Apple's latest Shot on iPhone film marks the Chinese New Year, with "I Made a Mixtape for You" showing an idyllic form of love from the 1990s.Shot on iPhone: "I Made a Mixtape for You" - Image Credit: AppleThroughout the year, Apple releases videos as part of its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" campaign, showcasing the capabilities of the iPhone's camera system. The films frequently are used to mark the Chinese New Year, and Apple released its 2025 effort on Friday.Titled "I Made a Mixtape for You," the film follows Wei, who travels back home to celebrate Chinese New Year, and is nagged by his family to find love. Wei uncovers a 90s mixtape created by his parents, bringing him to a 90s dream world. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Architects looking to help in the disaster relief and civil response for the ongoing fire situation in Los Angeles County have been asked to contact local chapters/state disaster coordinators who actively are seeking to mobilize their expertise and structural knowledge to aid the public, state, and city agencies.Those certified through the pre-existingAIA Safety Assessment Program (SAP) are encouraged to check in with the status of anticipated building assessment deployments across California. (Please note: you must be licensed in the state you are volunteering in order to do so.)The AIA Los Angeles chapter will be hosting a virtual workshop on January 15th related to its formation of a Wildfire Disaster Response Ad Hoc Task Force. A Designers Guide to Navigating FEMA Programswill follow virtually the next day via AIAU.Related on Archinect: DEVELOPING: Los Angeles fires threaten iconic architecture and homesContributions to the nonprofit California Architectural Foundation, LA...

January 2025 is finally here and promises a range of noteworthy titles for players to sink their teeth into. High-profile ports of console exclusives, long-awaited follow-ups to established franchises (both indie and big-budget) theyre all here. It wouldnt be a new year without some new early access titles, however, and the biggest in that department is undoubtedly Assetto Corsa EVO.As the newest title in Kunos Simulazionis series, its a racing simulator focused on realism. Launching on January 16th for PC, it arrives almost five years after its Assetto Corsa Competizione. A lot has changed in the interim, and this may very well be the series most ambitious outing yet. Here are 15 things you should know about Assetto Corsa EVO before launch.Early Access ReleaseLike its predecessors, Assetto Corsa EVO will first enter early access, offering a portion of the finished product before the final release. The latter is planned for Fall 2025, which is always subject to change, and thus far, Kunos Simulazioni hasnt confirmed if there will be a monthly update cycle like Competizione. However, its said that player feedback will be crucial in refining the gameplay, optimizing performance, and adding the final touches that will make EVO the ultimate racing simulation.New DirectX 12-Based EnginePerhaps the most notable change with EVO is under the hood, specifically the DirectX 12-powered Kunos Engine. Promising realistic skies, volumetric clouds and fog, dynamic global illumination and reflections, there are notable leaps, especially with how it handles weather effects on track conditions.Practice Sessions and Quick Race ModesAs the first part of the single-player component, EVO features two familiar modes Practice Sessions and Quick Race. Kunos didnt go into extensive details about whats new for either mode, but their names probably shouldnt betray any expectations. The former is for practising different vehicles. The latter is for instant races. You cant get any more straightforward than that.Driving AcademyIts the Driving Academy where things get interesting. Debuting in EVO, it offers step-by-step sections of each track in the current release, where you drive different cars and experience unique challenges. Succeed, and you earn the licenses required for your dream car with Credits used to purchase them. If its anything like the License Mode from the Gran Turismo series, Driving Academy should serve as a challenging yet fun opportunity for sim enthusiasts.Cars and BrandsWhen early access launches, Assetto Corsa EVO will feature 20 cars, with the full game planned to feature over 100. Thus far, weve seen the BMW M2 CS Racing, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63, and the Ford Escort Cosworth RS, with newcomer brands like Maserati and Cadillac, though the full line-up for early access has yet to be revealed.Realistically Depicting Vehicles and TracksAs for how realistic everything will look, from the vehicles to the tracks, Kunos Simulazioni says it employed an advanced system to simulate mechanical, electronic, and aerodynamic performance. Furthermore, laser scan technology has been used to capture the circuits and their fidelity, further increasing immersion.Suspension ImprovementsOf course, that fidelity would mean nothing if the feeling of racing isnt right. Kunos has been improving the suspension to simulate systems like torsion beams and swingarms. Suspension damping and bump stops are also more natural, while the tyre model has been more realistically fine-tuned. The team has worked for four years to improve the feeling behind the steering wheel and thus far, it seems to have borne fruit.Car CustomizationCustomization is also important, and while the full suite of options for early access has yet to be detailed, game director Davide Brivio told Multiplayer.it last November that all the configurations and engines that you would find in any dealership will be available for each vehicle. If your favorite car is sold both in petrol and diesel, for example, or in a version that has 17-inch wheels or a sunroof fitted, then it will also be the case in our game. There will be a wide range of aesthetic modifications per the site, which can impact your performance.Dynamic Weather and Track ConditionsWeather is always an important factor in racing sims, and in EVO, its dynamic, with precipitation and other factors affecting races in real time. Not only will different levels of rainfall affect your performance, but you also have to worry about rubber build-up as a race progresses and adjust accordingly.Available CircuitsThe developer confirmed that Brands Hatch, Imola Circuit, Laguna Seca Raceway, Mount Panorama Circuit, and Suzuka International Racing Course will be available when early access launches. The full game will feature 15 tracks, but EVOs environmental selection is branching out in new directions this Summer.Open World Map in Eifel, GermanyIn a series first, EVO will feature an open-world map. Set in Germanys Eifel region, it will feature local businesses, workshops with aftermarket parts to upgrade vehicles, and even car rental services. Though debuting in the Summer, the map will roll out through numerous updates in early access. These will further expand the map while adding new content, and were keen to see how it matches up to the likes of Forza Horizon in terms of structure and events.24-Hour Race CyclePlayers can also look forward to full 24-hour race cycles, thus pushing the limits of their racing endurance. Naturally, this means the return of Nrburgring Nordschleife, and were keen to see how dynamic weather and track conditions will affect the experience.VR and Triple Screen SupportLike the first game and Competizione, VR support returns with OpenXR, Oculus VR and SteamVR supported out of the box. In true racing simulation fashion, theres also support for triple-screen set-ups, ensuring even greater immersion, especially if you have a racing wheel set-up.PC RequirementsRegarding hardware requirements, Assetto Corsa EVO doesnt appear to demand much on PC, though its a significant step up from Competizione. Its minimum requirements include an Intel Core-i7 8700k or AMD Ryzen 1500X, 16 GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 580. The recommended requirements include a Core-i5 10500 or AMD Radeon 2600X, 16 GB RAM and an RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5600. These seemingly apply to VR set-ups, though requirements could change through the early access period. You also need a solid-state drive with 100 GB of installation space, which is already a lot without the open-world map.Free Post-Launch UpdatesWhile the full game plans to offer more than 100 cars and 15 tracks from around the world, that wont be the end of support. The development team plans to add more post-launch in free updates. Were a long way off from more details, but its nice to hear that support will continue beyond Fall 2025.

PLAVE are a K-Pop band with a twistthe bandmembers are digital humans and their performances are rendered entirely in Unreal Engine. Discover how VLAST combines motion capture, real-time rendering, and UEs animation tools to wow PLAVEs fans.

Four Lynx Have Been Illegally Released Into the Scottish Highlands. Officials Think Guerrilla Rewilding Is to BlameSo far, only two of the four lynx have been recaptured, leaving authorities scrambling across the snowy woods to find the missing cats One of the two recaptured lynxanother two are still on the loose Courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of ScotlandOver a thousand years ago, the Eurasian lynx roamed the snowy terrain of the Scottish Highlands, its last refuge in the British Isles. But the covert, illegal and mysterious release of four lynx into the Scottish wilds this week has raised suspicions of conservationists and reignited a debate over whether the cat can reclaim its natural habitatand at what cost.The story began on Wednesday, January 8, when the Cairngorms National Park Authority announced that two lynx were at large in the United Kingdoms biggest national park.We condemn the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and we are also concerned for the welfare of the lynx that have been released, the Park Authority says in a statement, adding that it was working with the national police force of Scotland.Whilst they are shy animals and low risk to humans, we would ask anyone who does spot a lynx not to approach nor to attend the area, the Park Authority adds. "The Killiehuntly Two," moments before recapture Courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of ScotlandExperts worked to recapture the cats overnight, setting up trail cameras and baited traps that the cats would likely seek out.It was a long night for our specialist keepers who were taking turns to monitor any activity, David Barclay, manager of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotlands Saving Wildcats team, says in a statement.Eventually, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) recaptured the two lynx safely and humanely, which makes the lack of sleep more than worth it, Barclay says.The Killiehuntly Two, as the lynx were nicknamed after the estate of Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen where they were spotted, were brought to suitable quarantine facilities in the nearby Highland Wildlife Park where they must spend 30 days in accordance with biosecurity laws, before their subsequent transfer to Edinburgh Zoo, according to the statement.David Field, chief executive of the RZSS, also condemned the release of the Killiehuntly Two.It was a highly irresponsible act and it is very unlikely they would have survived in the wild due to a lack of adequate preparation, Field says in the RZSS statement. Their abandonment was reckless to the animals, [the] public, the community and nature. Two lynx stalk across the snowy Scottish Highlands Courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of ScotlandSome members of the Scottish parliament called for those responsible to face the full force of the law, Libby Brooks reports for The Guardian.While some initial speculation suggested that the lynx had escaped from the nearby Highland Wildlife Park, Max Stephens reports for The Telegraph, park rangers and police soon confirmed this was not the case.They had definitely been illegally released because they were 100 yards from a pile of straw bedding that contained dead chicks and, interestingly, porcupine quillsthe bedding was peppered with porcupine quills, Willie Anderson, the deputy team leader of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue, tells The Guardian.Anderson suggests that the lynx were likely released from an area along the road, close to where where his team captured them. I dont think they would have survived in the wild, he adds.Camera trap shows second pair of lynx that were found overnight in Scottish HighlandsWatch on And so the two cats bedded down in their 30-day home in the Highland Wildlife Park, and the authorities began their methodical search for the perpetrators of the rogue lynx release.But the Highland drama abated only briefly.This morning, Cairngorms National Park announced the sightings of two additional lynx in the Killiehuntly area. At the time of this articles publication, the lynx are still at large.Although it may be tempting to try to find them, take pictures or set up cameras, we are asking people not to travel into the area, particularly in the current winter weather conditions, Inspector Craig Johnstone of Police Scotland says in a statement.Inquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of both sightings, he says. Officers are on patrol in the area and anyone with concerns can approach them.Authorities believe that this second set of lynx is connected to the first pair, Severin Carrell reports for The Guardian. Farmers remain worried that the lynx may prey upon their livestock.Several groups that push for the reintroduction of the lynx to Scotland concur that these two releases are reckless for both the lynx and for their cause. In a statement, rewilding charity Scotland: The Big Picture notes that lynx reintroduction has been successful in Germany, France and Switzerland. But, Peter Cairns, the charitys executive director, says in thestatement that irresponsible and illegal releases such as this are entirely counter-productive.Back in 2022, Cairns told the BBC that When it comes to the return of the lynx, we're in the realm of not yetbut not never. The Cairngorms National Park Authoriy advises people not to approach the lynx. Courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of ScotlandThere is a reason why the reintroduction of species is carefully regulated, says Edward Mountain, a local member of Scottish Parliament, according to The Guardian.Mountain suggests that this could be a case of guerrilla rewilding, an attempt to accelerate the reintroduction of lynx into Scotland. Just this summer, beaver bombingthe unauthorized release of the paddle-tailed rodents back into the rivers of Britainreflected a growing discontent with the governments slow reintroduction efforts.Ben Goldsmith, an environmentalist who tells Patrick Greenfield, Libby Brooks and Severin Carrell of The Guardian that he was uninvolved with the release, explains how he was momentarily thrilled by the notion of lynx once again stalking the Cairngorms. Lynx are an iconic native species missing from Britain and they should be back here. The habitat is perfect, these are secretive animals, and there are no good reasons not to reintroduce them.But he adds that in this situation, whatever has happened, it seems to have been poorly thought through.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Animals, Cats, Environment, European History, Forests, National Parks, Scotland, wildlife

Researchers found the pieces covered in newspaper and tucked beneath a staircase in the crypt. Aiste KarpyteIn the crypts of a Lithuanian cathedral, researchers have discovered a trove of royal treasure: crowns, jewelry and a scepter that belonged to several Lithuanian-Polish monarchs from the 15th and 16th centuries. The regalia had been hidden for 85 yearssince it was stowed for safekeeping beneath theVilnius Cathedral in southeastern Lithuania.Last fall, experts were invited to explore Vilnius Cathedrals subterranean level, where they used anendoscopic camera to look into cracks and holes in the crypts walls. In December, the researchers opened a secret hiding place in the churchs crypts, where the royal regalia was hidden at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, asVilnius Archbishop Gintaras Gruas told reporters earlier this week, per the Polish news networkTVP World.The discovered insignia are priceless historical treasures: symbols of Lithuanias long tradition of statehood, symbols of Vilnius as the capital city and magnificent works of goldsmithing and jewelry, says Gruas. The crowns were buried with kings and queens of Poland, who were also grand dukes and duchesses of Lithuania. Aiste KarpyteThe collection includes a crown ofAlexander Jagiellon, the king of Poland between 1501 and 1506. It also features crowns, chains, medallions, scepters, orbs and rings belonging to Elisabeth of Austria (also known as Elbieta Habsburanka) and Barbara Radziwithe first and second wives of Sigismund II Augustus, who served as king of Poland in the mid-1500s.The Jagiellon and Habsburg dynasties are two of European historys most powerful families, as Mykolas Sotincenka, a spokesperson for the Vilnius Archdiocese, tellsLive Sciences Kristina Killgrove. These rulers set in motion Polandsgolden age. This scepter was made for a monarch's grave. Aiste KarpyteEach of these kings acted also as grand dukes of Lithuania, as Poland and Lithuania wereunited between the 14th and 18th centuries.Found among the royal accessories were insignia made for these rulers burial chambers. As Gruas said, These crowns were not worn while the rulers were alive but were made after their deaths and were intended to be part of their tombs, per TVP World.In 1931, a flood damaged the cathedrals crypt, exposing the three rulers coffins. The funerary regalia was then gathered from the burials, as Sotincenka tells Live Science. The researchers found the accessories wrapped in newspaper dated 1939, tucked in a cavity beneath a staircase in the crypt. Historians knew from records that the cache of regalia existed, but attempts to find it hadnt been successfuluntil now. The cathedral is located inVilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Saulius ZiuraAccording to a statement from Vilnius official development agency, the artifacts connected to Radziwi add a romantic and legendary dimension to this discovery. Born in 1520, the famously beautiful and witty Radziwi was already a widow by the 1540s, when she became the kings mistress. Their subsequent marriage caused ascandal: Nobles thought Radziwi promiscuous and unfit. In time, she became one of the most celebrated figures in Lithuanian history, per the statement.The trove has been cataloged and will now undergo restoration before being publicly displayed later this year. As Rita Pauliukeviit, director of the Church Heritage Museum, says in a statement shared with CNNs Jack Guy, These symbols are important both for the state and for each of us, as signs of European identity, as a reclaimed identity of the old state, as a sign of the strength of our roots.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Archaeology, Artifacts, Cool Finds, Death, European History, History, Jewelry, Kings, Monarchs, Mysteries, Poland, Political Leaders, Queens

My Arcade revealed its new line of retro consoles, the Gamestation, which come in multiple form factors and launch later this year.Read More

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The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has revealed its nominees for the upcoming 28th annual DICE Awards.Candidates for the ceremony's best game of 2024 include Team Asobi's Astro Bot, Arrowhead's Helldivers II, LocalThunk's Balatro, GameScience's Black Myth: Wukong, and MachineGames' Indiana Jones & the Great Circle. Astro, Helldivers, and Jones have six nominations each in categories such as animation, art direction, and technical achievement.Beyond those three titles, Balatro and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II each picked up five nominations apiece. In total, AIAS says 60 games from 2024 were nominated across its various categories.You can read the full nominee list here, with select examples listed below. The DICE Awards are set to air in Las Vegas on Thursday, February 13.Game of the YearAstro Bot (Team Asobi/PlayStation)Balatro (LocalThunk)Black Myth: Wukong (GameScience)Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios/PlayStation)Indiana Jones & the Great Circle (MachineGames/Xbox)Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction1000xResist (Sunset Visitor/Fellow Traveler)Animal Well (BillyBasso/Big Mode)Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)Riven (Cyan Worlds)Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper/Panic)Outstanding Achievement in Game DesignAnimal Well (BillyBasso/Big Mode)Astro Bot (Team Asobi/PlayStation)Balatro (LocalThunk)Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios/PlayStation)UFO 50 (Mossmouth)Online Game of the YearCall of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Activision Blizzard)Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred(Blizzard Entertainment)Helldivers II (Arrowhead Game Studios/PlayStation)Marvel Rivals(NetEase Games)Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive)Outstanding Achievement in CharacterWatcher (1000xRESIST)Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)Indika (Indika)Senua (Senua's Saga: Hellblade II)Mobile Game of the YearBalatro (LocalThunk)Halls of Torment(Chasing Carrots)Monument Valley 3(Ustwo Games/Netflix Games)Paper Trail(Newfangled Games)Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)Immersive Reality Technical AchievementAlien: Rogue Incursion (Survios)Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus)Skydance's BEHEMOTH (Skydance)Starship Home(Creature)UNDERDOGS (One Hamsa)

TikTok still seems headed for a ban after its Supreme Court argumentsTikTok still seems headed for a ban after its Supreme Court arguments / The justices didnt seem to buy TikToks interpretation of why the law violates its First Amendment rights.By Lauren Feiner, a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform. Jan 10, 2025, 8:15 PM UTCShare this story Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesAfter the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a law that could ban TikTok, it looks like one of its last possible lifelines is unlikely to save it from the impending ouster.TikTok will be banned from the US unless either the Supreme Court blocks the law from taking effect before the January 19th deadline or its China-based parent company, ByteDance, finally agrees to sell it. A sale and return of TikTok could happen after the deadline, and President-elect Donald Trump may get creative in trying not to enforce the law once hes sworn in the next day. But the longer it takes, the shakier things look for TikTok.Bloomberg Intelligence senior litigation analyst Matthew Schettenhelm gave TikTok a 30 percent chance of winning at the Supreme Court before oral arguments, but he lowered that prediction to just 20 percent after hearing the justices questioning. TikTok made a last-ditch plea for the court to issue an administrative stay without signaling a ruling on the laws merits, something Trump has suggested so he can attempt to broker a TikTok sale. Schettenhelm says thats unlikely the court does not tend to issue that kind of pause just because of a change in administration, he adds, and its unlikely to want to set that precedent.A short order on the case could come as soon as Friday afternoon, after the justices are scheduled to meet. The court is also scheduled to release orders on Monday morning, though Schettenhelm warns not to read into it if nothing is released by then it may just mean theyre fleshing out their reasoning in a longer written order.Trump has said hed like to save the app, and in theory, he could declare he wont enforce the divest-or-ban law. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out that even if he chooses not to enforce the law, that may not provide sufficient protection for companies like Apple and Google which could be fined $5,000 per user that accesses TikTok if they maintain it in their app stores. US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the statute of limitations is five years; those companies would still be violating the law as long as it remains on the books, and they could face penalties even after Trump leaves office, should the next administration choose to enforce it.Ithink those companies would be undertaking enormous risk to not comply with the law on the hope that President Trump doesnt enforce it against them, Schettenhelm says. You get into the hundreds of billions of dollars of potential liability. And even if President Trump is saying, dont worry about it, Im not going to enforce it against you, do you really want to take the chance that hes not going to change his mind on that? Do you really want to give him that level of leverage over your company? I doubt it.I dont see another social media company that is similarly situated to TikTok.Schettenhelm doesnt believe a ruling against TikTok would create a precedent that threatens US-based social media companies. I dont see another social media company that is similarly situated to TikTok, he says, pointing out that the arguments largely centered around ownership. Foreign-owned e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu that came up might be another story. But, he says, none of that really jumped out as an imminent risk just because of this argument.By contrast, Cornell University law professor and First Amendment expert Gautam Hans agrees the justices are unlikely to strike down the law, but he worries that such a ruling could have broader implications for other companies. During arguments, the justices and attorneys for TikTok and its users discussed hypotheticals about whether allowing a ban on certain types of corporate structure (like ownership by a Chinese parent company) would allow for backdoor speech regulations including demanding a companys owner sell it off to punish it for protected speech. But these concerns didnt appear to be deal-breakers for the court.What remains unfortunate is the credulity with which many of the justices treated this law, which clearly implicates free speech rights on underspecified national security grounds, Hans said in a statement. I dont think the distinction on foreign and domestic ownership is sufficiently stable to allay my concerns that a ruling upholding the TikTok ban creates a very slippery slope.Most PopularMost Popular