January 17Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii1377 GregoryXI, the last Avignon pope, entered Rome after a four-month journey from Avignon, returning the papacy to its original city.1893 Lorrin A. Thurston and the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety led the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the government of Queen Liliuokalani (pictured).1945 World War II: Australian troops advanced along the northern part of Bougainville Island (in present-day Papua New Guinea) and began fighting Japanese forces in the Battle of Tsimba Ridge.1948 Indonesian National Revolution: The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesian republicans was ratified, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to resolve disputes arising from the Linggadjati Agreement of 1946.1999 In Little Saigon, California, a series of protests began when the owner of a video rental store displayed an image of Ho Chi Minh.Ellen Wood (b.1814)Abram Lincoln Harris (b.1899)Michelle Obama (b.1964)Sunanda Pushkar (d.2014)More anniversaries: January 16January 17January 18ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

On my Artstation you can see around 80 pictures of this Project: I spent around 6 months of my life working on this project alone. I personally modeled and textured every single prop and texture in this project except

New ResearchScientists Discover Celtic Society Where Men Left Home to Join Their Brides CommunityDNA extracted from 57 individuals buried in a 2,000-year-old cemetery provides evidence of a matrilocal community in Iron Age Britain, a new study suggests Researchers analyzed DNA from a rare Iron Age burial site in southwest England. Bournemouth UniversityIn 2008, archaeologists discovered a large cemetery in southwest England. Located near the village of Winterborne Kingston in Dorset, the burial ground contained human remains dating back to Britains Iron Age, which lasted from around 800 B.C.E. to 43 C.E. The bodies belonged to a Celtic tribe known as the Durotriges.Since intact remains from this period are rare, the researchers were happy to have discovered the cemetery in the first place. But when they began to sequence DNA from dozens of bodies buried at the site, they were in for an even bigger surprise.The DNA analysis showed that many of the individuals in this community shared the same mitochondrial DNA, which gets passed down from mothers to children. They were related through the female line.This indicates that the group was whats known as a matrilocality, in which newly married men left their families to join their brides community. Matrilocalities are relatively rare in prehistoric Europe: After marriage, women typically left their community to join their new husbands village in an arrangement known as a patrilocality.The Durotriges who lived in southwest England are thought to be among the first recorded matrilocal systems in European prehistory, reports theNew York Times Becky Ferreira. The researchers reported their findings in a new study published this week in the journalNature.In total, the team studied the genomes of 57 individuals buried at the site between 100 B.C.E to 100 C.E. Many of the Durotriges could be traced back to the same shared female ancestor, including an adult woman, her daughter, her granddaughters and potentially her great-grandson. Most of the individuals who did not share the same matrilineal DNA were male, which suggests they married into the group.My jaw dropped, says lead author Lara Cassidy, a geneticist at Trinity College Dublin, toNew Scientists James Urquhart. This was a clear signature of matrilocality, or husbands moving to live with their wives familiesa pattern wed never seen before in prehistoric Europe.Armed with these results, the researchers began to look for other traces of matrilocality across prehistoric Britain. They investigated human remains from more than 150 archaeological sites covering a period of roughly 6,000 yearsand found several other examples of matrilocal communities in Britain.The results are intriguing because they show a very, very different scenario in comparison to other regions of Europe," saysMarta Cintas Pea, an archaeologist at the University of Seville who was not involved with the research, toNPRs Ari Daniel.Its still not clear exactly how prevalent matrilocal communities were in Iron Age Britain, but future studies might help answer that question. Additional research might also take a closer look at the unrelated men buried at the site, investigating where they grew up and how far they traveled to join their wives.Given the paucity of Iron Age bodies, its really quite hard to say whether this covers the whole country, says Lindsay Allason-Jones, an archaeologist at Newcastle University who was not involved with the research, to theWashington Posts Carolyn Y. Johnson.Women living in matrilocal communities likely had more influence than women living in patrilocalities. They also had the benefit of staying with their families and support networks. But even in matrilocalities, men still typically held positions of power.They tend to be the village chief more often, but they might not get elected without the help of their daughters, sisters and wives, who have soft power and a lot of influence, Cassidy tells the Times. [Women] arent just confined to the domestic sphere.After theRomans invaded Britain during the first century C.E., they wrote about British women with high levels of power and multiple husbands. But scholars are divided as to whether the Romans actually observed these women or were merely spinning cautionary tales.Is that propaganda, to make them seem wild and untamed, and not like good Roman women? Cassidy tells the Washington Post. Julius Caesar wasnt a trained anthropologist, and how much you can trust him is up for debate.But the new DNA evidence seems to suggest there was at least some kernel of truth in the Roman depictions, writesGuido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, an archaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in an accompanyingperspective article.The new findings echo Roman-period written sources describing Celtic women as empowered figures, Gnecchi-Ruscone writes. Although Roman writers often exoticized these societies, the genetic evidence validates some of their claims about the special role that women had in Celtic Britain.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Archaeology, British History, DNA, European History, Family, Genetics, History, New Research, Rituals and Traditions, Women's History

A new report alleges that Sony has canceled two unannounced live-service titles from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games.Read More

Nintendo patent attorney clarifies company's zero-tolerance position on emulation"While you can't claim an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it's used"Image credit: Nintendo News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 16, 2025 The general manager of Nintendo's IP department has clarified the company's position on emulation.Koji Nishiura - who is also a patent attorney - presented a lecture at Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software at the Tokyo eSports Festa 2025 last week entitled "The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights in the Game Industry."As reported by Denfaminicogamer (via Automaton), Nishiura acknowledged that whilst emulation software alone is not inherently illegal, an emulator could "become illegal depending on how it's used."For instance, if an emulator copied a title or linked to sites where players could download pirated games, that would constitute copyright infringement. Or if an emulator disabled its game encryption or "technical protection measures," that would violate Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act.Nishiura explained that it's because of the subsequent illegal application of emulators that Nintendo is focused on fighting emulation creators like Yuzu - not just to protect its own IP, but that of other developers who produce games for Nintendo hardware, too.Earlier today, Nintendo revealed its first official look at the Switch 2, confirming that the console will release in 2025.

Its coming a little later than we initially thought, but The Pokmon Company (TCPi) has finally announced when Pokmon TCG Pockets long-awaited trading functionality is rolling out.Today, TCPi revealed that, along with Pokmon TCG Pockets next set of cards, the games trading feature is set to launch later this month. TCPi didnt specify an exact date in its statement about the update, but it did explain that trading will involve some restrictions and costs. In order to swap cards, people will first have to be friends with one another in the game. In order to swap cards, people will first have to be friends with one another in the game. Trades can only occur if players are offering up cards with the same rarity, meaning that you wont be able to trade powerful EX cards for more common ones that are easier to pull. Additionally, TCPi trading is limited to cards that have rarities of 1-4 diamonds or a single star full-art cards, and TCPi noted that items must be consumed in order to trade.Its not clear which particular items players will need for trades, but it feels likely that the process will involve spending Pok gold, one of Pockets multiple in-game currencies that can be purchased in exchange for real money. The item requirement sounds like logical (but not exactly welcome) way for Pocket to generate even more revenue given how easy it is to accumulate certain duplicates from every set. In a follow-up post to X, Pockets official account stated that it was hearing peoples immediate concerns about how this is all going to work in practice, and encouraged everyone to provide more feedback once the feature is out.

X/Twitter owner Elon Musk lit up social media feeds today when he launched a wave of posts publicly criticizing Twitch streamer and content creator Zack Hoyt (a.k.a. Asmongold) following controversy regarding the tech billionaires high-level gameplay of Grinding Gear Games Path of Exile 2.Musk first shared his thoughts in a reply to a post from YouTuber Screamheart, who published a two-minute clip from a new video that dives into the allegations surrounding the X owners Path of Exile 2 gameplay. The full video totals eight minutes and includes approximately 20 seconds of footage from Asmongold's livestreams where he alleges that Musk is not totally responsible for the progress made on his level 97 Path of Exile 2 character.There is no way he played that account. Like, Im sorry, Asmongold says in the clip. I think he bought the account, or somebody played it for him. A hundred-f***ing-percent.Musks response includes a series of replies where he calls the streamer not his own man. The billionaire also took the opportunity to post what Asmongold is calling a picture of leaked direct messages shared through X where the two previously spoke about how the streamer manages his YouTube account. It was a moment that has led to a messy back-and-forth between the two social media giants, and its preceded by in-depth investigation into Musks involvement in the gaming space.Musk has long been championed as a gaming enthusiast. For years, hes mentioned his appreciation for Blizzard Entertainments work on titles like Overwatch, and just yesterday, he said he still plays games as my one recreational activity to quiet my mind.However, Musk's self-proclaimed gaming prowess has been brought into question in recent months as players began to take a closer look at his performance and knowledge of the games he plays.One title that has seemingly taken up hundreds of hours of Musks time is 2023s Diablo 4, though as hes climbed leaderboards and chatted with developers on X, many have commented on how much time he might be dedicating to Blizzards dungeon-crawling experience. In November of last year, the billionaire boasted about his place as one of the top 20 Diablo 4 players in the world, and he reached the number one spot a few weeks later. While others spend hundreds if not thousands of hours merely chipping away at the never-ending faucet of content available, Musk has maintained his gaming status while juggling his responsibilities as a figurehead of companies like X, SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and more.Discussion about Musks abilities as a gamer reached a new level after a recent, early January livestream that saw Musk tackling endgame tasks in Path of Exile 2 drew criticism from fans. Videos like those from content creators such as Quin69TV, penguinz0, and Asmongold have garnered millions of views as action RPG veterans analyze footage and commentary posted by the tech giant. One specific point of contention revolves around his (now deceased) level 97 Hardcore character, Percy_Verence.Two weeks into the league, when people are playing the game, literally, they are staying up 40 to 50 hours without sleeping, only playing Path of Exile and they are the most try-hard guys in the world the highest-ranked player in the Hardcore trade league was level 93, Quin69TV explains in his video 'Elon Musk is Lying About Being Good at Video Games.'Youre thinking to yourself, Thats kind of close to 97. Every time you level up, it becomes exponentially harder to gain experience. A lot harder. So, these players, to get to level 97, had to be playing the game every day for the majority of their day.Musks stream features a number of moments that players are pointing to as signs he may not be quite as familiar with Path of Exile 2s endgame mechanics as one might expect him to be after spending so much time in its world.Seemingly struggling to access Maps, strange tab names, illogical inventory management, leaving behind rare loot, and a disregard for notoriously powerful weapons is just some of the evidence from Musks stream that players are using to accuse the billionaire of not playing nearly as much as he says he is.Some are questioning Elon Musk's Path of Exile 2 gameplay. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.Many are working with the theory that Musk might be paying others to boost his Path of Exile account for him, though there is no confirmation of this. The why? in the formula remains a mystery, too, but the idea is that maintaining his status as a gaming expert is something Musk is interested in, regardless of whether hes actually the one playing the games.Asmongold, whose YouTube channel features numerous other videos discussing content and updates for Path of Exile 2, took the time to address the topic with his own video called 'Elon Musk is not getting away with this...' In the footage, he largely agrees with Quin69TVs analysis of the situation, believing that Musk may not be as truthful about his experience as hes letting on.I thought it was really cool that Elon Musk was, like, a serious player of Diablo, and everything. I did, Asmongold says. I thought it was awesome, and I bet he probably did play PoE 2 on day one. I do. I bet he probably played it, and then he stopped.In the fallout of Musks posts to Asmongold, Xs own Community Notes feature has chimed in to clarify a few points. Regarding the tech billionaires comments suggesting that Asmongold must ask his bosses for permission, Community Notes clarifies that the employees mentioned in the leaked screenshots are the streamers editor, not his bosses. The user-driven feature also addressed Musks comment that Asmongold is NOT good at video games by listing his achievements in World of Warcraft.Was he probably not happy about the PoE video? Hell get over it, Asmongold added in a recent livestream. Listen it was so obvious. You cannot get mad at me for bringing this up. Everybody was talking about this. Come on, man.Elon has not directly addressed the widespread criticisms regarding his Path of Exile 2 gameplay at the time of this storys publication.Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Following months of rumors and leaks that unveiled a whole lot about the console before the company could make an official announcement, Nintendo has finally confirmed what the Switch 2 looks like and even teased some of its key features and improvements as well as at least one of its games.The timing of the announcement itself, which arrived in the form of a snappy 2-minute trailer, had leaked earlier this week as well, but the video turned out to be more of a teaser for a bigger Nintendo Direct broadcast that is poised to fully show off everything the new console has to offer on April 2, 2025. The console is slated to release later this year. Check out the video below.The Switch 2 will of course keep the same form factor as its predecessor as well as its hybrid functionality, which means youll still be able to use the console as both a handheld device as well as docked to your TV. The video also confirms that at least a few of the rumors and leaks that have hit the internet in the past few months are in fact true, down to the 2 added to the Switch logo. Lets quickly break a few key things down about Nintendos next consoleConfirmed Nintendo Switch 2 Details and Improvements First up, the obvious: the larger display. While the exact dimensions of the screen werent revealed in the video, there have been reports (via IGN) that were looking at an 8-inch display, up from the 6.2-inch on the original Switch model and the 7-inch on the current OLED model. Rumors have also persisted that the Switch 2 will release with an LCD screen, not the more vibrant OLED panel that some gamers would have hoped for. Of course, with specs and performance currently unconfirmed, its likely weve not learned all there is to know about the Switch 2s display. Next, the new Joy-Cons, also larger, which should help make playing in handheld mode a little more comfortable. There are two other updates to note: 1) gone are the annoying rail connections, replaced by a seemingly magnetic snap-on connection that looks so much easier to use; and 2) you can also use the Joy-Cons as mice, although how Nintendo plans to implement this new functionality into the gaming experience remains to be seen. Overall, these are the upgrades that have us the most excited so far. Theres one other detail to note regarding the Joy-Cons: theres a new button! Nintendo has added a mysterious C button to the right Joy-Con (the square button all the way on the bottom). What this button actually does is anyones guess but IGN points to speculation that it might have something to do with more intuitive group chat functionality. Back in 2017, Nintendo used the then-upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to show off what the original Switch could do. This time around, Nintendo has gone with what seems to be a new Mario Kart gamepresumably the long-rumored Mario Kart 9! You may be wondering why Nintendo went two console generations with just one Mario Kart game in the first place, but the answer is actually pretty simple: Mario Kart 8, particularly the Deluxe port for the Switch, sold incredibly well. In fact, its the best-selling Nintendo game of all time if you dont count Wii Sports, which came bundled with the Wii. The Switch 2 will allow you to play games on physical cartridges and digitally. As previously reported, it will also feature backwards compatibility, meaning youll be able to play most of your Switch library on the new hardware, although Nintendo warns that certain games may not be supported on or fully compatible with the Switch 2.Rumored Nintendo Switch 2 Specs Of course, theres a lot we still dont know about the Switch 2, questions that will hopefully be answered in April as well as at the Nintendo Experience events planned in the Spring and Summer for anxious fans who want to be the first to check out the new console in person. In the meantime, we only have rumors and leaks to go on when it comes to what is actually powering the new Switch console. What specs are we talking here?Nintendo hasnt revealed anything on that front, but leaked concept images of the Switch 2 and an alleged specs list released in September (via VGC) could provide some clues. Again, its important to note that this is all unconfirmed rumor at the moment, although the leaked images themselves seem to be the real thing after todays announcement. The leak also correctly stated that the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display, snap-on controllers, and two USB-C ports.According to the rumored specs list, the Switch 2 will boast 12 GB of RAM, a major improvement from the 4 GB memory offered by its predecessor, as well as 256 GB internal SSD storage, up from 32 GB in the original Switch.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Separately, Digital Foundry has previously speculated that the console is using a custom NVIDIA processor and a GPU based on the graphics companys RTX-30 Series cards, which would make the Switch 2 a much more powerful machine than its predecessor. Earlier this month, the outlet also dug up a patent from Nintendo seemingly confirming the Switch 2 will use AI upscaling tech to get games to render up to 4K resolution while keeping game sizes down, similar to the way NVIDIAs DLSS tech works. Essentially, games with 4K textures are too big to fit into a 32 GB Switch cartridge, but using upscaling technology is a way around that, allowing the Switch 2 to punch above its weight in terms of visuals. There has been lots of speculation around how Nintendos take on DLSS will actually work and if it will open the door for even more ambitious games on the new console. Speaking of whichRumored Nintendo Switch 2 GamesTechnically, there are zero games announced for the Switch 2 at this time, although were going to say its fairly safe to assume a new Mario Kart game is coming to the console. As far as Mario Kart 9 goes, the big thing teased in the Switch 2 announcement video is that the game will support 24-person races for the first time in the series history, up from 12 in previous entries. That should make for an even more chaotic time.There have been plenty of other games rumored for the Switch 2, including ports of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, Assassins Creed Mirage and Shadows, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Metal Gear Solid Delta. Again, none of these games are confirmed by Nintendo at the moment.It also seems likely that upcoming first-party Nintendo games, such as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A, will release on both the original Switch and its successor. Both games are currently slated for 2025.Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date and PriceThis is where things get tricky. Nintendo didnt announce a release date for the Switch 2 in the first promo, instead teasing a more fleshed-out Nintendo Direct event in April. That said, in-person Nintendo Experience events designed to give fans around the world a first look at the new console are scheduled all the way to at least June 1, meaning its highly unlikely the Switch 2 will hit shelves before then. In other words, we could be looking well into June or later before Nintendos new console actually releases. Nintendo hasnt given any indication as to what a Switch 2 will cost when it hits stores later this year. The original Switch launched at a very competitive $299 in the US, while the upgraded Switch OLED model released at $349.

Apples 10th-gen iPad is a great value at $299 (regular $349), especially when you consider that the next comparable display size in the lineup starts at $600. iPad 10 has a full-screen design, fun colors, Touch ID, USB-C, and impressive cameras. However, theres one missing feature that should make customers carefully consider purchasing this model.Apple Intelligence-lessSince Apple updated the iPad mini last fall, the iPad 10 is the only model in the lineup that doesnt support Apple Intelligence. Every Mac model sold also supports Apple Intelligence.Apple still sells three iPhones without Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15, iPhone 14, and iPhone SE), so its not like Apple Intelligence is ubiquitous across all hardware yet. Still, Apple Intelligence support is a reasonable request for new hardware sold in 2025.Thats because Apple has a self-designated minimum specification of 8GB RAM or more for hardware that runs Apple Intelligence. For iPhone and iPad, 8GB is a good floor for RAM the resource that allows you to multitask without slowing down. On the Mac, 16GB RAM is a reasonable floor, and all new Macs now ship with this amount.Guess which iPad sold by Apple lacks 8GB RAM? You guessed it: the iPad 10. Since the iPad can multitask in ways that the iPhone cannot, its reasonable to expect more RAM in the tablet than the phone. For that reason, it may be worth waiting for a revised iPad 11 to see if 8GB comes to the entry level iPad for less than the $600 iPad Air.Is Apple Intelligence that mission critical that you shouldnt buy the iPad 10? Not really, yet, but the iPad will hold up long enough that Apple Intelligence will improve before you need a new iPad down the road. And as mentioned, its probably just a good idea to have 8GB RAM in your iPad these days.The mystery for now, however, is whether or not the 11th-gen iPad will work with Apple Intelligence. If not, Apple probably just shouldnt release it until it can make 8GB RAM affordable.Im putting my money where my mouth is in this case. My son has a well-worn iPad 9, and I would love to retire the Lightning port and Home button from our household. But even with a low upgrade price through trade-in, Im not convinced that skipping Apple Intelligence is a good idea for his next iPad. Even simple features like Image Playground and Genmoji seem essential to the basic iPad experience once you spend time with them. Agree or disagree? Would you buy an iPad 11 without Apple Intelligence? Its way too early to judge yet, but a much better Siri could also be worth waiting for Apple Intelligence support. Well see!Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

The Washington Post's CEO and publisher Will Lewis is seemingly making good on his promiseof turning the newspaper into an AI slop fest.Following a series of scandals and losing 250,000 subscribers in the wake of billionaire owner Jeff Bezos currying favor with president-elect Donald Trump, the newspaper has a new mission statement: "Riveting Storytelling for All of America," which sparked widespread mockery across the web."Id like to know how much some PR or ad firm got paid to come up with so pathetic a 'mission statement,'" tweeted Defending Democracy Together director Bill Kristol.According to a slide deck obtained by the New York Times, the Post is hoping to "provide a forum for viewpoints, expert perspectives and conversation," in an effort to expand its readership.The slide also described the newspaper's new vision as an "AI-fueled platform for news" that delivers "ideas and insights for all Americans where, how and when they want it."The latest change sets a worrying tone for the paper, hinting at a transformation into a toothless content-churning machine as execs drool over AI hype a disastrous turn we've already seen numerous times in the journalism industry.Meanwhile, the newspaper is still reeling from internal turmoil following a series of high-profile departures. More than 400 employees sent a letter to Bezos on Tuesday, requesting to discuss the "integrity of this institution" that "prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave."Bezos, on the other hand, has defended his disastrous leadership by arguing that the WaPo should appeal to "more blue-collar Americans who live outside coastal cities, mentioning people like firefighters in Cleveland," as the NYTreports.But whether injecting even more AI slop into the news operation will end up being good for business remains to be seen,especially because the paper is already showing signs of decline.In addition to the cancellations, according to internal data obtained by Semafor earlier this week, the newspaper's traffic has fallen off a cliff. Its daily traffic last year reached only a quarter of its all-time high in 2021, dropping from around 22.5 million daily active users in January 2021 to less than 3 million in mid-2024.In short, the Post looks dramatically different than it did a year ago,and its lackluster new slogan perfectly encapsulates its accelerating slide into irrelevancy.It also signals Bezos' fundamental misunderstanding of what journalism actually is. In an editorial following his decision to give up on endorsing presidential candidates, Bezos argued that doing so would lend the outlet more credibility, not less.But given the ensuing chaos and staff revolt, Bezos appears to have miscalculated.The business also lost around $100 million last year, as the Wall Street Journal reported last week, with increasingly disconnected leaders unable to convince staff that they had a clear editorial vision going forward.It's doubtful that a pivot to AI will fix that.Share This Article