Macworld For all the optimism when it launched, it’s pretty clear that Apple doesn’t really know what to do with the iPad these days. You can’t kill off a product that brings in $8 billion in a good quarter and effortlessly dominates its market, but by the company’s lofty standards, the iPad has never been a true commercial blockbuster and likely never will. It’s also difficult to market a device with two distinct audiences: creative professionals, who are relatively few in number, and casual users, who upgrade once in a blue moon and avoid the higher-margin models. Overall, it’s a bit of a nightmare. Last week a report from Bloomberg leaker Mark Gurman pointed to one possible solution: Apple is going to make the iPad a whole lot more like the Mac. In the iPadOS 19 update, which will be announced at WWDC25 this June, the company will reportedly address “productivity, multitasking, and app window management” by adopting elements of macOS’s interface and navigation. Not by installing macOS on iPads, to be clear, but by bringing iPadOS closer to macOS. Details remain rather vague at this point, and as usual, we must point out that plans can change and that radical makeovers of this sort are prone to be shelved when the going gets tough. But my reaction to the idea as it stands right now is twofold: something definitely needs to change, and this could go very, very wrong. Partly I’m worried that what works on one hardware format won’t necessarily work on another. The Mac’s windowing system evolved as the easiest system to navigate using a mouse and keyboard, not a touchscreen. (The iPad can use a mouse and keyboard as optional accessories, of course, but its OS still needs to work primarily via touch.) If it was that easy to cross formats, we would have had a hybrid Mac/iPad a long time ago. But my biggest concern comes down to that bifurcated market I mentioned earlier. Most creative pros are not merely Mac users but Mac power users, accustomed to getting the most out of Apple’s most advanced desktops and laptops, and I’m sure this group of customers will appreciate the iPad getting a Mac-style window management system (assuming it’s done right). But the majority of iPad owners are, I would argue, far less comfortable with complex interfaces and indeed choose to use Apple’s tablet in preference to a MacBook or big-screen iPhone precisely because of its simplicity. They don’t want to drill down through file management structures or tweak settings at a granular level. The iPad’s selling point for most customers is its lack of faff. Maybe Cupertino has decided it doesn’t want to pursue the casual tablet market any longer. That wouldn’t be entirely out of character: the launch of the iPhone 16e earlier this year implied a willingness to abandon the budget smartphone market and focus on a smaller number of more profitable sales at the middle and upper end. Casual iPad users tend to buy the cheapest model and then hang on to it for many years, and it would be understandable if Apple decided to let Samsung or OnePlus have that market. I can’t imagine pro tablet users are numerous enough to bring in $8 billion per quarter, but focusing on that segment rather than the tablet market as a whole would free up resources for other areas of interest. What’s more likely is that the iPad lineup will split in two. The simplest approach would be to make the new Mac-esque productivity features and windows management system in iPadOS 19 an M-series chip exclusive, optional, and activated by default on devices that support it. Hence, an iPad Pro out of the box would behave more like a Mac, while letting you go back to the classic interface if you wish, perhaps when you don’t have access to a separate mouse and/or keyboard. Budget iPad and iPad mini owners, meanwhile, would never realize anything had changed. Apple would start to approach the iPad as two separate products, which it effectively has been since the first iPad Pro came out in 2015, but the branding to anyone outside the company would remain unified. It would be a matter of selling the interface refresh as an upgrade. A bolder strategy would be to actually start branding the standard and Pro iPads as separate lines. You could split them at the OS level, much as Apple divided iOS and iPadOS in 2019, and call the new interface… createOS, perhaps. You could go further and split the hardware too, and stop using the iPad brand for one section of the lineup. I’d love to see Apple launch a new MacPad at WWDC25 as a replacement for the iPad Pro, then market that as the tool of choice for creative pros on the go. Too big to kill, too awkward to love, Cupertino’s red-headed stepchild needs a new approach, and soon. Keeping the iPad the same risks alienating pro users, while bringing it closer to the Mac risks alienating everyone else. Maybe the time is ripe to accept that the iPad is two products, not one, and treat it as such. Foundry Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too. Trending: Top stories Apple is doomed because it can’t have any fun anymore. How will Apple improve its AI while protecting your privacy? You’re going to hate the new iOS 19 design, and that’s okay. This custom Apple Pencil Pro looks like a crayon and costs $215. Reviews corner Best Mac backup software: Top backup apps compared. Shure MV7i review: An all-in-one mic for podcasts and music. CalDigit Thunderbolt 5 Element 5 Hub review: Easily our top-rated Thunderbolt 5 hub/mini dock. The rumor mill The iPad update of our dreams is finally coming (we hope). Apple is working on a new Vision headset made for the Mac. Software updates, bugs, and problems Apple Maps on the web expands access to more devices and browsers. And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters, including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, or X for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

The US reciprocal tariffs war is beginning to hit the Indian IT industry, with contracts getting delayed as customers adopt a wait-and-watch approach. Some of the country’s top tech services exporters — including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, and Wipro — have begun to show signs of strain, as revealed in their recent quarterly earnings calls. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest IT services provider, has flagged growing uncertainty, which it said started in February but has now begun to impact project timelines and client decision-making. K. Krithivasan, CEO and MD at TCS, while announcing the quarterly results, stated that while the overall business environment was positive till February, the company started witnessing some amount of uncertainty since March. This has resulted in some project delays and some ramp-downs. “The Consumer Business Group saw heightened caution and delays in discretionary projects, especially in the US. This was driven by the significant drop in consumer sentiment in February, which preceded changes in global trade and tariffs, creating a domino effect on retail CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) and TTH (Travel, Transport, and Hospitality) industries,” he said. Wipro is facing a similar heat from the US tariff announcement. While the company started the January 2025 quarter on a positive note, gradually during the quarter, the sentiments turned negative, and the company started witnessing the impact in the US as well as the European market. This is because of the tariff hike and the anticipation around that, which had a cascading impact, Srinivas Pallia, CEO & MD of Wipro, said during the company’s recent analyst call. He also acknowledged that some of the clients in Europe have also slowed down transformation projects, and want to relook at the timelines at this point in time. Infosys, on the other hand, said that its clients have started experiencing tariff pressures, but that hasn’t led to any impact on any existing client discussions. Neil Shah, Vice President Research at Counterpoint Research, said the mounting pressure for onshoring from the US government, beginning with tariffs on goods, will tend to impact IT outsourcing and offshoring – sectors where US firms have long relied on global partners like TCS due to talent gaps, global reach, and cost competitiveness. Experts also said that many companies want to wait out the 90-day tariff hold and reassess their IT spending once the US trade posture becomes clearer. “The biggest challenge for IT budgets is uncertainty.  That being said, projects that are focused on cost reduction, exponential efficiency, and regulatory compliance are still being funded,” said Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder at Constellation Research. The 90-day pause: No relief yet The 90-day pause of tariffs by the White House was meant to give companies some breathing room. However, the reality on the ground is starkly different as it has deepened hesitation among enterprise clients, triggering deal delays, project suspensions, and a slowdown in digital transformation spending. “We were doing a large SAP program, which was very critical for the client, and this was in the consumer sector. And when the client heard about the tariff situation, they were bang in the middle of that, and they put the whole program on pause. Not because they don’t want to do the program, but they wanted to understand, get the certainties of the tariff situation,” said Pallia of Wipro. Even Krithivasan of TCS added that there would be delays in decision-making on discretionary spend if this uncertainty continues. “There are two types of IT services contracts – ‘run the business’ and ‘grow the business.’ ‘Run the business’ will continue while ‘grow the business,’ which is dependent on discretionary spending, will be impacted. Clients might prefer shorter deals for ‘grow the business.’ For ‘run the business,’ clients will expect cost optimization with GenAI, so the contract value of these deals may come down,” said Pareekh Jain,  CEO at EIIRTrend & Pareekh Consulting. Jain said that contrary to the belief that there will be an increase in discretionary spending and more contracts in growth the business with GenAI, but that looks doubtful because of tariff uncertainty. What happens after the tariff pause ends? The biggest question remains: what happens once the 90-day tariff hold ends? If tariffs are reinstated — or even expanded — could it potentially lead to contract renegotiations or client attrition? There can be significant near-term structural shifts in how US firms engage with IT companies, driven by government pressure for onshoring and increasing market volatility. In the long term, the potential for AI to reduce reliance on outsourced IT services can add another layer of transformation, said Shah. Wang of Constellation Research said up to two-thirds of the pending contracts would be in this limbo due to tariff uncertainties. Shah of Counterpoint Research said there is a potential 10-20% impact on future growth opportunities due to the current tariff wars and potential rising inflation in the US, necessitating TCS and other firms to be astute with more flexible engagement models to protect the pipeline until the tariff situation stabilizes. The IT companies are learning to navigate a world where trade policy, not technology, has emerged as the biggest disruptor. Amidst all the uncertainty, TCS is hopeful that FY26 will be better than FY25. Infosys is looking to expand in other geographies, such as Japan, in addition to the work the company has been doing in the US.

This year has been rough for climate technology: Companies have canceled, downsized, or shut down at least 16 large-scale projects worth $8 billion in total in the first quarter of 2025, according to a new report. That’s far more cancellations than have typically occurred in recent years, according to a new report from E2, a nonpartisan policy group. The trend is due to a variety of reasons, including drastically revised federal policies. In recent months, the White House has worked to claw back federal investments, including some of those promised under the Inflation Reduction Act. New tariffs on imported goods, including those from China (which dominates supply chains for batteries and other energy technologies), are also contributing to the precarious environment. And demand for some technologies, like EVs, is lagging behind expectations.  E2, which has been tracking new investments in manufacturing and large-scale energy projects, is now expanding its regular reports to include project cancellations, shutdowns, and downsizings as well.  From August 2022 to the end of 2024, 18 projects were canceled, closed, or downsized, according to E2’s data. The first three months of 2025 have already seen 16 projects canceled. “I wasn’t sure it was going to be this clear,” says Michael Timberlake, communications director of E2. “What you’re really seeing is that there’s a lot of market uncertainty.” Despite the big number, it is not comprehensive. The group only tracks large-scale investments, not smaller announcements that can be more difficult to follow. The list also leaves out projects that companies have paused. “The incredible uncertainty in the clean energy sector is leading to a lot of projects being canceled or downsized, or just slowed down,” says Jay Turner, a professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College. Turner leads a team that also tracks the supply chain for clean energy in the US in a database called the Big Green Machine. Some turnover is normal, and there have been a lot of projects announced since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022—so there are more in the pipeline to potentially be canceled, Turner says. So many battery and EV projects were announced that supply would have exceeded demand “even in a best-case scenario,” Turner says. So some of the project cancellations are a result of right-sizing, or getting supply and demand in sync. Other projects are still moving forward, with hundreds of manufacturing facilities under construction or operational. But it’s not as many as we’d see in a more stable policy landscape, Turner says. The cancellations include a factory in Georgia from Aspen Aerogels, which received a $670 million loan commitment from the US Department of Energy in October. The facility would have made materials that can help prevent or slow fires in battery packs. In a February earnings call, executives said the company plans to focus on an existing Rhode Island facility and projects in other countries, including China and Mexico. Aspen Aerogels didn’t respond to a request for further comment.  Hundreds of projects that have been announced in just the last few years are under construction or operational despite the wave of cancellations. But it is an early sign of growing uncertainty for climate technology.   “You’re seeing a business environment that’s just unsure what’s next and is hesitant to commit one way or another,” Timberlake says.

The European Union denies that it has been holding off on fining firms including Apple and Meta because of concerns of reprisals from Trump.An EU flag with the App Store logoReports began in January 2025 that the European Union and the European Commission were holding off on fines and rulings as they waited to see the impact of the Trump administration. Then more recently, it was specifically claimed that a decision to announce fines had been delayed at the last moment.That delay was said to be in order to avoid announcing fines while officials from various EU member states were meeting with Trump to negotiate on tariffs. According to Politico, the EU has now publicly stated that it will enforce its Digital Markets Act (DMA) on any infringing company, whether in the US or not. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Join the world’s largest celebration of architectural concepts, images and ideas — and see your work published in print and online! Now open for entries, Architizer’s Vision Awards recognizes the radical ideas shaping the future of the built environment. This prestigious awards program celebrates outstanding architectural visions, with accolades dedicated to the year’s best conceptual architecture, renderings, photography, video, drawings, models and more. Whether your work encompasses an entire conceptual project or a single image, your vision deserves to be recognized — what matters most is the clarity, imagination and creative vision behind the work. Get started on your submission today, and complete it before Midnight PT on May 9th, 2025 to secure your Early Bird discount: Enter the Vision Awards See Your Work Published in Print and Online The Vision Awards are hosted by Architizer.com, the largest online community of architects in the world, with an audience 7+ million strong. Entries are judged by distinguished industry luminaries in a variety of disciplines, as well as by Architizer’s editorial team. Finalists and winners will be recognized as the year’s most influential architectural visionaries in their respective fields and receive year-round recognition for their work. The Vision Awards provides a unique opportunity to see your work published in our upcoming print publication, How to Visualize Architecture, an essential guide to architectural storytelling for design professionals around the globe. Stay tuned for more details on this brand new book! Winners will also receive: Global editorial coverage: Inclusion in the Winners Announcement and The Visionary 100 on Architizer.com, providing lifelong visibility for your work. Social media spotlight: See your work shared with an audience of 4.75M+ across Architizer’s social media channels. Official Winner’s Certificate and digital badges to promote and celebrate your status as a visionary in architecture. Start My Entry New Categories for Conceptual Projects, Visionary Firms and More The 2025 Vision Awards will highlight the industry’s boldest architectural concepts, ideas and imagery, rewarding architecture firms and industry specialists for their storytelling abilities and visual communication. The program’s expanded range of categories is designed to celebrate a diverse range of architectural visions, from single images to full projects, through a variety of typologies and mediums. The Ark Shanghai Cement Factory Warehouse Renovation by MAD Architects, Shanghai, China | Jury Winner, Unbuilt Sustainable Non-Residential Project, 12th Annual A+Awards More than 50 accolades will celebrate visionary firms and creative professionals through three main category groups: The Concept, Vision and Visionary categories. Concept Categories: Celebrating Pioneering Unbuilt Projects The Concept Categories showcase unbuilt works, planned projects and visions for the future of architecture in six images or less through a variety of creative mediums. Examples include: Visions for Housing: Unbuilt projects that propose new models for living — whether through innovative construction methods, co-living solutions, affordable housing strategies, or net-zero residential design. Vision for Nature: Unbuilt projects that explore new relationships between the built and natural worlds—whether through biomimetic structures, regenerative ecosystems, or nature-integrated urbanism. Vision for Small Spaces: Unbuilt projects that maximize efficiency, adaptability, and livability in small-scale architecture—whether through micro-housing, prefabrication, or modular urban infill solutions. Explore Concept Categories  Jamsu Bridge Pedestrianization by Arch Mist, Seoul, South Korea | Special Mention, Unbuilt Transportation, 12th Annual A+Awards Vision Categories: Honoring Outstanding Architectural Representation The Vision Categories are designed to celebrate standout single images or videos across every creative discipline: Renderings, photography, video, drawing and models. Examples include: Photorealistic Rendering: Computer-generated visualizations and renderings that depict architecture in a compelling and highly detailed way. Black & White Photograph: Monochrome photographs that reveal the essence of architectural space, emphasizing composition, contrast, and material qualities. Making Of Videos: Films that document the making of architecture, from concept to completion. Hand-Drawing: Hand-drawn architectural drawings that skillfully communicate space, structure, or detail. Concept Model: Models that represent early-stage design thinking—whether abstract massing studies, parametric experiments, or material-driven explorations. See the Vision Categories Philippe Sarfati, Photographer of the Year, Professional Winner, Inaugural Vision Awards Visionary Categories: Spotlighting the World’s Best Architectural Creators Honoring innovative design firms and creators demonstrating excellence in architectural representation and ideation in each of architecture’s core creative disciplines. Examples include: Architectural Photographer of the Year Rendering Artist of the Year Architectural Videographer of the Year Architectural Illustrator of the Year Architectural Visionary of the Year Together, the Vision Awards Winners will form a vibrant international exhibition that spotlights the world’s most innovative thinkers in architecture — a source of inspiration for clients and collaborators alike. Explore Visionary Categories Multiple Ways to Win For each Vision Awards category, two accolades are up for grabs: The Jurors’ Choice Award, selected by an expert jury of industry experts and thought leaders, and the Editors’ Choice Award, selected by Architizer’s Editorial Team from the shortlisted nominees in each category. The shortlisted nominees will comprise up to five top-scoring entries, as marked by the Vision Awards jury. Front of House:Back of House by John Muggenborg Architectural Photography | Studio Winner, Interior photography, Inaugural Vision Awards The Vision Awards boasts a multidisciplinary panel of jurors that comprises influential figures in the fields of architecture, design, technology, film and beyond, all of whom have a passion for visualizing our built environment. Submitting an entry provides an excellent chance for your work to be showcased to those who are shaping the future of architecture and how it is perceived by the world.  Select jurors include: Steven Holl, Founder, Steven Holl Architects Keely Colcleugh, Founder and CEO, Kilograph Ema Peter, Principal & Owner, Ema Peter Photography Bless Yee, Project Architect, DLR Group Carlotta Cominetti, Co-Founder, VirginLemon Marcelo Coehlo, Head of Design, Formlabs Arjun Desai and Katherine Chia, Founders, Desai Chia Architecture Explore the Jury Entrants can also opt in to the Editor’s “Best of the Year” Awards, for which Architizer’s editors will develop a shortlist and award one “Best of the Year” accolade in each of the six main category groups (drawing, model, rendering, photograph, video and architectural concept). Join an Illustrious List of Architectural Visionaries Large-scale section model of ‘The Tip of Nordø‘ by Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects | Special Mention, Physical Models, Inaugural Vision Awards The Winners of the inaugural Vision Awards reads like a who’s-who of architectural ideas — they include: CEBRA architecture, innovative Denmark-based architecture firm Refik Anadol, renowned media artist with work exhibited at MoMA Bruce Engel, international architect and photographer Brad Feinknopf, sought-after American architectural photographer Sordo Madeleno, preeminent Mexican architecture and design firm Leckie Studio Architecture + Design, progressive Canadian design studio Start Submission Demonstrate the Power of Architectural Representation 2 AC[COMMUN] by Tehran Platform | Special Mention, Unbuilt Multi Unit Housing (L>10 Floors) At Architizer, we have a profound appreciation for the art of architectural representation — after all, we wouldn’t be here without the extraordinary images uploaded to our platform every day. At their best, these photographs, videos, drawings, renderings and models communicate complex ideas about architecture with graceful simplicity, providing us with a lens through which to view our built environment with a fresh perspective. For this reason, the Vision Awards is a vital initiative, providing an opportunity to celebrate those creators who often go unrecognized despite their critical contribution to architecture. To be a part of it, get your entry started today, and share your architectural visions with the world. We can’t wait to see your work! Enter the 2025 Vision Awards Top photo by Kevin Scott, 2023 Vision Awards Finalist, Architectural Photographer of the Year The post Vision Awards 2025: Submit Your Best Architectural Visions for Global Recognition and Publication! appeared first on Journal.

The wait for the rumored The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remake/remaster continues, but reports continue emerging about its content. According to Lord Cognito, who’s been reliable in the past, on the Defining Duke Podcast, it will include the base game and all downloadable content. Hearing it on “very good authority,” Cognito reported that Shivering Isles and horse armor are included. It’s thus safe to include the Knights of the Nine, the other paid expansion, and content packs like faction-themed housing, additional spells, and a free dungeon. Whether Virtuos will add more content on top of this remains to be seen. However, reports indicate a complete visual overhaul courtesy of being remade in Unreal Engine 5. Combat has also seen improvements like hit reactions, archery improvements, less susceptibility to getting knocked down on zero stamina, and more. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion remaster/remake is allegedly dropping today, though other rumors indicate it’s sometime this week. Stay tuned in the meantime and check out its alleged PC size here.

Image credit: Jardins de Métis After 25 years of journeying across Canada and England, the Blue Stick Garden, which was originally created in 2000 by CCxA’s founder, Claude Cormier, for the first edition of the International Garden Festival, has returned to the Jardins de Métis to be reborn as the Blue Stick Forest. The Blue Stick Garden is a pixelated metamorphosis of the garden’s famous Himalayan blue poppy. The rare poppy was carefully acclimatized and cultivated in Métis by garden founder Elsie Reford. Cormier’s installation now sits within a microforest made up of plant species from warmer climatic zones, which that encircle and permeate the array of 2,500 blue and orange sticks. This installation aims to juxtapose two temporalities: the annual blooming of the blue poppy, symbolized by the colour change of the sticks, and the life rhythms of forest ecosystems, which must adapt to climate change. The forest, inspired by the innovative planting methods developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, is made up of 1,800 densely planted trees, shrubs, and perennials ready to amplify their symbiotic properties. In the plantings, native plant families are joined by species suited to future conditions, presenting a genealogical portrait of an emerging forest in Eastern Quebec. Assisted migration of these plant species also embodies the garden’s heightened resilience and optimism, underscoring a collective responsibility to act for an increasingly fragile environment. Located near Elsie Reford’s vegetable garden—Reford’s original site for horticultural exploration and experimentation—the Blue Stick Forest stands as a tribute to Cormier. It aims to celebrate his practice rooted in innovation, experimentation, learning, and “serious fun”—a playful approach defining all his work. The Blue Stick Forest invites visitors into a ritual of annual visits to witness the transformation of the installation into a new experimental garden, commemorating the passion, and patience of visionary pioneers who have shaped Jardins de Métis as well as advanced landscape architecture practice today. It also symbolizes the commitment of new generations towards the future. The installation will open to the public on June 21, 2025, which is also the opening day of the 26th edition of the International Garden Festival. The post Blue Stick Garden Reborn as Forest at Les Jardins de Métis appeared first on Canadian Architect.

New Research Are These Mysterious 400,000-Year-Old Artifacts the Oldest Ivory Objects Made by Humans? Found in Ukraine, the fragments show signs of human manipulation—though researchers still haven’t ruled out the possibility that they were shaped by natural forces The ivory fragments show signs of manipulation by early humans. Stepanchuk et al. / International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2025 Archaeologists have unearthed mysterious 400,000-year-old artifacts made from mammoth tusks that may be the oldest human-made ivory objects ever found. They describe their findings in a recent paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. During excavations at a site in Ukraine’s Southern Bug Valley, researchers discovered 24 ivory fragments, as well as artifacts made of flint and quartz. At the Lower Paleolithic site, known as Medzhibozh A, they also found the remains of horses, woolly rhinoceroses and large wild cats. Based on the site’s age and location, the team suspects it was once inhabited by a human ancestor called Homo heidelbergensis. But they haven’t found any evidence yet to confirm this hunch. Researchers were especially interested in the ivory fragments, so they brought them back to their lab and looked at them under a microscope. They also conducted a 3D analysis. “The study of the ivory began without a specific hypothesis, but their unusual characteristics, indicative of intentional modification, prompted closer examination,” says lead author Vadim Stepanchuk, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, per Phys.org’s Sandee Oster. Their analysis suggests that 14 of the fragments were created by humans. The artifacts show signs of various shaping techniques, including one that likely involved placing the ivory on a rock anvil and using another rock to chip away flakes. They were probably made from the tusks of a mammoth species called Mammuthus trogontherii. Some of the artifacts, like those shown here, appear to have been created using a technique known as "bipolar-on-anvil." Stepanchuk et al. / International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2025 The artifacts are fairly small. Additionally, ivory is a relatively soft material, especially compared to stone—too soft, at this size, to be used for cutting. As such, scientists are still puzzling out how early humans may have used them. One theory is that they were used to demonstrate effective techniques for creating tools out of other materials—like a teaching aid. Alternatively, they may have been children’s playthings. The region’s inhabitants may also have been experimenting with ivory because they couldn’t find enough high-quality stones to turn into tools. “Their shapes mimic typical flake tools from the site—a pointed piece, a core-like fragment and tiny waste flakes,” Stepanchuk tells McClatchy’s Irene Wright. “The resemblance to real tools, combined with the fragility of ivory, led us to consider a social or behavioral explanation. They may reflect play or learning behavior—perhaps children copying adult knappers.” However, the scientists haven’t ruled out the possibility that the ivory pieces were shaped by natural forces—such as mammoths bashing their tusks together while fighting. They could potentially test that theory by running experiments with modern elephant tusks and then comparing them to the artifacts, reports New Scientist’s Taylor Mitchell Brown. But if they were shaped by human hands, the ivory fragments “add to an apparently increasing appreciation of the intelligence of pre-modern humans,” Gary Haynes, a retired anthropologist at the University of Nevada who was not involved with the research, tells New Scientist. Stepanchuk echoes that sentiment, telling IFLScience’s Benjamin Taub the discovery “hints that, even at this early stage, hominins may have engaged in what might be described as imitative or socially motivated activities.” In addition, if the artifacts were deliberately created by humans, the find would push back the timeline for human ivory processing by thousands of years. According to the paper, the earliest known use of ivory for artifact manufacturing dates to the Upper Paleolithic period, which lasted from roughly 50,000 to 10,000 years ago. Scientists have also found evidence of ivory artifacts that were potentially shaped by Neanderthals roughly 120,000 years ago, per Phys.org. “The discovery was indeed unexpected,” Stepanchuk tells IFLScience. “We had never seen or heard of ivory artifacts from the Lower Palaeolithic.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

TBD VC, a new early-stage venture capital firm, has announced a $35 million fund to back deep tech Israeli founders at the pre-seed and seed stages, both in Israel and around the globe. The fund launch comes amid a new wave of breakout Israeli tech stories, including Wiz’s recent $32 billion acquisition by Google and Next Insurance’s $2.6 billion e…Read More

If you’ve played both The Last of Us games and are watching along with the show, there’s a pretty strong chance you’ve been waiting to see how the HBO series approaches a very particular moment — and wondering if that moment has been changed at all for TV. Well, it didn’t take too long to find out.The second episode of season 2 just aired, and The Last of Us’ creators made sure to rip the bandage right off. And not only did they not tone things down, they somehow made things even more intense, while also using the moment as a chance to further expand this post-apocalyptic world.Obviously, there will be spoilers to follow for The Last of Us, which cover both the second game and the show up through episode 2 of the second season. To make sure you don’t see this pivotal spoiler, here is another photo of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in the show. Don’t scroll past him if you don’t want to be spoiled on a major development.Image: HBOOK, so, yes, that happened. The inciting incident in The Last of Us’ second chapter, the one that sends Ellie on a ceaseless and questionable quest for revenge, is Joel’s death at the hands (and golf club, and shotgun) of Abby. In the game, it was a brutal sequence that involved watching helplessly as the protagonist of the first game was tortured and murdered, viewed through the eyes of his surrogate daughter Ellie, who is the playable lead in The Last of Us Part II.That brutality hasn’t been lessened for the HBO show. In fact, it feels even harsher in live action, particularly when Joel is played by such a charming guy like Pascal. Functionally, the scene plays out largely the same as it did in The Last of Part II, as do the moments leading up to it. There are some small changes, like how the characters are paired up when things go down, but the outcome is the same. Which is all to say that it’s wince-inducing, full of blood, screams, and tears.RelatedWhat the show does add, though, is an entirely new storyline, one that manages to ratchet up the intensity to an interesting new degree. While Joel is being kidnapped and tortured, and a massive snowstorm is brewing, the show introduces another wrinkle: an absolutely gigantic group of infected who descend upon Jackson, the relatively safe town where Joel and Ellie have been living.It adds a new layer of desperation to the moment, as — prior to realizing he’s been ensnared in a trap — Joel is singularly focused on racing to get back and help his community. In fact, one of the reasons he is OK partnering up with a stranger like Abby in the first place is the promise of weapons and reinforcements.Image: HBOThis new narrative thread is part of the show’s attempt to expand the story of The Last of Us beyond just its main characters. In the game, players saw things solely from Ellie’s perspective, so there wasn’t any real focus on the town. But in the show, there are multiple viewpoints and, thus, more opportunities to flesh out the world. Jackson plays a big part of that; in the episode you see the townsfolk using every tool at their disposal to fend off the attack, and the devastation to the town afterwards is very clear. This addition makes the moment feel larger than Joel and Ellie, while also adding an extra layer of tension and violence to an already tense and violent scene.As co-creator Neil Druckmann, a writer and director on both the game and the show, explained to me ahead of season 2: “One of the things we were able to do in the show that we couldn’t do much of in the game was get to know Jackson as a community, and understand what’s at stake here, what are the threats from the outside.”Yes, the moment will likely be a huge shock for those coming in unaware, as it’s rare that such a pivotal character is killed off in a TV show like this. But much like the infamous Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, for the many people who already knew what was coming, they can now relax and watch the show without wondering how it’s going to approach the death sequence, or if it was going to approach it at all.Well, relax a little — this is still The Last of Us.See More: