This article contains spoilers for the Silo season 2 finale.After a season full of building tension and mounting rebellion, the Silo season 2 finale not only gives us an incredible payoff that pushes the story forward toward season 3, it also provides the series first flashback to what this world was like before the silos. Staying true to Hugh Howeys books in the ways that matter, this season mostly concludes the story of the first book Wool while also weaving in threads of the second, expanding this world beyond the two silos weve seen thus far. While we did get a lot of answers to our pressing questions this season, we were also left with quite a few more in the aftermath of the finale.Heres everything that went down and the questions we hope will be answered more thoroughly in season 3.Who Are Helen and the Congressman in the Flashback?This section contains a few spoilers for the Silo book Shift.The final scene of the season takes us back in time, presumably to what humanity was like before the silos were built. We see a conversation take place between a Washington Post reporter named Helen (Jessica Henwick) and an unnamed Congressman played by Ashley Zukerman. According to Deadline, Zukermans Congressman is named Daniel, which is likely a substitute for the character Donald Keene in the books a freshman Congressman who is also from Georgia and is instrumental in the development of the silo program. Helen is also Donalds wife in the book, which makes sense given their somewhat flirty encounter in the show.Shift is a prequel to Wool, and tells the story of the formation of the silos and how Silo 1 has been monitoring them from a distance over the years with key personnel taking shifts through cryo sleep, including Donald Keene. If Zukerman is playing this key character from the book, he could be featured in a lot more than just flashbacks. Helen will also likely have an important role to play, as she is gifted a Pez dispenser by the Congressman, the same Pez dispenser weve seen circulating Silo 18 as a relic.The introduction of these characters is a big step in finally answering Silos biggest mystery why was humanity forced underground in the first place? I wont give away too much more of Shifts secrets, especially because we still dont know exactly how season 3 will weave these past and present timelines. Its doubtful theyll take us away from Silo 18 for too long, but theres a lot of important backstory in Shift still to cover before the series dives too far into the next book, Dust, and its likely that Helen and the Congressman will be at the center of it all.What Is the Silo Safeguard Procedure?Lukas (Avi Nash) quest to find the answers left by Salvador Quinn has finally come to a close as he emerges from the mysterious chamber at the bottom of Silo 18. He looks like hes seen a ghost, and is desperate to make his way to the top of the silo as fast as he can. Once he finds Bernard (Tim Robbins) he tells him that he learned about the Safeguard a way for some kind of outside force to kill everyone in the silo instantly if they deem the silo to be a threat. Its in that moment that Bernard realizes that all of his efforts to save the silo have been futile.While Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) works to return home to Silo 18, Solo (Steve Zahn) discovers that each silo has something called the Safeguard Procedure in place that has the ability to pump some kind of poisonous substance into the silo from somewhere outside. While in his old apartment, Solo remembers that his parents were working to try to disable this in Silo 17 and tries to help Juliette find a quick way to stop it. Theyre on their way to investigate where the poison pump is in Silo 17, but Juliette has to leave quickly before theyre able to get any more answers.Does Juliette Make it Back to Silo 18?Juliette has been working all season toward making the journey back home to Silo 18. With the help of Solo and the youths of Silo 17, she manages to find a working suit. They try to find out as much as they can about the Safeguard Procedure, but sounds of an explosion in Silo 18 force Juliette to pack up and make her way back home as quickly as she can before they can investigate further.The suit works long enough to get her to the outside of Silo 18. Once there, she cleans the sensor with desperate haste, unfurling a message telling everyone inside that it is still not safe outside. She then makes it to the door and frantically tries to pry it open without success until it suddenly opens from the inside. As she descends down the stairs, she sees a fully-suited Bernard (Tim Robbins) with a gun. Having just learned about the Safeguard Protocol from Lukas, Bernard is ready to go out on his own terms.Juliette, however, isnt ready to give up so easily and she dives into the open door behind him before it closes. He tries to grab her, so the flames meant to cleanse the chamber of the dangers of the outside world dont burn them alive, but the door closes on both of them, seemingly trapping them inside. Hopefully the fact that the body of Juliettes suit was used by firefighters in Silo 17 will help her from fully burning to a crisp, but Bernard likely wont be so lucky when the show returns next season.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!All 10 episodes of Silo season 2 are available to stream on Apple TV+ now.

Four billion years ago, Earth was a fiery, tumultuous world of molten rock, volcanic eruptions, and toxic skies, with searing heat and the constant threat of asteroid impacts.Thankfully, our planet has cooled off a bit since then. Nevertheless, the Earth still radiates vast amounts of geothermal energy. Its a clean, limitless, always-on power source lying beneath our feet we just have to dig for it. Or get robots to do the hard work for us.Borobotics, a startup from Switzerland, has developed an autonomous drilling machine dubbed the worlds most powerful worm that promises to make harnessing geothermal heat cheaper and more accessible for everyone.Drilling will become possible on properties where it would be unthinkable today small gardens, parking lots, and potentially even basements, Moritz Pill, Borobotics co-founder, tells TNW. At just 13.5 cm wide and 2.8 metres long, the compact boring robot can silently burrow just about anywhere. It could make geothermal a viable backyard energy source.Limited tickets available - Book NowA 3D render of Borobotics geothermal drilling rig. Credit: BoroboticsThe machine nicknamed Grabowski after the famous cartoon mole is the worlds first geothermal drill that operates autonomously, according to the startup. Sensors in Grabowskis head mean it can detect which type of material its boring through. If it bumps into a water spring or gas reservoir on its way down, the robot worm automatically seals the borehole shut. And unlike the diesel-powered drills typical to the industry, the machine plugs into a regular electrical socket.However, Grabowskis humble frame has a few drawbacks. The device is less powerful than bigger rigs. Its also slower and can only dig to a maximum depth of 500 metres. But for Borobotics target market, thats more than adequate, it says.Limitless heat just below our feetWhile most geothermal startups look to produce utility-scale electricity by digging many kilometres below the Earths crust, Borobotics is going shallow.In many European countries, at a depth of 250 metres, you have an average temperature of 14 degrees C, says Pill. This is ideal for efficient heating in winter, while still being cold enough to cool the building in summer.Borobotics wants to tap the burgeoning demand for geothermal heat pumps. These devices use a network of subterranean pipes to transfer heat from below the ground to a building on the surface. Under the right conditions, they double-up as air conditioning.Heating and cooling buildings accounts for half of global energy consumption, the lions share of which comes from burning fossil fuels like natural gas.To curb emissions, the EU has committed to installing 43 million new heat pumps between 2023 and 2030, as part of the blocs 300bn REPowerEU plan.The advantages are obvious. Heat pumps use electricity instead of fossil fuels to transfer heat or cold air. They are up to three times more efficient than the equivalent gas boiler. If they plug into a renewable energy source, even better.The EU backs both geothermal and air-source heat pumps, but the latter dominate thanks to lower costs and easier installation. Thats despite geothermal heat pumps being more efficient because they rely on stable subterranean heat rather than fluctuating outdoor temperatures.The potential of geothermal heat pumps to decarbonise Europe is substantial, as long as the cost comes down, Torsten Kolind, managing partner at Underground Ventures, tells TNW. The minute that happens, the market is open.Underground Ventures, based in Copenhagen, is the worlds first VC dedicated entirely to funding geothermal tech startups. The firm led Borobotics CHF 1.3mn (1.38mn) pre-seed funding round, announced this week.The Borobotics team, based in Zurich, just raised their first major funding round. Credit: BoroboticsDue to their small size, Borobotics says its drill is very resource efficient to produce and maintain. Whats more, Grabowskis autonomous capabilities, other than being cool, have a hidden advantage.Pill paints the following picture:A small team arrive to a site with a Sprinter van containing everything necessary to drill, he explains. They set the drill in half a day and from then on it works autonomously.Pill predicts that one or two people will be able to handle 10-13 drill sites simultaneously. If correct, this means drilling companies can cover more ground in less time, even if Grabowski is a little more sluggish than its fossil-fuelled relatives.Given the EUs chronic shortage of heat pump installers, an autonomous drilling robot may be a welcome helping hand.Despite the apparent potential, its still early days for Borobotics. Founded in 2023, the company is currently developing its first working prototype. Fuelled by its first major pot of funding, it looks to test the robot in real conditions this year.Geothermal tech is heating upIn December, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its first report on geothermal energy in over 10 years. In the report, the IEA predicted that geothermal could cater to 15% of global energy demand by 2050, up from just 1% today.Geothermal projects of old were largely state-led, and confined to volcanically active regions like Iceland or New Zealand where hot water bubbles at or near the surface. But the next wave of installations looks to be led by startups armed with state-of-the-art technology that allows them to dig deeper and more efficiently.Geothermal energy startups attracted $650mn in VC funding in 2024, the highest value ever recorded, according to Dealroom data. One of those is US-based Fervo Energy, backed by Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Google has already plugged into Fervos geothermal plant in Nevada to power one of its data centres. Another upstart is Canadas Eavor, which is currently building a giant underground radiator in Germany that could heat an entire town.The problem has always been geology and economics, but the advances of startups like Fervo and Eavor in recent years have changed the game, says Kolind.While US startups are leading the pack, Europe is well poised to compete.Europe has excellent geothermal subsurface conditions, and, unlike America, it also has a strong tradition for district heating, says Kolind. The investor believes its only a matter of time before Europes investors and policymakers go all-in on geothermal tech.Unlike natural gas and coal, it is fossil-free. Unlike wind and solar, it is always-on. And unlike nuclear energy, it is geopolitically benign, he says. Story by Sin Geschwindt Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecos (show all) Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecosystem. He's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. Sin has five years journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Get the TNW newsletterGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.Also tagged with

Apple TV+ is on the brink of a potential big cultural moment, with Severance season 2 receiving buzz that few Apple shows ever do. Heres why that could lead TV+ to truly take off like never before.Severance season 2 could be the next Ted Lasso moment for Apple TV+Apples marketing team has been having fun this week, as highlighted by the appearance of Lumon employees at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.Its clear the company is trying to capitalize on the unique opportunity Severances return provides. Not only did the shows first season gain a big following, but the long wait between seasons and fantastic critic reviews have built a lot of buzz for Severances debut.Its buzz that Apple TV+ rarely gets to enjoy.The streamer is over five years old, yet still struggles to gain much cultural traction. Ted Lasso was the first big exception that truly broke through, and Severance looks like it might be the second.This time though, the success might actually stick.Apples bolstered catalog can now keep viewers around, not push them awayEver since Apple TV+ first debuted, one of its biggest purported flaws has been the lack of a catalog.Basically every other streaming service licenses content that can fill out its library, in addition to creating originals.Apple went a different direction by going all-in on originals, and for a long time thats made it hard to retain subscribers.Ted Lasso truly was a massive hit, not just for Apple, but for any streaming service. The problem is, Apple won lots of subscribers then didnt have much else to keep them with.After Lassos run ended in spring 2023, Apple TV+ was still somewhat light on compelling content to entice ongoing subscriptions.But in the nearly two years since then, Apple TV+ has beefed up its library significantly. Its also been on a hot streak with new and returning shows.New Apple TV+ content has been especially strongUsers who subscribe to Apple TV+ to follow Mark S. and crew on their latest Severance adventures will also find a lot of other Apple content to enjoyHere are some highlights Apple TV+ has added since Apples last big cultural moment, Ted Lassos third season, ended:Silo seasons one and twoShrinkings excellent second seasonSlow Horses seasons three and fourBad Monkey, another great Bill Lawrence seriesPresumed InnocentDark MatterMasters of the AirDisclaimer, the talent-packed miniseriesThe Morning Show season threePachinko season twoMonarch: Legacy of Monstersand a whole lot moreIn other words, if Severance season 2 really does become a Ted Lasso-sized hit, Apple will have much more content to keep subscribers around after it ends.Maybe, just maybe, Apple TV+ can finally become the big success that its high-quality content like Severance deserves.What do you think Apple TV+ needs to do to find true success? Let us know in the comments.Best Apple TV and Home accessoriesAdd 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

Screenshots shared by users of Character.AI the Google-funded AI companion platform currently facing two lawsuits concerning the welfare of children show conversations with the site's AI-powered chatbot characters devolving into incomprehensible gibberish, melding several languages and repeatedly mentioning sex toys."So I was talking to this AI this morning and everything was fine, and I came back to it a couple of hours later and all of the sudden it's speaking this random gibberish?" wrote one Redditor. "Did I break it?""I really don't want to start a new chat," they added. "I've developed the story so much."An accompanying image provided by the user of their Character.AI chat reveals absolute nonsense: garbled AI-spawned text in which random English words among them "Ohio," "slated," "colored," and "Mathematics" are scattered between equally erratic outbursts in languages including Turkish, German, and Arabic.This user was one of several Redditors who shared screenshots of likewise strange AI outbursts to the online forum, each as odd as the next.But while each screenshot is equally indecipherable, they bear some hyperspecific similarities. The word "obec," for instance a Slavic word equating to municipality or village appears throughout. The word "cowboy" is mentioned repeatedly, as is "architecture," "undercover," "discrepancy," and "governor."Most eye-catching, perhaps,is the repeated mention of the word "dildo," which makes an appearance in almost every screenshot we found."Uh," reads the caption of one such post, in which "dildo" is clearly visible between sputters of Arabic and inscrutable, bracket-heavy punctuation. (Per the screenshot, the user experienced the issue while conversing with a chatbot based on the "X-Men" character Victor "Sabretooth" Creed.)"You know what," the Redditor finished the caption, "hell yeah."Another Redditor, alongside yet another bizarre screenshot, captioned the image with a simple-yet-poignant: "What?""Something's wrong," lamented another impacted user. "I can feel it."We reached out to Character.AI to inquire about the bug, but have yet to receive any reply. We didn't experience the glitch while testing Character.AI this morning, signaling that the issue may have been resolved.But Character.AI is no stranger to glitches. This latest apparent bug follows an incident in December in which many site visitors were briefly able to view other users' chat histories and personal information, a serious security lapse that prompted an apology from the platform.On that note, this latest bug is understandably frustrating for many of the company's devoted users, who largely use the platform because of its immersive quality. And as we're sure it goes without saying, such immersion would presumably stand to be interrupted by unpredictable, multilingual ebullitions of what's likely AI training data riddled with mention of sex toys, cowboys, and checks notes Slavic villages.Andif this glitch isa glimpse into the company's AI training data? Because Character.AI feeds user inputs back into its model for training purposes, such a bug could prove to be another more serious security concern, given the sort of intimate, revealing conversations that people, minors included, are having with Character.AI bots.Share This Article

Global IT spending continues to rise, and enterprises are increasingly moving budgets to services and software away from hardware investments. This shift in spending directly influences the strategic, operational, and investment decisions of high-tech providers. To stay competitive, they must prioritize customer-centric strategies and align business goals with operations. To facilitate this, embracing as-a-service (AaS) models is vital to meet current demands and drive future growth. Yet, most providers are not equipped to adequately address the demands associated with such an enterprise change.The AaS OpportunityIntegration of AaS offerings will be crucial for companies reinvention strategies and a well-executed AaS strategy benefits both tech providers and their customers. Recent Accenture research found that executives recognize the flexibility, stability and potential growth opportunities that come along with this. We found there is a shared optimism, with a measurable confidence in generative AIs (GenAI) applications to support business transformation. In fact, 97% of executives believe that gen AI can help their companies accelerate the shift towards models that focus on annual recurring revenue (ARR) and AaS offerings and 85% think that AaS offerings will add to their revenue stream but at the expense of their current products or services.Related:Worryingly, 75% agree that legacy technology hardware companies will no longer exist unless they begin acting more like software companies. That underpins the urgency for high tech companies to reinvent themselves immediately, not plan for it somewhere down the line. The benefits are twofold, for the customer this shift provides continued and superior value year over year. Additionally, providers have registered a positive impact on long-term revenue, customer retention and overall customer lifetime value.Addressing the Roadblocks to AaS AdoptionDespite the benefits of shifting to new models, which can bridge the gap between high-tech players and their customers, our findings point to a significant confidence split among respondents. Only 50% of executives believe they can meet theirpublicly statedARR goals. Although high-tech companies have the ideal products and services that could benefit from a cloud-hosted, subscription-based model via AaS to generate recurring revenue, manyfaceinternal challenges like grappling with legacy systems and tech debt.While theres positivity around the opportunity that AaS can bring, theres also hesitation in the industry to adopt it because many executives believe AaS models might cannibalize their existing offerings. They also believe that the success of implementing these models is heavily dependent on their sales force's readiness to adopt new ways of selling. This outlook questions the preparedness of high-tech companies to adapt to such a transformation.Related:However, to maintain a competitive advantage, high-tech companies need to implement a customer-centric strategy. This is especially critical given that enterprise customers are increasingly redirecting their IT budgets to prioritize services and software, with a notable focus on software as a service (SaaS).Embracing AaS to Navigate Customer Demand and RetentionThe primary benefits of shifting to an AaS model arm high-tech providers with the ability to address modern customer expectations and overcome the limitations of traditional product lifecycles, to build lastingvalue-driven relationships. Here are the keycustomer-centric strategiesthat executives need to focus on to establish themselves as leaders in the AaS era:Pivoting from transactional to relational customer engagement:With 98% of executives acknowledging that a companys products and services define their customer relationship, products need to serve more than just one transaction in their lifecycle and should be part of an ongoing relationship with the customer base. Therefore, they should move from product-focused to subscription-based organization to create long-term revenue growth and higher customer retention.Related:Replacing legacy systems with modern IT:Modernizing IT infrastructure is centered around creating a strong digital core, which consists of a cloud infrastructure,dataand AI. This will help companies stay ahead of competitors, expeditegrowthand guarantee operational security.Shifting focus from product features to customer outcomes:Customer needs have evolved and creating a dedicated customer success function will become a critical need for high-tech companies to enable AaS adoption. Gen AI is an essential technology that can provide a more detailed customer behavior analysis and will help identify new customer needs.Recalibrating the sales force:Although executive confidence in their sales forces ability to shift from transaction based to outcome-based compensation is in the majority, training talent to accelerate adoption and preparing them to sell under the new model is critical to enabling AaS across the organization.A rapidly changingdigital landscape and evolving market dynamics requires high-tech companies to assume more agility. To that end, meeting their ARR goals will also require adopting an AaS model that prioritizes customer-centricity. By leveraging these strategies, which rely on gen AI integration and Total Enterprise Reinvention, providers can make a decided effort to future-proof their companies and ensure sustainable growth.

When you think about fast food, you think quick and affordable. While thats the idea, thats not always the case.Nowadays, its not unusual to swing by a drive-thru for some quick grub only to find out youre paying a surprisingly hefty price. Thats because some of these fast food chains are offering burgers that could compete with sit-down restaurants when it comes to price. But what about quality?Lets take a look at Americas most expensive fast food burgers, and their quality to see if theyrereally worth the splurge. Just because something is expensive doesnt always mean its the best.RELATED: Fast Food Chains With The Highest (and Lowest) Quality BurgersWhats the average cost of a fast-food burger in America?A simple Google search will show that the most recent average cost of fast food burgers is $8.41. Thats just the burger! If youre looking for a meal, that price will go up quick. Depending on the state and chain, you could pay around $20 for one meal.Delish looked at some classic burgers from 15 popular fast food chains to determine the most expensive. Here are some chains that are charging the big bucks, and what kind of quality youre getting for it.America's Most Expensive Fast Food Burgers (and Their Quality)Let's take a look at America's most expensive fast food burgers (according to research from Delish), and their quality to see if they'rereally worth the splurge.Gallery Credit: Danielle KootmanREAD MORE: Did You Know McDonalds Happy Meal Boxes Are Actually Trays?Clearlycost isnt always directly correlated with quality when it comes to burgers, looking at these chains. It's up to you if you think the splurge is worth it, even if it means a low quality burger.When it comes to food quality, standards seems to differ from country to country. Here are some food and drinks that are highly restricted here in the U.S.Get our free mobile appOnce-Beloved Fast Food Items That No Longer ExistThese defunct fast food items have gone down in history. Wouldnt you love to eat them again?

Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), PST (UTC -8), AKST (UTC -9), HST (UTC -10), AST (UTC -4), NST (UTC -3:30)This position will be focused on creating and maintaining Google Ads campaigns for our mental health division, working mainly for therapists in private practice and other mental health agencies. Our ideal candidate will be highly motivated and able to work independently, while also embracing their role on our virtual team.Responsibilities:Regular maintenance of Google Ads campaigns. This includes reviewing search terms, modifying bids and reviewing campaign statistics.Meet with existing clients to discuss their accounts and new prospects to talk about their marketing goals.Measure the performance of Google Ads campaigns and assess current performance.Research and identify search trends and optimize spending performance based on those insights.Create advertising campaigns for new clients.

If you double-tapped an Instagram Reel recently, your friends may be able to see it, thanks to a new Instagram update. Instagram Reels is introducing a new friends tab that shows you all the videos your friends have liked and engaged with, the companyannounced Friday. The new feature is rolling out starting today for US users.This will be different from your friends tab on Reels, which shows you all the videos made and posted by the accounts you follow. This is more reminiscent of the TikTok algorithm, which would weave in videos your friends DMed you into your For Your page.You can see this separate Reels feed by tapping a new pill-shaped widget in the top right corner -- showing a couple of your friends' profile pictures -- and the new dedicated feed will open. You can also reply to those videos or start DMs with friends from there. Don't worry if you don't see the option yet -- new feature rollouts can take some time.Read more: Instagram's New Teen Accounts: What Parents and Kids Need to KnowThe update follows a tumultuous start of the year for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will be ending its third-party fact-checking program across all its platforms and overhauling its content moderation. The proposed changes to the content moderation policy include loosening restrictions around how users can talk about gender identity and immigration, in what Zuckerberg called a return to the company's "roots around free expression."Fact-checking groups and LGBTQ+ advocates have worried about what it means for information quality and safety on the platforms.The new feature also comes on the same day as the US Supreme Court upheld the law that would effectively ban TikTok if it doesn't sell its US business by Jan. 19 to a new buyer approved by US officials. President Joe Biden has indicated he won't enforce the ban during the last few hours of his presidency, and President-elect Donald Trump, who gets sworn in on Monday, has said he's interested in finding a political solution.But the decision throws a lot of uncertainty over the future of video-based social media for TikTok's over 170 million active US users, some of whom might want to migrate to Instagram Reels or other alternative sites.

January 17, 20253 min readSupreme Court Upholds Law Banning TikTok in U.S. Whats Next?The end seems nigh for TikTok in the U.S.By Ben Guarino edited by Dean VisserA TikTok influencer holds a sign that reads "Keep TikTok" outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building as the court hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the U.S., on January 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty ImagesOn Friday the Supreme Court affirmed that it would be legal to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the immensely popular app to a non-China-based company or to ban it in the U.S. Last week an attorney for TikTok had argued before the Supreme Court that a bipartisan law that mandated the sale or ban infringed on the companys First Amendment rights. The Court disagreed. In an unsigned opinion, the justices wrote that the U.S. governments security concernscountering Chinas data collection and covert content manipulation effortswere compelling and that the law was narrowly tailored to further those interests.As a result, TikTokwhich about 170 million Americans use to watch short-form videos and shopis likely to close in the U.S. as soon as next Sunday. (TikTok didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from Scientific American.) TikToks attorney told the Supreme Court last week that when the law goes into effect on January 19, the app will go dark.Whats Going to Happen to TikTok?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Reuters reported this week that TikTok plans to formally shut down in the U.S.: it will greet users with a message about the ban and give them an option to download their own data from the app.If TikTok were to remain active in the country, the law would penalize Internet service providers for permitting access to the platform on a browser. Although the law does not make it illegal for people in the U.S. to have TikTok on their phones, it fines app stores, such as Apples or Googles, whenever people download or update TikTok. Because the fines are up to $5,000 per user (which, multiplied by millions, would add up extremely quickly), app stores are expected to remove TikTok next Sunday. If users cannot update TikTok, the app will eventually stop working anyway.What Might U.S. TikTokers Do?Hundreds of thousands of U.S. TikTokers have joined other apps. These have included a newly popular China-based app named RedNote.Additionally, there are potential work-arounds for the U.S. bannamely, virtual private networks, or VPNs. In India, which banned TikTok in 2020, users have accessed the blocked app via these networks; they can make traffic appear as though its coming from a country where TikTok is allowed. This is not necessarily an easy solution, though. People in the U.S. may need a foreign billing address to access TikTok, one popular VPN service has pointed out, and their other apps or subscriptions could stop working.Will Elon Musk buy TikTok? Will enforcement of the law be delayed? And can incoming president Donald Trump halt the banas he asked the Supreme Court to doto negotiate a deal?TikTok says the answer to the first question is pure fiction. (Meanwhile YouTuber James Donaldson, aka MrBeast, joked/mused this week about whether he should purchase the app.) TikToks consistent public stance has been that it is not for sale. A few Democratic members of Congress introduced a bill this week to extend the TikTok ban deadline by 270 days, but Republican senators squashed that.As for that last question, when asked if he would take measures to reverse the ban, Trump told CNN that hell be making the decision. Trump is reportedly considering an executive order that would delay enforcement of the ban for 60 to 90 days, according to the Washington Post. But because presidents do not have the authority to overrule a law via executive order, how he might do so remains to be seen. That said, given Trumps history, it is difficult to predict what will happen after he takes office next Monday.Editors Note: As the Supreme Court has upheld the U.S. TikTok ban, many organizations that have been active on the platform, including Scientific American, are adapting to this shift. We want to let you know that you can still find our videos on Instagram and YouTube.

Death Howl is a strikingly moody "Soulslike deck builder" from publisher 11-Bit StudiosAnd a demo's next week.Image credit: The Outer Zone/11-Bit Studios News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Jan. 17, 2025 Three-person Danish developer The Outer Zone and publishing partner 11 Bit Studios (of Frostpunk fame) have unveiled Death Howl, a gorgeously moody melding of turn-based tactical action, deck-building, and "Soulslike" exploration that's coming to PC later this year. Death Howl is described as a "poignant tale of grief, healing, and resilience", and follows the journey of hunter Ro as she departs her tribe and ventures into a disturbingly realised realm of the spirits in the hope of reuniting with her deceased son.It's journey through a land of horrors - of fearsome creatures and grotesque bosses - that combines grid-based, turn-based battles with a deck-building focus, plus open-world exploration across a series of strikingly atmospheric biomes.Death Howl announcement trailer.Watch on YouTubeAs players venture deeper, they'll uncover fragments of Ro's story, steeped in love and loss, alongside forgotten lore. Additionally, each discoverable realm promises unique cards and deck mechanics that'll gradually deepen Death Howl's strategy layer, as well as the likes of shamanic totems that can further enhance a deck."The loss of a loved one is universal - an inevitable part of the human experience," The Outer Zone explains. "We believe our narrative approach will resonate with players of all kinds. We've introduced a fresh take on the deck-builder genre, combining it with soulslike exploration and adding compelling lore to leave a lasting impact on anyone who joins Ro on her journey".Death Howl is scheduled to release for Steam later this year, but players can familiarise themselves with its deck-building action and forlorn ambience - amply evident in its announcement trailer - when its demo launches on Steam next Monday, 20th January.