In context: Nearly every major operating system comes with sleek live wallpapers. iOS has them, Android does too, and so does macOS. Microsoft had been working on a similar feature for Windows 11, but for reasons unknown, the project never made it to completion. Former Microsoft designer Sergey Kisselev, who worked on the Windows team, has unveiled some intriguing concepts he helped develop. On Behance, you can now explore the dynamic desktop backgrounds Microsoft had been experimenting with.Kisselev explained that these "living wallpaper" designs were initially intended for low-cost Windows devices aimed at educational users. However, the broader vision was to "celebrate a new centered signature composition for Windows 11," aligning seamlessly with the redesigned Start menu and taskbar.The concepts shared by Kisselev are a vibrant collection, featuring gentle animations designed to introduce subtle motion to the Windows desktop. These designs showcased abstract shapes and patterns that shifted and flowed, creating a dynamic yet distinctly "Microsoft" aesthetic.Kisselev also revealed that the wallpaper engine was designed to adapt seamlessly to both light and dark modes in Windows 11. This elegant approach could have brought a refreshing new look to the otherwise static Windows desktop.Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Despite these ambitious designs and hints of the feature appearing in Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2 dynamic wallpapers never became an official offering. According to Windows watcher Albacore, the capability has now been scrapped entirely, with the remaining traces removed in the recent 24H2 update.This omission is puzzling, especially given that Microsoft had previously explored similar territory with the DreamScene feature in Windows Vista. DreamScene allowed users to set video files as animated wallpapers, hinting at the company's interest in dynamic desktop experiences. // Related StoriesSo, what went wrong? It's anyone's guess. Perhaps the performance overhead of such a feature was considered too significant, or maybe Microsoft shifted its focus to other priorities in the Windows 11 development process.The good news is that if you're open to using third-party apps, options like Wallpaper Engine on Steam can provide similar functionality.For now, you can still admire those delightful "might-have-beens" on Kisselev's Behance. Even without the animations, some of these designs would make for sleek static backgrounds.

A hot potato: Mozilla recently launched its most ambitious AI project to date: a Firefox extension designed to transform lengthy text or even videos into more digestible formats. Orbit, however, comes with an oddly anti-AI introduction, despite Mozilla's confidence that users will embrace the new technology for their browsing needs. Chrome's recent shortcomings and security issues surrounding Manifest V3 aside, Firefox continues to lose market share to its competitors in the PC browser market. While Mozilla's management is doing well financially, the open-source browser's future could be at risk following the recent antitrust ruling against Google. In response to this precarious situation, Mozilla is integrating more AI into Firefox, though it appears to be taking a different approach compared to other browser makers.Mozilla's latest AI initiative is called Orbit, a Firefox extension designed to provide concise summaries of emails, web pages, and other lengthy documents. Orbit aims to help users quickly and securely extract essential information, Mozilla explained, without relying on a cloud-based, always-on AI model.Currently in beta and available only in English, Orbit uses the Mistral large language model (Mistral 7B) and can work on popular websites like Gmail, Wikipedia, The New York Times, YouTube, and more. Users can interact with Orbit by requesting summaries or additional information about content, and the AI will gather relevant context (images, text, videos) to provide an answer.The extension does not require an account and does not store any information about users' queries. Mozilla stated that the Mistral 7B LLM supporting the service is hosted on its own servers, with queries not shared with Mistral or any other external companies. Each session is unique, and data is not used to train generative AI models.Orbit's official webpage has a rather passive-aggressive tone, as Mozilla chose to introduce the service with a gimmicky (fake) email promoting AI chatbots, supposedly sent by an "Annoying Friend/Boss/Neighbor." The message seems to suggest that "everyone" is talking about this weird AI thing, so why not explore it in Orbit's safe, web-focused summarization environment. // Related StoriesI found Mozilla's marketing approach to be highly questionable and concerning, especially given the growing issues generative AI poses to workers in various industries and content creators. Meanwhile, many Firefox users (myself included) are asking for long-standing bugs to be fixed or for support of features that other browsers have had for years (like HDR).But no, it seems Mozilla's developers are more focused on chasing the latest tech trend than addressing the concerns of their user base. So, we're left to embrace AI summaries and possibly hallucinated queries, all while Firefox risks becoming just another meaningless Chromium clone.

PokemonPokmon Go started out really good, and then it became great. But its not all sunshine and Ho-Ohs. The monthly community days special events for catching Pokemon that you might not encounter otherwise have received a price increase from $1 to $2.Its particularly frustrating news for fans given the events history. Originally, Community Days would bring Pokmon Go players out of the woodwork to flood parks or other areas. It was a fun way to get out of the house, be a little social, and catch some cute critters usually for the first time in Shiny form. But now, most of the storylines have been removed from the events, and the time frame has dropped from six hours to three, according to Eurogamer.Recommended VideosThe price increase doesnt suddenly make Community Days prohibitively expensive, but their value has seen a significant drop that makes raising the price like this feel somewhat insulting. However, its not all bad news. Niantic has added a new feature to Community Days that lets you get even more exposure to that months Pokemon, provided you log in every day of the following week.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThere is another perk, too. Community Days now come with a Premium Battle Pass ticket with its purchase. These in-game items cost roughly $1 normally, so it does help offset the cost by a small amount.RelatedPokmon Go fans have suggested many changes to the Community Day system to make it more appealing. This early look at what the new event will look like does provide some details, but a lot is still left up in teh air. Its possible that Niantic has further expanded on the rewards for the Community Day, but is playing details close to the vest.Editors Recommendations

This is the year youre finally going to treat yourself to one of the best laptop deals. No, no, we insist! We know how expensive these portable PCs can get, and pretty much every laptop-maker claims to have the best business laptop, which is why were excited to shine a light on not only one of the best PC markdowns of the day but an incredible business PC at that:Right now, when you order the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, youll only wind up paying $1,421. At full price, this model goes for $3,330. Thats over half off! This PC is officially on clearance, though, so once its gone, its gone forever.This version of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 comes with an Intel Core i7-1365U CPU that delivers max clock speeds of 5.20GHz, integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Designed for demanding workflows, the X1 Carbon Gen 11 is the laptop of choice for folks who always have more than one piece of software and multiple tabs opened at the same time. Expect fast Windows 11 Pro performance and minimal load times for apps and webpages.RelatedThe 14-inch WUXGA screen supports up to 1920 x 1200 resolution and pushes up to 400 nits at peak brightness. The 1080p FHD webcam also captures crisp-clear footage, and the built-in privacy shutter shows that Lenovo prioritizes user security. Theres even an onboard fingerprint reader to ensure no unwelcome digits start typing away on your X1 Carbon keyboard! The Carbon Gen 11 also comes with several USB ports and an HDMI 2.1 connection should you decide to connect to an external monitor, TV, or projector.Now that the X1 Carbon Gen 11 is officially on clearance, its only a matter of time before its stock is depleted and its gone for good! That being said, today might be the best (and final) day to save big on this amazing PC. Take 56% off the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 when you order through the manufacturer, and be sure to check out our roundups of the best Lenovo ThinkPad deals and best Lenovo laptop deals for even more markdowns on top PCs!Editors Recommendations

Rust is one of the kings of multiplayer survival sandbox games, pitting players against each other and the environment in what sometimes feels like a never-ending stream of chaos. While undeniably popular, the title just hit a new player count record (262,284 concurrent users) a whopping 11 years after release and a looming update is to thank for that.Rusts impendingPrimitive update gives the game a bit of medieval flair. Normal resources like guns and ammunition will be practically impossible to find, meaning players will need to turn to melee combat to vent their aggression. Weapons like swords and crossbows will be a core element of gameplay, but youll also get shields to protect yourself. And there will also be towers, battering rams, and ballistas to help you lay siege to your foes, according to PCGamesN.Recommended VideosExecutive producer Alistair McFarlane shared a post on X celebrating the record player count: For the past several months, weve been hitting new monthly records. This was a huge one we were unsure if wed ever beat, not unless there was another global pandemic. With a previous record of 245,243 players set in 2021, the ever-growing popularity of the game is a delight to see. He also shared a fun YouTube video thats part 2024 recap, part 11th anniversary celebration.Rust - 11th Anniversary | 2024 RecapMore updates are on the way, including a total rework for the cooking system, a new biome, and a slew of different adjustments to the game. While there isnt a set release date for Cooking 2.0, the Primitiveupdate releases on February 6. If you dont want to wait that long to play it, Rusts Staging Aux2 branch is publicly playable.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Rust is a fun game, but a difficult one. You start out on a beach with nothing to your name, while other players already have established bases and wont hesitate to take any resources you might have. But if you can get past that initial starting phase, it becomes an experience you wont soon forget.Editors Recommendations

The musicians who inspired a young Elvis Presley, a nuclear-powered dream, the world of early Christians and more.

Elvis Presley himself credited the black rythm and blues performers he heard as a young man for pioneering the music he made famous.

An exhibition at Lisson Gallery shows how the famed Dublin-born artist moved away from Minimalism and advanced geometric abstraction during his early years in New York.

Your bots are spam, our bots are glam Instagram users discover old AI-powered characters, instantly revile them But the social networking giant still has big plans for AI content across its services. Kyle Orland Jan 3, 2025 3:15 pm | 4 The AI character "Liv" introduces herself to the world of Instagram, and the world of Instagram responds in kind. The AI character "Liv" introduces herself to the world of Instagram, and the world of Instagram responds in kind. Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA little over a year ago, Meta created Facebook and Instagram profiles for "28 AIs with unique interests and personalities for you to interact with and dive deeper into your interests." Today, the last of those profiles is being taken down amid waves of viral revulsion as word of their existence has spread online.The September 2023 launch of Meta's social profiles for AI characters was announced alongside a much splashier initiative that created animated AI chatbots with celebrity avatars at the same time. Those celebrity-based AI chatbots were unceremoniously scrapped less than a year later amid a widespread lack of interest.But roughly a dozen of the unrelated AI character profiles still remained accessible as of this morning via social media pages labeled as "AI managed by Meta." Those profileswhich included a mix of AI-generated imagery and human-created content, according to Metaalso offered real users the ability to live chat with these AI characters via Instagram Direct or Facebook Messenger.Now that we know it exists, we hate it The "Mama Liv" AI-generated character account page, as it appeared on Instagram Friday morning. For the last few months, these profiles have continued to exist in something of a state of benign neglect, with little in the way of new posts and less in the way of organic interest from other Meta users. That started to change last week, though, after Financial Times published a report on Meta's vision for "social media filled with AI-generated users."As Meta VP of Product for Generative AI Connor Hayes told FT, We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do... Theyll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform. Thats where we see all of this going."The description shares many similarities with the handful of AI-powered character accounts Meta had already launched over a year before. And in the wake of the FT report, some Internet users began to unearth those old accounts and share them as evidence that "Meta is testing, or has started to ship, its AI generated profiles."As word of these zombie AI profiles spread, so did the instant revulsion among many users. One viral Bluesky post called out the awkwardness of an AI-generated character talking about "leading this season's coat drive" complete with a seemingly AI-generated photo of boxes full of "donated" coats. Others shared amusing chats with one of the bots admitting to problematic takes on racial diversity or short circuiting when asked about accused CEO-shooter Luigi Mangione. Still others took issue with the fact that these AI-powered accounts seemed to be the only ones on all of Instagram that couldn't be blocked.everything about this new Meta AI bot is so dystopian but for me the AI-generated images of nonexistent donated coats is up there[image or embed] Alexandra Petri (@petridishes.bsky.social) January 3, 2025 at 8:58 AMIt was this last complaint that has served as the official reasoning behind Meta beginning to take down the dozen or so extant AI character profiles that were still accessible as of this morning."There is confusion: the recent Financial Times article was about our vision for AI characters existing on our platforms over time, not announcing any new product," Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney told 404 Media. "The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters. We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs and are removing those accounts to fix the issue."We wouldn't be shocked if Meta quietly decides not to reinstate these accounts, even after the blocking issue is "fixed." Whatever small bits of increased engagement or generative AI testing data Meta was still receiving from these accounts was almost certainly not worth the overwhelming negative reaction they received as word of their mere existence has spread this morning. It's also a bit odd for Meta to continue to champion its own AI-powered bot accounts after spending years waging a very public war against bot accounts from third-party scammers and spammers (even if Meta's AI bots seem relatively benign in comparison).That said, the recent FT report makes it clear that Meta is not giving up on its vision of letting bespoke AI creations mix with real humans on its social networks. It's not hard to envision a chilling world where these kinds of ersatz accounts are seen as a key way to juice engagement metrics among users who are tired of interacting with real people.This isn't just a near future concern, either. As Katie Notopolous points out on Bluesky, Meta users can already create their own customized chatbots in Facebook Messenger as part of the company's months-old AI Studio initiative.For now, at least, it seems Meta's experiments into AI-generated social media content will continue, regardless of how little interest the user base at large shows.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. 4 Comments

phenomenal cosmic power use Rumors say next-gen RTX 50 GPUs will come with big jumps in power requirements We'll likely find out more about Nvidia's next GPUs at CES next week. Andrew Cunningham Jan 3, 2025 2:04 pm | 71 Nvidia's RTX 4090. Credit: Sam Machkovech Nvidia's RTX 4090. Credit: Sam Machkovech Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreNvidia is reportedly gearing up to launch the first few cards in its RTX 50-series at CES next week, including an RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070. The 5090 will be of particular interest to performance-obsessed, money-is-no-object PC gaming fanatics since it's the first new GPU in over two years that can beat the performance of 2022's RTX 4090.But boosted performance and slower advancements in chip manufacturing technology mean that the 5090's maximum power draw will far outstrip the 4090's, according to leakers. VideoCardz reports that the 5090's thermal design power (TDP) will be set at 575 W, up from 450 W for the already power-hungry RTX 4090. The RTX 5080's TDP is also increasing to 360 W, up from 320 W for the RTX 4080 Super.That also puts the RTX 5090 close to the maximum power draw available over a single 12VHPWR connector, which is capable of delivering up to 600 W of power (though once you include the 75 W available via the PCI Express slot on your motherboard, the actual maximum possible power draw for a GPU with a single 12VHPWR connector is a slightly higher 675 W).Higher peak power consumption doesn't necessarily mean that these cards will always draw more power during actual gaming than their 40-series counterparts. And their performance could be good enough that they could still be very efficient cards in terms of performance per watt.But if you're considering an upgrade to an RTX 5090 and these power specs are accurate, you may need to consider an upgraded power supply along with your new graphics card. Nvidia recommends at least an 850 W power supply for the RTX 4090 to accommodate what the GPU needs while leaving enough power left over for the rest of the system. An additional 125 W bump suggests that Nvidia will recommend a 1,000 W power supply as the minimum for the 5090.We'll probably know more about Nvidia's next-gen cards after its CES keynote, currently scheduled for 9:30 pm Eastern/6:30 pm Pacific on Monday, January 6.Andrew CunninghamSenior Technology ReporterAndrew CunninghamSenior Technology Reporter Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue. 71 Comments