Practicing mindfulness is often an intimidating prospect. You’re tasked with being still, noticing things inside and outside of your body, and most challenging of all, not really thinking about anything. But what if you could practice that skill while also playing a little 15-minute solo board game? That’s what A Gentle Rain offers. Designed by Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror, Descent: Journeys in the Dark, the Kinfire Chronicles series) and currently published by Incredible Dream Studios, A Gentle Rain is a tableau-building game where one or more players pull random squares and place them on the table, with the ultimate goal of growing lotus blossoms. Each square has four half-flowers, which you must match up with half-flowers of the same color that are already on the board. A yellow half-flower links up with another yellow half-flower, for instance, to make one full flower. If you match four tiles up in a square, you’ll reveal a circular pocket that perfectly fits one of eight plastic lotus blossoms. Technically, A Gentle Rain can be scored. But I don’t care about that. Instead, even after several rounds of the game solo and with friends, I care most about blossoming all eight lotuses in one game, which I’ve only accomplished once so far. And as I mentioned, it really functions as a way to practice mindfulness: You must take the time to notice each color on the square you pull, then take note of each square on the board. It is impossible to make the game go faster, because there are no extra steps. Instead, you just have to sit there, breathe, feel the soft matte square in your hand, and maybe turn it a few times to think about where it’ll fit. And look at that — suddenly you’re sitting still, noticing sensations, and not really thinking about anything. I picked up A Gentle Rain during a week where I really needed it. My family was dealing with something terrible, the last dregs of my winter depression were rearing their head, and the news was unavoidable and filled with atrocities. I didn’t want to avoid those things completely by immersing myself in some fantastical world or complicated game, but I didn’t want to face them head-on, either. After a few rounds of A Gentle Rain, I genuinely felt calmer, and I spent the next few days playing a round before work, after dinner, or before heading to bed. Is the game making me meditate? Not quite. But it is doing a great job of reminding my body what it feels like to slow down, look inward, and spend some time just being. Pretty good for a $20 board game you can grab at Target, right?

How our awareness is breaking the social media algorithm.It is said that the eyes of the Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci) follow you around the room, an illusion now known as the ‘Mona Lisa Effect’.There was a time when social media was simple. You followed people, liked posts, and as a result you got shown more of the same. But now the feeds we scroll through are less about who we follow, and more about how we behave.If you watch a reel for longer than three seconds you can expect more like it. If you linger on a photo, pause mid-scroll, replay a TikTok – that’s the new like. Platforms today care far less about your explicit choices, and more about your passive ones. And honestly, it was revolutionary – at first.This behavioural model promised a more authentic insight into our preferences. After all, what we do is often far more telling than what we say. It’s clever, subtle, and even somewhat intimate. But as we’ve come to understand how these systems work, we’ve also begun to perform for them, whether consciously or not.Knowing you’re being watchedThere’s a well-documented psychological phenomenon known as the Hawthorne effect – named after a series of productivity experiments in the 1920s at the Hawthorne Works factory. Researchers found that workers altered their behaviour simply because they knew they were being observed. More broadly, this aligns with the observer effect in behavioural science: our awareness of surveillance alters our actions.The Hawthorne Works factory where productivity experiments took place (circa 1925). Source: Western Electric Company Photograph AlbumNow apply that to your online behaviour.We’ve started to understand how the algorithm thinks. We might clear our watch history to reset our feed. We might even find ourselves clicking on content not because we necessarily want to watch it, but because we want to train the algorithm. We avoid pausing too long on something we don’t want to see more of, or to be associated with going forward. The system still watches us, but we’re no longer behaving naturally. We’re gaming it.This feedback loop becomes flawed not because the algorithm isn’t smart, but because the data it collects is no longer clean. We’ve turned from subjects to strategists. And once that happens, how effective can behavioural-based content delivery really be?The tension at the heart of the algorithmThere’s actually a deeper problem here, and it’s not just technical.Modern recommendation systems rely heavily on inferred intent from passive signals. But when these signals are harvested without the users’ full understanding, it challenges core principles of ethical design, especially informed consent and autonomy.A 2020 report by the Ada Lovelace Institute highlighted how opaque algorithmic systems undermine user agency, particularly when platforms fail to explain how recommendations are made or allow users to meaningfully contest them.Do we really understand and consent to how our social media feeds are being populated? Source: Cottonbro StudioIt raises some uncomfortable questions:Is it ethical to personalise content based on signals users aren’t aware they’re giving?Are users being manipulated into feeding the system, rather than served by it?Do we have a duty to design for agency, and not just engagement?“People cannot be empowered in an environment where they do not understand how decisions about them are made.”— Ada Lovelace Institute, Rethinking DataWhen algorithms adapt based on our most subtle behaviours, especially without transparency, we edge into the territory of surveillance design, as explored by Tristan Harris and the Center for Humane Technology. And that should give all of us pause for thought.Tristan Harris, Center for Humane Technology. Source: Center for Humane TechnologySo what should designers do?We play a key role in shaping how these systems feel, function, and inform. If we acknowledge that the behavioural model is faltering under the weight of its own manipulation, we need to take responsibility for evolving it ethically.Here are five design principles to consider:Design for agency, not just efficiency. Make it easy for users to understand why they’re seeing something and to change it if they want to. The Mozilla Foundation recommends practices like explanation panels (“You’re seeing this because…”) and controllable filters.Use behavioural data responsibly. Yes, it can be useful. But we must ask whether passive signals are fair or representative. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office suggests distinguishing between observed and provided data when determining consent boundaries.Make the invisible visible. Help users understand what’s being tracked and why. Surfacing insights builds trust – something tech desperately needs. Look to platforms like Spotify, which offers limited explanations in its ‘Discover Weekly’ playlists.Prioritise consent beyond checkboxes. True consent is ongoing and contextual. UX researcher Cennydd Bowles argues for ‘consentful design’, where interactions are continuously negotiated, rather than locked behind an initial ‘agree to all’.Question the metric. Engagement is not a proxy for wellbeing. The Facebook whistleblower: Frances Haugen, revealed how internal teams struggled with this exact issue – knowing that what keeps users hooked isn’t always what’s good for them.Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist gives the user limited context about how the playlist has been created. Source: SpotifyLooking to an ethical future of content deliveryIf the behavioural model is beginning to crack under the weight of our awareness, where do we go next?Do platforms double down, trying to outsmart the user? Do they return to less accurate, but more honest and explicit signals? Or is the future something else entirely – something slower, more intentional, and more ethical?We’re entering an era where the assumptions behind content delivery need to be revisited. If we change our behaviour when watched, and we now all know we’re being watched, then we’re often feeding the machine a performance rather than our preference.And any system built on performance, rather than authenticity, eventually loses its grip on reality. Is the user still even enjoying the experience?It’s time we designed systems that respect the user not just as a data point, but as a conscious, consensual ally. Because the future of UX can’t just be personalised, it also needs to be principled.When users change their behavior to game the algorithm was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No matter what you've heard, Macs get viruses too. There are a handful of indicators that your Mac may be infected by malware: your computer running slower or working harder than usual (or overheating), apps or programs crashing unexpectedly, or unfamiliar software or processes running on your device. Here's what to do if you suspect a malware infection on your Mac—and how to get rid of it. Disconnect your Mac from the internetAn active internet connection may allow malware to spread across your network to other devices or communicate information to and from bad actors, ultimately making it more challenging to isolate and remove. If you need to download any programs to address a potential infection, such as a malware scanner, do it quickly. Otherwise, cut your device off from the internet, and don't reconnect until you are sure the threat is gone. You should also avoid signing into any accounts that require credentials, as some malware includes keylogging capabilities that steal your passwords. Restart in safe modeWhen you restart in safe mode, your Mac prevents some software from loading and runs a check on your startup disk, allowing you to isolate and address potential issues. The process for entering safe mode depends on whether you have an Intel-based Mac or a Mac with Apple silicon. If you aren't sure what you're running, click on the Apple in the top left of your screen, then choose About This Mac to clarify. Apple silicon will be labeled as Chip, followed by an M-series processor (e.g. M1 or M2 Pro), while Intel Macs will be labeled as Processor.To restart an Apple silicon Mac in safe mode, go to the Apple menu > Shut Down and wait for your device to turn off completely. Then press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears. Select a volume (likely Macintosh HD for most) then press and hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. When your device restarts, you'll see Safe Boot in the menu bar. For an Intel-based Mac, restart your device and press and hold Shift until the login window appears. Log into your device, and you should see Safe Boot in the menu bar. You can also confirm that you're in safe mode by pressing and holding Option, then choose Apple Menu > System Information > Software. Under System Software Overview, look for Boot Mode: Safe. If it says Boot Mode: Normal, you are not in safe mode. Run a malware scanApple has built-in antivirus software called XProtect, but you can't run manual, on-demand checks with it. It may be best to use a second-opinion scanner to identify, quarantine, and remove whatever XProtect may have missed. Lifehacker sister site PCMag recommends BitDefender as the best antivirus software for Mac. If you're looking for free solutions, PCMag also recommends Avast and Malwarebytes for addressing malware infections. Monitor your Mac's activityActivity Monitor on macOS shows you real-time information about processes running on your device, including memory usage and activity across disks and networks. This is a good way to identify suspicious programs or processes that may be malware. To open, go to Launchpad and search for Activity Monitor. Look for any unusual names or processes that are hogging CPU or memory, then double-click and quit them. You should also quit any applications that are currently running until you identify the source of the problem.Reset your browserMalware can also modify browser settings, so you should reset any browsers on your Mac to their defaults. Safari doesn't have a singular restore settings button, but you can manually reset it to its default by clearing browsing data. On Chrome, open Settings from the three dots in the upper-right corner. Tap Reset Settings in the left toolbar and select Restore settings to their original default. Confirm with the Reset settings button. On Firefox, go to Menu > Help > More Troubleshooting Information and click Refresh Firefox > Refresh Firefox > Finish.Also consider disabling and removing extensions you may not recognize, or believe may be slowing down your browser and Mac. You'll find them in Settings > Extensions (Extensions & Themes on Firefox). Remove temporary filesMalware may install temporary files on your Mac that allow it to operate or hide, so you can consider deleting these from your device. However, a good malware scanner should find these types of files on their own, so you shouldn't need to delete them yourself. If you don't know what you're looking for, you might end up deleting files that help your Mac run smoother.If you want to delete these temporary files yourself, however, here's how: Open a Finder window and press and hold Shift + Command + G. Type ~/Library/Caches into the search bar to pull up temporary files, select any you want to delete to open them in a Finder folder, and press Command + Delete (or Control + click > Move to Trash) to move to Trash. You'll also want to empty the Trash to delete the files permanently from your device. Restart (or reinstall) macOSOnce you are confident the malware threat has been eliminated, you can restart your Mac in its normal mode. However, if you believe or worry any remnants of malware are still present, you may need to get a fresh start by reinstalling macOS from Recovery. While you can restore from a backup to make things the way they were before the reinstall, note that you should only do so if you are sure the backup was made before your device was infected with malware. If there's a chance you made a backup with the malware infection in place, don't use it.

Blue Shield of California shared the protected health information of 4.7 million individuals with Google over a nearly three-year period, a data breach that impacts the majority of its nearly 6 million members, according to reporting from Bleeping Computer. This isn't the only large data breach to affect a healthcare organization the last year alone. Community Health Center records were hacked in October 2024, compromising more than a million individuals' data, along with an attack on lab testing company Lab Services Cooperative, which affected records of 1.6 million Planned Parenthood patients. UnitedHealth Group suffered a breach in February 2024, resulting in the leak of more than 100 million people's data. What happened with Blue Shield of California?According to an April 9 notice posted on Blue Shield of California's website, the company allowed certain data, including protected health information, to be shared with Google Ads through Google Analytics, which may have allowed Google to serve targeted ads back to members. While not discovered until Feb. 11, 2025, the leak occurred for several years, from April 2021 to January 2024, when the connection between Google Analytics and Google Ads was severed on Blue Shield websites. The following Blue Shield member information may have been compromised: Insurance plan name, type, and group numberCity and zip codeGenderFamily sizeBlue Shield assigned identifiers for online accountsMedical claim service date and providerPatient namePatient financial responsibility"Find a Doctor" search criteria and resultsAccording to the notice, no additional personal data—Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, and banking and credit card information—were disclosed. Blue Shield also states that no bad actor was involved, nor have they confirmed that the information has been used maliciously. What to do if your information was leakedBlue Shield of California has begun notifying members of the breach, though the company is unable to confirm whether any specific individual's information was compromised. Blue Shield is not offering credit monitoring or identity protection services to affected members at this time. If you have questions about the breach and how you may be impacted, you can call the support line at 833-918-5064 Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. That said, as with any data breach, you should continue to monitor your credit report and financial accounts for any suspicious activity. Request a free copy of your credit report (available weekly), freeze your credit and place a fraud alert, and take steps to protect your Social Security number from being used fraudulently.

Microsoft promised in a strange ad campaign last year that it would bring Xbox Game Pass to more than just its own gaming brand's hardware thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming. One of the previously announced platforms that it said would gain the ability to run Xbox Game Pass was smart TVs from LG. Today, LG announced that the Xbox app will begin rolling out to a collection of its smart TVs in 25 countries this week. The Xbox app is compatible with select LG screens and monitors. According to the press release, the available models include "2022 OLED TVs, 2023 OLED, QNED, NanoCell and UHD TVs…which have been updated to software version 23.20.01 or higher." It will also be made available at a later date on LG's StanbyME screens. Once downloaded, the app allows members of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to stream select titles they already own or to access titles from the Game Pass library. LG is the latest electronics manufacturer to offer the Xbox experience without the need to physically own an Xbox. Samsung has already done the same, and Amazon's Fire TV also has an Xbox app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/lg-smart-tvs-are-getting-xbox-game-pass-this-week-200422697.html?src=rss

Meta AI, the most interesting thing you can do with Ray-Ban Meta glasses, will soon be available to more people. The company's Live Translation feature is rolling out to all the product's markets, and Live AI (where you can hold a free-flowing conversation about what you're looking at) will soon be available in the US and Canada. In addition, glasses owners in the EU can finally use Meta AI with their high-tech specs. Live translation, previously available in early access, is now rolling out in every region where Ray-Ban Meta glasses are available. Handy for trips abroad or chats with locals who speak a different language, the AI-powered feature speaks a translation in your preferred language in real time. You can also view a translated transcript on your phone. Live translation is available in English, French, Italian and Spanish. And if you download your preferred language pack in advance, you can use it without a Wi-Fi connection or even mobile data from your paired phone. You can launch the feature by saying, "Hey Meta, start live translation." Meta US and Canadian users can now use Meta's Live AI feature, which lets you ask questions about your surroundings without saying "Hey Meta" every time. (You can even interrupt it.) Another feature previously only available in beta, live AI lets you chat with your glasses in natural language about your environment, asking it to explain things like missing ingredients for a meal or the best wine to pair with it. You can say, "Hey Meta, start live AI" to begin. In addition, Meta AI is finally rolling out to all of the product's supported countries in the European Union. And starting next week, EU countries will get the visual search feature that can answer individually prompted questions about your surroundings, but (unlike Live AI) can't perform a free-flowing conversation with interruptions. The glasses' Instagram integration is also expanding. Meta says you can soon send and receive Instagram DMs, photos, audio calls and video calls on your Ray-Bans. They already supported calls and messages through WhatsApp and Messenger and your phone's messaging app, so the glasses now have a solid list of communications options. You can start by saying, "Hey Meta, send a message to [your recipient's name] on Instagram." Meta Music app support is expanding beyond the US and Canada. The company is rolling out support for Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Shazam in the product's non-North American regions. Once the update is live, you can ask your glasses things like, "Hey Meta, what's the name of this song?" or "Hey Meta, when did this album come out?" Although no major hardware upgrades were announced today (the next revision with a screen is rumored to launch later this year), Meta and Ray-Ban are rolling out new styles for the second-gen glasses. These include new Skyler frame and lens color combinations, including the cat-eye-shaped Shiny Chalky Gray with Transitions Sapphire lenses and the "more timeless" Skyler Shiny Black with G15 Green lenses and Skyler Shiny Black with Clear lenses.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-is-bringing-smart-glasses-live-translation-and-ai-to-more-people-184546291.html?src=rss

At Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, the brand is combining wildlife biology with modern technology for a major conservation project around the great lizard cuckoo.

This innovative recycling pilot recovers 90% rare earth metals from old HDDs, cutting emissions by 95%

IBM is sticking with its expectations for 2025 despite a "fluid" economic environment.

President Trump’s digital coin surged in value after the top 220 holders were promised a dinner with the president.