decision of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to decamp from its longtime offices in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C. to a likely suburban destination. The Brutalist building, constructed in 1965 after a design from Marcel Breuer, apparently requires an excess of $500 million in costs attributed to differed maintenance. We covered the many implications that the new Trump Administration's proposed budget cuts might have on the agency as it tracks everything from housing delivery to homelessness and housing affordability for Americans earlier in March.

Design nerds and amateur cartographers alike are rejoicing over the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)s new updated map of the subway system in New York City. It is said to be a replica of the 1972 Unimark map that left an impression despite its mere five-year tenure. The new map debuts the same year as the planned phasing out of the iconic yellow MetroCards that have been around since 1993. The MTA is currently about $48 billion in debt.Its chairman, Janno Lieber, told the New York Times, "This is a linchpin moment, like in 1979, when we started to fix the subway system."

The Last of Us Part 2 has always been an excellent game. Look no further than our reviews of the original PS4 release from way back in 2020, and the more recent PS5 Remastered release from last year. Personally, Ive always felt that the weakest part of The Last of Us Part 2 was the fact that it felt a bit limited by the constraints of the PS4 back when it first came out. With the PC release, we now potentially have the definitive way to experience a game weve repeatedly referred to as a masterpiece. It all comes down to how well Naughty Dog, along with Nixxes and Iron Galaxy have been able to bring the game to PC.So lets get the most important things out of the way first. The PC version of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is quite excellent. As the reasonable hardware requirements that the studio had previously announced would imply, the game is able to make fantastic use of the resources a modern gaming PC can give it. During my time with the game for this review, I played on a PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU, and 32 GB of RAM. This, paired with the fact that I had it installed on an NVMe M.2 SSD, meant that I never really experienced any technical hiccups.Throughout my time with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, I was able to max out the graphics without having to switch on any of the image upscaling tools like FSR, while still being able to maintain frame rates of anywhere between 90 and 120. All of this while playing on a 1440p display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Running it on the Steam Deck was also quite fruitful, delivering good enough performance with some of the graphics settings dialed in to get me just under 60 FPS. While this may not sound that good, it is worth noting that Steam Deck games often tend to run fantastically with a frame rate of 40 FPS for a good balance between performance, visuals, and battery longevity."The PC version of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is quite excellent."All of this good news also carries over into some of the smaller aspects of the game, like how it actually plays. Turns out the keyboard and mouse combination is a rather excellent way to play The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. It offers players a lot of control and accuracy when you really need to nail that headshot, while also providing more versatility when it comes to doing things like needing to craft a quick molotov in the heat of battle. The only real downside to the control schemeone I didnt experience while briefly using a DualSense controllerwas what felt like a strange rendering issue.Essentially, when youre in-game, Any UI element involving the mouse tends to tank the frame rate. I experienced this multiple times with my frame rate going from the high 90s all the way down to 40. Overall, this strange bug didnt really have much of an effect on my enjoyment of the game, since you rarely need to use the mouse outside of crafting and upgrading abilities anyway, and the moment you leave the UI and your mouse disappears, the frame rate tends to shoot back up. While I am far from a technical expert on the matter, the issue feels like it might have something to do with how the mouse is being rendered. These dips in the frame rate are basically non-existent just about anywhere else in the game.Generally speaking, the PC release of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is a big step upnot just from the state of the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1, but also the more recent PC release of Marvels Spider-Man 2. Aside from the minor bug involving frame rates dropping in UIs with a mouse, there hasnt really been much to complain about. Even the controls have transferred over to mouse and keyboard quite well, with the minute-to-minute gameplay involving both stealth as well as action feeling better than ever. The fact that the title is also Steam Deck Verified is definitely a sweet cherry on top of an already-excellent sundae."Even the controls have transferred over to mouse and keyboard quite well"When it comes to the game itself, even five years after its original release, The Last of Us Part 2 can still be considered a certified masterpiece. The game tells an incredible, epic tale of how the cycle of violence tends to hurt those closest to you, and how revenge is ultimately never really worth it. It also does an incredible number of smaller things to make sure that the overall narrative hits hard.The narrative trick here has been executed incredibly well; while you start off the game hating Abby as a character and spend quite a bit of time as Ellie in her quest for revenge, the script is essentially flipped at one point. You go back in time and take on the role of Abby, and you start to learn why she did the things that kicked off the plot of the game. You also get to see just how horrifying Ellies actions have been from an outside perspective, with her kill count getting higher and higher as you progress through the game.Interestingly, while many players will appreciate Ellie largely because they grew attached to her thanks to the events of the first game, in The Last of Us Part 2, I found Abbys parts to be much more fun from a gameplay standpoint. While both characters play the same (albeit with separate upgrade paths and weapons), Abbys gameplay felt a lot more interesting because of the kinds of enemies you get to take on, thanks to some of the best boss fights that Naughty Dog has ever made."You also get to see just how horrifying Ellies actions have been from an outside perspective"I also have to make special mention for one of the strangest encounters in the entire game: the Rat King. Feeling like an enemy straight out of a Resident Evil game, the Rat King is an amalgamation of incredibly strong cordyceps infected enemies, including clickers, stalkers, and even a bloater. The entire encounter is an intense one, forcing you to use up just about every resource you can to take it down. In a fun twist, players also experience a separate battle against a stalker that broke off from the Rat King during your fight with it. The whole fight, along with others you get to encounter as Abby, such as the memorable ones against Tommy and Ellie, are some of the highlights of the entire game, really showcasing how well its intense action gameplay works.The core story of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is excellent, but special mention has to go to its gameplay. The general gunplay and stealth both feel so good to use in the game, that the Remastered release on the PS5 brought with it an entirely new game mode with it in the form of No Return. Essentially a roguelite mode that allows players to fully experience the depth of The Last of Us Part 2s stealth and combat mechanics, No Return has been a generally great addition since its debut. The PC release brings in some more content for the mode, including new playable characters like Marlene. The mode continues to be an excellent way to re-experience the downright fantastic gameplay of The Last of Us Part 2.The Last of Us Part 2s story choices remain divisive to this day, but regardless of where you stand, its gameplay is undeniably top-notch. Playing it on a high-end PC with excellent performance makes this version the definitive way to experience the game.This game was reviewed on PC.

South of Midnight is an interesting case study, because of how very much it seems like a game of two halves. On one hand, it boasts a distinct and incredibly well-realized setting, a gorgeous and memorable aesthetic, and strong storytelling chops that help bring its unique world and premise to life. On the gameplay front, meanwhile, Compulsion Games latest delivers a fairly standard action-adventure experience, one that weaves in a number of familiar elements and puts them together in what is a solid, if somewhat expected gameplay experience. The end result, then, is a game that manages to stand out with unique ideas while also delivering a no-frills, straightforward, lean and mean gameplay experience that anyone with a fondness for the Xbox 360 era of linear action-adventure titles will find very familiar.You play as Hazel, a young woman living with her mother in the American Deep South town of Prospero, which finds itself caught in the middle of a raging hurricane. Disaster strikes early on in the game, and Hazel soon awakens to a mysterious magic known as Weaving, which she must put to use as she embarks on a quest to rescue and reunite with her mother, and heal the decaying land around her with her newfound powers. South of Midnightmakes a strong impression with its setting and storytelling right off the bat, and there continue to lie some of its biggest strengths well past those early moments."South of Midnightmakes a strong impression with its setting and storytelling right off the bat, and there continue to lie some of its biggest strengths well past those early moments."Most impressive is the incredibly distinctive identity it carves out for itself. Blending its contemporary Deep South setting with local folklore and mythology, it crafts a gothic modern-day fairytale that instantly sets itself apart from anything else out there. From the gorgeous and highly detailed environments that you find yourself on throughout the course of Hazels journey to the wonderfully eccentric and quirky cast of characters, each of whom shines thanks to sharply written dialogue and excellent acting performances; from the monsters that you cross paths with to the storybook framing device the game adopts-South of Midnightkeeps finding ways to highlight its key strengths, and more often than not, does so in a way that feels very different from most other story-driven action adventure games.Games inspired by the Deep South that highlight its folklore, culture, and everything about it this constantly and proudly are few and far in between, which meansSouth of Midnightmanages to stand out from the crowd in this department. It does still have some flaws of note- Hazel, for instance, clearly got the Im an action-adventure protagonist who has to comment on everything in sight memo. Shes talking to herselfconstantlyand refuses to shut up, which means she got on my nerves more than a few times, even though she is otherwise a fun and charming protagonist. Even so, with its many notable storytelling strengths, it more than makes up for its few writing-related flaws.Another area whereSouth of Midnightinstantly catches the eye is with its visuals. It uses a highly stylized art style that fits perfectly with its modern fairytale framework and folklore-infused setting, and combines it with a stop-motion animation style that helps it stand out even more. Whether youre moving through its stunningly crafted environments or watching its lovingly directed cutscenes, South of Midnightis wonderful to witness, both in motion and otherwise. Its stop-motion animation style might prove distracting to some in gameplay personally, I didnt mind it once Id gotten used to it but the gamedoesgive you the option to turn that effect off outside of cutscenes."South of Midnightuses a highly stylized art style that fits perfectly with its modern fairytale framework and folklore-infused setting, and combines it with a stop-motion animation style that helps it stand out even more."Where it shows ambition and unbridled creativity in the narrative and visual departments, on the gameplay front, South of Midnightis happy to chart a well-trodden path. Close your eyes and picture a linear, third-person action-adventure game with a mix of melee and magical combat, some light exploration and progression mechanics, and a focus on nimble and parkour-based traversal, and you probably already have a pretty good idea of what youre signing up for.South of Midnightdoesnt reinvent the wheel, but ends up being anywhere between serviceable and forgettable to legitimately fun and solid in most areas of note.When the game starts out, the gameplay feels maybe a little bittoosimplistic and straightforward, but over the course of its opening a couple of hours, it briskly introduces one simple gameplay mechanic on top of another that are all fairly simplistic tropes by themselves, but are used in combination pretty effectively. Light and heavy attacks in combat, dodges rolls and perfect dodges, telekinetic abilities that let you push and pull enemies and things in the environment- mechanics like these (and others) are the kind that you have seen in a multitude of games in the past, but though South of Midnightdoesnt use them in any way that feels too different or extraordinary, it doesget the basics right.What that means is that gameplay, though its never breathtaking by any means, can often be more engaging than you might expect if all you had played of the game was its first hour or so. Levels are pretty condensed and the environments you find yourself in are never too sprawling, butSouth of Midnightslight exploration elements remain fairly compelling throughout. Progression is pretty standard and, if Im being blunt, unimaginative, but it does just enough to make you care at least a little bit about the next upgrade youll unlock, if not the one after that."More than a few times in recent years, weve collectively lamented the death of the so-called AA action-adventure game, so to see one as distinct asSouth of Midnightis heartening."Combat can be surprisingly fun when youre taking on multiple enemies of different types at once, weaving together different abilities while dishing out your own attacks. Particularly enjoyable is the traversal. Once again, it brings together familiar elements like ledge climbing, wall running, and what have you, and that moveset remains largely fun to use across the games runtime. Both combat and traversal can sometimes feel a bit rough around the edges at times due to the occasional instance of clunky movement, unresponsive inputs, or iffy hit detection, but by and large, South of Midnightis a fun and well-functioning gameplay experience.In the gameplay department, what stands out most aboutSouth of Midnightis how much it feels like a throwback game, specifically where its design style and sensibilities are concerned. More than a few times in recent years, weve collectively lamented the death of the so-called AA action-adventure game, so to see one as distinct asSouth of Midnightis heartening, to say the very least- not least because its coming from a major AAA first-party publisher. Its not often that we get a dozen-hour-long single-player story-driven game that wastes no time with semi-open world maps, skill trees, multiplayer elements or what have you, andSouth of Midnightdeserves recognition not just for being just that, but being a really good version of that.With strong writing, memorable characters, stylish visuals, great music, and an excellent setting,South of Midnightpumps itself full of personality and carves out a unique identity for itself, while with its combat mechanics, progression system, traversal, and light exploration, it sticks largely to the status quo, perhaps even to the point of being unambitious. In the end, when those two halves combine, what we get is a brisk and enjoyable game that leaves a stamp on you one way or another. South of Midnightis the sort of game that feels like a victory for the medium simply by existing in exactly the form that it does.This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

The red panda is a mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, and a ringed tail. It has a head-to-body length of 5163.5cm (2025in) and a 2848.5cm (1119in) tail, and it weighs between 3.2 and 15kg (7 and 33lb). It is genetically close to raccoons, weasels and skunks. Solitary, largely arboreal and well adapted to climbing, it inhabits coniferous, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, favouring steep slopes with dense bamboo cover close to water sources. It uses elongated wrist bones ("false thumbs") to grasp bamboo. It feeds mainly on bamboo shoots and leaves. Red pandas mate in early spring, giving birth to litters of up to four cubs in summer. On the IUCN Red List as endangered since 2015, the species is threatened by poaching and deforestation-based habitat destruction and fragmentation.Photograph credit: Mathias AppelRecently featured: Ford Strikers Riot20222023 California floodsGhillie suitArchiveMore featured pictures

April 4: Hansik in Korea (2024); Qingming Festival (traditional Chinese, 2025)Alexios I Komnenos503BC Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrated a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.1081 The Komnenos dynasty came to full power with the coronation of AlexiosI Komnenos (pictured) as Byzantine emperor.1859 Bryant's Minstrels premiered the minstrel song "Dixie" in New York City as part of their blackface show.1949 Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, establishing NATO, an international military alliance whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.A.Thomas Bradbury (b.1902)Martin Rundkvist (b.1972)Xu Lai (d.1973)Inez Robb (d.1979)More anniversaries: April 3April 4April 5ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

New research from Anthropic found that reasoning models willfully omit where it got some information.Read More

The CEO of Steve Jackson Games, which makes board games and card games, says that the 54 percent tariff on goods imported from China that will go into effect on April 5th is a seismic shift for the board game industry and that prices are going up.At Steve Jackson Games, we are actively assessing what this means for our products, our pricing, and our future plans, CEO Meredith Placko says in a post. We do know that we cant absorb this kind of cost increase without raising prices. Weve done our best over the past few years to shield players and retailers from the full brunt of rising freight costs and other increases, but this new tax changes the equation entirely.In the post, Placko spells out an example of how the tariff could affect costs. A product we might have manufactured in China for $3.00 last year could now cost $4.62 before we even ship it across the ocean, she says. Add freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution margins, and that once-$25 game quickly becomes a $40 product. Thats not a luxury upcharge; its survival math.RelatedPlacko adds that the company doesnt manufacture in the US because the infrastructure doesnt meaningfully exist here yet. She acknowledges that tariffs can be an effective tool when they are part of a long-term strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing. But she says that there is no national plan in place to support manufacturing for the types of products we make.If youre frustrated with the tariffs, Placko suggests writing to your elected officials. Ask them how these new policies help American creators and small businesses, she says. Because right now, it feels like they dont.The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has also issued a grim warning. The latest imposition of a 54% tariff on products from China by the administration is dire news for the tabletop industry and the broader US economy, GAMA said, according to Polygon. Card-grading company PSA has released a statement about the new tariffs, too, saying that the company has paused direct card grading submissions from outside the US.In March, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks told Yahoo Finance that when youre talking about tariffs in the neighborhood of 20 percent plus, thats a cost that we cant fully accommodate. It will have to be passed on.See More:

If you were wondering how President Trumps tariffs may impact gadgets like smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches, theres some bad, and perhaps slightly less-bad news. Unless something changes, Trumps sweeping tariffs will lead to increased prices for consumers. But it will likely take some time before that actually happens.Modern gadgets generally arent made or assembled solely in the U.S. anymore. Device makers big and small source components from all over the world, and often have them assembled overseas before importing the final product into the country. Given that Trump has levied tariffs on every single country, it means that the cost to make all our devices will inevitably go up.The biggest thing right now is going to be the inflationary impact, says Jason Miller, professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. If they stay in place for several months, well start to see those effects by mid-summer and certainly back-to-school season.RelatedMiller notes goods shipped from China to the U.S. will face a whopping 54 percent tariffs, including most gadgets. Vietnam, where Apple has shifted some of its manufacturing, also has a high tariff rate at 46 percent.If [companies] absorb the extra cost and dont pass it on, their profits are going to plunge and their capital investment will drop, says Miller. Or, theyll pass a good share of it onto the downstream buyer, which in many instances is the consumer.Barring any new exemptions or changes, you can expect every single device category to be negatively impacted, says Ryan Reith, group vice president of worldwide device trackers at IDC. But devices will be impacted differently. Smartphones, says Reith, have more wiggle room than TVs or PCs as they have a well-established monthly hardware payment dependence.Miller agrees, noting that its not likely that a smartphone will suddenly be 50 percent more expensive. A more reasonable expectation would be a roughly 20 percent bump.Its reasonable to expect the price of phones to go up by about 20 percent, says Jason Miller, professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeOther devices, like over-the-counter hearing aids, have even thinner margins and are therefore, much more vulnerable.Most hearing aids are manufactured in Europe or Asia, and many are assembled in countries like China, says Blake Cadwell, CEO of Soundly, an online retailer that sells over-the-counter hearing aids. Cadwell says manufacturers and brands hes spoken to are anticipating as much as a 25 to 50 percent increase in costs. Those kinds of increases, Cadwell says, could have a lasting impact on consumers.The slightly less-bad news is that consumers likely wont see any price increases right away. Thats because some device makers have increased inventory in anticipation of tariffs hitting. Miller says in the past few months, computer imports were over 70 percent higher than 2023, while cell phone imports in February 2025 were the highest since 2022. Cadwell also says Soundly is working to build reserves and that based on current inventory levels, its likely price increases wont hit the market until fall. However, thats not a guarantee that this is true for every single device maker and every gadget category.If youre looking at a laptop thats assembled in China, and youre wondering whether to buy now or wait until the fall, I would buy now.Vendors/channels have been stretching existing inventory as much as they can to avoid price increases, but close deadlines announced yesterday for tariff increases significantly ramp up the pressure. Id be surprised if even the best positioned brands in terms of inventory are able to stretch two to three weeks beyond the new tariff deadlines, says Reith.In other words, if you currently have an aging piece of tech that needs replacing, it may be a good idea to do it before inventory runs out.If youre looking at a laptop thats assembled in China, and youre wondering whether to buy now or wait until the fall, I would buy now, says Miller.As for whether these tariffs could potentially encourage Big Tech to restart domestic manufacturing, its highly unlikely. Even with these tariffs in place, its still cheaper for these companies to manufacture devices like smartphones, laptops, and wearables overseas. And even if they did want to move some industry back home, that wouldnt be possible overnight. The U.S. has lost a lot of its manufacturing capacity, particularly for consumer electronics, in the last few decades.Simon Ellis, group vice president at IDC, notes that the firm hasnt seen reshoring as a high priority in recent supply chain surveys. Its also important to remember that made in America has almost always meant assembled in America with parts coming from all over the world, he says, while acknowledging its possible that a growing number of companies may assess a return even though the cost, uncertainty, and time required are huge hurdles.Miller is a bit more blunt.These tariffs in no way would encourage domestic production of the types of devices that were talking about.See More: