A gamer has discovered that Walmart is still selling PlayStation Now gift cards even though the paid subscription service was discontinued years ago. PlayStation Now allowed users to play a large catalog of games across multiple generations of Sony consoles through the cloud.

Wuthering Waves has unveiled the new Poetry and Paean 4-Star weapon series for Version 2.0 that might come in handy for free-to-play players in particular. Wuthering Waves next patch is expected to be its biggest one yet with the highly-anticipated release of Rinascita.

Path of Exile 2 players want to see changes to one of the most important parts of the game's building system: the runes. It's safe to say that Path of Exile 2 early access has been a smashing success, as the game still averages over 250k concurrent players on Steam.

When it comes to good YouTube videos, Im biased in favor of content made explicitly for the platform: media critiques, long-form investigations, and pointless tests of human endurance. Outside In is an exception.This educational video comes from a strange and distant land: the 1990s. Based on the mathematical concept of sphere inversion, it should be incredibly boring. The graphics are rudimentary, the narrators completely faceless, and again, the topic is incomprehensible math. Nothing about this video should be compelling and yet it has amassed well over 10 million views across numerous uploads on YouTube.Credit goes to the creative team at The Geometry Center for making a video that manages the impossible: It makes mathematics interesting. While Id love to think the videos success hinges on the MASTER ILLUSIONIST in the credits, I think the real stars are the voice-overs provided by Karen McNenny and Paul de Cordova. Their conversational discussion of high-level geometry takes on an oddly spiritual tone, as though two gods are casually discussing the fundamentals of the universe theyve created. At other times, theyre charmingly earnest about how strange this all is. And sometimes theyre just joking about the little monorail models theyve created with their minds.The narration is no doubt helped by a script that breaks down the confusing concept into easily digestible segments that are perfectly married to the stark but charmingly retro CGI. In many ways, computer graphics are the perfect medium to display mathematical concepts that cant actually exist in the real world; the mind reels at the thought of mathematicians figuring out all the stuff before computers existed. The much-ballyhooed inversion of a sphere is genuinely mind-boggling, but even more incredibly, by the end of the video it will actually make sense!Of course, theres the possibility that youve seen this video before and are wondering why Im ignoring how passive-aggressive the sibling narrators are throughout the video. With over 7 million views all on its own, Huggbees pitch-perfect parody of Outside In makes for the perfect companion to the original. By slowly ramping up the narrators cattiness until both have full-blown tantrums, Turning a Sphere Outside In is both worth a watch in its own right and, hopefully, a subtle enough parody that a high school math teacher has almost certainly played it for their class by accident.

Been putting off that Windows 11 upgrade? Heres why the time might finally be right to take the plunge.

Google researchers use Android smartphones to map ionospheric TEC, doubling coverage, improving positioning accuracy, and benefiting underserved global regions.

SK Hynix launches 61TB SSD with a 122TB SSD to follow in 2025 and a 244TB SSD in 2026.

Each of the 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 in the U.S. were sequelswell, except for Wicked, an adaptation of a Broadway hit based on a book that takes place in The Wizard of Oz universe. But those were practically just a warm up for whats around the corner.If familiarity breeds contempt, prepare to be angry at the sheer amount of sequels in 2025.While its not exactly unusual for the highest-grossing films of the year to have numbers in their titlesor colons, followed by subtitleslast year felt different. Barbie and Oppenheimer added some flair among the typical superhero fare, and love or hate left-field hit Sound of Freedom, at least it wasnt a sequel. Beyond the top-grossers, there were plenty of original comedies with theatrical releases in 2023 like Bottoms, Dicks: The Musical, Joy Ride, and No Hard Feelings. Instead of going further in that direction in 2024, the franchise machine seemed to ramp up and steal the spotlight from nearly everything around it. That trend is set to continue next year.The year of the sequelagainLooking back at the major U.S. releases of 2024, 26 sequels or prequels hit theaters. According to an IMDB list of upcoming releases, there will be 34 sequels or prequels in 2025. That means more robot shenanigans from M3GAN, more diary-scribbling from Bridget Jones, and more defying of gravity from all the good folks at Wicked. Theres even a sequel to The Passion of the Christ reportedly on the way, which makes sense given the source material sort of counts as perhaps the original reboot.Its not that Hollywood sequels are necessarily a net negative. Many of those that premiered in 2024 were both critical hits and commercial successes. Twisters and the cleverly titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice pulled off the Top Gun: Maverick trick of revisiting long-dormant, one-and-done IP without making it feel like a pure cash grab. Furiosa, The First Omen, and A Quiet Place: Day One all used the prequel format to breathe new life into their franchises. Smile 2 brilliantly built out the world of the originals lore, while applying some timely social commentary. And whatever Alien: Romulus wasprequel, sequel, what-have-youit rocked.The problem is that weve long been headed for an era where the only films getting theatrical releases are big-budget franchise-extenders, and more sequels means fewer counter-examples. Its harder to prove original movies can still make money, after all, when not enough of them have the opportunity to do so. The first Smile movie, for instance, was originally meant to stream on Paramount+ in 2022, until positive test screenings convinced some executives to put it in theaterswhere it became successful enough to get a sequel this year.Sequels to watchIf the lineup for 2025 must be crowded with Hollywood sequels, though, at least there are plenty of promising examples in the bunch. 28 Years Later reunites the original films creative teamdirector Danny Boyle, writer Alex Garland, and star Cillian Murphyfor the first time in over 20 years. Hot off the Hulu hit, Preywhich gave the Predator franchise its best story in decadesdirector Dan Trachtenberg is returning for Predator: Badlands. The spinoff sequel Ballerina could be just the creative shot in the arm the John Wick series needs, while the next Mission: Impossible offers Tom Cruise the chance to end this franchise on a high note, if he chooses to accept it. And Freakier Friday and Sister Act 3 might be more than just millennial nostalgia-bait.Those movies, however, will be sharing screens with the likes of Jurassic World: Rebirth, Captain America: Brave New World, Saw 11, and plenty of other movies that sound as if they were generated by algorithm in the middle of a board meeting.Theres no obvious reason why theatrical releases in 2024 grossed several hundred million dollars fewer than those in 2023. If more sequels in 2025 dont end up righting the ship, however, perhaps its time to try a truly original idea for Hollywood: see if less is more.

Often our workplaces are a microcosm of the countrys, even the worlds, anxieties and hopes. Its no surprise then that in this tumultuous year weve seen a lot of worry (over automation, layoffs, RTO mandates, and bad leadership), but also a lot of hope (for building more inclusive teams, better managing our time and energy, and improving our memories and happiness).As we get ready to wrap up 2024 and look forward to 2025, heres a look at the most-read Work Life stories for each month of the year:January 2024: Advice for leaders on building more diverse teamsHow building teams with diverse work experiences can drive success by Jenny Fernandez and Luis VelasquezThe first month of the year is typically dominated by goal-setting and self-improvement content, but this article broke though. In it, executive coaches advise leaders to build teams with people who have complementary skills rather than promoting and hiring based on expertise. Fernandez and Velasquez offer three mental shifts you need to make to design your team for future success.February 2024: Generational divides in workplace communicationThe Slack generation cant communicate with the email generation. Why more platforms are dividing the workplace by Jared LindzonWhats the best form of communication for important information: Phone call? Email? Slack? Text? Zoom? In person? Is it OK to send message after hours? Does the answer need to change based on your industry, age, seniority, workplace culture, or personal preference? This deep dive into workplace communication explored the generational divide over workplace communication and how the lack of widely accepted norms creates new workplace challenges.March 2024: Advice for getting your rsum past the dreaded botsMany job applications are never read by a human. Heres how to make sure your rsum gets seen by Andrew FennellA 2023 survey found that 98.8% of major companies use some form of applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen rsums for open positions. However, the majority of employers believe ATS systems can screen out qualified candidates because their rsums arent optimized for the bots.This article breaks down practical advice for making changes to your rsum, which will ATS-proof your application and increase your chances of getting an interview.April 2024: How to improve your memoryForgot where you put your keys? A neuroscience professor offers 5 tips to improve your memory by Next Big Idea ClubAs aprofessor of neuroscience, Charan Ranganath has been studying the science of memory for more than 25 years. In this excerpt from his new book, Why We Remember: Unlocking Memorys Power to Hold on to What Matters, he shares five key ways everyone can make mindful choices to curate a richer set of memories.May 2024: A new approach to time managementDont focus on time management, try energy management instead by Kristin BrownstoneWhen youre feeling overwhelmed, you might look for advice on time management in an attempt to get more done in your limited hours. But Kristin Browstone argues that this sort of advice is an enabler of surviving in hustle culture and instead we should be paying more attention to the energy we use.June 2024: How leaders can change company culture4 leadership principles that drive company cultureby Ameesh DivatiaAmeesh Divatia is a tech cofounder and CEO, and in this article he offers his perspective on how the C-suite can cultivate the values they stand for and impact their company culture with an approach he calls the Four Isinstinct, integrity, intensity, and inclusion.July 2024: Workplace DEI issues made their way into the presidential campaignWhat people mean when they call Kamala Harris a DEI candidate by Mita MallickMallick is a DEI expert who has experienced some of the same bias Vice President Kamala Harris faced on the campaign trail. In this personal and thoughtful article, she explains how terms like DEI hire, DEI candidate, and DEI president are used to demean and devalue leaders of color.August 2024: Well-paid jobs that let employees work from homeThese are the top 10 fully remote jobs that make $100,000-plus per year by FlexJobsThe RTO battle still raged this year , soits no surprise that this article detailing 10 jobs that both pay well and let employees work remotely was widely read.September 2024: An exploration of the ways managers can fail10 signs youre not fit to lead people by FeaturedThe topic of bosses being bad at their jobs is alway popular. This article can serve as a checklist for leaders who want to improve or for those who want to know if someone is ready to take on a leadership role.October 2024: Defining a new phenomenon: Silent FiringSilent firing is the new quiet quitting by George KailasThese two phrases capture the changing tides in the workplace. Employees felt more empowered in 2022 and opted to quiet quit by doing the bare minimum. In 2024, a new trend emerged: silent firing where companies and bosses make jobs more difficult in the hopes that employees quit, so they can either automate their jobs or simply save the cost of paying severance in a layoff.November 2024: The RTO battle took the national stage Elon Musk said what a lot of CEOs think: RTO mandates are meant to make you quit by Pavithra MohanAfter Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, they hinted at their plans to trim headcount across the civil servicein part by mandating that federal workers return to the office full-time. The pair suggested that requiring federal workers to return to the office would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome, saying out loud the very thing employees locked in a four-year RTO battle with their bosses have suspected all along.December 2024: How to be happierA simple exercise from Yales Happiness Lab will help you make decisions that lead to long-term happiness by Jenna AbdouThe month isnt over yet, but in an antidote to a rough year, the most popular story of December so far is from the creator of Yales popular class on how to transform your self-talk, change how you experience stress, and create space for serendipity. Sounds like the perfect reset before 2025.

The standard shape for big, chunky headphones has long been a rainbow with Moon Pies at either end. No rule exists, however, forcing audio companies to keep making them that way.Philip Kaplan, the tech entrepreneur behind Tiny Letter and DistroKid, has been proving as much all year. The tireless tinkerer has lately turned the world of headphones into his own personal sandbox, with wild designs that fluctuate between a shark cage for your head, a beer-can helmet full of subwoofers, and Maleficent-style goat horns. Through boundless curiosity, a cheeky sense of humor, and plenty of elbow grease, the mad scientist of headphones has become the toast of audio Redditand possibly your next obsession.Kaplan, who bears a passing resemblance to Steve Jobs, has been interested in audio quality his entire life. The longtime drummer even published a childrens book on music production in 2022. As far as his keen interest in headphones is concerned, though, his origin story begins with a summer job at an electronics store. The 15-year-old Kaplan used his employee discount to buy his first pair of serious, high-quality headphones: the Koss Porta Pro Jr., which went for a then-whopping $25. It was the first time he experienced true bass so vividly. Much like the man in the infamous Maxwell tape ad from the 80s, the sound quality blew him away.It was like getting a deep-tissue brain massage, Kaplan recalls. Since then, he has been chasing similar highs, forever in search of the next sound experience that could rattle his bones and rewire his circuitry.Early in 2024, he started creating these experiences himself.Experiments in headphone designKaplan had been rehearsing with his band in a studio space, each member donning headphones. The audio quality on Kaplans pair was poor. Worse than that, it was a distraction. He fiddled with the equalization setting for a while, but it didnt improve what he was hearing. Eventually, his software engineer instincts kicked in. He realized he might be able to improve the headphones sound by modifying them.After rehearsal, he cracked open the hardware and started experimenting. He disassembled the small AKG headphones and used electrical tape to put them inside bigger ear cups. The results were prohibitively messy, but the improvement in sound quality was near what hed hoped for. He never ended up quite finishing those headphones, however, because digging around inside their guts had given him ideas that extended far beyond the scope of that particular project.Suddenly, he had several more high-priority design ideas that needed seeing to.As a novice headphone engineer, Kaplan was at a slight disadvantage. His expertise was limited to computers. I knew nothing, he says of his earliest experiments.Its incredible, though, just how much one can learn simply from watching YouTube videos on soldering technique and how to use 3D printing. Whatever information Kaplan couldnt find that way, he was able to get out of ChatGPT. Inspired by Dan Clark Audios unconventional creationslike ovoid-shaped speakers and collapsible headbandsKaplan began churning out headphones that Alien designer HR Giger might admire.[Photo: courtesy of Philip Kaplan]One favorite is the set Kaplan calls the Bob. A variation on the helmet-like Jecklin Float headphones created in the 1970s, Bob looks like a torture device encasing ones entire head. According to Kaplan, though, it sounds velvety smooth, with no harshness. Like many of his out-there designs, he needed to tweak several versions of it before getting to the one he wanted. It took a lot of experimenting to get the ventilated casings on either side of the users head to angle down and provide a seal for the massive ear pads within.If I get lucky, I can design a headphone at night and assemble it the next day, Kaplan says of his process. But some take weeks of prototyping and trial-and-error before they work.Pushing the limits of headphones Some of these experiments are meant to test various acoustic phenomena. Ol Thumpy, for instance, which affixes bowling-ball-size orbs on either side of the users head, was his attempt to play with Helmholtz resonance, or wind throb (think: the noise that comes from blowing across the mouth of a soda bottle). Kaplan was a little surprised it actually worked as intended.Other experiments are meant to solve practical problems. He developed the Intruder, for instance, so that his wife could talk to him even when hes jamming out to music. The model features a comically large, Acme-style red button anyone can press to mute the headphones. It serves a useful function, even if its name is nearly as insulting as that of the Lazy Susan.Though some observers might suspect such designs as the Grand Cru, which comes impaled with a dozen wine corks on either side; or the Swole, which have dumbbells attached to them; are purely jokes, Kaplan dispels that notion.[Photo: courtesy of Philip Kaplan]They all start with, I wonder what it would sound like if headphones had x . . . or why doesnt anyone make headphones that do y . . . , he says.The ridiculous-looking EyePhone, for example, which could be deadly for a pedestrian to wear, developed from Kaplan moving around the transducers, or drivers, to find out which location around the head would make the soundstage most expansive. (It turned out to be over the eyes.)Whether some of these headphones are purely satirical or not, Kaplan is not short on ideas. He keeps a running list of them, now tallying into the hundreds, and introduces new ones each week on his website, Puds Small Batch Headphones. (Pud is a childhood nickname he attained from bullies and has since reclaimed.) Of course, not every experiment has been a success, though. Kaplans idea for a headphone with a built-in USB-C donglecalled Dong, naturallyis currently on its third iteration, with no functioning prototype in sight.Through documenting his audiophiliac journey on his website, in Reddits r/headphones community, and in a recent series of YouTube videos, Kaplan has developed a cult following online.This dude is the greatest thing to ever happen to this sub, reads the most upvoted comment on Kaplans r/headphones post about the BubbRubb, a headphone set that defies easy description and is, quite intentionally, the worst-sounding headphone youve ever heard.Crafting a Reddit followingOnce he began posting his work online, Kaplan fit right in among Reddits tight-knit headphone-enthusiast community and now considers many of its members his friends. The more adventurous among the group made the trek to the headphone convention CanJam SoCal 2024 back in September, to hear what Kaplans creations actually sound like. Based on the video footage that emerged from the event, his devices did not disappoint.Although some people have offered to buy Kaplans designs as art pieces and others as consumer electronics, he currently has no plans to sell them. For now, headphone conventions like CanJam are the only way for curious audiophiles to give them a test-drive. That is, unless Bose or Apple or any other audio innovators attempt similar experiments anytime soon.Theres so much stuff you can fit into a headphone if you dont need it to be small, Kaplan says. As long as its comfortable enough, the size shouldnt really matter. Unless youre in the middle seat on an airplane.