Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 12.

Just imagine racing at 120fps.We're slowly finding out more about how certain games will perform on the Switch 2 and now there's a new piece of information doing the rounds about the frame rate in Mario Kart World.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

In Brief Posted: 2:29 PM PDT · April 11, 2025 Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images Meta adds Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick to its board Banking executive and former presidential advisor Dina Powell McCormick and Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison are joining the board of Meta, according to a report from Axios. Powell McCormick spent 16 years in several leadership roles at Goldman Sachs. She also served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald J. Trump during his first administration. Collision started digital payments giant Stripe, which was valued at $91.5 billion earlier this year, with his brother John in 2010. The appointments are seen as a broader move by Meta to “expand its board to include more global business experts” at a time “the company looks to curry favor with the Trump administration” ahead of an antitrust trial that begins Monday, reported Axios. Collison previously served on Meta’s advisory group. Powell McCormick is new to Meta. Their appointments will be effective April 15. Topics

Jack Black and Jason Momoa are looking to mine another $80 million for "A Minecraft Movie" in its second weekend at the domestic box office.

Table of Contents Table of Contents Best buys categories Categories to be cautious of Conclusion If you’re following our ongoing saga dedicated to investigating Costco and Sam’s Club for electronics, you may think that we’re under the impression that all electronics are best purchased at these warehouse stores. That’s not the case. There are some categories of products that tend to be great to buy at these stores and others that you should avoid. Here, we’re aiming to provide a comprehensive warehouse club electronics buying guide, so you can stick to the good stuff and avoid the duds. We’re hitting all the major product categories and things you’ll see, with some helpful tips and notes along the way. Chris Hagan / Digital Trends So, what are the best electronics to buy at Costco? What about the best electronics to buy at Sam’s Club? While you can find good deals on electronics throughout these and other warehouse stores, some categories are just better than others, plain and simple. Here are the electronics categories that we think you should spend extra time on when shopping at Costco and Sam’s Club. TVs (large screen) TVs and large screen TVs are some of the smartest electronics buys at Costco and Sam’s Club. Bulk purchasing power on these (often) mass-produced goods result in competitive pricing. Plus, a larger TV is often right at the price point where you start to need to get whatever discounts on them you can get. But, it’s trickier than that and worth a deeper look. Most makes of TVs have several models, with different sizes and (sometimes) subtly different features. Once you get the base technology, UI, and software/hardware combo just right, making TVs in different sizes is apparently not nearly as giant as a leap as you might expect it to be. Unfortunately, each model also comes with a sort of minimum acceptable price — a price that retailers can’t go below. However, we’ve found that warehouse retailers can pass along special savingsunique warehouse models just for them in exchange for buying mass quantities of said models. Then, you can get some of those savings passed along to you. When it works right, it is a win-win-win scenario. And while, obviously, this kind of deal can work with any product, it is just especially noticeable for TVs due to the (already) large number of models that each line uses.   Smart home devices (bundles and kits) Smart home devices that include cameras, Wi-Fi extenders, and home security tend to come in bundles. Those bundles can give you bigger savings. For example, as we browse we currently see some quality Reolink bundles. Checking Amazon, we see that similar bundles with roughly equivalent stats are more expensive. That being said, don’t immediately slam the breaks on good old Amazon — we’re largely finding different bundles, they just have similar stats and camera numbers and come from the same brand. But, when you compare two sets of eight security cameras from the same brand, both with 12MP cameras and 4TB of storage, a $450 price differential is a big deal. The bottom line here is that there is the potential to pay significantly less at a warehouse store. But it isn’t quite the same as TVs. If you seek true clarity on a dollar per value gained perspective, you’ll have to do deeper research. Accessories (Cables, batteries, etc.) Costco and Sam’s Club may buy things in corporate level bulk, but you can buy from them in family level bulk and still get great savings. This can be especially convenient on things like batteries, wires, and cables that you buy a lot of at one time and are relatively tiny (i.e. you won’t need to take up garage space storing them all). As an example, we’re seeing a 40 pack of Duracell AA Power Boost batteries is $12 cheaper at Costco than the competition. If you have a Costco or Sam’s Club membership and need some small, consumable thing like this, it is always worth giving a quick search on the site to see what is available. Andy Boxall / Digital Trends Even if you agree with us that Costco and Sam’s Club are excellent for electronics, it doesn’t mean that you should go blindly forth and buy everything that you see. As a result, this half of our warehouse retailer electronics guide is dedicated to the electronics to avoid at Costco and the electronics to skip at Sam’s Club. High-end, specialty electronics One of the big advantages of warehouse stores is their potential to distribute savings to you that they get from gigantic bulk buys. High-end and specialty items don’t have that bulk, so probably won’t get that advantage. Be cautious here. Popular consumer tech (headphones, laptops, etc.) You might’ve come into this just assuming that you’d be able to find better deals on an Asus Vivobook or pair of Bose headphones with no problem at Costco or Sam’s Club. This was the base assumption we started with, too. However, as the search was on, finding products that matched up with brands and the same processors, RAM, and storage (product names alone don’t always tell the full story due to the way products are labelled for Amazon success, for instance), we found that finding the best deal on a warehouse site was not easy. There were many times in the search that I’d get excited for a moment — “Oh, the Vivobook 15 here is even cheaper than the one on the Asus website!” — only to keep looking and comparing and find some critical stat was way different. There always seemed to be a better or equivalent price elsewhere, and the number of times that something looked like it had a great price at a warehouse store but was on sale at a place like Best Buy for even lower was way too high. Even marked down items often struggled to make a case for themselves as a clearly superior buy at the warehouse store. This all being said, we don’t think you should skip Costco or Sam’s Club altogether for these items. If the price is equivalent, that can actually bend in your favor if you’re getting 2% back from your membership card, for example. At the end of the day, for many product categories your Costco, Sam’s Club, or other warehouse retailer is just that, another retailer — not a magical dispensary of cheaper goods. Be sure to always check the price differences between Costco, Sam’s Club, and other stores. Just because you’re a member, it doesn’t mean you should ignore Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and brand sites altogether. Keep your due diligence high. As we begin to introduce Costco and Sam’s Club deals into our regular coverage, we’ll do the same.

Imagine the conspiracy theories in the US Powerful programming: BBC-controlled electric meters are coming to an end Customers are being pushed to smart meters that have their own signal problems. Kevin Purdy – Apr 11, 2025 1:43 pm | 45 An Economy 7 meter and accompanying Radio Teleswitch. Credit: Richard Harvey (Public domain) An Economy 7 meter and accompanying Radio Teleswitch. Credit: Richard Harvey (Public domain) Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Radio signal broadcasts have their usefulness, but they eventually end (except, perhaps, for SETI). Every so often, we mark the public end of a once-essential wavelength, such as 3G cellular, analog television, or the Canadian time check. One of the most weirdly useful signals will soon end in the United Kingdom, with notable consequences if its transition is not properly handled. Beginning in the early 1980s, UK homes could have electrical meters installed with a radio teleswitch attached. These switches listened for a 198 kHz signal from the BBC's Radio 4 Long Wave service, primarily broadcast from the powerful Droitwich Transmitting Station. These switches listened to 30 messages per minute, waiting for a certain 50-bit data packet to arrive that signaled that electricity was now at cheaper, off-peak rates ("tariffs" in the UK). With this over-the-air notice, homes that bought into Economy 7 or Economy 10 (7 or 10 hours of reduced-price power) could make use of ceramic-stuffed storage heaters that stayed warm into the day, prepare hot water heaters, and otherwise make use of off-peak power. How the electrical companies, BBC, and meters worked together is fascinating in its own right and documented in a recent video by Ringway Manchester (which we first saw at Hackaday). Ringway Manchester's useful history of, and explainer for, the Radio Teleswitch Signal carried for decades by BBC Radio 4. Very fragile tungsten linchpins But BBC Radio 4's Long Wave transmissions are coming to an end, due to both modern realities and obscure glass valves. Two rare tungsten-centered, hand-crafted cooled anode modulators (CAM) are needed to keep the signal going, and while the BBC bought up the global supply of them, they are running out. The service is seemingly on its last two valves and has been telling the public about Long Wave radio's end for nearly 15 years. Trying to remanufacture the valves is hazardous, as any flaws could cause a catastrophic failure in the transmitters. BBC Radio 4's 198 kHz transmitting towers at Droitwich. Credit: Bob Nienhuis (Public domain) BBC Radio 4's 198 kHz transmitting towers at Droitwich. Credit: Bob Nienhuis (Public domain) Rebuilding the transmitter, or moving to different, higher frequencies, is not feasible for the very few homes that cannot get other kinds of lower-power radio, or internet versions, the BBC told The Guardian in 2011. What's more, keeping Droitwich powered such that it can reach the whole of the UK, including Wales and lower Scotland, requires some 500 kilowatts of power, more than most other BBC transmission types. As of January 2025, roughly 600,000 UK customers still use RTS meters to manage their power switching, after 300,000 were switched away in 2024. Utilities and the BBC have agreed that the service will stop working on June 30, 2025, and have pushed to upgrade RTS customers to smart meters. In a combination of sad reality and rich irony, more than 4 million smart meters in the UK are not working properly. Some have delivered eye-popping charges to their customers, based on estimated bills instead of real readings, like Sir Grayson Perry's 39,000 pounds due on 15 simultaneous bills. But many have failed because the UK, like other countries, phased out the 2G and 3G networks older meters relied upon without coordinated transition efforts. Kevin Purdy Senior Technology Reporter Kevin Purdy Senior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 45 Comments

Mind Magicians have long exploited quirks in our perception of the world to make us experience the impossible. Now, cognitive psychology is exploring how they do it and revealing fresh insights into how our minds work 8 April 2025 Philip Harris When Gustav Kuhn was 13, a friend pulled an egg out of his ear. Kuhn was astounded – but his wonder didn’t abate, even after he learned that the egg was made of foam and had been easily hidden in his friend’s hand. “I was quite fascinated by those eggs,” he recalls. The trick sparked an obsession with how the brain can be hoodwinked into believing the impossible. “My whole life during my teenage years was centred [on] magic and deception,” he says. “I became completely addicted.” Kuhn’s adolescent fascination eventually led to a career in magic – although he hasn’t exactly followed the trajectory he had in mind at 13. Though he is a practising magician, he is primarily a psychologist, working to understand what the cognitive quirks that lead us to perceive a rabbit being pulled from a hat or a levitating £5 note can reveal about the brain. “I’ve been trying to create the science of magic, which uses [tricks] as a way of exploring the human mind,” Kuhn says. It seems to be working – more than 150 “science of magic” papers have been published since the late 2000s. This research attempts to peel back the layers of conscious experience to demonstrate how expectation seems to control our perception of reality and how easily we can be led into making decisions while retaining a sense of agency. The field, though, has attracted criticism from members of both disciplines. Some scientists worry that it lacks rigour, while some magicians are concerned that these experiments strip the…

New vacation-rental startup Savvy put up a billboard in Austin, not far from Vrbo's headquarters. Courtesy of Savvy 2025-04-12T04:11:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? New vacation rental company Savvy took a swipe at Airbnb and Vrbo with its new Texas billboard. The company chose a spot near Vrbo's Austin office, mimicking Vrbo's recent sign targeting Airbnb. Savvy is emphasizing its no-fee model to lure hosts and guests away from the two bigger platforms. Just in time for summer, a rivalry between vacation-rental companies is brewing.Last month, Vrbo crowned itself the "hotter, cooler, friendlier" platform with a billboard teasing rival Airbnb. Vrbo put the billboard right outside Airbnb's San Francisco headquarters.Now Savvy, a brand-new vacation rental company, is taking a shot at both of its much-bigger rivals.Savvy placed a billboard close to Vrbo's Austin headquarters to drive home its "no-fee" model, mimicking Vrbo's own playbook for poking fun at Airbnb. Vrbo put a billboard outside Airbnb's San Francisco headquarters earlier this year. Courtesy of Outfront Media Savvy — an Austin-based startup with 13 employees that launched in February — promises no fees for hosts to list their properties for rent or for guests to book with them."As the new kid on the block, we thought it would be fun," Savvy founder Eric Goldreyer told Business Insider.Goldreyer thought focusing on fees was a way to seize upon common customer gripes about Airbnb and Vrbo."What customers really care about is saving money on their stay," he said.Airbnb called Vrbo's original sign "desperate," though Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky did post a laughing emoji on Instagram in response to it. Airbnb and Vrbo both declined to comment on Savvy's billboard.Savvy has 150,000 properties across US, Canada, Mexico, Goldreyer said.It has a long way to go before catching up with its competitors. In 2024, Airbnb said it had 7.7 million listings around the world, while Vrbo said it had more than 2 million. Savvy is trying to draw attention to its no-fee modelFees on Airbnb have been a sticking point for guests and hosts over the years, with some saying rising costs made them quit booking via the platform altogether. Airbnb has gone to extra lengths to make sure guests can easily see the total price of a stay including cleaning fees and taxes.Airbnb primarily uses a split-fee model, where the most common arrangement is a 3% service fee for hosts and a fee around 14% for guests. Vrbo charges hosts a 5% fee and guests up to 20%.Hosts list their properties for free on Savvy, and guests don't incur booking fees, Goldreyer said.However, hosts can choose to pay for a subscription that boosts how prominently their home is featured on Savvy.Savvy is primarily targeting larger-scale rental operators to grow its listing base.The platform only registersprofessional short-term-rental hosts who have at least five properties and use formal booking software, among other requirements. Goldreyer said Savvy wants a consistent experience for guests."We don't want people that host as their side hustle," he explained. "We want to know if our guest gets there at 11 p.m. and the Bluetooth lock goes out, there's a professional they can call." Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Airbnb.

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Nature, Published online: 09 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08854-xA photonic processor capable of running advanced artificial intelligence models with near-electronic precision is introduced, marking a substantial step towards post-transistor computing technologies.