The upcoming Ray-Ban smart glasses will reportedly feature similar 'in-lens' displays as Meta's Orion prototype for augmented reality experiences.

Many experts deem these two VPN providers to be the best in the game, but which is better? My in-depth research reveals which VPN should be your pick for every user case.

ZDNETIn 2023, Ireviewed Ultramarine Linux, which was based on Fedora 39, calling it the "desktop of the year." Since then, the developers have released a new version based on Fedora 40 (which is one release behind the official Fedora distribution). This new release vastly improves the documentation experience, fixes numerous bugs, and polishes the distribution to a gleaming, sparkling shine.As with my original review, I opted for the Flagship version, which uses the Budgie desktop. Out of the box, the layout looks and feels instantly familiar and defaults to a dark theme (a practice that has become quite common with many Linux distributions).When I review a Linux distribution (or even an app) that defaults to a dark theme, the first thing I do is configure it for the lighter side of things -- because dark themes and my eyes do not get along well.Installer changes comingBefore I get into this, I want to point out that the developers are preparing to ditch Fedora's Anaconda installer and go with their in-house-built Readymade. As of now, Readymade is not ready for prime time, so you won't see it in Ultramarine 40. Hopefully, we'll see this new installer in version 41 of the OS.Ultramarine WikiAlso, the developers have really upped their game with the documentation found in theUltramarine Wiki, where you'll find information about installing and using the distribution. The Wiki contains some pretty valuable information on things like installing codecs, NVIDIA drivers, and setting up backups.But what you're really here for is to find out about the Ultramarine Linux distribution itself. Let's dive in.Out of the boxAs I mentioned, Ultramarine opts for a dark theme out of the box, which is done quite well (if you're a fan of dark themes). Personally, I prefer light themes, which are easier on my eyes. Since I don't usually view the desktop at night, it makes sense for me to go the lighter route.The default Budgie layout is fairly straightforward: a panel, start menu, system tray, and desktop icons. It's standard and works well for users of any skill level. However, Budgie is all about customizations, and it took me very little time to configure the desktop to my liking. All I had to do was right-click the desktop, select Budgie Desktop Settings, go to Style, and configure as needed. I also customized the Bottom Dock (switching the panel to Dock Mode) and Desktop (disabling desktop icons). My tweaked Ultramarine Linux desktop. Jack Wallen/ZDNETAfter that, it was just a matter of adding apps to the Dock by right-clicking an open app's icon and clicking the Star button to add it to the Favorites.Windows Shuffler and HotcornersWith Ultramarine's Flagship edition (Budgie), there's a tiling feature enabled by default, as well as the Hotcorners option. The tiling feature (found in Menu > Accessories > Window Shuffler Control) allows you to enable or disable the Shuffler drag-and-drop edge tiling feature and lists the quarter and half tiling keyboard shortcuts (such as Top-left - Ctrl + Alt + 7). You can have both hot corners and tiling working at once. Jack Wallen/ZDNETThe Hotcorners feature is disabled by default. To enable it, open the Budgie Hotcorners Settings app and click the On/Off slider until it's in the On position. Next, click on the hotcorner you want to configure, toggle its associated On/Off slider to the On position, and then select what you want that hotcorner to do when used.Pre-installed appsAs far as pre-installed apps, you get the usual collection: Firefox, LibreOffice, Gedit (text editor), and the Rhythmbox Music Player. You'll also find the Wallstreet wallpaper manager and GNOME Software for installing and managing applications. GNOME Software makes it easy to install the apps you need.Because Ultramarine Linux is based on Fedora, you can bet it includes the Flatpak universal package manager. The developers have also baked Flatpak support into GNOME Files, so you'll find tons of software to install (even proprietary apps like Spotify and Slack). From within GNOME Software, you can upgrade from Ultramarine Linux 40 to 41. Jack Wallen/ZDNETUltramarine Linux includes all the codecs you'll need to play nearly any type of multimedia, which is a departure from Fedora, where those codecs must be installed by the user due to licensing restrictions in the US.UpgradesWhen I opened GNOME Software, the first thing that caught my eye was the update to Ultramarine Linux 41. This was a surprise, as the most recent download was for version 40. Nevertheless, I clicked Download as prompted and waited for it to complete.My only issue with Fedora (and many Fedora-based distributions) is that an update often requires a restart. Unlike many distributions that only require a restart if the kernel is updated, Fedora-based distributions run the update during a restart. So, after the download was completed, I had to click Restart & Update to apply everything. Since this was a distribution upgrade, it took a bit longer than a standard update.Keep in mind, however, that this is Linux, so you don't have to worry about an upgrade requiring a restart going south or taking hours (as Windows upgrades sometimes can). All told, the upgrade from Ultramarine Linux 40 to 41 took roughly 20 minutes, and I'm perfectly OK with that.PerformanceGiven how incredible Fedora's performance is, it should come as no surprise that Ultramarine Linux performs like a champ -- it's quite fast. Apps open immediately and run smoothly. Then again, I've found that just about any distribution based on Fedora performs quite well, and Ultramarine Linux is no exception.My overall takeJust like when I reviewed this Linux distribution the first time around, Ultramarine 40 (and then 41) was an absolute delight. I will also add that, upon updating to version 41, I found the desktop as a whole included even more refinement and eked out a bit more performance than version 40. The difference was subtle, but it was there. Considering I ran Ultramarine Linux in a virtual machine with only 3GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores, I found the performance even more impressive.If you like the idea of having a Fedora-based distribution that ships with "sane defaults," so the out-of-box experience is brilliant from the start, Ultramarine Linux does not disappoint. Of course, the Budgie desktop is certainly a thing to behold.For anyone looking to distro hop to a Fedora-based distribution that's ready to go out of the box, you can't go wrong with Ultramarine Linux.Open Source

Artwork of a pair of tyrannosaur dinosaurs surveying a volcanic landscape.gettyAbout 66 million years ago, a meteorite hit Earth near what today is the Yucatn peninsula, causing widespread destruction and death. But almost simultaneously, intense volcanism covered a vast area of the Indian subcontinent with over 2 kilometers thick lava flows. Scientists have long debated if the impact or the volcanic supereruption was behind the extinction of 75 percent of all species living at the time, including non-avian dinosaurs, or a combination of both.Based on a new study, scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Manchester show that while the volcanism caused a temporary climate change, the effects had already worn off thousands of years before the meteorite impacted and most species survived this first cold snap. The scientists therefore conclude that the meteorite impact was the ultimate cause of the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period.A meteorite impact can result in a thick layer of dust and soot blocking the sun and cooling the surface. Volcanic eruptions release vast amounts of carbon-dioxide, dust, and sulfur, thereby significantly altering the chemistry of the atmosphere and changing Earth's climatebut in different ways and on different timescales to a meteorite impact.By analyzing fossil molecules in sediments deposited around 65 to 66 million years ago in the interior of the North American continent, the scientific team reconstructed air temperatures for the entire time period.The analyzed sediments contain specific molecules produced by bacteria. The structure of these molecules changes depending on the temperature of the environment the bacteria once lived in. By analyzing the composition of these molecules in the sediment layers deposited every year, the scientists were able to reconstruct a climate curve covering both the timing of the volcanic eruptions and the meteorite impact.MORE FOR YOUThe study show that a major volcanic pulse occurred about 30,000 years before the impact, coinciding with at least a 5 degrees cooling of the climate. They also conclude that this cooling was likely the result of volcanic sulfur emissions."These volcanic eruptions and associated carbon-dioxide and sulfur release would have had drastic consequences for life on Earth. But these events happened millennia before the meteorite impact and probably played only a small part in the extinction of dinosaurs," explains study author Lauren O'Connor, a geochemist at Utrecht University.The scientists also discovered that by around 20,000 years before the impact, temperatures on Earth had already stabilized and had climbed back to similar temperatures before the volcanic eruptions started. This fast recovery was likely aided by volcanic emissions acting like greenhouse gases rapidly warming the planet.Graph showing how Earth's mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) dropped during a phase of intense ... [+] volcanism in India but returned normal shortly after the eruption peak. The end-Cretaceous meteorite impact happened 30,000 years after this peak.O Connor et al. 2024/Science AdvancesWith the effects of volcanism practically ruled out, this would leave the Yucatn meteorite impact as the primary cause of the later mass extinction."By comparison, the impact from the asteroid unleashed a chain of disasters, including wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and an 'impact winter' that blocked sunlight and devastated ecosystems. We believe the asteroid that ultimately delivered the fatal blow," concludes Rhodri Jerrett, geologist at the University of Manchester.The study, "Terrestrial evidence for volcanogenic sulfate-driven cooling event ~30 ka before the CretaceousPaleogene mass extinction," was published in the journal Science Advances and can be found online here.Additional material and interviews provided by Utrecht University.

Businessman hand touching digital healthcare icon.gettyGlobal cost pressures and a fast-changing political and regulatory landscape indicate that the pharmaceutical industry is at an inflection point as we head into 2025, as we outline in our recently published Numerof & Associates 2025 Global Pharma Outlook.To navigate this increasingly complex environment, manufacturers must fundamentally rethink their models, focusing on long-term value, evidence-based decision-making and strategic collaboration.At a macro level, the single biggest factor in the current landscape is continuing pressure from both government and private payers to reduce the cost and ensure the value of drugs. Across the globe, government payers are raising the bar for market entry. This takes the form of increasing evidentiary requirements and growing complexity in rules that govern reimbursement.This is further amplified in the U.S. market by the consolidation of healthcare delivery into fewer, more complex and powerful healthcare systems. Not only do these healthcare corporations bring substantial market clout to the negotiating table, but they are increasing their centralized control over the drugs, devices and tests used across the sprawling inpatient and outpatient facilities they control.And while they dont have as much influence as global corporations or national governments, pressure to lower drug prices is also driven by consumers who are struggling financially, burdened by many factors, for whom the cost of drugs is a proxy for the spiraling cost of healthcare.MORE FOR YOUMore than ever, this years challenge for pharmaceutical manufacturers will be about responding to this pressure in constructive ways that illustrate the immense value that pharmaceuticals bring to everyday Americans.The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. shattered managements complacency regarding the political landscape. This policy surprise set off a profound reassessment of budgets, pipelines, and staffing from which many companies are still recovering.Similar actions have moved forward in the EU as well, with direct pricing agreements, price controls, reference and risk-based pricing increasingly being adopted. The IRA and similar actions being taken in the EU have put a spotlight on cost management and heightened attention to processes like evidence development, launch sequencing, and portfolio pricing.Given the evolving pressures in the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturers must take a proactive approach to navigating the challenges ahead. First and foremost, they should reevaluate their investments and R&D priorities to ensure they align with emerging trends and public policy shifts. This includes crafting evidence-based economic and clinical value narratives that resonate with key stakeholders, while addressing growing concerns about health equity.Redesigning commercial models and refining launch sequencing will also be crucial in maintaining competitive advantage, as will aligning R&D, Medical Affairs, and Commercial functions to ensure seamless execution across the value chain.In addition, pharmaceutical companies should focus on elevating business acumen, diagnostic capabilities, and influence skills within their teams. Strengthening strategic collaborations with providers and payers will be key to adapting to a more complex and regulated landscape.Finally, manufacturers must develop portfolio investment and pricing strategies that reflect the lifetime value of their products, ensuring long-term sustainability in a market under increasing pressure to deliver both value and innovation. These steps will enable companies to not only survive but thrive as they navigate the complex environment shaping the future of global healthcare.As we look ahead to 2025, pharmaceutical manufacturers must recognize that the current landscape is not just about navigating regulatory hurdles or market pressures, but about fundamentally rethinking how they deliver value in a rapidly evolving healthcare system.Success will hinge on the ability to adapt not only to cost constraints but to a growing demand for transparency, evidence-based decision-making and strategic collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem. The companies that rise to this challenge will be those that focus on long-term value, harness innovation and align their commercial strategies with the realities of a complex, cost-conscious world.

With Christmas nearly here, were guessing theres at least a handful of shoppers running around stores, scouring aisles for TV deals. And while most of the smaller TVs are at astronomically low prices, the larger, more advanced sets are often still expensive. This is why its a great idea to take a look at markdowns on slightly older TVs that are still sold brand-new, like this fantastic LG offer:For a limited time, when you purchase the LG 77-inch C3 Series OLED through Best Buy, youll only pay $1,900. Mind you, this TV once cost $2,300 at full price. We reviewed the LG C3 Series back in 2023, and editor at large Caleb Denison called it a stellar TV.Why you should buy the LG C3 Series OLEDFor those unaware, OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, which is how the C3 Series produces picture. Instead of relying on LED backlighting, self-emissive pixels power on and off individually. This is how OLEDs are able to achieve some impressive black levels and contrast ratios. You can expect just that from the 77-inch C3 Series, along with a wide color gamut and excellent HDR support (sans HDR10+).RelatedGamers will love the fact that this hulking TV is also optimized for console and PC hookups, thanks to HDMI 2.1 connectivity, VRR and ALLM support, as well as a Game Mode setting for reduced input lag and increased response time. As for apps, LGs webOS 23 platform gives you access to popular services like Netflix and Disney+, as well as AirPlay 2 capabilities.Its hard to say how long this markdown is going to last, but considering its a Best Buy Friday doorbuster, the stock may be depleted rather quickly. So, if a new, huge OLED sounds good to you and yours, we recommend buying now! Take $400 off the LG 77-inch C3 Series OLED today, and be sure to take a look at our roundups of the best LG TV deals and best OLED TV deals for even more last-minute savings!Editors Recommendations

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" CES 2025 is just two weeks away and Asus is planning to launch, among other things, a new ultrathin laptop that it claims will be the worlds lightest Copilot+ PC.A short trailer for the mysterious product posted by Asus shows it floating like a feather, but we dont have any numbers yet on just how light the laptop will be. To earn its title, it will definitely need to weigh under 2.6 pounds to beat the Surface Pro 11th edition (keyboard included) and the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x.CES 2025 ASUS Official Teaser - UnloadWe also dont know what will be powering the PC, but according to a press release, its going to have up to 32 hours of battery life. To have even a chance of living up to these numbers, the most obvious chip choice would be Qualcomms Snapdragon X Elite, which is known for its superior power efficiency. But it could also be powered by the Intel Core Ultra Series 2, which has proven to deliver some great battery life results as well.Recommended VideosBut, Qualcomm or not, its always important to remember that battery life tests done by manufacturers and battery tests conducted by consumers never yield quite the same results. To get the numbers as high as possible, manufacturers usually create an optimal situation that doesnt reflect the way most (or any) people actually use their PCs. When reviewers get their hands on this new PC, we should probably expect their results to be at least three or four hours lower. In other words, your mileage may vary. Still, its an impressive claim. Anything over 25 hours would push this new PC to the top of most lists, however, so it will be exciting to see how it performs.RelatedLuckily, we dont have to wait long to get more information since Asus will officially introduce the laptop at its Always Incredible event on January 7.Editors Recommendations

Doing well by doing good Reminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes Help increases our charity haul before the sweepstakes ends. Kyle Orland Dec 23, 2024 2:57 pm | 0 Just some of the prizes you can win in this years Ars Technica Charity Drive sweepstakes Credit: Kyle Orland Just some of the prizes you can win in this years Ars Technica Charity Drive sweepstakes Credit: Kyle Orland Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIf you've been too busy fixing your video drivers to take part in this year's Ars Technica Charity Drive sweepstakes, don't worry. You still have time to donate to a good cause and get a chance to win your share of over $4,000 worth of swag (no purchase necessary to win).In the first week or so of the drive, hundreds of readers have contributed well over $16,000 to either the Electronic Frontier Foundation or Child's Play as part of the charity drive (Child's Play is barely hanging on to a small donation lead at the moment). That's a long way off from 2020's record haul of over $58,000, but there's still plenty of time until the Charity Drive wraps up on Thursday, January 2, 2025.That doesn't mean you should put your donation off, though. Do yourself and the charities involved a favor and give now while you're thinking about it.See below for instructions on how to enter, and check out the Charity Drive kickoff post for a complete list of available prizes.How it worksDonating is easy. Simply donate to Child's Play using a credit card or PayPal or donate to the EFF using PayPal, credit card, or cryptocurrency. You can also support Child's Play directly by using this Ars Technica campaign page or picking an item from the Amazon wish list of a specific hospital on its donation page. Donate as much or as little as you feel comfortable withevery little bit helps.Once that's done, it's time to register your entry in our sweepstakes. Just grab a digital copy of your receipt (a forwarded email, a screenshot, or simply a cut-and-paste of the text) and send it to ArsCharityDrive@gmail.com with your name, postal address, daytime telephone number, and email address by 11:59 pm ET Wednesday, January 2, 2025. (One entry per person, and each person can only win up to one prize. US residents only. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See Official Rules for more information, including how to enter without making a donation. Also, refer to the Ars Technica privacy policy (https://www.condenast.com/privacy-policy).We'll then contact the winners and have them choose their prize by January 31, 2025 (choosing takes place in the order the winners are drawn). Good luck!Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 0 Comments

Operation: Big Boy The quest to save the worlds largest CRT TV from destruction 440-pound 1980s behemoth rescued from an Osaka restaurant days before demolition. Kyle Orland Dec 23, 2024 2:48 pm | 14 Credit: Reddit Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAt this point, any serious retro gamer knows that a bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) TV provides the most authentic, lag-free experience for game consoles that predate the era of flat-panel HDTVs (i.e,. before the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era). But modern gamers used to massive flat panel HD displays might balk at the display size of the most common CRTs, which tend to average in the 20- to 30-inch range (depending on the era they were made).For those who want the absolute largest CRT experience possible, Sony's KX-45ED1 model (aka PVM-4300) has become the stuff of legends. The massive 45-inch CRT was sold in the late '80s for a whopping $40,000 (over $100,000 in today's dollars), according to contemporary reports.That price means it wasn't exactly a mass-market product, and the limited supply has made it something of a white whale for CRT enthusiasts to this day. While a few pictures have emerged of the PVM-4300 in the wild and in marketing materials, no collector has stepped forward with detailed footage of a working unit. The PVM-4300, seen dwarfing the tables and chairs at an Osaka noodle restaurant. Credit: Shank Mods Enter Shank Mods, a retro gaming enthusiast and renowned maker of portable versions of non-portable consoles. In a fascinating 35-minute video posted this weekend, he details his years-long effort to find and secure a PVM-4300 from a soon-to-be-demolished restaurant in Japan and preserve it for years to come.A confirmed white whale sightingShank Mods' quest started in earnest in October 2022, when the moderator of the Console Modding wiki, Derf, reached out with a tip on a PVM-4300 sighting in the wild. A 7-year-old Japanese blog post included a photo of the massive TV that could be sourced to a waiting room of the Chikuma Soba noodle restaurant and factory in Osaka, Japan.The find came just in time, as Chikuma Soba's website said the restaurant was scheduled to move to a new location in mere days, after which the old location would be demolished. Shank Mods took to Twitter looking to recruit an Osaka local in a last-ditch effort to save the TV from destruction. Local game developer Bebe Tinari responded to the call and managed to visit the site, confirming that the TV still existed and even turned on. Quite possibly the world's largest game of Duck Hunt (which doesn't work on stock flat-panel TVs). Credit: Shank Mods After a nerve-wracking quest to contact the restaurant's owner, Shank Mods confirmed that he could take possession of the TV if he could manage to handle the shipping himself. That left Shank Mods with two weeks to figure out how to get a 440-pound TV (and its specially designed, reinforced 171-pound stand) down from the second floor of an Osaka restaurant and to a safe location.Luckily, Tinari had a friend who worked for a company that regularly shipped large-scale industrial equipment internationally that would be able to help. Shank Mods wouldn't detail the precise cost they quoted to get the TV down the stairs, to a warehouse, crated up for air shipment to the US, and then shipped via truck to the garage of his (very tolerant) parents. But he did say that the "used car amount of money" that he was quoted was fronted by a video sponsor, helping him save this piece of television history from the bottom of a Japanese landfill. Shank Mods' full video detailing the PVM-4300 rescue process. It belongs in a museumThe full video includes lots of footage and details of the shipping and unboxing process, and confirmation that the TV still works after its incredible journey. Shank Mods also includes a breakdown of the internal design and processing hardware that went into such a uniquely large CRT and an extended discussion of the intricate process of calibrating and tuning the tube to deliver a sharp, color-corrected picture after years of magnetic and electron beam drift.Shank Mods mentions multiple times in the video that this gigantic CRT looks much better in person than on a YouTube video. We can only hope he can raise the funds to turn his parents' garage into a public museum for classic gaming enthusiasts eager to make a pilgrimage to see the one-of-a-kind find for themselves. Or maybe an old-fashioned whistle-stop tour of the countryside can be arranged, hopefully on a specially designed train car with a reinforced floor. Let's make it happen, people!Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 14 Comments

The choice of products promising to slow or reverse ageing can be overwhelmingGabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWhether you want to brighten, firm, plump or smooth, there is an eye cream, neck cream, lip cream, face cream, serum, lotion or capsule available, for day or night use. But should you choose the one containing retinol or ceramide; enriched with green tea extract, marine collagen or pentapeptides? The choice of products, ingredients and regimes can be bewildering.One thing that many dermatologists agree on is that it pays to keep things simple. If you dont have time for anything else, a cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen will cover about 90 per cent of what skin needs on a day-to-day basis, says Victoria Fu, a skincare chemist and co-founder of Chemist Confessions, a cosmetics company that says it helps consumers decipher skincare ingredients.Although it is a good idea to cleanse twice a day, doing so in the evening is more important in order to remove the build-up of sweat, oil, pollutants, sun cream and make-up, if you wear it. The breakdown of those chemicals can cause a stress response in the skin, so it is important to get those things off, says Emma Craythorne, a London-based dermatologist and founder of skincare company Klira. It is also important because our skin cells [are constantly replaced], otherwise you end up with bits of dead skin stuck to you like a crusty scale.Expensive cleansers arent necessary a soap-free synthetic detergent, such as a gentle cream cleanser, will do, says Craythorne.Cleansers and moisturisersAfter cleansing, most people will want to restore the