Trend Micro warns the security community about a fake PoC making rounds.

You can catch up with season 1 of Severance on Roku before season 2 debuts on Apple TV Plus.

Rent-to-own startup Divvy Homes is being acquired in a fire sale by Charleston, South Carolina-based Maymont Homes, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Maymont, a division of Brookfield Properties, manages a portfolio of single-family rental homes.Divvy and Maymont did not respond to requests for comment.With U.S. housing supply at record lows, Divvy initially gained traction with families that had been priced out of homeownership, promising them a pathway to the American Dream and distancing its brand from the rent-to-own categorys predatory history. Divvy bought a home of the customers choosing and then rented it back to them while setting aside a portion of their monthly payments for a future downpayment. Customers had three years to buy the home outright at a predetermined price. To my family, homeownership was everything, cofounder and CEO Adena Hefets said.In the four years following its 2017 founding, the San Francisco-based startup raised more than $400 million in venture capital from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global Management, as well as $1 billion in debt. By 2022, Divvy was on track to book more than $100 million in annual revenue.But as the company expanded to new cities, customer complaints accumulated. In October 2022, Fast Company reported that Divvy was failing to address residents requested repairs, charging higher rents than its landlord peers, and evicting renters in greater numbers than before. Even some customers who had successfully bought their homes from Divvy said they were dissatisfied with the process and its costs.At the same time, the Federal Reserve was raising interest rates, dealing a blow to Divvys business model. Hefets, at one time, had suggested that Divvys model would insulate it from such macroeconomic swings. But by late 2023, Divvy had conducted three rounds of layoffs, putting it in league with other struggling proptech startups.In March 2024, Divvy announced a new product, DivvyUp, a subscription-based homeownership readiness program. CEO Adena Hefets has not posted on LinkedIn since announcing DivvyUps launch.

The Supreme Court of the United States is hearing arguments today to decide the fate of TikTok.Lawmakers believe the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a threat to national security. This led a bipartisan group to enact a law last April that ruled TikTok either divest from its parent company or be banned in the U.S. by January 2025. TikTok, for its part, is arguing that the law violates the First Amendment right to free speech.A quick timelineThe fate of the app, which has roughly 170 million U.S. users, is expected to be decided by the end of next week. Right now, its set to be banned in the U.S. on January 19. The Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold the law based on their lines of questioning and the concerns expressed.What TikTok is sayingTikToks attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to at least publish a preliminary injunction, which would keep TikTok from having to comply with the law until a later date. The law is set to take effect one day before President Donald Trump, who seems to be sympathetic to TikTok, takes office. On Jan. 19, we still have President Biden, and on Jan. 19, as I understand it, we shut down, TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco said in court. It is possible that come Jan. 20, Jan. 21, 22nd, we might be in a different world. Again, thats one of the reasons why that makes perfect sense to issue a preliminary injunction and buy everyone a little breathing space.What the government is sayingThe government isnt buying the argument that this is a free speech issue. All of the same speech thats happening on TikTok could happen post-divestiture, Elizabeth Prelogar, the solicitor general, says. All the act is doing is trying to surgically remove the ability of foreign adversary nation to get our data and to be able to exercise control over the platform.What happens if the Supreme Court upholds the banIf the Supreme Court upholds the ban, TikTok will most likely shut down its U.S. operations on January 19. Trump could decide to not enact the law and provide tech companies with protections to keep operating the app as normal. TikTok could then resume operations.ByteDance, TikToks parent company, has said a sale isnt feasible. Still, its garnered some interest. Billionaire Frank McCourt and Kevin OLeary have proposed a deal. Oracle and Walmart might also try to buy TikTok, after their2020 effort was thwarted by the Biden administration due to security concerns.

Advocates for limits on indiscriminate outdoor lighting that obscures night skies worldwide are recognizing efforts by an oil and natural gas developer to reduce scattered light in New Mexico.DarkSky International, an advocacy group for preserving or restoring views of starry skies, announced on Wednesday its first-ever certification of oil and natural gas sites that seek to reduce unwanted light pollution.It recognized Denver-based Franklin Mountain Energy for lighting retrofits at two sites and one new location within a major oil production zone in southeastern New Mexico. The projects are expected to reduce skyglow at locations including Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a remote gathering point for astronomy buffs and night hiking.It doesnt do anything to impact their bottom lineit actually makes the workplace safer, said Peter Lipscomb, vice chair of the New Mexico chapter of DarkSky International, because sensible lighting reduces direct glare that otherwise can make it harder for workers to see.Being rewarded by (seeing) the dark skies of our ancestors, all those things together, its a winning combination.Franklin Mountain Energy cofounder Audrey Robertson said the lighting changes reduce electricity consumption. The company said in a statement that it worked on the effort with an alliance of federal land and parks agencies, telescopic observatories, and the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Recommendations from the alliance include equipment that directs light downward onto work areas and limits light that is cast upward into the sky.Stargazers worldwide are grappling with the encroachment of outdoor lighting at night.A 2023 study that analyzed data from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers found that artificial lighting is making the night sky across the world about 10% brighter each year. As of 2016, more than 80% of the world lived under light-polluted skies that obscure the Milky Way.New Mexico state lawmakers are drafting a proposed update to a 1999 law that regulates outdoor night lighting in the states high-altitude mountains and desert. The initiative responds to a rapid increase in light pollution amid advances in energy-efficient LED technology that has spurred more outdoor night lighting that is often unshielded.The National Park Service has set the protection of dark night skies as a priority at remote locations including the Chaco Culture National Historic Park, an area of New Mexico that Native Americans consider sacred. More than 99% of the park has no permanent outdoor lighting.Lipscomb also credited oil operators in West Texas that are embracing changes to protect starry skies in collaboration with the McDonald Observatory, near Fort Davis, where research and education depends on dark nights.Morgan Lee, Associated Press

Its 2025 and were still charging phones the same way as a decade ago. Yes, we now have magnetic wireless charging technology, but the process is practically still the same. We connect our smartphones to an external object, be it an actual charger or power bank, with or without cables, and wait for our phones to fully charge. Weve become so accustomed to that system that we barely question now whether it couldnt be better.Fortunately, someone did question that reality, leading to what could be one of the oddest yet also most ingenious phone chargers to pop into the scene, almost literally. Yes, it does look like a toaster, and yes, you do insert your phone into a slot and some toaster-like actions happen inside. But if the technology and the design ever mature and become stable, it could change the way we think about phone chargers and batteries for good.Designer: SwippittOK, your phone doesnt literally charge in around two seconds. Swippitt basically wraps your iPhone in a case called the Swippitt Link that has a battery inside that keeps your phone topped up all the time. That part isnt exactly new, with the likes of Mophie cornering that market almost a decade ago. Whats new is that the extra battery is replaceable, and you dont even have to do it yourself.What you do is dip half the phone, encased in the Swippitt Link, of course, inside the Swippitt Hub, and wait for a few seconds for the mechanism inside to push out the dying battery pack and slide a fresh one in. The Hub has room for up to five of these batteries so, presuming theres one always near you, you practically have zero downtime charging your phone or charging the battery that charges your phone.Admittedly, the appeal of Swippitt wont be immediately evident to most people, but those with multiple people inside a single household might appreciate it. It means family members, especially kids, can quickly get their phone charged before they step out the door, giving parents some peace of mind. Of course, theres also an app that lets you monitor the charging status of the batteries inside the Hub as well as how many times it swapped them out.Just with battery cases, the biggest obstacle to the mass adoption of such a system is that the Swippitt Link has to be designed for each and every supported phone model. At the moment, thats only the iPhone 14, 15, and 16 series, with Samsung Galaxy flagships being added later this year. Less popular models probably have little hope of being invited to the party unless Swippitt designs a universal case that will work based on phone sizes, not models. Theres also the rather steep price tag of $450 for the toaster Hub and $120 for the Link, prices that could eventually go down if the technology gets adopted more widely.The post Ingenious toaster-like device can charge your phone in just two seconds first appeared on Yanko Design.

Its unlikely that major Square Enix releases in the future are going to be exclusive to any one platform, but prominent ones from recent years also seem to be gearing up for multiplatform launches.Final Fantasy 7 RemakeandRebirth,both of which are currently available only on PlayStation (and the former also on PC), seem to be headed to additional platforms.In a recent episode of his podcast, known leaker NateTheHate claimed thatFinal Fantasy 7 RemakeandRebirthare both finally officially in development for not only Xbox Series X/S, but also the Nintendo Switch 2. As per the insider, whileRemakewill come to both platforms sometime this year,Rebirthwill follow sometime in 2026.Whether that means the final instalment of theRemaketrilogy is going to be a multiplatform title on the day of its release unlike its predecessors is the big question, though it does certainly seem like things might pan out that way.In the meantime,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis due out for PC on January 23.

The development team for the embattled Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has returned from the holidays and is working on upcoming patches like Sim Update 1. Its also working to bring the Marketplace to the title, but the team is focused on community feedback and prioritizing bug fixes and improvements.Players can look forward to an updated Feedback Snapshot next week. A World Update is also in the works for Brazil, with more information to be revealed. Plans are also underway for the next Developer Livestream, though the team has yet to finalize a date. A web form is available where viewers can submit questions for the developers to address live.Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Check out our review here. It launched last November to negative reactions from severe server issues where many players couldnt log in and play. Though these were resolved, complaints arose regarding performance, bugs, and other issues. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

Just when you thought it was safe, Forever Entertainment and MegaPixel Studio confirmed that The House of the Dead 2: Remake is out this Spring. It will be available for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Check out the first trailer below.As the name denotes, this is a remake of the second title of the light gun rail shooter featuring two playable characters James and Gary. As part of the AMS, they venture into a town overrun by zombies and must battle through to investigate the cause. You can either play solo or in co-op with another person.Alongside modernized visuals and a remastered soundtrack (though you can always revert to the original), players can tackle the games bosses in Boss Mode or enter Training Mode. The Campaign also features branching paths and multiple endings. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay footage in the coming months. You can also read our review of the first games remake.

January 11: Prithvi Jayanti in NepalCover of Smoking and Health1654 Arauco War: The Mapuche-Huilliche of southern Chile defeated a slave-hunting Spanish army at the Battle of Ro Bueno.1693 The most powerful earthquake recorded in Italy struck the island of Sicily, causing 60,000 deaths and prompting a period of architectural revival.1914 The Karluk, the flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sank after being crushed by ice.1964 In a landmark report (cover pictured), U.S. surgeon general Luther Terry issued a warning that tobacco smoking may be hazardous to health, concluding that it has a causative role in lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and other illnesses.2003 After Chicago police detective Jon Burge was discovered to have extracted forced confessions from more than 200 suspects, the governor of Illinois commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners and pardoned four others.Min Bin (d.1554)Socrates Nelson (b.1814)Eva Le Gallienne (b.1899)Eva Tanguay (d.1947)More anniversaries: January 10January 11January 12ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout