Bluesky, currently home to the best of the "X-pats," allows you to use your personal domain name as your username. In other words, you can change your username from "@prawnay.bsky.social" to "@pranayparab.com." The problem with this is that it leaves your old username open to be claimed by anyone: If you didn't claim it immediately after making the switch, then another person could take your old username. This is inconvenient for those who have the same handle across multiple social networks, especially if your account is prone to impersonation.With Bluesky 1.96, the social network will safeguard your old username if and when you decide to switch to your own domain name. The company says that it will indefinitely reserve your most recent bsky.social handle, so you won't have to worry about trolls or impersonators taking over your old handle when you verify yourself with your domain. Now that this feature is here, I'll be switching my Bluesky handle to my own domain name as soon as possiblewithout worrying about someone stealing my original handle.Streamlined notifications and other features Credit: Pranay Parab The 1.96 update also brings many other improvements to Bluesky. For starters, you'll see a new "Mentions" tab in the app's notifications page. This will allow you to quickly see who mentioned you in comments and easily reply to them. The old notifications interface used to show follows, reposts, likes, and mentions all on the same page.Speaking of replies, with this latest update, you can now choose how replies appear on Bluesky. You can pick between a linear view (the default) and a threaded view, which makes it easier to follow multiple layers of comments. You can also choose to sort replies in chronological or reverse chronological order, prioritize most popular replies, or choose a totally random order.Finally, Bluesky is getting unspecified visual improvements, and the service has now been translated to support three more languagesKhmer, Nepali, and Romanian.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Apple's AirTags use the Find My network to track just about anything you can put them on, like car keys, luggage, or even a dog's collar. Right now, Amazon has a four-pack on sale for $69.99 (originally $99), matching the record-low price, according to price-checking tools. If you're a Prime Member, you'll be getting them before Christmas. Keep track of and find your items alongside friends and devices in the Find My app Apple AirTag 4 pack $69.99 at Amazon $99.00 Save $29.01 Get Deal Get Deal $69.99 at Amazon $99.00 Save $29.01 SEE -2 MORE AirTags are useful gadgets, and their usefulness extends to your creativity. They are mostly marketed for purses, keys, and travel bags, but there are examples of people using them much more creatively (the author of this Reddit post used it on their dog collar and trained it to come back whenever they pressed the "play sound" feature). It works by using Apple's network of iOS devices to create a Bluetooth network. Essentially, every person with an iPhone (or iPad) is part of this iOS network, and as long as one of these people is within Bluetooth range of your AirTag, it will show up on your Find My app.As you can see on PCMag's "excellent" review of the AirTag, the Find My app has a screen that points you in the direction of your AirTag like a compass, including the distance away it is from you. There is also an option to play a sound, which is perfect for, say, finding a remote that's buried under the couch. Once you are more than 30 feet from your phone, the network of iOS users will kick in. When the AirTag is below that range, it uses your own Bluetooth. There are security measures in place set by Apple, including end-to-end encryption so nobody (not even Apple) knows where your AirTag is except for you. The batteries last about a year and are replaceable. There is also no monthly charge for these, unlike competitors like Tile for Android users.

Scams are everywhere right now. It's never been more important to stay vigilant, whether you're checking your email, browsing the web, or answering a phone call. But it's not all on you: As it happens, Google might be using artificial intelligence to help prevent you from being a victim of an scamat least while using Chrome.As spotted by researcher Leopeva64, Google appears to be testing a new scam detection feature in Chrome. Of course, it's 2024, so that means the feature uses AI. The feature's name, "Client Side Detection Brand and Intent for Scam Detection," doesn't alert you to that fact, but you see it in the description: "Enables on devices LLM output on pages to inquire for brand and intent of the page." LLM stands for large language model, which powers many of the AI-generated programs and services you use, and it appears the feature uses that AI model to look out for sites that appear to be scammy.To further clarify the feature's intent, Leopeva described it to Gemini, which broke down the feature's explanation and distilled it into the following: Based on the bot's analysis, the feature runs an LLM on your device to look for two things: misrepresentation of brands, such as when scammers copy real brands to trick you into accessing their sites; and suspicious intent, which looks for key signs of scams and phishing attempts. You always need to take AI-generated answers with a grain of salt, but, to my eye, that seems like an apt interpretation. This option is live in the latest version of Chrome Canary, the version of Chrome that Google uses to test new flags (experimental features) on. It's not clear if it works yet, but you can enable it. First, launch Chrome Canary, then head to chrome://flags. From here, search for "client-side-detection-brand-and-page-intent" (without the quotes, of course), then click the "Default" drop-down menu and choose "Enabled." Click "Relaunch," and you're set. Credit: Jake Peterson Chrome isn't the only browser getting in on AI scam prevention. Last week, Leopeva64 spotted a similar feature in Microsoft Edge, a "scareware blocker." Unlike Google's more cryptic description, this one quite literally says "Allow Microsoft to use AI to detect potential tech scams."

Another day, another Tesla recall. This time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informed the owners of almost 700,000 Tesla vehicles warning them of a problem with a warning light for the tire pressure monitoring system as reported by the Associated Press.The recall affects the 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3 and 2020-2025 Model Y Vehicles. The NHTSA says the warning light for the tire pressure monitoring system may not stay illuminated between drives.Tesla says it will send out an over-the-road (OTR) update to vehicles affected by the warning light issue. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on Feb. 15, 2025.The past year has seen more than a few Tesla recalls and OTRs. The NHTSA recorded seven recalls in the last year for the Cybertruck to address problems involving the rear-view camera, faulty windshield wipers and loose trunk beds. Tesla issued an over-the-air update in June for 1.8 million vehicles including select 2021-2024 Model 3, S and X vehicles and 2020-2024 Model Y vehicles to fix hoods that could come loose during drives if closed improperly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-is-recalling-almost-700000-vehicles-over-a-tire-pressure-monitor-issue-223639361.html?src=rss

When Intel debuted its first Arc video cards two years ago, I was more than a little skeptical. Could a company that famously gave up on its last major desktop GPU project in 2009 actually make a dent in a market dominated by NVIDIA and AMD? Well, when I reviewed them in 2022, the Arc A750 and A770 turned out better than I thought, though they were also held back by Intel's poor drivers. But it seems Intel has learned from its mistakes. The new $250 Arc B580 performs better than AMD's low-end Radeon 7600, and it can even tangle a bit with NVIDIA when it comes to budget ray tracing. The only question is if it's worth investing in an Intel video card given its rocky corporate outlook. But for such a cheap video card, with a price that harkens back to the early 2000s, the risk may be worth it. The B580 marks the debut of Intel's second-generation Arc Xe2 GPUs, and it'll be joined by the $219 B570 next month. Based on their specs alone, it's easy to see why they're compelling for budget games. The B580 features 20 Xe cores, 20 ray tracing units and a faster clock speed than the previous Arc cards. Most importantly, though, it's rocking 12GB of VRAM with a 192-bit memory interface, giving it more than enough room to pump out 1440p gameplay. The $299 NVIDIA RTX 4060, in comparison, is stuck with 8GB of VRAM and a far more limited 128-bit interface. Even the RTX 4060 Ti sports that meager amount of VRAM, limiting both of those GPUs mostly to 1080p gameplay (especially if you wanted a bit of ray tracing). AMD's Radeon RX 7600, which goes for around $269, is also burdened with 8GB of RAM and weaker ray tracing performance than NVIDIA and Intel's cards. While Intel has a clear hardware advantage, timing is once again a major concern. The Arc B580 launched as we're preparing for CES 2025, where both NVIDIA and AMD are expected to show off new desktop GPUs. Given NVIDIA's ever-increasing prices, I wouldn't bet on seeing an RTX 5060 around $250, but AMD is another story. It's been trying to make an impact in the low- and mid-range GPU market for years, and thats reportedly still the case with its RDNA 4 cards. There's a good chance we'll eventually see some sort of inexpensive next-gen GPU from AMD. Intel If you need to build a budget gaming rig in the next few months or so, though, the Arc B580 will serve you well. In my testing, it scored slightly higher than the RTX 4060 Ti in 3DMark's Timespy Extreme Benchmark, and it was also noticeably faster than the Radeon 7600. The B580 shone even brighter with ray tracing. I hit a 58 fps average in the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark running at 1080p with Ultra graphics settings and mid-range ray tracing. The Radeon 7600, on the other hand, sometimes struggled to stay above 40 fps with similar settings. GPU Timespy Extreme 3Dmark Speedway Port Royal Ray Tracing Intel Arc B580 7,287 2,443 7,872 Intel Arc A770 6,718 N/A 6,960 NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti 6,599 3,217 8,170 AMD Radeon 7600 5,526 1,969 5,478 I was genuinely surprised by how well the Arc B580 tackled 1440p gaming. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I hit 70 fps on average with high graphics settings, mid-range ray tracing and Intel's XeSS upscaling flipped on. That's better performance than you'll see on the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro (though admittedly, Sony's PSSR AI upscaling might look better to your eyes). I also hit 85 fps on average while playing Halo Infinite in 1440p with maxed out graphics, which was slightly better than the 4060 Ti. While we're used to budget cards being mainly limited to 1080p gaming, the Arc B580's additional memory clearly makes it well suitedfor 1440p. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget Still, there are benefits that the competition offers. NVIDIA's RTX GPUs can also work with its specialized apps, like NVIDIA Broadcaster, which can clean up your audio and video for streams and recordings. Additionally, NVIDIA's DLSS 3 upscaling is available on over 500 games, while Intel's XeSS just cracked 200. And then theres the driver issue: NVIDIA has decades of experience crafting solid GPU software, whereas Intel is still recovering from its recent driver missteps. At least the XeSS 2 AI upscaling seems more useful than AMD's FSR 3 (FidelityFX Super Resolution), as Intel's tech looks dramatically better and can often increase a game's performance by 30 percent or more. The Arc B580 also survived several hours of benchmarking and gaming without any hardware or driver issues. When I first tested the Arc A750 and A770, they would often crash within an hour of testing. Intel's software has clearly made some progress. The B580 reference model I tested also stayed relatively cool under load, and it never surpassed 64 degrees celsius (which also kept its two large fans from ever making much noise). While there will be third-party cards available, I was also impressed by Intels reference design: The B580 feels premium and sturdy, not cheap and plasticky like many other budget GPUs. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget At this point, it seems like Intel is already having trouble keeping the Arc B580 in stock, a rare good problem for the beleaguered chip giant. Its easy to see why gamers are smitten: It delivers solid 1080p and 1440p performance for most new titles, even with a bit of ray tracing. Finally, theres a viable $250 GPU that doesnt make you feel like youre desperately behind the pack. Its a clear win for Intel at least until we see whats new from AMD.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/intel-arc-b580-review-the-new-king-of-250-gpus-for-now-200047482.html?src=rss

Whether or not youve heard of a white elephant gift exchange before, theres a good chance you have the wrong idea of what it is, how it actually works and where the idea came from. According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. It was a far more devious punishment than simply having them executed. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin.This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. Picking the right white elephant gift means walking a fine line: the goal isnt to just buy something terrible and force someone to take it home with them. Rather, it should be just useful or amusing enough that it wont immediately get tossed into the trash. The recipient also shouldnt be able to just throw it in a junk drawer and forget about it. So here are a few suggestions that will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make the recipient feel (slightly) burdened. White elephant FAQs What is white elephant? A white elephant gift exchange is a party game typically played around the holidays in which people exchange funny, impractical gifts. How does white elephant work? A group of people each bring one wrapped gift to the white elephant gift exchange, and each gift is typically of a similar value. All gifts are then placed together and the group decides the order in which they will each claim a gift. The first person picks a white elephant gift from the pile, unwraps it and their turn ends. The following players can either decide to unwrap another gift and claim it as their own, or steal a gift from someone who has already taken a turn. The rules can vary from there, including the guidelines around how often a single item can be stolen some say twice, max. The game ends when every person has a white elephant gift. Why is it called white elephant? The term white elephant is said to come from the legend of the King of Siam gifting white elephants to courtiers who upset him. While it seems like a lavish gift on its face, the belief is that the courtiers would be ruined by the animals upkeep costs. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-7-best-white-elephant-gifts-that-are-worth-stealing-150516076.html?src=rss

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Steam's end-of-the-year review reveals that 15% of users' total playtime was devoted to games released in 2024.

Netflix has confirmed principal photography has wrapped on Stranger Things' fifth season.

A new short video showcases the motion capture and visual effects work by MPC.The post Behind the visual effects of Mufasa appeared first on befores & afters.