The IMAX Vanguard gathers outside the BFI IMAX, before a screening of Tenet featuring an in-person ... [+] intro with Chris Nolan in February 2024.Rayhaan Sabir Its nearly midnight and I should be going to bed, but instead, Im in an online waiting room, anxiously watching a progress bar slowly inch its way across the screen. When it gets to the end itll be go time. The prize? The best seats for the hottest tickets in town. But while it might be stadium seating, the best seats for this event are near the back. Thats because its not Taylor Swift at Wembley, but tickets to see Dune: Part Two in IMAX 70mm on the opening weekend on the UK's biggest screen at the BFI IMAX at Waterloo in London. And the reason I know about it? An online UK community for IMAX enthusiasts called the IMAX VanguardReleases such as Oppenheimer have popularised seeing big films in premium formats, and these days you have to be in the know in advance to have any chance of accessing the best seats for opening weekends in London. However, that wasnt always the case, as I discovered when I sat down to talk with Rayhaan Sabir (Ray) founder of the IMAX Vanguard community.The Birth of the IMAX VanguardSabir explains that as recently as the summer of 2023 attendance at BFI IMAX screenings were often sparsely attended. Whenever I would go and see an IMAX film, the auditoriums were quiet. They were so empty. Opening nights, preview nights. Nobody was there!Sabir felt that the BFI itself was not doing a great job of explaining to people why they should be getting excited about the format.When Tron: Legacy went on sale the BFI didn't advertise it. But Tron: Legacy hadnt been played in IMAX in over 10 years, yet it's one of the most celebrated IMAX films online! They advertised it as 2D and then they went, We have a 3D version available, and that changed the whole game.Tron: Legacy has an expanded aspect ratio of 1:90 and for the first 20 minutes it plays in widescreen and as soon as Sam enters the digital world the aspect ratio opens up and the 3D just blows your mind!MORE FOR YOUOut of a desire to get others to get to appreciate it he started to post ticket alert updates to the IMAX subreddit to a positive response. When the demand to see IMAX 1.43:1 increased after the release of Oppenheimer, someone suggested that he start a WhatsApp group, so people would see the ticket alerts immediately: the IMAX Vanguard was born.When this writer joined, the group was just a couple of hundred members, but now there are thousands across 12 separate WhatsApp chats and theres an X, an Instagram page and Discord channel too. As well as community and dedicated ticket trade chats, it also caters to those closer to the Manchester Printworks (the only UK location outside of London able to screen IMAX 1.43:1), one for films in concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and a filmmaker chat. Naturally, theres a group dedicated to discussing Chris Nolan movies.Ray, founder of the IMAX Vanguard, with the film projector at the BFI IMAX.Rayhaan Sabir It's clearly a lot of work but Sabir does it purely out of love of the IMAX experience and the desire for as many people to experience it as possible and screenings are often fully booked. Thanks to Vanguard, the BFI is now able to add additional screenings of films, such as the recent re-release of Interstellar, knowing that they are going to sell out quickly.Now when he goes to screenings, he loves seeing other members of the Vanguard community and others seeing IMAX for the first time.When you walk through those doors and you see that massive screen: if it's your first time, youre just taken away completely. I'm always there early to take pictures. I'm always hearing people going, Wow, what is this? This is insane! Like, they've never, ever seen anything like it.The Visceral Impact of IMAX 70mmI asked Sabir what he thought makes watching IMAX 70mm special, which he did, eloquently.I'm going to say this: when you see your first ever IMAX 70mm film, you'll feel a bit confused; you won't appreciate it. You'll feel a bit like, What's happening?. That's exactly what happened to me as a young cinema-goer. But the older I got, the more I understood. And just seeing that world open up to you is incredible, because you get to feel like you're part of that moving image.Not just that, but the auditorium goes quiet, and you just hear this flicker in the back, this projector whirr, and you're like, What's going on?. Because you expect to hear the IMAX speakers crank up, but you just hear this projector. And suddenly, the IMAX speakers and the full 1:43 frame kick in, and you just become lost in this new world. It's a different world; it's a completely different world.Making Dreams Come TrueSabirs enthusiasm and the effort he puts in to create the Vanguard community then must be a dream come true for the IMAX, the BFI and Cineworld. However, while he says they are aware of the group he does not have any official connection with them. That said he was able to persuade the BFI to put on a double bill of Blade Runner and Blade Runner: 2049, especially for a terminally ill member of the community:We put we put a petition up for one of our community members who's in palliative care. His dream was to watch Blade Runner in IMAX and so we put a petition up to the BFI. We said, we're rallying behind our community member, for you to try and action, Sony. And they did. The director of programming was able to get a double bill of Blade Runner in November.The Human ConnectionMore communication is likely to be needed for the next step, too. Sabir says he wants to create a festival, where fans can come together to meet in person to celebrate their mutual love of IMAX.This is the culmination of what to me seems like the ultimate reason the group exists: an ongoing reaction to the trauma of the pandemic period, in which people were robbed of shared experiences.So, while cineastes that would be happy to watch movies at home on a laptop or TV, the IMAX Vanguard community celebrate watching being completely immersed in a film, but also with other people: the drama and sense of occasion of that IMAX brings, particularly when there is a film projector involved.While the greatest excitement in the group is clearly for those occasions where the IMAX film projector is started up, Sabirs interest in the format stemmed originally from non-Nolan films, such as John Wick: Chapter 4 in dual laser at the Cineworld Leicester Square and Tron: Legacy in 3D.When I went and saw the John Wick: Chapter Four preview night, I posted my pictures online. That was the first ever photo I posted on Reddit, and I remember just being so excited, just telling people that I am here watching John Wick in IMAX. Like, you don't get these opportunities very often, said Sabir.In the last few years, theres no doubt the cinema has taken something of a beating at the hands of COVID-19, the rise of streaming services, and the affordability of large TVs and sound systems. The success of the IMAX Vanguard demonstrates what cinema needs to do to not only survive, but to thrive and thats to generate a sense of FOMO, with experiences that they cant get at home.

Good Culture cottage cheeseGood CultureIs there a way to make cottage cheese sexy?That was the mission Jesse Merrill aimed to prove when he sought to bring excitement to a stale grocery category. Nearly a decade later, the founder and CEO of Good Culture cottage cheese not only proved that thesis, but managed to create a phenomenon, and maintain its appeal, by having clear foresight into consumer trends like eating single-source dairy ingredients.By changing the negative lens that many people viewed cottage cheese through, and demonstrating how its an exceptional source of protein, consumers young and old are simply obsessed with cottage cheese in a way that hasnt been seen in decades. Good Culture has now become the top-selling cottage cheese at grocery stores including Whole Foods Markets and just surpassed $200 million in sales this year.Good Culture Founder and CEO Jesse MerrillGood CultureDisrupting DairyMerrill was not fond of cottage cheese before creating his own cottage cheese company. His first real introduction to it was when his wife was pregnant and ate a ton of it. When he would buy it for her at the store, he primarily noticed only legacy brands on the shelfthe same ones that casually sat there for as long as he could remember. Having already worked in the food and beverage industry, he could tell the category was craving innovation. Cottage cheese was bigger than yogurt in the seventies and then completely fell off, Merrill says. USDA data shows an average American consumed 4.6 pounds of cottage cheese per year in 1975 with a steady decline through 2021 when it dropped below 2 pounds for the first time.The former VP of Marketing for Honest Tea, Merrill knew what it would take to build a brand for modern consumers. You have to tell a story in a really compelling way and say it in a way that is going to resonate with the consumer so that they actually want to be a part of your tribe, he says. He began to research the world of cottage cheese and felt he could meaningfully disrupt it. He came to realize that most cottage cheese consumers were on a dietkind of choking it down, but they didn't enjoy the experience.MORE FOR YOUHe felt presenting cottage cheese more like yogurt was one way to disrupt cottage cheese. That includes serving it in a single-serve cup. Finding a co-packer was difficult, because most do not produce that format, Merrill says, but finally found one in Wisconsin. They believed that cottage cheese had the opportunity to grow at an explosive rate given the nutritional profile, Merrill says. They agreed that it wasn't being presented in the right way. Good Culture now has nine co-packers across the country.A New Taste And Texture Merrill taught himself how to make cottage cheese and began to create both sweet and savory versions in his own kitchen. He would take live and active cultures to separate the curd from milk, and then chop it up finely to create lots of protein-packed small curd, limiting the amount of cream added to make the product more homogenous. A lot of what you saw in the marketplace was large firm curds floating in a pool of cream, he says. Savory varieties were the focus at this early stage, so he would experiment with ingredients like sriracha, salt & pepper, pesto and olives.Good Culture on toastGood CultreGood Culture launched in 2015 in Sprouts Farmers Markets and Whole Foods Markets SoPac region. In addition to an original variety, the initial lineup of Good Culture included kalamata olive, sundried tomato, strawberry acai chia and blueberry acai chia. Although Merrill thought the flavors tasted amazing and felt that there was a hole in the market for a savory cottage cheese, he ultimately decided to pull the savory ones because they were not selling well enough. Consumers perceived [them] as a dip, he says. I was bummedbut you need to listen to your consumer.Good Culture has since released a large lineup, including the multi-serve 16 oz containers, which have since become the largest sector of its business. Consumers have consistency options toofrom 6% double cream, whole milk, low-fat, and lactose-free, all of which have pillowy curds and are an airy yet politely creamy experience.Going ViralIn 2015, a dairy product like cottage cheese would not be seen as a new product that would particularly succeed as consumers largely switched to plant-based dairy, but it was a risk Merrill was willing to take. We continued to believe that folks would return to real food, he says. The first few years of Good Cultures business saw consistent growth. Going into 2017 is when we started to scale more widely into conventional retail and you saw really healthy jumps in sales growth year over year.Good Culture ice cream Good CultureBut in March of 2023, the business exploded when a TikTok video of a creator incorporating Good Culture in an ice cream recipe went viral. It just spread like wildfire, Merrill remembers. That kind of started this whole movement behind using cottage cheese in really creative ways. The company tells me that it predicted a 35% growth that year but ended with 80%. In 2023, the amount of cottage cheese eaten by the average American began to climb for the first time since the USDA collected data. Data is not yet available for 2024.Its likely not happenstance that the video went viral when it did, but rather years of slowly latching onto habits that matter most to consumers. As Nicole West, Principal Global Category Merchant for Dairy at Whole Foods Market, tells me, A lot of what we've seen in this past year is a focus back into single source ingredients. A heavy focus on getting protein from that single source ingredient. And we have seen a huge swing back into dairy, specifically whole milk dairy quite on the nose to what Merrill predicted a decade ago.For the first time in years, plant-based milk alternatives are down this year, according to Nielsen IQ data. Sales of almond milk, in particular, are down 7.4% from last year.The creative recipes have gotten consumers to understand that cottage cheese is a protein powerhouse. A 16oz container of whole milk classic Good Culture contains 56 grams of protein. Creators are getting endlessly creative by adding it to items like baked goods, pasta sauce, eggs, smoothies and sandwiches. Theyre also explaining to their audiences why its so healthy. Thats where the protein story, the clean label story, and the taste experience came out. Merrill says. Folks are looking increasingly for high quality proteins that are more bioavailable. You get high-quality complete proteins through products like dairy.Not only is Good Culture a booming brand, but it has caused a resurgence in the entire cottage cheese category. They were one of the leaders to bring consumers back in on the dairy side, West says. If you weren't a cottage cheese fan before, I think that Good Culture had a way of bringing in new consumers. It just had a different texture that was not polarizingIt's not your grandma's cottage cheese anymore.While the boom occured in 2023, 2024 was the year that proved that Good Culture cottage cheese has staying power. According to SPINS multi-outlet data ending the week of November 3, 2024, the cottage cheese category has grown nearly 16% compared to the previous year. Good Culture has doubled its revenue from $100 million in 2023 nearly two years after it began going viral.A spread of Good Culture cottage cheeseGood CulturePath To PastureResponsible sourcing is sexy. Merrill knew that any company he built would require a mission around sustainability. Our mission is to reinvent the food system from the actual ground up, he says. All of the farms that Good Culture sources its milk from are small family farms with no more than 100 cows each.Some of those farms are also regenerative farms, which plays into Good Cultures partnership with Dairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy co-op in the country. Together, they developed a program called Path to Pasture, which helps farms transition from conventional to regenerative farming. We are currently building a model for change that aims to prove that regenerative agriculture is beneficial to soil health, animals, and potentially can enhance profitability for the family farmer, says Jackie Klippenstein, Senior Vice President and Chief Government and Industry Relations Officer for Dairy Farmers of America.Since 2019, the program has focused its efforts on farms in Kentucky, impacting more than 2,800 cows on 1,700 acres of land. Getting even this far has been no easy feat, reflecting the difficulty of increasing the number of regenerative farms. A lot of these small family farms are doing everything they can to keep the lights on. So when you talk to a farmer who's been doing something a certain way for decades, and you're proposing something that could potentially result in less profits during a transition period, that's a hard sell, Merrill explains. Transitioning to a regenerative system could also help recruit younger farmers.Whenever I meet with a family that's running one of these farms, it just continues to inspire me to do better, Merrill says. ...to create more positive change, to work really hard to create a regenerative model that does yield a more positive business. Another way of saying that would be that Merrill personally and through his company is creating a better culture.

WTF?! Meta owns some of the most popular social networks on the planet, collectively used by billions of people. However, the future could see a shift toward bots and AI-generated "characters" designed to drive engagement and keep increasingly automated platforms afloat. Meta is actively working to transform its social media platforms into spaces where AI bots interact with each other. Over the next few years, the company formerly known as Facebook aims to integrate AI technology to boost "engagement" with its three billion real, human users. This could either be a revolution or just another disastrously misguided idea, like the previously dismissed "metaverse" VR ecosystem.Meta is currently developing several AI products, including a service designed to help users create AI bots on Instagram and Facebook. These bots could clone users' personalities and interact with other (non-bot) users on the network. The company hopes to attract younger audiences, who are apparently going crazy over AI these days.Connor Hayes, Meta's vice president of product for generative AI, told the Financial Times that the company expects these AI bots to eventually exist on its platform just like user accounts do today. The bots will have fake biographies and profile pictures, sharing new "content" generated by AI models.Integrating generative AI into Facebook, Instagram, and other networks is now a priority, Hayes stated. Meta's apps need to become more entertaining and engaging. The executive mentioned that hundreds of thousands of characters have already been created with the previously released AI tools, which are currently available to US users and will soon expand to other markets.One interesting tidbit shared by Hayes is that the majority of these fake AI characters have been kept private by their creators. This could be a telltale sign that very few content creators are currently viewing generative AI as a mature, reliable, and useful technology for boosting engagement. // Related StoriesMeta confirmed that most users have been using AI tools to embellish, adjust, and improve their photos and other "real-world" content. Other companies are also focusing on deploying generative AI capabilities on their respective networks, with Snapchat and TikTok doing their part to turn the social internet into an uncanny parody of itself.Critics of this AI-filled dystopia warn about the risks related to the "weaponization" of AI-generated content. Becky Owen, innovation officer at creative agency Billion Dollar Boy and former head of Meta's creator team, said fake AI accounts could easily be used to amplify false narratives if robust safeguards are not enforced on social media.

In a nutshell: Microsoft has partnered with computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington on an initiative designed to limit the environmental impact of hardware used in servers. Dubbed GreenSKUs, the program uses memory and storage drives from decommissioned servers along with software tricks to give them a second lease on life. Ashkitha Sriraman, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon that is involved in the program, notes that it is not uncommon for an entire server to be scrapped when just a single component goes bad or is not efficient.The GreenSKU program seeks to identify RAM and SSDs that are salvageable, and reuse them in refurbished servers. Compute Express Link (CXL) controllers allow for the use of DDR4 or DDR5, and were crucial in helping to retrofit servers.The team leveraged a pooling technique called Pond's approach to cope with older memory featuring higher latency and less bandwidth, and used RAID striping to deal with slower solid-state drives. Specialized software was also deployed to identify tasks that are best suited to run on GreenSKUs.On average, Microsoft replaces Azure servers every three to five years, regardless of whether or not they are still fully functional.The reconditioned machines utilize AMD Bergamo processors, which were selected for their energy efficiency. Unfortunately, there's no workaround to account for their lack of cache performance compared to the latest chips used in Azure servers. Of course, not every application requires cutting-edge performance. // Related Stories"A lot of these applications do perfectly fine" on the refurbished machines, Sriraman said.According to the Association for Computing Machinery's Technology Policy Council, at current rates, information and communication technology (ICT) sector carbon emissions could exceed a third of all global emissions by 2050. At scale, the team believes their reuse technique could result in a 0.1 to 0.2 percent reduction in global carbon emissions. That may not sound like much percentage wise but as Sriraman notes, it's a huge number and is comparable to all of the emissions from total smartphone use in the US.

When it comes to QLED TVs, pretty much every TV manufacturer has one or two quantum dot models to choose from. It just so happens that today, one of the best Sony TVs of 2024 has an incredible discount:For a limited time, when you purchase the Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 Series QLED, youll only pay $1,400. At full price, this model sells for $2,000. We tested the Bravia 7 Series earlier this year, and editor at large Caleb Denison said this Sony had insanely great picture quality.Not only does the Bravia 7 feature quantum dot-enhanced colors, but this QLED rocks a massive mini-LED backlight array. With diodes numbering in the thousands, Sonys XR Backlight Master Drive controls numerous lighting zones, ensuring youll get a bright, colorful, and accurate picture, regardless of the source. Thats on top of Sonys XR Processor engine, which optimizes every frame to deliver the best picture possible.RelatedThe Bravia 7 Series is outstanding for watching and playing SDR and HDR media, though this QLED particularly shines with the latter. Class-leading codec support (sans HDR10+) means your favorite HDR movies, shows, and games will shine extra brightly while also delivering vibrant, lifelike colors. And thanks to HDMI 2.1 connectivity, VRR and ALLM support, and a 120Hz max refresh rate, the Bravia 7 Series is practically begging you to hook up your PS5 to it!Streaming apps, Chromecast, and AirPlay features are handled by the TVs Google TV OS, a fast and intuitive smart hub and UI. Enjoy hours of Netflix and Disney+ content, control smart home devices via Google Assistant, and more. We wish this price would stick around forever, but a sale is a sale, and this one will inevitably end. So, if you like the $600 discount on the Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 Series QLED, we recommend buying before its too late.We also recommend taking a look at our roundups of the best Sony TV deals and best QLED TV deals for even more markdowns on top TVs!Editors Recommendations

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsPolartherm X-8 Thermal Paste for CPUs & GPUsPolartherm X-10 Thermal Paste for CPUs & GPUsIf youve come across this article, were guessing you already know what thermal paste can do. But if youre not in the know, well break it down. Thermal paste (also known as thermal compound or thermal grease) is used in CPUs and GPUs. A quality thermal paste is meant to improve heat transfer between the processor or graphics chip and the heat sink. Since processors typically generate significant heat during operation, thermal paste fills microscopic gaps between the surfaces. Without it, poor heat conduction can lead to overheating, reduced performance, or even hardware damage.So, say youre working on your computer, and you realize you need thermal grease. Youll need the right kind. While you can go straight to Amazon to buy some, you want to make sure youre picking the best thermal paste on the market.Here are some solid options:Shop PolarthermPolartherm X-8 Thermal Paste for CPUs & GPUsX-8 Thermal Paste from Polartherm boasts high thermal conductivity and durability. That means it offers stable performance for budget and midrange systems. This thermal paste, which is ideal for hobbyists and beginner PC builders, comes with a spatula to simplify application. You can also use the applicator or apply it directly. Its nonconductive formula also ensures safe usage on sensitive components, so youll have less to worry about.Reviewers said they liked this thermal pastes consistency. Several of them pointed out that its nozzle applicator works great for large, vertical items. Customers also appreciated its preloaded syringe.Shop X-8 Thermal PastePolartherm X-10 Thermal Paste for CPUs & GPUsX-10 Thermal Paste is an upgraded version of the X-8. This solution offers increased thermal conductivity in comparison with X-8. That means its more effective for midrange and high-end systems that require enhanced cooling. Its formulation aims to help with long-term performance and offers good resistance even in the case of pump-out effect.Its included spatula makes application seamless, much like with the X-8. And like the X-8, the X-10 is safe to use for hobbyists and professional PC builders alike.One reviewer who was impressed with the X-10 had this to say: The paste is thick, yet it is easy to spread with the included spatula and stayed in place as I was spreading. I didnt end up using the attachment it came with as it didnt seem necessary with the spatula that it comes with. This stuff is sticky, but in a good way. It stayed where it needed to and didnt get all over everything else.Shop X-10 Thermal PasteThe above options can maintain stable operating temperatures, prevent thermal throttling, and ensure consistent performance during high-demand tasks like gaming, video editing, or even 3D rendering. Its a vital step for PC builders, overclockers, and anyone else looking to extend the life of their pricey components.

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsHarlan Cobens Missing You (January 1)American Primeval (January 9)Castlevania season 2 (January 16)With a new year comes new hopes, new fears, and new resolutions. While we all want to lose a little weight or be more active, my main resolution for 2025 is simple: watch more shows. Fortunately for all of us, Netflix is more than willing to help us achieve that goal.January 2025 has a lot of new shows to feast on, with the most prominent being the second seasons of the hit action series The Recruit with Noah Centineo and The Night Agent. But there are also three underrated shows on Netflix that deserve your time and attention.Recommended VideosNeed more recommendations? Check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.RelatedNetflixDont underestimate Harlan Coben. The bestselling murder mystery novelist has become his own franchise on Netflix, with his last show, Fool Me Once, becoming a monster hit for the streamer. That one was released in early January, so Netflix is hoping lightning strikes twice with the New Years Day release of Missing You, a new limited series based on the 2014 novel of the same name.Detective Kat Donovans fiance Josh went missing 11 years ago. Shes over it, at least she thought she was, until one night while surfing a dating app, she sees his picture on a profile. Is Josh alive? And if so, why did he go missing all those years ago? Kats ensuing investigations yields answers she may not understand or even want. But she has to know the nature of Joshs disappearance, and why she played a role in it.MISSING YOU | Official Trailer | NetflixSounds intriguing, right? Coben is a master of this sort of thing, and Netflix seems to have found a groove in churning out these adaptations. Like the others, the novels American setting has been changed to an English one, so those desiring a good British crime mystery wont be disappointed with Missing You. If youre still craving more of Cobens work, check out the excellent 2006 French-language adaptation of Tell No One.American Primeval | Official Teaser | NetflixAmerica, 1857. The young nation is still in its embryonic stage, but its already close to collapse. A civil war is coming, and on the frontier, blood is being spilled daily as settlers battle over land, religion, and honor. This is the setting for American Primeval, Netflixs new Western show from Friday Night Lightscreator Peter Berg.Glows Betty Gilpin stars as Sara Rowell, a widow who is trying to protect her young son from the dangers of the world around them. They team up with Isaac (Taylor Kitsch), an emotionally wounded man with a past hed like to forget, and Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier), a Native American teenager who has fled her village and is looking for a new home. Together, they form a found family as they explore the American West and evade all the dangers that come with it.Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 | Official Trailer | NetflixWhen it premiered in September 2023, Castlevania: Nocturne was welcomed with open arms by fans of the original Castlevania show. The sequel series contained all the superior animation and voice-over acting that the original had, and advanced the storyline of the Belmont family and its never-ending war on vampires. Now, Castlevania: Nocturne is back, and its poised to be the best season yet.France, 1972. At the height of the French Revolution, the Vampire Messiah is at full power, and Richter Belmont needs all the help he can get. Fortunately for him, hes teamed with Draculas son, the half-human, half-vampire Alucard, to stop Erzsebet Bthorys reign of terror before her bloodlust drowns France and its warring citizens in a river of blood.Editors Recommendations

The ancestor of all best-of lists was the Hellenistic accounting of monumental must-sees. Only one remains in anything like its original form.

Power corrupts? Power company hid illegal crypto mine that may have caused outages Russia's crackdown on illegal mines outs power provider as unexpected accomplice. Ashley Belanger Dec 30, 2024 1:55 pm | 9 Credit: shaunl | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: shaunl | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAhead of a major crackdown on illegal cryptocurrency mines in Russia next year, a power provider in Siberia has been fined for illegally leasing state land that's supposed to be used only for public utilities to an illegal mining operation.In a social media post translated by Ars, the Irkutsk Region Prosecutor-Generals Office explained that the power provider was fined more than 330,000 rubles (about $3,000) for the improper land use. Local prosecutors will also pursue an administrative case against the power provider, the office said.Crypto mining is popular in Siberia because of low operating costs, Crypto News noted, due to the cool temperatures and cheap power supply. But many in Siberia have blamed crypto miners for power outages and grid instability that can cause significant harms during winter months.Russia's relationship with crypto mining is complicated. Last year, Russia became the world's second largest Bitcoin miner, the Moscow Times reported, mining more than $3 billion in bitcoin in 2023. Embracing cryptocurrency, the Russian government quickly moved to make crypto mining legal and approved its use in international trade, after reportedly generating approximately $550 million in tax revenue.But Russia presumably gets no taxes on illegal crypto mining, and power outages can be costly for everyone in a region. So next year, Russia will ban crypto mining in 10 regions for six years and place seasonal restrictions that would disrupt some crypto mining operations during the coldest winter months in regions like Irkutsk, CoinTelegraph reported.Illegal mining is still reportedly thriving in Irkutsk, though, despite the government's attempts to shut down secret farms. To deter any illegal crypto mining disrupting power grids last year, authorities seized hundreds of crypto mining rigs in Irkutsk, Crypto News reported.In July, Russian president Vladimir Putin linked blackouts to illegal crypto mines, warning that crypto mining currently consumes "almost 1.5 percent of Russias total electricity consumption," but "the figure continues to go up," the Moscow Times reported. And in September, Reuters reported that illegal mines were literally going underground to avoid detection as Russia's crackdown continues.Even though illegal mines are seemingly common in parts of Siberia and increasingly operating out of the public eye, finding an illegal mine hidden on state land controlled by an electrical utility was probably surprising to officials.The power provider was not named in the announcement, and there are several in the region, so it's not currently clear which one made the controversial decision to lease state land to an illegal mining operation.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 9 Comments

an emerging form of protest? Evolution journal editors resign en masse Board members expressed concerns over high fees, editorial independence, and use of AI in editorial processes. Jennifer Ouellette Dec 30, 2024 1:45 pm | 10 Credit: Elsevier Credit: Elsevier Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOver the holiday weekend, all but one member of the editorial board of Elsevier's Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) resigned "with heartfelt sadness and great regret," according to Retraction Watch, which helpfully provided an online PDF of the editors' full statement. It's the 20th mass resignation from a science journal since 2023 over various points of contention, per Retraction Watch, many in response to controversial changes in the business models used by the scientific publishing industry."This has been an exceptionally painful decision for each of us," the board members wrote in their statement. "The editors who have stewarded the journal over the past 38 years have invested immense time and energy in making JHE the leading journal in paleoanthropological research and have remained loyal and committed to the journal and our authors long after their terms ended. The [associate editors] have been equally loyal and committed. We all care deeply about the journal, our discipline, and our academic community; however, we find we can no longer work with Elsevier in good conscience."The editorial board cited several changes made over the last ten years that it believes are counter to the journal's longstanding editorial principles. These included eliminating support for a copy editor and a special issues editor, leaving it to the editorial board to handle those duties. When the board expressed the need for a copy editor, Elsevier's response, they said, was "to maintain that the editors should not be paying attention to language, grammar, readability, consistency, or accuracy of proper nomenclature or formatting."There is also a major restructuring of the editorial board underway that aims to reduce the number of associate editors by more than half, which "will result in fewer AEs handling far more papers, and on topics well outside their areas of expertise."Furthermore, there are plans to create a third-tier editorial board that functions largely in a figurehead capacity, after Elsevier "unilaterally took full control" of the board's structure in 2023 by requiring all associate editors to renew their contracts annuallywhich the board believes undermines its editorial independence and integrity.Worst practicesIn-house production has been reduced or outsourced, and in 2023 Elsevier began using AI during production without informing the board, resulting in many style and formatting errors, as well as reversing versions of papers that had already been accepted and formatted by the editors. This was highly embarrassing for the journal and resolution took six months and was achieved only through the persistent efforts of the editors," the editors wrote. "AI processing continues to be used and regularly reformats submitted manuscripts to change meaning and formatting and require extensive author and editor oversight during proof stage.In addition, the author page charges for JHE are significantly higher than even Elsevier's other for-profit journals, as well as broad-based open access journals like Scientific Reports. Not many of the journal's authors can afford those fees, "which runs counter to the journal's (and Elsevier's) pledge of equality and inclusivity," the editors wrote.The breaking point seems to have come in November, when Elsevier informed co-editors Mark Grabowski (Liverpool John Moores University) and Andrea Taylor (Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine) that it was ending the dual-editor model that has been in place since 1986. When Grabowki and Taylor protested, they were told the model could only remain if they took a 50 percent cut in their compensation.Elsevier has long had its share of vocal critics (including our own Chris Lee) and this latest development has added fuel to the fire. "Elsevier has, as usual, mismanaged the journal and done everything they could to maximize profit at the expense of quality," biologist PZ Myers of the University of Minnesota Morris wrote on his blog Pharyngula. "In particular, they decided that human editors were too expensive, so theyre trying to do the job with AI. They also proposed cutting the pay for the editor-in-chief in half. Keep in mind that Elsevier charges authors a $3990 processing fee for each submission. I guess they needed to improve the economics of their piratical mode of operation a little more."Elsevier has not yet responded to Ars' request for comment; we will update accordingly should a statement be issued.Not all AI uses are created equalJohn Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who has published 17 papers in JHE over his career, expressed his full support for the board members' decision on his blog, along with shock at the (footnoted) revelation that Elsevier had introduced AI to its editorial process in 2023. "I've published four articles in the journal during the last two years, including one in press now, and if there was any notice to my co-authors or me about an AI production process, I don't remember it," he wrote, noting that the move violates the journal's own AI policies. "Authors should be informed at the time of submission how AI will be used in their work. I would have submitted elsewhere if I was aware that AI would potentially be altering the meaning of the articles."There is certainly cause for concern when it comes to using AI in the pursuit of science. For instance, earlier this year, we witnessed the viral sensation of several egregiously bad AI-generated figures published in a peer-reviewed article in Frontiers, a reputable scientific journal. Scientists on social media expressed equal parts shock and ridicule at the images, one of which featured a rat with grotesquely large and bizarre genitals. The paper has since been retracted, but the incident reinforces a growing concern that AI will make published scientific research less trustworthy, even as it increases productivity.That said, there are also some useful applications of AI in the scientific endeavor. For instance, back in January, the research publisher Science announced that all of its journals would begin using commercial software that automates the process of detecting improperly manipulated images. Perhaps that would have caught the egregious rat genitalia figure, although as Ars Science Editor John Timmer pointed out at the time, the software has limitations. "While it will catch some of the most egregious cases of image manipulation, enterprising fraudsters can easily avoid being caught if they know how the software operates," he wrote.Hawks acknowledged on his blog that the use of AI by scientists and scientific journals is likely inevitable and even recognizes the potential benefits. "I dont think this is a dystopian future. But not all uses of machine learning are equal," he wrote. To wit:[I]ts bad for anyone to use AI to reduce or replace the scientific input and oversight of people in researchwhether that input comes from researchers, editors, reviewers, or readers. Its stupid for a company to use AI to divert experts effort into redundant rounds of proofreading, or to make disseminating scientific work more difficult.In this case, Elsevier may have been aiming for good but instead hit the exacta of bad and stupid. Its especially galling that they demand transparency from authors but do not provide transparency about their own processes... [I]t would be a very good idea for authors of recent articles to make sure that they have posted a preprint somewhere, so that their original pre-AI version will be available for readers. As the editors lose access, corrections to published articles may become difficult or impossible.Nature published an article back in March raising questions about the efficacy of mass resignations as an emerging form of protest after all the editors of the Wiley-published linguistics journal Syntax resigned in February. (Several of their concerns mirror those of the JHE editorial board.) Such moves certainly garner attention, but even former Syntax editor Klaus Abels of University College London told Nature that the objective of such mass resignations should be on moving beyond mere protest, focusing instead on establishing new independent nonprofit journals for the academic community that are open access and have high academic standards.Abels and his former Syntax colleagues are in the process of doing just that, following the example of the former editors of Critical Public Health and another Elsevier journal, NeuroImage, last year.Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 10 Comments