GPT 4.1, GPT 4.1 Mini, and GPT 4.1 Nano are all available now—and will help OpenAI compete with Google and Anthropic.

Meta’s antitrust trial, in which the government contends the company killed competition by buying young rivals, hinges on unknowable alternate versions of Silicon Valley history.

Macworld Two days after the release of iOS 18.4, Apple has begun the iOS 18.5 beta testing cycle. The first developer release landed on April 2, and we expect a wide release in May (or possibly late April). The last few iOS versions had their x.5 releases in May, with only minor features and changes, and we expect the same this year, especially now that the anticipated new Siri has been delayed. Updated April 14: Apple has released the second beta of iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, but we still don’t see any major new features. iOS 18.5: New features With the big Siri enhancements pushed back out of the iOS 18 update cycle and the iOS 19 beta starting at WWDC in June, we don’t expect much in the way of major new features—just a few touch-ups, bug fixes, and security enhancements. Contact Photos in Mail – In the three-dot menu (…) you can quickly enable or disable contact photos in Mail. AppleCare Info – In Settings > General > AppleCare & Warranty you’ll see a new AppleCare banner you can tap to learn about your coverage. iOS 18.5: How to install the public beta If you want to be among the first to test iOS 18.5, you can sign up for the public beta test. The process for installing a beta has changed in iOS 16.4. Here’s how the new process works now: Click Sign Up on the Apple Beta page and register with your Apple ID. Log in to the Beta Software Program. Click Enroll your iOS device. Open the Settings app, tap General, then Software Update. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Public Beta. It may take a few moments after registering for the beta option to appear in Software Update. iOS 18.5: How to install the developer beta You’ll need to be registered as an Apple developer. Beginning with iOS 18.5, you don’t need to be in the $99 per year developer program to access the developer beta. A free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app: Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store. Open the app. Tap on Account. Sign in using your usual Apple ID. Registered developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. It may take a little time after registering as a developer for the option to appear in Software Updates. Find out everything you need to know about iOS 18 in our iOS 18 superguide.

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. DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data —Steven Renderos is the executive director of Media Justice Tech buzzwords are clanging through the halls of Washington, DC. The Trump administration has promised to “leverage blockchain technology” to reorganize the US Agency for International Development, and Elon Musk’s DOGE has already unleashed an internal chatbot to automate agency tasks—with bigger plans on the horizon to take over for laid-off employees.The executive order that created DOGE in the first place claims the agency intends to “modernize Federal technology and software.” But jamming hyped-up tech into government workflows isn’t a formula for efficiency. Successful, safe civic tech requires a human-centered approach that understands and respects the needs of citizens.Unfortunately, this administration laid off all the federal workers with the know-how for that. And if this administration doesn’t change its approach soon, American citizens are going to suffer far more than they probably realize. Read the full story. Meet the researchers testing the “Armageddon” approach to asteroid defense One day, in the near or far future, an asteroid about the length of a football stadium will find itself on a collision course with Earth. If we are lucky, it will land in the middle of the vast ocean, creating a good-size but innocuous tsunami, or in an uninhabited patch of desert. But if it has a city in its crosshairs, one of the worst natural disasters in modern times will unfold. Homes dozens of miles away will fold like cardboard. Millions of people could die. Fortunately for all 8 billion of us, planetary defense—the science of preventing asteroid impacts—is a highly active field of research. We already know that at least one method works: ramming the rock with an uncrewed spacecraft to push it away from Earth.But there are circumstances in which giving an asteroid a physical shove might not be enough to protect the planet. If that’s the case, we could need another method, one that is notoriously difficult to test in real life: a nuclear explosion. Read the full story. —Robin George Andrews This story is from the next edition of our print magazine, which is all about creativity. Subscribe now to read it and get a copy of the magazine when it lands! The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Consumer tech products may be subject to steep tariffs after allThe Trump administration says that while smartphones and other gadgets are exempt from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, they will be included in forthcoming semiconductor tariffs. (FT $)+ Trump has promised to investigate the semiconductor sector. (The Guardian)+ The White House’s tariff chaos is showing no signs of slowing. (Reuters) 2 Meta is preparing for its day in courtThe landmark monopoly trial follows an investigation that took close to six years. (NYT $)+ The trial’s ruling could force Mark Zuckerberg to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp. (Politico)+ But the US government is facing an uphill battle. (Wired $) 3 Lauren Sánchez is heading into spaceThe pilot, who is also Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, will travel to the edge of outer space today. (CNN)+ The all-female mission is expected to take around 11 minutes. (BBC) 4 Chinese sellers aren’t worried about the USA’s tariffs Even though they’re anticipating that the US won’t buy everyday goods any more. (WSJ $)+ The tariffs are hitting ordinary Americans pretty hard. (The Guardian)+ Meanwhile, Apple has increased its iPhone production in India by almost 60%. (Bloomberg $) 5 Here’s what could happen to your 23andMe DNA dataNow the company has gone bankrupt, a sale could be imminent. (Insider $)+ How to… delete your 23andMe data. (MIT Technology Review) 6 The hacking groups you need to know aboutFrom crypto thieves to sabotage specialists. (Wired $)+ Cyberattacks by AI agents are coming. (MIT Technology Review) 7 Netflix is testing out a new AI search functionPowered by OpenAI’s technology. (Bloomberg $)+ It’s currently available for select users in Australia and New Zealand. (Engadget) 8 San Francisco residents are turning Waymos into community bulletin boardsThey’re leaving handwritten notes seeking new hires and dates inside the robotaxis. (WP $)+ How Wayve’s driverless cars will meet one of their biggest challenges yet. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Who is hacking California’s crosswalks?Crossings are playing AI recordings mocking Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. (The Verge) 10 Instagram is the hottest place to shop for kids’ clothes Enterprising moms are on the hunt for bargains. (The Verge)+ The best part of Facebook these days is Facebook Marketplace. (The Atlantic $) Quote of the day “The mass confusion created by this constant news flow out of the White House is dizzying for the industry and investors and creating massive uncertainty and chaos for companies trying to plan their supply chain, inventory, and demand.”’ —Dan Ives, a senior analyst for Wedbush, sums up the latest twists and turns in the Trump administration’s tariff plans, the Washington Post reports. The big story Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the pastAfter falling steadily for decades, the prevalence of global hunger is now on the rise—nowhere more so than in sub-Saharan Africa. Conflicts, economic fallout from the covid-19 pandemic, and extreme weather events linked to climate change have pushed the share of the population considered undernourished from 18% in 2015 to 23% in 2023. Africa’s indigenous crops are often more nutritious and better suited to the hot and dry conditions that are becoming more prevalent, yet many have been neglected by science, which means they tend to be more vulnerable to diseases and pests and yield well below their theoretical potential. Now the question is whether researchers, governments, and farmers can work together in a way that gets these crops onto plates and provides Africans from all walks of life with the energy and nutrition that they need to thrive, whatever climate change throws their way. Read the full story. —Jonathan W. Rosen 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.)+ The Minecraft movie sounds like absolute chaos (in a good way)+ Huge congratulations are in order for Rory McIlroy, the first European to win golf’s Grand Slam.+ Mark my words, nothing good can come from a British version of SNL.+ Enjoy these gorgeous otter pups taking their very first swim with their patient mom

While denying he ever changes his mind, Trump has now said he helped out Apple with tariffs because of conversations with Tim Cook.Trump (right) at the 2019 meeting when he praised "Tim Apple" — image credit: AppleIt's up there with night follows day, but Trump has now effectively confirmed that it was after speaking with Tim Cook that he changed his tariffs. His statement has to be defined as effectively, because he was typically unclear and attempting to sound as if he were sticking flawlessly to his original tariff plan."Look, I'm a very flexible person. I don't change my mind, but I'm flexible," he said to reporters while officially meeting with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. "And you have to be." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Kelly Hayes-McAlonie, the current Director of Campus Planning for the State University of New York at Buffalo, has received the 2025 AIA Award for Excellence in Public Architecture. She is credited with founding the AIA’s game-changing Architecture + Education program in 2000, and, more recently, published a biographical sketch on the life of the largely overlooked Louise Blanchard Bethune—who became the first female AIA member in 1888—at the culmination of nearly twenty years of research. She was also cited for her K-12 outreach and other collaborations for public monuments in Western New York.

After a hyped gameplay reveal this weekend, Bungie’s Marathon has been the subject of much discussion. There’s praise and mixed reactions for its look, skepticism over the gameplay, and more than enough questions about the pricing, especially since it has a Battle Pass. Marathon isn’t free-to-play, and though Bungie didn’t outline how much it would (with more details due this Summer), it confirmed that this won’t be a full-priced title. But what motivated the developer to avoid the free-to-play route? On the Friends Per Second Podcast (transcription via VGC), director Joe Ziegler said, “We’re hoping that what we’re showing is exciting enough that someone is going to take the leap with us, but we are also committed to delivering on seasons past this that will continuously offer to evolve the game without an increase to the box price. “What we’re hoping everyone understands is that we’re focused on committing to making this a game that’s really awesome, and we think that starting point is really strong at this current time. Everyone’s got their own definition of what is the right price.” Of course, everyone also has their own definition of value for money. Marathon will launch with three maps and six playable Runners. A fourth map arrives shortly after, and while there are big plans for seasonal adventures, Bungie has admitted that the narrative is sparse out of the gate. Whether all this is enough for players remains to be seen. Marathon is out on September 23rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. The closed alpha runs from April 23rd to May 4th.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" [Sponsored] To mark the official release of its new Houdini plugin – and its new free edition – Zibra AI reveals how its ZibraVDB volumetric compression technology, also available for Unreal Engine, is shaking up real-time VFX for virtual production, game development and CGI work. A recent wave of restructurings across major VFX studios — including Technicolor, MPC, The Mill, and Jellyfish Pictures — has sent shockwaves through the industry, highlighting the growing need for more agile, modern production pipelines.Studios face shrinking budgets, tighter timelines, and an ever-growing demand for visual effects that can be rendered or tweaked almost instantly. Legacy OpenVDB workflows, with their heavy storage needs and offline-only approach, simply aren’t designed for real-time iteration, limiting their role in evolving production models like virtual production. These problems become painfully clear on virtual production sets, where teams require high-fidelity effects in real time rather than relying on slow, resource-intensive CGI workflows. ZibraVDB offers a future-aware way to render complex volumetric effects in real time without eternal scene processing and enormous hardware requirements. It could be the next standard in OpenVDB workflows for virtual production, gaming, and beyond, dealing with emerging industry problems and establishing efficient new processes at studios around the world. Why ZibraVDB real-time volumetrics are the future Volumetric effects once relegated to offline processes can now run in real time, thanks to ZibraVDB. The technology has already been adopted by Dimension, ILCA, and other industry leaders, and SideFX supports ZibraVDB in its SideFX Labs add-on tools for Houdini. ZibraVDB doesn’t just modernize volumetric data handling: it redefines it for the era of immediate feedback and budget-conscious production. With near-instant preview and iteration, you can incorporate high-fidelity effects in-camera on set, rather than being tethered to an expensive post-production stage. Powerful file compression for volumetric data As the demand for real-time workflows rises, studios need to rethink their pipelines to stay competitive and cost-efficient. ZibraVDB compression reduces the size of traditional OpenVDB files by up to 98%, drastically cutting down storage requirements and bandwidth overhead.What’s new in ZibraVDB Recent developments have expanded ZibraVDB’s accessibility. Right now, our focus is on widening access and offering deeper flexibility with: An extended trial for indie creators The new free version of ZibraVDB now offers up to five compressions for free, making it possible to convert up to five VDB sequences into .zibravdb format. This means that smaller teams can test real-time volumetrics without up-front licensing fees. It’s ideal for those on the fence, or simply curious about bridging offline and real-time pipelines. Houdini integration in every subscription The Houdini plugin is included in the standard subscription, ensuring that everyone can use ZibraVDB for advanced volumetric effects directly within the leading procedural software, and bringing an instant drag-and-drop workflow between Houdini and Unreal Engine.ZibraVDB Studio subscriptions for custom development and support For larger companies needing an even more tailored approach, ZibraVDB Studio subscriptions offer enterprise-level flexibility. This includes custom feature development, offline licensing, high-touch support, and SDK integrations that adapt to a range of specialized workflows.Whether you’re dealing with substantial data sets or more complex real-time requirements, this tier ensures you have direct support, pipeline consulting, and flexible licensing to match enterprise-scale needs. More details about our offerings for studios and indie artists can be found here. ZibraVDB: the next step in virtual production and gaming These advantages resonate powerfully in virtual production, where compressed data keeps GPU loads light and enables real-time rendering by removing bandwidth bottlenecks. Filmmakers and on-set artists can tweak atmospheric or pyrotechnic effects in seconds, letting them finalize complex shots without endless back-and-forth. CGI pipelines see parallel gains: large files move easily across networks, speeding up work on multiple render nodes. While data is compressed, shifting or archiving assets becomes simpler. This is especially crucial for remote teams or those relying on cloud servers. In gaming, developers can compress volumetric effects for real-time usage, enabling cinematic-quality clouds, fog, or fire to appear without ballooning build sizes. And it’s not just for cutscenes any more: ZibraVDB can also be used for live gameplay. ZibraVDB represents a bold move forward, offering seamless real-time volumetric rendering for virtual production, efficient OpenVDB compression for CGI, and optimized asset sizes for games, cementing its position as a new standard in OpenVDB workflows. With flexible pricing options and extensive opportunities for studios, it is the last missing piece in the Unreal Engine pipeline. Visit the ZibraVDB website for more information on the new pricing and features

New Research Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Altar That May Have Been Used for Ancient Sacrifices in Guatemala Discovered in the ruins of Tikal, the altar sheds light on strained relations between the Maya city and Teotihuacán—which was located more than 600 miles away  An artist's rendering of the altar Heather Hurst / Brown University An intricately decorated altar that may have been used for child sacrifices has been found in the ruins of Tikal, an ancient Maya city located in present-day Guatemala. Researchers say it illustrates an ancient clash between cultures. The rectangular altar was built around the late fourth century, according to a study published this week in the journal Antiquity. Its painted panels of red, yellow and black depict a figure wearing a feathered headdress and dangling circular earrings beside objects that may be royal shields. The figure “closely resembles other depictions of a deity dubbed the ‘Storm God’ in central Mexico,” according to a statement. Based on the altar’s design, researchers hypothesize that its creator was a highly skilled artisan from Teotihuacán, located in present-day Mexico—more than 600 miles away from Tikal. Known today for its ancient Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, Teotihuacán once housed over 100,000 people, while Tikal’s population peaked at around 10,000. The two cities were trading partners. But tensions developed in their relationship, especially when people from Teotihuacán started to move into the area around Tikal. The rectangular altar is nearly six feet long. Edwin Román Ramírez / Brown University “The growing sense of things is that rather than just a few folks coming down from central Mexico to sort of trade or interact at Tikal, they were more deeply embedded in the politics and the daily life,” co-author Andrew Scherer, an archaeologist at Brown University, tells Ailsa Chang of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Historians have been studying the ancient cities’ contentious relationship since the mid-20th century, when they unearthed an inscribed stone detailing some of the tensions at play. It revealed that around 378 C.E., leaders from Teotihuacán exerted control in Tikal. “They removed the king and replaced him with a quisling, a puppet king who proved a useful local instrument to Teotihuacán,” co-author Stephen Houston, an anthropologist at Brown, says in the statement. The newly discovered altar was built during this time. Several years ago, lidar surveys revealed that a small replica of Teotihuacán’s citadel lies just outside Tikal’s center. This research suggested that the people of Teotihuacán had occupied Tikal and were surveilling the city in the years before they took power. The newly discovered altar is the latest piece of evidence for Teotihuacán’s domination of Tikal. A limestone temple at Tikal Brown University “What the altar confirms is that wealthy leaders from Teotihuacán came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city,” Houston adds. “It shows Teotihuacán left a heavy imprint there.” Teotihuacán residential complexes were often made of rooms surrounding a central altar—just like the one found in Tikal, as co-author and excavation leader Lorena Paiz tells the Associated Press’ Sonia Pérez D. Researchers think the altar was used for human sacrifices, “especially of children,” Paiz adds. “The remains of three children not older than 4 years were found on three sides of the altar.” Teotihuacán thrived between 100 B.C.E. and 750 C.E., while Tikal’s peak came between 600 and 800 C.E. Both societies conducted sacrificial rituals as part of their spiritual practices. The new discovery may be “the strongest evidence we have to date, possibly of [Maya] people who were deeply familiar with Teotihuacán culture,” co-author Edwin Román, who leads the South Tikal Archaeological Project, tells Agence France-Presse. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Comcast is introducing the option to choose a five-year price guarantee when customers sign up for a new Xfinity Internet package.Read More