This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military For much of last year, US Marines conducting training exercises in the waters off South Korea, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia were also running an experiment. The service members in the unit responsible for sorting through foreign intelligence and making their superiors aware of possible local threats were for the first time using generative AI to do it, testing a leading AI tool the Pentagon has been funding. Two officers tell us that they used the new system to help scour thousands of pieces of open-source intelligence—nonclassified articles, reports, images, videos—collected in the various countries where they operated, and that it did so far faster than was possible with the old method of analyzing them manually. Though the US military has been developing computer vision models and similar AI tools since 2017, the use of generative AI—tools that can engage in human-like conversation—represent a newer frontier.Read the full story. —James O'Donnell Why the climate promises of AI sound a lot like carbon offsets  The International Energy Agency states in a new report that AI could eventually reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, possibly by much more than the boom in energy-guzzling data center development pushes them up. The finding echoes a point that prominent figures in the AI sector have made as well to justify, at least implicitly, the gigawatts’ worth of electricity demand that new data centers are placing on regional grid systems across the world. There’s something familiar about the suggestion that it’s okay to build data centers that run on fossil fuels today because AI tools will help the world drive down emissions eventually—it recalls the purported promise of carbon credits. Unfortunately, we’ve seen again and again that such programs often overstate any climate benefits, doing little to alter the balance of what’s going into or coming out of the atmosphere. Read the full story.  —James Temple The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 MAGA influencers are downplaying Trump’s market turmoil They’re finding creative ways to frame the financial tumult as character building. (WP $)+ Some democrats are echoing his trade myths, too. (Vox)2 Amazon products are going to cost moreCEO Andy Jassy says he anticipates third party sellers passing the costs introduced by tariffs on to their customers. (CNBC) + He says the company has been renegotiating terms with sellers. (CNN)3 OpenAI has slashed its model safety testing time Which experts worry will mean it rushes out models without sufficient safeguarding. (FT $)+ Why we need an AI safety hotline. (MIT Technology Review) 4 A woman gave birth to a stranger’s baby in an IVF mixup Monash IVF transferred another woman’s embryo to her by accident. (The Guardian)+ Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos. (MIT Technology Review)5 Amazon equipped some of its delivery vans in Europe with defibrillators  In an experiment to see if drivers could speed up help to heart attack patients. (Bloomberg $)6 The future of biotech is looking shakyRFK Jr’s appointment and soaring interest rates are rocking an already volatile industry. (WSJ $) + Meanwhile, RFK Jr has visited the families of two girls who died from measles. (The Atlantic $)7 Alexandre de Moraes isn’t backing downThe Brazilian judge, who has butted heads with Elon Musk, is worried about extremist digital populism. (New Yorker $) 8 An experimental pill mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgeryAnd could be touted as an alternative to weight-loss drugs. (Wired $) + Drugs like Ozempic now make up 5% of prescriptions in the US. (MIT Technology Review)9 What happens when video games start bleeding into the real world Game Transfer Phenomenon is a real thing, and nowhere near as fun as it sounds. (BBC)+ How generative AI could reinvent what it means to play. (MIT Technology Review) 10 Londoners smashed up a Tesla in a public art project  The car was provided by an anonymous donor. (The Guardian)+ Proceeds from the installation will go to food banks in the UK. (The Standard) Quote of the day “It feels so good to be surrounded by a bunch of people who disconnected.” —Steven Vernon III, who works in finance, describes the beauties of a digital detox at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia as the markets descend into chaos, the Wall Street Journal reports. The big story This scientist is trying to create an accessible, unhackable voting machine For the past 19 years, computer science professor Juan Gilbert has immersed himself in perhaps the most contentious debate over election administration in the United States—what role, if any, touch-screen ballot-marking devices should play in the voting process.While advocates claim that electronic voting systems can be relatively secure, improve accessibility, and simplify voting and vote tallying, critics have argued that they are insecure and should be used as infrequently as possible.As for Gilbert? He claims he’s finally invented “the most secure voting technology ever created.” And he’s invited several of the most respected and vocal critics of voting technology to prove his point. Read the full story.—Spenser Mestel We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + Bad news for hoodie lovers: your favorite comfy item of clothing is no longer cutting the mustard.+ What happens inside Black Holes? A lot more than you might think.+ Unfortunately, pushups are as beneficial for you as they are horrible to execute.+ Very cool—archaeologists are making new discoveries in Pompeii.

London cost consultant Exigere has warned the main impact of US president Donald Trump’s trade war will be the effect on investor sentiment and whether tariffs will put the brakes on construction demand. In its latest market update for Q2, the firm said it didn’t expect too much direct impact from Trump’s decision to introduce tariffs on a swathe of countries – including a 10% baseline rate on the UK. Earlier this week, Trump paused tariff hikes on most countries for 90 days which saw the European Union put retaliatory tariffs on hold. Source: ShutterstockUS president Donald Trump has paused tariff hikes on most countries for 90 days but his baseline levy of 10% remains while China has been hit with tariffs of 125% But the trade war between the US and China has deepened, after Trump imposed 125% tariffs on Chinese goods and China retaliated with 84% levies. > Also read: Trump tariffs could make investors pause funding for major schemes, experts warn In its report, the first few pages of which were devoted to the impact of tariffs, Exigere said: “Proportionately, UK imports for construction-related materials and equipment comes mostly from Europe and China, although a significant proportion is produced domestically. We do import some materials, machinery, plant and equipment form the US but we have minimal exposure in the main.” But it added: “[Trump’s tariffs] will inevitably hit growth projections, and in conjunction with recent PMI figures, the possibility of a recession is back on the table, if not already here. Indeed, with wider global uncertainty, disruption and the potential impacts on growth, this may cause further short to medium-term hesitancy in investment and dampen demand for construction.” Exigere said the sector was still a good bet but warned: “The priority is to stay calm, identify the opportunities and act on them through considered, targeted action with the right partners and behaviours. “While the immediate outlook for the coming year now remains even more uncertain, reflecting an unpredictable global economic and geopolitical climate, we see positive indicators over the mid-and long term. “Interest rates are falling, albeit perhaps slower than had been anticipated. GDP growth, whilst minimal, was taking place, but this may now be further hampered. Demand is there for the right product. Longer term, the economics are slowly heading in the right direction to unlock the supply.” Meanwhile, the firm said contractors in the central London market were continuing to take their time before signing on the dotted line for jobs. “Fingers were burnt in the past decade, with some contractors overstretching themselves in terms of their capacity and ability to deliver work,” Exigere said. “A cocktail of insolvencies, a fragmented, under-resourced industry, continued planning and regulatory change, evolving design driven by tenant demand and growing pains adopting the Building Safety Act, are all impeding development and driving up construction sector costs. > Also read: Clients keeping cool amid Trump tariff chaos, says Turner & Townsend Alinea “All these factors contribute to a significant proportion of Tier 1 contractors continuing to feel risk-averse this spring. They want to consolidate, protecting their existing projects, specialisms, and partnerships, rather than experimenting and expanding.” It added: “This is being reflected in the type and number of projects they will take on, as well as the risks they are prepared to take. They are generally only taking on projects in sectors which are a strong match for their skillsets and are achievable within their current capacities. Relationships, with both consultants and, more importantly, clients, are a material consideration for contractors.” Source: ShutterstockDemand for office space in London, such as the Bankside Yards scheme (pictured), is increasing, Exigere said, as more workers return to the office for longer while premium space dries up But the consultant said both contractors and clients were being less adversarial in contract negotiations. “There is a flight to quality taking place, driving good behaviour and rewarding those taking a realistic approach to contract negotiations. Many successful industry players are characterised by their collaborative, flexible, and equitable behaviours.” Exigere said the central London office market was on the mend as top-end, available new space begins to dry up and more companies switched the working balance to being in the office. “Expectations for full-time office attendance are increasing. This return to the office, coupled with a shortage of new provision over the past five years is driving up Grade A rents for prime, low-carbon office spaces.” It added the hotel sector was also on the rise with investment returning to pre-pandemic levels while a Deloitte poll said London was the most attractive European city for hotel investment in 2025. The consultant said the biggest cost pressure facing firms in the coming months was the increase in National Insurance rates as well as the increase in the minimum wage. Exigere said it expects tender price inflation to be 3.25% for the rest of the year, rising to 3.75% next year and staying flat in 2027.

If you see these subtle symptoms, your gut might be asking for help.

April 10, 20255 min readWhat Defines a Star?At the lower end, and to the bitter end, defining a star is tougher than you might expectBy Phil Plait edited by Lee BillingsA view of our sun, as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA/Goddard/SDOI love simple questions that wind up having complicated—or at least not straightforward—answers. Astronomers twist themselves into knots, for example, trying to define what a planet is, even though it seems like you’d know one when you see it. The same is true for moons; in fact, the International Astronomical Union, the official keeper of names and definitions for celestial objects, doesn’t even try to declare what a moon is. That’s probably for the best because that, too, is not so easy.What about stars, though? Do they also confound any sort of palatable definition?In a very broad sense, a star is simply one of those twinkling points of light you can see in the night sky. But that’s not terribly satisfying in either lexicological or physical terms. After all, we also know the sun is a star—but, by definition, we never see it in Earth’s night sky, and it’s certainly not a dot (unless you’re viewing it from well past Pluto, that is).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.If such a basic definition leaves us a bit dry, then perhaps we can do better. From centuries of scientific observations and theoretical physics, we can say more. Stars are massive, hot and roughly spherical. They’re held together by their own gravity, and they consist of plasma (gas heated so much that electrons are stripped from its constituent atoms). And, of course, they’re luminous. They shine, which is probably their most basic characteristic.That’s descriptive, certainly, but still doesn’t really tell us what a star is. What makes one different from, say, a planet? Can there be a smallest star or a biggest one?To sensibly answer such questions, we need to understand the core mechanism that makes a star luminous in the first place. Then we can use that understanding to better define what is or isn’t a star.Historically, astronomers were in the dark about this for quite some time. Many mechanisms were proposed, but it wasn’t until the early 20th century that quantum mechanics came to the rescue and introduced humanity (for better or worse) to the concept of nuclear fusion. In this process, subatomic particles such as protons and neutrons—and even entire atomic nuclei—could be smashed together, fusing to form heavier nuclei and releasing an enormous amount of energy.In a star’s core, fusion takes terrific temperature and pressure that is provided by the crushing gravity of the star’s overlying mass. For a star to be relatively stable, the outward force of the energy generated by fusion in its core must be balanced by the inward pull of the star’s gravity.There are a couple of different pathways for fusion to occur in stars like the sun, but in the end they both yield essentially the same result: four hydrogen nuclei (each a single proton) plus various other subatomic particles fuse together to form a helium nucleus, and this process blasts out a lot of high-energy radiation as a byproduct. In the sun, this process converts about 620 million metric tons of hydrogen into helium every second. That creates enough energy to, well, power a star.A critical aspect here is that once this reaction starts in a star’s core, it keeps going as long as there is enough nuclear material to fuel it. And while fusing through hundreds of millions of metric tons per second sounds like a lot to you and me, to a star, this is an infinitesimally tiny fraction of its mass, allowing it to keep shining for billions of years.So now we can say with more confidence what a star is: a huge gravitationally bound mass of luminous plasma in which the energy generated from sustained nuclear fusion in its core is balanced by gravity. Huzzah!Except (and you knew an “except” was coming) there’s a lower limit to the temperature and pressure needed to sustain fusion.For normal stars, it’s about 75 times the mass of Jupiter, or one twelfth the mass of the sun. Below that mass, there’s not enough pressure to kick-start the fusion process. But you might notice that no one is eagerly declaring anything dozens of times heftier than Jupiter to be a “planet,” either. In general, middling objects too massive to be planets but too lightweight to be stars are called brown dwarfs.This is where things get fuzzy—because it turns out that brown dwarfs can sustain certain sorts of fusion reactions, too. For example, they fuse deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen with an extra neutron in its atomic nucleus. Some can even fuse lithium with protons to form beryllium, and both these processes can occur at lower temperatures and pressures than the standard “single-proton hydrogen” fusion I described earlier. Brown dwarfs can sustain such conditions in their core, albeit only for mere tens of millions of years or so. But the question remains: Are these objects stars?For simplicity’s sake, astronomers would prefer to keep brown dwarfs in their own group and not call them stars. (Perhaps we could say they go through a brief “stellar phase” of fusion after they’re born.) So most of us would say that a star has to have sustained single-proton hydrogen fusion. It’s still a little bit arbitrary—after all, even this fusion eventually stops, though that might take up to several trillion years for some slow-burning stars. But setting this clear limit does make some sense.Stars have an upper limit on their mass, too. More massive stars gravitationally squeeze their core even harder, which can vastly increase the rate of fusion reactions. But that, in turn, hugely ramps up energy production, making the star hotter and brighter. If the star gets too massive, it can become so luminous that it literally tears itself apart. That limit isn’t well defined, but it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 times the mass of the sun. We do see stars near this upper bound, such as Eta Carinae, and they are violently unstable, wracked by stellar paroxysms that blow out gas in humongous eruptions.What happens, then, after a star exhausts its nuclear fuel? Eventually the hydrogen runs out, leaving behind a core made of helium. This can get very complicated, but some massive stars can then fuse that helium into heavier elements and those elements into heavier ones yet. For true stellar heavyweights—stars with more than about eight times the sun’s mass—the end comes as a catastrophic supernova explosion that leaves behind a neutron star or black hole. Smaller, more sunlike stars have a more sedate demise that eventually blows off their outer layers to expose their dense, hot core to space. We call these slow-cooling stellar corpses white dwarfs.Besides black holes—which are so extreme they merit a category all their own—astronomers tend to refer to these stellar remnants as stars, but the lexicology there is hazier. These objects used to be a part of a star that once sustained fusion but not anymore. So while we may call them stars, we know they’re distinguished from “regular” stars like the sun. It’s a little confusing to laypeople, but astronomers have all sorts of terms that began with good intentions but are now outdated or should be deprecated.That makes sense; after all, the principal principle of science is that it learns. We get more data and we change our mind, though the terms we use may take a while to catch up. So for now we’re stuck with some words that will possibly (hopefully) fall out of use in the future.Planets, moons, stars: astronomers know the difference and know that at the edges, these terms can bleed into one another. Despite the fuzzy borders of these categories, recognizing the distinctions between the objects within them is what helps us understand the universe even better.

Nintendo opened their Switch 2 Direct with Mario Kart World, a wide-open racer that arrives some 11 years after the last mainline series entry. As the Switch 2's premier launch title, it carries huge expectations. What can we learn about the game and its tech from what's been revealed so far? Before we get into Mario Kart World itself, I think a quick overview of Mario Kart 8 is necessary, because the prior game informs a lot of World's rendering choices. Mario Kart 8 runs at 720p on Wii U and up to 1080p on Switch, both at high frame-rates, which required some key technical compromises. Chief among them is the extensive use of baked lighting; most of the game's direct and indirect lighting is pre-calculated and stored in lightmaps and ambient occlusion maps. This performance-saving measure allows MK8 to feature relatively sophisticated lighting, though its low resolution does stick out sometimes. Environmental detail looks great when moving at fast speed, but the game isn't necessarily throwing a ton of geometry around and it doesn't have super-sophisticated materials either. Most surfaces appear pretty diffuse, with shiny and normal-mapped surfaces in the mix as needed. Specular detail in MK8 is also fairly simple. There's no SSR here, given the game's vintage, with shiny surfaces instead relying on rougher static cubemaps. Water surfaces generally look quite transparent even at steep angles too, likely for gameplay reasons. Here's the tech preview of this much-anticipated Switch 2 launch title from Oliver. Watch on YouTube When we move over to Mario Kart World, the key innovation is its open-world gameplay structure and larger 24 player races. Players seem free to roam just about anywhere on the map when not racing, and events have extensive off-circuit sections too. Perhaps as a result of this grander scope, some of the same rendering choices end up in World too. Trackside lighting still relies on a lot of baking, for instance. A larger number of dynamic objects like flags and breakable lightposts use real-time shadowing instead, but the environmental lighting is still heavily pre-calculated. World apparently features some kind of real-time day/night cycle and weather, and times of day do change throughout races, but the position of the primary light source remains static, so even when the sun is low in the evening sky, the shadows are permanently set at a kind of mid-afternoon angle. Environments mostly look great when you are blasting past at high speed, though a closer inspection reveals fairly judicious placement of polygons. During free roam gameplay, where the pace of play is much more relaxed, some of these compromises become a little more noticeable. Perhaps this is engineered to keep level of detail pop-in to a minimum, as level-of-detail shifts are fairly minimal and not very noticeable during gameplay. Interestingly, building interiors seem to have real depth and parallax, though they appear fairly simple and often repeat. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. If you look a little deeper, you can spot some considerable rendering improvements in the mix here as well - which ultimately make the game look substantially better than its predecessor. World has some excellent-looking water rendering, with foaming waves and lots of geometric undulation. When you hit water, the player vehicle changes into an aquatic alternative and you drive on the water's surface, unlike in Mario Kart 8 where you simply rode the track beneath the waves. As a result, the reflection tech has evolved, and seems to be possibly using a planar reflection technique. There are some tells here that indicate we aren't looking at screen-space reflections or even something ray-traced, like alignment issues and the fact that player vehicles aren't reflected. At the same time though, the reflections match the scene too well to simply be a pre-calculated cubemap, which would probably look pretty bad on larger bodies of water. It seems that other glossy surfaces do rely on cubemaps though. Materials quality also seems to have taken a step up here. Surfaces have higher-detail textures, including better normal maps, and appear more natural. World's world often looks worn, with cracked pavement and faded, uneven paint, while Mario Kart 8 tended to have a more sterile look. Some shaders, like the one used to simulate ice, produce a more visually sophisticated appearance and more closely mimic their real-world inspiration. Water rendering has taken a generational leap forward with Mario Kart World versus Mario Kart 8, with more advanced reflections and geometric undulation in stormy seas. | Image credit: Nintendo/Digital Foundry We actually have footage of the one track that is returning from Mario Kart 8, which is Sky-High Sundae. A side-by-side reveals much better looking artwork that clearly has seen a lot more time and attention. However, I don't want to put too much stock into this admittedly stark comparison, because this is a track from the Booster Course Pass which had a more basic appearance with the mobile game Mario Kart Tour in mind. Model detail and art quality both took a big hit with these tracks, so it's not surprising that a proper art pass has produced a markedly better-looking result. Characters also typically appear quite different in this new Mario Kart outing. This is evident right from the player select screen, as each character is depicted with a distinctive animation and edge-lit lighting. The same cartoony sensibility is carried into gameplay, as the karts squish, stretch and have looser suspension. MK8 wasn't exactly realistic, but the vehicles themselves were rigid and had a bit of a more grounded feel. When the karts get hit, the animation is a bit more dramatic, and it blends more seamlessly with player-driven kart movement. There are also some changes to character designs, most of which are fairly subtle. In general, it seems like Nintendo is taking more cues from offline CG as a visual inspiration these days, and that's reflected in some of their design choices, most famously perhaps with the revised Donkey Kong model. Mario Kart World has a more detailed, worn look for many of its environments. Comparing the Sky-High Sundae map in both games exaggerates the gulf in fidelity though, given the MK8 incarnation was designed for the mobile game Mario Kart Tour. Beyond the game's core visual makeup, we should discuss the title's basic rendering parameters. In World's default visual mode in docked play, current media suggests a 1440p image in all my counts without TAA or temporal upsampling. It's a little hard to offer a precise sense of image quality, given that all the extended footage we have is ripped from Nintendo Treehouse playthroughs, but I think it generally looks fine enough. Relying so heavily on baked lighting minimises aliasing gremlins in typical play. All the material we have so far suggests a 60fps refresh, which is maintained faultlessly. The game's photo mode runs at a more modest 30fps update, however. There's also apparently a 120fps mode, though we don't have any capture of it at the moment. Split-screen play is also included here, at least for race events. The same 60fps update is evident, at least for two-player split-screen play. We don't have any footage of four-player splitscreen, though the Nintendo Treehouse footage features two consoles running with two-player splitscreen put side-by-side. Nintendo's GameChat functionality is supported here as well, like with every other Switch 2 title, and it does seem like a neat addition. The roughly 8fps camera feed is mildly distracting, and perhaps better suited for a slower-paced title, but I think the overall effect is pretty cool, and the real-time background removal works pretty well. Obviously, comparisons with streaming suites available on PC are probably not particularly flattering - but for something integrated into a low-power console platform with a limited slice of GPU time, I think it's a neat option for party play. Character models are more advanced in the new game, with animated poses on the character select screen and more advanced edge lighting. The same cartoonish sensibilities apply to the karts too, which squish, stretch and tumble more than their MK8 predecessors. Mario Kart World is in some respects an iterative upgrade over Mario Kart 8, but the extra horsepower has been put to good use to enable 24-player races and a vast open world. There are some key visual upgrades in the mix too, and resolution gets a bump, along with the maximum supported frame-rate. That's a really solid mix for a big new next-gen Nintendo game, especially one arriving so early in the Switch 2's lifecycle. I think Nintendo ran into a big issue when they sketched out the concept for World. Mario Kart 8 was such a tight, perfectly tuned game, had already explored transforming vehicles, and came loaded with content. It's a very hard game to top on its own terms. With World, Nintendo hasn't really tried to, instead veering off in a very different direction in gameplay terms - even beyond the obvious shifts to scope. The changes are numerous: tracks are wider, handling is a little looser and mini-turbos charge more slowly, items have been tweaked, automatically trail the player, and have generally been made less punishing, gliders have been replaced with wings, watercraft have been introduced, it's possible to trick off the ground, and there are new rail grinding and wall riding mechanics. Even though we have a fair bit of off-screen and direct-feed footage of the game, the intricacies of these mechanical changes aren't fully understood. Some mechanics, like ground tricking and wall riding, will hopefully be balanced carefully to avoid degenerate gameplay. It looks like fun to me, but it also looks like it will take a bit of getting used to coming off of 8. Single-player and two-player split-screen looks to run at 60fps, though a single-player 120fps mode is included and three or four-player splitscreen might necessitate a lower frame-rate. I do share certain community concerns though about the game's gameplay structure. The Grand Prix and Knockout Tour modes take you through long stretches of track between individual circuits, which definitely has some appeal and sells the open-world fantasy. But these highway segments have long straights, few turns, and don't look as interesting as the actual proper circuits. Of course, I haven't played the game, and it could just be the case that less twisting tracks remain interesting because of boost pads, traffic, and 24 player play. 200cc racing speeds could help, though it hasn't been confirmed as an option, and neither has mirror mode. But on the flipside, the game's new open-world structure seems like it could introduce a lot of opportunities for interesting single-player gameplay. A mix of challenges, races, and collectables would be nice here - perhaps taking some cues from Forza Horizon. Nintendo is keeping their cards close for now, but they are hinting at some exciting possibilities. As someone who mostly enjoys Mario Kart offline, I think these bits of open-world fun could keep me returning for many months to come.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here There’s a lot of amazing games to anticipate for release this year. GTA 6 is obviously the big experience everyone cannot wait to play, but there’s also Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yotei, and plenty others. Now, there’s another game players can add to the list in Where Winds Meet. It is scheduled for launch sometime this year, and PS5 players can now sign up to play a free beta of the open-world RPG in May. How to sign up for Where Winds Meet beta Where Winds Meet is an exciting open-world action-adventure RPG from China. The PlayStation YouTube channel recently uploaded another trailer, and the game looks absolutely magnificent. While we don’t know exactly when it will fully launch this year, players on PS5 and PC can sign up to try to play a closed beta. Before getting started, it should be known that, per the FAQ, this beta is only eligible to players who live in the United States, Canada, Korea, and Japan. In addition, this is a closed beta, meaning not everyone who applies will be given access. However, it’s free to sign-up, so it’s at least worth the effort if you’re at all interested in playing the game. To sign up for the beta, you must apply before May 15th. You can sign up for the beta here, and, if you are successful, you will receive an invite via email. If you are lucky enough to participate in the beta, it will run from May 16th until the 19th. Again, the game looks incredible. It is “set in ancient China at the tenth century,” and “Players will assume the role of a young martial artist as they embark on a journey to uncover the mysteries of their own identity”. In other PlayStation news, Sony has confirmed PS Plus price increases for even more countries Related Topics ps5 Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

If that’s too much, wipe it down once a week—or at least once a month with warm water and a bit of dish soap. Any grime is less likely to turn into buildup with that frequency of cleaning. The more often you clean the oven, the less intense the cleaning has to be, and you will actually save time overall.Why is it important to clean the oven?If you value health, hygiene, the scents in your home, and the taste of your food, then oven cleaning is important. It’s always recommended to clean any area that comes into close contact with food. When it comes to the oven, a dirty interior can affect the taste of your food, and may even be harmful to your health.“Having a clean oven not only enhances the flavors of your culinary creations, but also prevents the accumulation of grease, burnt residue, and potentially harmful bacteria,” adds Mock. “It also helps prolong your oven’s lifespan, maintain its efficiency, and reduces the risk of unpleasant and unwanted odors.”Is using oven self-cleaning safe?“As long as your oven is in good working order, using the self-cleaning oven feature is safe and effective,” says Mock. However, the process typically takes around three to six hours to complete, using high temperatures (around 900 to 1,000 degrees) to incinerate leftover food particles.An oven’s self cleaning method uses high heat to burn away food. Photo: Glasshouse Images/Getty ImagesThis can create strong odors and may potentially release harmful fumes into the air. To avoid any odors from collecting in the home, keeping the space well ventilated while you run the self-cleaning oven feature is advised. Note that each oven is different and it’s important to follow your oven’s manual carefully before attempting the self-clean option.How often should I clean my oven?Ask yourself, “How often do I use my oven?” The more frequently you use the oven, the more splatters you’ll accrue. An avid baker should aim to give the oven a deep clean once every three months. For someone with a less-than-regular cooking habit, a cleaning every six months, or even once a year, can work.If you ever notice significant residue lurking in the oven, or something drips to the bottom of the oven while cooking, wipe the mess once the oven cools. You don’t want the gunk baking, and undoubtedly smoking, every time the oven is on. The primary oven maintenance cleaning tip: Wipe down the interior with a damp cloth and hot water and dish soap once a month, and the grime is less likely to turn into buildup.How do you keep an oven clean?Once you’ve cleaned your oven to the point that it’s sparkling, you’ll want it to stay that way for as long as possible. To start, pop in some nonstick oven liners, like these ones from Amazon, to help you fight off future grease. These mats catch drips and spills, are easy to remove, and clean quickly. Alternatively, place a sheet of foil beneath cooking dishes that could drip food. Just note that the foil should go on an oven rack and not on the bottom of the oven as it can damage the appliance if it gets too hot.What is the easiest way to clean a really dirty oven?If you want an easy way to clean a truly soiled oven, turn to some excellent cleaning products. Toby Schulz, CEO and cofounder of Maid2Match, suggests Bar Keepers Friend as his go-to product. “Just make sure you’re using the cleanser powder, and ‘rinse’ the interior with a damp cloth afterwards,” Schulz explains. “Bar Keepers Friend also works well for cleaning oven racks. Either sprinkle damp oven racks with some of the cleanser powder, or make a paste with Bar Keepers Friend and water then apply it to the racks. Let the solution sit for a minute or two, then scrub with an abrasive sponge and rinse the racks thoroughly before using them again.”What is the best safe way to clean an oven?Using either the baking soda or soap method described above are both extremely safe ways to clean an oven, as they involve no harsh chemicals and do not use intense heat, which can release harmful particulate matter into the air. That said, as with your own health, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; wipe the oven’s interior down regularly with a damp cloth and a touch of dish soap and fewer deep cleans will be necessary.How do I clean stubborn oven spots?“For stubborn stains on oven interiors, try a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda,” recommends Mattie Sheppard, strategic interior designer and cleaning advisor at Real Estate Bees. Apply the paste, let it sit for 15 minutes, and then scrub it away with a non-abrasive sponge. And for spots on the glass, another effective hack is using a razor blade for scraping off that tough, baked-on grease. Just be cautious and use the razor at a flat angle to avoid damaging the surface.

What just happened? The technology business is feeling the first, massive consequences of import tariffs introduced by Donald Trump. If industry sources are to be believed, Washington's new policy just forced some of the world's largest laptop manufacturers to delay shipments to the US. According to Taiwan sources quoted by Commercial Times, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and other laptop manufacturers will stop sending new devices to the US for at least two weeks. Technology and consumer electronics businesses are being hit hard by the tariffs imposed by Trump, even though the US president has recently paused the majority of these additional levies for 90 days except for a 10 percent baseline global tariff. However, tariffs against China are now at 145 percent according to White House sources. Earlier this week, Razer and Framework decided to halt sales in the US and cancel preorders for new laptops. Micron is raising prices of SSDs and other memory products, while Chinese sellers on Amazon are being forced to significantly increase prices or abandon their US sale prospects altogether. Industry insider sources are now forecasting a significant drop in revenue in April, with laptops, smartphones, and network equipment suffering the worst effects of Trump's tariffs. Before Trump decided to pause the enforcement of "reciprocal tariffs" for three months, Taiwan was hit with a 32 percent levy. The US president is definitely acting fast and breaking things, which means companies are forced to adapt to increasingly uncertain conditions in the global market. Trump's tariffs now have their own, heavily edited Wikipedia page. Taiwan sources are lamenting the confusion surrounding the US economy and tariffs, and many organizations are taking a wait-and-see approach for the time being. Some laptop and component manufacturers are seemingly reaching their biggest customers in the US, seeking a "tariff-sharing" cooperation plan to try and reduce the impact of the new levies. // Related Stories Other manufacturers, including those working in the passive component business, said they still plan to ship their products in line with the previously decided schedule. Meanwhile, Chinese security company Qihoo 360 said that new shipments are halted, but its US subsidiary should have enough supplies for now.

Helldivers 2 players might not have gotten the big update some of them were hoping for this week, but their latest mission at least looks like it's coming with some pretty lofty Galactic War stakes. If you're sick of the purple Meridian death ball destroying planets, here's a chance to stop it. Read more

Image: Nintendo LifeWe already know that, of course, scalpers are attempting to spoil the Switch 2 party — which must be particularly frustrating to US consumers who can't even pre-order the console right now. But fans are pushing back against extortionate listings, and rightly so. IGN reports that some people are heading to online auction sites and reporting some of the most expensive listings. Simply by searching on eBay for Nintendo Switch 2, you can find listings for the console at over the RRP to varying degrees, with some consoles available for Buy It Now prices of over USD $700. Even though pre-orders have gone live in other countries, scalpers are still an issue in the UK, where some are selling the console for over £500. Over on the NintendoSwitch2 subreddit, some fans have shared just how they're dealing with scalpers, and it's with a healthy amount of reporting. While not all attempts are successful, it's heartening to see people pushing back against those trying to take advantage of the market. We shouldn't have to deal with this. But the increase in success rate is notable. As IGN notes, eBay's own Terms & Conditions state that presale listings must have "presale" in the description, must ship within 40 days of purchase, and must list the date the item is available to ship. Many of those scalped listings are violating these terms, hence the removal of some of them. Unfortunately, that may well be about to change, given that we are now less than 40 business days from the Switch 2's launch. Fingers crossed that eBay can actually crack down on this, as no one should be paying out of the nose for a new console from people who are exploiting the market. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders are still yet to go up in North America and Canada, and there's been much controversy around the pricing of games for the new console. With the financial market turbulent right now, we don't know what will happen next. Have you reported any scalpers on online auction sites? Let us know in the comments. We know what he's saying DKK Wrap Two months and counting! Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information. [source reddit.com, via ign.com] See Also Share:0 0 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Where To Pre-Order Nintendo Switch 2 Where to buy Switch 2 consoles, accessories & games Upgrade Pack Price For Zelda: BOTW And TOTK Has Been Confirmed A pleasant surprise! Nintendo Confirms US Price For 'Switch 2 Welcome Tour' Quick, act surprised! My Nintendo Adds A Switch 2 Reward (North America) It's a keychain! Switch 2 GameChat Choppy Frame Rate Explained By Nintendo It's about ensuring the "game experience" is at its best