Key Takeaways Windows 10’s Deadline Is Looming: Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 in October 2025, potentially leaving over 200M devices without updates or security patches.  Linux as a Viable Successor: Modern Linux distributions like Mint and Pop!_OS offer a user-friendly, efficient alternative that works well on older hardware left behind by Windows 11’s strict requirements.  The End-of-10 Project Pushes Back: Grassroots initiatives are helping users switch to Linux, offering practical guides, support networks, and real-world repair options to extend the life of aging PCs.   On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will pull the plug on Windows 10 for good.  No more updates. No more security patches. Just you, your aging PC, and the digital equivalent of a ‘Good luck out there.’  And unless you want to pay hundreds for extended support or upgrade to Windows 11 (which your old hardware probably hates), you’re in trouble.  But maybe–just maybe–that trouble is a blessing in disguise.  What if you switched to something different instead of shelling out more cash for an OS that increasingly feels like a rented billboard?  Something that doesn’t serve ads, doesn’t nag you for a Microsoft account, doesn’t preinstall Solitaire and endless bloatware, and doesn’t treat you like a confused toddler whenever you want to delete a file?  Yes, we’re talking about Linux.  You Bought Windows, But Did You Really?  Let’s talk about ownership – or rather, the illusion of it. You didn’t really buy Windows 10. You bought a license to use it, under Microsoft’s ever-changing rules.  And now those rules say it’s dead. Try running Windows 10 in 2026 and see how it feels. Unsupported, vulnerable, and alone.  Meanwhile, your PC – still chugging along fine – becomes collateral damage in a corporate lifecycle decision. Doesn’t that feel wrong? It’s like buying a car, and five years later, the manufacturer remotely disables the engine and says, ‘Time to buy a new one, champ.’  The Bloatware Nightmare Windows 10’s legacy isn’t just about support dates. It’s also about bloat – and lots of it.  Preinstalled games, ‘helpful’ tips that link to Bing, AI features you didn’t ask for, OneDrive pop-ups, background processes you don’t understand, and ads. Yes, ads – in your OS that you paid for.  As PewDiePie, a surprise Linux convert and evangelist in 2025, put it in his YouTube video about switching to Linux:  Windows talks to me like I’m a baby. ‘You want Candy Crush? You want to use Bing? – PewDiePie He’s not wrong. And he’s not alone. More and more people are discovering that Linux can turn their Frankenstein laptops back into sleek, fast machines – no corporate babysitting required.  Linux: Not Just for Bearded Hackers Anymore  Back in the day, switching to Linux meant living in a command-line bunker, fighting for Wi-Fi drivers, and crying in Bash lines while obsessing over what distribution to try next Saturday. But today? It’s a different world. Well, except for the obsessive distribution switching. That one’s even stronger nowadays… Modern Linux distributions like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, and Ubuntu have made the jump surprisingly friendly. You can click, drag, install apps from software centers, and even ignore the terminal if you really want to (though we advise you to get comfortable with it, the things it can do…). Source: PewDiePie And gaming? It’s real now. Thanks to Valve’s Proton compatibility layer and the success of the Linux-powered Steam Deck, you can actually play Elden Ring on Linux. And Baldur’s Gate 3, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered, and any recent title you can think of. Proton translates Windows game code so it can run smoothly on Linux, and it’s constantly being improved. Extremely few games still need tweaking or specific Proton versions to work well (and you’ll find a solution online in no time). With Steam Play, many AAA titles now work out of the box, and tools like Lutris and Heroic Game Launcher make it easier than ever to manage your game library – including games from Epic and GOG.  And it’s not standing still. The latest SteamOS 3.7.5 beta adds early support for non-Steam Deck handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go, signaling broader Linux gaming adoption. SteamOS now runs on a newer Arch base with updated kernel and Mesa drivers for better performance. KDE Plasma 6.2.5 upgrades the desktop interface, while Bluetooth audio and controller support have been improved with features like battery indicators and wake-from-sleep across more devices. The days of ‘Linux is only for spreadsheets and servers’ are long gone. It’s a gamer’s paradise in 2025. Project End-of-10 – A Lifeline for the Left Behind One group trying to make the transition easier is the End of 10 project. Their mission is to help people stuck on aging Windows 10 hardware move to lightweight Linux systems instead of buying new PCs.  It’s not just about ideology. It’s about accessibility, sustainability, and giving people real options.  E-waste is a growing issue, and ditching a perfectly usable laptop because Microsoft won’t support your OS anymore is, frankly, absurd. Plus, if your computer isn’t good enough for Windows 11, it’s probably perfect for Linux. Microsoft’s latest OS has strict requirements – like TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and newer CPUs – that leave a lot of perfectly functional hardware out in the cold.  But Linux doesn’t care about any of that. Most modern Linux distributions run smoothly on older machines (and could probably boot on a toaster), giving them a second life instead of a trip to the recycling bin. The project also lists local Linux-friendly repair shops and beginner events in several countries, helping users make the leap with real-world support.  And it’s not just for tinkerers – the goal is to make Linux approachable even for people who’ve never strayed beyond the Windows Start menu. While that’s a bit far down the line, especially if you go in blind, the fact this option exists is invaluable for Windows 10 refugees everywhere. What You Gain When You Switch Here’s the kicker: Linux gives you back control. You choose what’s installed. You choose when and how to update. You don’t need to sign in with a cloud account just to change your wallpaper. And don’t wake up to find your taskbar now has a new AI assistant whispering Bing search results. One that you didn’t ask for. You decide what your system does – and what it doesn’t do.  Want a desktop with zero background tracking? Done. Want to disable automatic updates entirely or schedule them on your terms? No problem. Want to remove every trace of software you don’t use, right down to the last package? You can – a quick ‘sudo’ in the terminal will wipe off every earthly trace of the intruder. If you know, you know… Customization is also next-level. You can make your desktop look like macOS, Windows, or something that looks like it was pulled straight from a sci-fi control panel.  Source: u/Haletran on Reddit You can bind your own shortcuts, set up multiple workspaces, change every icon, or strip the interface down to pure function. The OS is what you want it to be, at all times. It’s not just fun – it’s truly empowering. You’re not a passenger anymore. With Linux, you’re in the driver’s seat, and the car’s flying to Mars. Linux Isn’t Perfect Let’s not sugarcoat it, Linux isn’t a magic fix.  Some software, like Adobe’s suite, simply doesn’t work natively. Sure, there are open-source alternatives – for example, you can use GIMP instead of Photoshop – but they come with a learning curve.  Source: GIMP  And sometimes, things do break (oh yes, do things break). Driver issues, hardware compatibility quirks, terminal commands that feel like spells from a fantasy novel.  But here’s the difference: on Linux, the tools to fix it are in your hands (though, in the spirit of honesty, you’re going to struggle until you get the hang of it). On Windows, you mostly reboot and hope for the best.   Windows 10 Is Dead. Long Live Your Computer! The end of Windows 10 doesn’t have to mean the end of your PC. You can keep using your current machine, and even improve its performance by switching to an operating system that’s more efficient and less restrictive.  Whether you’re an experienced user or just curious about alternatives, Linux is a solid option worth exploring.  You don’t need to commit right away. You can start with dual-booting or run it from a USB stick to test the waters. Unlike some modern operating systems, Linux doesn’t push unnecessary software, require a cloud account, or limit how you use your device.  You don’t have to be a programmer to benefit from a system that gives you more control – just someone open to trying something new.  And if it works for you, it might just become your go-to setup.  Anya Zhukova is an in-house tech and crypto writer at Techreport with 10 years of hands-on experience covering cybersecurity, consumer tech, digital privacy, and blockchain. She’s known for turning complex topics into clear, useful advice that regular people can actually understand and use.  Her work has been featured in top-tier digital publications including MakeUseOf, Online Tech Tips, Help Desk Geek, Switching to Mac, and Make Tech Easier. Whether she’s writing about the latest privacy tools or reviewing a new laptop, her goal is always the same: help readers feel confident and in control of the tech they use every day.  Anya holds a BA in English Philology and Translation from Tula State Pedagogical University and also studied Mass Media and Journalism at Minnesota State University, Mankato. That mix of language, media, and tech has given her a unique lens to look at how technology shapes our daily lives.  Over the years, she’s also taken courses and done research in data privacy, digital security, and ethical writing – skills she uses when tackling sensitive topics like PC hardware, system vulnerabilities, and crypto security.  Anya worked directly with brands like Framework, Insta360, Redmagic, Inmotion, Secretlab, Kodak, and Anker, reviewing their products in real-life scenarios. Her testing process involves real-world use cases – whether it's stress-testing laptops for creative workloads, reviewing the battery performance of mobile gaming phones, or evaluating the long-term ergonomics of furniture designed for hybrid workspaces.  In the world of crypto, Anya covers everything from beginner guides to deep dives into hardware wallets, DeFi protocols, and Web3 tools. She helps readers understand how to use multisig wallets, keep their assets safe, and choose the right platforms for their needs.  Her writing often touches on financial freedom and privacy – two things she strongly believes should be in everyone’s hands. Outside of writing, Anya contributes to editorial style guides focused on privacy and inclusivity, and she mentors newer tech writers on how to build subject matter expertise and write responsibly.  She sticks to high editorial standards, only recommends products she’s personally tested, and always aims to give readers the full picture.  You can find her on LinkedIn, where she shares more about her work and projects.  Key Areas of Expertise: Consumer Tech (laptops, phones, wearables, etc.) Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy PC/PC Hardware Blockchain, Crypto Wallets, and DeFi In-Depth Product Reviews and Buying Guides Whether she’s reviewing a new wallet or benchmarking a PC build, Anya brings curiosity, care, and a strong sense of responsibility to everything she writes. Her mission? To make the digital world a little easier – and safer – for everyone.  View all articles by Anya Zhukova Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors.

Editor's take: After acquiring VMware in 2023, Broadcom has wasted no time reshaping the company into a profit-focused operation, often at the expense of good customer relations. The latest move in this contentious strategy involves cease-and-desist letters sent to VMware users, warning that they won't receive new patches or bug fixes unless they continue paying for official support. Broadcom wants to push every single VMware customer "owning" a perpetual license to a new subscription-based contract, and is willing to antagonize the entire VMware userbase to reach this goal. Companies and professionals still using VMware products have recently started receiving a new kind of cease-and-desist letter, with Broadcom asking for new support contracts or even threatening an active "inquiry" into users' systems. The letters are seemingly targeting VMware customers that acquired a perpetual license before Broadcom digested the virtualization giant. Some organizations are threatened because they chose not to convert the previous license to a subscription, as they are likely looking for alternative solutions or don't want to give in to Broadcom unreasonable requests. The wording used by Broadcom in its letters focuses on official support services, which are no longer available if a software product was previously purchased with a perpetual license. Therefore, Broadcom "demands" that such customers stop installing new updates to VMware products, including maintenance releases, minor releases, patches, or security fixes. The only exception is about zero-day vulnerabilities for vSphere 7.x and 8.x, Broadcom said, and only when the flaws have a CVSS score greater than or equal to 9.0. Broadcom now treats patches and bug fixes as part of its official support services, effectively forcing companies to pay for the right to install updates. According to the company, applying a patch without an active subscription violates VMware's software license and infringes on its intellectual property – grounds Broadcom appears willing to pursue in court. Broadcom has escalated the situation by claiming the right to audit customers, aiming to catch anyone installing official patches on perpetually licensed software without an active support contract. Critics have dubbed these cease-and-desist letters "nastygrams," all signed by Mike Brown, who serves as Broadcom's Managing Director. // Related Stories Dean Colpitts, CTO of Canadian service provider Members IT Group, told Ars Technica some customers received Broadcom's letter shortly after their support contracts expired. While a few organizations pushed back with legal teams, the tactic has spread confusion within online communities about Broadcom's motives. Broadcom has repeatedly shown a willingness to force a subscription model on most VMware users. The company has imposed steep price hikes and taken legal action against major ICT firms refusing to pay for new support licenses.

Soundcore Liberty 5 MSRP $130.00 Score Details “The Liberty 5 goes back to the basics (and nails them).” Pros Great sound Very effective ANC Excellent transparency Great for calls Long battery life Cons No Bluetooth Auracast Table of Contents Table of Contents Design Comfort, controls, and connections Sound quality Noise canceling and transparency Call quality Battery life Conclusion Soundcore’s Liberty 5 wireless earbuds are, in many respects, exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Anker-owned brand. They’re a midrange set of noise-canceling buds that do almost everything you could ask of them, and at $130, they’re still very affordable, especially when you compare them to Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 ($249). Recommended Videos Soundcore says it has made several improvements over the previous model, including the company’s best ANC system so far. On the other hand, some features have been pulled: There’s no longer head-tracked spatial audio or heart rate monitoring. Here’s what you can expect from the Liberty 5. Related Simon Cohen / Digital Trends By now, Soudcore fans are very familiar with the brand’s design approach, and the Liberty 5 has all of the big hallmarks, including stem-based earbuds, a charging case with a sliding lid, bar-style LED indicator, and wireless charging, and the earbuds have good protection from dust and water (IP55). You get a choice of four colors, and inside the box is a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable, along with a generous five sizes of silicone eartips (six if you include the preinstalled mediums). Soundcore has kept the pressure-based squeeze-to-click gestures on the earbud stems that it introduced on the Liberty 4 (which are similar to the controls that Apple uses on its AirPods 4 series). Soundcore added a swipe gesture for volume control on the Liberty 4 Pro, but the Liberty 5 still uses squeeze-to-click for volume adjustments. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends Generally speaking, while I find stem-style earbuds a bit less secure than their stemless cousins, they’re more reliably comfortable for more people. I’m not alone in thinking that — Samsung switched to a stem-based design for its Galaxy Buds Pro 3 for exactly that reason. The Liberty 5 are no exception to this generalization. With the default eartips, I found them very easy to wear for long periods. And just in case you’re unsure of which eartips to use, the Soundcore app will help you find the ones that ensure optimal ANC and sound quality (only you can tell if they’re also comfy enough). I really like the squeeze controls. They offer a precision you just can’t get from touch controls, and they’re accessible even if you’re wearing gloves. Thin gloves. They’d be a bit easier to use if the stems were tubular instead of flat oval, but that’s just nitpicking on my part. The controls are fully customizable within the Soundcore app, with four gestures per earbud (single-, double-, triple-click, and a long-press option). There’s even an optional smartphone camera trigger option, but strangely, it can only be associated with the single-click gesture. New for the Liberty 5 is the option to mute the mics when on a call with a single click. It’s handy, for sure, and you get a confirmation tone immediately, plus one every 20 seconds while you remain on mute. Just keep in mind that there’s no other confirmation of your muted status — iOS’s phone app won’t adjust its mute button state to match the state of the earbuds. Helping out with music control are wear sensors, which almost instantly auto-pause and resume your tunes when you remove or replace an earbud. With Bluetooth 5.4 and Google Fast Pair, connecting the buds is a breeze on Android and iOS. Wireless range is about average: 20-30 feet indoors, depending on obstacles, and further if you’re outside, and I didn’t notice any dropouts during my testing. Bluetooth Multipoint works very well, and I’m thrilled that Soundcore has adjusted its app so that you can see all of your previously paired devices, letting you select the ones you want to be active. Even better: Soundcore has fixed a limitation where you had to decide between Multipoint and LDAC codec support. Now you can run both simultaneously, something that competitive models from EarFun (e.g, Air Pro 4) can’t do. However, the Liberty 5 (in fact, all Soundcore products so far) lack Bluetooth Auracast compatibility. If that matters to you (and I think, increasingly, it will matter to all of us), the EarFun may be worth a look. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends Out of the box, the Liberty 5 sound good, with plenty of bass response thanks to the dual sound tubes that Soundcore added to the acoustic architecture. To my ears, however, there’s a lack of sparkle in the high end, and the midrange feels a bit lacking. If, after giving them a listen, you feel the same, I strongly recommend using the Soundcore app’s two personalization features: HearID and the sound preference test. It takes about 10 minutes to do both, but it’s absolutely worth it. The resulting change to the EQ addressed all of my concerns — preserving that punchy bass while enhancing both the mids and highs. I could have achieved this manually — there’s an option to adjust the equalizer on your own or via presets (lots of presets!) — but the app’s built-in personalization made it much easier. I still ended up making tiny tweaks: a bit more bass and a hair less in the highs, but overall, I was really impressed with the results. Soundcore has included three Dolby Audio presets (Music, Podcasts, and Movies) for supposedly more immersive sound. They offer mild enhancements, but once I dialed in the EQ based on HearID and the preference test, Dolby’s processing didn’t provide significant improvements, so I kept it turned off. For those of you with Android phones, by all means, enable the LDAC codec in the app. In quiet conditions (and when playing a lossless source of audio), you can hear more detail and nuance compared to the standard AAC codec used by iPhones. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends The Liberty 5 have Soundcore’s best ANC (according to Soundcore), which can dampen down nearby voices better than previous models. I found this really hard to verify compared to the Liberty 4 Pro. My sense is that while the Liberty 5 may be slightly better at killing off the higher frequencies associated with voices, they’re a little worse (than the Liberty 4 Pro) at dealing with lower frequencies. So this may come down to personal preference based on the sounds that bug you the most. I think what matters most, however, is that both models have really good noise cancellation — you’ll be very happy regardless of which way you go. The Soundcore app lets you tweak the ANC strength and there’s also a wind-reduction mode that, as its name implies, helps cut down on wind noise when noise canceling is on. Transparency has also come a long way. The Liberty 5 isn’t quite at the AirPods Pro level of magical transparency, but it’s now so close that unless you use the feature constantly, I think it’s more than good enough for most folks. Soundcore is one of the most reliable brands for wireless earbuds calls. The Liberty 5 continues that tradition with excellent masking of background noise and good reproduction of your voice, especially in quieter conditions. You can enable an automatic side-tone mode, which switches the buds into transparency mode as soon as you take or place a call. This helps a lot in terms of being able to hear your own voice, though don’t expect it to perform as well as normal transparency mode. When on a call, the mics have to do more work, reducing the fidelity of the transparency effect to maintain a high quality for your callers. Soundcore pegs battery life on the Liberty 5 at 12 hours of playtime with ANC turned off and 8 hours with ANC enabled. When you include a fully charged case, the total rises to 48 and 32 hours, respectively. My limited testing suggests that these numbers are accurate, but the usual caveats apply: if you listen louder than 50% volume, if you’re in a very noisy environment, or if you turn on LDAC, these numbers can fall sharply — by as much as 30%. Still, Soundcore provides a quick-charge feature that provides 5 extra hours (maximum) for 10 minutes of charging, so you won’t likely find yourself without power for very long. Soundcore gets so many things right with the Liberty 5 wireless earbuds, you need to take a fine-toothed comb just to find any flaws. I highly recommend them. As for the absent extras, like head-tracked spatial audio and heart rate tracking? If you really want them, check out the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, but be prepared to pay for the privilege. At the moment, the Liberty 5’s biggest weakness is price. If you’re not a big bass head, you can get a very fine set of earbuds, like EarFun’s Air Pro 4, for a regular price of $90. With constant discounts on Amazon, you can often find them for as little as $60. Given the current economic situation, which could change at any moment, it puts a lot of pressure on Soundcore. Still, I expect Soundcore will push hard to remain competitive on price, so if you don’t need to buy immediately, maybe wait and see what the next few months bring.

Disney joins SeaWorld, Legoland and Six Flags with its planned park in Abu Dhabi

Good news New RSV vaccine, treatment linked to dramatic fall in baby hospitalizations CDC study finds big declines in hospitalizations—and they may be underestimates. Beth Mole – May 8, 2025 5:54 pm | 11 An intensive care nurse cares for a patient suffering from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), who is being ventilated in the children's intensive care unit of the Olga Hospital of the Stuttgart Clinic in Germany. Credit: Getty | picture alliance An intensive care nurse cares for a patient suffering from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), who is being ventilated in the children's intensive care unit of the Olga Hospital of the Stuttgart Clinic in Germany. Credit: Getty | picture alliance Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Far fewer babies went to the hospital struggling to breathe from RSV, a severe respiratory infection, after the debut of a new vaccine and treatment this season, according to an analysis published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RSV, or respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in the US. An estimated 58,000–80,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized each year. Newborns—babies between 0 and 2 months—are the most at risk of being hospitalized with RSV. The virus circulates seasonally, typically rising in the fall and peaking in the winter, like many other respiratory infections. But the 2024–2025 season was different—there were two new ways to protect against the infection. One is a maternal vaccine, Pfizer's Abrysvo, which is given to pregnant people when their third trimester aligns with RSV season (generally September through January). Maternal antibodies generated from the vaccination pass to the fetus in the uterus and can protect a newborn in the first few months of life. The other new protection against RSV is a long-acting monoclonal antibody treatment, nirsevimab, which is given to babies under 8 months old as they enter or are born into their first RSV season and may not be protected by maternal antibodies. For the new study, CDC researchers looked at RSV hospitalization rates across two different RSV surveillance networks of hospitals and medical centers (called RSV-NET and NVSN). They compared the networks' hospitalization rates in the 2024–2025 RSV season to their respective rates in pre-pandemic seasons between 2018 and 2020. The analysis found that among newborns (0–2 months), RSV hospitalizations fell 52 percent in RSV-NET and 45 percent in NVSN compared with the rates from the 2018–2020 period. However, when the researcher excluded data from NVSN's surveillance site in Houston—where the 2024–2035 RSV season started before the vaccine and treatment were rolled out—there was a 71 percent decline in hospitalizations in NVSN. For a broader group of infants—0 to 7 months old—RSV-NET showed a 43 percent drop in hospitalizations in the 2024–2025 RSV season, and NVSN saw a 28 percent drop. Again, when Houston was excluded from the NVSN data, there was a 56 percent drop. Lastly, the researchers looked at hospitalization rates for toddlers and children up to 5 years old, who wouldn't have been protected by the new products. There, they saw RSV hospitalization rates were actually higher in the 2024–2025 season than in the pre-pandemic years. That suggests that the latest RSV season was more severe, and the drops in infant hospitalizations may be underestimates. Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 11 Comments

“A human mind-melded to a rat could move with the rodent, and smell and feel what it sensed…”Shutterstock/Linda Bestwick In T. H. White’s series of novels The Once and Future King, the wizard Merlyn turns the young Arthur, future king of England, into a variety of animals. As a small fish, Arthur swims in a moat and is terrorised by a stronger pike; as a hawk, Arthur learns to respect the dominant old falcon. In giving him these experiences, Merlyn aims to educate Arthur and make him a good king. By the 2040s, it had become possible, to a…

Instagram head Adam Mosseri was called to testify in Meta's antitrust trial. Gripas Yuri/ABACA via Reuters Connect 2025-05-08T21:22:55Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified in Meta's antitrust trial on Thursday. The FTC claims Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp created an illegal monopoly. Regulators want Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri took the witness stand on Thursday in Meta's landmark antitrust trial in Washington, DC, federal court.Mosseri, who has been at the helm of Instagram since 2018, is among the more than two dozen witnesses that the Federal Trade Commission has called to testify in the case.The FTC argues in its case against Meta that the company violated antitrust laws when it "helped cement" an illegal monopoly in the social networking market with its acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and the messaging app WhatsApp two years later. The case, to be decided by Judge James Boasberg, could be one of the most consequential antitrust trials in years. If FTC regulators have their way, Meta could be forced to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram.Mosseri began his tenure at Meta, formerly called Facebook, in 2008. Here are five insights and revelations we learned from his more than six hours of testimony:Mark Zuckerberg's 'strained' relationship with Instagram's foundersMosseri recalled a 2018 email he sent to Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg while on paternity leave, warning that Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger were increasingly frustrated with strategy changes.He wrote that it was "hard for me to get a read on what's going on as the relationship was strained."Mosseri cited two core tensions: Zuckerberg's belief that slowing Instagram's growth would benefit Meta overall.Mosseri acted as a mediator, relaying concerns between the founders and Facebook leadership.These tensions foreshadowed a deeper rift that culminated in the cofounders' departure later that year, a turning point that saw Mosseri take over the reins at Instagram.Worry over TikTok cutting into Instagram's growthTikTok's meteoric rise was a massive threat to Instagram, Meta has argued."TikTok is probably the fiercest competition we have faced during my tenure at the company," Mosseri testified on Thursday.According to internal Meta documents presented in court, TikTok was a "big concern" in 2019, just as the ByteDance-owned app was taking off. Instagram data scientists presented a "conservative estimate" that 40% of Instagram's year-over-year decline in time spent was due to TikTok. Specifically in the US, Instagram estimated a 23% decline in time spent.Instagram would go on to launch its own short-form video product, Reels, in 2020.Mosseri also testified that he briefed Zuckerberg "very often" about the competition with TikTok, adding that there was a monthly dinner with the most senior executives at Meta where this would come up."It became kind of a hazing ritual for me to give an update on Reels," Mosseri said.Mosseri's 'biggest mistake'On the stand, Mosseri testified that Instagram's first version of Reels was his "biggest mistake," built on the "not a sound foundation" of Stories, which the feature was initially built into.The feature flopped and was ultimately scrapped after nearly a year. Mosseri said before he joined Instagram that it tried another venture to compete with TikTok called IGTV — that too failed.Instagram pivoted by relaunching Reels as a dedicated feature in the main feed, a reboot that finally gained traction amid the pandemic and TikTok's rapid rise. Mosseri said that the company "could have and should have been more aggressive" in responding to what he called Meta's fiercest competitor.Hundreds of millions on content creatorsInstagram's fight with TikTok and other apps is just beginning, Mosseri testified.Mosseri said that one of the biggest fights right now is over future creators, those who are just beginning to make content or who haven't even started. He said TikTok has done a better job allowing small creators to rapidly expand their reach, something Meta is actively trying to cut into.In terms of overall investment, Mosseri said that Meta has spent "hundreds of millions, maybe a billion or two" during his time at the company supporting the wider creative ecosystem. That touches everything from incentive payments to the physical infrastructure necessary to power Instagram's AI-backed recommendations. "We are just seeing more and more power shift from institutions to individuals across the industry," Mosseri testified. Instagram's struggles around content safetySusan Musser, the FTC attorney who led Mosseri's questioning, repeatedly questioned the Instagram head over his initial concerns about how the app was ensuring the safety of its content.Mosser pointed to an email from October 19, 2018, less than a month after Mosseri became head of the app, in which he said that Facebook was not investing enough in Instagram's Well-being team."I think we're underinvested in Well-being and were, until recently, the resources we do have are underleveraged," Mosseri wrote to someone whose full name was redacted. The initial email the person wrote was titled, "need to prioritize integrity efforts over growth — we must fight fakes."An internal Facebook document also showed that Instagram had significantly fewer engineers devoted to well-being than the main app. According to the 2018 summary, Instagram had 40 engineers dedicated to doing such work. Facebook had 900.Meta lawyer Aaron Panner later asked Mosseri if Meta employees typically received everything they requested."Never," Mosseri said. Recommended video

The first American pope — Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV — has been elected, a mere 249 years after the founding of the nation. Though Prevost had been occasionally floated as an outside contender in recent days, he was not among the top candidates, who were widely seen to be Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines or Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state. As a result of this surprise, the “American pope” jokes have already begun, as has the speculation about what this choice means for the future of the Catholic Church.But as it turns out, neither geopolitics nor ideology may not be the most important distinguishing features of this choice.In the lead-up to the conclave, much of the discussion (including mine) centered on where the candidate might be from — given that geopolitics has always played a role in the election, and the demographics of Catholicism worldwide are changing rapidly — and where candidates might stand on the hot-button issues dividing the Church, such as the ordination of women, clerical celibacy, and the blessing of same-sex couples. It was natural, in the face of increasing debate over these issues, and their secular counterparts, to view the election of the next pope as a referendum on how Catholicism might change with regard to the issues of gender and sexuality, personal freedom, and individual rights, that animate so much of our contemporary debate.It’s therefore tempting to read today’s choice as a commentary on America itself, especially amid its current political crisis. Is it a sign of American decline, like the election of the Polish John Paul II marked the Soviet Union’s twilight? Is it the Vatican’s way of reviving its faltering, and often rebellious American flock — outreach to Vice President JD Vance and his friends? But as it turns out, neither geopolitics nor ideology may not be the most important distinguishing features of this choice. The new pope is both an American and a Peruvian, an ideological moderate who will perhaps neither entirely please hardline traditionalists or overly eager reformers.While his public comments on hot-button topics are scarce, he has made comments over the course of the past 25 years that seem to suggest that he is opposed to the ordination of women, even to the diaconate. He also publicly criticized the practicality, particularly in some parts of Africa of Fiducia supplicans, the much-discussed 2023 declaration by Pope Francis allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not married according to Church teaching, including same-sex couples and those remarried after divorce.And yet, the new pope is hardly a cleric in the model of the most conservative corners of the American Catholic Church. He is not Bishop Robert Barron, a Trump ally who has recently been appointed to the Trump’s embarrassingly named Religious Liberty Commission. The new Pope Leo appears to have a long record of criticizing both Trump and Vance, the Catholic convert, through his X account. And he is an outspoken advocate for the poor and, particularly for refugees. He does not fall into any clear camp in the culture wars and his gifts seem mainly as an administrator, a bridge builder, and institutional peacemaker.So just was a mistake to view the conclave as The Culture Wars: Sistine Chapel Edition, it would be equally mistaken to interpret Leo XIV’s papacy in American-centric terms. One of the obvious advantages of an institution as ancient as the Catholic Church is its long memory: its ability to see beyond the crisis of the day and the mood of the moment. Today’s message from the College of Cardinals is clear: They are playing the long game. A game that began before the first Europeans arrived in the Americas and one that will go on long after the United States has ceased to exist and today’s controversies are solved.RelatedIs the new pope liberal or conservative? Neither.Leo XIV is a son of Chicago, but he is far from your average boomer Chicago Catholic. Sure, he was one of the three sons of a World War II veteran of Italian and French ancestry and a librarian of Spanish descent. He served as an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption Church on the South Side. That is a very Chicago, and a very American story. But, in 1985, four years after taking his final vows as a priest, the then-Father Robert left the United States as part of the Augustine mission to Peru. Since that time, his ministry has largely been divided between the United States and Peru. He was naturalized as a Peruvian citizen in 2015. His experience in Peru has undoubtedly shaped him, and the Church there, as through Latin America, is much less of a middle-class affair than in North America and has a long history of advocacy for the poor.The most important thing about the man they have chosen is that he is deeply rooted in and dedicated to the institution. Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in 2014 and in 2023 made him the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a role in which he was tasked with nominating and supervising bishops. In both these roles, he was a supervisor, and increasingly powerful shaper of the institution itself. Of course, Francis put him in these influential roles, and Leo is likely to continue the reforms of Pope Francis (reforms that, despite the headlines, were never about radical changes in doctrine or practice, but about implementing compassionate pastoral outreach). This means that like Francis he seems to favor allowing greater leniency on a case-by-case basis without changing Catholic doctrine. This is a model of governance designed not for short-term cultural skirmishes but for long-term survival.Tellingly the new pope has chosen the name Leo, almost certainly a reference to Pope Leo XIII, who sat on the Throne of St. Peter from 1878 to 1903. Leo XIII earned the nickname of “Pope of the Workers,” not least for his 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, which highlighted the rights and dignities of workers, even going so far as to affirm the right to form labor unions, The encyclical is widely seen as a rejection of the contemporary debates between Marxism and capitalism, instead reaffirming the Church’s teaching on human dignity above the political noise. In it, Leo XIII laid the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching, envisioning a Church that did not act as a direct player in the conflicts of the day but instead stood above them, offering a broader moral vision rooted in human dignity. He sought to guide the Church in a world where technology, geopolitics, and society were evolving faster than the human heart seemed able to keep pace.This is the legacy that the new pope has referenced and it is an important reminder: We are so embroiled in our current conflicts, the earlier Leo’s story says, so entrenched into our camps, that we assume there is no other way to think or believe. The next papacy might attempt to demonstrate another way. Pope Leo XVI, it would seem, is neither Trad Averager or Woke Warrior, just as he is neither just American nor completely Peruvian. He will instead be the pope in the 21st century, seeking to carve out a place for the ancient Church he has been called to lead in the modern world. To do this, he will likely not become too embroiled in the cultural issues of the day, but instead advocate for a theory of human dignity and social morality that transcends the politics of the moment. His election is not a verdict on America’s future or a victory for any faction, but a choice rooted in continuity and vision.See More:

Fans have spotted a fun nod to Trailer 1 in Rockstar Games' latest GTA 6 trailer, and seem to think there could be a deeper meaning - has the company really plugged its leaks?Tech22:00, 08 May 2025We now know so much more about GTA6 and the people in it(Image: Rockstar)Can you believe it's been well over a year since the first GTA 6 trailer? If you cast your mind back, you may remember that the first look at the game was ruined by the trailer leaking just a few hours beforehand, covered with a watermark urging viewers to buy crypto.Thankfully, Trailer 1 didn't disappoint, but Rockstar tackled this week's release of Trailer 2 a little differently.‌Not only was there no real warning that it was going to arrive (I can tell you I almost spat my coffee out on Tuesday), but after last week's delay confirmation and new release date, Rockstar revealed a whole host of assets and story information about the upcoming titles.‌In the first few moments of the new trailer, however, fans think they've spotted why Rockstar has gotten so chatty all of a sudden.Content cannot be displayed without consentAt the start of the second GTA 6 trailer, new protagonist Jason Duval is found fixing the roof of a building in the Vice City sunshine.Article continues below"What you doing up there?" he's asked, before he responds "just fixing some leaks".It seems like a throwaway comment, but fans have suggested that the trailer's shadow-drop nature, with no real warning, could be Rockstar's way of combating the same kind of leak that happened with the game's first trailer."Rockstar Games shadow-dropping GTA 6 Trailer 2 to prevent any leaks, then opening with Jason fixing “some leaks” is actually diabolical," popular GTA 6 account GTA 6 Countdown posted.‌The new trailer shows a different side of Leonida"I wonder who they fired to put an end to the leaks," one comment on X (formerly Twitter) said.Given that GTA 6 leaks have been cropping up for years, it seems Rockstar might have finally changed things, and that's why it opens the latest trailer the way it does.Article continues belowOne of the more infamous GTA 6 leaks was supposedly from a janitor in the company's offices.For more on GTA 6, check out why the decision was made to delay the game, as well as some of the Trailer 2 details you may have missed.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌

Midnight Walk – even your allies are creepy looking (Fast Travel Games) They might not be realistic but the graphics in The Midnight Walk are some of the most impressively creepy of the year, in this surreal new stop motion adventure. Although it was not without its charms, we found South Of Midnight to be one of the more disappointing releases of the year. The bland and unoriginal gameplay was the main problem, but it was a real shame that the stop motion animation, used so prominently in the advertising, was only really evident in the cut scenes. The Midnight Walk does not suffer from that problem. It’s a weird coincidence that they both have midnight in their name but in terms of gameplay and story the two games have nothing in common. As the latest from the makers of the very good Lost In Random and the very nearly good Fe, The Midnight Walk is a lot less action based and its storytelling much more opaque, In gameplay terms it’s essentially a stealth puzzle game, played through a first person perspective in a surreal, and often terrifying, stop motion world. We’d like to explain what’s going on in terms of the plot, but you’re given very little clue at the start and trying to piece things together is all part of the fun. The purposefully unclear intro describes you as The Burnt One, last survivor of the end of the world. The game is filled with references to fire, from giant boxes of matches, that you use to light giant candles, to the fact that monsters can be distracted while they eat the flames. What this all means is not immediately clear, as you explore the surreal, forbidding world that looks like A Nightmare Before Christmas turned up to 11 (with other influences from Star War alumni Phil Tippet and his film Mad God). One of the only, literal, bright spots is a friendly little creature called Potboy, who has a flame burning in his head. Potboy can be ordered to move to any nearby location, which is the basis of many of the puzzles, as you use him to light the way and interact with machinery and objects blocking your progress. The puzzles are mostly simple stuff, with switches to press and objects to collect, but there are a few clever ones and the difficulty seems appropriate given the nature of the game. The other key gameplay element is avoiding patrolling monsters. These horrible creatures aren’t realistic looking but since the whole game looks like some ultra creepy children’s show they’re actually scarier than just another zombie or demon. You can’t fight them – as a character you have no intrinsic abilities at all – so instead you distract them with fire, which only lasts a few seconds, and hide in wardrobes that are dotted about the landscape. There are obvious comparisons to be made with Alien Isolation, but The Midnight Walk is much less freeform and, especially early on, avoiding the monsters is very contrived, as you tempt them down one path, jump in a wardrobe as they pass by, and exit stage left while they’re not looking. That’s not to say it’s not tense and exciting, but it’s very obvious that the game has been made with VR in mind, and while that’s welcome, given how little support the PlayStation VR2 has had, the narrow paths, linear progression, and slow movement speed all point to a game that has been calibrated for VR rather than normal play – even though the majority of people are only going to experience the latter. That’s terrifying (Fast Travel Games) This never becomes a serious problem, but the game does feel a little constrained by trying to be two things at once. If you do have PlayStation VR2 though it works an absolute treat and even uses eye-tracking to tell when your eyes are closed, which is a recurring theme as you close your eyes, either literally or at the press of a button, to open many of the closed doors before you or make objects appear. Everything in the game was moulded in clay first and then scanned in to become a 3D object, and it shows. The art style is more abstract than South Of Midnight but the general effect is much more interesting and unpredictable, as it rides that uncanny line between cartoonish fantasy and nightmarish vision. More Trending The setting may be left purposefully obscure at first, but the five main stories are fairly straightforward. They’re as bleak as the art style but while occasionally touching they’re not as profound as perhaps the developer imagined, so while they and the character of Potboy are engaging they don’t elevate the game in quite the manner they needed to. It is probably only a coincidence that two titles using stop motion have been released in such quick succession, but it’s an excellent way for games to stand out and a large part of the appeal is that The Midnight Walk doesn’t look like anything else around, including South Of Midnight. Good graphics don’t make for good games, and The Midnight Walk certainly would be a lot less interesting if it had a more realistic style, but it doesn’t. So while it’s overly expensive for an eight hour adventure you can still add this to the year’s encouragingly long list of high quality and fiercely unusual indie oddities. The Midnight Walk review summary In Short: One of the most visually distinctive games of the year, that proves you don’t need realism or gore to be scary – in this enjoyable mix of stealth, puzzle-solving, and surreal horror. Pros: The visual style is consistently great and often genuinely scary. Some clever puzzles and the stealth elements are extremely tense. Excellent use of VR, if you have it. Cons: It’s a bit too obvious the game was designed with VR in mind, with very narrow paths and uncomplicated layouts. Stealth gameplay doesn’t evolve much over the course of the game. Not very long. Score: 7/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed) and PCPrice: £32.99Publisher: Fast Travel GamesDeveloper: MoonHoodRelease Date: 8th May 2026Age Rating: 16 One of the most visually impressive games of the year (Fast Travel Games) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. 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