AI Is Coming for These 2 Jobs, Says Tech Investor1 min read·Just now--A prominent tech investor from Benchmark, a firm with a history of backing industry giants, starkly contradicts the prevailing narrative of AI merely “augmenting” human workers.click here to see the full articleVictor Lazarte asserts that artificial intelligence is poised for significant job replacement, specifically highlighting lawyers and recruiters as professions facing imminent disruption. He advises future legal professionals to critically assess their potential roles against the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI in tasks like legal research and document review.click here to see the full articleSimilarly, Lazarte predicts AI will surpass human recruiters in efficiency and effectiveness throughout the hiring process. While acknowledging the potential for AI to supercharge company valuations and productivity with smaller teams, he cautions that this shift could also exacerbate societal inequality and lead to an unprecedented level of reliance on AI guidance in daily life.

The latest expansion for the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet, Journey Together, arrived on March 28, but has been difficult to find at online retailers at prices close to MSRP. While we’d recommend checking with your local games store first, we’ve found Elite Trainer Boxes and Booster Bundles on Amazon. Due to the popularity of this expansion, pricing and availability will fluctuate, but we’ll update this post with additional Journey Together products like Booster Display Boxes and Build-and-Battle Boxes when they become more widely available. Journey Together – Elite Trainer Box An Elite Trainer Box is the best way to quickly build out your collection with cards from any new Pokémon TCG expansion. The $49.99 Journey Together – Elite Trainer Box contains nine Booster Packs, 45 Energy Cards, and a full-art foil promo card featuring N’s Zorua. You’ll also get six damage-counter dice, a pair of plastic condition markers, and 65 card sleeves to keep everything safe. As of the time of writing, you can buy the Elite Trainer Box from Amazon for $70.31. Journey Together – Booster Bundle The most common way to expand your own personal Pokédex in the Pokémon TCG is with Booster Packs, which each contain ten cards from the Journey Together expansion, including four commons, three uncommons, and three foils (with at least one rare). Inside each pack, you’ll also get a random energy card and a redeemable code for Pokémon TCG Live. Individual Booster Packs are currently available for $9.99 but can also be found in six-pack Booster Bundles for around $37.

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy. Tesla shares have been on firmer ground recently, buoyed by the fact that the EV giant is one of the least tariff-exposed automakers in the US. Despite this relatively cushy position, Tesla's supply chains are going through a severe disruptive period, so much so that the automaker has now reportedly canceled its plans to ship parts for the Cybercab and the Semi to the US from China. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, imports from China, including vehicles and auto parts, are currently subject to a 145 percent levy. Semiconductors, smartphones, and electronic items remain an exception for now, bearing just the fentanyl-related tariff of 20 percent. Of course, imports of vehicles and auto parts from other countries remain subject to a 25 percent levy. Do note that President Trump is considering limited tariff exemptions for some auto companies to allow them space to move their supply chains out of Mexico and Canada. Even so, it is unlikely that such exemptions would extend to China. This brings us to the crux of the matter. As per the reporting by Reuters, Tesla has rescinded its plans to ship parts for the Cybercab and the Semi from China, citing stratospheric tariffs on Chinese imports as the raison d'être. The EV giant was previously aiming to start trial production of the two models in October 2025, with mass production originally slated for 2026. The shipping halt, however, has complicated Tesla's production cadence at Texas and Nevada, home to the production lines for the Cybercab and the Semi, respectively. Even though the hardware side of things might not be going too well for Tesla at the moment, the same can't be said for the strides it is taking on the autonomy/software front. The EV giant still intends to roll out a completely autonomous version of the FSD by June, with Elon Musk recently going so far as to say that Tesla vehicles will roll off the factory floor and drive to their owners' houses "this year." Meanwhile, Tesla FSD is also now receiving a resounding endorsement from the famous podcaster Joe Rogan, who thinks it is "wild" and "bananas" that his Tesla "changes lanes to avoid slow traffic, stops at red lights and stop signs, hits the blinkers and turns for you." Deal of the Day

اقتحامات بأنحاء الضفة وهجمات للمستوطنين بأريحا وبيت لحمالجيش الإسرائيلي والمستوطنون صعدوا اعتداءاتهم بالضفة تزامنا مع العدوان على غزة (الفرنسية)16/4/2025-|آخر تحديث: 16/4/202505:20 ص (توقيت مكة)اقتحم الجيش الإسرائيلي مساء الثلاثاء عدة مناطق وبلدات في الضفة الغربية، في وقت نفذ فيه مستوطنون سلسلة اعتداءات ضد السكان الفلسطينيين واستولوا على أغنام، وفق إعلام حكومي وشهود عيان. وقال شهود عيان إن الجيش الإسرائيلي ترافقه جرافة اقتحم المنطقة الشرقية من مدينة نابلس شمالي الضفة الغربية، ونشر جنوده على أسطح المنازل وفي الشوارع وأقام حواجز عسكرية. وأضافوا أن "تلك الإجراءات تستبق عادة اقتحام المستوطنين لقبر يوسف في المدينة، ويرافقها إطلاق طائرات درون في المنطقة". ويوجد "قبر يوسف" في الطرف الشرقي من نابلس الخاضعة للسيطرة الفلسطينية، ويعتبره اليهود مقاما مقدسا منذ احتلال إسرائيل للضفة الغربية عام 1967. ويزعم اليهود أن رفات النبي يوسف بن يعقوب أحضرت من مصر ودفنت في المكان، لكن علماء آثار نفوا صدق الرواية، مبينين أن عمر المقام لا يتجاوز بضعة قرون، وأنه ضريح لشيخ مسلم اسمه يوسف دويكات. وشمالي الضفة، أفادت وكالة الأنباء الرسمية الفلسطينية (وفا) بأن قوات الاحتلال مدعومة بمدرعتين من نوع إيتان، اقتحمت بلدات عنبتا وبلعا وكفر اللبد شرق مدينة طولكرم. إعلان وأضافت أن تلك القوات جابت الشوارع "ونشرت فرق المشاة التي لاحقت الشبان وأوقفت عددا منهم وحققت معهم ميدانيا.. وسط إطلاق قنابل الصوت، دون أن يبلغ عن اعتقالات". أما في وسط الضفة، فذكرت الوكالة أن الجيش الإسرائيلي اقتحم بلدتي المغيّر وسلواد شمالي مدينة رام الله، وهدم خيمة زراعية. وأفادت أن قوات الاحتلال اقتحمت بلدة المغير، وأطلقت قنابل الغاز السام والصوت دون أن يبلغ عن إصابات، ثم اقتحمت بلدة سلواد المجاورة. وأردفت أن تلك القوات "هدمت خيمة زراعية في المغير.. وأخطرت مالكها بعدم نصبها مرة أخرى. اعتداءات مستوطنين على صعيد اعتداءات المستوطنين، قالت منظمة "البيدر للدفاع عن حقوق البدو" -في بيان- إن "مستوطنين استولوا على قطيع أغنام يملكه مواطن غرب مدينة أريحا (وسط)". وأضافت أن مستوطنين قاموا "بسرقة قطيع تعداده نحو 250 رأسا من الماعز تعود ملكيته لمواطن من سكان منطقة نبع وادي القلط غرب مدينة أريحا". ونقل البيان عن المشرف العام للمنظمة حسن مليحات قوله إن المستوطنين "اعتدوا على الشاب سامي ياسر نجوم (19 عامًا)، أثناء رعيه أغنامه وقاموا بضربه بوحشية، وتحطيم هاتفه الشخصي، قبل أن يسرقوا القطيع بالكامل ويفروا من المكان". وأضاف مليحات، أن "هذا الاعتداء يأتي في سياق ممنهج من الانتهاكات التي تستهدف الوجود الفلسطيني في المناطق الرعوية، وخاصة في الأغوار، بهدف التضييق على السكان البدو ودفعهم للرحيل قسرًا". وشمالي مدينة أريحا، قالت المنظمة -في بيان منفصل- إن "مستوطنين دهموا تجمع عرب المليحات من الجهات الشمالية والشرقية والجنوبية مستخدمين سياراتهم الخاصة.. في مشهد بث الذعر بين السكان". وفي حدث منفصل جنوبي الضفة، قالت المنظمة إن مستوطنين "اعتدوا مساء الثلاثاء على رعاة واستولوا على أغنامهم شرق مدينة بيت لحم (جنوب)". وأضافت أن مستوطنين "اعتدوا بالضرب على رعاة أغنام في قرية كيسان، وسرقوا عددا من رؤوس الأغنام، قبل أن يفروا باتجاه المستوطنات المقامة في المنطقة". إعلان يشار إلى أنه بالتوازي مع حربه على غزة منذ السابع من أكتوبر/تشرين الأول 2023، صعد الجيش الإسرائيلي والمستوطنون اعتداءاتهم بالضفة الغربية، بما فيها القدس الشرقية، مما أدى إلى استشهاد أكثر من 948 فلسطينيا، وإصابة قرابة 7 آلاف، واعتقال 16 ألفا و400 فلسطيني، وفق تقارير فلسطينية رسمية. المصدر : الجزيرة + الأناضول

قال مسؤولو شركات عقارية مشاركة في معرض «آي بي إس 2025» العقاري، إن المعارض من الممكّنات المهمة لتنمية المبيعات العقارية في أسواق الإمارة، مع استقطابها للزوار المهتمين بالاستثمار في العقارات من داخل الدولة والمنطقة والعالم، كما أنها من المحفزات التي تدعم نشاط الوسطاء العقاريين من المواطنين. وأوضحوا لـ«الإمارات اليوم» - على هامش فعاليات الدورة الـ21 من المعرض، الذي انطلقت فعالياته في مركز دبي التجاري العالمي - أن المعارض العقارية، خصوصاً التي تشمل مشاركات دولية لشركات استثمارات عقارية، تسهم في تعزيز مكانة دبي العقارية، كما أنها سوق مفتوحة في مكان واحد للمستثمرين، مشددين على أهمية التوسع في المعارض التي تتيح مشاركة الوسطاء والشركات المواطنة. وتفصيلاً، قالت مديرة شركة «ذي بريم أدريس بروبريتي»، ميرا جمعة آل علي، لـ«الإمارات اليوم»: «تعد المعارض العقارية من الممكنات المهمة للشركات العقارية المحلية، لتنمية المبيعات وتنشيطها، وذلك عبر إتاحتها منصات مفتوحة تجمع المستثمرين، والوسطاء، وشركات التطوير العقاري». وأضافت أن «معرض (آي بي إس) أظهر مدى مكانة دبي العقارية المتطورة، سواء أمام الشركات الدولية المشاركة، أو أمام الزوار والمستثمرين من داخل الدولة وخارجها»، مشددة على أهمية التوسع في المعارض العقارية التي تتيح مشاركة الوسطاء والشركات المواطنة لعرض خدماتها وزيادة مبيعاتها من العقارات. من جانبه، قال المدير والمؤسس لـ«شركة بيناكلز العقارية»، سلطان الكتبي، إن «المعارض العقارية مهمة ومفيدة للشركات العقارية في دعم المبيعات بمعدلات أكبر، كما تشكل منصة وسوقاً مفتوحة تجمع بين الوسطاء والمستثمرين وشركات التطوير العقارية»، لافتاً إلى أن «العديد من المستثمرين يفضلون التواصل المباشر مع الشركات والوسطاء العقاريين، خصوصاً في اللقاءات الأولية، وهو ما تتيحه مثل هذه المعارض العقارية». ورأى أن «المعارض العقارية تعد أيضاً من المحفزات التي تدعم نشاط الوسطاء العقاريين من المواطنين، عبر تخصيص منصات لهم، ما يدعم أعمالهم ورفع حصص مبيعاتهم». وتابع: «على الرغم من النشاط الكبير الذي تشهده أسواق دبي خلال الفترة الأخيرة في مبيعات العقارات، فإن ذلك لا يغني عن الاستمرار في تنظيم معارض متخصصة في القطاع العقاري، خصوصاً التي تجمع مشاركات دولية، مثل معرض (أي بي إس)، الذي يعزز من الصورة الإيجابية لمكانة دبي العقارية عالمياً، مع استعراض المشروعات المطروحة من المطورين العقاريين، ومدى تطور المبادرات المطروحة من الجهات المنظمة للقطاع العقاري». في السياق نفسه، اتفق رئيس تطوير الأعمال في شركة «أوبجكت ون»، إسماعيل قاسانوف، على أن المعارض العقارية من الأنشطة المهمة لتحفيز نشاط العقارات في الأسواق المحلية. وقال: «المشهد العمراني في دبي يتطور بوتيرة متسارعة، وأولئك الذين يضعون المرونة والامتثال والاستدامة في صميم استراتيجياتهم الاستثمارية، سيكونون في أفضل موقع لمواجهة التقلبات واغتنام فرص تحقيق القيمة المستدامة». وتابع: «سوق العقارات في دبي لم تعد مجرد بناء هياكل، بل أصبحت تتعلق ببناء المستقبل، فالرؤية طويلة الأمد للمدينة التي توجهها (خطة دبي الحضرية 2040)، تعطي الأولوية للرفاهية، وجودة الحياة، والبنية التحتية الحضرية الذكية، وبحلول عام 2040، تهدف دبي إلى مضاعفة المساحات الخضراء والمرافق الترفيهية، وزيادة المساحات المخصصة للتعليم والصحة، وضمان أن يعيش 55% من السكان على بُعد لا يتجاوز 800 متر من وسائل النقل العام». وأكد أن «هذه الأهداف تعيد تشكيل الطريقة التي يخطط بها المطورون العقاريون، والطريقة التي يقيم بها المستثمرون المشاريع المستقبلية». واتفقت رئيسة التسويق والمبيعات في «الاتحاد العقارية»، تانيا ميلز، على أن المعارض العقارية من العوامل المهمة التي تحفز نمو المبيعات، وتعزز من مكانة دبي العقارية، وتتيح منصة مفتوحة تجمع المستثمرين والمطورين لعرض أبرز المشروعات العقارية والفرص الاستثمارية الجديدة. وجهة للمختصين والمستثمرين قال رئيس معرض «آي بي إس»، داود الشيزواي، إن «المعارض تحفز مبيعات العقارات بمعدلات أكبر عبر استعراض مشروعات المطورين، ووجود المستثمرين والوسطاء في مكان واحد». وأضاف أن «معرض (آي بي إس) - الذي يجمع العديد من الشركات الدولية المتخصصة في العقارات من نحو 85 جنسية - يعزز مكانة دبي وجهة مميزة للمختصين والمستثمرين في القطاع العقاري».

Are you searching for the Upgrade Disks in Blue Prince? These are some of the most useful items in the game, as they allow you to choose from various perks that apply to rooms in the manor. That said, they're scattered all over the estate, so finding all of them can take you a while. Oh, and before we continue with this guide, do take note that there will be a few spoilers.How to get all Upgrade Disks in Blue Prince - Upgrade Disk locations guideThere are over a dozen Upgrade Disks in Blue Prince, and each one provides perks for certain rooms that you draft. If you have one in your inventory, you can make use of it by going in front of a computer terminal in specific rooms--i.e. Security, Laboratory, Office, and Shelter. You should see a prompt to use the Upgrade Disk on the computer.However, as with many things in the game, randomization does apply. As such, you might get an Upgrade Disk in a particular location, only to realize that the boosts that it provides are for an entirely different room.In any case, our Blue Prince Upgrade Disks guide is organized based on locations. We start off with those that can be found in the manor, followed by those in outer rooms and the Underground. We've also included links to related guides in case the steps to get these objects are more convoluted than usual. List of room upgrades in Blue PrinceBelow are some of the perks that you can get from Blue Prince Upgrade Disks. Note that you can only select one. These will have a near-permanent effect, though there may be a workaround, which we discuss later in our guide.Spare Room (changes the color of the room):Spare BedroomSpare GreenroomSpare HallSpare Room (additional upgrade) - You can get other room types depending on what you chose earlier. For instance, we chose Spare Greenroom, and the next upgrade choices we got were:Spare Veranda - Greater chance of finding items in green rooms.Spare Terrace - Green rooms do not cost gems to draft.Spare Patio - Spread gems in each green room.Guest Bedroom:Guess Bedroom - Gain the hidden effect of a random bedroom in your draft pool.Quest Bedroom - Add +2 gold to your allowance if you enter the Antechamber today.Geist Bedroom - +2 Ivory Dice; gain +4 extra Ivory Dice if you drafted the Tomb outside on the same day.Nook:Nook - Have +2 keys instead of just one.Breakfast Nook - Have bacon and eggs (additional steps) served in this room.Reading Nook - Always draw the Library when drafting in this room.Mail Room:Same Day Delivery - The package will automatically be delivered here when you reach row/rank 8.No Contact Delivery - The package will be dropped off at the Entrance Hall the next day after you draft this room.Freight Shipping - A very large package will be delivered in the Mail Room three days after you draft it.Courtyard:Gems - Gain +2 gems.Dig Spots - Gain +5 dig spots.Corriyard - All doors in the Courtyard are always left unlocked.Boudoir:Gems - Gain +1 gem.Ivory Dice - Gain +2 Ivory Dice.Food - Gain +3 apples.Cloister:Cloister of Joya - Permanently adds +5 steps to the main course for each Kitchen, Pantry, or Furnace that you draft from the Cloister.Cloister of Veia - Find eight dirt piles in each room with a fireplace that you draft from the Cloister.Cloister of Rynna - Increases your luck--i.e. chance of finding items--with each green room that you draft from the Cloister.Parlor:Gems - Gain an extra gem as a prize.Wind-up Keys - Have an extra Wind-up Key.Funeral Parlor - The gem prize is equal to the number of active red rooms in the manor. If you open an empty box, you lose -30 steps.Storeroom - The number of default resources gets changed:Option 1 - +2 keys, +1 gem, and +1 gold.Option 2 - +1 key, +2 gems, and +1 gold.Option 3 - +1 key, +1 gem, and +10 gold.Bunk Room:Option 1 - If you have exactly two hallways when drafting this room, double your keys.Option 2 - If you have exactly two green rooms when drafting this room, double your gems.Option 3 - If you have exactly two shops when drafting this room, double your gold.Hallway:Option 1 - +1 key.Option 2 - +1 locked trunk.Option 3 - Add an extra Hallway to tomorrow's draft pool.Nursery:Nursery - Whenever you draft a bedroom, gain +8 steps instead of just +5.Nurse's Station - If you have less than 10 steps when you enter this room, set your steps to 20 instead.Indoor Nursery - Whenever you draft a green room, +2 gems will appear in this room.Closet:Hallway Closet - +1 extra item when drafted adjoined to a hallway.Bedroom Closet - +2 extra items when drafted adjoined to a bedroom.Empty Closet - Contains no items by default; +4 items if drafted adjoined to a red room.Billiards Room:Speakeasy - Reverts all puzzles to simple addition.Break Room - Ending the day here automatically places a Keycard in your inventory on your next run.Pool Hall - Adds the Great Hall, Foyer, and Secret Passage to today's draft pool.Aquarium:Goldfish Aquarium - Gain +10 gold.Starfish Aquarium - +1 star.Electric Eel Aquarium - Becomes a power source, akin to an activated Boiler Room. Upgrade Disks inside the manorHere are some of the Blue Prince Upgrade Disks found in the rooms that you draft inside the manor:Commissary - Sometimes sold in the Commissary.Office - Found inside the drawer.Garage - Find the Car Keys and open the trunk.Foundation - Activate the elevator and go down. The disk is on one of the cardboard boxes.Great Hall - Found inside one of the locked rooms.Morning Room - On the shelf next to the condiments.Her Ladyship's Chamber - This room can only appear among the options if you're drafting it along the far-left side (i.e. column 1), and you're opening a path to the south. The disk is on the dresser next to the diary.Vault - Collect Vault Keys so you can open Deposit Boxes. One of these contains an Upgrade Disk.Archives - One of the File Cabinet Keys that you obtain opens a drawer that has this item.Freezer - You must draft the Freezer close to a powered-up Furnace or a Sauna. This will cause the temperature to rise in the room, melting the ice wall at the back. Upgrade Disks from the outer roomsYou can also find a few Upgrade Disks from the rooms that you draft outside the mansion. These require you to unlock the West Gate Path/Garage Door.Tomb - Bring something that can light torches/candles. Light the two candelabras with gems to reveal a hidden nook. There's also another pair of candelabras that you can light at the other side of the chamber.Trading Post #1 - Similar to the above, you also need something that can light torches/candles. This time, though, you need to light the stick of dynamite. This reveals a hidden section with an Upgrade Disk and a distillery.Trading Post #2 - Upgrade Disks can sometimes appear as options when trading in your rare items. Upgrade Disks in the UndergroundYou can find some Upgrade Disks in the Underground:Roundtable Altar - Drain the Fountain or open the way through the Tomb. You should see an altar with a sigil that's surrounded by several candelabras. Don't forget to light these candles, too. Upgrade Disks from Found FloorplansThere are a few Blue Prince Upgrade Disks that only come from rooms that are not available by default. Instead, you must first acquire their respective Floorplans:Lost and Found - This object might show up in this room. Just watch out because you will lose two other items whenever you enter the Lost and Found.Mechanarium - One of the extra rooms in the Mechanarium contains an Upgrade Disk. You can learn more about these details in our Mechanarium Puzzle guide. How to change room upgrades in Blue PrinceGenerally speaking, room upgrades tend to be permanent... or almost. That's because a workaround has been found by Discord user Lokyndra. Here's how you can change your room upgrades in Blue Prince:You must draft a Trading Post.You need to have high-end items, such as the Master Key or Emerald Bracelet, which can be purchased via the Showroom or picked up in the Lost and Found.There's a chance that, when you trade these items in the Trading Post, you'll see an Upgrade Disk as an option.If the game randomly selects a room that you've already upgraded, then it's possible to reroll the perks.This might be viable in case of certain rooms, such as the Billiards Room with Speakeasy--i.e. revert all math problems to simple addition. The Speakeasy is great for completing 40 of these puzzles to get the Bullseye Trophy. That said, you might want to switch to the Break Room upgrade later so you can get a free Keycard at the start of your runs.In any case, these are the Upgrade Disks that we've found so far in Blue Prince. We'll keep you posted in case we discover others, so stay tuned.A surreal adventure filled with wonders and mysteries await you in Blue Prince. If ever you feel stuck or lost at any point in time in your playthrough, don't forget to check our Blue Prince guides hub.

There's certainly no shortage of villains in the world of My Hero Academia, but while many of them are little more than troublesome roadblocks for the heroes to overcome, others would go on to have a tremendous impact on the wider story. Though the villains only make a few brief appearances here and there in the early arcs of Midoriya's epic journey, they become much more prevalent and dangerous as the story goes on, with the stakes rising higher and higher in the process.

With just seven days to go in an abbreviated two-week campaign, Steamforged has more than met its goal for Helldivers 2: The Board Game. At time of writing the campaign for the one-to-four-player tactical action game has achieved more than 2,000% of its stated goal, strolling in at the equivalent of $1.6 million. Delivery is promised some time in 2026. But look closely and you’ll see something new in the world of pre-ordering boxes of plastic and cardboard — a note of warning about the Trump administration’s new tariffs on imported goods. If you’ve backed a crowdfunding campaign before, you’re likely familiar with the now standard statement on risks and challenges. Steamforged’s entry here is fairly light, with a note about how they soldiered on for years now, through the pandemic and other pitfalls, to deliver what they promised and then some to their backers. Below that you’ve got a note on refunds and cancellations. Steamforged has opted into Gamefound’s Stable Pledge program, which in its own words “guarantees a full refund to backers if the change in any price estimates after the campaign’s end is bigger than 10%.” You can read more about this novel part of the Gamefound ecosystem at their website. Scroll up a bit and you’ll also find a lengthy section on shipping, which lists notes about all the countries where this British company is willing to send its wares. It’s a massive list, with around 60 different countries where the game can be delivered. For a crowdfunding campaign for a game that hasn’t even been completely finished yet, and which is due to ship no later than next year, that’s a massive commitment. It speaks to the company’s experience with logistics as well. They’ve done this before, and they’ll likely do it again. But then there’s the paragraph that comes immediately below that: With the current uncertainty around US tariffs, there’s no way to fully predict what the situation will be when this game ships in late 2026. Right now, we can’t be certain US tariffs will be covered by our customs-free goal. However, we always strive to do what’s best for our backers. We’ve been covering all duties for the campaigns we’re currently fulfilling, and we’ll continue to assess projects on a case-by-case basis. This is the opposite of a promise. It is, in fact, a warning that the current administration is behaving in unpredictable ways, ways that are counter to established practices that have been in place in the board game world for decades. President Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, which are a tax on imported goods, could potentially raise the cost of imported board games, too — potentially including Helldivers 2: The Board Game  —  by more than 100% of their retail value. And if it does, you the consumer may be called upon to pay some of that difference. Or, perhaps, all of that difference. Don’t get it twisted: I’m not pointing a finger of blame at Steamforged here. Far from it. In fact, I think this is an excellent and just statement of fact, one that gives fair warning to would-be consumers and collaborators on an already exciting project. Nevertheless, for U.S.-based consumers this is the new reality that we live in. Get ready to read your crowdfunding campaigns a lot more closely going forward.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.If you’ve ever painted a room in your house or apartment, you know the pain of storing leftover paint. You pour the excess from the rolling pan into the paint can, you tap the lid back into place with a hammer, and you stick the old can somewhere out of the way, where you promptly forget about it. Then the day comes when you need to touch up the room or repaint it entirely, and you haul that old can out from its hiding place, only to discover that time has not been kind to your paint.If your old paint hasn’t aged well—it’s skinned over, chunky, or otherwise dubious—but you really don’t want to spend money on a fresh can just to do some touch up work, you can try to revive the paint. This happened to me recently: I had an old five-gallon bucket of gray paint with about a gallon of paint left in it, and when I opened it up, it looked like this: My old, chunky gray paint Credit: Jeff Somers But I didn’t want to run out to buy a fresh gallon for a small job, so I decided to bring this paint back to life. First, a few quick caveats: Not all paint can be brought back to life. It needs to be mostly liquid, even if it’s chunky and skinned over—if it’s totally hardened, just toss it in the trash. A few other things to check for:Mold. If you open the can and it smells like mildew (or worse) or has a growth on it, it’s not usable—even if you mix it up and get it into usable shape, you will be painting mold spores onto your walls. While modern paints typically contain biocides to inhibit mold growth for years, various climate conditions or storage variables can impact their effectiveness.Thinned. If you have already thinned the paint with water (for water-based paints) or paint thinner (for oil-based paints), you probably won’t be able to bring it back.Frozen. If the paint froze at any point, it’s probably done for. Paint that froze up will have a “cottage cheese” texture to it.If you see these signs, toss the paint and resign yourself to buying a fresh can. Otherwise, come with me on a paint-resurrection adventure.How to revive old paintMy paint had never been thinned, and while it was chunky, it was still liquid. It didn’t smell bad, so I thought I had a pretty good shot at bringing it back. Here’s what you need on hand to try this: Everything you need to revive your old paint. Credit: Jeff Somers Bucket. This is where you’ll collect the revived paint.Screen. You can buy disposable paint filters or paint filter bags, but you can also use an old aluminum window screen, or a piece of fiberglass screen. I happened to have a bunch of fiberglass screen left over from another project, so I cut a piece of that.Drill with paddle bit. You can stir the paint manually, but it’s a lot easier to get a paddle attachment for your drill.Paint thinner. If your paint is water-based, you can thin it with some warm water. Mine is oil-based, so I need paint thinner—I had mineral spirits on hand, so I used that.Painter’s tape. Any tape at all, really, but painter’s tape is easiest to work with here.Once you have all your materials, your first step is to thin the paint a little. Add a small amount of water or paint thinner, then stir the paint, starting off at a low setting and increasing the power gradually. Thinning my paint with some mineral spirits. Credit: Jeff Somers Stirring out some of the chunks in the paint. Credit: Jeff Somers This should eliminate the worst of the chunks in there. How much to thin the paint is more art than science—you don’t want to over-thin it and make it watery. I didn’t try to eliminate every single chunk of hardened paint and was very conservative with the thinner. You can always add a little more and repeat the stirring, but you can’t remove excess thinner after you’ve poured it in.Next, you screen the paint. Attach your screen to your bucket—in my case, I just wrapped the fiberglass screen around the lid and taped it into place: My high-tech paint screening device. Credit: Jeff Somers Then, I poured the partially thinned paint into the bucket through the filter: Screening my paint. Credit: Jeff Somers I let the paint drip through the filter for a few minutes. This screened out the remaining chunks, leaving me with a supply of usable paint in my bucket: My thinned, screened, and stirred paint, ready to use. Credit: Jeff Somers I didn’t need much; honestly, if you’re going to repaint the whole room, you probably shouldn’t rely on old paint you’ve thinned and screened. But for a small touch-up job, this spared me from having to run out and buy a fresh can of paint. It worked well, the paint adhered without problems and matched up reasonably well with the old coat. I plan to prime and paint the room again next year, so it doesn’t have to last forever, either. Once I was done, I disposed of the remnants at my city’s recycling center so it’s no longer haunting my closet.

In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg floated the idea of spinning out Instagram, one of the remedies the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will likely seek in Meta's antitrust trial that began this week. CNBC reported on Tuesday that the comments from an email thread with executives came to light in Washington, DC. "I'm beginning to wonder whether spinning Instagram out is the only structure that will accomplish a number of important goals," Zuckerberg wrote in the email. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway." His estimate, made six years ago, ended up being spot-on. "On the flip side, while most companies resist breakups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up," Zuckerberg added in the same email, according to The New York Times. It's Zuckerberg's second day of testimony in the trial, which stemmed from a 2020 government lawsuit against Meta (then still known as Facebook). The FTC argues that the company's purchases of Instagram (for $1 billion in 2012) and WhatsApp (for $19 billion in 2014) hurt competition. If the trial goes the FTC's way, it will likely ask the judge to break up Meta by selling off one or both of the apps. Last April, Meta moved to dismiss the case, but US District Judge James Boasberg allowed it to proceed with a narrower scope. On the stand on Tuesday, the Meta CEO reportedly defended the company's Instagram purchase as the result of a standard cost-benefit examination. "We were doing a build-vs.-buy analysis," Zuckerberg said. "I thought that Instagram was better at that [than Facebook's Camera app], so I thought it was better to buy them." "Building a new app is hard," he said when asked on the stand why he was intent on buying Instagram. "We’ve probably tried building dozens of apps over the history of the company, and the majority of them don’t go anywhere." Other details that came to light on Tuesday include a 2013 email in which Zuckerberg told executives to block Asian competitors Kakao and WeChat from advertising on Facebook. "Those companies are trying to build social networks and replace us," he wrote. "The revenue is immaterial to us compared to any risk."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-predicted-metas-antitrust-trial-in-a-2018-email-205719635.html?src=rss