Miner KeyGood news culture lovers, a Minecraft YouTuber is hopping on Classic FM to blast banging choons from Skyrim, Street Fighter, and moreAnd here's the symphony that plays when an army of creepers blows up your entire town, delivered by the brass section of the New York philharmonic.Image credit: VG247/Bethesda News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 8, 2025 Do you like classical music? Is your life set to a beautiful symphony invoving violins, pianos, and the occasional tuba? Do you yearn for the surreal event that will be tunes from the Elder Scrolls being played on a radio station that your grandparents might listen to?Well, if you said yes to the last one, you're in luck, as UK radio station Classic FM has tapped Minecraft YouTuber DanTDM to host a series about video game music. It's called Next Level with DanTDM, which definitely sounds like a title for a video game show.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As announced by Classic FM today, DanTDM - whose real name is the much more Classic FM sounding Daniel Middleton - kicks off the series this Saturday, January 11, with an hour-long first episode that'll kick off at 9PM GMT.If you tune into this first ep, you'll hear Middleton playing tunes from some "legedary soundtracks" including The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy VII, Skyrim, and Street Fighter II. Naturally, there'll also be some Minecraft music, because Minecraft.You'll be able to listen to the series, which is set to run in that same Saturday evening slot every week until Easter, via Classic FM's app - Global Player - or, you know, by tuning an actual radio to the station. Ok, blasting it from your phone if you don't have a car is acceptable, but bonus points if you dig a dusty old wireless out of the attic.Teenage me wouldnt be able to believe I have my own radio show," said Middleton, "Having studied music production at university and then worked in video games for the past 15 years, being given a show that celebrates the meeting of these two worlds feels totally surreal."Across three months, he will not only showcase the greatest video game music to our loyal listeners, but with Dan at the controls, were looking forward to welcoming VGM fans to Classic FM for the first time too," added Classic FM managing editor Philip Noyce, owner of an even more Classic FM name, "We have always championed new forms of classical music, from film scores to gaming soundtracks, so Im pleased to announce this next chapter in our support of video game music.As Noyce alludes to, this isn't the first time the station's done stuff involving game music, having hosted High Score, the UKs first radio series dedicated to game soundtracks, on and off since 2017. Middelton's show definitely sounds worth giving a go, especially if you're currently waiting for the Minecraft Movie to drop with nuclear levels of anticipation.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)Like Nintendos own Wii U, the PS Vita has seen a good chunk of its best games migrate to alternative platforms in the years since the system itself veered into the realm of commercial failure. One of those games is Freedom Wars, a third-person action title created by Dimps that, at the time, was one of the most successful first-party-published Vita games (in Japan, at least). Now, over 10 years later, publisher Bandai Namco has taken the reins to present a remaster for Switch, retaining much of the originals essence while improving upon the core gameplay.Freedom Wars Remastered is, at its core, a loose take on Monster Hunters gameplay. As a Sinner within an underground Panopticon city, you must complete combat ops. Ysee, in a world in which resources are exceptionally scarce, the very nature of existence is in itself a crime; hence, you begin the game with a rather harsh one million-year sentence. By completing operations and rescuing your fellow citizens from large creatures known as Abductors, you can reduce your sentence and gain entitlements along the way.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)Its a fascinating premise that quickly sunk its hooks into us thanks to its dystopian nature and heavy focus on reducing or lengthening your sentence. Entitlements such as spending time with fellow inmates, exercising, or even lying down to rest are initially forbidden and can add hundreds, if not thousands, of additional years to your sentence. Slowly inching your way through your required operations, meanwhile, can earn more freedom within your Panopticon.Despite its intriguing setup, however, Freedom Wars story can often get in the way of the gameplay. Nothing has changed in this regard from the Vita version, and for the opening handful of hours at least, it can feel exceptionally slow as the world and its characters start to open up. This eases up a bit as you progress, but having to sit through lengthy dialogue sessions every time you complete an operation can be a tad grating.Exacerbating this, youre constantly kicked back to your cell after every mission, so if you want to visit the in-game store or complete additional objectives within the Panopticon, you have to make the same journey from your cell every time (at least until you unlock your fast travel entitlement, that is).Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)The true star of the show is the action gameplay that takes centre stage when partaking in your chosen operation. Although youll be taking on enemies large and small, the monstrous Abductors present the biggest challenge, requiring you to make use of melee weapons, long-range guns, and a tool known as a Thorn. The latter is essentially a grappling whip that you can use to either launch yourself onto an enemy, drag them to the ground, or quickly traverse the environment. As you proceed further, youll unlock new types of Thorns with unique properties such as healing abilities and shields.Theres a decent amount of variety with the operations, too. Basic missions see you taking down the Abductors and carrying rescued civilians to safety, but there are also missions that involve competing against other Panopticons to see which can rescue the most civilians. It almost feels like a take on a classic Capture the Flag mode, and it works quite well for the most part.Once youve completed your missions, youll be presented with the option to either donate gathered materials to the wider cause, thus reducing your sentence further, or keeping them for your personal use. Theres no major downside to either option, but reducing your sentence and gaining entitlement points earns more freedom within your cell and the wider Panopticon hub area.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)The controls have been significantly improved from the original Vita version. Light and heavy melee attacks have been remapped to R and ZR, respectively, while you can switch between your weapons with a quick tap of X. Its a more modernised take that feels more natural to control, but options let you customise the control scheme to your liking if you find yourself wanting to recapture the original Vita layout. Similarly, overall player speed seems to have been increased a bit for this new release, and feels a bit less tiresome as a result.Aside from the improved controls, however, the Switch version specifically feels just a bit too similar to the original Vita game. Yes, theres a welcome boost in resolution here (1080p when docked versus the Vitas 544p), but Switch's 30fps isn't the most optimum experience possible. The 4K/60fps gameplay on other platforms would undoubtedly make this feel like a significant leap from the original game, but as it is, the Switch version feels more like a straight port than a fully remastered title. Additions like new customisable hairstyles and facial features are welcome, but its not quite enough.Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)What's nice, however, is that while English is the default audio option, the original Japanese audio is also present; it took us a bit of time to find the option to alter this (since it's bizarrely labelled as 'Request Auditory Refit' within your cell), but it's there. And while the music hasn't changed for the remaster, it remains catchy and true to the dystopian, sci-fi setting.Despite its issues, Freedom Wars Remastered is still a decent game that shines brightly when youre knee-deep in combat, swapping between close and long-range weapons on the fly while zipping up onto an Abductors head with your nifty Thorn tool. It's nicely challenging at times, and can feel exhilarating when you finally wipe out a couple of Abductors. Its just a shame that you often have to sit through extended periods of monotonous plot once youre done.

San Francisco startup Based Hardware announced the launch of a new AI wearable, Omi, to boost productivity during the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this week. The device can be worn as a necklace where Omis AI assistant can be activated by saying Hey Omi. The startup also claims Omi can be attached to the side of your head, using medical tape, and use a brain interface to understand when youre talking to it.The startups founder, Nik Shevchenko, started marketing this device on Kickstarter as Friend, but changed the devices name after another San Francisco hardware maker launched his own Friend device and bought the domain name for $1.8 million.In recent years, weve seen an explosion of devices that use AI as their main interface. Rabbit launched during last years CES, and generated a considerable amount of buzz as a potential replacement for your smartphone. Humane, Friend, and the Ray-Ban Metas were some other AI devices released in the last few years, which tried to show what a new era of consumer hardware could look like. However, none of these AI devices have quite lived up to their initial hype.Shevchenko, a Thiel fellow with a history of eye-grabbing stunts, is taking a slightly different approach with Omi. Instead of seeing the device as a smartphone replacement or an AI companion, he wants Omi to be a complementary device to your phone that boosts your productivity.Omi comes in a few different colors (image Credit: Omi)The Omi device itself is a small, round orb that looks like it fell out of a pack of Mentos. The consumer version costs $89 and will start shipping in Q2 of 2025. However, you can order a developer version for delivery today for roughly $70.Based Hardware says the Omi device can answer your questions, summarize your conversations, create to-do lists, and help schedule meetings. The device is constantly listening and running your conversations through GPT-4o, and it also can remember the context about each user to offer personalized advice.Omi can also be worn as a necklace (image credit: omi)In an interview with TechCrunch, Shevchenko says he understands that there may be privacy concerns with a device thats always listening. Thats why he built Omi on an open-source platform where users can see where their data is going, or choose to store it locally.Omis open-source platform also allows developers to build their own applications or use the AI model of their choice. Shevchenko says developers have already created more than 250 apps on Omis app store.Shevchenko says Based Hardware has raised roughly $700,000, and he spent $150,000 of it on promotional videos around Omi shot in Los Angeles. The startups founder says he helped direct the videos himself. He says the startup is in talks to raise more capital after this launch, however, Shevchenko has no doubts about spending this much on marketing.For us, the user base is actually the core driver of the product itself. The more people that know about us, the better the product becomes because we are built on this open source platform, said Shevchenko.A still from a promotional video for Omi (image credit: omi)Its unclear if the brain interface of Omi actually works, but the startup is tackling a fairly simple use case to start. Shevchenko wants his device to understand whether a user is talking to Omi or not, without using one of its wake words. (TechCrunch was not able to test it out for ourselves at this time).But in a demo shared with TechCrunch, Shevchenko used the brain interface by closing his eyes and asking Can you tell me about TechCrunch? without using any of Omis wake words. While his eyes were closed, Shevchenko says he was focusing very hard on the device on the side of his head. The device then offered a summary of TechCrunch and told Shevchenko how the publication would be relevant to his upcoming launch.When Avi Schiffman launched Friend last summer, Shevchenko released a diss track on X claiming his device was the original Friend. Shevchenko now claims that Omi is a different type of product from Friend, but he does say theres an app on Omis app store that does exactly what Friend does.

Tran Le was an engineering student at Stanford University when she tried to enroll in a clinical trial for her chronic condition. Although she identified several promising trials, she found the sign-up process daunting she had to have extensive email exchanges with clinical sites and complete lengthy 20-page forms.All that paperwork was so cumbersome, Le saw an opportunity to use generative AI to reduce the time it takes to enroll in a trial from weeks to minutes. Earlier this year, she teamed up with Sohit Gatiganti, a fellow engineer at Stanford Medicine, to co-found Grove AI.Although many patients are referred to clinical trials by their physicians, some people look for suitable trials independently by searching on websites like clinicaltrials.gov. These registries can help patients discover relevant clinical studies, but getting in touch with a trials administrators can be challenging and time-consuming. As with many things in healthcare, understaffing, bureaucracy and outdated systems get in the way.Le and Gatiganti (pictured above) claim that Groves AIs agent, Grace, can solve the enrollment bottleneck by calling patients as soon as they express interest in a trial.Grace uses a voice-based AI agent to ask pre-screening questions to determine if a patient qualifies for a trial. If they do, it can schedule a first visit to the clinical site, where trial managers can make the final determination.Since its founding eight months ago, Grove AI says it has interacted with 250,000 patients, scheduled 7,000 in-person appointments and brought on two customers with multi-year contracts.Grove AI may be solving a straightforward problem, but according to Le and Gatiganti, no other company is using generative AI to help expedite the enrollment of patients in trials. A lot of the players in this space are reaching out to us, and theyre very interested in partnering with us, Le said.Investors also think that there may be value in reducing the bureaucratic hurdles associated with clinical trial enrollment.On Wednesday, Grove AI said it had raised $5.2 million in seed funding led by venture firm A*, with participation from Afore Capital, LifeX Ventures and Pear VC.The market that theyre going after is not the biggest market today, but I think theres room for it to grow, said Gautam Gupta, co-founder and general partner at A*. He added that his firm believes that advances in AI and computational biology will lead to an explosion of drug research and clinical trials. Grove is going to be a big beneficiary, he said.Gupta admitted that the tech powering Grove AI is not very complex, but the fact that it is in demand by many organizations, many of which were historically slow to adopt new technologies, made him excited about the company.In addition to finding Grove AIs voice agent compelling, Gupta sees significant potential in the startups efforts to collect and organize patient data into a relationship management tool.Most clinical sites currently keep track of patient interactions in spreadsheets, but Grove is using its AI to build a product that could eventually be used for managing patient records.I dont know how to quantify that opportunity now, but I do know that it creates a pretty significant moat and, over time, will create incremental monetization opportunities, he said.

Ahead of the holidays, Microsoft said it was upgrading the AI model behind Bing Image Creator, the AI-powered image editing tool built into the companys Bing search engine. Microsoft promised that the new model the latest version of OpenAIs DALL-E 3 model, code-named PR16 would allow users to create images twice as fast as before with higher quality.But it didnt deliver. Complaints quickly flooded X and Reddit.The DALL-E we used to love is gone forever, said one Redditor. Im using ChatGPT now because Bing has become useless for me, wrote another.The blowback was such that Microsoft said itll restore the previous model to Bing Image Creator until it can address the issues. Weve been able to [reproduce] some of the issues reported, and plan to revert to [DALL-E 3] PR13 until we can fix them, Jordi Ribas, head of search at Microsoft, said in a post on X Tuesday evening. The deployment process is very slow unfortunately. It started over a week ago and will take 2-3 more weeks to get to 100%.So what went wrong? Its difficult to compare model outputs from anecdotal reports, particularly when the prompts arent standardized. But many users said that PR16 tended to make images look less realistic and lifeless. Mayank Parmar, writing for Windows Latest, noted that PR16-generated images lacked detail and polish, and appeared weirdly cartoonish. Its not the first time an image model that presumably passed internal checks wasnt well received publicly. Back in February, Google was forced topauseits AI chatbot Geminis ability to create images of people after users complained ofhistoricalinaccuracies.The missteps illustrate just how challenging it can be to measure model improvements in the real world. According to Ribas, Microsofts benchmarking found PR16s quality to be a bit better on average compared to the previous Bing Image Creator model.Whatever internal metric the company used, it seems clear that it didnt align with most peoples preferences.

Breakdown & ShowreelsDune Prophecy: VFX Breakdown by Image EngineBy Vincent Frei - 08/01/2025 Discover the breathtaking artistry behind Dune: Prophecy where motion graphics, giant robots, and micro-mechanical wonders are crafted by Vancouver-based Image Engine and dont miss how they bring the desert to life with impressive sandworms creations, blending sheer scale with intricate realism!WANT TO KNOW MORE?Image Engine: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Image Engine website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

Shoji SeeIn Los Angeles, 22RE combines Japanese craftsmanship and modern precision for AKILA Eyewear flagshipByKelly Pau January 8, 2025Interiors, West (Elizabeth Carababas)SHAREAKILA Eyewear emphasizes Japanese craftsmanship, natural materials, and modern precision. 22RE translated the companys ethos into an interior design for the retailers Los Angeles flagship by looking toryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. To do so, the architects incorporated translucent materials, grids, and shoji sliding doors. This grid also helps organize all the glasses on neat shelving, made from Douglas fir and paired with a metallic finish for a sense of the brands contemporary leanings.Read more about the shop on aninteriormag.com. Los AngelesRetail

HN Works - stock.adobe.comNewsCustom software and silicon set to define next-gen chipsThe global chip supply crisis is not improving, but manufacturers are integrating new software and hardware techniques to stay aheadByCliff Saran,Managing EditorPublished: 08 Jan 2025 15:45 Confidence in the semiconductor industrys ability to meet demand is being hindered by geopolitical tensions, international trade restrictions and the push for sovereignty, according to a report from Capgemini.Authors of The semiconductor industry in the AI era report warn that as nations compete for control over vital technologies and resources, geopolitical tensions continue to impact the global semiconductor supply chain.For instance, the flow of components, materials and completed semiconductor products has been hindered by international trade disputes, export restrictions and tariffs. As an example, Capgemini estimated that 14 consumer supply networks that rely on TSMC could be seriously disrupted by any military escalation involving China and Taiwan. Deteriorating US-China ties have also given rise to setbacks in the form of prohibitions on certain products and more stringent controls.The report, based on a survey of 250 semiconductor firms and 800 downstream organisations that use semiconductors in their own products, found that 58% of semiconductor organisations expect higher demand for neural processing units to accompany growth in generative AI (GenAI) adoption. The study also shows that 57% of the chip manufacturers surveyed anticipate an increased need for high-performance chips, and 56% expect to see greater demand for memory-intensive chips, which, according to Capgemini, signals a shift towards advanced processing.The report shows there is increased demand for custom chips and custom software optimised to run on them.Jiani Zhang, executive vice-president and chief software officer at Capgemini Engineering, said advanced platforms and software are critical differentiators in the semiconductor industry, driving efficiency and scalability in design, manufacturing and deployment.With the growing complexity of AI, IoT [internet of things] and edge computing applications, the ability to integrate domain-specific software with hardware accelerators will define leadership, she said. To stay competitive, semiconductor players must embrace co-optimisation across the stack, from chip architecture to application interfaces, ensuring they can meet the escalating demands of data-intensive, low-latency markets.Read more stories about chipsRisks and opportunities for the UK chip sector: In May 2023, the UK government unveiled a national semiconductor strategy. We find out how it has been going.Semiconductor market scaleups to benefit from multimillion-pound investment from Innovate UK: National innovation agency Innovate UK is offering 16 semiconductor scaleups access to millions of pounds of funding to support their continued growth.Capgemini said that while the demand for AI chips, custom silicon chips and memory-intensive chips is expected to increase over the next 12 months, the semiconductor industry needs to capitalise on emerging opportunities. These include design and cutting-edge, sustainable fabrication methods, as well as investment in domestic sourcing and nearshoring to enhance stability.GenAI is driving accelerated demand for chips, and semiconductor companies face increasing demands from customers who want more personalised and software-centric experiences, said Brett Bonthron, global high-tech industry leader at Capgemini.The industry should see this as an opportunity to ramp-up production and adopt a chip-to-industry approach that supports a full-stack, software-first set of capabilities, he added.Investment in cutting-edge fabrication methods and design processes powered by AI and GenAI will be key to meet the specialised needs of emerging applications. Equally, its crucial that the industry further enhances sustainable manufacturing processes and uses advanced security to safeguard intellectual property.In The Current Issue:What do the home secretarys policing reforms mean for the future of the Police Digital Service?What are the security risks of bring your own AI?Download Current IssueData engineering - Camunda: Defining data orchestration's role in data engineering CW Developer NetworkSAP customer unrest: How did we get here? Write side up - by Freeform DynamicsView All Blogs

Mahi - stock.adobe.comNewsSoftware AG shrinks with sale of Alfabet and CumulocitySoftware AG, Germanys number two business software company, after SAP, has announced the latest turn in its shrinkage under the umbrella of private equity group Silver LakeByBrian McKenna,Enterprise Applications EditorPublished: 08 Jan 2025 15:30 The Software AG group started the new year with a slew of changes, announcing the close of the sale of its Alfabet enterprise architecture and strategic portfolio management product and of its IoT platform Cumulocity, the departure of CEOSanjay Brahmawar, and the relaunch of its Adabas & Natural [A&N] and Aris product sets as standalone businesses.The identity of the buyers of Alfabet and Cumulocity have yet to be disclosed, according to a Software AG spokesperson.A&N provides non-relational transactional database software, which includes its own programming language, and processes billions of transactions for business processes across platforms including mainframe, Linux and the cloud.Aris is business process mining and management software, focused on SaaS systems for enterprises. Its process modelling and process mining software is said to be geared towards enabling its customers to manage the entire process lifecycle.These moves follow the announcement of the sale of Software AGs Super iPaaS business to IBM in December 2023 for 2.1bn, only six months after US private equity group Silver Lake had acquired Software AG for 2.6bn.The firm has been owned by SilverLake since May 2023. Software AG has long been known as second only to SAP as a German IT supplier, and it was founded in 1969.As the holding entity of the Software AG group, Software GmbH [limited liability company], it recently announced that it has closed the sales of Alfabet and Cumulocity, following the divestments of the webMethods, StreamSets and [industrial analytics software] TrendMiner businesses in July 2024. TrendMiner was sold to a German industrial analytics specialist provider Proemion in April 2024.Sanjay Brahmawar has also departed as group CEO.The changes are being presented as part of a strategy to operate Adabas & Natural (A&N) and ARIS as standalone businesses, each led by their own management teams.In a statement, the holding company described Brahmawar as instrumental in evolving Software AG from a legacy software company to a modern, subscription and SaaS business, focused on ARR [Annual Recurring Revenue] growth. He drove the acquisition of StreamSets which, combined with webMethods, was later recognised in the market as Super-iPaaS, culminating in the business being acquired by IBM in July 2024. Brahmawar was also integral to the carve-out and divestments of the TrendMiner, Cumulocity and Alfabet businesses.Brahmawar said: It has been a privilege to lead such a well-respected company through many significant moments in its recent history, and to have worked with such a talented and committed team of professionals.Silver Lake has appointed Martin Biegel, Martin Clemm, Robin Colman and Toktam Khatibzadeh to lead Software GmbH, which will operate Software AGs central functions, as well as being the holding company for ARIS, and Adabas & Natural (A&N).Software AG has an active user groups community worldwide, with European country groups in the UK, the Nordics and the Netherlands, as well as in the German-speaking countries. It has user communities for Alfabet, Cumulocity and webMethods, as well as for Aris, and Adabas & Natural.Read more about Software AGSoftware AG IUG 2024: Process mining as GenAI democratisation candidate.Companies put commercial gain ahead of sustainability, says Software AG research.Software AG executives trumpet progress on Helix growth plan.In The Current Issue:What do the home secretarys policing reforms mean for the future of the Police Digital Service?What are the security risks of bring your own AI?Download Current IssueData engineering - Camunda: Defining data orchestration's role in data engineering CW Developer NetworkSAP customer unrest: How did we get here? Write side up - by Freeform DynamicsView All Blogs

The latest updates for both browsers squash several high-severity security bugs. Here's how to grab them.