Apple's first software releases of 2025 have arrived, with updates for iOS and iPadOS 18.2.1 serving as bug-fix releases.An iPhone with the new Siri animationFollowing the holidays, Monday served as the first opportunity for Apple to release updates for its operating systems. For this incarnation, it turned out to be for iOS and iPadOS.The updates for iOS 18.2.1 and iPadOS 18.2.1 both have build number 22C161. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Electronics brand Aukey is showing off two new MagSafe-compatible products at the annual Las Vegas-based tech show, bolstering its growing lineup.Aukey has several new Qi2 products at CES 2025Aukey is announcing the MagFusion Titan 6-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger and the magFusion UltraSlim 5000 Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Power Bank. Both launching later this year."We continue to innovate at AUKEY to address some of the most prevalent pain points in mobile Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Efforts currently underway to amend existing building and construction codes in order to create more affordable housing could soon be boosted via the removal of a long-held and potentially outdated requirementthe need for two egress routes in multifamily buildings with heights up to six stories.At least ten states and a number of other larger cities are considering such reforms as we enter the new year, armed with the confidence that better fire safety technology and building materials can eliminate the sometimes costly code requirement at a crucial time.In the Texas state capital ofAustinfor example, the city council has already approved a code change that allows for single-stair construction in new multifamily buildings up to six levels.The "unbounded" change, which was immediately opposed by public safety officials, will be critical as developers there are planning to bolster housing stock by at least 60,000 new planned units to match its expanding population. A final appr...

Freedom Wars makes its long-awaited return this week in remastered form courtesy of Bandai Namco. A new trailer highlights the games setting and combat while outlining many of the improvements. Check it out below.More noteworthy upgrades include increased movement speed and animation canceling when activating Thorns. Players can also look forward to renewed controls, including full remapping. There are also some quality-of-life features, like modules functioning as separate items, letting you attach and detach them from weapons as necessary.Module Synthesis has also been added to upgrade modules, with the success rate increasing if you take help from rescued citizens. Those seeking a challenge can engage in Deadly Sinner mode, which increases the years of sentence from penalties, while all previously released cosmetic DLC is included for customization.Freedom Wars Remastered launches on January 10th for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It also features various graphical improvements, including 4K resolution and 60 frames per second support.

Intel has announced that its current-gen Arrow Lake CPUs will be coming to gaming laptops. This generation of CPUs, previously released on desktop under the Intel Core Ultra line-up, will include similar features in the laptop variants, including a dedicated Neural Processing Unit for AI features, and have been titled the Intel Core Ultra 200HX line.The highest end version of Arrow Lake CPUs for laptops (Core Ultra 9 275HX) will have up to 24 processing cores split into 8 high-speed performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. On the lower end side of things (Core Ultra 5 245HX) will, on the other hand, feature 14 cores split into 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores.The Core Ultra 9 275HX will be able to boost up to 5.4GHz. In comparison, the mid-range Core Ultra 7 265HX (with 8 performance cores and 12 efficiency cores) will boost up to 5.3GHz, and the Core Ultra 5 245HX will boost up to 5.1GHz. Performance of the NPU on all of these CPUs will match the desktop variants at 13 TOPS (trillion operations per second).With Intel having just announced the Core Ultra 200HX CPUs, we will likely start seeing hardware partners unveiling laptops powered by these new CPUs in the coming months.

As we get closer to Nintendo unveiling the successor to the Nintendo Switch soon, new pictures have surfaced purporting to be of that next consoles JoyCon controller. The two pictures, which can be seen below courtesy of X user Stealth, indicate that not too much will be changing in terms of design.Much like the Nintendo Switch, the next console will also seemingly allow players to use individual JoyCons as complete controllers for the sake of local multiplayer titles. To support this, the picture indicates the presence of SL and SR buttons, along with a pairing button. The new controller also seems to feature some extra hardware which indicates a new mounting mechanism over the previous slide-in mechanical implementation.Notably, one of the pictures also indicates that the JoyCon eject button, previously a small circular button behind the triggers, will be larger this time around.While Nintendo is yet to officially announce the successor to the Switch, previous rumours have indicated that we will see an unveiling in an event scheduled for May. The reports also indicate that Nintendo is looking to release the new console in June. A recent discovery of Nintendos patents gave us some idea of the systems new hardware and software capabilities, which seems to include DLSS-styled upscaling technology and a neural net.Rumor: More images of Switch 2 Joy-Cons have immerged from China.Source: https://t.co/MplOUwKhRi pic.twitter.com/5ZdFmVlggl Stealth (@Stealth40k) January 5, 2025

A Goodyear Blimp hovering above the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, in 1978, when the Washington Huskies faced off against the Michigan Wolverines GoodyearIf youve watched a major sporting event on TV recentlywhether a college football game or a NASCAR racechances are, youve seen aerial footage captured by aGoodyear Blimp. The massive blue-and-yellow airship floats above stadiums and racetracks using high-definition, gyro-stabilized cameras to get overhead shots of the action below.This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Goodyear Blimp and the 70th anniversary of providing aerial event coverage. To celebrate, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is taking its iconic airship on atour of North America and Europe. Its alsogiving fans a chance to ride in the blimp, something only 0.0006 percent of Americans can say theyve done, according to a statement from the company.Takeoff feels like someone just let go of a balloon that happens to fill about 80 percent of a football field and fly a top speed of 73 miles per hour, says Jesse Kirsch of NBCs Today.The helium-filled blimps actual birthday isnt until June. But Goodyear already kicked off the festivities on New Years Day at theRose Bowl college football bowl game in California, where it first debuted its aerial coverage concept in 1955. From there, it will fly over more than 100 cities, making appearances at other big sports matchups, as well as music and cultural festivals. The company manufactured airships for the U.S. Navy to help with anti-submarine surveillance. GoodyearThe history of airshipsAirships, also known as lighter-than-air craft, date back to 1852, when French engineer Henri Giffard filled a 144-foot-long bag with hydrogen. Using a steam engine to turn a large propeller, his invention lifted off from the Paris Hippodrome and flew through the air for roughly 20 miles, per Encyclopedia Britannica.In the ensuing decades, engineers made various improvements and tweaks to this initial design. They experimented with internal-combustion engines, electric motors and rigid hulls made of aluminum.But airships really took off during World War I, when rigid models developed by GermanysFerdinand von Zeppelin were used to bomb Paris and London. They became known as zeppelins.Airships remained popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s, even ferrying explorersto the North Pole in 1926. But by the late 1930s and early 1940s, theyd all but disappeared from the worlds skies.Airplanes, helicopters and other heavier-than-air craft were getting cheaper, faster and better equipped to fly through inclement weather. The airships demise was also hastened by events like theHindenburg disaster.In May 1937, the rigid German airship was landing in New Jersey after a commercial transatlantic crossing when it burst into flames. The 804-foot-long vessel was filled with highly flammable hydrogen, and 36 passengers were killed in the explosion. In 1930, engineers equipped a blimp with a lighted neon signcalled the "Neon-o-Gram." GoodyearGoodyears aviation heritageFounded in 1898 as a tire manufacturer, Goodyear entered the aviation marketin 1910 when it started making rubber-infused fabrics and coatings for aircraft. Goodyear began making its own airships during World War I to fulfill several large ordersfrom the U.S. Navy.The company considers the Pilgrimthe airship that debuted in 1925to be the first official Goodyear Blimp. It was also the first commercial non-rigid airship to use helium.Goodyear quickly saw the value in using the Pilgrim for public relations and advertising. Every year at Christmas, for example, it was promoted as the Santa Claus Express. In 1930, engineers equipped the vessel with alighted neon sign so that the companys name could still be seen after dark. (They also briefly experimented with loudspeakers, microphones and record players but later scrapped those plans.)Goodyear's Blimp Time-Lapse Build in Blimp HangerWatch on Another early blimp, theVolunteer, gaveCharles Lindbergh a ride and appeared in the 1932 film Hidden Valley. The Volunteer also soared over the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.During World War II, Goodyear produced more than 150 blimps to help the U.S. Navy keep a lookout for enemy submarines.In 1955, the company used one of its blimps to provide a live aerial broadcast of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game. In 1967, a Goodyear Blimp covered the first Super Bowl.Since then, Goodyear Blimps have broadcast World Series games, Olympic events, horse races like the Kentucky Derby, the Americas Cup yacht races, World Cup soccer matches and many other events. The company has also used its technology to help first responders after natural disasters, including the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and 1992s Hurricane Andrew, according to the Tallahassee Democrats C. A. Bridges.These days, Goodyear hasfour blimps in its fleet, including one that flies full-time in Europe. They each weigh nearly 20,000 pounds when empty, but they lighten to roughly200 pounds once theyre filled with helium.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Advertisements, Air Transportation, American History, Blimps, History, Marketing, Sports, Transportation, World War I, World War II

Alcohol Consumption Raises the Risk of Seven Cancers, Says U.S. Surgeon General in a New Health AdvisoryThe Nations Doctor has called for a cancer warning label on alcoholic beverages and suggests the recommended limits for alcohol consumption should be reassessed The U.S. surgeon general wants updated warning labels on alcoholic beverages that highlight the increased risk of cancer tied to drinking alcohol. PixabayAmericas top doctor is calling for warning labels on boozy drinks, citing scientific evidence linking alcohol consumption with an increased risk of cancer.Vivek Murthy, the United States surgeon general, issued an advisory on Friday outlining the causal relationship between alcohol and cancer. He warned Americans that drinking alcohol can increase their risk of developing at least seven kinds of cancer: breast cancer in women, as well as colorectum, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth and throat cancer in both men and women.In his report, Murthy also offered recommendations for reducing alcohol-related cancers, such as reassessing the suggested limits for alcohol consumption and updating the warning label on alcoholic beverages.Right now, that label warns about general health problems. It advises pregnant women not to drink alcohol because of the risk of birth defects and warns against drinking alcohol before driving a car or operating machinery. The surgeon generals advisory notes that this language has not changed since it was introduced in 1988.But Murthy points out that alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in America, behind tobacco and obesity. It contributes to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and roughly 20,000 cancer deaths every yearmore than the number of annual deaths from alcohol-related traffic accidents, which totals about 13,500.Roughly 17 percent of those cancer deaths occur among Americans who are following federal dietary guidelines, which recommend limiting alcoholic drinks to two per day for men and one per day for women.Warning labels should be updated to make consumers more aware of these risks, Murthy argues.Many people out there assume that as long as theyre drinking at the limits or below the limits of current guidelines of one a day for women and two for men, that there is no risk to their health or well-being, Murthy tells the New York Times Roni Caryn Rabin. The data does not bear that out for cancer risk.Congress would need to approve Murthys proposed changes to the warning label to allow them to take effect. But, as Chelsea Cirruzzo writes for Politico, his recommendation will likely face strong resistance, because the alcohol industry has spent millions lobbying lawmakers.Advisories like this one are rare, but they often become turning points in the nations health habits, as Ben Tinker, Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman write for CNN. In 1964, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory on the health risks of smoking, which ultimately led to a health warning label on cigarette cartons and many other anti-smoking measures.When Donald Trump takes office later this month, hell likely replace Murthy with a new surgeon general. Experts say Murthy probably wanted to sound the alarm about alcohol and cancer while he still had the chance.I think he safely added alcohol to what is now the big three, which is tobacco, obesity and alcohol, says William Dietz, an exercise and nutrition scientist at George Washington University, to USA Todays Sarah D. Wire. Its quite appropriate and within the character of the position to use the position as a bully pulpit to call to the attention of the American public issues related to health.Many Americans dont know about the link between alcohol and cancer: In a 2019 survey, only 45 percent of respondents answered that they thought alcohol carried a cancer risk. For decades, the common belief has been that certain types of alcohol, such as red wine, and moderate drinking may be beneficial to human health in some ways, potentially by decreasing the risk of heart disease.But a slate of studies conducted over the last two decades has challenged these long-held views, according to the advisory. They find that drinking even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of some health issues, including cancer and certain types of heart disease, compared to people who do not drink.The data has been building for some time and getting stronger and stronger, Murthy tells Time magazines Alice Park.For example, the risks of breast cancer, mouth cancer and throat cancer may increase with the consumption of just one alcoholic drink per day. And about one in six breast cancer cases in the U.S. can be linked to alcohol.There is no form of alcohol consumption that is risk-free, according to the World Health Organization. Even low levels of alcohol consumption carry some risks and can cause harm.The U.S. surgeon generals advisory comes amid a review of federal dietary guidelines, which advise Americans on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health and prevent disease. The guidelines also influence policies, such as how food assistance can be used. Doctors also use them to encourage their patients to make healthy food and drink choices.As part of the regular five-year review, officials are considering what the guidelines should recommend about alcohol consumption. Even if they dont take Murthys advisory into account, his report is a good step in the direction of just getting the word out so everybody can be better informed and make the best choice for themselves, says Paul Gilbert, a public health researcher at the University of Iowa, to NBC News Aria Bendix.Speaking to TimeErnest Hawk, vice president of cancer prevention at MD Anderson Cancer Center, echoed that sentiment. A persons cancer risk is influenced by numerous factors, including age, sex, health status and family history. Studies also find that the more alcohol a person drinks, the greater their risk of cancer, per the advisory.Were not here to take us back to Prohibition, Hawk says to Time magazine. We just want people to be aware of the risk so they can act on it as it suits them best.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Alcohol, Beer, Food, Food History, Food Science, Health, Liquor, Medicine, New Research, Nutrition, Politics, US Government, Wine

Yayoi Kusama's TheHope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe (2019) is just one of the roughly 200 works on view during the "Yayoi Kusama" retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Sean FennessyFor the past eight decades,Yayoi Kusama has been dazzling art lovers around the world with her giant polka-dotted sculptures and immersive infinity mirror rooms.Now, a new exhibition in Australia contemplates the 95-year-old Japanese artists legacy. Titled Yayoi Kusama, the retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne is thought to be one of the largest exhibitions featuring the artists work in the world, according to theArt Newspapers Elizabeth Fortescue.The show includes a new piece called Infinity Mirrored RoomMy Heart is Filled to the Brim With Sparkling Light. Created in Kusamas signature style, the work includes mirrored balls dotted with small holes. Light emanates from the holes in various shades of blue, purple, red and green.Kusama dedicated the piece to the people of Melbourne and explained that she hopes her art sends a message of love to the world.It is love that illuminates our lives and makes life beautiful, she wrote. I aim to deliver in my art a heartfelt prayer. My hope is to experience the beauty of a world where peace and love have fully arrived. It is in celebration of this everlasting hope that I offer love to my eternal humankind.The artist produced her first infinity mirror room in 1965, according to the Smithsonians Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. These perceptual pieces use mirrors to reflect images and light, creating mesmerizing patterns. The gallery is raising funds to acquire Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden (1966/2024). Tobias TitzThis kind of repetition can also be seen in many of Kusamas other pieces. She often incorporates polka dots into sculptures, paintings, fashion apparel and installations. Kusama has said that she uses dots as a way to cope with intrusive visual hallucinations that began when she was a child.Since 1977, she has voluntarily lived at a psychiatric treatment facility in Tokyo.Nowadays,art therapy is all the rage, Wayne Crothers, the gallerys senior curator of Asian art, tells theGuardians Sian Cain. But even when she was a child, she found the production of art very therapeutic.By channeling her mental health struggles into her work, Kusama was able to [harness] her obsession into something awe-inspiring, he adds. Yayoi Kusama's 16-foot-tall Dancing Pumpkin greets visitors in the foyer of the National Gallery of Victoria. Sean FennessyBeyond the infinity mirror room, the new exhibition also includes nearly 200 of Kusamas worksincluding some she made as a child in the 1930s. Curators also use photographs, sketches, letters and other archival materials to help tell the story of Kusamas long and prolific career.We wanted to show people that you dont just arrive at the point of giant pumpkins and infinity rooms instantaneously, Crothers tells the Guardian. This is a life pursuit that spans eight and a half decades. And I dont think theres ever been another artist that you could do that with, in the whole world.Other highlights include Dancing Pumpkin (2020), a 16-foot-tall bronze gourd with tentacle-like legs covered in yellow and black dots that the museum recently acquired. Narcissus Garden (1966/2024), a new version of one of Kusamas sculptural installations, immerses museumgoers in 1,400 stainless steel silver balls. The gallery is raising funds to be able to buy the piece, per the Art Newspaper. Trees lining the road in front of the gallery Sean FennessyThe exhibition also includes The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe (2019), an immersive experience featuring worm-shaped forms covered in yellow dots that are nearly 20 feet tall.Another piece, calledAscension of Polka Dots on the Trees, is located outside on the road in front of the gallery. To celebrate the new show, Kusama wrapped 60 plane trees in custom white and pink polka-dot fabric.The retrospective is profoundly moving, writes Sasha Grishin, an art historian at Australian National University, in theConversation. Behind the extrovert glitter that runs throughout the exhibition, there is the sound of a suppressed scream of pain and the desire to lose identity by melting into infinity through the multiplicity of images endlessly repeated.Yayoi Kusama is on view at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne through April 21, 2025.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Art, Artists, Arts, Australia, Exhibitions, Exhibits, Fashion, Japan, Museums, Painting, Pumpkin, Sculpture

Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, said at CES 2025 that the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best processor for gamers and creators.Read More