One of the lost object tracking updates that appeared for Android phones this year was the ability to locate them even when they run out of juice. The convenience is shipped as part of Androids Find My Device system. It, however, appears that Samsungs next flagship will miss out on that convenience.The folks over at Android Authority did some code sleuthing and spotted details of a disabled Bluetooth finding protocol. Owing to the inactive status, the phone wont appear on the location finding map once it runs out of battery juice. Before we proceed further, do keep in mind that these are pre-launch details about unreleased hardware, so the situation might change down the road.Recommended VideosAs for the feature itself, which Android serves as Find your offline devices, it relies on Bluetooth and location proximity data from nearby Android devices. The idea is not too dissimilar from how Apples own Find My network works for millions of devices across the globe, relaying their location so that users can find misplaced gadgets.Nadeem Sarwar / Digital TrendsGoogle wont say how exactly location finding works for devices that have run out of juice and gone offline, except for a vague specialized Pixel hardware on one of its store listings. The feature is active by default and supports the recent wave of Google hardware, including the Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 series phones.Please enable Javascript to view this contentWhat it does, however, is piggyback off the network pings from nearby devices, which subsequently relay their location on the Find My Device network. To enable it for your phone, follow this path:RelatedSettings > Google > All Services > Find My Device > Find your offline devices.Users can pick offline finding range between two options: With network in high-traffic areas only and With network in all areas. Googles support page mentions that offline devices will be discoverable for several hours after they run out of local power.This is what the Galaxy S25 Ultra could look like. dbrand / Digital TrendsWhen others detect your items, they securely send the locations where they detected them to Find My Device, explains the company. As far as the Galaxy S25 Ultra goes, Samsung is reportedly going to equip it with the second-generation Corning Gorilla Glass Armor protective shield.Moroever, the design has been slightly overhauled, thanks to rounder corners and a splash of new colors. Internally, things dont appear to be changing dramatically, save for your usual year-over-year iterative updates.The camera hardware will be a familiar affair, led by a 200-megapixel main camera. Qualcomms Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC will lead the charge, but aspects like charging pace and battery capacity are not receiving any noticeable upgrades, as per leaked material.Editors Recommendations

Homelessness hit a record high this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development found.About 770,000 people were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in January.In a silver lining, homelessness among veterans decreased markedly.This year, homelessness was the worst it has ever been for everyone except veterans, that is.The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the results from the annual point-in-time surveys of unsheltered homeless people, which cities nationwide conducted in January.Overall, homelessness was the highest it has been since the government began keeping track, with about 770,000 experiencing unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. That's an 18% increase from the same time in 2023, the HUD said in its report released on Friday."While this data is nearly a year old and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness," Adrianne Todman, HUD's acting secretary, said in a press release.Veterans were the sole group that saw a positive change. According to the survey, homelessness among veterans dropped to 32,882, the lowest number on record and about an 8% decrease from 2023. Unsheltered homelessness among veterans also dropped to 13,851, an 11% decrease from 2023."This year, HUD has helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable, rental homes," the department said in the press release. The Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 vets in 2024.Researchers at the Brookings Institution found that homeless people in many major cities rely on temporary and emergency shelters. Building paths to permanent housing, on the other hand, improved housing access overall, leading to declines in homelessness in some cities, the researchers found.

When I was a college student, I decided to skip studying abroad.There were many reasons, but mainly, I wanted to stay with my boyfriend and roommate on campus.Now, as a mother of two, I regret that decision to travel freely at a young age.I went to a liberal arts college that felt, at times, like a four-year sleepaway camp.After spending high school studying, not dating, and having no social life, college was a dream come true. During freshman year, I snagged a great roommate, several lifelong friends, and a boyfriend.When it came time to decide if I should study abroad, it was sophomore year, and I was still going strong with my roommate, friends, and boyfriend. I didn't want to leave them, so I decided not to study abroad.I'm big on accepting my past decisions, but this one, to decline the opportunity to study abroad, is one of my persisting regrets.I didn't study abroad for a few reasonsWhen asked, I told people I "couldn't" go abroad and still graduate on time. I was a double major and trying to minor in classics. There were quite a few graduation requirements I'd yet to take, and I remember thinking it would be hard to get all my credits for general ed and my majors while abroad. I didn't want my senior year of college to be spent scrambling to graduate.If I'm being honest with myself, though, I was scared. I wasn't good at learning languages, so I'd either have to go somewhere English-speaking or put forth a significant effort to gain mediocre language skills in order to navigate another country. I wasn't a very chill traveler, had only ever traveled with family, and liked my comfort foods and spaces.But my biggest fear was that I would miss out on a great social life I built. Socially, my life had never been better. I'd found a home at my school, had friends who were like family, and was in a relationship. He told me he wasn't planning to go abroad either for similar reasons: He also had a competitive major and liked his life the way it was. I didn't want to miss a moment with those people.I regretted my decision the following yearI was immensely lucky and privileged to be at college: A scholarship and my parents paid my tuition. I should've taken the opportunity given to me at that time, so it was short-sighted not to have the chance and study a culture other than my own.My junior year ended up being one of the most stressful times of my life. The boyfriend and I broke up and got back together and then we had even more issues. Many of my friends were abroad either for one semester or the whole year, including my previous roommate. Her replacement for the fall semester and I were, to put it mildly, a bad fit. I never felt so alone as I did those first few months of junior year.I regretted not going abroad, but I was still nervous to do so because my on-and-off-again boyfriend was still on campus.Years later, I still imagine what my life would be like if I did study abroadLooking back 20 years later, I wish I'd just gone on my own little adventure. It would have been good for me to stretch my comfort zone at 20 when I was able to move more freely than I am now that I'm financially and physically responsible for myself and two kids.Because I married that college boyfriend, had two children, and then divorced in 2020, I often wonder if it was worth staying behind for him.I honestly think it was a sliding doors moment, and my entire life would be different today if I'd taken the opportunity. While I'd like to think I learned from my junior year experiences, I think I could have gotten there faster with a little physical distance from the place and people I'd come to rely on for emotional regulation.The "Friends" finale aired in the spring of my freshman year when I was entrenched in these relationships. Rachel famously gets off the plane, doesn't go to Paris, and gives up her dream career. We were supposed to think her staying with her friends and baby-daddy/sometimes boyfriend was the peak of romance. Now, I wish that both Rachel and I had gotten on that plane and taken the chance on the unknown.

While video game adaptations have been on a steady resurgence for some time, 2024 may have been one of the busiest years yet. Prime Video boasted Fallout, Like a Dragon, andSecret Levelwhile Netflix toutedArcanesfinal season andTomb Raider: Legend of Lara Croft.Sonic 3is currently killing it in theaters, andBorderlandswell, it came out. And thats just the high-profile stuff: you mightve forgotten or not known that Dead Cellsgot an animated series over in France, or that Paramount put out a show for Ark: Survival Evolved,which was surprisingly fun. Its safe to say that Hollywood is now hoping video games can become a new profit driver, especially since some of these shows have picked up major award nominations and wins and 2023s Mariomovie made over $1 billion in theaters. In fact, Marios success led some to wonder if game adaptations would replace superhero movies as the new hotness, which seemed to be losing their shine prior to Deadpool & Wolverinethis past summer. Like how 2025 will test if superheroes are truly back, video games have some heavy hitters that may determine how things go these next few years: at time of writing, we know to expect the Devil May Cry adaptation and new seasons for The Last of Us andCastlevania: Nocturne, plusMinecraft, Mortal Kombat 2, Five Nights at Freddys 2,andUntil Dawnon the big screen. Other previously announced adaptations forWatch Dogs, Among Us,and whatever else are currently TBD, if they even still exist at all. Netflix In some ways, things havent changed; go back a decade or two, and youll find plenty of games had movies or TV shows announced that ultimately never went anywhere. (Case in point, we learned in November a movie based on the Splinter Cellgamesfirst announced waaaaaaaay back in2005was dead.) Theres always a chance Netflix doesnt make those Gears of WarorBioShockmovies it previously announced, ditto CapcomsStreet Fighterfilm, and so on, since thats just how things roll sometimes. But what might give this new resurgence of game adaptations a better overall chance is several developers being more involved this time around; Nintendo actively had a hand in theMariomovie and its upcomingLegend of Zeldafilm, Capcom basically pitchedDevil May CryLast of Usseries. Having the developers in the kitchen isnt essential,but as Riot Games guiding hand for Arcane showed, it can be an extra sell to fans of those games to know the creatives behind them arent just sitting back and cashing a check. Another way in which game adaptations have changed? Many games are tangibly benefitting from these hitting the small or silver screen. Both Falloutand Last of Usfamously saw spikes in sales and player numbers after their respective jumps to a new medium, and even Borderlands benefitted, despite its movie being a massive non-starter. Not every developer has been entirely forthcoming as to the impact of these expansions, but what results there are show everybody can win from this. Its something game publishers have picked on upShadow Generations got a DLC pack featuring Keanu Reeves voicing the antihero hedgehog as he does inSonic 3, andEpic Games put out character skins forUnreal TournamentinFortniteahead of the long-dormant shooters episode inSecret Level.Making games takes a lot of time nowadays, and as the number of game adaptations grow, both will end up playing off the other. Some Secret Levelepisodes focused on games that had either recently come out or wont be out for another few years; its divisive, sci-fi horror-themed episode for Pac-Manended up being a surprise lead-in for next years action-adventure titleShadow Labyrinth. Back in October, Sony released a remake forUntil Dawnthat seemed to fizzle in sales, but will likely gain more traction when its movie hits in April 2025 (or whenever it gets its first trailer). By that same token, its easy to imagine Naughty Dog spent the last five years remaking the twoLast of Usgamesso viewers of the show would fork over $60 or $70 to see how Ellie and Joels stories played out (and differ) in video game form. And knowing Nintendo, it probably doesnt have a Mario game or three explicitly made to coincide with 2026s Mario, but it certainly wouldnt hurt to have those on hand, right? Netflix / Powerhouse Animation As is the case with superhero movies, game adaptations will go through a trial and error period as developers and Hollywood try to find some kind of happy place. It wont be without without its lossesright now, its not entirely clear if Riot will get to make good on its promise of Arcanefollow-ups, and its equally telling that Castlevania: Nocturnedirectors Sam and Adam Deats have explicitly called on fans to watch season two next year as the crew waits to find out if theyve been renewed. Both the game and film/TV industries have been notably quick to bet big, and in several cases, came up shorter than they (or anyone) couldve anticipated. Well just have to wait and see how things play outheres hoping such a collapse of the games-to-TV/film pipeline doesnt take either the developer or film studio with it. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

It doesn't take long for the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors to realize they're not alone on the island. Besides the Smoke Monster, there are other inhabitants and as Lost progresses, others make it onto the island as well. Some of these other characters end up being just as important on the show as the Season 1 survivors.

The relationship between children and parents is a significant theme in Dandadan season 1. Seiko and Momo's bond is one example. Then there's season 1, episode 7, "To a Kinder World," which focuses on Acro-Silky's life as a single mother. However, Dandadan has not given viewers any information regarding Okarun's parents.

While the name Abyssal Horror may sound terrifying, these creatures aren't as dangerous. The scariest part about Abyssal Horrors is how much time you may spend playing No Man's Sky looking for one of them.

NASA said on Friday that it received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe confirming that the spacecraft had survived its closest ever flyby of the sun. The approach took it just 3.8 million miles from the surface, passing within the suns corona and allowing for unprecedented data collection in the vicinity of a star. A few million miles might seem like a pretty great distance, but to put things in perspective, NASA explains, If the solar system was scaled down with the distance between the sun and Earth the length of a football field, Parker Solar Probe would be just four yards from the end zone.The probes current orbit takes it closest to the sun about every three months. Itll swing back around for two more close flybys in 2025, on March 22 and June 19. The probe is expected to transmit the data from its latest close approach soon, once its in a better location to do so. The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been, said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. Its an amazing accomplishment.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/parker-solar-probe-survived-its-close-approach-to-the-sun-and-will-make-two-more-in-2025-180350510.html?src=rss

Netflix relies on its rivals technology to deliver its own service and doesnt know how much its paying.

Consumer electronics and iPhone accessory maker Zagg is letting customers know that credit card transactions between October 26 and November 7, 2024 may have been compromised due to a hack of a third-party payment processor.Zagg's customer information has been compromised via a third-party hack.Zagg, based in Utah, makes products such as keyboards, phone cases, screen protectors, power banks, and other accessories. It uses BigCommerce to process credit card transactions on its website, which also provides an app called FreshClicks for creating commerce-friendly websites.It was discovered that an attacker was able to breach the FreshClicks app, injecting malicious code that stole customers' card details, reports BeepingComputer. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums