SighGod of War live service game reportedly cancelled alongside one other live service project, as PlayStation's live service push continues to go just fineThe studios that were working on these titles reportedly wont close, but it's unclear right now what they'll be doing next.Image credit: Sony Santa Monica News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 17, 2025 An unannounced God of War live service game has reportedly been cancelled by Sony, alongside another live service game that was in the works at Days Gone developer Bend Games. This is according to a report from Bloombergs Jason Schreier, who cites the God of War title as something Bluepoint Games - best know for its remasters and remakes like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and 2020's Demon's Souls - "has been working on for the last couple of years".To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As well as telling Schreier that the two projects had been canned "following a recent review", a spokesperson said that neither studio will be shut down as a result of this change in plans, and the PlayStation will keep on making both online and single-player titles.They also added that the company will be "working closely" Bluepoint and Bend in order to determine what their next projects are, now that these live service games have bitten the dust before ever seeing the light of day.This news is yet another body blow to the big live service plans PlayStation announced just a couple of years ago - when it said it hoped to put out 12 new live service games by 2025. Since that point, aside from the rip-roaring success that has been Helldivers 2, things have been pretty damn dire in terms of this plan.Concord's release and then almost immediate un-release is obviously the most high-profile example, and a situation that you really for the devs in, but it's not the only one. For every title like Bungies Marathon reboot that, while it might have had a rocky path in its own way, we're still expecting to play at some point soon, there's a cancelled game like Bungie's Destiny spin-off Payback.For every Horizon Online from Guerilla, a The Last of Us Online. It's a pretty shocking batting average, and not exactly a great use of the considerable first party studio firepower PlayStation's amassed, even if it's jettisoned some of that in now depressingly typical for the games industry layoff fashion recently.Would you have been interested in trying out a live service God of War? Let us know below!

Image: Bandai NamcoFamitsu has posted the latest boxed sales charts for Japan, and this time, Freedom Wars Remastered makes its debut on the Switch and the PS5. Rather predictably, the Switch version sold more copies at 8,277 (4,829 on the PS5) but couldn't quite manage to climb the ranks and claim the top prize.It's the only blip in what is otherwise a pretty familiar sight by now, with Super Mario Party Jamboree once again topping the charts, followed not-so-closely by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Overall, sales figures have dropped significantly from the rush over the Christmas and New Year period, but this is to be expected.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube792kWatch on YouTube For the full breakdown, here's a look at the latest top ten:PositionGamePlatformUnit Sales (6th-12th Jan)Total Unit Sales1Super Mario Party JamboreeSwitch26,6881,098,2562Mario Kart 8 DeluxeSwitch10,0036,207,5573Dragon Quest III HD-2D RemakeSwitch9,606972,5134Freedom Wars RemasteredSwitch8,277NEW5Animal Crossing: New HorizonsSwitch6,6638,044,8756MinecraftSwitch6,5473,786,0287Freedom Wars RemasteredPS54,829NEW8Super Smash Bros. UltimateSwitch4,3025,703,3769Pokmon Scarlet / Pokmon VioletSwitch4,0485,507,36310Nintendo Switch SportsSwitch3,7441,532,343No surprises on the hardware front this week either, with the Switch utterly dominating the competition once again. The standard PS5 had a good crack at it, mind you, marginally losing out to the OG Switch to sell a total of 6,455 units.Still, when you consider that together, all three Switch SKUs managed to shift almost five times the amount of PS5s (including the Pro and Digital Edition), Sony's console really isn't proving to be much of a threat to Nintendo's humble hybrid platform.Here's your look at this week's Japanese hardware chart in full:PositionConsoleUnit Sales (6th-12th Jan)Total Unit Sales1Switch OLED36,6728,620,4442Switch Lite14,6246,405,9853Switch6,53520,036,8904PlayStation 56,4555,433,8105PlayStation 5 Pro3,815136,4356PlayStation 5 - Digital Edition1,558907,2697Xbox Series X - Digital Edition51817,1288Xbox Series X282328,2779Xbox Series S76314,28510PlayStation 4317,929,130< Previous charts Free from Vita jailWhat do you make of this week's charts? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.[source famitsu.com]Related 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 ArticlesReview: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Switch) - Aping A Retro ClassicThat's what you get for not hailing to the chimpRound Up: The Reviews Are In For Donkey Kong Country Returns HDWorth going bananas over?

A new AI orchestration startup from the founders of Lithuanian unicorn Nord Security is setting out to help enterprises put their AI projects into production, with an initial focus on bringing greater visibility, security and adaptability to large language models (LLMs).Nexos.ai, as the startup is called, is the handiwork of Tomas Okmanas (pictured above) and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, who built one of the most recognizable brands not only in Lithuania, but in all of Europe. Nord Security, best known for its flagship VPN product NordVPN, bootstrapped its way through its first 10 years before succumbing to a bumper $100 million investment in 2022 at a $1.6 billion valuation. Their new company is exiting stealth today with $8 million in funding from a slew of high-profile backers, including lead investor Index Ventures, which has now made its first ever investment into Lithuania.Weve known of Tomas and the work that hes done for many years, so as soon as we heard that he was building a new company in the AI space, and was finally willing to take venture capital money at this [early] stage, we were very eager, Index Ventures partner Hannah Seal told TechCrunch. Other notable investors include Creandum and Dig Ventures, and prominent angels such as the CEOs of Datadog, Klarna, Supercell, and Wix also participated.Capitalizing on a catalystCurrently, teams that want to put their AI into production have to connect myriad tools, which likely involves recruiting and building teams with the necessary skills. This is where Nexos.ai wants to step in.Ive seen that theres a big gap between running AI as pilots and going into production, Okmanas told TechCrunch in an interview. When youre testing AI in your lab, it might work and it can be useful, but when you want to put it into production, especially in enterprises, how do you ensure high availability? How do you ensure security? How do you manage cost?Nord Securitys been around for more than a decade, but five years ago, it was folded into an umbrella company called Tesonet, an incubator with a portfolio of more than two-dozen businesses. One of these is web-hosting firm Hostinger, which recently added AI-enabled smarts to its website building tool. Okmanas, a Hostinger board member and shareholder, said some of the issues they encountered served as a catalyst for what would eventually become Nexos.ai.We wanted to employ AI in our website builder, so we turned on OpenAI, we started testing it, and we put it in production, Okmanas said. In August, we had $150,000 billed. For what? Why was it so expensive? There was no visibility.AI website builder on HostingerImage Credits:HostingerAnd when OpenAI went down a handful of times, Okmanas was convinced that something had to be done to make it easier to deploy, manage and optimize the increasingly complex ecosystem of AI models that organizations may need.Through a simple API (application programming interface), customers can access more than 200 AI models, from big-name incumbents like OpenAI and Anthropic to smaller, niche LLMs. The idea is, if OpenAI goes down, a company can temporarily (and automatically) switch to a different provider without breaking stride. Or if the costs involved in accessing a specific LLM explode for whatever reason, a company can transition to another one to keep their costs down.Nexos.ai also ushers intelligent caching into the mix if a particular question is repeated by multiple users, the system can turn to its own database rather than continuing to engage the LLM, which can get expensive.On the security and compliance fronts, Nexos.ai also prevents individuals from sending private data to LLM providers, or if an employee leaves a company, their access can be terminated immediately.Nexos.aiImage Credits:Nexos.aiTheres no escaping the elephant in the room, though: One of the reasons enterprises have been hesitant to embrace AI is the thorny issue of data security healthcare companies, banks, or insurance firms cant simply trust LLM providers with all their sensitive information. Its worth noting that Hostinger itself was hit with a data breach in 2019 and NordVPN has also been hacked in the past the sort of attacks that all companies face today.This raises questions around how Nexos.ai handles such data, given that it is hosting everything on its own infrastructure. Okmanas said the company will likely offer self-hosting in the future, and that it already supports integrations with companies own internal LLMs. It also has guardrails in place to detect when data, such as personally identifiable information (PII), is sent to it in such cases, it can re-route the data back to the originating companys own LLMs or database. But if a query is generic, like a customer asking an AI agent for details about their location and opening hours, then the query will be handled on the Nexos.ai side.From idea to inceptionGoing from an idea to formal incorporation took Nexos.ai around six weeks, and while the speed of securing the funding was largely down to the founders pedigree, a big part of it was simply the timing.I feel like weve finally gone beyond the hype of AI, and now the real-world applications are coming, Seal added. All the large enterprises are realizing this is really meaningful, and they need to adopt AI at scale. And now is the time for the infrastructure to catch up with the models.The speed of execution, though, was substantively due to the broader organizational setup at Tesonet, which has around 4,000 employees across its portfolio. This enabled Okmanas to quickly assemble a team of around 30 people who he knew and trusted to work on Nexos.ai full-time.We have these teams that can really join forces theyve been working together for so many years, theres no need to tell them whats what, Okmanas said. Well also be hiring from the outside, but that takes much more time.Nexos.ais platform is set to launch by the end of March, though Okmanas said it is already working with a bunch of beta customers and design partners.

The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and America Makes have announced the winners of the Improvements in Manufacturing Productivity via Additive Capabilities and Techno-Economic Analysis (IMPACT 2.0) project call, valued at $6.6 million.Backed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program (OSD ManTech), its primary goal is to improve lead times, productivity, and yield in casting and forging (C&F) operations by utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) technologies.As reported last year, the IMPACT 2.0 initiative is divided into two main parts. Part A allocates $5.1 million across four specific topics. Funded at $2 million, Topic 1 focuses on enhancing methods for adding functional surfaces and complex geometric features to forgings.Topic 2, with $1.5 million in funding, aims to promote best practices for adopting 3D printed sand molds and cores, while Topic 3, receiving $1.1 million, supports the creation of a techno-economic analysis tool for metal manufacturing process selection. Backed by $500,000, Topic 4 is centered on ensuring operational recovery in industrial production.The Part B, known as the Rapid Casting Demonstration Challenge, has a funding allocation of $1.5 million. Its purpose is to evaluate integrated manufacturing strategies in real-world scenarios.For nearly two decades, challenges related to capability and capacity have significantly impacted the U.S. casting and forging industry, creating obstacles in sourcing essential components for critical military equipment and support platforms, said John Martin, Research Director at America Makes.The America Makes Logo.The IMPACT 2.0 project call winnersAmong the first four topics, awardees for Part A include RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC), leading Topic 1. Its collaborators are Collins Aerospace, the University of Pittsburgh, and Camarc.For the second topic, two teams were recognized for their efforts. Honeywell Aerospace heads the first group with Lightspeed Concept, Inc., and the American Foundry Society as members.The other team, led by the Youngstown Business Incubator, includes the University of Northern Iowa 4.0 Center, The Ohio State University (OSU) Center of Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), The University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK), Boeing, HA International, Humtown Additive, Defense & Energy Systems, M&P Gravity Works, 3D Systems, and Mathews Additive.For Topic 3, the University of Arizona Investment Casting Institute leads the project with PADT and 3Degrees as its partners.Part B saw three teams being awarded. The first group involves Skuld working alongside the UTK, 3Degrees, Foundry Casting Systems, Metallurgical Solutions, and American Testing.Another team is led by DDM Systems with partners including the Department of the Air Force Sustainment Center, 76th Commodities Maintenance Group, and the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker Air Force Base.Lastly, Renaissance Services, being the team lead with UNEW, Aspen Technology, HTC (castings), A-Labs, Product Development & Analysis, LLC, The OSU CDME, and Value Tool & Engineering as team members, was recognized for its efforts in advancing manufacturing strategies under the Rapid Casting Demonstration Challenge.Acknowledging the teams, Martin added, The IMPACT 2.0 project call is designed to pinpoint the strengths and limitations of these integrated manufacturing approaches. This initiative will empower our members and project teams to research, develop, and execute cutting-edge solutions in the casting and forging sector, a strategic move to mitigate supply chain risks that pose a threat to both the nations defense and economy.The America Makes building in Youngstown, Ohio. Photo via America Makes.Reflecting on America Makes previous project call winnersAway from IMPACT 2.0 winners, the NCDMM and America Makes previously announced winners of the Proliferation of Additively Manufactured (AM) Material Datasets project, worth $5.75 million.Working alongside OSD Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology Office (R&E) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), this initiative aimed to expand material datasets beyond Ti-6Al-4V, targeting aluminum and nickel alloys that are vital for applications in aerospace, automotive, defense, and energy sectors.Among the winners, Elementum 3D took the lead on aluminum alloy datasets under Topic 1, collaborating with a team that included Battelle, Castheon, Eaton Corporation, and others.High-temperature nickel superalloys under Topic 2 were spearheaded by the Electric Power Research Institute, supported by partners like Boeing, Siemens Energy, and Citrine Informatics, with Wichita State University National Institute for Aviation research (NIAR) and Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory (PSU-ARL) focused on data review and strategic management.Another project call by America Makes and NCDMM saw the winners of the $1.2 million Environmental Additive Research for Tomorrows Habitat (EARTH) project being announced. Funded by OSD(R&E) and AFRL, this initiative focused on advancing sustainability in AM by promoting the recycling and reuse of 3D printing materials.IC3D was awarded for its project, which enhanced the U.S. Department of Defenses (DoD) use of recycled polymers. Another winning team, led by RTRC, worked on optimizing powders and processes to support environmentally friendly AM practices. Both teams contributed to the EARTH projects mission of exploring sustainable manufacturing approaches and developing solutions for future habitats.Who won the 20243D Printing Industry Awards?All the news fromFormnext 2024.To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on Twitter, or like our page on Facebook.While youre here, why not subscribe to our Youtube channel? Featuring discussion, debriefs, video shorts, and webinar replays.Featured image shows the America Makes Logo. Image via America Makes.

Joris January 17, 2025, 8:28am 1Hey guys,I currently working on a smoke plume in 5.5 that has a Translucent Material. In my project settings I am using Virtual Shadow Maps. My goal is to make it cast shadows on the ground but no matter what option I check its not doing anythingAny ideas please ? thanks!Niels January 17, 2025, 9:45am 2hmmm, Perhaps cast shadow isnt enabled on the renderer?Theres also a cast volumetric shadows that needs to be enabled somewhere for translucent sprites I think. That might be pre 5.0 though, havent really used that feature since thenJoris January 17, 2025, 9:49am 3hey, cast shadows is enabled and cast volumetric shadows too. Shadows does work with Shadow Maps but somehow VSM doesnt want to play nice Niels January 17, 2025, 10:05am 4Sounds like you have found yourself a bug then, cause Im pretty sure its supposed to work

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) came into force on 16 January 2023. Following a two-year implementation period, from 17 January 2025, financial organisations must fully comply with the new regulation, which aims to ensure they remain resilient to severe operational digital disruption.The act covers a number of aspects of cyber resiliency, auditability, and the responsibilities shared between financial institutes and third-party software and IT service providers when these products and services are used to power business operations.While it is a European regulation, affecting companies that operate in the European Union (EU), other regions are also putting in place cyber resiliency. These include Australias Prudential Regulation Authority and the Bank of England in the UK. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also considering cyber resiliency.Resilience to flaws and vulnerabilities in third-party products and services has been gaining attention worldwide. One example is the CrowdStrike flaw, which caused major disruption on systems running Windows. As Juniper Research noted at the time, banks were among the victims of the worldwide technology outage, which resulted in some customers not being able to access their online banking. Cash machines and card payment systems were also affected.The goal of DORA is to limit the potential disruption to banking systems caused by IT issues, but there is a direct correlation between its effectiveness and organisations maturity in terms of cyber security.Between August 2023 and August 2024, SecurityScorecard evaluated the cyber security performance of Europes top 100 companies, looking at factors such as network security, malware infections, endpoint security, patching cadence, application security and domain name system (DNS). With regulations like DORA set to reshape cyber security standards, European companies must prioritise third-party risk management and leverage rating systems to safeguard their ecosystems Ryan Sherstobitoff, SecurityScorecardThe research found that 98% of the top 100 European companies had experienced a breach involving third-party suppliers during that 12-month period. DORA requires financial institutions to identify and assess the criticality of the third-party service providers they use based on business impact and the level of risk they pose.Third-party IT and communications products and services are covered in Article 28 of DORA, which stipulates that financial entities must manage ICT third-party risk as an integral component of ICT risk within their own ICT risk management framework. Financial institutes that use third-party services as an integral part of their operations are held accountable for the overall cyber security of the business and must also conduct a full risk-assessment of suppliers.Looking at cyber risk exposure arising from vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in products and services supplied by third parties, Ryan Sherstobitoff, senior vice-president of threat research and intelligence at SecurityScorecard, says: Supply chain vulnerabilities remain a critical threat, as adversaries exploit these weak links to infiltrate global networks. With regulations like DORA set to reshape cyber security standards, European companies must prioritise third-party risk management and leverage rating systems to safeguard their ecosystems.Read more about cyber resiliencyHow AWS is protecting customers from cyber threats: Amazon Web Services reveals how its threat intelligence capabilities work under the hood to thwart cyber attacks and keep its customers data safe.US Treasury incident a clear warning on supply chain security in 2025: A cyber incident at the US Department of the Treasury blamed on a Chinese state actor raises fresh warnings about supply chain risk after it was found to have originated via vulnerabilities in BeyondTrusts IAM product.SecurityScorecards Global third-party cybersecurity breach report reveals that 75% of third-party breaches target the software and technology supply chain a trend reinforced by recent high-profile breaches involving SolarWinds, Log4j and MOVEit.DORA makes information security management a legal mandate, says Romain Deslorieux, director of strategic partnerships for cloud protection at Thales. To ensure compliance, organisations will need to work to simplify and automate their cyber security services to be sure that their applications, data and identities are adequately protected. This includes everything from API [application programming interface] security; classifying, monitoring and protecting sensitive data; through to providing secure trusted access for customers, employees and partners.Martin Thompson, analyst and founder of the ITAM Forum, recommends that organisations run a discovery process to help them classify the risks associated with the IT products and services they use.In a September 2024 blog, Shane ONeill, a partner in Grant Thorntons Dublin office, suggested that financial institutions invest in platforms that can centralise their ICT asset catalogues. This, he said, should offer a holistic view of third-party providers, which enables firms to understand the potential risks they pose to the business, enabling them to take action to mitigate such risks.ONeill pointed out that most IT asset management platforms provide automation features, which can be used to simplify the review process. At a minimum, DORA requires an annual review of ICT assets and accompanying documentation, and for third parties deemed high risk, the review cycle occurs more frequently, he wrote.Automation lessens the administrative burden of coordinating a review and decreases the number of manual components within a review cycle, thereby reducing the potential for human error or the potential of a review cycle being missed.As ONeill noted, IT asset management platforms can automatically trigger a review process by generating an email that reminds stakeholders to review their asset inventories, and because the stakeholder performs the review within the system, the platform automatically logs their activity, thereby ensuring all aspects of the process are easily auditable from a regulatory perspective.While affected organisations should already be well advanced in implementing compliance programmes, Forrester senior analyst Madelein van der Hout says that as late as November 2024, she was still taking calls from Forrester clients, enquiring about what they need to do. If you started in November, there is not enough time, she says.While most financial organisations already have a good security posture, according to van der Hout, all financial institutes will still need to consider third parties, the diversification of their IT infrastructure and the interdependencies.According to Alain Traill, counsel at global law firm Latham & Watkins, many are struggling to achieve compliance. He urges those organisations still coming to terms with DORA to conduct a gap analysis to identify where they are non-compliant.For in-scope financial entities, which includes e-money institutions and crypto asset providers, in addition to traditionally regulated firms such as credit institutions, compliance involves a gap analysis of existing resilience measures against DORAs stringent requirements, updating governance chains, policies and procedures paying particular attention to core DORA focus areas such as incident response and resilience testing and completing an in-depth contract inventory and remediation exercise, he says.Since DORA stipulates that organisations need to assess the resiliency of their IT supply chain, third parties which include IT providers also need to understand their responsibilities under DORA. Traill says IT firms should update contract terms and potentially establish an EU entity.All providers of ICT services that are not designated as critical but that have customers that are in-scope financial entities including a vast range of providers of software and related products, often based outside the EU need to take steps to enable such customers to comply, including by reviewing and updating processes and policies and updating contract terms, he says.Proactive measures are crucial to align with DORAs requirements and avoid significant consequences, including for financial entities and critical ICT providers substantial fines. Proactive measures are crucial to align with DORAs requirements and avoid significant consequences, including substantial fines Alain Traill, Latham & WatkinsForresters van der Hout recommends IT leaders in financial organisations that need to comply with DORA contractually look at what IT they implement.There are implications if those IT vendors you use do not comply enough with DORA, she says. While IT leaders have the option to terminate such non-compliant contracts, van der Hout warns that untangling their IT from your IT infrastructure is hard.Beyond the work needed to ensure the cyber resiliency of third-party IT providers, Thales Deslorieux notes that DORA explicitly mandates organisations to define and enforce policies to encrypt data at rest, in transit and in use, and thoroughly manage the cryptographic keys this encryption relies on. Financial services must also provision for updating or changing the cryptographic technology on the basis of developments in cryptanalysis, he says.The experts Computer Weekly has spoken to recognise that work is needed to implement DORA compliance and to ensure ongoing maintenance for continued compliance. These are additional costs.Implementation, according to Forrester, will depend purely on the cyber security maturity of the business, but DORA builds on existing IT security frameworks, which means many have probably done most of the work needed to achieve compliance with the new regulation.Van der Hout points out that it is the ongoing costs that will have a more long-term impact on IT budgets. She estimates that maintaining DORA compliance could add 10% to an organisations cyber security costs.

AntonioSolano/Getty ImagesI wanna start by saying I'm not anti-AI.Far from it, actually. I think AI is amazing, and nothing will come between my ChatGPT subscription and me.So, if you're an AI superfan...RELAX and stay out of my DMs. I'm not beefing with you, not today, at least. (I might change my mind tomorrow! )Also:How to sign up for the 'next TikTok' - and why you should do it right awayNow that I've got my disclaimer out the way, I NEED to tell you about the future of online shopping.If you've ever thought about starting an online business or are already selling stuff online and looking for the edge, I've got you.In this article, we'll explore:What I believe the future of online shopping looks likeHow we got to this point in the digital retail landscapeTips and tricks you can use to stay aheadSo kick back and put the pitchfork down as we dive into what I believe could be a game-changer for online shopping in 2025.Oh, and if you stick around until the end, I'll also share how we could make some mula. Quick IntroIf you're new to my work, my name's Lester, but my friends call me Les.I'm a founder with a successful exit and currently the executive chairman of a group of e-commerce brands. I'm an award-winning performance marketer at my core, and spotting trends is my thing.Most importantly, I've been in the e-commerce space for over 10 years, with some massive wins and even more impressive losses (lol).I've seen many trends come and go while keeping my pulse on the industry and what's working.But I can tell you with 99% certainty that this trend is different.The biggest opportunity for online shopping in 2025I'm sure you're wondering, what's this big opportunity?It's called live commerce, and if you're unfamiliar, it's a blend of livestreaming and e-commerce.Creators showcase their products live, explaining the features and benefits to their audience. If the audience likes what they see, they can instantly add it to their cart and purchase it.Here's the crazy part: Live commerce generated $20 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit $55 billion by 2026.Also:There's a new king of online shopping, and it's built an unstoppable monopolyAccording to a recent study, live commerce enhances the online shopping experience by up to 60 percent, making it more engaging and enjoyable for consumers. What is even more impressive is that about 46 percent of US consumers have made a purchase through a live shopping event.Funny story.There I was, explaining live commerce to Aly (my editor), and she looked at me and said, "So, it's like QVC?"I laughed and said, "Yeah, basically, but online."Then two things hit me.One, geez, I'm getting old. Two, even with all the technological advancements like self-driving cars and AI, at our core, humans still want to feel connected to something. That is something AI will never replace.Also: AI isn't the next big thing - here's what isReplicate, sure. Replace, nah. The future belongs to founders and entrepreneurs who create meaningful connections with their audience.Now, I'm not saying AI avatars will fail.I am saying that the founders and entrepreneurs who dare to put themselves out there will likely be more successful.And here's the irony.The more AI we have, the more people will seek meaningful human connections.The psychology of why it worksUnderstanding why live commerce works is essential to future-proofing your business.Live commerce is at the root of what makes us human. It's not just about the product.Let's start with the fear of missing out, a compelling marketing tactic. When you see others getting excited and making purchases, it's hard not to think, "I need one too." It's like when you see one of those TikTok challenges and think, "I have to try this.""It can't be that good."or"It can't be that hard."It's the same thing with live commerce.But when it's happening in real time, it's that feeling on steroids because when the livestream ends, so does the promotion.The audience is faced with purchasing one way or another at that moment. Who are the players?As you can expect, TikTok is leading the charge regarding live commerce.Privacy concerns aside, TikTok really gets it.Creators have seen a lot of success and made millions using this format. Also:Why the TikTok ban could collapse the creator economyIt's not just about making money with products either. TikTok's gifting feature allows users to send virtual items to creators to show appreciation, adding another layer of engagement.That said, the platform I'm watching (and totally in love with) is called Whatnot.As I write this, Whatnot is the fastest-growing platform for live shopping. It specializes in collectibles, fashion, and other niche products.What I love most about the platform is how it connects passionate collectors with the products they love most. It really feels like a community.Even though the platform is "new," creators are already seeing success.Also: The best webcams for streaming of 2025: Expert tested and reviewedFor example, Caitieco recently shared that she sells over $170,000 per month on Whatnot. This proves that dedicated sellers can achieve significant financial success through the platform.What I love about Whatnot is that it shows this style of commerce has legs and isn't unique to TikTok. That said, new platforms are popping up, and established ones are adopting this commerce style with varying success levels.3 tips to get started with live commerceI'm sure you're wondering, where do I even start?You must be good at public speaking and communication basics to make this work. While you don't need to be perfect, and things like stuttering can even be endearing, you need a firm grasp of what you're doing before you go live.Also:One of the best podcasting microphones I've tested is not made by Yeti or RodeIn this case, "live" doesn't mean being unprepared. Feel me? With that said, here's your crash course on how to start doing live commerce and thrive.1. Promoting your livestream in advance.What it is: Promoting your livestream ahead of time to build excitement and ensure a strong turnout. Your livestream needs to feel like an event, so do something unique and offer an exclusive deal or promotion that can only be redeemed during the livestream. You need to give your audience a reason to show up.How to do it: Use email, social media, and SMS to treat it like a prelaunch. Tell everyone you know and encourage them to share it with others. Build buzz by sharing sneak peeks or teasers of what you'll showcase during the live.Pro Tip: Set up a reminder system with SMS or email. Send countdown messages like "We're live in 24 hours!" or "Don't miss our live in 1 hour!" Pair these reminders with a hint about the special offer to build urgency and ensure your audience is ready to engage.2. Leverage live Q&AWhat it is: A real-time conversation with your audience where you answer questions to build trust and rapport. In many ways, it's like being in a store and asking a salesperson about a product or service.How to do it: Encourage your audience to ask questions during the livestream and answer them genuinely and in detail. This is your chance to handle objections and clarify anything that might be unclear in your prospects' minds.Pro Tip: Prepare answers for common questions beforehand to keep the session smooth and engaging. If you don't know the answer, it's OK to say, "I don't know, but I'll get back to you."3. Have a clear call to actionWhat it is: A clear call to action (CTA) tells your audience exactly what you want them to do, whether it's buying a product, signing up, or staying connected. You must have a CTA, and don't be shy either. Be clear and confident in your product or service.How to do it: Be direct and specific during your livestream. Say things like "Click the link to add this to your cart now" or "Tap the button to claim this exclusive offer." Make it easy and obvious for them to take action.Pro Tip: Use urgency and exclusivity in your CTA. For example, "This deal is only available for the next 10 minutes," or "We have limited stock, so grab yours before it's gone." Most importantly, make it special; give your loyal supporters a reason to attend your live event and explain why they need your offer.My two centsLike most things in life, you will get what you put in.Live commerce is a fantastic opportunity to grow any business. However, that doesn't mean it's a magic formula.Things like having a good product that people want, understanding your audience, and knowing how to connect with them will play an important role.Live commerce should be viewed as another tool in your tool belt, not the belt itself. It's interesting to see how big brands are losing touch with their audience. They're chasing AI trends while drifting further from genuine connections. Meanwhile, consumers are saying, "AI is great, but we don't want it to replace authentic interactions with a brand."Also: Is your live TV streaming service still worth it? I reassessed the options for us bothConsistently engaging with your audience is key.Who knows? "Live commerce" might get rebranded into some other fancy name in a few years. But at its core, the underlying "thing" that's happening is simple: humans connecting with humans.Now is the perfect time to take advantage of this shift and gain an edge. Big brands are missing the mark and losing their connection with audiences.You being you is an advantage.AI can't imitate that.All that said, humans are winning, for now Hope this article helps; I'm rooting for you.P.S. Want more data-driven marketing insights? Sign up for my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I share what's working in the world of digital marketing, the latest trends, and the occasional pep talk to keep you inspired. If this sounds like your jam and you wanna be besties forever, click here to sign up. It's totally free.Featured

Honor Magic 7 ProBen SinLast year may have been the best year in Honors history yet, as its foldable Magic V3 won virtually every best foldable phone of the year award from the tech media landscape, and the slab Magic 6 Pro finally established at least in my opinion its own distinct identity that differs from other Android devices.And so with the new year comes the Honor Magic 7 Pro, the follow up that adds further polish to the 6 Pro. More importantly, Honor continues to zig when other Android phones zag, giving us a device that stands out from the crowd a bit.For example, Honor is just about the only Android phone brand that still offers us real 3D face unlock like iPhones do (meaning the phone uses a depth-mapping sensor to identify the unique contours of our faces). All other Android phones have decided to give us the less secure 2D face unlock (which uses just a single selfie camera to identify faces).Truth be told, the in-display fingerprint scanners in all Android phones are so good these days I wouldnt call 3D face scanning a must-have feature, but it is nice to have. And the Honor Magic phones are the only one to give us this on the Android side.Also, the Magic 7 Pro, like the last few Magic phones, uses a slightly wider 19.5:9 screen aspect ratio (compared to the 20:9 used by other Android manufacturers), so the Magic 7 Pros 6.8-inch OLED screen is ever so slightly wider horizontally than other 6.8-inch Android phones. And that extra width matters for a fast typer such as myself. I find typos to happen a bit less common when I type away on a Magic 7 Pro compared to other phones, because the keyboard is not as cramped.The Magic 7 Pro's screen is a bit widerBen sinCamerasThe Honor Magic 7 Pro brings an impressive Periscope zoom lens: 200-megapixel, f/2.6 aperture, 1/1.4-inch image sensor size. These numbers, particularly the sensor size, are very impressive much larger than most other phone zoom cameras. But Honor is not the first to adopt this lens Vivo has been using it in its last two flagship phones.The Honor Magic 7 Pro's triple camera system.Ben SinHaving such a large telephoto sensor allows the camera to produce natural bokeh and capture more details and dynamic range. And this zoom lens delivers, its absolutely one of the best zoom cameras around.3X images snapped by the Honor Magic 7 Pro.Ben SinBut its not better than the Vivo X200 Pros zoom lens. Perhaps its Vivo having more time fine-tuning the lens, but side-by-side zoom shots between the two phones almost always has the Vivo image coming out superior. In the samples below, notice the Vivo image on the right exhibits more bokeh and dynamic range. Honors image is not bad at all this is a 10X image! Its almost certainly better than what the iPhone could have muster. But Vivos image almost looks like it came from a real camera.5X images snapped by the Honor Magic 7 Pro (left) and Vivo X200 Pro (right). The image on the right has more pleasing bokeh and depth of field.Ben SinStill, we must remember the Vivo phones have been known among phone geeks as the best camera phone for a few years, so Honor coming in second here is no shame.In a vacuum (and Im not nitpicking) the Magic 7 Pro produces beautiful looking images, especially black and white portraits of human subjects, thanks to Honors partnership with Studio Harcourt.Portraits snapped by the Honor Magic 7 ProBen SinThe Honor Magic 7 Pro's Studio Harcourt portraitBen SinThe Magic 7 Pros main camera is also very good, but I have come to the conclusion that, in 2025, the only real differentiating factor between a great phone camera and good phone camera is in the telephoto lenses. The differences between flagship phone main camera quality is getting razor slim, as every phone, whether its from Apple or Asus, Samsung or Xiaomi, is going to have a very capable main camera.Software and performanceThe Magic 7 Pro is powered by the newest and highest-tier Qualcomm chip, the confusingly named Snapdragon 8 Elite (this is the second time in four years Qualcomm has completely revamped the naming scheme of its flagship silicon series).Performance is excellent, obviously, as mobile silicon has long surpassed what 99% of people need on a mobile device. Whether its splicing together video clips on CapCut or scrolling through Instagram, sending emails or uploading files to Slack, this phone doesnt miss a beat.The Honor Magic 7 Pro.Ben SinThe software MagicOS 9.0 has a new look of which Im a fan. Theres more customization than before, and the UI overall has a fresher, more vibrant vibe. The phone also comes with a suite of AI features like generative AI photo editing and AI translation, as well as connectivity with Windows laptops and Honor devices, but these are really not new in 2025, as most phones offer some version of this.MagicOS 9.0HonorBattery life has been fine, but not amazing, for me. On average the phone lasts about 10-11 hours for me outside before the battery dips below 10%. This is a couple hours shorter than say the iPhone 16 Pro Max or Vivo X200 Pro, but its acceptable. I am a very heavy user whos on the phone constantly. And my 10-11 hours has me going all around the city, not sitting in one place connected to WiFi.Overall, the Magic 7 Pro is a very polished and well-rounded phone from Honor. As mentioned, I like that Honor does a few things differently from other Android phones, like having real 3D face unlock, and the slightly wider form factor, but otherwise, the very best Android phones are starting to feel very familiar features-wise. This isnt a big deal for most people, who use one phone for a year or three. But for me whos jumping phones often, I am starting to feel like I can recite whats new with these phones in my sleep.The good news is, Honor has a whole different segment its innovating on foldables. And if Id have to bet, Id say Honor will be the first to bring a tri-fold to the international market.

What just happened? General Motors and the FTC have reached a settlement over allegations that the automaker shared details about driver locations and behavior to third parties without consent. GM is now banned from carrying out these actions for five years. In March 2024, a New York Times report uncovered how connected cars with built-in telematics share driver statistics and data with insurers, often without the owners even realizing it.One of these companies was GM, which collected location and driving data through its OnStar connected vehicle service a GM subsidiary that provides subscription-based communications, security, emergency services, navigation, and remote diagnostics as well as its OnStar Smart Drive feature. According to the FTC, GM did not clearly disclose these practices, and the data was subsequently sold to third parties, such as consumer reporting agencies.A few users said GM vehicles tracked them even when they didn't activate the OnStar Smart Driver feature, which claimed to help users become better drivers by gamifying the experience. They may have been enrolled by the dealership, but even for those who opted in, the enrollment process didn't make it clear that third parties would receive the driving data.GM confirmed to the NYT that it shared "select insights" about hard braking, hard accelerating, speeding over 80 mph, and drive time of Smart Driver enrollees with global data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk.It's claimed the information was offered to insurance companies, which used it to increase the rates of customers they deemed to be bad drivers based on the data. // Related StoriesIn the wake of the report, senators urged the FTC to investigate carmakers selling consumer data. The agency filed a formal legal complaint against GMGM said that it discontinued the Smart Driver program across all its vehicles last April, unenrolled all customers, and ended its third-party telematics relationships with LexisNexis and Verisk."Respecting our customers' privacy and earning their trust is deeply important to us," GM said in a statement. "Although Smart Driver was created to promote safer driving behavior, we ended that program due to customer feedback."In addition to GM being banned from sharing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies for five years, the settlement has other conditions. The 20-year agreement states that GM and OnStar must attain affirmative express consent from consumers prior to collecting connected vehicle data, allow consumers to obtain and delete their data, and allow consumers to limit data collection from their vehicles, including geolocation data."GM monitored and sold people's precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds," said Lina M. Khan, the chair of the FTC. "With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans' privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance."The proposed settlement is open to public comment for 30 days, after which the FTC will make its final decision.

RIP ship Fire destroys Starship on its seventh test flight, raining debris from space The Federal Aviation Administration will likely require an investigation into the accident. Stephen Clark Jan 16, 2025 11:44 pm | 2 This screen grab from SpaceX's live broadcast of Starship Flight 7 shows the view from a rear-facing camera aboard Starship. The Super Heavy booster stage, with its four grid fins extended, is seen moments after separating from the Starship upper stage. Credit: SpaceX This screen grab from SpaceX's live broadcast of Starship Flight 7 shows the view from a rear-facing camera aboard Starship. The Super Heavy booster stage, with its four grid fins extended, is seen moments after separating from the Starship upper stage. Credit: SpaceX Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreSpaceX launched an upgraded version of its massive Starship rocket from South Texas on Thursday, but the flight ended less than nine minutes later after engineers lost contact with the spacecraft.For a few moments, SpaceX officials discussing the launch on the company's live webcast were unsure of the outcome of the test flight. However, within minutes, residents and tourists in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico shared videos showing a shower of debris falling through the atmosphere along Starship's expected flight corridor.The videos confirmed Starshipthe rocket's upper stagebroke apart in space, or experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" in SpaceX-speak. This happened well short of the company's plan of sending the spacecraft halfway around the world and splashing down in the Indian Ocean after more than an hour of flight.There were no people or satellites aboard the rocket Thursday.Flight diversionsThe test flight began with liftoff of the 404-foot-tall (123.1-meter) Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage from the Texas Gulf Coast at 4:37 pm CST (5:37 pm EST; 22:37 UTC). The world's largest and most powerful launcher climbed off the launch pad with more than twice the thrust of NASA's Apollo-era Saturn V rocket. Heading east, its 33 methane-fueled Raptor booster engines fired more than two-and-a-half minutes to propel Starship toward the edge of space.The booster's engines shut down as planned, followed moments later by ignition of six Raptor engines on the Starship upper stage. The Super Heavy booster separated from the rocket to fly itself back to the launch site. Just shy of seven minutes after liftoff, the booster returned to the launch pad for a mid-air catch by the tower's two mechanical arms, repeating a feat SpaceX accomplished in October.The upper stage, meanwhile, appeared to fly normally until a telemetry display on SpaceX's webcast indicated one of the ship's six engines shut off more than seven minutes after liftoff. Then, the display showed more engines failing, and the data stream froze.In an update posted on SpaceX's website later Thursday evening, officials said ground teams lost contact with the spacecraft approximately eight-and-a-half minutes into the flight. At the time, information on SpaceX's live video stream showed the vehicle was traveling at about 13,246 mph (21,317 km/hr) at an altitude of about 91 miles (146 kilometers)."Initial data indicates a fire developed in the aft section of the ship, leading to a rapid unscheduled disassembly with debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean within the predefined hazard areas," SpaceX officials wrote in the update.The falling debris caused air traffic controllers to divert or reroute commercial flights over the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This map shared by FlightRadar24 shows multiple commercial airplanes in holding patterns outside of closed airspace near Starship's flight path. Credit: FlightRadar24 Air traffic controllers have the ability to activate a "Debris Response Area" if a spacecraft experiences an anomaly with debris falling outside of identified closed aircraft hazard areas, where the FAA notifies pilots in advance about the risk of reentering space junk. Activating a Debris Response Area "allows the FAA to direct aircraft to exit the area and prevent others from entering," the statement read.This is what the FAA did Thursday evening. Air traffic controllers closed a swath of airspace between the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico to commercial air traffic for more than an hour, causing some passenger airline flights to enter a holding pattern, return to their departure airports, land at alternate airfields, or delay their takeoffs.Flight tracking sites and apps showed the extent of the impacts on air traffic. Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport, both hubs for flights to and from the Caribbean, reported short flight delays due to a "rocket launch anomaly," according to an FAA website.Ars listened to live audio from air traffic control in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as controllers alerted pilots of the airspace restrictions."How long do you think this hold is going to be? We don't have a lot of gas to play with," one pilot asked air traffic control. "The sooner we can get on the ground, the better."A short time later, the airspace reopened, and flights continued on to their destinations or diverted to other airports."That's the coolest sh*t I've ever seen in my life"Some of the videos recorded by residents and tourists in the Turks and Caicos appeared to show fiery debris fragments streaking almost directly overhead. Many people speaking in the videos did not realize what they were seeing, but space enthusiasts on social media quickly identified the source of the spectacle.Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and CEO, wrote on X that early signs from data suggested there was a propellant leak in a cavity above Starship's engine firewall. The leak was large enough to build pressure in excess of the ship's vent capacity."Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area," Musk wrote. "Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month."Coming into 2025, SpaceX officials hoped to launch as many as 25 Starship test flights this year to experiment with new designs, attempt a recovery of Starship from orbit, and demonstrate orbital refueling, a capability that is critical to NASA and SpaceX's plans to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade.SpaceX designed Starship to be fully reusable, with the ability to deliver more than 100 metric tons (220,000 pounds) of cargo to low-Earth orbit. Future versions of the ship will be suited for travel to the Moon and Mars. NASA has two contracts for SpaceX to develop a derivative of Starship as a human-rated lander for the agency's Artemis lunar program, and Musk views Starship as central to his enabling his vision of creating a human settlement on the red planet.NASA's official public schedule calls for a crew landing at the Moon's south pole in 2027, using the privately-developed Starship alongside the agency's government-managed Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule. Together, the vehicles will transport astronauts from Earth to the Moon, then to the lunar surface and back into space, and finally back to Earth.However, this schedule hinges on the readiness of Starship to accommodate humans, the availability of new lunar spacesuits, and the status of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, both of which have endured lengthy delays. The incoming Trump administration is expected to reevaluate the architecture of the Artemis program to determine if, and how, NASA can return humans to the Moon faster and cheaper. It's possible SpaceX's Starship and other commercial rockets might carve out a more significant role. The Super Heavy booster comes in for the catch Thursday at Starbase, Texas. Credit: SpaceX If SpaceX can fly Starship again as soon as next month, it's possible the company could preserve its aims for the program this year. SpaceX has no shortage of hardware ready or nearly ready to go. There are multiple Starships and Super Heavy boosters undergoing preparations for future test flights at the company's Starbase launch facility near Brownsville, Texas.But schedules often slip in the launch business, and the FAA could ground Starship until SpaceX completes a formal mishap investigation. The federal regulator is responsible for ensuring public safety on commercial space launches. A spokesperson told Ars late Thursday that the FAA is assessing the Starship anomaly and will provide a statement when officials know more.A setback, sure, but is this a big deal?In the hours after Thursday's test flight, Musk took to his social media platform to share and comment on several videos of the Starship debris coming back to Earth. SpaceX has long embraced failures as learning opportunities, and the company's culture is centered on rapidly iterating on designsbuild, test, break, fix.This launch debuted a more advanced, slightly taller version of Starship, known as Version 2 or Block 2, with larger propellant tanks, a new avionics system, and redesigned feed lines flowing methane and liquid oxygen propellants to the ship's six Raptor engines. SpaceX officials did not say whether any of these changes might have caused the problem on Thursday's launch.SpaceX officials have repeatedly and carefully set expectations for each Starship test flight. They routinely refer to the rocket as experimental, and the primary focus of the rocket's early demo missions is to gather data on the performance of the vehicle. What works, and what doesn't work?Still, the outcome of Thursday's test flight is a clear disappointment for SpaceX. This was the seventh test flight of SpaceX's enormous rocket, and the first time Starship failed to complete its launch sequence since the second flight in November 2023. Until now, SpaceX made steady progress, and each Starship flight achieved more milestones than the one before.On the first flight in April 2023, the rocket lost control a little more than two minutes after liftoff, and the ground-shaking power of the booster's 33 engines shattered the concrete foundation beneath the launch pad. Seven months later, on Flight 2, the rocket made it eight minutes before failing. On that mission, Starship failed at roughly the same point of its ascent, just before cutoff of the vehicle's six methane-fueled Raptor engines.Back then, a handful of photos and images from the Florida Keys and Puerto Rico showed debris in the sky after Starship activated its self-destruct mechanism due to an onboard fire caused by a dump of liquid oxygen propellant. But that flight occurred in the morning, with bright sunlight along the ship's flight path.This time, the ship disintegrated and reentered the atmosphere at dusk, with impeccable lighting conditions accentuating the debris cloud's appearance. These twilight conditions likely contributed to the plethora of videos posted to social media Thursday. Starship and Super Heavy head downrange from SpaceX's launch site near Brownsville, Texas. Credit: SpaceX The third Starship test flight last March saw the spacecraft reach its planned trajectory and fly halfway around the world before succumbing to the scorching heat of atmospheric reentry. In June, the fourth test flight ended with controlled splashdowns of the rocket's Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and of Starship in the Indian Ocean.Then, in October, SpaceX caught the Super Heavy booster back at the launch pad for the first time using mechanical arms, proving out the company's audacious approach to recovering and reusing the rocket. On this fifth test flight, SpaceX modified the ship's heat shield to better handle the hot temperatures of reentry, and the vehicle again made it to an on-target splashdown in the Indian Ocean.Most recently, Flight 6 on November 19 demonstrated the ship's ability to reignite its Raptor engines in space for the first time, and again concluded with a bullseye splashdown. But SpaceX aborted an attempt to again catch the booster back at Starbase due to a problem with sensors on the launch pad's tower.With Flight 7, SpaceX hoped to test more changes to the heat shield protecting Starship from reentry temperatures up to 2,600 Fahrenheit (1,430 Celsius). Musk has identified the heat shield as one of the most difficult challenges still facing the program. In order for SpaceX to reach its ambition for the ship to become rapidly reusable, with minimal or no refurbishment between flights, the heat shield must be resilient and durable.While the three previous Starship test flights each softly splashed down at sea, onboard camera views showed some of the ship's heat-absorbing ceramic tiles stripping away from the vehicle during reentry. Other changes on Flight 7 included a new tapered edge to the line where the tiles meet the ship's stainless steel skin, and multiple metallic tile options, including one with active cooling, to test alternative heat shield materials.SpaceX also wanted to test the thermal performance of new fittings that will be used to catch Starship back at the launch tower on future flights. Engineers were eager to see how redesigned flaps near the nose of Starship worked during its descent back to Earth. And once the ship reached space, SpaceX intended to release 10 mock-ups of next-generation Starlink internet satellites to test the ship's payload deployment mechanism for the first time.All those objectives will now have to wait until Flight 8. Going into this launch, Musk hoped to attempt to catch the Starship upper stage, similar to the way SpaceX recovered the Super Heavy booster, as soon as the next test flight. Now, that will likely have to wait until a later mission."As always, success comes from what we learn, and this flight test will help us improve Starships reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary," SpaceX said. "Data review is already underway as we seek out root cause. We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests." Listing image: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Stephen ClarkSpace ReporterStephen ClarkSpace Reporter Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. 2 Comments