Claudes New Feature Will Blow Your Mind! 0 like December 13, 2024Share this postAuthor(s): Gencay I. Originally published on Towards AI. Claudes Feature is Game-Changing and redefines AI OutputsThis member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.created with le-chatIf you have experience using LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or others, you might experience long, boring, and unrelated outputs.I recall using these prompts after long and really long outputsbe concise. It looks like Claude hears all of us and creates this fantastic future that will increase your prompts' efficiency and save you a lot of time.Lets start!Claude 3.5 Sonnet Choose StyleClaude created this new feature, and you can choose the output style dynamically. Lets look deeper and click on it. Here is the screen we see now;Claude 3.5 Sonnet StylesAs you can see, there are four different styles;NormalConciseExplanatoryFormalI like formal. Why? Because some of us are using these while working, the outputs we have to share might be in a formal tone, so kudos to Claude's team for thinking about it. But if you see, there is one more thing to discover.You can also create and edit styles; lets click on them. Now, youll have the following screen to preview existing styles. Lets check Concise.Claude 3.5 Sonnet Styles CustomizationNow, youll have the following screen to preview existing models. Lets click on the short Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

iOS 18.2 has finally arrived, and beyond a ton of great Apple Intelligence features and a big Mail redesign, the update also lets you set new default iPhone apps. Heres how that works.iOS 18.2 brings expanded default categories and new Settings hubThe iPhone for years has offered some options for setting new default apps. For example, in iOS 14 you could set new defaults for email and browser.But the options have remained pretty limited.In iOS 18.2 though, categories for default apps are expanding, and you can set your new defaults all from one convenient new hub.After updating to iOS 18.2, open the Settings app then Apps and youll see a new menu there: Default Apps.This offers a consolidated home for setting default apps on your iPhone across eight different categories.Changing your default apps, and what that meansWhat does changing your default do? Heres how Apple describes it:Manage which apps your iPhone will use automatically for sending emails, browsing the web, and moreFor example, when you tap a link to an email, phone number, or a standard URL, your default app will be used. Normally, Apples own apps act as defaults (e.g., Mail, Messages, Safari, Wallet, etc.), but you can change those defaults.Here are all the options, plus a description of what changing the default means:Email: This app will be used to compose new emails.Messaging: This app will be used to compose new messages.Calling: This app will be used to make calls.Call Filtering: This app will be used for call filtering and identification.Browser App: This app will be used to open links and browse the web.Passwords & Codes: These apps (multiple can be selected at once) will be used for AutoFill, and you can choose a separate app for setting up verification and QR codes.Contactless App: This app will be automatically selected when using NFC with contactless readers.Keyboards: These keyboards will be available from the keyboard switcher.Note, your listed categories might differ based on your location and Apples various global policies. If youre in the US, the eight categories above will be available. If youre in the EU, for example, you might see more.If you dont have third-party apps installed in a given category, you wont see anything there except Apples own apps. But going to the App Store and downloading alternatives will cause them to appear inside the Default Apps section as new options.Several of these options existed before, but were siloed into different parts of Settings that werent the easiest to find. Three of the categories are brand new in iOS 18.2: Messaging, Calling, and Contactless App.Have you changed any default apps in iOS 18.2? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

This doesn't bode well.Killer HeatScientists have found that it's not just older adults succumbing to dangerous temperatures driven by climate change even younger people may be more susceptible to extreme heat as well.As detailed in a new study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers found that three-fourths of heat-related deaths in Mexico between 1998 and 2019 were people under the age of 35.It's a fascinating and perhaps foreboding new finding that suggests it's not just the elderly who are at the highest risk of dying from heat."These age groups are also quite vulnerable to heat in ways that we dont expect even at temperatures that we dont think of as particularly warm," first author and Stanford University environmental social scientist Andrew Wilson told the New York Times.Wet Bulb BluesSince getting an accurate picture of how many people die due to heat exhaustion is difficult death certificates often don't list heat as a cause the team turned to data relating to changes in "wet bulb" temperatures,which take both humidity and air temperatures into account to gauge how well human bodies can adapt to heat."While multiple metrics exist to measure humid heat stress, wet-bulb temperature has been identified as an important metric for understanding the impact of heat on human health because it accounts for the critical role of sweat evaporation the primary mechanism by which the human body cools itself in maintaining homeostasis under heat exposure," the paper reads.Around a wet bulb temperature of just 95 degrees Fahrenheit, "humans can no longer dissipate heat into the environment and are thus physically incapable of survival when exposed for a sufficient length of time," the researchers wrote.Surprisingly, the researchers found that even at much lower wet bulb temperatures of around 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 88 degrees Fahrenheit with 50 percent humidity adults between the ages of 18 to 34 were dying from heat.That's in contrast to adults older than 70 being vulnerable to much higher wet bulb temperatures.It's a concerning finding, considering the number of extreme heat waves is only expected to rise as climate change continues to push up temperatures around the globe. The team projects that the number of deaths among young adults will increase by 32 percent by the year 2100."Youre going to increase the number of moderately warm days much more than youre going to increase the number of extremely hot days," Wilson told the NYT.Worse yet, those between the ages of 18 to 34 are also far more likely to engage in strenuous activities outdoors, including sports or work-related tasks, leaving them more at risk."Its not just about your physiological vulnerability," coauthor and Columbia University graduate student Daniel Bressler told the newspaper. "Its about the economic and the social factors that make it so that youre more exposed."More on death heat: Dozens of Americans Die in Brutal Heat WaveShare This Article

"It was one of the worst experiences of her life."Worst ExperienceSchools are employing dubious AI-powered software to accuse teenagers of wanting to harm themselves and sending the cops to their homes as a result with often chaotic and traumatic results.As the New York Times reports, software being installed on high school students' school-issued devices tracks every word they type. An algorithm then analyzes the language for evidence of teenagers wanting to harm themselves.Unsurprisingly, the software can get it wrong by woefully misinterpreting what the students are actually trying to say. A 17-year-old in Neosho, Missouri, for instance, was woken up by the police in the middle of the night.As it turns out, a poem she had written years ago triggered the alarms of a software called GoGuardian Beacon, which its maker describes as a way to "safeguard students from physical harm.""It was one of the worst experiences of her life," the teen's mother told the NYT.Wellness CheckInternet safety software employed by educational tech companies took off during the COVID-19 shutdowns, leading to widespread surveillance of students in their own homes.Many of these systems are designed to flag keywords or phrases to figure out if a teen is planning to hurt themselves.But as the NYT reports, we have no idea if they're at all effective or accurate, since the companies have yet to release any data.Besides false alarms, schools have reported that the systems have allowed them to intervene in time before they're at imminent risk at least some of the time.However, the software remains highly invasive and could represent a massive intrusion of privacy. Civil rights groups have criticized the tech, arguing that in most cases, law enforcement shouldn't be involved, according to the NYT.In short, is this really the best weapon against teen suicides, which have emerged as the second leading cause of death among individuals aged five to 24 in the US?"There are a lot of false alerts," Ryan West, chief of the police department in charge of the school of the 17-year-old, told the NYT. "But if we can save one kid, its worth a lot of false alerts."Others, however, tend to disagree with that assessment."Given the total lack of information on outcomes, its not really possible for me to evaluate the systems usage," Baltimore city councilman Ryan Dorsey, who has criticized these systems in the past, told the newspaper. "I think its terribly misguided to send police especially knowing what I know and believe of school police in general to childrens homes."Share This Article

Run by the team at orchestration, AI, and automation platform Tines, the Tines library contains pre-built workflows shared by real security practitioners from across the community, all of which are free to import and deploy via the Community Edition of the platform. Their bi-annual "You Did What with Tines?!" competition highlights some of the most interesting workflows submitted by their users, many of which demonstrate practical applications of large language models (LLMs) to address complex challenges in security operations.One recent winner is a workflow designed to automate CrowdStrike RFM reporting. Developed by Tom Power, a security analyst at The University of British Columbia, it uses orchestration, AI and automation to reduce the time spent on manual reporting.Here, we'll share an overview of the workflow, plus a step-by-step guide for getting it up and running.The problem - time-consuming reportingThe workflow's builder, Tom Power, explains, "The CrowdStrike Falcon sensor goes into Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM), usually because the operating system (OS) or kernel version is too old or too new for the sensor to support in kernel mode. Every week, SecOps would log into the Falcon console, and filter the host management console for endpoints in RFM for the last week. We would generate the report and download it."This process provided critical data for identifying kernel updates causing RFM, particularly for Linux endpoints. However, it required the team to manually check whether CrowdStrike had released a new sensor version compatible with the latest kernel updates."The entire process took about 30 minutes each week," Tom adds. "Over the course of a year, that added up to more than 25 hours of time we could have spent on other cybersecurity priorities."The solution - automated RFM reporting with AITom's workflow automates the tracking and reporting of Falcon Sensor RFM across hosts. By leveraging Tines' AI-driven Automatic Mode, it generates custom code to streamline report creation. The workflow not only produces regular, consistent reports but also enables management to monitor trends in RFM occurrences, supporting proactive system health management and faster decision-making.The automated workflow eliminates the need for manual reporting by allowing analysts to submit requests via a simple web form. Within minutes, the workflow retrieves data, processes it, and delivers an actionable email report, complete with detailed insights and a CSV attachment.Example output:Here's a sample of the auto-generated email and report received by the team:Here are some of the key benefits of using this workflow:Frees analysts to focus on high-priority cybersecurity tasks.Reduces manual effort and the potential for human error.Delivers consistent, reliable reports for improved productivity.Enhances decision-making by providing real-time insights.Boosts morale by removing a tedious and repetitive task.Workflow overviewTools used:Tines - a workflow orchestration, AI and automation platform that's popular with security teams. It's possible to use the free Community Edition of Tines to build and run this workflow if you don't have a paid account. AI must be enabled on your tenant. CrowdStrike - endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform. This workflow integrates with CrowdStrike Falcon's API to retrieve data about endpoints in Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM). While Falcon provides robust endpoint visibility, it lacks native automation for recurring RFM reports.The workflow is initiated when a web form is submitted, triggering the process to generate CrowdStrike RFM reports.The first action retrieves a list of device IDs from CrowdStrike Falcon's API. If the list is larger than what CrowdStrike returns in the first batch, multiple calls are made to paginate through the full list.Once all the device details are retrieved, the workflow consolidates them into a single resource. This resource acts as the foundation for analysis, where the number of Linux, Windows, and Mac hosts is calculated and appended to the data.Using the consolidated resource, the workflow generates an HTML summary table to present the data in a structured format. This table is then converted into a CSV file, making it suitable for reporting purposes.The CSV report is emailed to stakeholders for review. To maintain efficiency and data hygiene, the workflow purges the temporary resource after the email is sent, ensuring it is ready for the next cycle.By automating these steps, the workflow eliminates manual effort, reduces the risk of errors, and provides consistent, up-to-date reporting on devices in reduced functionality mode across the environment.Configuring the workflow - step-by-step guide Log into Tines or create a new account.Ensure AI is enabled on your tenant. For this, you need to be the tenant owner. Select the account settings drop-down in the top left of your screen, and check the box to turn AI on. Create your CrowdStrike credential. From the credentials page, select New credential, scroll down to the CrowdStrike credential and complete the required fields.Navigate to the pre-built workflow in the library.Select import. This should take you straight to your new pre-built workflow.Configure your actions. For example, you may like to edit the layout of the Tines page that kicks off the workflow.Test the workflow. Submit an image via the form to test your workflow.Publish your workflow and share the Page URL with your desired users.Building in other automation platformsYou could use another no-code automation platform to build a similar service, although it's worth noting that some of the features in this workflow are unique to Tines:Pages: This workflow is kicked off by a submission to a form on a web page. This is built using Tines' Pages feature.Alternative: Use a scheduled trigger to kick off the workflow. Event Transform in Automatic Mode: This feature uses build-time AI to compose Python code based on the guidance and the input the builder provides. Once you save your changes, the code is locked in place. This means that when the action runs, only the code executes, and no AI is involved.Alternative: Write Python code manually to transform your data.If you'd like to explore AI in Tines for yourself or test out this workflow, you can sign up for a free account including AI functionality.Found this article interesting? This article is a contributed piece from one of our valued partners. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

If your Wi-Fi connection ends at your back door, you might be struggling to connect a laptop, projector or big-screen TV for a big game or movie night. You can move your router as close to your yard or front porch as your Ethernet cable will take you, but that won't always solve the problem. CNETWith the increasing number of outdoor smart devices-- includinglighting, security cameras and garage door openers-- you need to be able to extend your Wi-Fi beyond your home's exterior walls. It can be tricky, but with the right hardware it'll be no time before you're streaming video while enjoying your garden, or posting pics to social media from your front yard. (For more Wi-Fi tips, check out why your router may be in the wrong spot and our home internet cheat sheet.) If you want Wi-Fi outside, try a weather-resistant deviceMost options our CNET writers have explored over the years don't require you to drill holes or run new wiring outdoors. Still, getting reliable, fast Wi-Fi outdoors may take an initial investment. Setting it up the right way may cost more at the start, but in the long run, it will require little maintenance and give you great coverage.Using a Wi-Fi device meant to be left outside may be your best bet. There aren't many cheap options, so you'll have to decide which setup will work best for your home.An outdoor Wi-Fi extender -- sometimes called a wireless access point or wireless repeater -- is perhaps the most straightforward option since it's the only solution that involves installing hardware outside. Many of these devices are enterprise-grade, but some manufacturers have consumer-grade outdoor extenders too. These devices are made to be exposed to the elements year-round and they have hardware capable of communicating with your router wirelessly to give you great Wi-Fi coverage outside your home.The first step is to find an extender that's compatible with your current router, or you can buy a new router and extender to upgrade your entire network. There aren't a ton of wireless extenders designed for the outdoors, but a few notable manufacturers are Netgear, Ubiquiti, EnGenius and Hawking.Next, check the packaging's ingress protection rating and the temperature range the device can withstand. The IP rating defines the device's weather-resistance, mainly against dust and water. The highest rating is IP69, which means it's totally protected against dust and can withstand long periods of immersion underwater. This indoor/outdoor access point is not much larger than a soda can -- and certainly less conspicuous. UbiquitiAnother option that's a little more of a complicated outdoor access point -- like the Access Point U6 Meshfrom Ubiquiti -- allows you to set separate modes for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. The setup is a little more advanced, but you don't have to drill holes or run new cables.You set your 5GHz band to wireless bridge mode and the 2.4GHz band to access point mode. This makes your 5GHz band a dedicated backhaul link to the router and allows your outdoor devices to connect via 2.4GHz. This setup limits your speed a bit, but you should still be able to take full advantage of your 2.4GHz bandwidth and the additional range that comes with it.Indoor mesh Wi-Fi systems may be easier, but more expensiveAnother option is to take advantage of an indoor mesh Wi-Fi system. These usually come with one router and one or two satellite units and can cover up to 5,000 square feet. The most recent data from the US Census Bureau shows that 50% of American homes are between 1,800 and 2,999 square feet, and another 27% are 1,799 square feet and below. The bottom line is that most of us don't have homes as big as 5,000 square feet, so with the right placement, you will get decent coverage outdoors with a mesh system. You may sacrifice a little speed or coverage indoors by moving the satellite units, but most of the best mesh systems are expandable and can add additional units. Each satellite unit needs only an electrical outlet to plug in the power adapter. No Ethernet cable is required. The idea for extending your Wi-Fi outdoors is to place the mesh router central in your home and put the satellite unit, or units, as close to the exterior as possible. There is a limit to how far apart you can place the units. For example,Asus support recommends placing each one within 10 to 15 meters (approximately 33 to 50 feet) of the other units.Linksys advised one of our writers that its indoor, three-piece Velop mesh system can help with outdoor coverage. Each unit can cover around 2,000 square feet, so if you place one of the units 5 to 10 feet from an exterior concrete wall, your outdoor coverage can improve. Everyone's home environment is different, so your results may vary. Your best bet is to place the satellite unit near a window or door. The Linksys Velop mesh system can cover up to 6,000 square feet, including some outdoor range, depending on placement and your environment. LinksysThere are more potential problems with this setup, though.Generally, most mesh satellites link directly back to the router, not to the closest satellite and then back to the router. This means you won't be able to wirelessly daisy chain them in sequence to stretch your signal in one direction. This is part of the reason it is best to place your router central in your home.Also, your exterior walls will still interfere with and weaken your signal, especially on 5GHz. You may have to play around with the location to figure out which spot will work best for outdoor coverage in your environment.If you aren't familiar with Wi-Fi signals, they are measured in decibel-milliwatts. The signal reading will be negative, so closer to zero is better. You want a signal between -60dBm and -30dBm (which is best). That's your sweet spot. Your signal is near nonexistent if you see something around -80dBm or -90dBm or lower. Eero 6 Plus is an affordable mesh option to help your outdoor Wi-Fi coverage. Ry Crist/CNETThe price of mesh systems has begun to decline, but they can still be quite expensive. Still, you shouldn't need to spend more than a few hundred dollars for a decent, up-to-date system. For instance, Amazon'sEero 6 Plusperformed well in our tests, and the three-piece system can cover up to 4,500 square feet for around $200. Another of our top choices, the two-piece TP-Link Deco W7200 Mesh Router, covers up to 5,500 square feet and costs $150 on Amazon.You might be tempted to leave an indoor router or satellite unit in a covered area outside or a weatherproof enclosure. This may work in the short term, but the risk factors are high. The device could overheat or freeze. Humidity is also a factor, as well as foreign objects like dust and insects, which can clog up the device's vents. Not to mention that leaving an indoor device outside will void your warranty.Indoor range extenders -- cheaper but less reliableYou can replicate the mesh setup mentioned above with a regular router combined with indoor Wi-Fi range extenders or repeaters. This option is a little more affordable, with the extenders taking the place of the mesh satellite units. This approach's setup is slightly more complicated, but you shouldn't have much trouble following the quick start guide included with the extender. Many newer devices, such as the well-testedD-Link EaglePro AI, are designed to work with different routers. D-Link's EaglePro AI is compatible with most routers. Chris Monroe/CNETRemember, most wireless extenders will cut your Wi-Fi in half because they receive the wireless signal and then rebroadcast it using the same radio on the same channel. Expect your speeds to be slower when connected to an extender instead of the router. One way around this is to use a tri-band extender with an extra 5GHz network that can act as a dedicated link to your router. This will help you get the maximum bandwidth out of the extender.Remember that many routers also work as extenders, so another option is to buy a new router and use your old one as a wired or wireless extender. Check your current router to see if it can function as a wireless access point or extender. A new router will most likely give you better coverage, including outdoors, so using the old router as an extender could give you the extra boost in Wi-Fi coverage that you need.Between the two setups, the mesh system's big advantage over the router plus extenders is that the mesh devices create a single network, so you don't have to reconnect to Wi-Fi when you move from room to room or outdoors. In general, mesh systems are designed so that your phone or laptop will automatically connect to the closest mesh unit without issue. When you have an extender, you have two networks, one for the router and one for the extender, that you may need to switch between when you move around. Plus, having two networks could cause interference with each other, especially on 2.4GHz.Powerline adapters are a last resort for outdoor Wi-FiOne inexpensive option is using powerline adapters, which use your existing in-wall electrical wiring to extend your signal. You can plug some into an outdoor electrical socket, but you'll be hard-pressed to find an affordable one that's weather-resistant. An indoor powerline adapter can also overheat if you plug it into a covered outlet outdoors.A temporary solution would be to use an indoor Wi-Fi powerline adapter, such as the Zyxel Powerline series, which you plug into an indoor outlet near where you need better coverage. Your range outdoors won't be great, but it should improve your current setup.What's the bottom line?The simplest option to extend Wi-Fi outdoors is with a mesh system and additional satellite units. This should give you a few hundred square feet of coverage outside your home. Mesh systems can be expensive, but the setup is usually easy for novice users.In theory, the best option would be to use an outdoor extender, but there aren't many consumer-rated products available beyond the Orbi Outdoor. TP-Link also offers an outdoor unit, the Deco X50-Outdoor, which is certified water- and dust-proof. We haven't had a chance to test that unit, but we will update this post as soon as we do.

Sometimes, friends and family don't understand why I don't mind long drives, whether it's a long-haul holiday visit or a quick jaunt to return something someone forgot at my place. The secret is the trip, whatever the length, is the perfect time to get lost in one of my favorite pastimes: audiobooks. And with just a simple library card, one special app has given me access to more of them than I'll ever need, and can do the same for you.Audiobooks are an addiction I picked up straight out of college, with a newfound need to occupy my brain during commutes to work and lunch breaks. I was pushed to give them a try after being mightily embarrassed over my inability to make much progress into Lord of the Rings throughout my entire undergraduate education. With just a few months of an Audible membership, I had worked my way through that fantasy bible and was off onto new literary horizons.Audiobooks aren't for everybody -- some people have told me they find it difficult to retain what they hear -- but if audiobooks are for you, you need to check out an app called Libby. Thanksgiving might be over, but with the broaderholiday travel season on the horizon, it just might be the perfect companion for long drives or flights. Or for distracting yourself once you're with the family; we're not here to judge.For more about holiday travel, dig into our stress-free travel checklist and find out which essential items to keep track of while packing.What is Libby?Previously known as OverDrive, the Libby app lets you access digital publications from real library systems. While I might be here to evangelize about its audiobook offerings, you can also borrow ebooks, digital comic books and digital magazines.All of that content won't cost you a dime, but while there might be such a thing as a free lunch, there probably isn't such a thing as a no-effort lunch. All that to say, Libby requires a real library card to access anything, and while some systems will let you sign up for a card online, in most places, you will eventually have to go to your local library in person to get set up with a card, and you'll need to make sure it stays up to date. A small price to pay, if you ask me, for a nearly unlimited supply of free books.Read more: Best E-Reader of 2024Where can I get Libby?Libby is available through Apple's App Store, the Google Play storeand the Amazon Appstore. If you've got a phone, tablet or laptop in your pocket or bag, you can get Libby. You can also access the service via a web browser atlibbyapp.com.So how does it work?Once you've created a Libby account and entered your library card's info, all you have to do is search for the title you want and borrow it. If you've ever used Spotify or the Apple Music app, or other audiobook apps like Audible or Apple Books, you'll know what to expect with the Libby player. Elsewhere, you can read ebooks in Libby or by exporting them to your Kindle app.One of the major value propositions that Libby offers is the ability to add multiple library cards. Some library systems out there will allow you to sign up for a card even if you don't live in its local area. For example, as a resident of New York state, I'm able to access the New York City Public Library in Manhattan, the Queens Public Library and the Brooklyn Public Library, as well as my local library, dramatically expanding the catalog I can pull from. Go digging on Google and see if any library systems in your state offer something similar. Are there any drawbacks to Libby?As Libby is connecting you with real libraries, you're required to work within the limitations of library rentals. That means that each title will have a limited number of "copies" that the library can lend at a time, so if the one you're looking for is all booked up, you'll have to place a hold and wait for it to become available. Once you borrow something, you'll also only have access to it for a certain amount of time, usually two to three weeks. Maybe reconsider using Libby to check out Infinite Jest, unless you have a mountain of free time.You'll also notice on Libby, compared to Audible or Apple Books, that the audio quality for audiobooks leaves something to be desired. And unlike Audible, there's no option to choose from higher or lower quality files. Certainly not something that will be a dealbreaker for most people, but something to keep in mind for perfectionists.For more on audiobooks, find out how audiobooks could become another medium shaken up by AI.

The future of Lego Fortnite: "I hope it will never be done""We said 'let's plan for something in 2027' and they did it in one year."Image credit: Epic Games News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Dec. 13, 2024 This week has seen a flurry of activity within Lego Fortnite, the game's ever-expanding corner in which several major game modes now sit. First, there was the arrival of a major update for Lego Fortnite Odyssey (the mode previously also simply known as 'Lego Fortnite') that adds the Storm King boss as a big endgame challenge, akin to the Ender Dragon in Minecraft. On top of that, there's now a whole new and separate Lego Fortnite offering to explore: Brick Life, a colourful mash-up of gameplay that feels like a family friendly GTA Online mixed with The Sims.How did these changes and new features come about? And what does the future have in store for Lego and Fortnite's popular crossover? I sat down with Epic Games EVP of game development Devin Winterbottom and Remi Marcelli, SVP and head of Lego gaming at the Lego group, to find out more. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Lego Fortnite Odyssey: Storm Chasers update trailer.Watch on YouTubeHow did you come up with the new name for Lego Fortnite Odyssey? And why Odyssey?Marcelli: Finding new brands is always a bit of a challenge for The Lego Group. Lego Fortnite is those two brands coming together, but it's not specific to a genre. At the time we chose that name, it was an obvious one just because we have two very powerful brands - it would have been a missed oppurtunity! We didn't know we would have a collection of games, potentially, that would sit under that umbrella. So what we really needed to find was one calling out the genre you'd expect to find when launching [the old] Lego Fortnite. Odyssey came about because that's what players love the most - the adventures. The adventure play is the most loved part of that game and we've dialled up that with the Storm King. We wanted to just make sure people understood it was an adventure game. And with Brick Life, hopefully it's self-explanatory - it says social roleplay.Did you always know you wanted the Storm King in there? For long-term Fortnite fans, it's cool to see him come over from the game's original Save the World mode.Winterbottom: We had a vision of what this game could become. We always wanted to have the big, scary, difficult, challenging thing you could aspire to accomplish. We always had in mind it would be something like this. "Everything we've added into Odyssey has stayed in it"We arrived together at the Storm King after thinking about the kinds of things that already existed within the big thing called Fortnite and the history of where our game came from, and what we could do in this world. He is meant to be the challenging thing you aspire to do, which a game in this genre - we think it needs. It's really cool the way that mountain has just appeared in the middle of your island, the biome is incredible and he sits atop of it. It's a lot of fun and we expect players will play with it for years to come. The last thing I'll say is - everything we've added into Odyssey has stayed in it. The Star Wars content is still there, the klombos, the battle bus, the vehicles, the farming... and that's unique for us. It was challenging to drop this Storm King update in the middle of a live map that someone's been playing and that we've added all this other content. But we're really happy with how it's turned out.How have you managed to do that? Because that new area isn't just stitched onto the side, it has to detect where you've been in the world previously, what you've built to avoid ruining that stuff."We can't betray that - their work, their investment"Winterbottom: It's difficult technical work. Unreal Engine is an incredibly powerful tool that has a bunch of procedural world generation technology we've been building into it for the past few years. We've been working on this technology challenge for a while. When we did the Star Wars update we put a new biome off to the side of your island, which is a much simpler thing to do. We always had the ambition to change a person's island live, but noting that they've changed it themselves - they've erected structures all over, they've built things. We can't betray that - their work, their investment. So there's a bunch of work the engineering and design teams did to figure out how to procedurally, algorithmically find the right place for that biome and create that structure. We're really proud of that achievement, it's not easy to do, and we take players' investment in everything they have crafted on that island very seriously - because that's their game they've built inside of it, it's their creativity and we don't want to tear that down. That's how we approached it.What will 2025 look like for Lego Fortnite Odyssey? Can players expect the same mix of licensed and original content additions?Winterbottom: We just met up and talked about exactly this! We like to have enough roadmap that we can get our teams working, but not so much that we can't react to what players are liking, because we take so much from the community in terms of feedback. There will definitely be, maybe, some more licensed stuff - there's fun things to do there. But we're more focused on how we continue to make the game fun. We've not just been adding content but we've been refining how it plays this year - and we plan to do both of those things next year with Odyssey. We're pretty excited about our 2025 plans.It sounds like a game you're not expecting to finish up anytime soon. Will it ever be finished, or are you planning to keep building it indefinitely?Marcelli: I hope it's a game that will never be finished. The Fortnite platform allows it and it's becoming a place where any game can be a live-service game pretty easily. And we talk about the limitless possibility of Lego bricks, so if you combine those things together it is indeed limitless. I hope it will never be done, always kept fresh and updated.Moving onto Lego Fortnite Brick Life, how did that come about and how did you decide on the roleplay, social sim genre to go with?Marcelli: Roleplay was a genre the community had a lot of appetite for and if you think about the Lego Group - the first thing you do once you've built your set is to roleplay, so it made a lot of sense to embrace that genre from a video game perspective. Doing this within Odyssey wouldn't have done justice to what you can get from an adventure game and would probably have been a distraction in an adventure game - so we wanted to separate the two. Epic came with the proposal of launching another game instead of creating everything that everyone wants in one game, in order to keep the authenticity of what Lego Odyssey was at the time. We said 'let's plan for something in 2027' and they did it in one year.Lego Fortnite Brick Life launch trailer.Watch on YouTubeHow did you do it in one year?"We're a little bit demanding with our brands and our bricks!"Marcelli: The technical work that went into building Lego Fortnite in the first place was long and deep. We just needed to have all our elements rendered to perfection because, as you can imagine, we're a little bit demanding with our brands and our bricks! [laughs]Winterbottom: Have you noticed the word Lego is literally embossed on every brick?!Marcelli: We wanted that Lego love, fidelity and everything. So it was a lot of work to create the archtecture, create 2000 minifigs, but once that's there it's easier to build on. So I want to commend the work Epic Games did in the past to build that architecture there in the past for us to build on in the future - but they also work fast, too.

Landmark Law Prohibits Health Insurance Companies from Using AI to Deny Healthcare CoverageDecember 9, 2024The Physicians Make Decisions Act Ensures Health Care Decisions Are Made by Medical Professionals, Not AlgorithmsSacramento, CAAs 2025 approaches, Californians can look forward to strengthened patient protections under the new Physicians Make Decisions Act (SB 1120), authored by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park). This groundbreaking law ensures that decisions about medical treatments are made by licensed health care providers, not solely determined by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms used by health insurers.Artificial intelligence has immense potential to enhance healthcare delivery, but it should never replace the expertise and judgment of physicians, said Senator Becker. An algorithm cannot fully understand a patients unique medical history or needs, and its misuse can lead to devastating consequences. SB 1120 ensures that human oversight remains at the heart of healthcare decisions, safeguarding Californians access to the quality care they deserve.Ensuring Human Oversight in Healthcare DecisionsIn recent years, insurers have increasingly turned to AI to process claims and prior authorization requests. While these tools can improve efficiency, they also raise concerns about inaccuracies and bias in healthcare decision-making. Errors in algorithm-driven denials of care have, in some cases, resulted in severe health outcomes or even loss of life.Under SB 1120, any denial, delay, or modification of care based on medical necessity must be reviewed and decided by a licensed physician or qualified health care provider with expertise in the specific clinical issues at hand. The law also establishes fair and equitable standards for companies using AI in their utilization review processes, preventing improper or unethical practices.California Leads the Nation in AI Regulation for HealthcareSponsored by the CMA, which represents 50,000 physicians statewide, SB 1120 sets a national precedent for ensuring AI in healthcare is used responsibly. This law reaffirms Californias commitment to equitable, patient-centered care while addressing legitimate concerns surrounding the expanding role of technology in healthcare.Other states are following California's lead in implementing laws to protect patients from utilizing AI to determine patient health care decisions.The Physicians Make Decisions Act will officially go into effect on January 1, 2025.

Pugi-wishlistForget everything else at The Game Awards, between Like A Dragon dev RGG's mysterious new game and a semi-leaked thing, the real winners last night were lovers of early 20th century scrapsLook, I just like getting into massive barneys that slightly pre-date the two world wars, ok?Image credit: RGG/Hangar 13 News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Dec. 13, 2024 Among the many, many things that were shown off at last night's Keighleyfest - The Game Awards - were few things that I'm really excited about. Sure, The Witcher 4 was a big one, but there were others, and two of them have more common ground than you might expect from a couple of games set literally miles apart. They're Project Century and Mafia: The Old Country and they both look like they'll scratch my weird itch for fights that take place when my great grandad was alive.Now, of these two, Mafia's probably the one that's playing the Robin to Project Century's Batman. After all, we already knew it was a thing prior to last night, and it lost a bit more mistique when its freshly narrowed release window leaked ahead of the show.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. We still got a fresh trailer for it, though, and I quite enjoyed seeing how its plot about gangsters in 1900s Sicily looks to be shaping up. It might not be an absolute blockbuster that redefines how we all see gaming, but it looks like exactly the kind of just plain good fun title that's the bread and butter of any great year in gaming.A bit like I did with Star Wars Outlaws this year, I'll likely fire The Old Country up, spend however long it takes to play through it, and just have a plain old nice time. After all, look at all the potential for dicking about in a historical setting, getting up to crimes, and doing some old school fighting that it has. I've not been kidnapped and replaced by Jim Trinca, I swear, these are just the kinds of things I also often get a kick out of in games.Watch on YouTubePlus, there are old cars, and plenty of cosa nostra storytelling stuff that I'll presumably at least like as much as I did the previous Mafia games, even if it doesn't end up being quite The Godfather of The Sopranos level.While - based on what its predecessors were like and the little we've seen of it so far - Mafia might not have the juice, that something that takes a game from good to great, Project Century looks like it definitely could. Announced last night, this is a rather mysteriuous new game being worked on by Yakuza/Like A Dragon series developer and bringers of the pirate Majima RGG Studio. It's set in Japan in 1915 and the trailer showed off some pretty brutal - i.e a bit more bloody than the average Kiryu brawl - street scrapping between its unnamed protagonist and your usual street toughs.Watch on YouTubeSo, like Mafia, there's a historical setting and the chance to batter people before the invention of Penicillin in it, but there also seems to be a bit more bubbling under the surface. The protagonist's eyes are glowing in the main promo image, and at one point he fights a huge, hulking bald figure that arguably tooks more monster than man. Maybe a bit of sci-fi or alt history to spice things up? Then again, Kazuma Kiryu did once fistfight two tigers and it was played off as just being a normal thing to happen to a guy living in 2006, so who knows.At the end of the day, both of these games have the potential to be great things since they're still existing in the pre-release nether world right now, and I'll definitely be keen to give them a go when they do drop, even if it's just to beat up some historical lads.