The Outer Worlds was a breakthrough release for Obsidian Entertainment. After spending years working on smaller-scale titles, the Irvine-based developer finally created a new AAA first-person RPG, the first from the company since the launch of 2010's Fallout: New Vegas. Although the game wasn't the Fallout New Vegas 2 that many fans had hoped for, The Outer Worlds was still, in many ways, Obsidian's answer to the Fallout franchise. It shared a lot of the same dark humor as the post-apocalyptic series, and it was violent and choice-driven, like many of the company's previous works. The Outer Worlds did receive criticism from some corners of the internet, but it was nonetheless a big hit for Obsidian, both critically and commercially.

A new update coming to The Elder Scrolls Online is set to add new dungeons and revamp the game's starting zones. The upcoming Elder Scrolls Online update will be the first major content drop of the year.

Our talent: - Programmer- Game Director & Programmer- Concept Artist- Game Designer & Animator- Composer & Sound DesignerVisit our website: https://insensestudios.com/Project: We are developing a roguelite-shooter for VR via Unreal Engine 5.4. Later it is planned to port the game to PC as well. Game takes place in undergr

As CES began this year, one topic came up over and over again among reporters: Wheres Ballie?" The personal robot that Samsung showed at CES 2024 left a huge impression on everyonerolling around on the floor, following people around, while projecting images up onto the floor or wall. While not having as large a presence at CES as it did last year, Ballie popped up in the Samsung booth, presentation, and materials, with the news from Samsung that Ballie should be available this year. Its been a long road for Ballie since it was introduced at CES in 2020. At that point, Ballie was merely a concept that looked as if it had been 3D printed at home. By last year, Ballie was a fully functional model; as the centerpiece of the Samsung CES presentation, it promised to be a companion, a security team, and living embodiment of your voice assistant for SmartThings. (SmartThings is Samsung's smart home platform, arguably the fourth largest behind Apple, Google and Amazon.)And then we heard nothing for most of the year.By the time Ballie popped back up at IFA (an international tech expo) in September, it had improved dramatically as it inched closer to a real consumer-ready model. This Ballie interacted using real language and expressed emotions, results of tightly integrated AI. It could follow commands, call people, and predict the needs of people and pets in the home. It could recognize items you held and then give you information about them. It could make decisions about whether to project small bites of information or more detailed data, and then choose the right location to project that info.In this years iteration, Ballie is being actively demonstrated for attendees, rather than simply having a one-time, spotlight demo. It projects choices for the user as virtual buttons on the floor, and can control devices via SmartThings integration. Seeing Ballies current design (a sphere on two front wheels with a back fin for balance), I am reminded of the Enabot Rola, a tiny personal robot Ive been testing the last few months. While I havent thought much of the Enabot generally, the design makes the robot surprisingly resilient. Regardless of what it bumps into or encounters (including the jaws of my Doberman), the low center of gravity allows the Enabot to recover its position upright quickly. I suspect Ballie might have the same resilience of movement.While I dont yet have any sense of pricing or availability beyond the loose commitment Samsung has offered reporters this week of a pending release within the next calendar year, what is abundantly clear is that with each appearance, Ballie becomes a more viable consumer product.

During CES 2025, Dell announced plans to get rid of all of its existing computer brands, including the iconic XPS line of performance laptops. Also gone are Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, and other brands. The entire lineup will now be divided into three categories: Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max. The strategy, clearly inspired by Apple, was created in hopes of simplifying the product catalogue, but in the short term, some confusion is warranted.In theory, it is simple, and brings the focus on Dell, the company, rather than sub brands. But there are two issues. The "Pro" and "Pro Max" brand names are already done to death, and not just by Apple. Second, every Dell brand will have three tiers, so now you are looking at nine different combinations only to find a new computer. It is a mess, but we can hopefully help you make sense of it when you step into the big box store and are confused with all the new Dell-speak.Dell's new, nine-tier product strategy Credit: Dell Let's start with some general definitions: Standard Dell machines are mainstream computers aimed at general consumers. You'll find them sold at big box stores, and they are designed for school, work, and casual gaming. The Dell Pro line, which is primarily intended for businesses, and designed for productivity work. The Dell Pro Max line is designed for maximum performance and features higher-end computer and workstation builds.Thankfully, the Dell strategy doesn't extend to Alienware, so all the gaming laptops and monitors from that brand are safe, at least for now.But, the rebranding doesn't stop there: Within each of these three families, there are three different product tiers: Base, Plus, and Premium. Credit: Dell As you'd expect, the Base model lineup across Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max will all be entry level machines, albeit with increasingly beefy specs, befitting their classification as standard, Pro, or Pro Max. So far, so good.Things start to get a bit more confusing with the Plus and Premium tiers: The Plus tier serves as a mid-range option, while the Premium label will be reserved for the most powerful machines.Dell says that the rebranding is going to be a slow process, and the phasing out will only happen when new models are released and older models are discontinued, which may extend through the end of 2025. How will you be able to spot the new laptops? The old machines featured a Dell logo with a circle around it, while the new laptops just read "Dell," sans the circle. How to find the Inspiron and XPS laptops after the rebrandingWondering which new machines will match the former, budget-friendly Inspiron and Inspiron Plus laptop lines? They are now called Dell (Base) and Dell Plus, respectively. Yes, that means a laptop called Dell 15that's it. It's weird. But these are the models most consumers will be looking for if they want a cheaper but still capable laptop.If you're looking for the former XPS models, you should now look at the Premium tiers in Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. For example, the new Dell Pro 13 Premium is a Copilot+ PC, designed for business users, and it will come with an industry first Tandem OLED option later this year.Business users should look at the Dell Pro Plus range, available in 13-, 14-, and 16-inch models. These are equipped with system BIOS that simplifies management for IT professionals, and they offer USB, HDMI, and Thunderbolt port options. They can even be equipped with optional 5G Modems (only in the Plus and Premium configurations). The regular Dell Pro range is where you'll find cheaper business laptops.The Dell Pro Max range is reserved for high-performance workflows, people who are working with CAD models, AI, engineering apps, and more. The Dell Pro Max devices will shop with Intel Core Ultra Series 2 and will support NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPUs.If you're really curious to see what the new models look like, Linus Tech Tips has a sponsored video where they walk you through the changes and a couple of important new models. All this rebranding does come with a couple of nice changes. First of all, the USB-C ports on all the machines are modular, and can be replaced with a couple of screws. This is a huge win for sustainability and longevity of laptop use, especially in business. Second, the top of the line Dell Pro Max computers are getting full-size SD card slots and dual Thunderbolt 5 ports.RIP to XPS, a real oneYes, this rebrand is confusing, and losing out on the XPS brand is, for this tech enthusiast anyway, actually quite sad. XPS did what Sony VAIO couldn't do: create a premium PC brand, and keep it going. XPS was the first to pioneer bezel-less laptop displays, way before Apple even got into the game.Alas, all good things come to an end, and if you believe Dell, this is all for the ultimate good. For the TL,DR, here are the specifics one last time:Choose Dell and Dell Plus PCs if you're looking for everyday, run-of-the-mill laptops. The Dell Pro and Dell Pro Plus lines are where all the business laptops are (what used to be Latitude series).XPS laptops are distributed across the Premium tier, so you'll find them in Dell Pro Premium, and Dell Pro Max Premium. (Generally, Dell Pro Max is the new branding for high-end machines offering the fasted processors, and cutting-edge technology.)[Dell]

Because Ive always had a dog, Ive also always had a pet door. Even the most expensive models are still terribly simplistic it is nothing more than a hole cut in your door (or wall) with a plastic flap hanging down that allows your pet to access the outside autonomously. They leak air, are a big security risk for your home, and they get quite dirty as your pet bolts in and out. Pawport introduced a solution this week at CES: a smart door that retrofits your existing doggie door on both the inside and outside, opening only when your pet approaches it. CES was impressed enough to award Pawport the Innovation Award.This isnt Pawports first time at CES; the company showed an earlier prototype last year, but the new version vastly improves on the original. While last years version only had a smart door on one side of the pet door (the inside), by adding a matching door for the outside that syncs and works in tandem with the inside door, your pet will be able to identify if the door is closed from both sides. More importantly, the door is actually on pre-order now, with release plans for early 2025.The build looks solid: thick, powder-coated steel and aluminum, with two solid deadbolts, meaning the door is likely to be built better than the existing pet door, which are often constructed with a lot of plastic parts. It features a French door design, so the two half doors open toward the pet as it approaches the door.Heres why Im excited to try the Pawport on my doggie door: First, the dual door design is going to solve the leaking air issue. Pet doors are terrible for your heating and cooling billseven the really nice ones. Keeping the door sealed unless your pet needs it will stop that problem immediately, and the double-door design on the inside and out provide double the insulation.While any intruder would have to get past my doberman, having what is basically a person-sized hole in my back door is a screaming gap in my security system. Pawport is installed securely enough to also solve this issue. The door has safeties built in to never close on your pet, and also to prevent your kids from getting out through it.A small, wearable Bluetooth device alerts the door as your pet approaches it. Controls on top of the door allow you to manually open and close the door, but that function can be disabled via the app to prevent kids from accidentally (or purposely) activating the door.The doggie door itself is always dirty. The function of a dog sliding through the door means that the flaps pick up all the dirt and oil on your pet. I far prefer to look at the Pawport, which will come in three styles (Standard, Designer, and Signature) and price points to match almost any home (although it will always look futuristic due to the persistent LED light that you can customize).The covers that come with pet doors now, to keep pets in or out, are largely worthlessany pet worth its salt can paw that plastic off easily.Pawport looks impervious to such assaults.But regular pet doors, with or without their covers, cant offer the insight into your pet that Pawport can, either. The Pawport app allows you to set access to the door based on a curfew (keep my pet inside after 10 p.m.) or weather (keep them inside if it starts to rain). You can see how many times your pet went in and out over the course of the day, and know whether they are in or out right now.The door has a number of power options: consistent power via usb or plug, hard wiring, or rechargeable battery. With the battery installed, the door is usable even when power and wifi go out.Pawports start at $499 and are expected to hit the market in early 2025. They are available for pre-order now.

According to a well-placed Apple analyst, the iPhone 17 Air is going to measure 5.5 mm from front to back.

Ive tried a lot of fancy note-taking apps, but I find myself constantly coming back to the classic old Windows Notepad app on my PC. Sometimes, I even just jot things down on paper.As someone whos constantly juggling a jillion different things, theres always a lot to keep track of. And I always want to take notes in the fastest way possible.I know Im not the only one. There are so many great note-taking apps out there, but often, you just want to write something down in a jiffwithout any frills or fuss.Thats what this weeks find is all aboutan incredibly simple and swift way to take notes right in your web browser. No exaggeration: This is as easy as it gets.Psst: If you love these types of tools as much as I do, check out my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Youll be the first to find all sorts of simple tech treasures!Your new note-taking sidekickIn a world where apps and services seem to be getting more and more complicated, this weeks note-taking tool is the polar opposite. Its incredibly simple and works entirely in your web browserwith not so much as an account even being necessary. Its called Notepad Online. And it might just be my favorite new note-taking app. I plan to use it more on my computer, but it works just as nicely on the phone or tablet front, too.To use it, open the Notepad Online website in whatever browser you like. Since the tool is completely web-based, itll work in Edge, Firefox, Safari, or any other browser you like.Once on the site, its up to you to select the right editor for your current purposes. Theres a plain text editor, a rich text editor, and a markdown editorletting you decide the exact balance of features and simplicity you need.With that out of the way, all thats left is to type some text. Notepad Online will save everything you write right inside your web browser, using its own local storage. You can close the page whenever you like. When you head back to the Notepad site, youll find your saved notesjust as long as you havent cleared your browsers data!Notepad Online autosaves as you type and stores all your info right within your local browser.I recommend setting a bookmark to the site for fast ongoing access. Then, you can get to your notes in a single click, no matter what else youre doing. You could also try setting Notepad Online as your browsers home page for even more convenience.Alternatively, you could make your new notepad permanently visible by placing it in your top-of-tab bookmark baror by pinning the tab. Just right-click its tab and select the Pin option to give that a go.Pinning your Notepad Online tab is an easy way to keep it readily accessible.Or, if you really want a more app-like experience, you can consider installing the site as a progressive web appprovided youre using a browser that supports that capability. (Sorry, Safari friends!)It really is that simple. While browsing the web, youll always have a quick notepad just a click away. And youll never have to worry about saving your notes, either, since everything is completely automatic.Of course, this is device-specificby design, theres no cross-device sync here, so each browser you use will have its own self-contained notepad. That also means your notes are always entirely private, with no uploading or visibility to any remote servers or entities.Notepad Online is available on the web on any device.The site is completely free to use.And since your notes are stored entirely in your own browser, theres nothing to worry about in terms of privacy. No data is ever shared with anyone, and all your info is available solely on your own local device.Treat yourself to even more productivity-boosting treasures in 2025 with my free Cool Tools newslettera single new off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday!

As Los Angeles reels from the damage of last weeks fires, some people have argued that the city didnt do enough to prepare. But critics talking about water supplies are ignoring the real problem: climate change.Climate change is driving hydroclimate whiplash, wild swings between wet and dry weather. After years of drought, L.A. saw record-breaking rain in 2022 and 2023. Then came drought: For eight months, the city has seen almost no rain. The extra-rainy years make more grass and vegetation growand when it later dries out, there becomes extra fuel for a fire.As the planet heats up, the atmospheric sponge is growingthe atmosphere is sucking more water out of plants and soil, making it even drier than it would be with drought alone. When it later rains, the atmosphere is holding more moisture, so it dumps more precipitation.If theres heavy rain after a fire burns away vegetation, theres a greater risk of landslides. If theres finally a major storm later this winter, all of these very steep, recently burned slopes immediately in populated areas could pose big problems, says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA who published a new paper about the global growth of hydroclimate whiplash. Thats a hazard that I can already anticipate, he says. Communities, even as theyre dealing with some parts of the community still being on fire, probably need to be grappling with that because it could be as little as a week or two before the next thing hits.Since the middle of the 20th century, the new paper says, hydroclimate whiplash has grown globally by between 31% and 66%.When the fires started after L.A.s own weather whiplash, the conditions were a worst-case scenario, with extremely dry vegetation and extremely strong winds. The first night, the winds were so strong that firefighting planes couldnt fly. On the ground, firefighters were also limited in what they could do. Critics have pointed to the fact that some fire hydrants ran out of water, but thats a red herring.I think what people are forgetting is there were literally hundreds of fire trucks all drawing upon the same water mains, Swain says. You can only push so much water through city water pipes per unit time. (As houses burned and pipes in homes were broken, that also affected water pressure.) Even if the city had backup water supplies, he says, it would have been unlikely to make much of a difference given the extreme conditions.Thats not to say that society cant do more to preparebut its not a matter of having more fire trucks or water. First, homes can be made more resilient to fire. Many of the houses that burned caught fire inside after embers blew through vents; replacing vents with a version that blocks embers is a simple change that could have saved some homes. Most Californians also still havent fully embraced the idea of defensible space around a homemaking sure that trees and other vegetation arent too close, and replacing flammable structures like wood decks. Relatively simple changes could make a difference, and the fewer homes that burn, the less a fire can spread. (Cities might eventually also have to take the more complicated step of deciding that some areas arent safe to live in, and change zoning.)Still, in the most extreme-fire weather, theres only so much that can be done. In the L.A. fires, changes might have lessened the damage, but probably couldnt have ever eliminated it. Its also critical to focus on cutting emissions because hydroclimate whiplash is projected to get significantly worse as the planet keeps heating up. Swains study found that if we hit 3 degrees of warming, whiplash will more than double: This is actually a very good illustration of why each fraction of a degree of warming matters and shaving off each fraction of a degree is really important, he says.

The Buffalo Billss new $2.1 billion stadium, set to open in 2026, will feature cutting-edge technology and architecture that will make it one of the most progressive stadiums in the NFL. It will also include one feature players likely wish they had for this weekend. A heated football field.Buffalo is the NFLs only cold-weather city with an outdoor natural-turf stadium that doesnt have a heated field. (Its one of the reasons the team pays $20 an hour and provides food and hot beverages for fans who help shovel snow when needed.)If youve ever walked on grass frozen over in the deep winter, its like walking on concretenot a surface conducive to tackle football. And with nearly half of all quarterback concussions resulting from helmets hitting the ground, a heated field is a crucial safety measure. Heat tech also promotes grass growth throughout the winter months and, on game day, prevents the turf from icing over, making it more playable.A grounds crew member blows snow off the field during a timeout in a game between the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. [Photo: Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images]Thats why sophisticated field heating systems are becoming more prevalent than ever in NFL stadiums. And in a brave new AI-driven world powered by smart-everything, its actually old-school science and engineering that power the systems that keep NFL turf thawed, playable, and safe.Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi smiles as he checks the turf on Packer stadium in December of 1961. A covering of hay kept the turf from freezing, the reason for Lombardis smile. He said a solid footing would give the Packer running game the edge. [Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images]The (un)frozen tundraGreen Bays Lambeau Field, famously nicknamed the frozen tundra, features a powerful heating system to ensure its gridiron remains anything but frozen.Green Bay Packers staff shovels snow in the stands prior to an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, at Lambeau Field on December 23, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. [Photo: Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images]Up until 1997, electric coils buried in the turf kept the Lambeau turf warm. Now, a mixture of water and glycol, pumped through 34 miles of tubes buried six-to-12 inches under the playing surface, does the job. Three massive boilerseach as powerful as 40 home furnaces combinedheat the mixture, while four pumps circulate it under the football field from the south end zone. Sixteen thermostats monitor field temperatures to ensure uniform heating, and the glycol prevents freezing when they shut down after the season.Interior view of Arrowhead Stadium and its snowy field prior to the game between the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday December 15, 2019 in Kansas City, MO. [Photo: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images]Playable at minus-27More recently, in 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs completed their heating system at Arrowhead Stadium. And theyve needed it. Since 2016, the Chiefs have hosted 14 January playoff gamesmore than double the Patriots, who have hosted the second-most (6), but since 2006 have played on synthetic turf. In January 2024, Kansas City hosted the Miami Dolphins for one of the coldest games on record, with a temperature at kickoff of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit and a minus-27 wind chill. It was so cold that one hard hit shattered the helmet of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.Installation of the heating system at Arrowhead Stadium, ca. 2016. [Photo: Kansas City Chiefs]The $2.2 million heating systemvery similar to the one in Green Baywas the MVP that day. Powered by three boilers under the stadium bleachers near the players tunnel, hot water is pumped through four-inch pipes, which then branch into smaller three-quarter-inch pipes laid in a zigzag pattern under the football field. These smaller pipes run sideline to sideline, spaced nine inches apart and buried nine inches deep under the sand beneath the fields surface.Heating tubes laid down on Arrowhead field, prior to being covered with turf. [Photo: Kansas City Chiefs]Just like a home thermostat, Arrowheads system automatically turns on when temperatures drop below a certain point. While it takes a couple of days to fully warm up, it can maintain the field temperature around 50 degrees even in the coldest weather.The Chiefs prefer a 50-degree field temperature, but every groundskeeper has a different strategy. The Packers keep their turf at around 38 degreesenough to keep the roots from freezing while allowing the turf to harden slightly for that Lambeau home-field advantage. The Baltimore Ravens keep their field at 50 degrees, while in Philadelphia, the Eagles have warmed their field to as high as 60 degrees. Other stadiums with field-heating systems include Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh and Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.Crews work to clear snow from the field before a game between the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. [Photo: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images]Cold-field advantageWhen the Bills open their new venue in 2026, it will be a new standard for cold-weather stadiums. It will feature a partial canopy roof covering over 60% of the seats, designed specifically to handle Buffalos heavy snowfall. This innovative 360-degree canopy will be heated, with sensors to monitor weather conditions and an advanced snow melt system to prevent snow accumulation and potential structural issues.A rendering of the Bills New Highmark Stadium [Image: Buffalo Bills]And though the field will be heated and the grounds crew will have the ability to wirelessly control both the temperature and moisture content of the turf, Dont expect the Bills to make it too comfy for competitors from more fair-weather climes. The stadium will remain famously outdoors, open to the elements, with no dome, continuing to guarantee home-field advantage.