If New Glenn lifts off overnight as planned, the Amazon founders rocket company will be on track to give Elon Musks SpaceX some genuine competition.

Agents are the hottest thing in tech right now. Top firms from Google DeepMind to OpenAI to Anthropic are racing to augment large language models with the ability to carry out tasks by themselves. Known as agentic AI in industry jargon, such systems have fast become the new target of Silicon Valley buzz. Everyone from Nvidia to Salesforce is talking about how they are going to upend the industry.We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents join the workforce and materially change the output of companies, Sam Altman claimed in a blog post last week.In the broadest sense, an agent is a software system that goes off and does something, often with minimal to zero supervision. The more complex that thing is, the smarter the agent needs to be. For many, large language models are now smart enough to power agents that can do a whole range of useful tasks for us, such as filling out forms, looking up a recipe and adding the ingredients to an online grocery basket, or using a search engine to do last-minute research before a meeting and producing a quick bullet-point summary.In October, Anthropic showed off one of the most advanced agents yet: an extension of its Claude large language model called computer use. As the name suggests, it lets you direct Claude to use a computer much as a person would, by moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. Instead of simply having a conversation with Claude, you can now ask it to carry out on-screen tasks for you.Anthropic notes that the feature is still cumbersome and error-prone. But it is alreadyavailable to a handful of testers, including third-party developers at companies such as DoorDash, Canva, and Asana.Computer use is a glimpse of whats to come for agents. To learn whats coming next, MIT Technology Review talked to Anthropics cofounder and chief scientist Jared Kaplan. Here are five ways that agents are going to get even better in 2025.(Kaplans answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)1/ Agents will get better at using toolsI think there are two axes for thinking about what AI is capable of. One is a question of how complex the task is that a system can do. And as AI systems get smarter, theyre getting better in that direction. But another direction thats very relevant is what kinds of environments or tools the AI can use.So, like, if you go back almost 10 years now to [DeepMinds Go-playing model] AlphaGo, we had AI systems that were superhuman in terms of how well they could play board games. But if all you can work with is a board game, then thats a very restrictive environment. Its not actually useful, even if its very smart. With text models, and then multimodal models, and now computer useand perhaps in the future with roboticsyoure moving toward bringing AI into different situations and tasks, and making it useful.We were excited about computer use basically for that reason. Until recently, with large language models, its been necessary to give them a very specific prompt, give them very specific tools, and then theyre restricted to a specific kind of environment. What I see is that computer use will probably improve quickly in terms of how well models can do different tasks and more complex tasks. And also to realize when theyve made mistakes, or realize when theres a high-stakes question and it needs to ask the user for feedback.2/ Agents will understand context Claude needs to learn enough about your particular situation and the constraints that you operate under to be useful. Things like what particular role youre in, what styles of writing or what needs you and your organization have.ANTHROPICI think that well see improvements there where Claude will be able to search through things like your documents, your Slack, etc., and really learn whats useful for you. Thats underemphasized a bit with agents. Its necessary for systems to be not only useful but also safe, doing what you expected.Another thing is that a lot of tasks wont require Claude to do much reasoning. You dont need to sit and think for hours before opening Google Docs or something. And so I think that a lot of what well see is not just more reasoning but the application of reasoning when its really useful and important, but also not wasting time when its not necessary.3/ Agents will make coding assistants betterWe wanted to get a very initial beta of computer use out to developers to get feedback while the system was relatively primitive. But as these systems get better, they might be more widely used and really collaborate with you on different activities.I think DoorDash, the Browser Company, and Canva are all experimenting with, like, different kinds of browser interactions and designing them with the help of AI.My expectation is that well also see further improvements to coding assistants. Thats something thats been very exciting for developers. Theres just a ton of interest in using Claude 3.5 for coding, where its not just autocomplete like it was a couple of years ago. Its really understanding whats wrong with code, debugging itrunning the code, seeing what happens, and fixing it.4/ Agents will need to be made safeWe founded Anthropic because we expected AI to progress very quickly and [thought] that, inevitably, safety concerns were going to be relevant. And I think thats just going to become more and more visceral this year, because I think these agents are going to become more and more integrated into the work we do. We need to be ready for the challenges, like prompt injection.[Prompt injection is an attack in which a malicious prompt is passed to a large language model in ways that its developers did not foresee or intend. One way to do this is to add the prompt to websites that models might visit.]Prompt injection is probably one of the No.1 things were thinking about in terms of, like, broader usage of agents. I think its especially important for computer use, and its something were working on very actively, because if computer use is deployed at large scale, then there could be, like, pernicious websites or something that try to convince Claude to do something that it shouldnt do.And with more advanced models, theres just more risk. We have a robust scaling policy where, as AI systems become sufficiently capable, we feel like we need to be able to really prevent them from being misused. For example, if they could help terroriststhat kind of thing.So Im really excited about how AI will be usefulits actually also accelerating us a lot internally at Anthropic, with people using Claude in all kinds of ways, especially with coding. But, yeah, therell be a lot of challenges as well. Itll be an interesting year.

U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry shocked Americans by announcing that cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, throat cancer and chronic bronchitis. Bettmann via Getty ImagesSixty years ago, about 70 million Americans smoked tobacco. An estimated 42 percent of adults identified themselves as smokers in 1965, and advertisements for cigarettes were impossible to avoid. Tobacco products were stylish and healthy, manufacturers insisted, with Camel claiming its cigarettes dont get your wind and Old Gold saying its were fresh as mountain air.So it came as a shock to the American public when, on January 11, 1964, their surgeon general appeared on television saying that smoking tobacco leads to disease and death.Luther Terry, appointed surgeon general by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, had just reviewed the results of a 14-month study by a committee of top-notch medical scientists. Their conclusions, presented in a 387-page report, were that cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, throat cancer and chronic bronchitis.In short, the committee says if you smoke cigarettes, you increase your chances of dying early, CBS News reported at the time. The sooner you start, the more you smoke, the more you inhale, the worse your chances are.Smoking: "A health hazard of sufficient importance"Watch on The ten-man committee, made up of five smokers and five non-smokers, took questions from reporters at a taped press conference announcing their findings. They pointed out that 41,000 Americans died annually from lung cancermore than the annual number of automobile accident fatalities, which was about 38,000. Overall, about 752,000 Americans died of cigarette-associated causes in 1962 alone, they said. Terry stated clearly that hed advise anybody smoking cigarettes to quit.This connection between cigarettes and cancer wasnt exactly new: Doctors in America had been paying attention to smokings pulmonary effects for decades. As lung surgeon Alton Ochsner wrote in 1939, Inhaled smoke, constantly repeated over a long period of time, undoubtedly is a source of chronic irritation to the bronchial mucosa. Researchers also noted an increase in lung cancer cases, but the incline was commonly attributed to other types of inhaled toxins, like automobile exhaust, tar fumes and factory smog.As far back as the 1920s, researchers had recorded the smoking habits of people who developed lung cancer and compared them to cancer-free people. They found strong associations between smoking and cancer, so researchers followed up, beginning more studies in the early 1950sthe research that eventually led to the surgeon generals report. A warning label on a package of Marlboro cigarettes Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.01964 marked the governments arrival to the non-smoking movement. A year after the top doctors announcement, American smokers arrived in stores to find their cigarette boxes stamped with a mandatory warning label: Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.That weakly worded caution strengthened over the years as public health officials grew firmer on their stance that tobacco causes cancer and many other health problems. Now, the Food and Drug Administration prescribes 11 different warning labels for tobacco products, complemented by deliberately frightening images. Smoking reduces blood flow to the limbs, which can require amputation, the labels declare. Smoking causes head and neck cancer.Though it took decades for the number of American smokers to significantly decreasea trend challenged by a 1980s uptick in youth smokingsmoking rates have fallen each year since the surgeon generals first warning. Between 1941 and 1974, surveyor Gallup annually asked Americans if theyd smoked a cigarette in the past week. At least four in ten responded yes in each survey. As of 2024, that number is down to one.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Advertisements, American History, Cancer, Disease, Disease and Illnesses, Health, On This Day in History, Tobacco

Agents are the hottest thing in tech right now. Top firms from Google DeepMind to OpenAI to Anthropic are racing to augment large language models with the ability to carry out tasks by themselves. Known as agentic AI in industry jargon, such systems have fast become the new target of Silicon Valley buzz. Everyone from Nvidia to Salesforce is talking about how they are going to upend the industry. We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents join the workforce and materially change the output of companies, Sam Altman claimed in a blog post last week. In the broadest sense, an agent is a software system that goes off and does something, often with minimal to zero supervision. The more complex that thing is, the smarter the agent needs to be. For many, large language models are now smart enough to power agents that can do a whole range of useful tasks for us, such as filling out forms, looking up a recipe and adding the ingredients to an online grocery basket, or using a search engine to do last-minute research before a meeting and producing a quick bullet-point summary. In October, Anthropic showed off one of the most advanced agents yet: an extension of its Claude large language model called computer use. As the name suggests, it lets you direct Claude to use a computer much as a person would, by moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. Instead of simply having a conversation with Claude, you can now ask it to carry out on-screen tasks for you. Anthropic notes that the feature is still cumbersome and error-prone. But it is alreadyavailable to a handful of testers, including third-party developers at companies such as DoorDash, Canva, and Asana. Computer use is a glimpse of whats to come for agents. To learn whats coming next, MIT Technology Review talked to Anthropics cofounder and chief scientist Jared Kaplan. Here are five ways that agents are going to get even better in 2025. (Kaplans answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.) 1/ Agents will get better at using tools I think there are two axes for thinking about what AI is capable of. One is a question of how complex the task is that a system can do. And as AI systems get smarter, theyre getting better in that direction. But another direction thats very relevant is what kinds of environments or tools the AI can use. So, like, if you go back almost 10 years now to [DeepMinds Go-playing model] AlphaGo, we had AI systems that were superhuman in terms of how well they could play board games. But if all you can work with is a board game, then thats a very restrictive environment. Its not actually useful, even if its very smart. With text models, and then multimodal models, and now computer useand perhaps in the future with roboticsyoure moving toward bringing AI into different situations and tasks, and making it useful. We were excited about computer use basically for that reason. Until recently, with large language models, its been necessary to give them a very specific prompt, give them very specific tools, and then theyre restricted to a specific kind of environment. What I see is that computer use will probably improve quickly in terms of how well models can do different tasks and more complex tasks. And also to realize when theyve made mistakes, or realize when theres a high-stakes question and it needs to ask the user for feedback. 2/ Agents will understand context Claude needs to learn enough about your particular situation and the constraints that you operate under to be useful. Things like what particular role youre in, what styles of writing or what needs you and your organization have. ANTHROPIC I think that well see improvements there where Claude will be able to search through things like your documents, your Slack, etc., and really learn whats useful for you. Thats underemphasized a bit with agents. Its necessary for systems to be not only useful but also safe, doing what you expected. Another thing is that a lot of tasks wont require Claude to do much reasoning. You dont need to sit and think for hours before opening Google Docs or something. And so I think that a lot of what well see is not just more reasoning but the application of reasoning when its really useful and important, but also not wasting time when its not necessary. 3/ Agents will make coding assistants better We wanted to get a very initial beta of computer use out to developers to get feedback while the system was relatively primitive. But as these systems get better, they might be more widely used and really collaborate with you on different activities. I think DoorDash, the Browser Company, and Canva are all experimenting with, like, different kinds of browser interactions and designing them with the help of AI. My expectation is that well also see further improvements to coding assistants. Thats something thats been very exciting for developers. Theres just a ton of interest in using Claude 3.5 for coding, where its not just autocomplete like it was a couple of years ago. Its really understanding whats wrong with code, debugging itrunning the code, seeing what happens, and fixing it. 4/ Agents will need to be made safe We founded Anthropic because we expected AI to progress very quickly and [thought] that, inevitably, safety concerns were going to be relevant. And I think thats just going to become more and more visceral this year, because I think these agents are going to become more and more integrated into the work we do. We need to be ready for the challenges, like prompt injection. [Prompt injection is an attack in which a malicious prompt is passed to a large language model in ways that its developers did not foresee or intend. One way to do this is to add the prompt to websites that models might visit.] Prompt injection is probably one of the No.1 things were thinking about in terms of, like, broader usage of agents. I think its especially important for computer use, and its something were working on very actively, because if computer use is deployed at large scale, then there could be, like, pernicious websites or something that try to convince Claude to do something that it shouldnt do. And with more advanced models, theres just more risk. We have a robust scaling policy where, as AI systems become sufficiently capable, we feel like we need to be able to really prevent them from being misused. For example, if they could help terroriststhat kind of thing. So Im really excited about how AI will be usefulits actually also accelerating us a lot internally at Anthropic, with people using Claude in all kinds of ways, especially with coding. But, yeah, therell be a lot of challenges as well. Itll be an interesting year.

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1 of 37James Martin/CNETIf you weren't able to make it toCES 2025, the world's largest electronics show, tamp down that FOMO because CNET's experts spent last week roaming the aisles, interviewing the people creating the future, and looking for the most interesting products and concepts that will keep us talking tech all year long. Although the show is over, we're still reporting on what we found, from thedelicious and unappetizing foodmade for us torobotic home helpers.Don't miss:The Official Best of CES 2025 Winners, Awarded by CNET Group2 of 37NvidiaNvidia Cosmos AI model: Official CES 2025 Best Overall winner, awarded by CNET GroupIn a show packed full of hands-on products, the standout -- and overallBest of CES Winner-- is an AI model. CNET Group, which is made up of CNET,ZDNET,PCMag,MashableandLifehacker, is the official awards partner for all of CES, so when we say thatNvidia Cosmos has the potential to change the foundation of AI, we mean it.Not because companies are pushing AI into all of their offerings, but because Nvidia's Cosmos promises to be the underlying technology that could accelerate all of them into the future. Robotics manufacturers and car makers could use Cosmos to intelligently deal with real-time situations ranging from navigating uneven or cluttered environments to unexpected obstacles.Future smart glassescould process images and speech as you're navigating a new city or interacting with other people. As CNET's Imad Khan writes, Nvidia has the "power to transform society" with Cosmos.3 of 37Xpeng Aeroht/Screenshot by CNETLet's pop over to the island... by busting the quadcopter out of the trunkIs CES really CES without a flying car on display? We don't have to find out, because Xpeng Aeroht not only brought aflying two-person EV but also a stylish truckto transport it in. (OK, technically that's a car with a thing that flies, not aflying car, but indulge us.) Usually the flying vehicle is the star and gets inelegantly towed behind a pickup truck. In the case of this eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, it folds into the rear of the hybrid truck. The eVTOL charges while you're driving, with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and six recharges with a full tank of gas and full truck charge.See it in action here.4 of 37Jeff Hazelwood/CNETSatellite texting for any phoneThe iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 can send and receive text messages via satellite when there's no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, an important capability if you're lost or in the midst of anatural disaster. Most people, though, hold onto older phones that don't have this capability. TheHMD OffGridaccessory is a handheld device that acts as a satellite hotspot for sending messages, even for nonemergency situations. It costs $200 plus an $80 per year subscription.5 of 37David Katzmaier/CNETHands-off AI laundryLaundry is too often daunting. Do you run a small load when you need just a few things for a special occasion, even though that feels like wasting water and electricity? Or do you wait until piles are tipping over and then you have to deal with all of it? And that doesn't even count drying and folding. Tenet'sAI Laundry Robot prototypestry to do everything. For tiny jobs, the egg-shaped smaller unit washes and then hang-dries clothes inside the machine. Allegedly it can also fold the laundry, though we didn't see that in action. The larger front-loading machine does the same with larger volumes.6 of 37James Martin/CNETA battery made of paperYes, you read that right. Paper. Batteries are now in so many of our devices that we buy chargers -- which are themselves standalone batteries -- to power them. That's a massive scale of materials, both to power our stuff and also to deal with when the batteries inevitably lose their capacities. Singaporean startup Flint has a different idea:Rechargeable, flexible batteries made of paper, specifically cellulose. And when these batteries expire, they biodegrade in about six weeks. For those reasons, Flint's batteries won the Best of CES Sustainability award for 2025.7 of 37CNETHumanoid robots with AI-augmented conversation skillsWhy are so many "humanoid" robots not very human at all? If it has two arms, (optional) two legs and some type of head, we ascribe human characteristics to it, even if the face is a blank plastic panel or a screen. But there's a good reason for that: the closer a robot appears to be human, the more difficult it is to pull off the illusion.Realbotix's Arialooks more convincing, even if its movements still evoke a famous pirate ride. But where Realbotix's effort shines is in its AI-based social interaction.See for yourself.8 of 37James Martin/CNETA big TV that's just darn nice to watchCES is full of TVs that unroll, display art and even bulge, but what if you want one that just looks good for hours at a time? TheLG G5 OLED TVis our pick in the Best TV or Home Theater category because it's a high-quality viewing experience. The 4K OLED panel can get 40% brighter than last year's model and is capable of up to 165Hz support.9 of 37Antuan Goodwin/CNETHonda EV prototypes gain a familiar nameIt's not CES without automobile concepts and prototypes. Honda brought prototypes of theHonda 0 Seriesof electric vehicles (last year's showcases were just concept cars), aiming to have them available in 2026. The Honda 0 Saloon has echoes of European sports cars, while the Honda 0 SUV has a more traditional SUV shape. You might recognize the name of the software powering these new cars: Asimo OS, from the pioneeringAsimo humanoid robot.10 of 37Mashable / Chance TownsendAn air-purifying cat perchCat owners know that cats will climb onto anything they want, so why not make a bed or perch more useful? That's the idea behind the LG AeroCatTower, a scoop-shaped bed that sits on top of an air purifier. It can also surreptitiously weigh the cat and keep track of the measurements, as well as report how much sleep the feline gets. It's not clear how the bed will react to a household of multiple cats -- if they crowd onto the platform does the owner get notified of a massive cat growth spurt? We suspect these types of questions will be moot: Be sure to keep the box it came in, because that's what the cat will choose anyway.11 of 37Bridget CareyA connected robot companion for kidsWe've seen plenty of household robots over the years at CES, including toys designed for kids. TheTCL Ai Mi(pronounced "Amy") concept looks to be one of the more ambitious in terms of connecting to other aspects of your home and life. Ai Mi itself is an orb with adorable arms and penguin-like flipper arms -- and lots of cameras and sensors that tap into other TCL home devices. The bot is largely inert on its own, which is why it fits into a little smart car enabling it to move around. There's even a small camera-enabled pin you can wear to record experiences away from Ai Mi that are then incorporated somehow into the child's experience with it.12 of 37PlantaformA smart garden with its own special effectsIgnore for a moment that this indoor garden looks like the last thing a hapless crew member in space sees before they get swallowed up by whatever creature is in the pod. The lighting and fog aren't there for effect: They help you grow herbs and vegetables in your own home.Plantaform's Smart Indoor Gardencan grow up to 15 plants at a time using "fogponics," a combination of fog and nutrients, and is self-cleaning and self-watering. And, of course, there's an app to track growing progress and supply levels. It's also available now for $500.13 of 37Patrick Holland/CNETA Wonder-ful way to photograph your backyardPhotographing birds, insects and other natural marvels in your yard often involves a big problem -- you. We're not criticizing your talents, but rather your human-size presence. The Petal camera fromWonder, with its stalk-like shape and solar leaf, is designed to take photos of your yard in its natural state. The 12-megapixel camera uses AI to identify what it records and can report back to you on what it discovered.14 of 37SchlageAn electronic doorman that unlocks your door in a smarter wayWhen your hands are full, a smart lock can be as welcoming as the inside of your home. With a voice command or a device such as a phone or watch within Bluetooth range, you can disengage the lock once you're there. TheSchlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt takes a higher-tech approach. It contains an Ultra Wideband radio that detects the speed, trajectory and motion of your connected phone. The lock disengages only as you reach the door. This is the same technology that can lead you directly to anAirTag, for example.15 of 37ZoltuxHome solar power that doesn't need a rooftop installationWant to take advantage of solar power without the cost and infrastructure of roof-mounted panels? The Zoltux Instant Solar Kit is an intriguing Kickstarter project that could let you place solar panels on your property a yard or balcony, for example and reduce your reliance on the local power grid. The 800-watt Instant Solar Pod costs just $1,200 for a plug-and-play configuration. However, be sure to readAjay Kumar's full postthat explains some of the regulatory issues that could come into play.16 of 37Geoffrey Morrison/CNETA pop-up projection screen with built-in speakersEven when it's not being used, a projection TV still maintains a presence, whether that's a blank wall or a pull-down screen reminiscent of high school science classes. Wouldn't it be nice to make it go away, and with style? If the dream of a fancyroll-up OLEDscreen has too many dollar-sign hurdles, theXgimi Ascendmight be the solution. When not in use, the Ascend is a long, low box. But when activated, a 100-inch diagonal screen unspools vertically -- and that box is an array of Harman Kardon speakers. And if you just want ambiance, the screen can be partially raised with a long roaring fire as projection.17 of 37Nvidia/CNETNew graphics hardware that makes AI happenWith many companies at CES 2025 incorporating AI into their products, it's time to consider what's powering it all. And lately, a lot of it points to Nvidia, whether that's on computers themselves or massive cloud servers. The company revealed its long-awaitedRTX 50-Series graphics cardsbased on its Blackwell microarchitecture. The GeForce RTX 5090, for example, is reportedly twice as fast as its predecessor and contains 92 billion transistors capable of more than 3,352 trillion AI operations per second. All that computation also improves Nvidia's other core market, gaming. The first of the GPUs begin shipping at the end of January.18 of 37James Martin/CNETA lava lamp with thumping speakersTo play your favorite music, would you prefer a portable Bluetooth speaker that looks like, well, a thousand other speakers? Or one that not only sounds great but also pulses with color in time to the music? Govee showed off its newTable Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL, which syncs to the music playing from its integrated JBL speakers. The lava lamps of old only wished they could be this cool.19 of 37Lisa Eadicicco/CNETShoes to make you feel better and boost performanceYou can buy shoes that will help you run faster or jump higher, but that's not what's going on here. These astronaut-suit-looking boots are actually for when you're doing nothing -- specifically when you're recovering from a workout or performance. TheNike + Hypericerecovery shoes apply adjustable compression and heat to your feet and calves, while also letting you move around instead of being locked down. Despite their futuristic looks, they're not actually from the future -- some athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games used prototypes to aid in faster recovery between events.20 of 37Zooey Liao/ CNETA laptop with a screen that unrollsWhen you've experienced the joy of working on multiple screens, it's hard to go back to just one. And yet we typically don't have much choice when traveling or away from our normal setup with a laptop. One option is to tote and set up add-on screens, but that means extra bulk and extra work. Lenovo has a different idea using flexible screen technology. TheThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollablelaptop's screen extends from 14 to 16.7 inches, expanding the screen real estate and giving you some breathing room -- or space to watch a movie under that spreadsheet you need to work on. You can see it in action here.21 of 37Antuan Goodwin/CNETAn EV that runs on sunshineForget the pump -- heck, forget the plug. This solar-powered electric car can get up to 40 miles of everyday driving in a day. TheAptera solar vehiclelooks like a dolphin and holds just two people, but did you catch the part about being powered by the sun? Every part of it is optimized for efficiency, from its weight -- about half that of a regular EV -- to its carbon fiber chassis and low profile wheels. For longer trips, you can plug it in and get up to 400 miles from a full charge.22 of 37Lisa Eadicicco/CNETA super bright and detailed watch screenWhen new smartwatches are announced, the companies make a point of showing off the screen brightness. For good reason: Even high-nit screens can have trouble competing with bright sunlight -- especially here in Las Vegas -- while at the same time being bright enough to see in low-light environments at night. Samsung Display demonstrated aMicro LED smartwatch conceptthat goes up to almost 4,000 nits compared with 3,200 nits on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or the 2,000 nits on the Pixel Watch 3. So far, this is just a proof of concept, but since Micro LEDs are already present in televisions, it could be time to start using them in smartwatches.23 of 37SwippittA 2-second iPhone battery swapEven as battery life improves in our phones, there comes that point where we need to set it down to charge. Even the latest fast-charging technologies require dozens of minutes to get the power level up to working. If you're impatient or need to run out the door right away, how does a handful ofsecondssound for a fresh battery top-off? TheSwippittis a box that looks like a toaster into which you drop your phone with a special Swippitt case. After a few seconds the machine swaps out the depleted battery in the case with a fresh one that's charged and ready. It supports the iPhone 14 and later, with Android compatibility coming soon. The entire setup isn't cheap at around $700 for the hub and one case, but it could be worthwhile for a small business or family on the go.24 of 37Jon Reed/CNETA battery backup for your fridgeYou never forget the smell -- or taste, if you were unfortunate enough -- of unexpected spoiled milk. If your refrigerator goes out, either from malfunction or more commonly a power outage, sooner or later its contents will go sour.BioLitehas a backup battery solution for the fridge or any other appliance that needs constant power. Instead of installing large whole-home battery system, the BioLite battery is tied to the appliance that needs it. Think of it as a portable power station that doesn't go anywhere. With two battery units, it packs 3 kilowatt-hours of energy -- enough to run a standard fridge for a couple of days.25 of 37Celso Bulgatti/CNETNo really, the TV is actually getting closerAfter the movie Avatar changed the theater-going experience with high-quality 3D projection, the TV industry spent vast sums bringing 3D to home televisions. Unfortunately for them,few peoplebrought those televisions home. But the 3D dream will never truly die, as evidenced by Samsung Display's wildstretchable display concept. Instead of simulating a scene in three dimensions, the display actually extends like some kind of pixelated souffle, depending on the imagery being played. It's too early to tell if this concept will scale to a product that's usable, but we'll bet "warp the actual screen" wasn't on most people's minds when they were watching 3D movies.26 of 37James Martin/CNETWho needs YouTube when you've got a microwave?Microwave ovens were meant to simplify cooking in the kitchen, and in one respect, theLG Signature Smart Instaview microwaveconcept tries to do that. With intelligent cooking sensors and a range of foods it can cook automatically, the microwave in theory will be your chef.And then there's the 27-inch display plus several cameras. Follow along while your food cooks; get a top-down view of what's simmering on the range below; heck, turn it into your own culinary show. Overkill? Maybe -- we'll see how the chicken nuggets turn out in 2026 when LG hopes to bring it to market.27 of 37Antuan Goodwin/CNETA future (and futuristic) motor to power electric vehiclesYou may not need a snowy parking lot to do donuts with tomorrow's EVs. Donut Lab showed off the latest generation of its Donut Motor, a wheel-shaped drive unit that powers the wheels of an EV. Instead of a central engine moving each wheel, this type of in-wheel electric motor provides the oomph. Combine several of them around the vehicle and you're no longer bound by the space and weight limitations of a central engine.So what's so great about this second-generation Donut Motor? It's smaller and lighter than other similar devices -- the 21-inch model is apparently 88 pounds (40 kg), roughly a third of a standard electric drive unit. Less weight means fewer components and more range. Be sure to read all ofAntuan Goodwin's detailed writeupto see just how interesting this approach to future EVs is.28 of 37James Martin/CNETStick this TV almost anywhereTelevisions tend to stay put, especially as they've grown in size. You may have even organized a family room around the placement of the TV. But suppose you could tote that TV anywhere? TheDisplace TVis designed to be hyper portable. We're not talking "small enough to haul on vacation." This TV, which comes in 27-inch and 55-inch versions, includes built-in batteries so it's free of all cables. But you don't fully appreciate the concept of this "anywhere TV" until you attach the Pro model to any flat surface via giant suction cups. The software helps you level the device and applies the suction to ensure a tight seal.29 of 37RoborockA robot vacuum that can do the tidying for youTracked-in dirt? Clumps of pet fur? Robot vacuums were built to automatically whisk them away. But drop a sock or a pair of underwear on the way to the laundry room? Most vacuums either push the garments around or, worse, choke on them, stopping everything until they can be rescued by a human. But not theRoborock Saros Z70, which extends a normally hidden mechanical arm to pick up the debris and move it to a designated area out of the way. We suspect it will be not only good for cleaning but for entertaining small children (and honestly, us adults too).30 of 37James Martin/CNETSmart glasses that actually look like glassesThe evolution of vision-centric wearables continues to come from both ends of the spectrum. On one side are expensive, immersive headsets like the Apple Vision Pro. On the other are options like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses that can record audio and video but leave the glasses portion unobstructed. And in the vast middle are lots of opportunities for AR. Here, CNET's Lisa Eadicicco tries outHalliday XR smart glassesthat incorporate a small screen that puts information in your field of view. A companion ring gives you some control over what you see without tapping the frames or a connected phone or other smart device.31 of 37James Martin/CNETThis robot is a charm (and charming)We have robots that clean floors and robots that mow lawns, but what about robots that turn to look at you? That's the idea behindMirumi, a fuzzy robotic baby sloth that hangs off your bag as a charm and sparks joy. You'd think it was just a stuffed toy until it swivels its head to look at people or objects nearby and focuses on them. It's cute, not creepy, we promise.32 of 37James Martin/CNETIs your dedicated e-reader in a drawer?We know people who like the convenience of reading books electronically but don't want to carry a separate dedicated e-reader in addition to their phone or laptop. However, those devices usually offer better readability and certainly longer battery life due to their E Ink displays. Are those folks stuck juggling multiple devices? Not if they pick up theTCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G, a $200 phone with a separate mode that mimics an e-reader in both visual style and reduced power consumption.33 of 37James Martin/CNETDigital art on your wall with fewer cablesWe're used to seeing TVs on walls everywhere, but when you're not watching them, they're usually just big black rectangles. Samsung's Frame TVs turn the displays into art -- well, art with connection cables snaking from the back. The new Frame Pro syncs up wirelessly to Samsung's Wireless One Connect box for transmitting material from a set-top box. It also employs Samsung's Neo QLED panels for better image quality.34 of 37Jon Reed/CNETAdd some fizz to your daily water intakeIf you prefer bubbles in your bottles, you typically need to stock up on prepackaged carbonated water or remember to prep your SodaStream. Or you can take the bubbles anywhere with aRoam SodaTop. This $50 water bottle cap uses a small carbon dioxide cartridge to fizz up what's in the bottle, giving you fresh carbonation whenever you want it.35 of 37LymowMow mow, mulch mulchWe imagine anyone who buys a robot lawnmower already has a great lawn to run it on, but what if your tract of grass is wilder than normal? The $3,000Lymow Onecould be what you're looking for. Not only is it outfitted with tank-like tracks -- called, no kidding, the Savage Traverse System -- it includes mulching blades that are strong enough to macerate leaves, fruit, pine cones and small branches. A centrifugal fan disperses the matter and prevents clogging. Your curious pets should be safe, though, because the Lymow One has obstacle recognition and avoidance tech.36 of 37LeafyPodGive voice to your soon-no-longer-suffering plantsWe would never judge anyone who talks to their plants. When the plants start talking back, though, we start to raise a few eyebrows. Don't worry, the companies at CES haven't (yet?) bred a new strain of Audreys. Instead, LeafyPod has unveiled a smart planter for your home flora. With sensors and a packet or two of AI mixed in, theLeafyPod planter adjusts water intake from a reservoir to prevent overhydrating and makes recommendations about sunlight exposure. The planter holds up to four weeks of water, so it can take care of your green buddies while you're on vacation.37 of 37Patrick Holland/CNETA space for handmade artNot everything at CES is cutting edge. There's always space for bespoke, handcrafted artwork like this latte design of C|NET's throwback logo, created by a barista at Dandelion Chocolate in Las Vegas. Although Las Vegas is swarmed by CES vendors and visitors like us this week, we also recognize the people who live and work here year-round -- in this specific case fueling us with the caffeine to bring you even more cool finds over the next few days.

At CES 2025, I took a ride in an electric car that you'd almost never have to plug in. Yes, your read that correctly. The Aptera Solar EV is keen to ditch the plug entirely, and it's hardly for the worse. In fact, the manufacturer claims it can harvest up to 40 miles of free range every day from that giant nuclear reactor in the sky: the sun. That's it! That's all it needs to get you where you want to go. As the oddly shaped EV approaches production later this year, I ducked under the wing-like doors of one of its prototypes for an early peek.Though the Aptera's coolest party trick is its solar power, the first thing you notice is how alien the EV coupe's design is. The automaker designed the three-wheeler to be as aerodynamic and lightweight as possible. So, its carbon fiber body has a shape inspired by a dolphin with a bottle nose and long tapering tail to cut through the air with around 70% less drag than a conventional small EV. The design limits the EV to just two passengers, but there's space for 32.5 cubic feet of cargo in the long tail.Read more:The Official 2025 Best of CES Awards, Presented by CNETMeanwhile, the separate wheel pods house narrow, high-aspect wheels and tires with low rolling-resistance tires to reduce road friction. And the entire vehicle is about half as light as a regular car. The Aptera has front-wheel drive, which I'm told helps the weight of the 150 kW (201 hp) electric motor over the wider front end of the trike for stability and a more predictable driving character.Look closer and you'll see that nearly every horizontal surface is covered with the brand's custom-engineered solar cells -- including the curved glass hood, the roof, the rear hatch and even the dashboard. All in, there's around 700 watts of solar generation capacity, which thanks to the EV's impressively low weight, drag and friction, capture enough energy to power the EV for up to 40 miles per day under optimal, sunny Southern California conditions. If your commute is around 30 miles, you could handle daily driving indefinitely without ever plugging in. Enlarge Image CNETOf course, if you park in a cloudier climate, have shorter days or get less than excellent direct sunlight, solar generation will be reduced, but the Aptera can also be plugged in for Level 1, 2 or DC fast charging. Full up, the automaker expects the EV will cruise for up to 400 miles before needing to recharge. Even more impressive is that it does this with just a 45 kilowatt-hour battery. A nice bonus of having such a small battery is that the EV could be reliably charged from a regular wall outlet, and DC fast charging to the full 400-miles should take less than an hour. CES 2025: The 32 Gadgets and Ideas We Can't Stop Thinking About See all photos On my test ride around the streets of Las Vegas, traffic kept us from experiencing the full sub-6-second 0-60 sprint, but the Aptera shoved off with a satisfying zip. Ride quality was also quite good thanks to the four-link rear suspension on the single rear wheel, though the full experience wasn't exactly representative of the final product due to the prototype's lack of an interior and more conventional wide front tires.Eventually, the brand plans to add an even less expensive Aptera configuration to the lineup with a smaller battery and less total range (but the same 40-mile per day solar capacity), followed by a variant with more cargo space. For now, Aptera Motors is accepting preorders for the $40,000 Aptera Solar EV and expects production to ramp up in earnest later this year.For more coverage ofCES 2025, check out the gadget thatfully-recharges your phone in seconds, and find out whichproducts from CES are actually availablefor purchase now.

Learn the basics of geo nodes in blender with this cool liquid effect example, focusing on how to get objects to follow and orient along a curve.Source

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Image: CapcomIt seems funny to think back on it now, but during the early days of Resident Evil when decomposing zombies were the top dog and Raccoon City was everybody's favourite apocalyptic holiday destination the idea that the franchise would find itself in the rural outskirts of Europe in which you fight a child-like evil castellan seemed utterly absurd.That's exactly what Resident Evil 4 was, however absurd. Although the series has always enjoyed its own endearing sense of lunacy amongst the gritty, survival horror tropes, RE4 went above and beyond with its utterly ridiculous storyline and gameplay.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube791kWatch on YouTube Where once we were traipsing through the burning streets of Raccoon City, now we're practically skipping through the hallways of a grand castle, shooting down mysterious blue medallions, bartering with a charismatic pirate-like merchant, suplexing cultists, torching giant parasites, and knifing conveniently placed pots and barrels. It was insane and, in many ways, it wasn't entirely Resident Evil. But y'know what? It saved the franchise.Image: CapcomIt's not out of the question to state that RE4 is one of the greatest games of all time. It was a blast to play back in 2005, and it's a blast to play this very day, 20 years later, even with the remake out there. It showed just how successful a game can be when developers choose to take a risk and usher their franchises in new and exciting directions. In an age in which bloated budgets make publishers more risk-averse than ever, it's something we frankly don't see enough of anymore.You only need to take a look at the ridiculous number of ports RE4 has received since its initial release to understand just how significant a game it really is. One of the best (and perhaps more underappreciated) was the Wii Edition which implemented excellent motion controls for the aiming functionality, but of course, you can boot it up right now on the Nintendo Switch, if you wish. And with the upcoming 'Switch 2' boasting full backward compatibility with current Switch games, you'll be able to enjoy RE4 comfortably for the best part of the next decade, at the very least.If you somehow haven't played RE4 yet, I urge you to give it a go. Yes, you can play the remake if you really want to, and that's a perfectly fine way to experience Leon's deadly jaunt into Europe, but the original is such a special game and is, in my eyes, a required experience for fans of survival horror, action games and, well... just games in general.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube791kWhat's your favourite memory of Resident Evil 4? Did you play it on day one on GameCube, or was your first experience via one of its many ports? Let us know with a comment. 2Demake"My, my, we've got a feisty one"You sort the Nintendo S.T.A.R.S. from the lickersRelated GamesSee AlsoShare:00 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesFeature: Biggest Nintendo Gaming Anniversaries Of 202557 games with big birthdays this yearOkami Sequel Studio Looking Forward To Sharing "More Exciting News" ASAPHideki Kamiya chimes in with a New Year messageFeature: Meet Four Developers Making Brand-New Game Boy Titles In 202435 years and stronger than everFeature: "It's Fun, So It's Okay!" - Celebrating Takashi Tezuka's Astonishing 40-Year Nintendo CareerA look back at a glittering catalogueFeature: That Time I Was Invited To Square HQ To Playtest Final Fantasy VII was there 30 years ago